Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the US Open, claiming he would be unable to give 100% effort should he participate.
Nadal, who played in both the singles and doubles at the Paris Olympics, skipped Wimbledon earlier this year in order to feature at Roland-Garros.
However, after losing to Novak Djokovic in the singles and then failing to reach the medal matches alongside Carlos Alcaraz in the doubles, Nadal has elected to miss this season's final major and instead ready himself for the Laver Cup, which will take place in September.
It means the 38-year-old, who has triumphed four times at Flushing Meadows, may well have featured at the last major of his extraordinary career.
In a post on social media, Nadal wrote: "I have decided not to compete at this year’s US Open a place where I have amazing memories.
"I will miss those electric and special night sessions in NYC at Ashe, but I don't think I would be able to give my 100% this time.
"Thanks to all my US fans in particular, will miss you all and will see you another time.
"Best of luck to all for the always amazing US Open! My next event will be the Laver Cup in Berlin."
Roje Stona etched his name in the annals of Jamaican sports history as he secured the nation’s first gold medal of the Paris Olympic Games and, in the process, became the first from the island—male or female—to win an Olympic gold medal in the throws.
In a breathtaking performance, Stona, on his debut at the global multi-sport showpiece, not only clinched the top podium spot but also set a new Olympic record of 70.00m, which marked a monumental achievement for himself and his country, at the Stade de France on Wednesday.
Competing in a world-class field, Stona, who was one of three Jamaicans in the final, stood tall with his impressive fourth-round throw to upset the applecart. He won ahead of World Record holder Mykolas Alekna (69.97m) of Lithuania and Australia’s Matthew Denny (69.31m).
The other Jamaicans, Ralford Mullings (65.61m) and Travis Smikle (64.97m), were ninth and 10th, respectively.
Stona, 25, coached by America’s three-time Olympic shot put champion Ryan Crouser, was praised by Smikle for his achievement, which is a testament to his relentless work ethic and the rigorous training regimen, which included stints with NFL teams Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.
“I am so happy for him; it’s a big thing to see. Stona is a great thrower, and he showed it today. This is the beautiful thing about track and field; there are a lot of upsets, and Stona is having his moment. I had a bad day and Ralford Mullings had a bad day as well, so Stona’s performance is a great achievement for him and for Jamaica as well,” Smikle said.
Jamaica, renowned for its prowess in sprinting, now has a new hero in field events. In fact, four of the country’s five medals at the Paris Games so far have come in the field, as Kishane Thompson’s 100m silver is the lone medal from the track.
Stona’s historic victory in the discus throw, as well as Rajindra Campbell’s shot put bronze, Shanieka Ricketts’ triple jump silver, and Wayne Pinnock’s long jump silver, heralds a new era of success and diversification in Jamaica’s athletic achievements and promises an exciting future for the island’s athletes in all disciplines.
Trinidad & Tobago’s Jereem Richards produced the best 400m race of his life but it just narrowly placed him outside the medals at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old, who entered Wednesday’s Men’s 400m final at the Stade de France with a personal best of 44.18 done at the London Diamond League on July 20 this year, produced a national record 43.78 to finish fourth.
The previous national record of 44.01 was held by Machel Cedenio who ran that time in a fourth-place finish at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Running out of lane nine, Richards went out extremely hard in the first 300m before being caught by the field in the last portion of the race.
American Quincy Hall won his maiden Olympic title with a brilliant personal best 44.40, the fourth fastest time in history.
Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith, like he did at the World Championships in Budapest last year, took silver with a European record 43.44 while Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga ran 43.74, a national record, to take bronze just ahead of Richards.
Grenadian 2012 Olympic champion Kirani James was fifth in 43.87. USA’s Chris Bailey (44.58), Nigeria’s Samuel Ogazi (44.73) and USA’s Michael Norman (45.62) rounded out the top eight.
The Caribbean will have two chances at a medal in the women’s 400m final at the Paris Olympic Games, as Domincan Republic’s Marileidy Paulino and Barbadian Sade Williams progressed from their respective semi-finals at the Stade de France on Wednesday.
While their progressions were anticipated, Jamaica’s world leader, Nickisha Pryce, who enjoyed a rich vein of form throughout the season, was a big surprise casualty as she had her worst performance this year in semi-final two. Pryce went out hard but faded into fourth in 50.77s, behind Paulino (49.21s), who won comfortably ahead of American Alexis Holmes (50.00s).
Despite placing third in semi-final three, Sade Williams’ 49.89s was good enough for one of the two non-automatic qualifying spots to the final. Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek (49.45s) won the race ahead of Great Britain’s Amber Anning (49.47s).
Jamaica’s Stacey-Ann Williams (50.79s) and Cuba’s Roxana Gomez (50.48s) were seventh and fifth in that semi-final, respectively, and both failed to progress.
Earlier, Jamaican Junelle Bromfield (51.93s) and Puerto Rico’s Gabby Scott (51.22s) were eighth and seventh in semi-final one, as they too missed out. The qualifying spots from that race went to Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Naser (49.08s), Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke (49.95s), and Norway’s Henriette Jaeger (50.17s).
The final is scheduled for Friday, August 9.
Arsenal continued their preparations for the new Premier League season with a convincing 4-1 triumph over Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus gave the Gunners a comfortable advantage at half-time, with Kai Havertz adding a fourth in the second half.
Substitute Adam Hlozek would take the shine off an otherwise impressive performance from Mikel Arteta's side late on, but Arsenal were worthy winners at the Emirates.
A frantic start to proceedings saw Zinchenko give the hosts the lead in the eighth minute as he rifled home Havertz's cutback from the edge of the area.
Matej Kovar was picking the ball out of his net again less than a minute later, as Leverkusen were caught playing out from the back with Trossard remaining composed to slot home.
Another mistake from the Bundesliga champions was punished seven minutes before half-time, this time by Jesus, who saw his long-range effort evade the grasp of Kovar.
The result was put beyond doubt just after the hour mark when the returning Bukayo Saka saw his cross deflect kindly into the path of Havertz for an easy finish.
Xabi Alonso's side showed a glimpse of the football that saw them win 28 of their 34 league games last year, with Hlozek rounding off a fine move with a delicate chip over David Raya.
Arsenal face Lyon in their final pre-season fixture on Sunday before starting their quest for that elusive Premier League title against Wolves six days later.
Data Debrief: Gunners turn on the style
Arsenal impressed in their penultimate pre-season fixture against a strong Leverkusen side, with promising signs to show they can go one better this season.
Arteta's side out-performed their expected goals (xG) by 2.6, with six of their nine shots on target, registering double the amount of touches in the box when compared to their opponents.
Trossard was a particular standout for the Gunners, recording the most touches in the opposition box (seven) while also making the most passes in the final third (19), a total only bettered by Leverkusen's Granit Xhaka (24) and Edmond Tapsoba (21).
Jamaica’s Jaydon Hibbert has advanced to the final of the Men’s triple jump at the Paris Olympics.
The 19-year-old, in his first Olympic Games, produced a best jump of 16.99m to advance sixth overall in qualifying at the Stade de France on Wednesday.
That 16.99m came in his first-round jump. He then did 16.95m in round two before closing out his qualifying campaign with a foul in the third round.
The other Jamaican in the field, Jordan Scott, had a best jump of 16.36m to finish 24th overall in qualifying.
Medal contenders Pedro Pichardo, Jordan Diaz Fortuin and Hugues Fabrice Zango all successfully made it through to Friday’s final.
Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando will be the Caribbean’s lone representative in the men’s 200m final after he successfully navigated the semi-finals on Wednesday’s evening session of the Paris Olympic Games at Stade de France.
Ogando, who has in the past shown his ability over 400m, utilised that endurance to place second in semi-final one. He clocked 20.09s, behind American gold medal favourite Kenneth Bednarek, who stopped the clock in a flat 20.00s.
Bahamian Wanya McCoy (20.61s) and Jamaica’s Bryan Levell (20.93s) were fifth and eighth in that semi-final and failed to progress.
Meanwhile, Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo (19.96s), American 100m champion Noah Lyles (20.08s), and Zimbabwe’s Makanakaishe Charamba (20.31s) advanced from semi-final two, while another American, Erriyon Knighton (20.09s), Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh (20.12s), and Tapiwanashe Makarawu (20.16s), also of Zimbabwe, got the coveted spots from semi-final three.
The men's 200m final is scheduled for Friday August 9.
Sturm Graz came from two goals down to secure an unlikely draw against Paris Saint-Germain in their first game since Kylian Mbappe's move to Real Madrid.
Ibrahim Mbaye and Carlos Soler had given the Parisiens a two-goal advantage with just 12 minutes on the clock, but their Austrian opponents would respond.
Amady Camara would pull a goal back for the hosts three minutes later, with Otar Kiteishvili levelling the scores just before half-time.
Substitute Marco Asensio had the opportunity to win the encounter late on for the Ligue 1 champions, but Luis Enrique started his pre-season preperations with a draw.
PSG opened the scoring at the 28 Black Arena through 16-year-old debutant Mbaye, bouncing the ball over the onrushing Daniil Khudiakov after being found by Asensio.
Soler, who captained the side in Austria, found the target three minutes later when Randal Kolo Muani's cross picked him out unmarked inside the area.
But Kamara halved the deficit in double quick time, picking the pocket of Naoufel El Hannach on the edge of the area before finishing beyond Matvey Safonov.
The comeback was completed in the 43rd minute in some style, as Kiteishvili took aim from distance to find the bottom corner.
Data Debrief: PSG struggle without stars
Enrique is without some of his top performers in front of goal, but his PSG side had more than enough quality on the pitch to claim victory in Austria.
The Parisiens accumulated an expected goals (xG) of just 1.06, 0.18 fewer than their opponents. PSG managed nine shots in the encounter, four fewer than Sturm Graz.
16-year-old Mbaye did impress on debut, however, recording the most shots (three), shots on target (two) and touches in the opposition box (four) than anyone in the PSG side.
Jamaica’s Roshawn Clarke and the British Virgin Islands’ Kyron McMaster will represent the Caribbean in the final of the Men’s 400m hurdle after successfully getting through the semifinals at the Stade de France on Wednesday.
BVI’s McMaster, who finished fourth at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, will have an opportunity to win his first Olympic medal after running 48.15 to win the second semifinal ahead of Estonia’s Rasmus Magi (48.16), now a finalist for the third successive Olympics.
Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba also made it through to the final out of that semi with 48.20 in third.
Jamaica’s Malik James-King looked set to finish in the top two in that semifinal before clipping the last hurdle and stumbling to seventh in 48.85.
Clarke ran comfortably on his way to 48.34 for second in the third semifinal behind American Rai Benjamin who won in 47.85.
Reigning Olympic champion and world record holder Karsten Warholm (47.67), France’s Clement Ducos (47.85) and 2023 World champion Alison Dos Santos (47.95) qualified from the first semifinal.
Jaheel Hyde ran 50.03 to finish seventh in that first semifinal.
The final is set for Friday at 2:45pm Jamaica Time (3:45pm ECT).
Marit Bouwmeester made history at the Paris Games after she became the most decorated female in Olympic sailing following her triumph in the women's dinghy event.
Bouwmeester has now overtaken Great Britain's Hannah Mills, who won three Olympic medals between 2012 and 2020.
The 36-year-old won silver in this class of sailing in London in 2012, earning her first gold medal in Rio before earning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Denmark's Anne-Marie Rindom, who won gold in Tokyo three years ago, settled for silver this time around, with Norway's Line Flem Hoest taking the final podium place.
"It's nice to finally finish it off - it hasn't sunk in yet," Bouwmeester said.
"I have so much respect for Line and Anne-Marie, we push each other all the way."
Australia's reigning Olympic champion Matt Wearn grabbed gold in the men's dinghy, with Pavlos Kontides of Cyrpus picking up his second silver.
Stefano Peschiera ended Peru's 32-year wait for a medal with his bronze medal finish, while Team GB's Michael Beckett ended the final in 10th.
The evening session of Day 7 at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games witnessed a thrilling advancement for Jamaica in the 110m hurdles. Reigning Olympic champion Hansle Parchment, Commonwealth Champion Rasheed Broadbell, and Orlando Bennett all successfully made their way to the finals, setting the stage for a highly anticipated showdown.
The standout performance of the evening came from Orlando Bennett, who delivered a stunning victory in his heat. Bennett, who finished second at the Jamaica national championships in June with a time of 13.18, stormed to a personal best of 13.09. This impressive feat made him the fastest Jamaican heading into the finals, raising hopes for a potential podium finish.
Rasheed Broadbell, the Jamaican champion, also secured his place in the final with a solid performance. Broadbell won Heat 2 with a time of 13.21, just ahead of American Freddie Crittendon, who finished second in 13.23 to claim the other automatic qualifying spot.
Hansle Parchment, the reigning Olympic champion, faced a more challenging path to the final. The 33-year-old veteran finished third in the opening heat, which was won by three-time World Champion Grant Holloway in an impressive 12.98. Spain’s Enrique Llopis secured the second automatic qualifying spot with a time of 13.17, while Parchment clocked 13.19. Parchment had to await the completion of the remaining heats to confirm his advancement as the fastest non-automatic qualifier.
In addition to the three Jamaicans, the final will feature a strong American contingent. Alongside Grant Holloway and Freddie Crittendon, Daniel Roberts also advanced, making it a fierce competition between the two nations. Rachid Muratake of Japan, who finished fourth in the opening heat with a time of 13.26, also advanced as a non-automatic qualifier.
The Utah Jazz have signed forward Lauri Markkanen to a five-year, $238million contract that includes money added to next season’s salary and four additional years through the 2028-29 campaign.
The 2022-23 All-Star and NBA Most Improved Player will see his salary increase from $18million to $42 million next season before earning $196million from 2025-29.
“I’m excited to get this extension done,” Markkanen said. "I’m excited to get back to work and build with this franchise.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Markkanen with the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft before dealing him to the Chicago Bulls in a draft-night trade.
Markkanen went on to earn First-Team All-Rookie honours in 2017-18 before Chicago traded him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in August 2021.
He spent one season with the Cavaliers before they dealt him to Utah in the trade that sent Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland.
Markkanen averaged a career-high 25.6 points in his first season with the Jazz in 2022-23 while adding 8.6 rebounds per game. He was named an All-Star for the first time as well as the NBA’s Most Improved Player.
The 27-year-old Finland native followed that campaign by averaging 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds last season.
Markkanen's 1,004 made 3-pointers rank third all-time in NBA history for players seven foot or taller behind Dirk Nowitzki (1,982) and Channing Frye (1,049).
Brandon Aiyuk seems set to leave the San Francisco 49ers after he was granted permission to speak to other teams.
Contract talks between the 49ers and their top wide receiver have stalled in recent weeks.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, the New England Patriots and the Cleveland Browns have all been credited with an interest in Aiyuk, who had 1,342 receiving yards last season, a career-high.
And San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan has now confirmed Aiyuk has been allowed to open talks with other teams.
He said: "You're always disappointed when you can’t keep hold of all your players and it’s not going exactly right.
"I don't like losing anybody, so that’s why I am hoping it does work out here. But right now, we don't have that solved.
"You want everybody out there. You truly understand the business side of our league and what these guys do and what they have to go through in these deals.
"Whether it’s a hold-in or a holdout, this stuff is pretty common and you've just got to be patient with it as a coach."
Asked about signing a replacement if Aiyuk were to leave, Shanahan added: "Brandon's a great player, so it's really hard to be better when you lose a great player.
The 36th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championship (CAJGC) teed off in vibrant fashion on Tuesday evening with a colourful opening ceremony at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston. Hosted by the Jamaica Golf Association (JGA), the event welcomed teams from eight countries to compete in the prestigious tournament.
This year’s championship sees participation from teams representing the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago, and host Jamaica. The opening ceremony set an enthusiastic tone for the competition, which had been rescheduled from July due to the passing of Hurricane Beryl.
Jodi Munn-Barrow, president of the JGA, extended a warm welcome to all teams and expressed confidence in a successful tournament. "Everything is in place for a very good championship," Munn-Barrow stated, emphasizing the meticulous preparations made despite the earlier postponement.
Eduardo Figueroa, coach of defending champions Puerto Rico, expressed high expectations for his team, indicating their strong preparation and determination to retain the title.
Alison Reid, manager of the Jamaican team, acknowledged some logistical challenges resulting from the rescheduling but remained optimistic. "Some persons who planned to compete when it was scheduled for July are no longer available, and the team will have fewer numbers than previously committed," Reid said. "However, the team will still put on a good show."
Jamaica’s coaching duo, Jonathan Newnhan and Jason Lopez, also shared their confidence in the team’s potential. Newnhan highlighted the team’s thorough preparation, while Lopez pointed out the advantage of competing on the Caymanas Golf Course, where the team has been practicing extensively.
The Jamaican team features talented players including team captain Mattea Issa, Trey Williams, Aman Dhiman, and Ryan Lue, all competing in the Under-18 category. Players will also compete in the Under-15 and Under-13 categories for both boys and girls.
Peter Levey of the major sponsor British Caribbean Insurance Company (BCIC) expressed his company’s delight in supporting the event. "We are very happy to be on board for this year’s staging of the CAJGC as it represents a very good opportunity to support the development of youth sport," Levey remarked.
The championship boasts a wide array of sponsors including Restaurants of Jamaica (KFC), Sandals Foundation, WATA, CMK, Jamaica Pegasus, Fleetwood Jamaica Limited, R&A, Island Car Rentals & Tours, Digicel Business, Titlest, and several others, demonstrating strong community and corporate backing for the event.
The competition tees off on Wednesday at 8:00 am with the first of three rounds of 18 holes each, concluding on Friday. The closing ceremony will follow the final round, celebrating the achievements of the young golfers.
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