CNN – Sports

By Wayne Sterling, CNN Twenty-three-time grand slam singles champion Serena Williams and her sister, seven-time major singles champion Venus Williams, will miss the final tennis major of the year, the US Open, the two announced on social media on Wednesday. Serena Williams announced she would not be playing because of a hamstring injury, writing on

By Amanda Davies and Sana Noor Haq, CNN Beatrice de Lavalette was 17 years old when she was at Brussels’ Zaventem Airport, heading back to the US for spring break. The next thing she remembers is darkness, and the feeling of being lifted off the ground. By chance De Lavalette had been standing next to

By Scottie Andrew, CNN The US Open will offer athletes mental health support during this year’s tournament, in addition to typical health services, US Open officials said in a statement Tuesday. Mental health care providers will join sports medicine experts from the Mount Sinai Health System at this year’s US Open in New York, scheduled

By Amir Vera and David Close, CNN A six-year corruption investigation into bribery schemes in multiple world football organizations ended Tuesday. The US Department of Justice awarded $201 million to FIFA, international football’s governing body; CONCACAF, the confederation overseeing football in North and Central America along with the Caribbean countries; CONMEBOL, the governing confederation in

By Ben Westcott, CNN Australian cyclist Paige Greco won the first gold of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics on Wednesday with the Games, delayed by a year due to the pandemic, finally underway as new coronavirus cases surge in Japan’s capital. Greco crossed the line first in the women’s C1-3 3,000 meters individual pursuit at the

By Ben Morse, CNN Sixteen days after the closing ceremony of the Olympics, Japan is hosting its next global sporting event as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games get underway. Like the Olympics, the Paralympics are taking place a year after originally planned because of the delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic. According to the International

By Scottie Andrew, CNN At least 30 athletes competing in the Tokyo Paralympics identify as LGBTQ — a new high for LGBTQ representation at the Paralympic Games, by one count. That’s more than double the amount of athletes who publicly identified as LGBTQ in the 2016 Rio Paralympics, according to the SB Nation blog Outsports,

By Sana Noor Haq and Rachel Trent, CNN If you’re watching the Paralympic Games, you may notice an unfamiliar abbreviation, RPC. It stands for the Russian Paralympic Committee, and it’s a way of allowing Russian athletes to compete in the Paralympics while their country is banned from the Games because of one of the biggest

By Ben Church, CNN The flag of Afghanistan will be used as a symbol of “solidarity and peace” as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games kicks off on Tuesday night in Japan. The 16th Summer Paralympics — delayed by a year due to the pandemic — will take place amid Japan’s worst outbreak of Covid-19, with

By David Williams, CNN Becca Meyers won three gold medals and a silver at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, but the swimmer, who’s deaf and blind, said being there without someone to help navigate took its toll. The two-time Paralympian announced on Tuesday that she would not be attending the Tokyo Games next

By Ben Morse and Kevin Dotson, CNN A top-flight French league game between Nice and Marseille was abandoned on Sunday after fans invaded the pitch and a mass brawl broke out, involving players and staff. “The game between Nice and Marseille on Sunday evening ended prematurely as — following disturbances on the pitch involving home

By Kevin Dotson and Alaa Elassar, CNN Hall of Fame hockey player Rod Gilbert, fondly known as “Mr. Ranger,” died on Sunday. He was 80 years old. His death was confirmed by the National Hockey League in a press release mourning Gilbert’s loss and highlighting his impact. The cause of his death was not revealed.

By Homero De la Fuente, CNN Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera hit his 500th career home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto on Sunday to become the 28th member of the exclusive 500 home run club. Playing in his 19th season, Cabrera hit a 400-foot solo shot off Blue Jays pitcher Steven

By Ben Church, CNN Anna Nordqvist held her nerve on the final hole to win this year’s Women’s Open at Carnoustie, Scotland, on Sunday. The Swedish golfer was all smiles as she was crowned champion after a nerve-wracking end to competition. Nordqvist was tied on 12 under with playing partner Nanna Koerstz Madsen coming into

By Ben Church, CNN Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah posted the second-fastest women’s 100-meter time in history at the Eugene Diamond League competition Saturday. The Jamaican, who defended her 100-meter and 200-meter Olympic titles at Tokyo 2020, ran a world lead time of 10.54 seconds as she continued to flirt with breaking Florence Griffith-Joyner’s world record

By John Sinnott, CNN Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane scored Liverpool’s goals in the 2-0 Premier League win over Burnley, but it was the performance of teenager Harvey Elliott that really caught the eye on Saturday. The 18-year-old midfielder was making his first Premier League start for Liverpool and he didn’t look out of place

By John Sinnott, CNN Cristiano Ronaldo has “never wanted to leave Juventus,” according to the club’s coach Massimiliano Allegri. Ronaldo, who has 12 months remaining on his Juve contract, has been the subject of much recent transfer speculation with Spanish TV show El Chiringuito suggesting a return to Real Madrid could happen. There was also