Coco Gauff described Serena Williams as "the reason why I play tennis" as she paid tribute to the soon-to-retire great, declaring: "There will never be another Serena."

Williams, a 23-time grand slam champion, announced in a piece in Vogue on Tuesday that she would soon retire.

The 40-year-old did not provide a firm date for the end of her career, but hinted that she could bow out after the US Open, which begins at the end of August.

Williams had won her first singles match in over a year on Monday at the Canadian Open, yet she wrote of the need to now prioritise her family.

And Gauff, playing at the same event in Toronto, was not short of praise for a legend of the sport.

"She's just been playing forever, my whole life," Gauff said after beating Madison Brengle.

"The legacy that she's left throughout her tennis career is something that I don't think any other player can probably touch.

"I think that the legacy that she'll continue to leave throughout her life is something that can inspire many more generations."

Gauff, a highly talented 18-year-old, has no interest in any tag as the 'next Serena', although she can take inspiration from Williams in dealing with such pressure.

"I've learned a lot from them [Serena and sister Venus]," Gauff said.

"People always tell me that you're going to be 'next whatever', blah, blah, blah, and Serena has been considered the GOAT [greatest of all time] for at least the second half of her career, and she never succumbed to that pressure.

"I think she overcame it, and I think that's something I take from her and try to learn from it. Not that I'm at her level and experiencing the same pressure she is, but in the moment I try to emulate that.

"For me, I grew up watching her. That's the reason why I play tennis, and tennis being a predominantly white sport, it definitely helped a lot, because I saw somebody who looked like me dominating the game, and it made me believe I could dominate, too.

"She's the GOAT. And undisputed, too, in my opinion. But I don't think that's an opinion, it's a fact.

"Serena, for me, is the GOAT. The GOAT of all GOATs. There will never be another Serena."

Sean McVay has announced he signed a contract extension with the Los Angeles Rams over the offseason, but talks are ongoing with general manager Les Snead.

Head coach McVay guided the Rams to a Super Bowl win last season, and tying down his long-term future represents a major boost for the franchise.

Yet McVay revealed he and Snead were waiting until both men were committed to the team before formally confirming the deals.

"We are in a good place," McVay said at training camp. "I feel really good about the direction that's going in, and I think it'll be something where it'll be me and Les, and you guys will know when that is finalised for us.

"We wanted to be able to announce that when both of us got it done.

"It is something that we've been taking care of, but it is very important for Les and I to kind of have that represented as we're a partnership and a pair."

McVay has been Rams coach since 2017, with this his first head coaching role after holding various assistant positions in Washington.

Earning his first title against the Cincinnati Bengals at Super Bowl LVI earlier this year, McVay, 36, became the youngest coach to win the Super Bowl.

McVay has a 55-26 career record, with his winning percentage of 67.9 the seventh-best of all time among coaches to oversee 80 or more games.

Snead was the man who brought McVay to Los Angeles, having been the Rams GM since 2012, when the team were in St. Louis.

The Denver Broncos are looking forward to a new era after the team's record-breaking sale to the Walton-Penner family ownership group was confirmed.

The deal, worth $4.65billion, a record for any American sports franchise, was unanimously approved by NFL owners on Tuesday.

And the group, fronted by Walmart heir Rob Walton, could not wait to get started.

"We are just so excited to become officially a part of the Broncos," Walton said. "It's a big, big day for us. Really, really exciting.

"It's been a great process and I want to extend a thanks with all the owners we've been involved with. Their warm greeting and support as we've met them along the way – haven't met all of them yet, but we're getting close – has just been good.

"It's a very wonderful group to become associated with.

"We want to acknowledge [former owner] Pat Bowlen's outstanding legacy, also, as well as the family. Pat's leadership and commitment to build a successful team and business, and we'll continue to build on that.

"Putting a winning team on the field is our number one priority. We can't wait to get to Denver, join our new colleagues and get to work."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell added: "This is a group that is going to be great for the Denver community.

"Their commitment to winning, but more importantly their commitment to making sure the Broncos franchise is an important part of the Denver community. We're thrilled about that."

The Atlanta Braves received an MVP-level performance from Austin Riley as they went into Fenway Park and left with a 9-7 extra-innings win on the road against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.

Riley – who is the second-favourite for National League MVP, trailing only Paul Goldschmidt from the St Louis Cardinals – got things going for the Braves in the opening inning, with an RBI triple scoring the first run of the game.

After Red Sox second-baseman Christian Arroyo connected on a two-run home run an inning later, travelling 403 feet, Riley answered back in the third frame with his own two-run shot, with his sailing 426 feet for the longest hit of the game.

The Red Sox rallied back in the middle stages, with home runs to Tommy Pham and Jarren Duran, as well as another RBI double from Arroyo, to jump ahead 5-4 in the fifth inning.

National League Rookie of the Year contender Michael Harris II tied the game with a double in the sixth frame, and Dansby Swanson gave the Braves a 6-5 lead as his double brought home Ronald Acuna Jr for his second run of the game.

That lead would be short-lived, with Boston tying things up at 6-6 in the bottom of the eighth through a J.D. Martinez base hit, and that score would hold through the end of regulation to force extra innings.

Both teams tallied a single run in the 10th, before Riley came through again in the 11th, driving in his fourth and fifth runs of the day with a single as Acuna crossed home plate for the third time to snatch a 9-7 lead.

Tyler Matzek made no mistakes on the mound, finishing things off and collecting his first save of the season, striking out two.

Riley finished three-for-five at the plate with five RBIs, and he now sits third in the league in home runs (30), eighth in RBIs (74) and second in total bases (255), trailing only New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge (273).

Ohtani delivers with bat and ball

It was another starring performance for baseball's most unique player as Shohei Ohtani pitched six scoreless innings and hit his 25th home run of the season to carry the Los Angeles Angels to a 5-1 victory away against the Oakland Athletics.

Only 11 players have hit more home runs this season than Ohtani, while only five pitchers have struck out more batters than his 157 in 19 starts. Everyone ahead of him on the strikeout list has started at least two more games, and he trails only Braves rookie Spencer Strider in strikeouts-per-nine-innings among starters.

He struck out five batters against the Athletics while giving up four hits and three walks in his six innings, and finished two-for-three at the plate, with two runs and one RBI.

Padres get mixed results from new recruits

The San Diego Padres needed some late heroics when newly acquired closer Josh Hader blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning, before Manny Machado came through in the clutch for a 7-4 win.

While Hader was the Padres' big pitching recruit, Juan Soto was the prize of their trade deadline dealings, and he was terrific as he finished with two hits and two walks from his five plate appearances, including his first home run since arriving in San Diego.

Leading 4-1 in the ninth inning, Hader failed to secure the save, giving up three runs to tie the game. But the Padres would get away with it, with a single to Jurickson Profar and a walk to Soto bringing Machado to the plate for the walk-off home run.

Coco Gauff shined on the opening day of the Canadian Open on Tuesday, defeating American compatriot Madison Brengle 6-1 6-3 to move to a record of 14-4 from her past 18 matches.

Gauff, who has not lost to anyone ranked lower than world number 22 Amanda Anisimova since the Australian Open, continued that impressive record by cruising past world number 62 Brengle, winning 58 per cent (34-of-59) of her return points in a dominant showing.

Anisimova, who eliminated Gauff from Wimbledon, also made it through her first match unscathed as she defeated hometown Canadian Carol Zhao 6-1 6-3.

China's Qinweng Zheng put another dagger into the Canadians with her 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 win over Rebecca Marino, but Bianca Andreescu gave the fans something to cheer for as she upset world number nine and winner of this past week's Silicon Valley Classic Daria Kasatkina 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo prevailed against American Claire Liu 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-6 (7-5) in a three-and-a-half-hour battle of attrition, while Australian qualifier Ajla Tomljanovic upset world number 16 Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7-4) in two-and-a-half hours.

It was a disappointing showing from world number 10 Emma Raducanu as she went down 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 to the reigning champion of this event, Italy's Camila Giorgi.

Naomi Osaka also will need an early flight home after being forced to retire against Estonia's Kaia Kanepi, pulling the plug due to a persistent back injury while trailing 7-6 (7-4) 3-0.

In the late session, Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic successfully navigated the challenge of Tereza Martincova 6-4 6-2 to book a second round fixture against Serena Williams, and world number four Maria Sakkari survived a scare to finish strong and defeat Sloane Stephens 6-2 4-6 6-2.

Nick Kyrgios set up a mouth-watering second-round showdown against world number one Daniil Medvedev after defeating Argentina's Sebastian Baez 6-4 6-4 in his opening match of the Canadian Open on Tuesday.

The in-form Kyrgios is coming off his first ATP singles title since 2019 after winning the Washington Open this past week, where he also won the doubles partnered with Jack Sock. 

Against Baez, he served all six of the match's aces to make it through unscathed, and he will now play the top-ranked Russian – who Kyrgios has beaten twice – although he dropped their third meeting at the Australian Open this year.

Dating back to the start of his Wimbledon run, where Kyrgios made his first grand slam final, the Australian has now won 13 of his past 14 matches, with the only loss coming in the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic.

Earlier on, 11th seed Matteo Berrettini was the first upset of the day as he went down 6-3 6-2 against Spain's Pablo Carreno-Busta, while fellow Spaniard Pedro Martinez had less success, getting bounced by France's Gael Monfils 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-2.

America's Tommy Paul delivered a gut-punch to his neighbours in the Great White North by eliminating Canada's own Vasek Pospisil 6-4 6-4, and his Canadian compatriot Alexis Galarneau also struggled in his 6-4 7-5 loss to Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov.

Marin Cilic showed why he is the 13th seed with a strong 6-3 6-2 win in his all-Croatian battle against Borna Coric, and American Maxim Cressy had similar success against Russia's Aslan Karatsev 6-4 6-4.

In a battle of the French it was Adrian Mannarino prevailing 6-3 6-3 against Arthur Rinderknech, and a pair of Englishmen made their way through unscathed as Daniel Evans won a back-and-forth contest against Filip Krajinovic 6-2 1-6 6-0, while Jack Draper returned to his rain-interrupted fixture against Hugo Gaston to finish the job 6-2 6-3.

Alex de Minaur ensured it would be a grim day for the Canadian fans as he eliminated Denis Shapovalov 7-5 7-6 (7-4), before Holger Rune fought off the challenge of Fabio Fognini to emerge a 6-3 7-5 winner.

In the late session, Roberto Bautista-Agut defeated Marcos Giron 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, ninth seed Cameron Norrie needed just over an hour for his straight sets 6-4 6-4 win over Brandon Nakashima, and Andy Murray had no answer for Taylor Fritz as he went down 6-1 6-3.

Yoshihito Nishioka's strong form held up after his runner-up finish at the Washington Open, cruising past Benoit Paire 6-2 6-3, while 25-year-old Botic van de Zanschulp continued his rise up the rankings with a 6-1 7-5 victory over Miomir Kecmanovic.

12th seed Diego Schwartzman needed three sets to navigate the challenge of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 1-6 6-3 6-4, and Albert Ramos-Vinolas got the better of Belgium's David Goffin 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.

In the final match of the night, world number 10 Hubert Hurkacz responded to adversity in the second set to pull out a 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 win against Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori.

The New England Patriots have not officially named an offensive coordinator and are installing a "new offense", but quarterback Mac Jones said he is not overly concerned. 

With longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels now the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders, the Patriots have not named anyone to fill his role. Instead, head coach Bill Belichick is spending more time with the offense and former Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia and ex-New York Giants coach Joe Judge are also working with the unit. 

"I’m going to figure it out. I always have. I always will," said Jones, entering his second NFL season. "At the end of the day, you’re going to have your ups and downs with anything new. I think we’re close on a lot of things. It’s just that 2 per cent we need to fix."

The notoriously tight-lipped Belichick has acknowledged that the Patriots have "streamlined" their offense this year, with multiple players saying the goal is to make it simpler so they can play faster.  

Jones and the new-look offense has struggled at times this preseason, with numerous breakdowns and rushers coming free too often. 

"It’s just getting the communication down," Jones said. "It’s different than what we’ve done in the past. It’s a little frustrating sometimes, but our offensive line – the players and coaches – are trying the best they can.

"I have all the trust in the world in those guys. It’s not going to happen overnight, but we’re trying to grow." 

Jones led the Patriots to a 10-7 record and a playoff berth in his rookie season, throwing 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.  

New England host the New York Giants in their preseason opener on Thursday night. 

The PGA Tour has won their first legal battle against the controversial LIV Golf brand, with a judge ruling on Tuesday that LIV Golf players are not eligible to play in the FedEx Cup starting this week.

Specifically, Talor Gooch, Matt Jones and Hudson Swafford were the three golfers seeking the temporary restraining order to play at the FedEx St. Jude Championship – but a judge ruled that their cases did not prove they were victims of "irreparable harm" due to their highly paid contracts.

The LIV Golf lawyers argued that the FedEx Cup is about "more than money" – even going as far as calling it "the Super Bowl of golf", and comparing former FedEx Cup winners to all-time greats Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman.

They claimed the PGA Tour was attempting to use monopoly powers to stamp out fair competition, to which the PGA lawyers countered with the facts that five of their top-10 most famous players – based on their Player Impact Program – have already jumped ship, and that Gooch, specifically, signed a contract worth significantly more than the $18million awarded to the winner of the FedEx Cup.

LIV Golf were queried about how they could project a 20 per cent market share while also calling the PGA Tour a monopoly, and that being a monopoly is not illegal, only using monopoly powers against another organisation is.

The judge explained that the breakaway golfers would have ample opportunity to play on the alternate tour; that their upfront LIV Golf contracts took into account the possibility that they would not be eligible for the FedEx Cup and/or major championships; and that the inability to win even more money does not constitute "irreparable harm".

Some other interesting tidbits were revealed during proceedings, including a direct contradiction from a prevalent storyline about the LIV Golf contracts.

LIV Golf lawyers claimed that prize money won from tournaments would be "recouped against the LIV contracts" – with a clip emerging immediately afterwards showing an LIV Golf spokesperson specifically saying during a news conference featuring Pat Perez and Brooks Koepka that all prize money would be "in addition to the contracts".

Their lawyers also confirmed that all 48 spots had been filled for next LIV Golf season, and the judge indicated that the larger-scale antitrust trial would be tentatively scheduled for September.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Martin Necas have agreed to a two-year, $6million contract to keep the young winger with the franchise through the 2023-24 season.

Necas had been a restricted free agent.

Selected 12th overall by the Hurricanes in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Necas has totalled 119 points (45 goals, 74 assists) in 203 career games.

At 23 years old, Necas is considered a key piece for Carolina's future. He tallied 14 goals and 26 assists last season but managed just five assists in 14 Stanley Cup playoff games.

After the New York Rangers eliminated the Hurricanes in Game 7 of the second round, Necas said he wanted to be a more consistent scoring threat in the future.

"I've got to help the team more, got to produce way more,” Necas said in June. "That's what everyone kind of expects from me. I didn't do it this year, so like I said, it was disappointing for me."

Carolina won the Metropolitan Division last season with a 54-20-8 record.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst was overjoyed by the memorable comeback instigated by Rangers on Tuesday that set up a Champions League qualification play-off against PSV.

Rangers lost 2-0 to Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium last week, a result that Van Bronckhorst even felt flattered his team.

But just as Ibrox proved a dependable fortress en route to the Europa League final last season, home advantage helped Rangers over the line again.

James Tavernier's penalty on the stroke of half-time was added to by Antonio Colak's close-range header near the hour mark.

Bayern Munich loanee Malik Tillman then nodded in the crucial goal 12 minutes from time, and Van Bronckhorst – who will go up against his former Netherlands team-mate Ruud van Nistelrooy in the next round – was left ecstatic with the 3-2 aggregate success.

"It's another amazing night in Europe," he said. "There was a lot of pressure on us to deliver and to go through to the next round. We played really well at moments and kept the pressure on them.

"We know the atmosphere can be very hostile and we created that atmosphere along with the fans. I'm very proud of the performance of my team."

Rangers only lost once at home in the Europa League last term, a 2-0 defeat to Lyon in September, and Van Bronckhorst once again highlighted the fans' role in their turnaround on Tuesday.

"We know the fans are always there but if we have a performance like we did today then the crowd will be even more hostile," he continued.

"They keep pushing us to go forward so at moments in the game you have to make the right decision not to go too quick with your attacks. We knew we were capable of doing this but we keep doing it time after time. And we did it again.

"They had some chances – the biggest one was saved in the second half. Some chances we just dropped our bodies in front of them to block the shots.

"It's a big performance. We needed that. I’m very proud of the team. We're still in contention to go to the group stages of the Champions League. We'll to do everything possible to be in the Champions League this season."

Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric does not think it will be crucial for Carlo Ancelotti to manage his minutes this season, despite the upcoming World Cup.

The 2022 edition of FIFA's showpiece tournament takes place in Qatar across November and December, with Modric's Croatia having qualified.

Croatia reached the final of the 2018 tournament in Russia, with Modric starring. He subsequently won the Ballon d'Or, and is the only player not named Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi to scoop that award since 2007, when Kaka took it.

While Ivan Rakitic, the other mainstay of Croatia's midfield over the past decade, and Mario Mandzukic - who led the line in 2018 - have retired from international football (and in the latter's case, from playing altogether), Modric is set to lead his country once again.

Modric will be 37 by the time the World Cup rolls around, with Croatia drawn against Belgium, Canada and Morocco in Group F, but ahead of Wednesday's Super Cup clash with Eintracht Frankfurt, explained that he has not felt the need to talk to Ancelotti about managing how much he plays this campaign.

He told a news conference in Helsinki: "Not at all, I don't see it being different, as I've always said, age doesn't matter. What matters is what you show on the pitch, you don't need to look at your age.

"I speak to the coach every day, but not about that. The coach knows I like playing and I feel better when I play.

"I'm feeling good, available to the team to give my all to help the team in every way. The World Cup doesn't change anything for me, I just have to be ready, train well and be at the coach's disposal."

Perhaps to prove a point, Modric, who will have additional competition from new arrival Aurelien Tchouameni this season, was leading the press in a training game between two 11s made up of Madrid's superstar-littered squad at the Olympic Stadium after the media duties had been fulfilled.

Modric, as well as Karim Benzema, was also asked how Madrid could improve on last season, when they won a LaLiga and Champions League double.

"To be at this level you have to work hard and be committed on and off the pitch, that's what we're doing," he added. 

"We have a very good group of players here, we are ready for a good season, we are going to give everything as we do every year."

The equally evergreen Benzema, citing his coach, said: "I think we all agree, if that's what Carlo said!

"Age doesn't come into it, it's true that we're no longer young but we're all working hard, on and off the pitch, resting well between and are able to keep going and performing at a high standard. We have a good squad here, better than last year. We're going to compete for everything."

Rangers wiped out a 2-0 aggregate deficit to reach the Champions League play-offs thanks to a 3-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise at Ibrox on Tuesday.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side were guilty of an underwhelming first-leg performance in Belgium last week, with the Dutchman acknowledging his team were fortunate to only lose 2-0.

But just as it proved crucial en route to the Europa League final last season, the 'Ibrox factor' put them back on course.

Fan expectations will have remained low for much of the first half until a hopeful Borna Barisic cross struck an arm, and James Tavernier converted the resulting penalty with aplomb on the stroke of half-time.

Rangers' tails were up and they appeared rejuvenated in the second period, with Antonio Colak nodding in from close range to level the scores on aggregate.

Extra time looked likely, but another Barisic delivery proved crucial 12 minutes from the end – this time Bayern Munich loanee Malik Tillman beat the stranded goalkeeper to nod into an empty net as the visitors, who had Jean Thierry Lazare sent off late on for two bookings, were vanquished.

Rangers will face either PSV or Monaco – whose second leg went beyond the regulation 90 minutes in the play-off round.

Erik ten Hag can improve Manchester United's fortunes but will need time to affect change, according to former Ajax and Liverpool midfielder Jari Litmanen.

Ten Hag was appointed manager at Old Trafford in April after a successful period in charge of Ajax, but he suffered a chastening 2-1 home defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday in his first Premier League game at the helm.

Litmanen had two spells with Ajax during an illustrious playing career, winning five Eredivisie titles, three KNVB Cups and a Champions League crown.

Speaking to Stats Perform at the UEFA fan park in Helsinki ahead of Wednesday's Super Cup, Finland great Litmanen joked when asked if he believed Ten Hag would be a success at United: "I am for Liverpool, so hopefully not!

"I hope the best for Erik. He is a good person and a good coach, he showed that at Ajax, but he needs time.

"They are a big club, and they will get back to the top, but they need time. Competition is high in England so it is going to be difficult, but Erik is a good manager."

Litmanen also raised the possibility of Cristiano Ronaldo staying at Old Trafford, despite reportedly asking for a move so he can play in the Champions League this season.

"We will see if he can get the best out of Ronaldo," Litmanen added. "I haven't spoken to Erik so who knows? Maybe Cristiano stays the whole season, he showed he is one of the best goalscorers in history and if he leaves, then someone else will have to take that responsibility."

Litmanen also had an 18-month spell at Liverpool, where he was part of a squad that won the EFL Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup treble in the 2000-01 season.

Although he was used sparingly at Anfield, he did play alongside Reds icon Steven Gerrard, who is now manager of Aston Villa, and Litmanen expects his former team-mate to succeed as a coach in the Premier League.

"Stevie G [Gerrard] is a big name in English football and Liverpool history and he for sure has something to give English football [as a manager]," he said. 

"I was happy to play with him for one and a half years and he is someone who has a great personality."