Naomi Osaka of Japan prepares for the third round women’s singles tennis match against Iva Jovic of the U.S. at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Saturday, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

PARIS — Naomi Osaka and Taylor Townsend are piling up wins on the court at the French Open.

Their success comes after drawing attention off the court for organizing a dinner for Black players before the tournament started.

“It caused a bit of a stir, which I thought was pretty funny because for so long we have been the ones that (are) the minority in a sport where we kind of stick out,” Townsend said about chatter on social media. “And now coming together all of a sudden seems like a problem.”

READ: Naomi Osaka channels Eiffel Tower with French Open outfit

While Townsend said the reaction from her Instagram post about the evening was “mostly positive,” she said there was also online criticism.

Several comments on Osaka’s and Townsend’s posts suggested the dinner as “segregation,” while another asked, “When are the white, Latino, and Asian parties?”

It all prompted Townsend to quote a lyric from the rapper Finesse2tymes: “He said, ‘It’s cool when they do it; it’s a problem when I do it.’”

Keeping in the rap theme, Townsend quoted Tupac Shakur in her post about the evening: “Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice; I say the darker the flesh, then the deeper the roots.”

Besides Osaka and Townsend, the other attendees of the dinner were 2025 French Open champion Coco Gauff, retiring Frenchman Gael Monfils, doubles specialist Asia Muhammad and retired player turned TV commentator Chris Eubanks.

“Growing up, there weren’t a lot of tennis players I could look up to that looked like me,” Osaka — whose father is from Haiti and mother is from Japan — said in her Instagram post about the dinner. “Being a minority in a sport like tennis is very isolating but the positive is that you keep tabs on everyone that … being blunt, is black. There’s a fellowship, a camaraderie.”

READ: Naomi Osaka moves into French Open third round vs Iva Jovic

“I felt like everyone in that room was a part of my family,” Osaka — who represents Japan but grew up mostly in the U.S. — added in a news conference.

For Townsend, “it wasn’t just about the culture, it was healing for us to all be able to speak about our journeys.”

While Gauff’s title defense ended with a loss to Anastasia Potapova on Saturday, Osaka has reached the fourth round in Paris for the first time in her career while showing off her taste for fashion with her elaborate walk-on outfits. American player Townsend and Czech partner Katerina Siniakova — the top-seeded doubles team — have won their opening three matches and are into the quarterfinals.

Althea Gibson broke tennis’ color barrier

Gauff beat Townsend in the opening round of singles, after which a ceremony was held on Court Philippe-Chatrier to honor the 70th anniversary of Althea Gibson’s 1956 French Open victory — the first Grand Slam title for a Black tennis player.

Gibson was also the first Black player to compete at a major tennis tournament when she fought with the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association just to get admitted in 1950 to what was then called the U.S. Nationals — now the U.S. Open.

“Taylor and I playing on Philippe-Chatrier is a direct product of Althea Gibson,” Gauff told the crowd after beating Townsend. “It just shows the importance of breaking barriers in all aspects of the world, but especially in sport. I’m very grateful for people like her and Serena and Venus (Williams), Zina Garrison for paving the way for us.”

‘Soul Food’ Sunday at Wimbledon

The dinner recalls how going back to the Harlem Renaissance, Black athletes, entertainers, musicians and writers held salons and dinners to celebrate their successes in a familial space. Such events were not meant as a slight to non-Blacks.

Katrina Adams, a former pro and then the first Black president of the U.S. Tennis Association, said she was pleased to see “an old tradition” re-emerging.

“In our era in the 80’s/90’s, we hosted ‘Soul Food’ Sunday on the middle Sunday of Wimbledon, when there was no play,” Adams said in a comment on Townsend’s post. “All the black players, got together, cooked, ate and enjoyed each other.”

Adams said players like Garrison and Lori McNeil hosted the Wimbledon gatherings for years and that she passed on the tradition to the likes of Chanda Rubin, the Williams sisters, MaliVai Washington and Roger Smith.

Townsend’s unexpected vacation with Osaka

Townsend and Osaka hardly knew each other before Osaka surprised Townsend by inviting her on a vacation last year to the Turks and Caicos.

Townsend is an extrovert and Osaka a very quiet introvert.

“I didn’t know why she invited me,” Townsend said. “(But) it ended up being the best time and Naomi and I floated in the ocean on a surfboard for three hours and talked to each other. … We’ve been friends ever since.”

Both players are mothers.

“We share a lot of the same values and principles and morals of how we go about life and how we want to treat people and what type of mothers that we want to be for our children,” Townsend said. “It goes way beyond tennis.”

Soraya Kelly knows none of this comes for free and acknowledges funding could be a stumbling block. This is where she feels that the Welsh Government could come in.

Currently the FAW’s main source of income is from commercial revenue and from international governing bodies such as Fifa and Uefa. However that situation has not been aided by the men’s team failing to qualify for this summer’s World Cup.

The Welsh Government supports the FAW at grassroots level with projects relating to matters such as stadia development and new infrastructure.

For example, to mark the historic appearance of Wales’ women at Euro 2025, the ‘Partner Support Fund‘ supported 16 grassroots, cultural, and educational organisations to boost sports participation and promote equality.

Sport Wales – the body responsible for developing and promoting sport in Wales – also provides public and lottery money to the FAW through grants, in partnership with the Welsh Government.

Any proposal for Welsh Government help to fund a new elite pathway would likely require sensitive negotiation with the FAW.

In a statement, the Welsh Government said: “Ensuring women and girls have the opportunity to take part in sport is essential to building a confident, ambitious Wales where talent is nurtured at every level. This Welsh Government is committed to working closely with governing bodies to expand opportunities and remove barriers. Women’s sport has the power to transform lives, strengthen communities and elevate Wales on the international stage.”

It added: “The Football Association of Wales leads on the governance and development of the game, including ongoing discussions on strengthening pathways such as a Wales women’s under 21 or under 23 team. Through Sport Wales, we are investing in the future of women’s sport, supporting national bodies to grow participation, develop elite talent and inspire the next generation.”

Kelly plans to launch the campaign in August and already has the backing of Race Council Cymru, Black Police Association, Her Game Too and Vale of Glamorgan MP Kanishka Narayan. She is also soon to meet UEFA vice president and former Wales captain Laura McAllister.

“I get it is down to funding. The FAW has only got a certain amount of money. So the Welsh Government needs to step in here so that there’s equality for our girls, as well as our boys, in Wales,” said Kelly.

“The boys have got it and have always had it. There’s been funding there for the boys, but not for the girls and that needs to change.

“We’ve got lots and lots of people who are really passionate about this and trying to help this pathway to develop.

“The women’s game has come on so much and how are we ever going to be able to compete against the likes of England going forward, if we don’t have that middle buffer?”

New French Open champions will be crowned in both the women’s and men’s singles after Marta Kostyuk continued a tournament of shocks by knocking out Iga Swiatek.

Defending champion Coco Gauff’s defeat on Saturday left four-time winner Swiatek as the only remaining player in either draw to have lifted the trophy at Roland Garros.

But the Pole has endured a difficult season and produced an error-strewn display in a 7-5 6-1 defeat by in-form Kostyuk.

It was a very unhappy 25th birthday for Swiatek, who admitted afterwards that she had been unable to overcome the tension of the occasion.

“It is harder a bit to handle stress for me in the last year,” she said. “Today I felt off and I did mistakes that I didn’t want to do, and I wanted to play safe, but the ball flew everywhere.“Suddenly these feelings came back, and I tried to work on it with my dialogue inside, but it was tough today. It all kind of went drastically down, and I played worse and worse.”

Kostyuk is yet to lose a match on clay this season after winning the biggest title of her career in Madrid earlier this month, and she extended her unbeaten run to 16 matches.

It is just the second time the 23-year-old, who sits at a career-high ranking of 15, has made it through to the quarter-finals of a grand slam after the Australian Open in 2024.

“To beat such an unbelievable player who won four times here, I’d lost (three) times to her, never taken a set off her, I still cannot believe it,” said Kostyuk.

“I think the most important thing I’ve been doing is really just trying to enjoy. I woke up this morning and I just thought about what an unbelievable day I have to live today to play on Chatrier against Iga.”

Swiatek changed coaches earlier in the spring in an effort to arrest her slide, bringing in Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu’s former coach Francisco Roig, but her troubles remain and this is her earliest defeat on the Parisian clay since her debut in 2019.

She had won her first three matches comfortably and served for the first set here but could not clinch it and two double faults in the 12th game helped Kostyuk move into the lead.

Swiatek went for a lengthy bathroom break and broke serve immediately to start the second set only to again double fault twice and hand the initiative back.

Her forehand, so often a barometer of her game and confidence, became increasingly wayward and a final backhand that flew way wide was her 38th unforced error of the match.

Swiatek will now turn her attentions to grass and the defence of her Wimbledon title.

Kostyuk began the tournament in tears on court, revealing that her family home in Kyiv had narrowly avoided being hit by a Russian missile, but her victory continued an excellent tournament for Ukraine’s women.

And she will next play a compatriot after Elina Svitolina, another woman in some of the best form of her career, defeated Belinda Bencic 4-6 6-4 6-0.

Also through to the last eight – for the first time here in 17 years – is Romanian Sorana Cirstea after a 6-3 7-6 (4) victory over China’s Xiyu Wang.

The 36-year-old announced ahead of this season that it would be her last, but she may have to rethink her plans after breaking into the top 20 for the first time.

PA

On April 24th, the Minnesota Vikings ended the Jonathan Greenard era after two seasons, obtaining a pair of 3rd-Round picks in exchange for Greenard and a 7th-Rounder to the Philadelphia Eagles. Most fans expressed mixed emotions over the swap, and that sentiment was not exclusive. ESPN came along this week and outlined its displeasure with the transaction.

In short, Bill Barnwell from that network was not impressed.

Minnesota will now lean full tilt into the Dallas Turner era at outside linebacker, which might’ve been the plan for the last two years.

Vikings EDGE Plan Still Has a Clear Long-Term Logic

Bill Barnwell: The Greenard Trade Was Not Good

Barnwell outlined the NFL’s best and worst offseason moves this week, and regrettably, he twisted the knife on the Vikings’ decision to trade Greenard.

“Worst: Trading Jonathan Greenard for two third-round picks. I can understand why the Vikings traded Greenard. Although he was excellent when healthy in his two years with Minnesota, injuries limited him to three sacks in 12 games in Year 2 after he racked up 12 sacks in Year 1,” he explained.

“The Vikings traded significant draft capital in 2024 to move up for Dallas Turner in the first round, and while I’m not sure his eight-sack total from 2025 really reflects Turner’s true impact on the field, you can understand why the Vikings want to open up a starting role for the Alabama product. With Greenard wanting a new contract, a trade made sense. Did the Vikings really do themselves any favors by waiting until late April to deal Greenard? They landed only a pair of third-round picks from the Eagles.”

Minnesota spent the first 3rd-Rounder on safety Jakobe Thomas, banked the other one for 2027, and used the salary cap relief from the Greenard trade to sign wide receiver Jauan Jennings.

Barnwell continued, “The Vikings were facing a difficult cap situation this offseason, but the four-year, $98 million deal Greenard signed with the Eagles is structured in a team-friendly manner. Greenard will have cap hits of $6.2 million in 2026 and $11.1 million in 2027.”

“I understand wanting to open up more snaps for Turner, but for what they landed and what they apparently needed to pay Greenard to make him happy, I’d rather have kept one of my best players around for another year or two.”

Indeed, Getting Rid of the Best Defensive Players Is Risky

Barnwell isn’t nuts here. While Greenard failed to accrue his typical sack total in 2025 — instead tabulating now-infamous “almost sacks” — he did not struggle putting pressure on quarterbacks and remained effective against the run.

A case can be made that defensive tackle Jalen Redmond was just as productive, if not more, than Greenard last year, but the fact remains that Greenard was a Top 5 Vikings player no matter what.

Most Super Bowl hopefuls don’t trade their best EDGE defenders. They do the opposite. They hoard them. Like the Eagles, Greenard’s new employer.

Keeping the Budget Lean

Minnesota’s mantra this offseason — that no one knew until a couple of days of free agency transpired — was pinching pennies. They signed Kyler Murray to an absurdly cheap deal, along with inking players like James Pierre (CB), Jauan Jennings (WR), and Ryan Van Demark (OT) to modest contracts.

The Vikings could have spent much dinero in free agency, but that would’ve required sunsetting new, big contracts on the 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030 budgets. So, interim general manager Rob Brzezinski kept the spending low, resetting the financial situation so that when the 2027 offseason arrives, the club can actually be active in free agency.

In short, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s large expenditures in 2024 and 2025 came home to roost. The Greenard trade was smushed right in the middle of that reality.

Barnwell Bullish on Kyler Murray

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Vikings. Barnwell named Murray to Minnesota as one of the top offseason moves around the sport.

He explained, “There’s more to roster-building than sheer surplus value, but no deal has the potential to offer more upside in 2026 than this one. And given that the Vikings were facing down another season with J.J. McCarthy as their primary option under center, Murray addresses what might be their biggest position of need.”

“Barring the opportunity cost of finding out that McCarthy’s suddenly the quarterback they expected to land in the first round two years ago, the Murray acquisition offers virtually no downside and a massive amount of upside.”

And Barnwell is correct. It’s still mind-boggling that Minnesota obtained Murray for $1.3 million. Doesn’t seem real.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker

FILE – San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, left, talks with Victor Wembanyama on the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets March 5, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama barely could get the words out.

The question, a few minutes after he and the San Antonio Spurs won the Western Conference title and earned the right to go to this year’s NBA Finals to face the New York Knicks, was about his relationship with former coach Gregg Popovich and what this playoff run likely means to the winningest coach in league history.

And Wembanyama paused, clearly emotional, before starting his answer.

READ: Spurs’ Wembanyama looks ahead to NBA Finals vs Knicks

“I don’t know what it means for him,” Wembanyama said. “That’s a guy who’s got more experience as a coach than almost anybody and has been through so many things in his career and so many things right now as ‘El Jefe.’ He goes through some things we can’t even imagine. So, I need to call him. I need to see him. I need to talk to him because there’s no way I can understand right now how he feels.”

The official title for the 77-year-old Popovich is President of Spurs Basketball. Unofficially, the Basketball Hall of Famer may as well be coach emeritus — still regularly seen at practices in San Antonio, still seen at games, sometimes walking with the assistance of a cane. He’s still in the ears of players and coaches, even visiting the locker room after the Spurs lost Game 3 of the West finals to Oklahoma City for a bit of a pep talk and bit of a chewing out, depending on perspective.

But really, he’s El Jefe. The boss. It’s what he announced himself as when he retired last year, speaking publicly for the first time since the November 2024 stroke that essentially ended his coaching career and led to Mitch Johnson getting the job on basically a couple hours’ notice. He came out for that event in a jacket, then opened it to display the shirt with “El Jefe” on the front.

“You talk about the greatest coach pretty much of all time to be able to sit here and tell you the experiences that they went through or that he’s been through or that he sees,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. “I mean, it’s second to none, honestly. He helps out. He helps out a lot. … He just has so much wisdom and stuff that you can’t take for granted.”

Game 1 of the Knicks-Spurs series is Wednesday in San Antonio.

READ: NBA Finals rematch: It’s Spurs vs Knicks for the championship

Knicks coach Mike Brown saw first-hand how Popovich operated the Spurs; he spent three years as an assistant coach under him in San Antonio.

Brown still has family members living in San Antonio — causing him to joke a few days ago that a Knicks-Spurs matchup in the NBA Finals would save him a little bit of money because he wouldn’t have to fly as many people in to see games.

“He still has a huge presence. He will always have a presence,” Brown said of Popovich. “The job that he’s done, not only on the court with that team or that organization but off the court too, is going to be imprinted for as long as the game of basketball exists. His presence is very, very much felt all the time and I’ve got a lot of respect for the organization for a lot of different reasons.”

And Popovich still commands that respect, even now.

READ: NBA: ‘El Jefe’ Gregg Popovich says it’s time for new Spurs coach

Popovich met the Spurs at the airport after they flew home from Games 3 and 4 of their West semifinal series against Minnesota a couple weeks ago — for a purpose. Wembanyama was ejected from Game 4 for a flagrant elbow he threw at Timberwolves forward Naz Reid. When Wembanyama got off the plane, Popovich was waiting. Cameras caught the exchange and it was pretty clear that Popovich was doing the talking and Wembanyama was doing the listening.

“He gives feedback and talks to us regularly,” Wembanyama said, without disclosing what Popovich’s message was that afternoon.

Popovich was also at the airport in the wee hours of Sunday morning, when the Spurs returned home from Oklahoma City — on a night in which thousands of fans, both there and in the city’s streets, celebrated the win.

Popovich won five NBA championships as San Antonio’s coach, the first of those coming in 1999 when the Spurs beat the Knicks. The next era of Spurs basketball is here, with Johnson coaching, and it’s an interesting coincidence that his first finals as Spurs coach is against the Knicks.

READ: NBA: Gregg Popovich coaching farewell ‘end of an era’

“I’m fortunate my old boss is still around, and has been through this a few times,” Johnson said. “Coach Pop has been a resource.”

And in the immediate aftermath of his biggest win yet — the one that got him to his first of what he hopes is many NBA Finals — Wembanyama simply could not wait to talk to El Jefe.

When I talk to him, it’s going to be only stored in my head — except if I record it in secret,” Wembanyama said. “But I need to talk to him, so quick.”

There are more lessons to learn. There are four more wins to get. And Wembanyama knows that if anyone truly knows the way to those wins, it’s Popovich.

For years, fans have criticised Canelo Alvarez for not facing former super-middleweight rival David Benavidez, and now Alvarez has revealed why the fight never took place.

Canelo became the super-middleweight division’s first undisputed champion back in 2021, dethroning each of Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant within 12 months in one of modern boxing’s most impressive runs.

After an unsuccessful challenge for Dmitry Bivol’s light-heavyweight crown, Alvarez returned to 168lbs and defended the belt against Gennadiy Golovkin, John Ryder and Jermell Charlo – ignoring a fight with the physically imposing Benavidez, who was his WBC mandatory challenger.

Speaking to Inside The Ring Show, Canelo said that his only targets at that stage were fellow world champions.

“When we were both at 168, I fought every champion in that division. Why [did] he never fight those champions? If he was a champion at that point, I’d fight him. My goal was being undisputed. 

“Right now it’s just impossible. He can [go] fight with heavyweights, do you know what I mean.” 

Benavidez held the WBC super-middleweight belt in 2020, but he was stripped after missing weight ahead of his fight with Roamer Alexis Angulo, with the vacant title instead being added to Canelo’s clash with Smith four months later.

Earlier this month, Benavidez moved up in the pound-for-pound rankings by knocking out Gilberto Ramirez to become a three-division champion and a new top dog on the cruiserweight scene. He may drop back down to light-heavyweight next, but has also touted a heavyweight run in the future. The 29-year-old’s days at super-middleweight are well and truly over, meaning the Canelo fight is as unlikely as ever.

The Minnesota Vikings turned the page on the Kwesi Adofo-Mensah era this offseason, and with that, many hope the team can start drafting well and inserting rookies into the lineup sooner rather than later. That’s the goal anyway.

The club welcomed about 35 new players altogether this offseason; now it’s time to glance at the rookies who could start as early as Week 1.

Listed alphabetically, these are those rookies who have a reasonable or semi-reasonable path to the starting lineup right away.

Training Camp Will Reveal Which Newcomers Can Push Veterans Early

1. Caleb Banks | DT

Probably a no-brainer on this list — the Vikings drafted Banks as their most impactful possible DT solution since Sharrif Floyd in 2013, a DT from Florida who also had foot issues, ironically enough.

Whether Banks is ready to start will remain a summer suspense novel. Head coach Kevin O’Connell recently stated that the goal is to have him ready by training camp, but the Vikings also have a history of slow-rolling injury recoveries.

If Banks’s foot is good to go, he’ll formally take Jonathan Allen’s spot in the 2026 lineup.

2. Gavin Gerhardt | C

This is the most far-fetched on the list.

The Vikings appeared to scout Gerhardt as their youth solution at center from the start of the pre-draft process. Gerhardt said in April about his pre-draft visit, “The coaches were just genuine, good human beings. Obviously, I think highly of them coaching-wise, but they were all very good people. People that cared about me as a human being — and that’s what I care most about, other human beings.”

“Obviously, I think I’m a good football player, but me as a human being, I think that’s my greatest quality. I really strive to be just like my father and be that man everyone can lean on. That’s the vibe I got when I was there in Minnesota from the coaching staff.

Vikings.com’s Craig Peters also noted after the draft on Gerhardt, “The Vikings have 2024 seventh-round pick Michael Jurgens and 2020 sixth-rounder Blake Brandel returning after both played pivot in place of Kelly last season.”

“The Vikings evaluated multiple interior linemen. Gerhardt’s inclusion in the Top 30 process enabled the team to see how he would handle an install and his voice in a simulated huddle.”

There’s a world, albeit far off in a distant galaxy, where Gerhardt takes the summer by storm and ousts Brandel from his frontrunner status. It could happen, especially if Minnesota extensively scouted Gerhardt as “their guy.”

3. Dominique Orange | DT

Orange is the most likely to start out of the gate on this list.

He has no lingering injury issues — like Banks. He’s not a 7th-Rounder. And he’s not battling a savvy veteran like Johnny Hekker, like the next guy on the list.

Nose tackles often acclimate to the NFL faster than other defensive players, and because Minnesota employs no surefire nose tackle in the starting lineup — Levi Drake Rodriguez would be the closest alternative — Orange has a glowing opportunity to seize the moment.

He’s huge. He stuffs the run. The Vikings don’t have a starting nose tackle. And Minnesota picked him in Round 3, a reasonable spot to suggest Week 1 playing time. Orange will likely be the Week 1 starter at NT.

4. Brett Thorson | P

Thorson stands 61″ and weighs 240 pounds. His primary concern is the weather; he didn’t grow up facing the Midwest’s wind, snow, and cold, and Georgia doesn’t provide the same conditions he would encounter in Minnesota.

Additionally, the Vikings have already signed a new punter: Johnny Hekker. Once regarded as the best punter in football, he earned six All-Pro selections, four Pro Bowl invitations, and a Super Bowl ring. However, that version of him is now a few years in the past. In 2025, he performed closer to league average, so for him to rebound in Minnesota, he would need to regain his previous form.

His contract complicates matters further. It indicates he will be the Vikings’ punter through 2026. If they keep Thorson and release Hekker, they would incur dead money, and teams typically do not carry two punters.

While Thorson could be a viable option, he faces a practical challenge beyond his kicking abilities. He must show that he can handle holding for extra points and field goals, a responsibility he did not fulfill at Georgia. For specialists, the skill can be the difference between and active roster spot and the practice squad.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker