Aaron Judge hit two more home runs to become the fifth player in MLB history with three seasons of 50 or more, and the New York Yankees went deep five times in all en route to a 10-3 rout of the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.
Judge connected on a two-run homer in the first inning to join Babe Ruth (four times), Mark McGwire (four), Sammy Sosa (four) and Alex Rodriguez (three) as the only players with three 50-homer seasons. The American League MVP front-runner added a solo shot in the seventh, one of three consecutive homers that helped the Yankees earn their fourth win in five games and extend their lead to 1 1/2 games over the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East.
Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton and Gleyber Torres also homered for New York. All three finished with two hits, with Torres driving in four runs on the day and Soto two.
Judge's 50th homer came with Torres aboard and erased an early 1-0 deficit after Colorado scratched home a run in the top of the first. Charlie Blackmon led off the game with a walk against Marcus Stroman, advanced to third on an Ezequiel Tovar single and an error, and scored on Brenton Doyle's fielder's choice grounder.
The Yankees extended the lead to 4-1 in the second inning with four consecutive two-out singles off Colorado starter Austin Gomber, including run-scoring hits by Torres and Soto.
Drew Romo singled in Jake Cave in the fourth to allow the Rockies to close the gap, and they got within 4-3 an inning later when Doyle drew a walk against Stroman and came home on Ryan McMahon's two-out double.
The Yankees pulled away in the seventh, however, when Soto, Judge and Stanton all homered in succession off reliever Jeff Criswell.
Judge's blast was his seventh homer in six games and put him on pace for 63, one ahead of the AL-record 62 he hit during his 2022 MVP season.
Torres pushed the margin to 10-3 in the eighth when he followed singles by Alex Verdugo and DJ LeMahieu with his 11th homer of the season.
Stroman (9-6) received the win after striking out five and allowing three runs in five innings. Gomber (4-9) lasted six innings while surrendering four runs.
Bregman, Diaz homers help Astros earn split with Orioles
The Orioles lost ground to the Yankees in the AL East race with a 6-3 defeat to the Houston Astros, who were boosted by back-to-back home runs from Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz in the seventh inning that snapped a tie game.
Bregman's two-out shot off Burch Smith broke a 3-3 deadlock, and Diaz took the Baltimore reliever deep on the very next pitch to give the AL West leaders a two-run advantage.
Zach Dezenzo added a two-run double to help Houston earn a split of this key four-game series. Dezenzo, Bregman and Mauricio Dubon all finished with two hits.
The Orioles managed just two hits on the night, though one was Ramon Urias' three-run homer that tied the game in the fifth inning.
Houston had gone up early by scoring three times in the fourth inning, all with two out. Jeremy Pena began the rally with a single and then raced all the way from first on Victor Caratini's base hit to account for the game's first run.
After Ben Gamel followed with a single, Dezenzo extended the margin to 3-0 with a double off Baltimore starter Dean Kremer.
Houston's Yusei Kukuchi didn't allow a hit until Eloy Jimenez's lead-off single in the bottom of the fifth, but the left-hander later walked Emmanuel Rivera to set the stage for Urias' game-tying homer on a 1-2 pitch.
Bregman and Diaz's power displays would put the Astros back in front in the seventh, and Houston scratched home another run in the eighth. Gamel walked before advancing to third on a Dezenzo single and an error by Urias, then scored on a sacrifice fly from Jake Meyers.
The Orioles put the lead-off man on in the ninth when Gunnar Henderson drew a walk off Josh Hader, but the veteran closer later got a game-ending double play to seal the win and notch his 28th save.
Kikuchi yielded just two hits despite surrendering three runs in 5 2/3 innings. Kremer struck out five while permitting three runs in six innings.
Diamondbacks finish sweep of Red Sox, extend win streak to six
Eugenio Suarez's go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning lifted the surging Arizona Diamondbacks to their sixth straight win, a 7-5 comeback victory over the fading Boston Red Sox.
Suarez went 4 for 4 to cap a huge series in which the third baseman drove in 10 runs to help the Diamondbacks to a three-game sweep. Geraldo Perodomo added a solo homer while knocking in a pair of runs in the finale.
With his team trailing 4-3 in the sixth, Suarez followed Pavin Smith's single and a walk to Adrian Del Castillo with a drive over the Green Monster in left field off Boston starter Tanner Houck that put Arizona ahead.
Perdomo provided some insurance with a solo homer in the top of the ninth. Justin Martinez gave up Tyler O'Neill's solo shot in the bottom of the inning that brought Boston within 7-5, but retired the next three men he faced to record his sixth save.
The Red Sox fell to 6-11 over their last 17 games despite building a 4-0 lead after four innings, with Triston Casas quickly putting them ahead with a solo homer off Merrill Kellly in the first.
Casas and Wilyer Abreu singled in the fourth to put two on for Rafael Devers, who crushed Kelly's pitch over the center field wall for his 200th career homer.
Houck (8-9) held the Diamondbacks scoreless through four innings but ran into trouble in the fifth, as he walked two batters around a Suarez single to load the bases with none out.
Arizona proceeded to manufacture two runs on a Perdomo groundout and Corbin Carroll's sacrifice fly, and another on Jake McCarthy's RBI single which cut the lead to 4-3.
Kelly moved to 4-0 on the season despite permitting four runs with five strikeouts in six innings. Houck was tagged for six runs on seven hits and walked four over six innings.
Carlos Alcaraz insists his recent ankle concern is nothing serious and that he will "be at 100%" for this year's US Open.
The Spaniard is seeking his second triumph at Flushing Meadows, where he was victorious two years ago, as well as a third major of the season following his success at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Although, there were briefly question marks over Alcaraz's participation in the year's final slam after he pulled out of practice on Friday with an ankle injury.
Nevertheless, he said the reason for not continuing the session was precautionary above anything else.
"After a few hours after finishing my practice, I have not felt anything and everything is fine and under control," said Alcaraz, who begins his campaign against Li Tu on Wednesday "I think it is not going to be anything serious.
"We will take care of it in the next few days and we will be extra cautious. I think it was just a scary moment, but I am sure I will be at 100%."
Alcaraz also reflected on his Olympic gold medal match against Novak Djokovic earlier this month, in which the Serb avenged his Wimbledon showpiece defeat to complete a career golden slam.
The Spaniard admitted it was a defeat that hurt, but made him more determined to go the extra step in four years' time.
"It was one of the most important finals of my career, my life," he said. "I know the Olympic Games is every four years, so I don't know if I'm going to have another chance to win the gold. I'm going fight for it, for sure, at the next Olympic Games.
"It was a difficult moment [for me to] deal with, losing the gold medal in a really close match when I had opportunities, but in front of me, I had a really good player that day.
"[Djokovic] was fighting for the same thing as me and he deserved it, and days after the Olympics, I realised that I won the silver medal. It was a great achievement for me."
Max Verstappen insists he and Red Bull have "no need to panic" despite seeing his Formula One winless streak stretch to five races at the Dutch Grand Prix.
The Drivers' Championship leader was forced to settle for a second-place finish at Zandvoort behind Lando Norris, who closed the gap in the standings to 70 points.
Verstappen, who had won his home race in each of the past three seasons, began his 200th F1 race second on the grid with Norris in pole, but swiftly overtook the Briton with a fast start.
However, the Dutchman was unable to prevent Norris' response, and he felt a lack of grip on the tyres were impacting his performance.
Verstappen conceded he was lacking confidence in the speed of his car, and was subsequently focused on securing second place.
"You always try to do better," he said. "We had a good start, we tried everything we could today, but throughout the race, I think it was quite clear that we were not quick enough, so I tried to be second.
"I know that we have good starts, so I was quite confident that we would have another one, and luckily it was like that.
"I was just doing my own race, looking after the tyres, I tried to do the best I could. But, at one point, nothing was turning or responding anymore. Once [Lando] passed, I just focused on doing my race, tried to bring it to the end in second.
"I think this weekend was just a bad weekend in general, so we need to understand that. But the last few races, they haven't really been fantastic. So that, I think in a sense, was already a bit alarming.
"But we know that we don't need to panic. We are just trying to improve the situation, and that's what we are working on. But F1 is very complicated."
Lando Norris claimed the pace of his McLaren even surprised him as he overcame a poor start to clinch victory at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Norris was overtaken by home favourite Max Verstappen early on, but soon recovered, passing the reigning Formula One champion on lap 20 before building a comfortable lead, eventually winning by 22.8 seconds.
The 24-year-old was even slightly taken aback by the pace of his car in the first race back from the summer break.
He said: "Obviously, I didn't start in the most optimistic way, but the pace was unbelievable from the beginning, and I could go with Max quite happily at the start.
"I just didn't expect our pace to be probably as good as what it was today, which is a good thing. It's nice to be kind of a little bit surprised by this. And as soon as I got ahead, it was quite straightforward.
"I could push. I had good confidence to push the whole race, save the tyres a little bit, but just get in a good rhythm and go from there. So the car felt amazing."
Norris cut Verstappen's lead to 70 points in the Drivers' Championship with nine races remaining, but was under no illusions as to how difficult the challenge would be to overtake the Red Bull star, and was not keen to talk up his prospects.
"I've been fighting for the championship since the first race of the year. There's no sudden decision of now. I need to do better," he said.
"I've been working hard the whole year and I'm still 70 points behind Max. So it's pretty stupid to think of anything at the minute.
"I just take one race at a time and just keep doing what I'm doing now because there's no point to think ahead and think of the rest. I don't care about it at the minute."
Lando Norris ended Max Verstappen's run of victories at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday, winning from pole despite being immediately passed by the Formula One champion.
Verstappen had won his home race in each of the past three seasons since it returned to the calendar, but he qualified behind Norris on Saturday.
The Dutchman, racing for the 200th time in F1, still could have claimed another triumph, tearing away from Norris almost immediately as the pole-sitter endured another tricky start.
However, Verstappen was soon complaining about a lack of grip and could do little to stop Norris responding.
The Briton stuck with his rival throughout the opening laps and then eased past into the lead at the first corner.
Once back in front, Norris assumed full control, disappearing off into the distance to win by 22.8 seconds as Verstappen was forced to settle for the second step on the podium.
The Red Bull superstar is now five races without a win, allowing Norris to close the gap in the drivers' championship to 70 points.
McLaren are also applying pressure in the constructors' championship, 30 points behind Red Bull now despite Oscar Piastri being beaten to third by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc following a lengthy battle.
Data Debrief: Dutch pole trend continues
Verstappen may have got in front early on, but he clearly was not confident he had the fastest car this weekend, having qualified behind Norris.
With the McLaren man instead winning, it means five of the past six Dutch Grands Prix have been won by the driver starting on pole, including Verstappen in each of his three prior triumphs.
Attention for Verstappen now turns to Italy and ending his five-race winless run, his longest such sequence since 11 in a row in the 2020 season.
Top 10
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
6. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
7. George Russell (Mercedes)
8. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 295
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 225
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 192
Constructors
1. Red Bull - 434
2. McLaren - 404
3. Ferrari - 370
Caitlin Clark has again written her name into the record books following her latest performance for the Indiana Fever.
Clark, the first overall pick in this year's draft, has already set a number of benchmarks in her rookie WNBA season.
And that continued on Saturday even as the Fever lost 90-80 to the Minnesota Lynx.
Clark finished with 23 points and eight assists, and in doing so improved her seasonal tally to 520 points and 240 assists.
She is now the youngest player in WNBA history to pass 500 points and 200 assists.
Clark had already set a new record for assists in a rookie WNBA season, with her performances keeping the Fever on course for the playoffs.
Emma Raducanu says she is always ready to "do things a little bit differently" as she prepares for the US Open.
The 21-year-old is set to play just her second match at Flushing Meadows since winning the grand slam as a teenage qualifier in 2021.
She will face American Sofia Kenin in the first round, with Jessica Pegula a potential second-round opponent if she gets through.
Raducanu has only played one tournament since being knocked out in the fourth round at Wimbledon, opting to miss the Olympics, as she continues to ease herself back into regular action after her long injury lay-off.
She reached the quarter-finals in Washington, going out to eventual champion Paula Badosa, but chose not to play in Toronto before deciding against qualifying for Cincinnati.
"I really wanted to play in Toronto, especially because I was born there, but the turnaround was too tight for qualifying," she told BBC Sport.
"I would have had to play on Sunday, and I finished [in Washington] late Friday night, so flying there and adjusting, I just felt was too tight.
"Otherwise, I just always do things a little bit differently.
"[In Cincinnati] I would have pretty much had to wait around just for one tournament in qualies and then another week off before the US Open - so I think it was a better decision we all made to just go back and work on things there."
Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka is hoping familiar surroundings will help to boost her confidence after a tough run in 2024.
Since returning from a 15-month maternity break in January, Osaka has struggled to recapture her top form, and in her most recent outing in Cincinnati, she was knocked out in the second round of qualifying.
Having won the US Open in 2018 and 2020, the 26-year-old believes being back in the city she grew up in will help her find her footing.
"I feel like, throughout the year, I have had really hard matches, and it kind of dipped my confidence a little," Osaka told reporters on Saturday.
"I do think coming to this specific tournament helps me out. But also, whenever I step foot here, I don't really think about the two tournaments I won.
"I just think about how I felt when I was a kid, because I did grow up coming here, and I have such vivid memories of watching my favourite players. It's more of a childhood nostalgia that I really enjoy."
Keegan Bradley is proud of his fighting spirit as he regained a one-shot lead over Adam Scott in the BMW Championship heading into the final day.
Bradley, who was named the United States' Ryder Cup captain for 2025, had led after the first round but slipped down the leaderboard after Scott's impressive 63 on Friday.
However, after a rollercoaster day that saw him card eight birdies and six bogeys at Castle Pines, he ensured he was back on top of the pile by sinking a birdie on the final hole to card a two-under 70.
Scott, who was the unlikely leader at the halfway stage, remains within touching distance after two late birdies helped him to 74.
Ludvig Aberg and Alex Noren also remain in contention, tied for third on 10-under after carding 71 and 70 respectively on Saturday.
Xander Schauffele is three shots further back on seven under in joint fifth, after hitting a five-under 67 in the third round.
"It was tough out there today," Bradley admitted. "It was really windy, a lot of elevated tees that were into the wind, which makes it really tough.
"Proud of the way I fought today. I played some brilliant golf, but I hit also some terrible shots, too. I guess that's the way of the world. But I'm proud of the way I fought there in the end."
Bowden Francis took a no-hitter into the ninth inning and struck out 12 in a dominant performance before the Toronto Blue Jays closed out a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday.
Francis lost his bid for history when Taylor Ward drove a 3-2 fastball deep to center for a leadoff homer in the ninth. It was Ward's 17th homer of the season.
Francis walked three and hit a batter in his third consecutive win. He threw a career-high 117 pitches, 84 for strikes.
Chad Green got the final three outs for his 14th save in 14 chances.
Francis is 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA and 27 strikeouts in his past three starts.
Dave Stieb pitched the only no-hitter in Blue Jays history at Cleveland on Sept. 2, 1990.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 27th homer as the Blue Jays won their third straight overall and sixth consecutive meeting with the Angels.
Los Angeles has scored eight runs during a four-game skid.
Realmuto’s blasts power Phillies
J.T. Realmuto homered twice and drove in a career-high seven runs and Bryson Stott went 4 for 4 to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to an 11-2 rout of the Kansas City Royals.
After a pair of Royals defensive misadventures put runners at the corners to open the sixth, Realmuto hammered Brady Singer’s 100th pitch above left-field bullpen for a 5-1 lead.
Realmuto hit a 424-foot shot into the fountains in left-center during a five-run eighth inning and added an RBI grounder in the ninth.
Ranger Suarez pitched five effective innings in his return from the injured list. He allowed a run on four hits with a walk and six strikeouts for his first win since June 8.
The Phillies matched a season high with 18 hits, including a season-best nine for extra bases.
Gallen pitches surging Diamondbacks past Red Sox
Zac Gallen pitched two-hit ball over six innings and struck out nine as the Arizona Diamondbacks won their fifth straight, 4-1 over the Boston Red Sox.
Gallen worked around four walks to end a three-start winless streak as Boston went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. He took a no-hitter into the fifth before Connor Wong dropped a single into right field.
Ryan Thompson and A.J. Puk each worked a scoreless inning before Paul Sewald gave up Masataka Yoshida’s RBI double in the ninth.
The Diamondbacks have won 23 of their last 29 games to take hold of the top NL wild-card spot.
Arizona managed just one hit – and a lone baserunner – against Kutter Crawford through three innings before Joc Pederson hit a long flyball toward left field with one out in the fourth. Boston center fielder Jarren Duran crashed into the Green Monster trying to catch it, but it went off his glove for a double.
Josh Bell walked, and one out later, Eugenio Suárez doubled off the left-field wall to make it 2-0.
The Diamondbacks scored two more runs in the seventh without a hit when Lucas Sims walked two, then Brennan Bernardino walked two more and threw a wild pitch that brought in another run.
Lewis Hamilton believes his weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix is "done" after being knocked out in the second qualifying session.
He has also since been hit with a three-place grid penalty after he was deemed to have intentionally impeded Sergio Perez during the first session.
As such, he will now begin the race in 15th instead of the original starting position of 12th.
Hamilton was already left frustrated by his performance in qualifying and wrote off any chances of him earning a fourth podium in as many races.
"It just went downhill like a domino effect from the moment with Checo [Perez], then the balance just got more and more snappy, more and more 'oversteery' – it was terrible," he said before being hit with the grid penalty.
"It's definitely very, very frustrating, naturally, but it is what it is. It's kind of the weekend done, and I'll have to move on to next week [at Monza].
"I think ultimately, if everyone had had a dry P3, we probably would have done a bit of a better job with the set-up, maybe, for qualifying, but still, I think just [the] performance wasn't there from my side."
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen will start his home Grand Prix from second after being pipped to pole position by Lando Norris by 0.356s.
It is the first time he has not started top of the grid at Zandvoort since the race's reintroduction to the calendar in 2021, while he is aiming to win the Dutch Grand Prix for the fourth consecutive year.
While Verstappen still had some complaints about the lack of pace in his car, he was optimistic that he could challenge for the title on Sunday.
"I think the whole qualifying we just lacked a bit of pace," the reigning world champion said. "I tried the best I could. I'm still very happy of course to be on the front row.
"I'm happy with second. I think after Friday as well this is a good result.
"We'll give it a good go. Of course, when you're more than three-tenths behind in qualifying, I think we have to be realistic. I'll just try to have a good race tomorrow."
Alex Albon was disqualified from Dutch Grand Prix qualifying after his floor body failed technical checks.
He had qualified in eighth, but will now start at the back of the grid with Williams teammate Logan Sargeant, who did not compete in qualifying after a heavy crash in the final practice session.
Lando Norris claimed pole for the Dutch Grand Prix but expects Max Verstappen to "put up a good fight" in his home race.
The McLaren driver had cemented himself as the favourite following promising practice sessions and produced a stunning lap to edge the Dutchman by 0.356s in the final round of qualifying.
It is the first time that Verstappen will not start on pole at Zandvoort in his career and will face stiff competition as he aims for a fourth-straight win in the Netherlands, with Oscar Piastri behind him in third and Mercedes' George Russell in fourth. Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez rounds out the top five.
While Norris had been self-critical in the lead-up to the mid-season break, he was much more optimistic about his chances of claiming a second-ever Formula 1 victory at Zandvoort.
"An amazing day. It's nice to be back and start with a pole. It was a nice lap, honestly," he said after qualifying.
"The qualifying was always pretty smooth, and I put in some good laps, especially the one at the end, which is always the most important. A great job by the team, and I'm happy.
"It's not easy, but I felt comfortable out there, the car was feeling amazing. We've got some upgrades on the car for the first time in a while and everything's working very well, so a big thanks to the team too.
"I'm sure it's going to be tough. Max has been quick all weekend. I know we got him today, but he's still second, and he's going to be putting up a good fight, especially at his home race. I'm looking forward to it."
Charles Leclerc, in sixth, is Ferrari's sole representative in the top 10, while Alex Albon finished eighth, in between the two Aston Martin drivers, with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll seventh and ninth respectively.
Pierre Gasly finished 10th, while Lewis Hamilton will start 12th after being knocked out in the second session after a mistake on the penultimate corner of his final lap.
The seven-time champion also faces a stewards' investigation to see whether he impeded Perez in the first qualifying session.
Top 10
1. Lando Norris (McLaren)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
4. George Russell (Mercedes)
5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
7. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
8. Alex Albon (Williams)
9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
10. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
The final grand slam of the season is already upon us, with the US Open getting going on Monday.
Flushing Meadows will welcome the best and brightest as they aim to light up New York City, where home favourite Coco Gauff will be the defending women's singles champion.
She clinched her maiden major title at Arthur Ashe Stadium last year, overcoming Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-2.
Gauff will be the third seed at this year's tournament, with Sabalenka second and world number one – the fearsome Iga Swiatek – rated as the favourite.
With the help of Opta data, we look into the likely challengers for this year's title.
Will Swiatek cap stellar year?
Swiatek has won 55 matches in 2024, which is the most of any player on the WTA Tour. She also has the longest winning streak in Tour-level events this season, too, having reeled off 21 straight victories.
The all-conquering Pole has won six Tour-level events this term – the United Cup, Qatar Open, Indian Wells Open, Madrid Open, Italian Open and French Open. Unsurprisingly, Swiatek also has the best win percentage of any player across 2024 (88.7%, having lost just seven of her 62 matches).
Swiatek – who clinched bronze at the Paris Olympics – has won all six finals she has been involved in this term, becoming the third player this century after the Williams sisters to triumph in their first six finals of a season across multiple years (2022 and 2024).
The 23-year-old holds a record of 79-17 at grand slams, and the best winning percentage of any active player (82.3%). Among players to have started their career in the Open Era, only six players could achieve 80 wins in fewer major matches than Swiatek (97) – Monica Seles (86), Chris Evert (89), Martina Hingis (92), Serena Williams, Steffi Graf (93 each) and Venus Williams (94).
She will face qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova in the first round. Swiatek has won in straight sets in all her previous eight matches against qualifiers or lucky losers, while she is also undefeated in her five first-round ties at the US Open.
In fact, the last time Swiatek lost in the opening match of an event was at the WTA Finals 2021 in Guadalajara. She has played 48 tournaments since then without ever falling at the first hurdle (United Cup and Olympics included).
Among current players with 10+ main draw matches played at the US Open, only Bianca Andreescu (85.7%) and Naomi Osaka (81.5%) have a higher winning percentage at Flushing Meadows than Swiatek (80.0%).
Sabalenka on song
Swiatek and Sabalenka tussled on the clay courts earlier in the season, but the latter has endured a difficult summer swing and had to skip the Olympics.
But she returned to form at the Cincinnati Open, triumphing over Jessica Pegula to claim her second title of the season.
Her first was the Australian Open, and that means Sabalenka could become the first woman to win both hard-court grand slams in the same year since Angelique Kerber in 2016. Indeed, since the Australian Open switched to hard court in 1988, the Belarusian could be the fifth woman to reach both hard-court major finals in successive seasons after Graf (1988-90, 1993-94), Seles (1991-92), Hingis (1997-99) and Victoria Azarenka (2012-13).
Like Swiatek, Sabalenka will take on a qualifier (Priscilla Hon) in round one. She won her previous meeting with Hon, back in Mumbai in 2017. The top two seeds will both face qualifiers in the first round of a grand slam for the first time since the Australian Open 1996 (Seles and Conchita Martinez).
Sabalenka is undefeated in her six first-round ties at Flushing Meadows, while she is aiming to be the fourth player in the Open Era to win the title in Cincinnati and New York in the same season, with Gauff having done just that last year.
Only Swiatek (25) and Emma Navarro (24) have won more hard-court matches than Sabalenka in 2024 (23), while the previous season's runner-up at the US Open has only lost in the first round on one occasion in the Open Era (Pam Shriver in 1979).
Gauff and Pegula the fan favourites
The Olympics ultimately ended in tears and frustration for Gauff, and after reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open and French Open, her season is somewhat threatening to peter out. Indeed, her only title this year came in the first tournament of the campaign, in Auckland.
Yet as one of four American players since 2000 to win the singles title at the US Open, she will be fiercely determined to retain her crown at Flushing Meadows and will be backed by vociferous home support.
The world number three is not the only home favourite in with a firm chance, though.
Pegula won nine successive main-draw matches, equalling her longest career winning streak, across her campaigns at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open, before losing to Sabalenka in the final of the latter tournament.
The sixth seed could become only the fourth player in the Open Era to reach the singles finals at the Canadian Open, Cincinnati Open and US Open in a season after Rosemary Casals (1970), Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1973) and Serena Williams (2013).
The other contenders
Emma Raducanu has not had quite the hard-court swing she would have liked, but the youngster triumphed in New York as a teenager back in 2021, and will be one to keep an eye on.
Jasmine Paolini heads to Flushing Meadows fresh from claiming Olympic gold at Roland-Garros, where she also reached the French Open final earlier this year. The Italian has both hit the most winners (409) and converted the most break points (80) in singles matches at grand slams in 2024.
She will go up against 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu in round one, making the duo the first players to face each other in the women's singles at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows in the same season since Serena Williams and Justine Henin in 2007.
Elena Rybakina, meanwhile, has served the most aces (85) at majors this year.
Then there is two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka. She will go up against Jelena Ostapenko, and combined with Sofia Kenin taking on Raducanu, it makes this tournament the first time that two former grand slam winners are taking each other on in first-round ties in New York since 2019.
Max Verstappen admitted Red Bull were "a bit too slow" compared to Mercedes and McLaren after the first two practice sessions for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Verstappen is without a win since the Spanish Grand Prix in June but is looking to earn a fourth victory in a row on home soil on Sunday.
However, he ended up down in fifth place after Friday's second practice session, trailing George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton, and Lando Norris at Zandvoort.
Having only made the podium in one race since his last win, Verstappen is eyeing big improvements ahead of qualifying on Saturday.
"Of course, in FP1 I didn't really get a lot of running in. I guess in FP2 you could see a little bit more where you are.
"[We're] a bit too slow on the short run, a bit too slow on the long run, so a bit of work to do.
"At the moment, [there's] no clear answer of how to improve that specifically, but we'll look into things. Just a bit too slow, as simple as that.
"It's where we've been the last few races, so it's not really a surprise. We'll try to just find a little bit more performance for Sunday."
Meanwhile, Ferrari also struggled to match the early pace set by Mercedes and McLaren, with Charles Leclerc placing ninth on the timesheet after the second session.
He was the sole representative for the team for most of the session after Carlos Sainz had gearbox trouble, and the Monegasque admitted they still had work to do to challenge.
"Tough [day]!" Leclerc said. "As expected, I would say. We don't quite have the pace of the guys in front, unfortunately.
"I think it's better than what it looks like on the timesheet at the end of the day, but still not quite in the fight for the win, for sure.
"There's quite a bit of work to do still. That's what we are doing, but I hope it will pay off soon."
Adam Scott is aiming to replicate his second-round form as he looks to hold onto his lead at the BMW Championship.
Scott carded a stunning 63 at Castle Pines on Friday to take an unlikely lead in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
The Australian is on 13 under par heading into the weekend, three shots ahead of first-round leader Keegan Bradley and four strokes clear of Ludvig Aberg, who matched Scott's 63.
Alex Noren, Aberg's Swedish compatriot, is a shot back in third.
"It's been a long time. I can't remember the last time I shot a 63 out here," Scott, who won The Masters in 2013 but has not claimed a Tour-level victory since 2020, told pgatour.com.
"But it feels good to go low, that I've still got that in me. Hopefully, there's one more this week."
Rory McIlroy is tied at 15th on three-under-par, while Xander Schauffele is a shot further back.
World number one Scottie Scheffler is tied at 29, however, after carding a par 72.
There was disappointment for Hideki Matsuyama, meanwhile, with the St. Jude Championship winner forced to withdraw due to a back problem.
"I am disappointed to have to withdraw from the BMW Championship after experiencing lower back discomfort while warming up this morning, which made it impossible to play," he said on Friday.
"Thank you to BMW and the Western Golf Association for a great experience here at Castle Pines."
When Novak Djokovic triumphed at Flushing Meadows last year, he surely thought the outright record for grand slam titles was all but his.
Yet just shy of a year later, Djokovic is still waiting for his 25th major win - and the one that would take him clear of Margaret Court, making him the undisputed greatest of all time.
He came close at Wimbledon, but Carlos Alcaraz ultimately had too much, with the Spaniard winning the final in straight sets.
Alcaraz, the 2022 US Open champion, will be one of the most likely candidates scrapping it out for Djokovic's crown over the next two weeks, along with world number one Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic avenged that Wimbledon defeat with a 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) win over Alcaraz in the final of the Paris Olympics, with the 37-year-old ending his wait for a gold medal.
But while that gold is now hanging around his neck (or, in his trophy cabinet, which must be pretty big), it did not settle Djokovic's desire for that record-breaking major triumph. His next tournament win would also bring up his 100th career title.
Should Djokovic fail to defend his crown, though, it will be just the fourth year since he won his first major in 2008 that he has not won a grand slam in a season, after 2009, 2010 and 2017.
But what do the Opta statistics tell us about the key storylines ahead of the US Open?
Can Djokovic dominate?
Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer have won the US Open a joint-record five times each. Should Djokovic win, he will join that illustrious trio on five Flushing Meadows titles.
Connors has appeared in (115) and won (98) the most singles matches of any player in the Open Era at the tournament, but Djokovic (88) has won the most among active players and could equal Federer (89) for the second-most by defeating Radu Albot in round one on Monday.
Should Djokovic reach the second round, he will also match Federer's tally of matches played in the competition (103).
At 87.1%, Djokovic holds the second-best win percentage at the US Open in the Open Era of players to have featured in at least 30 matches at the event, after Sampras (88.8%).
The Serbian great, who became the oldest player to win the men's singles at the US Open when he succeeded at the age of 36 years and 111 days in 2023, has featured in the most men's singles finals in the tournament's history (10). He is the only player in the Open Era to have reached 10+ finals at multiple grand slams, having also done so at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Should he reach the quarter-finals, barring walkovers, Djokovic will surpass Federer (429) for the most matches played at grand slams in the Open Era. If he were to then reach the last four, he would be the first male to appear in 50 major semi-finals, and the second player overall after Chris Evert (52).
Connors (109) and Federer (103) are the only players to win 100 Tour-level titles, while Djokovic is chasing his 72nd hard-court title, which would take him clear of Federer (71).
Could the kids have too much?
Djokovic may have outfought Alcaraz at the Olympics, but that was only after he had been dispatched by the world number three at the All-England Club.
Alcaraz, who said he had played his worst-ever tennis during a shock defeat to Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month, could become only the third player in the Open Era to win the men's singles title at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year after Rod Laver (1968) and Rafael Nadal (2010).
Aged 21 years and 126 days, he would also be the youngest man to win a singles title at three grand slams in a calendar year. He won his first major title at Flushing Meadows two years ago, and reached the semi-finals last season, losing to eventual runner-up Daniil Medvedev.
Then there is the world number one, and top seed, Sinner. The Italian was forced to miss the Olympics due to illness, but after going out in the last eight at the Canadian Open, he returned to form with a sensational run to triumph in Cincinnati.
That was his fourth title of the season. Excluding team events, Sinner (23 years, 23 days) could become the youngest player to win five ATP trophies on hard court in a calendar year since Andy Murray in 2009.
Since the Australian Open switched to hard court in 1988, Sinner could become only the fourth male to win that competition and US Open in the same year, after Mats Wilander (1988), Roger Federer (2004, 2006 and 2007) and Djokovic (2011, 2015 and 2023).
Sinner has now won three ATP 1000 hard-court titles in total. Across the past decade, only three players have won more Masters titles on the surface: Djokovic (17), Federer (seven) and Medvedev (five).
The last top seed to lose in their opening match at the US Open was Stefan Edberg, who lost to Alexander Volkov in 1990.
Indeed, the US Open is certainly not a tournament in which you can confidently say "expect the unexpected" when it comes to major shocks.
Only two top seeds in the Open Era have been eliminated in the first round of the men's singles – John Newcombe (1971) and Stefan Edberg (1990). Andre Agassi is the last first seed to not reach the second week at the event, losing to Arnaud Clement in straight sets back in 2000.
Shohei Ohtani hit a two-out, walk-off grand slam to become the fastest player in major league history to join the 40-40 club as the streaking Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-3 on Friday night.
Ohtani is the first Dodger to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a single season and the sixth ever. He broke the record held by Alfonso Soriano, who reached the mark in Game 148 for the Washington Nationals in 2006.
Ohtani, who stole his 40th base in the fourth inning, did it in the Dodgers' 129th game.
The other 40-40 members are Jose Canseco (1988), Barry Bonds (1996), Alex Rodriguez (1998) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (2023).
Will Smith was hit by Manuel Rodriguez leading off the ninth and Tommy Edman followed with a single. Smith and Edman moved up on Miguel Rojas’ sacrifice. Colin Poche came in and walked Max Muncy to set up Ohtani’s 389-foot slam to center.
Kike Hernandez accounted for all the Dodgers’ offence before Ohtani’s blast with a tying three-run homer in the fifth off starter Tyler Alexander.
Los Angeles has won five straight and 11 of 14 to remain four games ahead of Arizona in the NL West.
Junior Caminero and Christopher Morel went deep for the Rays, who dropped their second in a row.
Mariners rally to win Wilson’s debut
Leo Rivas singled home Dylan More in the 10th inning and the Seattle Mariners erased a four-run deficit for a 6-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants in Dan Wilson’s managerial debut.
Seattle scored four times in the eighth inning to pull even at 5-5, then saw Rivas come through in the 10th.
Pinch-runner Moore stole third base with one out and Rivas lined a 2-2 pitch from Erik Miller into center field to set off a celebration as Seattle won for just the second time in the 10 games.
Wilson was named manager of the Mariners on Thursday after Scott Servais was fired.
Luke Raley homered for Seattle, but it was a big eighth-inning rally that gave the Mariners a chance. They sent nine batters to the plate and scored four times with six consecutive singles off reliever Tyler Rogers. Justin Turner, Josh Rojas, Rivas and Raley all had RBI singles that helped make it 5-5.
LaMonte Wade Jr., Heliot Ramos and Michael Conforto homered for the Giants, who lost their second straight after winning three in a row.
Judge homers again as Yankees win
Aaron Judge homered for the fourth straight game with his major league-leading 49th and Carlos Rodon pitched six innings in the New York Yankees’ 3-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.
Judge homered for the fourth straight game, sending a 388-foot shot to left-center off Kyle Freeland in the sixth inning.
Judge has eight homers in his last 11 games and 17 homers in his last 34. He is one home run shy of becoming just the fifth player in history to record three 50-homer seasons. Judge is on pace to match the 62 homers he hit in 2022, when he broke the American League record set in 1961 by late Yankees slugger Roger Maris.
Judge is hitting .381 with 43 homers and 101 RBIs in 94 games since his average dipped to .197 on May 2.
Rodon (14-8) moved into a tie for the major league lead in wins, allowing four hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
Rodón, Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes have combined to toss 19 straight scoreless innings in the Yankees’ last three games.
New York won its third straight to remain 1 ½ games ahead of Baltimore in the AL East.
Jamaica’s Malone Bird successfully made it through to the second stage of the Boys’ U11 Singles competition at the Pan American Under 11 and Under 13 Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Wednesday.
Bird made it through the group phase after securing one win and one loss in his two matches on Wednesday.
After suffering a straight-set loss at the hands of Canada’s Daniel Liang (11-4, 11-9, 11-7) in his first game, he rebounded with a four-set win over Guatemala’s Omar Ixcaragua.
Bird won the first two sets 11-7 and 11-8 before Ixcaragua tried to mount a comeback with an 11-4 third set victory before the Jamaican shut the door with an 11-6 win in the fourth set.
Unfortunately, the second half of the Bird brothers, Shacoil, didn’t have the same success and failed to advance to the next phase after suffering a pair of straight set losses to Brazil’s Joao Ribeiro (11-7, 11-3, 11-7) and Ecuador’s Juan Gonzalez (11-9, 11-6, 11-1).
The draw for the second phase of the singles will be held on Friday. The Bird brothers will also take on Argentina in doubles on Friday.
George Russell believes this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix may be decided by the finest of margins after going quickest during Friday's practice in Zandvoort.
Russell, who was denied a third career win at Spa for his car being underweight last time out, finished the session 0.061 seconds quicker than McLaren's Oscar Piastri.
Mercedes' recent improvements were on show once more, with Russell's team-mate Lewis Hamilton finishing 0.111 behind him as Lando Norris ended up in fourth.
Defending world champion Max Verstappen endured another difficult time out on track, ending up in fifth ahead of tomorrow's qualifying sessions.
But despite the Dutchman's underwhelming display on the track, Russell did not rule out the threat of Verstappen, who has won the race on the last three ocassions.
“Really difficult out there because it was so windy. But the car was performing really well. It looks to be quite a close battle with the McLarens and Max.”
Hamilton, meanwhile, saw room for improvement in his own performance as he looks to continue his impressive form before the mid-season break.
The seven-time world champion has reached four podiums in the last five Formula 1 races, while also scoring the most points (95) than anyone else in the last five races.
But should he record four consecutive podiums for the first time since 2022, Hamilton acknowledged that his set-up must be spot, starting in qualifying.
“It was OK today. A big, big difference compared to last year so the car is feeling more alive and we’re right up there at the front," Hamilton said.
“I didn’t get the most out of it (on the single lap), there is still performance, left. I just have to work on set-up.
"I don’t know if I looked particularly quick (on the long run) but the set-up I had for a single lap was hindering the long run.”
Norris will also be looking to close the gap in the drivers' championship, currently sitting 78 points behind Verstappen with 10 races of the season remaining.
And after a promising session on Friday, the Briton is confident that McLaren can continue to push and challenge the Silver Arrows this weekend.
“Mercedes look a bit quicker but it is close. I don't think there is a quickest. It depends on different factors.
“We have been in good form since Miami but not brought any updates since Miami. This weekend’s our first time trying to make a bit more progress with the car.
“(I’m) optimistic, but have no idea whether it’s working or not how it’s performing at the minute.
“Today was a reasonable day and we are there or thereabouts. A little bit more to find tonight hopefully and we can challenge the Mercedes.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insisted Max Verstappen is not available to fill Mercedes' vacant seat for 2025, having watched the world champion finish second to Lando Norris in first practice at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Verstappen has dominated Formula One since beating Lewis Hamilton to his maiden drivers' championship in 2021, winning a further two titles and topping the standings again this year.
However, the Dutchman has struggled of late amid rumours his future could lie elsewhere, failing to win any of his last four races – his longest drought since an 11-race run in 2020.
With Hamilton agreeing to join Ferrari for 2025, Mercedes are one of just three teams yet to finalise their driver pairings for next season.
They were strongly linked with a move for Carlos Sainz, but he will join Williams next year after being displaced by Hamilton at Ferrari.
Mercedes have repeatedly refused to rule out an ambitious move for Verstappen, and ahead of taking part in his 200th race this weekend, the Dutchman suggested he will not remain in F1 for another 200 outings.
Horner, though, says there is no chance of Verstappen joining the Silver Arrows next year.
"It's just like we've been stating all the way through the year: we know what our agreement is with Max and Max knows what his agreement with us is," he told Sky Sports.
"He's certainly not available to Mercedes for 2025, he never was.
"I'm sure whatever options they choose to take, they've thought carefully about. If they choose to give [Kimi] Antonelli the seat, you have to commend them for taking a risk with a youngster."
Verstappen fell narrowly short of topping the timesheets in FP1 on Friday, as high winds and rain produced difficult conditions upon his Zandvoort homecoming.
McLaren's Norris beat Verstappen by two tenths of a second with a fastest time of 1:12:322, after the inclement weather resulted in limited running for the first 30 minutes.
Hamilton was third ahead of Sainz, with Mercedes' George Russell fifth-fastest and Williams' Alex Albon sixth.
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