It’s almost a matter of time until San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama owns the NBA.

It’s no secret that Wembanyama is one of the game’s fastest rising superstars. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft accepted his first defensive player of the year award and is nominated for the league’s MVP.

Wembanyama’s Spurs finished as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference with the second-best record in the NBA, only behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.

But Wemby’s performance in Friday night’s Game 3 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves showcased why he’s just different.

Remember, Wemby is still only 22. In Game 1 of this Western Conference Semifinals series, he had a bit of a clunker offensively. The Timberwolves secured a shocking upset over the Spurs because Wembanyama scored just 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting. He was 0-for-8 from deep. The Spurs won Game 2 in blowout fashion, but Wembanyama was only slightly better offensively, scoring 19 points.

It all came together for Wembanyama in Game 3’s takedown of the Timberwolves, where he scored 39 points and was 13-of-18 from the field. He added 15 rebounds and five blocks. The Spurs now have a 2-1 series lead over the Timberwolves and were suffocated by Wembanyama in the latest game.

Not many NBA teams have a solution for Wembanyama. At the end of the day, the world doesn’t have too many 7-foot-4 aliens who can run and jump with extreme fluidity.

It’s crazy to think that he’s already an MVP candidate while still developing. Defensively, there’s no better player in the entire NBA. Offensively, Wembanyama is still developing consistency. But Friday night offered a glimpse into what the future could look like once he puts it all together offensively – and it’s pretty damn scary.

Forget about his underrated ability to handle the basketball, drive to the basket, and take practically anything he wants around the rim. In Game 3’s victory, Wembanyama was 3-of-5 from deep. How can anybody realistically expect to guard that?

And the Spurs needed Wemby to be that dominant offensively on Friday. It was a narrow 115-108 victory. Already, Wembanyama is figuring out how to impact winning. The NBA has plenty of stars that could pour in 39 points and look somewhat efficient while doing so. But a lot of those players are “empty stats guys” like James Harden who aren’t necessarily making a winning impact, despite having the ability to pour in a lot of points.

The Spurs have a 22% chance of winning the NBA Finals on Kalshi, a popular prediction market that allows users to trade on the outcome of real-world events. That’s the second-best probability behind the Thunder. Wembanyama’s team is one of the favorites to win the NBA Championship, and he’s not even at the height of his powers yet.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka said players could consider boycotting a Grand Slam in the future amid the ongoing dispute over prize money and revenue-sharing at tennis majors.

Speaking ahead of the Italian Open in Rome, Sabalenka said players may eventually need stronger action to push for what they believe are fairer financial terms.

While several leading players backed calls for increased prize money, opinions remained divided on the possibility of a boycott. Iga Swiatek preferred further discussions with governing bodies, while Emma Raducanu said she would not support skipping the sport’s biggest tournaments.

Players seek bigger share of revenue

The debate over prize money intensified after leading men’s and women’s players expressed disappointment with the financial package for this year’s French Open. Players are demanding a larger percentage of revenue generated by the four Grand Slams, along with improved benefit contributions and greater involvement in decisions related to scheduling and tournament operations.

Gauff open to collective action

World number four America’s Coco Gauff said a boycott could become possible if players acted together as one group. Gauff indicated that a stronger player organisation may be necessary to achieve significant changes in the sport.

World number two Elena Rybakina also suggested she would support a boycott if it became the majority position among players.

Swiatek prefers negotiations

Iga Swiatek supported calls for higher prize money but described a boycott as an extreme step. The Polish player said discussions and negotiations with governing bodies should continue before considering stronger measures.

She added that individual competition in tennis makes collective action more complicated compared to team sports.

Raducanu rules herself out

Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu said Grand Slam tournaments remain the most important events in tennis and stated she would not take part in a boycott. The British player said the value of competing at the majors goes beyond financial rewards.

Meanwhile, world number five Jessica Pegula reiterated support for improved player compensation but had previously indicated that players were unlikely to strike against the Grand Slams.

Having previously shared four rounds of sparring with Conor Benn, former world champion Shawn Porter has considered how the Brit might fare against Ryan Garcia.

‘The Destroyer’ comes off a comfortable 10-round points victory over Regis Prograis, featuring on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov last month.

In doing so, he remained in the win column at a catchweight of 150lbs after exacting his revenge over Chris Eubank Jr in their middleweight rematch last November.

As the WBC’s highest-ranked welterweight contender, though, Benn is set to drop back down to 147lbs in pursuit of a showdown with Ryan Garcia.

The American claimed his WBC world title in February, dethroning Mario Barrios with a one-sided points victory after flooring his man in the opening round.

As a result, Garcia secured his first victory since scoring an eighth-round finish over Oscar Duarte in 2023, which was followed by a no-contest against Devin Haney and a unanimous decision loss to Rolando Romero.

Hoping for a more consistent run of form, the 27-year-old is set to defend his title later this year, perhaps in the summer, with mandatory challenger Benn having emerged as a likely opponent.

But while crediting Benn for his “versatility”, Porter has told Boxing King Media that he believes the speed of Garcia could potentially lead to a dramatic finish.

“Based on how Ryan Garcia looked in his last fight, it looks like he beats Conor Benn.

“The style clash favours Ryan Garcia because of his speed – because of his power from the outside – so it’s definitely a tough fight for Conor Benn.

“I would say 60/40 [that] Ryan Garcia wins that fight, possibly [by] KO. But Conor is very tough. That’s what I already knew about him, but I got to see it first-hand when we sparred.

“He’s much more versatile than [what] we saw in the first fight with Eubank. He comes back in the rematch against Eubank and we see the versatility, we see the speed, the foot movement and things of that nature.

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“Those were the things I saw when I sparred him for four easy rounds.”

Despite their related history of failing doping tests, or perhaps partly because of it, a clash between Garcia and Benn is likely to attract considerable attention.

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Saturday issued a detailed show-cause notice to Vinesh Phogat, accusing her of indiscipline and anti-doping rule violations, and declared her ineligible to compete in domestic events till June 26, 2026 for failing to complete the mandatory six-month notice period required for athletes returning from retirement under UWW Anti-Doping Rules.

It means that the two-time World Championship medallist will have to wait for her comeback as she was tragetting the National Open Ranking event in Gonda, starting Sunday, for her return to competition after quitting the sport in 2024 following her disqualification from the Paris Olympic Games.

In the 15-page notice, the WFI alleged that Vinesh’s conduct had caused “lasting damage to reputation of Indian wrestling” in Paris and violated provisions of the WFI Constitution, UWW International Wrestling Rules and anti-doping regulations.

Broad Charges

The federation has sought her explanation on several charges, including her disqualification from the 2024 Paris Games after failing to make weight, alleged whereabouts failures under anti-doping rules, and competing in two weight categories during the March 2024 selection trials conducted by the then IOA-appointed ad-hoc panel.

The federation specifically mentioned that she is not eligible to compete in any domestic event till June 26 this year, including the National Open Ranking Tournament in Gonda.

“The Federation must satisfy itself that you have not committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation that would render you ineligible to represent the Federation in any forthcoming competition,” the notice stated.

The notice also referred to a May 4, 2026 communication from the International Testing Agency (ITA), acting on behalf of UWW, recording a “missed Test” against Vinesh in relation to an unsuccessful doping control attempt on December 18, 2025.

Referring to Article 5.7 of the UWW Anti-Doping Rules dealing with return from retirement, the WFI stated that Vinesh remains ineligible to compete till June 26, 2026 and therefore cannot participate in any domestic event before that date.

The federation specifically mentioned that she is not eligible to compete in the Senior Open Ranking Tournament at Nandini Nagar, Gonda, scheduled from May 10 to 12.

The federation mentioned that as per world governing body UWW’s rules, any athlete seeking to return to competition from retirement must notify UWW at least six months in advance while remaining available for testing during that period, and she has not fulfilled the condition.

The WFI alleged that Vinesh, in a December 14, 2024 e-mail to UWW Anti-Doping, had declared herself to be on a “sabbatical until August 2025” and indicated that she would resume compliance with whereabouts obligations only thereafter.

However, the federation claimed that her later communication dated December 12, 2025 to the Sports Authority of India, WFI and TOPS-SAI, expressing her intention to resume training and target the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, amounted to a return announcement that did not satisfy the mandatory six-month notice requirement under Article 5.7 of the UWW Anti-Doping Rules.

The federation alleged that only six days after that communication, doping control officials were unable to locate her for testing on December 18, 2025, resulting in the ITA formally recording a missed test against her.

The WFI also referred to a previous whereabouts failure notice issued by NADA on September 25, 2024 after a dope control officer allegedly failed to locate her at her declared residence in Sonipat for an out-of-competition test earlier that month.

The federation said that although the ITA has treated the December 18, 2025 incident as the “first” whereabouts failure within the relevant 12-month period, WFI believes there exists a broader pattern of non-compliance.

Paris Games fiasco

The notice devoted substantial space to Vinesh’s disqualification from the Paris Olympics, where she had reached the women’s 50kg final after a stunning opening-round victory over Japanese legend Yui Susaki.

Vinesh was later disqualified after weighing 100 grams over the permissible limit ahead of the gold medal bout against American wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt.

The WFI stated that she had cleared the first weigh-in at 49.9kg on August 6, 2024 but failed the second mandatory weigh-in the following morning despite being given the full 15-minute window and multiple opportunities.

The federation said the episode resulted in India losing a “certain Olympic medal”, and triggered widespread negative publicity.

There are precedents of disciplinary action taken by WFI against other wrestlers for weight-management violations.

Olympic bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat was suspended for one year by WFI in October 2025 after failing to make weight at the World Championships, where he exceeded the limit by 1.7kg, while wrestler Neha Sangwan was handed a two-year suspension over similar issues.

Competing in two weight divisions

Vinesh had also been asked to explain her conduct during the March 11, 2024 selection trials at NIS Patiala for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers where she competed in both 50kg and 53kg categories against the UWW rules.

At the time, wrestling in India was being administered by an IOA-appointed ad-hoc committee following the suspension of WFI activities.

The federation alleged that Article 7 of the UWW International Wrestling Rules clearly permits a wrestler to compete in only one weight category corresponding to the athlete’s weight at the official weigh-in.

“Each contestant deemed to be taking part of his/her own free will, and responsible for himself/herself, shall be allowed to compete in only one weight category,” the notice quoted from the UWW rules.

The federation referred to complaints received after the trials, including allegations that Vinesh had delayed the start of competition by demanding written assurance that she would get another trial in the 53kg category before the Paris Olympics.

At those trials, Vinesh lost to Anju by technical superiority in the 53kg category but won the 50kg trial by defeating Shivani.

The WFI said complaints received by it had alleged that the delay caused disruption in the conduct of trials and adversely affected other wrestlers.

The federation has asked Vinesh to explain why disciplinary proceedings should not be initiated against her under various provisions of the WFI Constitution dealing with indiscipline, unsportsmanlike behaviour and conduct prejudicial to the interests of the federation and the sport.

Vinesh has 14 days to respond to the notice.