Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court. This week, the most mercurial player on the men’s tour did what he does best, there was an American shuffle at the top of the women’s rankings and a Wimbledon champion’s quandary revealed…
“Always I have to be careful for the respect for the players that have played incredible roles, but there’s no doubt he’s one of the greatest for sure,” said Pep Guardiola of Kevin De Bruyne’s impending exit from Manchester City. De Bruyne’s impact at City since joining from Wolfsburg in 2015 has been huge, with…
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees’ bats were the story of the team’s franchise-record nine-home run day against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. Then came the discussion about the actual bats used by some players in the 20-9 win. The uniquely shaped lumber is the result of two years of research and experimentation with…
By Patrick Mooney, Ken Rosenthal and Sahadev Sharma CHICAGO — At first glance, the post from an X user named @Brooks_Gate seemed like something a multibillion-dollar company would ignore. It consisted of a chart that used estimated data to illustrate the percentage of revenue spent on player payroll. Rather than sitting at the top with…
Alexandra Eala had the biggest week of her tennis career at the Miami Open in March. She beat three Grand Slam champions — Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Świątek — on her way to the semifinals, where she had 2024 U.S. Open finalist Jessica Pegula on the ropes in what was ultimately a three-set…
Three years ago, Brandon Halverson had all but given up on his hockey dream. He was delivering UberEats and groceries and working on a farm. He sold his truck. He borrowed money from his parents. Whatever it took to scrape out enough money for rent. Two weeks ago, he stepped into the net with the…
Read More “From UberEats driver to NHL goalie: Inside the unlikeliest start in hockey history” »
By Tim Britton, Johnny Flores Jr. and Andy McCullough Every week, we ask a selected group of our baseball writers — local and national — to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results, with the average rankings of our panel in parentheses. The first weekend of the baseball season offered its…
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court. This week, the Miami Open crowned its champions, with Aryna Sabalenka and Jakub Menšík taking the singles titles. Elsewhere, men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner had a great hard-court swing while playing just one…
Read More “Jannik Sinner’s tennis ban does ranking no harm as rivals falter in Sunshine Double” »
Making it to the WNBA or setting incredible NCAA records never crossed Shakyla Hill’s mind when she arrived at Grambling State in 2015. She had other aspirations. She wanted to be a lawyer. Recording a quadruple-double in a game was never part of the plan. Getting two in a career wasn’t even a thought. But…
Read More “She wanted a law degree. Instead, Shakyla Hill became a quadruple-double threat” »
There has been growing excitement within Formula One over the potential return of the V10 engines. That roaring sound is part of the sport’s history and identity. But the calls from senior figures in the F1 paddock, including the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, to consider returning the loud engines used most recently 20 years…
