Coco Gauff, of the United States, hits a return to Zeynep Sonmez, of Turkey, during the first round of the U.S. Open tennis championships Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Coco Gauff began her US Open campaign with a straight-set win, but her opening match was far from effortless. The fourth-seeded American defeated Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez 6-3, 6-4 and had to deal with some impressive moments from her opponent.Gauff even applauded a couple of Sonmez’s best shots, including a running forehand down the line and a cleverly spun volley that barely cleared the net.“I know that I can raise my level if I need to do and I like to challenge my opponent to let them keep up the level the whole match,” Gauff said. “And if they do, I clap my hands and I walk off court with my head held high.”Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, now moves into the second round, where she will face either Paula Badosa or Daria Kasatkina.Gauff’s build-up to this year’s tournament has been far more encouraging than last year. She won the Cincinnati title after reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon and Toronto, giving her plenty of momentum heading into New York.Last year, serving problems forced Gauff to make major changes just before the US Open. She eventually reached the fourth round before losing to Naomi Osaka.Her 2023 Cincinnati title also proved to be a sign of things to come, as she went on to win her first US Open crown by beating Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Dramatic comebacks and rain interruptions

Tuesday also produced two major comebacks. Maria Sakkari recovered from 6-2, 4-0 down to beat Robin Montgomery 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, while fifth-seeded Flavio Cobolli fought back from two sets down to defeat Francisco Comesana after more than four hours.“Just kept telling myself that everything is possible and just try to get myself in a good place mentally and just try to be a little bit more positive, try to make more balls, get myself into the match,” Sakkari said. “Because, I mean, everyone’s very good in tennis nowadays, but specifically that girl I played today doesn’t have the experience that I do. So I just told myself, let’s try and hang in there, try and make more balls, and it worked.“Cobolli summed up the Grand Slam mentality simply: “In Grand Slams it’s never done. You have to fight until the last point,” he said.Rain caused repeated delays, restricting play mainly to the two stadiums with retractable roofs before more matches were pushed to Wednesday.

The Sports Authority of India’s National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) in Bengaluru has become an important preparation base for India’s middle- and long-distance track athletes, preparing for the Asian Games 2026. A national coaching camp is currently underway at the SAI centre, scheduled until September 8. The camp, sanctioned by the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), features 800m runner Krishan Kumar, steeplechase star Avinash Sable, high jumpers Aadarsh Ram and Supriya B, decathlete Thowfeeq N, middle- and long-distance runner Parul Chaudhary, and race walkers Manju Rani and Priyanka, as per a press release.

All eight are part of the approved 73-member (35 men, 38 women) Indian athletics contingent for the Asian Games; the competition is scheduled in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4.

Beyond the conventional camp infrastructure, the athletes in Bengaluru have another advantage: a specialised smart track, which allows coaches to capture real-time performance data during training.

“This is one of its kind in India,” said Suresh Kumar, Coach (Athletics) at SAI NCOE Bengaluru, explaining the technology embedded into the track. “So what happens is when the athlete runs, we get the real-time speed data. We get the split timings wherever the gates are placed, then the total timing we get, as well as the stride length and the stride frequency. All this data is captured in real time. This helps a lot for the athletes in the training,” Kumar added to SAI Media.

The track was used extensively for training by Commonwealth Games 2026 para-athletics medalists – Dilip Mahadu Gavit and Mohammed Basil – ahead of the Glasgow games. The duo finished in the top two positions in the men’s 100m T47 category to win gold and silver medals respectively in CWG 2026.

For athletes, the ability to replicate electronic timing during training is another advantage, Kumar explained. The technology also helps athletes get a more accurate understanding of their performances.

“The athletes are very happy because they get to understand and find out the real data based on the electronic timing, not just during training but in any competitions that take place here,” Kumar said.

The smart track was installed in 2024 and has since been used by elite athletes training at the centre. Its timing gates are positioned both on the straight and around the curve, allowing coaches to analyse different phases of a run. An accompanying app also enables the data to be accessed immediately for subsequent analysis.

The technology has been designed to work alongside existing athletics infrastructure rather than requiring a completely new track. According to Kumar, the system can be installed on any existing synthetic track by embedding the magnetic gates beneath the surface, with installation possible within a day.

The SAI Bengaluru centre is therefore combining high-level coaching, sports science and technology in the pre-Asian Games camp, which includes specialised coaches such as race-walking coach Ronald Gerd Weigel, jumps coach Sahana Kumari Nagaraj Gobbargumpi, besides coach Kalyan Chaudhary and masseuse Meena Sagar Ugale.

The system also gives coaches information that is difficult to capture manually during a sprint. “You even get the split timing because, for a sprint coach, if I’m at the finish line or like 40m or 50m away from when the athlete is starting, we will be able to get the electronic split time,” Kumar explained to SAI Media.

The track’s embedded magnetic timing gates also ensure that training does not have to stop because of any unpredictable weather. Unlike conventional portable timing equipment, the system remains embedded in the track and can be used in rain or dusty conditions.

“So with this, we don’t have to worry about the weather. We don’t have to worry about the wear and tear, nothing. It’s just like it’s already there. You just need to run over in between that. The real-time data is always available,” Kumar added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Rybakina, a two-time Grand Slam winner, arrived at Flushing Meadows with question marks around her fitness after retiring injured against Iga Swiatek in Cincinnati.

Though she looked comfortable on court, her movement went largely untested by Frodin – who acted as Serena Williams’ body double in the Oscar-nominated film ‘King Richard’ – as she blew the world number 585 away on serve and dictated points from the baseline.

“We didn’t know if [I was] going to be able to play here or not. I’m pretty happy that I’m playing right now, and we are taking [it] day by day,” Rybakina said about her injury.

“I was not playing for the full week [before the tournament], so seven days no tennis and basically not too much gym I could do movement-wise.

“So it’s a great result after 10 days from that kind of injury.”

After opening the rain-delayed match with a double fault, Rybakina proved relentless on serve, dropping just three points and reeling off three consecutive love holds in the first set.

She didn’t face a break point until the sixth game of the second set, saving both.

Equally clinical in Frodin’s service games, she converted her first three break points to race into a set and 5-1 lead.

However, the young wildcard, making her WTA Tour main-draw debut after winning the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Girls’ 18s National Championship, made Rybakina work to get over the line, saving three match points with aces in her final service game among 11 across the match.

Rybakina served out the win with an ace of her own – her sixth of the match and a tour-leading 363rd of the season.

“She played really well today. She has great shots, great serve, it was no easy,” Rybakina said of the largely unknown Frodin.

Enzo Fernández is about to make a one-way trip across England.

Manchester City has reached a deal with Chelsea to sign the 25-year-old midfielder, The Athletic reported on Tuesday morning. Fernández has reportedly been given permission by Chelsea to undergo a medical, with his transfer costing Manchester City €125 million ($169 million) — which ties the Premier League transfer record that’s also held by Alexander Isak (Newcastle United to Liverpool in 2025).

Fernández originally joined Chelsea in January 2023 on a €106.8 million transfer fee ($125 million) from Benfica.

Fernández recently commenced his fifth season with Chelsea. Last season (2025-26), he logged a career-high 10 goals and four assists. He previously played one season with Benfica in Primeira Liga (2022-23), which was preceded by three seasons with River Plate in Liga Argentina (2018-19, 2021 and 2022).

Meanwhile, Fernández just wrapped up playing for Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, knocking through two scores over seven contests in the tournament. Fernández also played for Argentina in its 2022 World Cup triumph. On the Argentina front, superstar striker Lionel Messi announced his retirement from the national team on Monday.

Both Manchester City and Chelsea are 2-0-0 in the 2026-27 Premier League season. Man. City will host Chelsea on Dec. 12 and play them on the road on April 24.

Britain’s Arthur Fery admitted he still has plenty to work on after his US Open debut was cut short.

Fery’s hopes of making a splash in New York were ended in the first round after a straight-sets defeat by Lorenzo Musetti.

The 24-year-old had been riding on the crest of a wave since his historic run to the Wimbledon semi-finals as a wildcard earlier this summer.

He reached his first ATP final in North Carolina last week and arrived at Flushing Meadows with high hopes of another deep run at a grand slam.

But he ran aground against Italian 13th seed Musetti in a 6-3 6-3 7-5 loss on Grandstand Stadium.

It was a comprehensive defeat, but a useful gauge for Fery who has risen from outside the top 200 a year ago to number 33 in the world.

“I know what I have to work on,” he said. “I got a lot of ideas coming straight off the court of what I have to work on to do better.

“My serve really let me down today, which is not usually the case, but I’ve been struggling a little bit to find my rhythm on the serve.

“Today was particularly a struggle, but definitely playing guys at that level, it’s tough and the margins are small.”

Fery, now the British number one, was close to being seeded at Flushing Meadows, meaning he would have avoided a player of Musetti’s class in the early stages

He was matching Musetti blow for blow until a sloppy service game, topped by two double faults, cost him the opening set.

Fery pulled off some memorable comebacks on his historic Wimbledon run and he had chances to embark on another one.

At 4-2 behind in the second set he squandered four break points, throwing his arms up in frustration after the last of them dropped into the net.

Fery did secure a first break of the match at the start of the third set when the usually immaculate Musetti backhand floated long.

When Musetti immediately brought up two break-back points, Fery saved the first with a superb forehand winner but then sent a backhand millimetres wide of the line.

He showed his resilience by saving two match points, but when Musetti thundered down an unreturnable serve on the third, Fery’s short journey was over.

He admitted he was under-prepared due to his run to the Winston-Salem Open final last week, but said he would not have done things differently.

“The grand slams are the biggest tournaments and everyone has their eye on them.” he added.

“At the same time, would I sign for these past two weeks? Probably, to be honest.

“It’s a lot of ranking points, it’s a first ATP final, so it’s good. Even though it meant that my preparation for the US Open was not great.”

Lhuan-Dre Pretorius bettered his previous T20I top score of 51.© AFP via Getty Images

The rosters are set. The hour-long TV special is over. And the Presidents Cup has taken shape.

U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker had six automatic picks and six to make on his own for September’s meeting at Medinah. A few of those seemed obvious — but the bottom of the roster seemed like a massive question mark. Here are three surprises about the way Snedeker chose to fill it.

1. The Bridge Man cometh

At the beginning of the 2026 season, Jacob Bridgeman seemed like a no-brainer pick for the U.S. side. His first eight starts of the year yielded seven top 20s, three top-fives and a statement win at the Genesis Invitational.

But after that? Bridgeman’s golf remained remarkably consistent, but it dropped a tick. His T13s became T33s. He logged just one top-20 finish in his next 13 starts. Granted, Bridgeman missed just one cut in that stretch, but by the time the playoffs rolled around, he was at the edge of the conversation.

It’ll be interesting to hear just how much Bridgeman’s case changed with his playoff performance, then. His ninth-place finish at the BMW Championship and his T4 at the Tour Championship provided an impressive bookend to his breakout year.

It also doesn’t hurt that he’s statistically the best putter on the PGA Tour.

2. An American in Europe

After his solo third-place finish at the Tour Championship, Ryan Gerard got on a red-eye flight to Europe for this week’s Omega European Masters, where he’s the betting favorite. Why play there? In part, he said, to prep for a potential Presidents Cup pick.

“Full transparency, if I get a Presidents Cup spot, I’d love to kind of roll into there being a little bit more prepared,” Gerard said. “I like to play a lot of golf. And if I don’t, I’ll probably just stay over there and play Wentworth and the France Open after that.”

On Tuesday, Gerard earned the unfortunate (and unofficial) honor of first man out when Snedeker left his name unsaid. Gerard was among the hottest players on the U.S. side, entering with five top-10s in his last 11 starts — but it wasn’t enough to leapfrog veteran presences like Justin Thomas or Patrick Cantlay.

Based on his comments from Sunday, it sounds like Gerard will extend his fall Eurotrip; that’ll mean a few more chances to show the U.S. side what they’re missing out on.

3. The Rookie

Jackson Koivun has made just six starts as a pro. The third of those starts was a statement win at the 3M Open, where he fended off World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and validated the hype that had followed him throughout his time as Auburn’s superstar.

Koivun snuck into the FedEx Cup Playoffs, too — a particularly impressive accomplishment given his limited starts.

But a solid, if unremarkable finish to his PGA Tour season — T31 in Detroit, T29 in Greensboro, T24 in Memphis — left his Presidents Cup future up in the air. Would a U.S. team-golf outfit known for playing it safe really roll the dice on an unproven 21-year-old?

Yes.

Snedeker seemed slightly gleeful to announce Koivun with the final pick of the session, knowing he’d saved the biggest, boldest move for last. The move echoed the European Ryder Cup selection of Ludvig Aberg in 2023, when he was a recent college grad.

Koivun will be the youngest player at Medinah, by far. He’ll also be among the most talented.

Game on.

HoYoverse has been releasing new Honkai Star Rail updates on time, except for some occasional hiccups. However, the fandom is not very content with this direction and is finally losing patience. Over the years, the overall quality of the title has been going down bit by bit, including mediocre story missions, power creep, and more.

While Honkai Star Rail has the potential to be an exceptional gacha title, the devs are holding it back. Read on as we further discuss this matter.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the author’s opinions.

Honkai Star Rail fandom is not happy about the title going downhill

If you have been playing Honkai Star Rail since launch, you’ll know the game isn’t the same as it used to be. In earlier patches, the story actually mattered and was engaging. Although some bits and pieces were a little depressing, players looked forward to the update’s story missions. The Penacony Arc was the best storyline released by HoYoverse. Compared to the aforementioned Arc, the Amphoreus Arc was a little boring, as each update featured long quests.

However, the story missions were still engaging, especially the version 3.4 quest, which was probably the best of all 3.x updates. With version 3.8’s release, everything started going downhill and didn’t stop, even after HSR 4.0’s release. Although the aforementioned update was delayed by two weeks, Planarcadia’s story is exceptionally mediocre.

Besides mediocre story quests, the lack of events in Honkai Star Rail has played a huge role in the title going downhill. After the update’s release, you will get access to the patch’s flagship event, which requires a couple of hours to complete. When you are done, there’s nothing to do until the second half starts. When it does, the phase two event is also not very engaging and can be completed in mere hours. This means during the majority of the update, all players have nothing to do except Daily Training.

On top of that, the powercreep in all endgame activities is worth noting. Most of the bosses have an exceptionally large HP pool, forcing everyone to pull all the meta-defining characters. Most of the recent 5-star units require other premium characters to unleash their full potential, such as Silver Wolf LV999 and Sparxie. Since casual/free-to-play players won’t have an endless supply of Stellar Jade, it’s exceptionally hard for them to pull these characters, which prevents them from fully clearing the endgame modes.

Going back to the topic of endgame activities, the devs have been increasing all bosses’ HP to make the mode challenging. However, it’s not very enjoyable, as you’ll just spend a bit more time clearing that particular stage.

Since Honkai Star Rail is a gacha title, its main revenue source is the Warp banners. While overall banner sales have been somewhat stable, Himeko Nova didn’t do well, considering the Warp event lasted the whole patch. As mentioned, Phainon is a version 3.4 character. His Warp event only lasted for 3 weeks. As you can see in the picture above, Himeko Nova only generated roughly $25 million, while Phainon’s banner garnered almost $44 million. These amounts are estimates from Sensor Tower, a legitimate source for app revenue data.

Besides that, many players are also fed up with SPs becoming more and more common in Honkai Star Rail. This somewhat kills the excitement of an upcoming patch, as a version of that particular unit already exists in the game.

For more articles related to this gacha title from HoYoverse, Honkai Star Rail, check out the following section: