2:53 PM ET Naomi Osaka, ranked No. 2 in the world in women’s tennis, has withdrawn from Wimbledon, according to a statement released by her agent on Thursday. “Naomi won’t be playing Wimbledon this year,” the statement read. “She is taking some personal time with friends and family. She will be ready for the Olympics
3:30 PM ET WBC junior lightweight champion Oscar Valdez has signed a new multifight contract with Top Rank, including his first defense of that belt this fall. The 30-year-old Valdez won the title in his last fight, upsetting Miguel Berchelt on Feb. 20. He is 29-0 with 23 knockouts, including winning four of his past
3:25 PM ET Alabama and Clemson are breaking in new quarterbacks this season, but oddsmakers don’t expect the Crimson Tide or Tigers to suffer any significant drop off. Alabama and Clemson topped the college football season win totals released Thursday by Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill, each opening at 11.5. Ohio State and Oklahoma are
1:34 PM ET Oscar De La Hoya’s comeback to the ring is set. The boxing legend will meet MMA luminary Vitor Belfort in an exhibition boxing match Sept. 11 under the Triller Fight Club banner, promoter Ryan Kavanaugh confirmed Thursday to ESPN. The Athletic first reported the news. De La Hoya has not competed since
3:10 PM ET England manager Gareth Southgate has defended the right of sponsors to advertise their products at Euro 2020 after Cristiano Ronaldo sparked a row by removing a bottle from a news conference. UEFA issued a statement on Thursday reminding teams of their contractual obligations after Ronaldo moved Coca-Cola bottles out of shot as
2:43 PM ET Associated Press HALLE, Germany — Ugo Humbert upset Alexander Zverev in the second round of the grass-court Halle Open on Thursday to leave Andrey Rublev as the only seeded player to reach the quarterfinals. The third-seeded Zverev hit 20 aces but it wasn’t enough as Humbert won a close match 7-6 (4),
Shafali Verma scored 96 against England Women, falling just four short of a maiden Test century on debut.© Twitter India openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma scripted a stunning opening stand but five quick wickets in the final hour of play brought England back in the game on Thursday. England finished day two on top
12:43 PM ET NHL players said they’d like to see the “homestand” scheduling from this season continue but are against the concept of geographically aligned divisions going forward, according to an NHLPA poll released Thursday. Around 68% of the 447 players polled said they do not want to see regional divisions carried forward beyond this
1:28 PM ET Miami and Auburn will play a home-and-home series in 2029 and 2030, the schools announced Thursday. The Hurricanes will host the Tigers on Sept. 1, 2029, then travel to play at Auburn on Aug. 31, 2030. Despite expected changes to an expanded College Football Playoff format, Miami athletics director Blake James said
11:19 AM ET Associated Press BERLIN — Victoria Azarenka reached the quarterfinals of the German Open by defeating home favorite Angelique Kerber 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday. The seventh-seeded Azarenka was down 4-1 in the second set before beating the German for the 10th time in 11 matches. Azarenka needed 1 hour, 22 minutes to prevail
Rishabh Pant had shared the picture on MS Dhoni’s birthday.© Instagram Ahead of the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant took a trip down memory lane as he looked back at his Instagram memories. In a video shared by the International Cricket Council, Pant “relived the story behind the
3:17 AM ET With Kawhi Leonard out indefinitely with a sprained knee, Paul George channeled his old mindset of being the franchise leader in Indiana and produced arguably his finest game and moment as a member of the LA Clippers on Wednesday night. Playing in front of a hostile crowd that has taunted his every
Bettors have sportsbook facing ‘seven-figure’ liability on long shot Phil Mickelson at U.S. Open golf tournament At Caesars Sportsbook, Phil Mickelson has attracted nearly twice as many bets as any other golfer to win the U.S. Open, and by the time the first round tees off, the bookmaker says it’s expecting to have a “seven-figure”
6:49 AM ET Once Cole Caufield saw the tweet, he immediately texted it to his brother, Brock. Caufield, the rookie Canadiens winger, had been a healthy scratch for Game 1 of Montreal’s first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. That didn’t sit well with some fans, including one with 5.6 million Twitter followers: this Canadiens-Leafs
10:40 AM ET Aramide Oladipo Lightweight undisputed champion Katie Taylor is in discussions with Estelle Yoka-Mossely over a potential fight, sources have told ESPN. Taylor, who is No. 1 in ESPN’s pound-for-pound rankings, has not fought since coming away with an unanimous decision victory over Natasha Jonas on May 1. Taylor (18-0, 6 KOs) appears
9:11 AM ET Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Landon Cassill will be the first NASCAR driver paid entirely in cryptocurrency in a sponsorship deal with Voyager that begins at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend. Voyager, a cryptocurrency brokerage platform, reached a 19-race deal to sponsor Cassill in the Xfinity Series in his JD Motorsports entry. Voyager
9:45 AM ET Carlos Contreras Legaspi Max Holloway has suffered an undisclosed injury and has pulled out of his July 17 bout against Yair Rodriguez, sources told ESPN, postponing one of this summer’s most anticipated fights. The fight between the former UFC 145-pound champion Holloway (22-6) and Rodríguez (13-2) was likely to determine the next
Title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have disagreed over the results of the inquiry into the tyre failures at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Hamilton said: “In this particular instance, I don’t think Pirelli are at fault.” But Verstappen, who suffered one of the tyre failures, said: “They have to look at themselves.” Pirelli concluded