Boston Celtics centre Robert Williams III reportedly will miss between 4-to-6 weeks after undergoing arthroscopic left knee surgery this week, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
It is the second surgery on the same knee in six months for Williams, who had a meniscus procedure performed March 30. That specific surgery enabled Williams to recover quicker and return to the court for Boston’s run to the NBA Finals.
The 24-year-old Williams injured the knee in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 27, forcing him to miss the final seven regular-season games and Boston's first two playoff contests.
He came off the bench in Games 3 and 4 of the Celtics' first-round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, and started the first three games of the Eastern Conference semi-final series with the Milwaukee Bucks before suffering a bone bruise in the same knee in Game 3.
He missed the remainder of the seven-game series with the Bucks before returning to start Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat.
Another knee injury sent him back to the bench for Game 3, but he then played the rest of Boston's seven-game series with the Heat and every game of Finals with the Golden State Warriors.
Williams has battled injuries throughout his four-year career and wasn't as effective in last season's playoffs compared to the regular season, averaging 7.7 points on 67.9% shooting, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 17 playoff games.
In 61 regular-season games last season, he averaged 10 points on 73.6% shooting, 9.6 boards and 2.2 blocks.
The Celtics went 40-21 in the regular season when he played and 11-10 when he didn't suit up.
Without one of the league's premier rim protectors, veteran Al Horford will be tasked with playing more minutes until Williams returns early in the regular season.
Boston tips off the 2022-23 season on October 18 against the rival Philadelphia 76ers.
The FIA has approved the calendar for the 2023 Formula One season, which will include a record-breaking 24 races.
Las Vegas becomes the third United States Grand Prix on the calendar, after Miami and Austin, and will be the penultimate race of the 2023 season.
Qatar and China both return to the F1 calendar following absences, with the former missing from the 2022 schedule and the latter not hosting a race since 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Monaco also retains a spot on the calendar amid speculation the iconic race in Monte Carlo could be dropped, but as expected the French Grand Prix has not been included.
The 2023 F1 calendar will avoid a clash with the 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of the World Motor Sport Council members' efforts to optimise all world championship race calendars.
"The presence of 24 races on the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar is further evidence of the growth and appeal of the sport on a global scale," FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said.
"The addition of new venues and the retention of traditional events underlines the FIA's sound stewardship of the sport. I am delighted that we will be able to take Formula One's new era of exciting racing, created by the FIA's 2022 regulations, to a broader fan base in 2023."
The FIA has approved the calendar for the 2023 Formula One season, which will include a record-breaking 24 races.
Las Vegas becomes the third United States Grand Prix on the calendar, after Miami and Austin, and will be the penultimate race of the 2023 season.
Qatar and China both return to the F1 calendar following absences, with the former missing from the 2022 schedule and the latter not hosting a race since 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Monaco also retains a spot on the calendar amid speculation the iconic race in Monte Carlo could be dropped, but as expected the French Grand Prix has not been included.
The 2023 F1 calendar will avoid a clash with the 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of the World Motor Sport Council members' efforts to optimise all world championship race calendars.
"The presence of 24 races on the 2023 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar is further evidence of the growth and appeal of the sport on a global scale," FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said.
"The addition of new venues and the retention of traditional events underlines the FIA's sound stewardship of the sport. I am delighted that we will be able to take Formula One's new era of exciting racing, created by the FIA's 2022 regulations, to a broader fan base in 2023."
Naomi Osaka began the defence of her Pan Pacific Open crown with a quick win after opponent Daria Saville was forced to retire in just the second game.
Four-time grand slam champion Osaka won the opening game, before Saville was unable to continue due to a scary-looking injury to her left knee.
The former world number one will now face a second round match with world number 16 Beatriz Haddad Maia, who eased to a straight sets victory over Yuki Naito.
Karolina Pliskova secured her place in the next round in Tokyo with a 6-2 6-1 demolition of Isabella Shinikova, while Zhang Shuai will face second seed Caroline Garcia on Wednesday after overcoming Mai Hontama in two sets.
In Seoul, Jelena Ostapenko's hopes of repeating her 2017 heroics at the Korea Open are still alive after the number one seed narrowly beat 19-year-old Jeong Bo-young.
The world number 19 looked to be cruising after the opening set, but the unheralded South Korean hit back in the second and took it to a tie-break in the third, before Ostapenko's class showed as she won the crucial tie-break 7-2.
Elsewhere, 2021's beaten finalist Kristina Mladenovic saw off wildcard Park So-hyun 6-4 4-6 6-3, while second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova overcame a worrying second set to beat Asia Muhammad 6-1 3-6 6-1.
Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria is also safely through to the second round after a tight 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Eugenie Bouchard.
Kevin O'Connell accepted the blame for Kirk Cousins' three-interception performance in the Minnesota Vikings' 24-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Cousins and the Vikings' offense endured a dismal night in Philadelphia as Minnesota crashed back down to earth following their Week 1 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Picked off twice by Darius Slay and once by Avonte Maddox, Cousins was sacked twice and hit a further seven times during a game in which he ended up having completed 58.7 per cent of his passes for 221 yards.
All three of his interceptions came inside the Eagles' 30-yard line and saw the Vikings miss out on the chance to score points, with the two from Slay each coming on throws to the endzone.
Despite Cousins' critical mistakes, it was head coach O'Connell who took responsibility after a game in which his quarterback came under heavy fire.
"I thought Kirk battled tonight," O'Connell said. "Put him in some tough spots, and I think our overall offensive philosophy, when we do not succeed in activating those things, it puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback, and that's where I once again put this one 100 per cent on me."
For his part, Cousins felt the Vikings falling 14 points behind in the second quarter and 24-7 down at half-time contributed to a less balanced offensive approach, which he believed was behind the disappointing display.
"I think that getting behind early we probably had to throw a little more often than we would have liked, and didn't stay as balanced as we'd like to be," he said.
"It's probably more just the nature of how the game went, and we certainly want to be balanced as best we can."
The Vikings went three-and-out on four of their five offensive series in the first half, the sole exception a drive that ended with a touchdown throw to Irv Smith Jr.
"Part of the challenge is we didn't stay on the field, we didn't run enough plays, and so those three-and-outs early aren't how we want to start," Cousins added.
"I think their defense deserves credit. They did a good job with rush and with coverage, and the combination made it tough for us."
Coach Sean McDermott said he and his team were praying for Dane Jackson after the Buffalo Bills cornerback suffered a worrying neck injury in Monday's win over the Tennessee Titans.
The 25-year-old Jackson was taken away in an ambulance for scans at the Erie County Medical Center.
He suffered the injury in a collision with a team-mate, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, near the end of the first half.
McDermott said in a post-game press conference: "We're still waiting word. We're praying for Dane. Dane Jackson has, I think, full movement in his extremities, which is good.
"You go from being a coach to being a human when you're watching him being loaded into the ambulance. That's a real moment. It's an unfortunate situation.
"The game's important and trying to win a game is important, but there's bigger things, especially at that moment when their team-mate's down there.
"I saw him in the ambulance at half-time. I had a chance to talk to him real quick before they headed out."
The blow to Jackson took some of the attention away from a fine win for the Bills, which saw Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs connect for three touchdowns.
Wide receiver Diggs had 12 receptions for 148 yards, and he savoured seeing the Bills move to 2-0 for the third time in the past four seasons.
He said: "As a receiver, you want to be able to do everything, especially if you consider yourself a wide receiver one.
"You've got to be everything for your quarterback. If your quarterback wants to throw a bomb, you better be able to catch it. [Same for] if he wants to carve things up in the middle.
"I've got a quarterback that can do everything, so I've just got to do everything. If I do my job, I'm all right, giving my quarterback that comfortable feel, that safety play, so he's out there not thinking too much, just trusting I'm going to be open and I'll make a play for you."
Week 3 will see the Bills tackle the Miami Dolphins, AFC East rivals who have also begun with two wins.
"That's definitely going to be another test for us, and it's something we look forward to," Diggs said. "They're in our division, so we've got to get a win.
"I feel like they're a good-ass team, they've got a hell of a defense, they call on the right plays on offense, and they're having a lot of success."
Seventh seed James Duckworth edged compatriot Alexei Popyrin in three sets, while eighth seed J.J. Wolf got past Stefan Kozlov in the San Diego Open first round on Monday.
Duckworth sent down 14 aces, winning 85 per cent on his first serve, and hit 53 winners as he got past Popyrin 7-5 4-6 6-1 in two hours and 20 minutes.
Popyrin could only manage 35 winners with 18 unforced errors. Duckworth will face one of the American qualifiers, Mitchell Krueger and Christopher Eubanks in the next round.
Wolf needed one hour and 52 minutes to topple countryman Kozlov 6-2 7-6 (8-6), converting three of his six break points, getting the edge by winning 50 per cent on Kozlov's second serve.
In the battle of the Argentines, Tomas Martin Etcheverry defeated Facundo Mena 7-6 (8-6) 6-3. Mena hit 28 winners but was undone by 23 unforced errors.
Frenchman Constant Lestienne fought back from a set down to win over American wild card Brandon Holt 5-7 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.
The New York Mets clinched their place in the MLB postseason for the first time since 2016 with Max Scherzer securing his 100th career win in a 7-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.
The 38-year-old Mets right-hander, reinstated from the injured list, struck out nine across six innings where he threw 68 pitches. Scherzer was pulled after six innings with a perfect game intact, with the Mets opting not to risk injury to the three-time Cy Young Award winner on his return from an oblique issue.
The win means the Mets have booked a postseason berth, guaranteed at least a spot in the National League (NL) Wild Card Game, holding a 94-55 record.
Pete Alonso's three-run homer in the fourth inning headlined five runs against NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes.
The Mets will be making only their 10th postseason appearance in the franchise's 61-season history.
"This is what you play the game for," Scherzer said. "You play to get into the postseason. There's a lot of ways for it not to work out. For us to be able to find a way to get into the postseason, that's awesome. That's what we celebrate. That's what you play the game for.
"We have a lot of things in front of us. We understand that. But you got to celebrate the good times, too."
Astros clinch fifth AL West title in six years
The Houston Astros secured the American League West title for the first time in the past six seasons with a 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Jose Altuve's leadoff home run set the tone for the Astros, while Luis Garcia gave up two hits and four walks in five innings with four strikeouts as Houston claimed their 16th shutout.
The Astros also won for the eighth time in nine games ahead of their sixth straight postseason. Houston are assured of a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Kershaw dominates Diamondbacks
Clayton Kershaw tossed down 10 strikeouts as the Los Angeles Dodgers toppled the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2.
The Dodgers, who have already clinched the NL West, saw Joey Gallo blast a second-inning homer, before Chris Taylor's three-run blast opened up a 5-0 lead.
But Kershaw grabbed the headlines, managing to strike out at least 10 batters with no walks in a game for the 27th time in his career.
Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs connected for three touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills moved to 2-0 for the third time in the past four seasons with a 41-7 win over the Tennessee Titans on Monday.
The Bills blew away the Titans after leading 10-7 in the second quarter, with Allen finishing the game with four touchdown passes, completing 26 of 38 passes for 317 yards with no interceptions.
Diggs got on the end of three of those, including a 46-yard third-quarter hand cannon, having 12 receptions for 148 yards. Allen has contributed to four or more TDs in each of his past four games, including playoffs.
Buffalo's win means they have won six straight regular-season games, which is the longest active streak in the NFL. It is also the Bills' NFL-best 13th 14-point-plus win over the past two seasons, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next best with eight.
Titans QB Ryan Tannehill, who was benched late, threw 11 of 20 passes for 117 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions, including a Matt Milano pick six. The Bills face the 2-0 Miami Dolphins in Week 3, with three of their next four games on the road.
The Philadelphia Eagles joined the Bills with a 2-0 record after a 24-7 triumph over the Minnesota Vikings led by Jalen Hurts who had a major hand in all three of their touchdowns.
Hurts threw for one touchdown (finishing with 26-of-31 passing for 333 yards), while he ran in two TDs (57 yards from 11 carries), helping the Eagles open up a 24-7 half-time lead, with neither side scoring in the second half. Hurts landed a 53-yard pass for Quez Watkins' TD.
The Eagles defense managed three interceptions from Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who completed 27 of 46 passes for 221 yards with one touchdown to Irv Smith Jr.
Police in Las Vegas are investigating allegations that a fan struck Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray in the aftermath of Arizona’s 29-23 overtime victory over the Raiders on Sunday.
Video showed that Murray was giving high-fives to fans in the front row of Allegiant Stadium when a man appeared to reach down and strike Murray in the face with an open hand.
Murray was not injured but appeared shocked by the act on video.
A Las Vegas police spokesperson confirmed that a battery complaint was filed Sunday. Murray’s name was not explicitly mentioned by the spokesperson, who said the allegation was that "a spectator at the stadium struck a professional football player."
Police have not yet identified a suspect.
Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury said he has not seen the video but was made aware of the incident on Monday.
"I was just told about it," Kingsbury said. "But I think that guy's a lowlife, whoever did it, and I hope they arrest him, he gets fired and can never go to another game."
The Cardinals trailed 23-7 at halftime but stormed back to force overtime, thanks in large part to Murray tallying a passing and a rushing touchdown, along with two two-point conversions to force overtime.
Arizona won the game when Byron Murphy Jr. returned a Hunter Renfrow fumble 59 yards for a touchdown in the extra session.
The Detroit Tigers have hired San Francisco Giants general manager Scott Harris as their new president of baseball operations.
Harris has spent the past three seasons with the Giants, having previously been with the Chicago Cubs over seven years where he ascended to assistant general manager.
The Tigers have hired Harris to replace long-time general manager Al Avila who was fired in August.
Detroit had high ambitions for the 2022 season, having invested $230 million on Javier Baez, Eduardo Rodriguez and Andrew Chafin. Instead, the Tigers have the fourth-worst record (55-91) in the majors this season.
Tigers chairman and CEO Christopher Ilitch said: "Scott's vision for how to construct a baseball organization to compete and win in the modern game is impressive.
"His leadership ability is polished from both his experience as an executive at multiple levels and mentorship from some of the game's most talented baseball operations leaders. Scott is a difference maker, innovator and fiercely competitive, always looking for an edge."
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving thinks his team "needed" their 4-0 loss to the Boston Celtics in last season's NBA playoffs.
That chastening first-round exit to Irving's former team brought to an end a frustrating campaign for the much-fancied Nets.
With Irving being teamed with Kevin Durant and James Harden, many felt Brooklyn were the favourites to go all the way.
However, Irving only made 29 appearances in all for the Nets, mainly due to his unvaccinated status meaning he could not play any home games until late in the season when the ban in New York on unvaccinated players was lifted.
Durant also missed some games through injury, while Harden struggled for form before being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons, who is yet to make his Nets debut.
Speaking on Twitch for streamer KaiCenat, Irving said: "We got 4-0'd my G, we got 4-0'd. It was meant to happen like that. Motivation, bro.
"We needed that humbling experience, especially going against the Celtics. It was already built to be that match-up.
"We're going to see them again, we're going to have to. They're going to be where they're going to be. But those young'uns over there in Boston, bro, I got to see them grow up.
"So to see them do what they did last year on the Finals stage, making it that far, I'm glad they had to go through us."
Irving – who exercised his $37million player option with the Nets for next season in June – still managed to average 27.4 points per game last year, as well as 4.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
Since entering the NFL in 2020, Tua Tagovailoa has had more doubters than believers.
With a stellar college career at Alabama ended by a hip dislocation, there were plenty of concerns around Tagovailoa ahead of the 2020 draft, and they persisted after the Miami Dolphins put them to one side to select him fifth overall.
A rookie year in which he rotated with Ryan Fitzpatrick and a surge in the second half of last season fuelled largely by the Dolphins' reliance on the run-pass option did little to dissuade the sceptics, with plenty still questioning his ability to be the long-term answer at quarterback for a franchise that has not had one since Dan Marino rode off into the sunset.
Those doubts evidently existed within the Dolphins' organisation, one which was reportedly very interested in striking a trade for Deshaun Watson last year.
But two games into an undefeated start to a make-or-break year for Tagovailoa it is clear he has the belief of the most important person in the building – his head coach.
And on Sunday, as the Dolphins remarkably stormed back from a 35-14 fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Baltimore Ravens 42-38 on the road, Mike McDaniel's faith in one of the most scrutinised quarterbacks in the NFL enabled Tagovailoa to deliver one of the most incredible results in recent league history.
The Dolphins became the first team to overcome a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit since the Philadelphia Eagles achieved that feat in Week 15 of the 2010 season against the New York Giants.
For those who aren't familiar with that game, it required a 65-yard punt return from Desean Jackson as time expired for the Eagles to complete the comeback and became known as the Miracle at the New Meadowlands. That's how unlikely such turnarounds are.
Yet McDaniel instilled calm in the Dolphins as they went into the second half trailing 28-7, and his relaxed approach and his belief in his quarterback yielded astonishing dividends.
McDaniel's understated inspiration
"I just challenged them to say 'who cares what the score is?' It's about how we play football together, so this is an opportunity, it's a tough one but that doesn't even matter, let's get something out of this game to feel good about in the second half and we'll worry about the score some time in the fourth quarter," McDaniel said.
"I didn't care about the outcome of the game at that point, at half-time it was a huge opportunity for us to show who we are and play good football for each other."
In regards to Tagovailoa, McDaniel was delighted he succeeded in getting his quarterback to play with a short memory in a game where he threw two interceptions in the first half.
"Now maybe Tua will finally listen to me," added McDaniel. "It's awesome to be critical of yourself, it's good. He has a high standard for himself. After the first game I just wanted to see the guy enjoy playing football, and understand that yes 'you want to make the perfect read and the perfect throw every time, but who cares?'
"If you just get better at one thing a game you're going to be pretty good at the end of the season. So let's just press forward.
"The absolute worst thing could have happened for him at the beginning of the game [on the first interception], where we get a contested ball, that's not really his fault, and then he starts pressing and throws it up for a second interception.
"This is huge because he stopped worrying about the last play and he went and played and took his responsibility seriously to his team-mates about 'hey I'm going to lead this team confidently'.
"It is what you get into sports for. I think it was a moment that he'll never forget, that hopefully he can use moving forward because we basically had to play perfect complementary football to come back from a deficit like that against a really good team. His team-mates learned a lot about him and I think he learned something about himself."
That short memory allowed Tagovailoa to complete 36 of his 50 pass attempts for a career-high 469 yards and six touchdowns. The only other two Dolphin quarterbacks to throw six touchdowns in a game are Marino and Bob Griese.
And, with two of those scores coming on deep shots 48 and 60 yards to Tyreek Hill, Tagovailoa may feel he has gone some way to quieting a narrative that has persisted throughout the build-up to this campaign.
Deep ball questions answered?
The offseason in Miami was defined in part by questions about Tagovailoa's ability to throw the deep ball. Last season, he had one completion of 20 yards or more for a touchdown. Through two games in 2022, he has three.
In addition to producing an immediate improvement on where he was last year in completing passes downfield, Tagovailoa also made strides from his performance in the opening week of the season against the New England Patriots.
Week 1 saw Tagovailoa deliver an accurate, well-thrown ball on 71.9 per cent of his passes, according to Stats Perform data. Against the Ravens, his well-thrown rate was up to 80 per cent.
Tagovailoa's performance saw him enter the NFL record books as the third-youngest player with six touchdown passes in a single game and the fourth-youngest with at least 450 passing yards and five touchdowns in the same game at the age of 24 years and 200 days.
His success came in part through heeding the words of his coach and getting significantly better in one area than he was in the previous week, but his career day was not simply the product of better accuracy and motivation from McDaniel.
Play-calling mastery
Indeed, it was also a result of having two receivers with the speed to terrify any defense and a play-caller who knows how to deploy them and set his team up for success, as well as two massive coverage mix-ups by Baltimore that allowed Hill to tie the game with two deep receptions.
While he only produced a burn – which is when a receiver wins his matchup with a defender on a play where he is targeted – on seven of his 13 targets (a ratio of 53.8 per cent that was below the average of 58.7 for the week as of Monday), only five receivers targeted at least five times in Week 2 averaged more burn yards per target than Hill's 14.62.
With fellow speedster Jaylen Waddle winning 13 of his 19 matchups for an impressive burn rate of 68.4, Tagovailoa was targeting two pass-catchers adept at creating separation who presented the perfect duo with which to attack a Ravens secondary battling injuries, Hill and Waddle becoming the first pair of team-mates in NFL history to record at least 10 receptions, 150 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions in the same game.
And McDaniel made the most telling illustration of his impact on the final drive. Schooled in the Kyle Shanahan offense, the first-year head coach showed the value of his long apprenticeship under the league's pre-eminent play-caller on two game-deciding calls.
The first was his call for a split-zone run with Chase Edmonds on second-and-one from the Ravens' 35-yard line with 46 seconds left.
It is a situation where most would have expected another shot at big passing play. Instead, McDaniel created an explosive move with the run, using the snap motion to take the nickel defender at the second level over to the far side of the field, before safety Chuck Clark, playing down in the box, reacted to tight end Mike Gesicki peeling back across the formation to block linebacker Patrick Queen by following him away from the direction of the play, his vacation of his previous alignment and well-executed blocking by Miami creating a huge hole for Edmonds to rumble 28 yards to the seven-yard line.
Two plays later, McDaniel again used motion to help the Dolphins complete the comeback, this time with Waddle going across the field and being followed in man coverage by former Alabama team-mate Jalyn Armour-Davis. At the snap, Trent Sherfield ran a slant that essentially served as a pick play, the collision between Armour-Davis and Daryl Worley leaving the former out of position for long enough for Waddle to create separation with his pivot route and allowing Tagovailoa, having superbly navigated the pocket, to find him with a high throw on the move.
At Alabama, Tagovailoa was playing for college football's powerhouse, a program that serves as a ceaseless production line of NFL talent and the perfect incubator in which a young quarterback can thrive at that level.
In other words, he was in the ideal situation. Across his first two seasons in Miami, he was in anything but.
As the hugely improbable fightback against the Ravens demonstrated, Tagovailoa – with two game-breakers at receiver and a head coach with the mindset and the play-calling acumen to accentuate the strengths of his quarterback and his surrounding talent – is in a substantially better spot.
McDaniel, Tagovailoa and Co. combined to achieve the near-impossible and, after a fourth-quarter turnaround for ages, the quarterback whom so many were willing to write off should be the subject of burgeoning belief.
The NFL has suspended Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay for four games for violating the league's personal conduct policy.
The suspension was revealed on Monday and stems from an arrest in January, when the 24-year-old was charged with misdemeanour criminal property damage at the home of the mother of his son.
He started in both of Kansas City's playoff games last January following the arrest, and agreed to a pre-trial diversion program over the summer to conclude the case.
Gay has started both games for the 2-0 Chiefs this season and is tied with L'Jarius Sneed for second on the team with 16 tackles. He also has two tackles for loss, two passes defended and one quarterback hit.
It is uncertain if Gay will appeal the suspension in an effort to get it reduced, but as it stands, he will miss games against the Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Las Vegas Raiders and Buffalo Bills, and will be eligible to return against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 7.
Four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka admitted she has not had "the best year" but is still "pretty happy with where I am now."
Osaka – a former world number one – has slipped to 48th in the latest WTA rankings, and has not won a match at a grand slam since she beat Madison Brengle in the second round at the Australian Open in January.
The Japanese-born star was eliminated in the first round at the French Open and US Open this year, and did not compete at Wimbledon due to an Achilles injury.
Having taken some time away from the game last year to focus on her mental health, Osaka has struggled to get back to her previous high levels.
However, speaking ahead of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, she seemed calm about the situation, as she suggested she is improving both on and off the court.
"It was kind of hard at first, just because I feel like I should be somewhere where I'm obviously currently not," the 24-year-old said.
"I think for me, it's more about being at peace with myself. I know that I'm here for a reason."
Osaka has seven career singles titles to her name, including four majors – she has won twice at Flushing Meadows and twice at the Australian Open.
"This year has not been the best year for me, but I've learned a lot about myself," she added.
"Life is ups and downs, and this year was more down than up, but overall I'm pretty happy with where I am now."
She is preparing to defend her title at the Pan Pacific Open, which has not been held in three years due to the coronavirus pandemic, starting with a match against Daria Saville on Tuesday.
"It feels really weird to hear that I'm the defending champion because it was the last time I played in 2019," she said.
"I would love to win it again, but I think just taking it one match at a time... and also just playing in front of a crowd in Tokyo again, because the Olympics was crowdless, so it will just be nice to see people."
Sebastian Korda and Lorenzo Sonego progressed to the second round of the Moselle Open on Monday, while Stanislas Wawrinka came through qualifying.
Korda was playing his first indoor match since the decider of the Next Gen ATP Finals last November, and Hugo Gaston represented a tough opening test.
But the American prevailed in straight sets against the home favourite, winning 6-3 7-6 (7-2) after defending set points in the second set and blowing his opponent away in the subsequent tie-break.
Another tricky opponent awaits, with number three seed Lorenzo Musetti up next in the second round.
Musetti's Italian compatriot Sonego also succeeded in Monday's only other main-draw match, beating sixth seed Aslan Karatsev 7-5 6-3 to set up a last-16 clash with either Gilles Simon or David Goffin.
In the qualifying section, three-time grand slam champion Wawrinka beat Zsombor Piros 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-0 to reach the first round, where Joao Sousa awaits.
The winner of that match will face top seed Daniil Medvedev in the last 16.
San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Trey Lance underwent successful surgery on his broken ankle on Monday and is expected to make a full recovery.
The 49ers revealed in a statement that Lance had a fibula fracture and a ligament disruption in his right ankle.
Lance's first season as San Francisco's starter is over only two games in after the 2021 No. 3 overall pick suffered the injury in Sunday's win over the Seattle Seahawks.
Lance's right leg bent awkwardly when tackled by two Seattle defenders on a designed run on just the 49ers' second drive of the game. He was carted off after having his leg placed in an air cast and quickly ruled out of the contest.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed the fracture following his team's 27-7 victory.
"It's always tough, especially when it's a big one like that," Shanahan stated. "It's a very sad moment, but you don't have time to sit there and think about it.
"We were real happy about the win, but it was a little sombre once you got in the locker room and you see him."
Lance spent his rookie season as the backup to veteran Jimmy Garoppolo, but was declared the team's starter this offseason.
The 22-year-old did struggle in last week's 19-10 road loss to the Chicago Bears, completing just 13 of 28 passes for 164 yards and an interception in a game played in rain-soaked conditions.
Lance took to Twitter to post a message to thank fans for their support on Monday, writing: "Truly appreciate all of the messages and prayers. Surgery was a success and I am ready to attack this rehab process.
"We will never understand why, but I trust that it's all a part of His plan. I will be back better than ever. This chapter is going to make the story even greater!"
Garoppolo replaced Lance in Sunday's win and threw for 154 yards and a touchdown, with no turnovers on 13-of-21 passing.
"I thought he did a real good job coming off the bench, made some real key throws," Shanahan said. "I'm real proud of Jimmy and how he came in and was ready for the moment and helped us get a win."
Garoppolo did not practice at all during training camp as he recovered from shoulder surgery and spent the summer the subject of trade rumours.
The nine-year veteran ultimately remained with the 49ers on a reworked contract that slashed his 2022 salary from $24.2million to a $6.5m base, though he can earn close to an additional $9m in incentives.
The 49ers have had considerable past success with Garoppolo at the helm, as he owns a 31-14 record in 45 regular-season starts since joining the team in a trade with the New England Patriots during the 2017 season.
Garoppolo helped San Francisco reach the Super Bowl during the 2019 season and led them to last season's NFC Championship Game. The 30-year-old threw for 3,810 yards and 20 touchdowns with 12 interceptions in 15 starts in 2021.
Duhaney Park Red Sharks won their sixth consecutive National Club Championship (NCC) Grand Finals, and eighth overall, following a pulsating 40-18 win over Washington Blvd. Bulls on Saturday at the UWI Mona Bowl.
The Bulls jumped to a 6-0 lead early but the Red Sharks responded well and held a narrow 16-12 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Red Sharks took control of the game, running in five tries whilst the Bulls could only muster one additional score.
Red Sharks were led by fullback Javian Bryan with eight points from four goals, Kenneth Walker and Jenson Morris each scored two tries whilst Miguel Facey, Joseph Shae, Chevaughn Bailey (MVP) and Andrew Simpson each scored a try.
For the Bulls, Lawrence Drummond led with six points from three goals and Shamoy Stewart, Oshane Edie and Daniel Morrison scored a try apiece.
“We were a bit scrappy, we had too many knock-ons, but to score 40 points we had to chance our arm a bit. In the first half, we moved from what works for us which is using three to four tackles to lay a platform, instead, we were going one in and looking to play off the second tackle,” said winning coach Roy Calvert.
“In the second half we went back to basics and scored 24 points. Hats off to the Bulls, they gave it to us, but my boys stood up and pulled it off and I am very proud of the team.”
Meanwhile, Bulls’ coach Derone Davis believed fatigue was a key factor in the loss.
“It was unbelievable being our first grand finals. We started well, we dominated the middle in the first 40 minutes, which was our game plan,” he said.
“Hakeem, Makaya and Kyle were especially damaging carrying the ball and tackling and that kept us in it. We started the second 40 positively but fatigue set in, our skills broke down and we lost the script. Congrats to the Red Sharks on a well-deserved win”
Earlier, Jamaica Defence Force Warriors were comfortable 16-0 winners over West Kingston Hyenas in the play-off for third place.
Courtney Davies, Demar Williams and Okeano Stephenson each scored tries while Nicolai Kennedy kicked two goals.
In the NCC U19 Grand Finals, Portmore Rugby League Club defeated Washington Blvd. Bulls 4-0 courtesy of a try from Rasheed Pencle.
Meanwhile, in the other U19 club game St Bess Rugby League Club defeated Liguanea Dragons 26-0 for third place.
Mike Evans has been suspended for one game without pay by the NFL after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver clashed with the New Orleans Saints' Marshon Lattimore.
Evans and Saints cornerback Lattimore were engaged in a physical battle throughout the Buccaneers' 20-10 victory at the Superdome on Monday.
It boiled over in the fourth quarter when the latter got in the face of Tom Brady as the Buccaneers' quarterback appealed for a penalty flag on an unsuccessful third-down play.
Evans came in and knocked Lattimore to the turf, prompting a melee that resulted in both players being disqualified.
The pair have history, with Evans previously being suspended for one game for a cheap shot on Lattimore in 2017.
Evans spoke to the media after the game and did not expect to receive any kind of suspension, though that confidence was clearly misplaced.
An NFL statement read: "NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan issued the suspension for a violation of Rule 12, Section 2, Article 8(g) which prohibits 'unnecessarily running, diving into, cutting, or throwing the body against or on a player who is out of the play or should not have reasonably anticipated such contact by an opponent, before or after the ball is dead,' as well as Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 which prohibits any act which is 'contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship'."
Runyan also personally wrote to Evans explaining the decision, which is still subject to a potential appeal.
He said: "After a play had ended, you were walking toward your sidelines. When you noticed your team-mates engaged in a confrontation with Saints' players, you ran toward that area on the field and violently threw your body into and struck an unsuspecting opponent who was part of that confrontation.
"You knocked your opponent to the ground and a melee ensued involving players from both teams. Your aggressive conduct could have caused serious injury to your opponent and clearly does not reflect the high standards of sportsmanship expected of a professional."
Evans can return to the Buccaneers' active roster on September 26, the day after their game against the Green Bay Packers.
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