Italy’s Jannik Sinner returns to Germany’s Alexander Zverev during their men’s singles final tennis match on the fourteenth day of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 12, 2026. (Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP)

CINCINNATI — Jannik Sinner, the world’s No. 1 men’s tennis player, withdrew from the Cincinnati Open on Sunday because of a knee injury.

Sinner, who hasn’t competed since capturing his second straight Wimbledon title last month, also withdrew from the tournament in Toronto that began Wednesday.

The 24-year-old Sinner has five Grand Slam titles and just needs to win the French Open to complete the career Grand Slam.

READ: Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic withdraw from Montreal Masters

“After consulting with my doctors and my team, I have to announce that I need to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati,” the Italian said in a statement released by tournament officials.

“My right knee has been bothering me and even though we have been working hard with my medical team, I have to accept that I’m not ready to compete yet. I’m very disappointed not to be able to play in Cincinnati. I can’t wait to be back next year and I’m now focusing on getting ready for the U.S. Open.”

Sinner’s announcement follows a similar decision by Carlos Alcaraz, who said Tuesday he also was withdrawing from the hard-court event in Cincinnati because of a lingering wrist injury.

READ: Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka lead US Open fields

The absences mean fans in Cincinnati will not see either of the world’s top two players when men’s singles begins Saturday.

Two years ago, Sinner won the title in Cincinnati, which traditionally is one of the last stops before the U.S. Open and serves as a warmup. He then went on to win the U.S. Open.

Last year, Alcaraz dethroned Sinner with a four-set victory in the U.S. Open final. The 23-year-old Spaniard will try to defend his title when the main draw of the tourney begins Aug. 30.

Nicola Tuthill is through to the Hammer Throw final at Birmingham 2026.

The UCD athlete produced a best effort of 70.09m in qualification to finish fourth in Group B. Her throw placed her in eighth overall, securing her place in Wednesday evening’s final at 7.45pm.

Outside of Tuthill’s success, it was a difficult first evening for Irish athletes at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, as Sarah Lavin, Ciara Neville, Abbie Sheridan failed to progress in their respective events.

Nick Griggs was best of the three Irishmen in the 5000m final as he finished in eighth in a time of 13:21.07.

Eric Favors had a best effort of 19.59m in round three of the shot put final, which was won by Leonardo Fabbri of Italy with 22.31m.

Limerick duo Lavin & Neville exit

Limerick’s Sarah Lavin competed in the women’s 100m hurdles on Monday evening. Despite running a season’s best time of 13.07 seconds, the dual Olympian could only manage sixth place in her heat. With the 12 fastest times over the three heats progressing, the 2023 European bronze medallist’s time left her in 15th place, and as a result, did not progress through to the semi-final.

A disappointed Sarah Lavin said after losing out on a semi-final spot:

“I really thought I could get out of the heat here. It’s a season’s best after a turbulent couple of months, and I’m proud I got to the line and delivered my best run of the season, but I want to be in finals.

“I knew I had to be sub-13 to qualify. I’ve gone under 13 seconds 52 times in my life, but my legs just didn’t lift to the same capacity over the last three hurdles. To get back under 13 seconds by the end of the season will be the goal now, and that would be a fantastic building block going into next year and moving towards LA.”

Another Limerick member of the Irish team competing in Birmingham, Ciara Neville, exited the 100m at the semi-final stage this evening. The Emerald AC athlete, who won back-to-back gold medals outdoors over 100m at the 123.ie National Senior Track and Field Championships, ran 11.57 seconds to finish in eighth place in semi-final two – a time which was well outside her PB of 11.31 seconds which she set earlier this year.

Commenting on her performance tonight, Neville said:

“I’m disappointed because I know that I had a better performance in me,” said Neville. “I’ll have to watch it back and see where it went wrong.

“Getting to the semi-final at my first individual senior outdoor championships was the goal, but I wanted to put out a performance in the semi-final. I’ll take from this experience and build on it next time.”

Abbie Sheridan, making her international debut at the European Championships, finished heat 2 of the women’s 3000m steeplechase in fourteenth position, in 9:57.50 – almost 14 seconds outside the Louth woman’s PB for the event.

LiveScores Now Available at IrishScores.com

In what appears to be a setback for Pakistan ahead of the FIH World Cup, the national federation has elevated its goalkeeping coach Bob Johan Veldhof to the position of head coach, after Herman Kruis returned to the Netherlands to continue with his existing assignment.

Just hours before the Pakistan squad departed for the World Cup, the Pakistan Hockey Federation announced that veteran Dutch coach Kruis, who had been originally named head coach, would instead serve as an adviser to the federation, while Veldhof would take charge of the national team.

The PHF had roped in the Dutch duo of Kruis and Veldhof along with Christopher Bowen following the FIH Pro League in Europe in June-July, appointing them as head coach, goalkeeping coach and assistant coach respectively as part of a coaching shakeup.

A reliable source said Kruis had informed the PHF that he would only be able to take up a full-time coaching assignment with the Pakistan team after the World Cup.

“He had left for the Netherlands to continue with his present assignment, but the PHF remained hopeful that he would still be available to the team during the World Cup, which is being held in Belgium and the Netherlands,” the source said.

Eventually, Kruis made it clear that he would not be able to dedicate himself full-time to the Pakistan squad during the tournament, prompting the federation to hand the head coaching responsibilities to Veldhof rather than bring in a former Pakistan player. 

Former Pakistan Olympian Farhan Khan is worried that the biggest challenge for Veldoff would be his “lack of experience” as a head coach.

“Veldhof will no doubt be invaluable for our goalkeepers, but his lack of experience as a head coach is a concern. In modern hockey, the head coach calls all the shots with the help of his assistant coaches and video analyst,” Khan said.

The record four-time world champions, Pakistan will now enter the tournament with Veldhof, who was originally recruited specifically to work with the team’s goalkeepers, at the helm of the coaching staff.

Pakistan have been placed in Pool D alongside arch-rivals India, England and Wales.

They will open their campaign against England at the Wagener Stadion in Amstelveen on August 15.

Sixteen teams have been divided into four pools of four, with the top two from each pool advancing to the second round.

The top two teams from each of the two second-round pools will progress to the semifinals, with the winners meeting in the final.

The tournament is being jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands from August 15-30.

Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates while playing Diana Shnaider during the quarterfinals on day nine of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at Sobeys Stadium on August 10, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP

Former world number one Iga Swiatek cruised into the Toronto Masters semifinals on Monday, taking just 64 minutes to sweep past Russian Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-1.

Poland’s Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, reached just her second WTA semifinal this year after Rome and seeks her first final since winning the Korea Open almost a year ago in Seoul.

“From the beginning I went for it. I felt like I could dominate,” Swiatek said. “I was quite happy with the way I played.”

READ: Belinda Bencic fellow supermoms flying high in Toronto

Movement that’s out of this world 🌎 @ElinaSvitolina | #NBO26 pic.twitter.com/8eUF3CgwGC

— wta (@WTA) August 11, 2026

The 25-year-old world number eight from Warsaw will on Wednesday face Ukraine’s ninth-ranked Elina Svitolina, who rallied past 19th-ranked Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.

Svitolina won eight consecutive games in the second and third sets to dispatch her Russian rival in 93 minutes.

Swiatek leads Svitolina 4-3 in their WTA career rivalry but lost both their meetings this year.

“It was a tricky match with the wind,” Swiatek said.

“It was the first chance I had to play in the wind since I got here. I thought I needed to adjust to that. I just wanted to be more solid.”

Swiatek dropped only three points on her first serve and took 11 of 16 points returning Shnaider’s second serves.

Elina Svitolina of Ukraine celebrates match point against Ekaterina Alexandrova during the quarterfinals on day nine of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at Sobeys Stadium on August 10, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP

READ: Iga Swiatek doesn’t care about results after Wimbledon loss to Alex Eala

BEAST MODE 💥@iga_swiatek | #NBO26 pic.twitter.com/ZY9ZOBdIBT

— wta (@WTA) August 11, 2026

Advertisement

Shnaider, a left-hander, swatted a backhand over the baseline to surrender a break in the opening game.

Swiatek took a 5-2 lead, breaking again when Shnaider netted a backhand, and served out to take the first set in 31 minutes.

Swiatek broke for a 2-1 lead in the second when Shnaider netted a forehand. She smashed a forehand winner to break for a 4-1 edge and broke again in the last game when Shnaider sent a forehand long.

Svitolina sent a backhand long to drop serve to love in the final game of the first set, Alexandrova taking it after 29 minutes with 12 winners to only three by Svitolina.

In the second set, Alexandrova sent a forehand long and netted two backhands to hand Svitolina three breaks.

Svitolina served for the match in the eighth game of the final set but double faulted away a break only to break back to love in the last game, smashing a service return winner to end it.

First Published: Aug 10 2026 | 7:03 PM IST

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was far from perfect. Most glaringly, there were the issues in the draft, the absolute best way to keep a roster nourished with talent.

What of his most recent work?

The 2025 NFL Draft was the final one with Mr. Adofo-Mensah getting the final call. Surprisingly enough, the analytics GM did something that was somewhat in defiance to the general wisdom: opting for a guard in the 1st. Crucially, the opening-round selection looks very promising. Does the remainder of the draft demonstrate commensurate levels of promise?

Kwesi’s Parting Gift — The 2025 Draft Class

So far, Vikings camp has seen several risers. Among these players who have impressed are receiver Tai Felton, DT/EDGE Ty Ingram-Dawkins, and TE Gavin Bartholomew. All of these young guys are in town after getting scooped up as part of the same 2025 draft class.

— READ MORE: He’s 6’2″, Boasts Elite Speed, and is Making a Name for Himself at Vikings Camp —
— READ MORE: A Kevin O’Connell Answer Isn’t Fully Adding Up —
— READ MORE: Vikings Get Flashes from J.J. McCarthy, and the Defense is Gonna Be Pretty Good —

Journey back in time to the legendary 2015 Vikings draft. That’s a cluster of talent that involved a total of ten players. Corner Trae Waynes got chosen in the 1st and did fine; overall, though, we was a disappointment due to being solid rather than sizzling. Two others, OT Tyrus Thompson and DE B.J. Dubose, never played in a single NFL game. Another, OT T.J. Clemmings, was horrible.

What makes the group of talent so formidable is that linebacker Eric Kendricks got chosen in the 2nd, edge rusher Danielle Hunter in the 3rd, and receiver Stefon Diggs in the 5th. Each would get chosen in the 1st if the draft got redone.

See the key reality? Pulling three fantastic players out of a singular draft represents wonderful work. Think of drafting as therefore being vaguely similar to a hitter in baseball. Boasting a .300 batting average — or better — could represent really nice work, especially if one can hit for power (like landing an All-Pro edge rusher in the 3rd).

Bring that back around to Kwesi’s parting gift.

LG1 Donovan Jackson is going to be a fantastic player. He’s tough and competitive. He’s rugged and can be used as a puller. Look for him to create a ferocious left side with Christian Darrisaw healthy. Quite possibly, he’ll become the main leader along the o-line once Brian O’Neill retires.

Afterwards, the picks may have been used on somebody who can become a strong WR3, a strong depth defensive lineman capable of playing along the edge, and then an upside TE3. That’s a good haul, folks. Not on par with the All Pro talent taken in 2015 but going 4/5 is really good. These guys still need to prove themselves further but there’s upside here.

Where Adofo-Mensah missed was with the Kobe King selection, who appeared a touch slow to my eye. A swing and a miss here on the thumping linebacker can be forgiven if the other four guys fulfill their potential.

Plus, consider the UDFA talent.

Max Brosmer could be a long-term QB3 with the ceiling of that of a strong QB2. That’s an excellent outcome for an undrafted passer. Receiver Myles Price has proven capable of being a weapon as a returner (with some meat on the bone as a receiver). Receiver Dontae Fleming is making noise, defensive lineman Elijah Williams is battling to maintain his roster spot, and several other UDFAs are still in the mix.

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah deserves credit for these decisions. Again, he was far from perfect, but much of the roster owes something to the former GM. Now, if J.J. McCarthy explodes as he solidifies himself as the long-term QB1? That’s an outcome that will lead to a much different perspective on the executive who is now putting in work for the 49ers.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

Advertisement

UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC believe that FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s recent plan to sell an interest in the World Cup was a “fundamental breach of trust” with the institutions world soccer’s governing body serves.

In an “open letter to the football family” revealed on Monday, UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC also said that “when trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.” 
UEFA runs soccer in Europe, CONCACAF does the same for North, Central America and the Caribbean, while the AFC governs the sport in Asia.

The letter was co-signed by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, AFC president Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani and three general secretaries.

“Football is the world’s greatest shared passion. It belongs to no individual and no institution. It belongs to the players, the fans, the clubs, the member associations and every institution entrusted with safeguarding its future,” the open letter said. “It is in that spirit, as confederations representing its members, that we speak collectively today.” 
Infantino is facing a revolt after his failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors.

“It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him,” the letter said. “These are not the qualities football deserves in its leadership. That is why we have taken this stance: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the game we serve.” 

 
UEFA previously issued a threat to boycott the World Cup and other FIFA competitions despite the governing body abandoning and apologizing for its failed plan.

Norway’s soccer federation called for Infantino to step down, while the English Football Association has also withdrawn its support for Infantino’s re-election next March.

“Football’s strength has always been its unity. We call for that unity to be honoured now,” the letter said. “For leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it.” 
Last Wednesday, FIFA said it had apologized for errors made over the failed plan but that senior staff at a crisis meeting in Morocco “reaffirmed their full support” for his presidency.

However, the nature of the meeting was also met with criticism.

“FIFA’s own letter also confirms that only one elected official was present at the leadership meeting in Morocco,” the open letter said. “No FIFA Council members or Member Associations were invited to participate. Only the management committee, composed of FIFA-employed senior staff, was present.” 
FIFA was also urged to go further than just acknowledging mistakes were made.

“It treats this as a failure of communication, when what football witnessed was a failure of judgment,” the letter said. “There remains no recognition that attempting to sell an interest in the FIFA World Cup was a profound failure of judgment – not just a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions FIFA exists to serve.

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan secured direct qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup after beating Ireland by three wickets in the third ODI at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast on Monday. The win also gave Afghanistan an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-match series.Afghanistan bowled Ireland out for 206 in 46.3 overs before chasing down the target in 44.5 overs. The win was set up by a strong bowling effort and a calm finish from Rashid Khan.Afghanistan entered the third ODI knowing that a win would be enough to seal their place in the 2027 ODI World Cup. They had already beaten Ireland by 92 runs in the second ODI, while the opening match of the five-match series was washed out.

Rashid, Ahmadzai take Afghanistan home

Afghanistan looked in control at 97 for two during the chase but lost five wickets for 79 runs to slip to 176 for seven.Rashid then stepped up when his team needed him most. He remained unbeaten on 37 off 43 balls, hitting four boundaries, while Yamin Ahmadzai stayed not out on four off 26 balls.The pair held their nerve to take Afghanistan across the finish line without any further damage.Rashid was named Player of the Match for his crucial contribution.

Afghanistan secure World Cup spot

Afghanistan, currently ranked No. 8 in ODIs, have now secured direct qualification for the 2027 World Cup, which will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.This will be Afghanistan’s fourth appearance in an ODI World Cup.

Rahmat Shah praises bowling effort

Afghanistan captain Rahmat Shah credited his bowlers for sticking to their plans and adapting quickly to the conditions.“Thank you. It was a low-scoring match, always tough. Finally, we won the match.”On Afghanistan’s bowling performance, he said: “Yeah, I give them the plans according to the field, according to the situation, and they read very well, especially Yamin Ahmadzai bowled really well, Rashid and Ghanzafar, they bowled really well too. They bowled according to the field, and especially they assessed the conditions early.”Rahmat said Afghanistan’s chase was challenging because of the low-scoring nature of the game.“Of course, yes, because always a low-scoring match is very tough, and finally we won the match.”He also pointed out the ninth-wicket partnership that helped Ireland post a competitive total and said Afghanistan would look to break such partnerships earlier in future.“I think the ninth-wicket partnership, Ireland did very well. Inshallah, we try to break these partnerships early if we are in a good situation on that time. Inshallah, we will try our best.”

Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway won his seventh European title in front of 13,623 fans at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Monday night, when winning the 5,000m for the fourth time.

Racing towards the rear of the field for much of tonight’s final, the two-time Olympic champion made impressive headway in the latter stages of the contest to win in 13:15.29, a season’s best.

🚨HEE’SSSS BACKKKKKK!!! 🔥

🚨KING JAKOB INGEBRIGTSEN🇳🇴

THE KINGEBRIGTSEN HAS RETURNED 👑

Advertisement

Returning after conquering an Achilles injury, he won his 4th consecutive European 5000m title in 13:15.29s.

This was his season opener 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/LVBM76NzxU

— SprintForge (@Tweeterfinger1) August 10, 2026

Florian Bremm of German took the silver medal in 13:15.60, with Etienne Daguinos of France settling for bronze in 13:16.09.

Ireland’s Brian Fay was prominent in the early kilometres of the race before eventually fading to finish in 14th place, clocking 13:31.15.

Darragh McElhinney and later, Nick Griggs, took positions closer to the front of the group, with Griggs eventually finishing best of the Irish trio in eighth place, in a time of 13:21.07. McElhinny, who looked for some of the race that he would be involved in the business end, faded in latter stages to cross the line in 18th place, in 13:37.62.

Norway won another gold when taking the 4 x 400m mixed relay final from Britain in second and the Netherlands in third. The winning time of 3:09.62 was a national record, a championship record and a European leading time.

🚨 🇳🇴 CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD 🇳🇴 🚨

🥇Norway 🇳🇴 wins GOLD in the mixed 4x400m relay at the European Championships in Birmingham.

Advertisement

The quartet of Karsten Warholm, Amalie Iuel, Andreas Kulseng & Henriette Jæger stormed to a Championship Record of 3:09.62s CR!! 🔥

🥈 Britain 🇬🇧 in… pic.twitter.com/XqxcVTP2oH

— SprintForge (@Tweeterfinger1) August 10, 2026

First Gold of Championships goes to The Netherlands

The Netherlands took gold and silver in the women’s shot put – the first of five sets of medals awarded at Monday evening’s session.

Jessica Schilder threw 20.73m in round six to defeat her compatriot, who threw a PB of 19.64m in round one. German Yemisi Mabry claimed the bronze with a fifth round effort of 19.50m.

Amy Hunt won Gold for Britain in the women’s 100m, clocking 11.00 seconds in her victory.

Ewa Swoboda of Poland was second in 11.02 seconds, while the podium was completed by Delphine Nkansa of Belgium in a personal best time of 11.06 seconds.

It was an Italian 1-2 in the men’s shot put final. Leonardo Fabbri beat his compatriot Zane Weir with a third round throw of 22.31m. Weir took silver with 21.12m with his first effort, while Wictor Petersson from Sweden claimed bronze with 20.97m on his final throw.

🥇 Leonardo Fabbri 🇮🇹 wins GOLD in the men’s Shot Put at the European Championships with 22.31m. He now wins the title 2 consecutive times.

🥈 Zane Weir 🇮🇹 with 21.12m.

🥉 🇸🇪 Wictor Petersson with 20.97m. pic.twitter.com/MDD0VQuZNI

— SprintForge (@Tweeterfinger1) August 10, 2026