CNN – Sports

By Ben Church, CNN The 148th edition of the Kentucky Derby is set to take place on Saturday as the iconic race looks to move on from last year’s controversy. Medina Spirit crossed the line first in 2021, but the horse later tested positive for a banned substance, meaning the result was nullified. The horse’s

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN The WNBA’s 26th regular season starts Friday without one of the league’s most exciting players, Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, who remains detained in Russia. The seven-time All-Star was arrested in February at a Moscow airport and accused by Russian authorities of smuggling significant amounts of a narcotic substance — an

By Amanda Davies and Matias Grez, CNN “It feels amazing,” a visibly delighted, and perhaps somewhat relieved, Charles Leclerc says. Making his Formula One debut in 2018, the young Monegasque prodigy has endured a difficult time since moving to Ferrari in 2019. Two wins at the very start of his career there raised hopes and

By Ben Church, CNN NBA veteran Chris Paul led the Phoenix Suns to victory against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA playoffs on Wednesday in his quest for his first NBA championship. Paul, who turns 37 on Friday, racked up 28 points, six rebounds and eight assists to inspire the Suns to a 129-109 win

By Matias Grez, CNN The shirt Diego Maradona wore against England at the 1986 World Cup — synonymous with his brilliance at that tournament in Mexico — has sold for almost $9.3 million in an online auction, smashing the record for an item of sports memorabilia. The blue jersey was sold to an anonymous buyer

By CNN Sports staff Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi has failed to make the shortlist for the Ligue 1 player of the year after a disappointing first season in France. The omission comes as little surprise with Messi scoring four goals in 23 league games following his move from Barcelona last year. Nominated for the

By Ben Morse, CNN The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the Seattle Seahawks in Munich, Germany, in what will be the first-ever NFL regular-season game in the country. The match-up was announced on Wednesday, with the game taking place on November 13 at the Allianz Arena, home of German football giant Bayern Munich. The game

By Ben Morse, CNN Dusty Baker became the first Black manager in MLB history to win 2,000 career games on Tuesday night after the Houston Astros defeated the Seattle Mariners 4-0 at Minute Maid Park in Texas. Baker is the 12th manager to reach 2,000 career wins. Of the previous 11 to accomplish the feat,

By Ben Morse, CNN Novak Djokovic guaranteed his record-breaking time at the top of tennis’ world rankings would continue after his second-round win at the Madrid Open. The Serbian star beat Gaël Monfils 6-3 6-2 on Tuesday, guaranteeing he would remain as world No. 1 for a record-extending 369th week. The win also extended his

By Amy Woodyatt and Ben Morse, CNN The Memphis Grizzlies evened their second-round Western Conference series with the Golden State Warriors with a 106-101 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday, with Ja Morant pouring in an incredible 47 points to go with eight rebounds and eight assists — finishing the game with “one good eye.”

By George Ramsay, CNN Wales and Bournemouth football player David Brooks announced on Tuesday that he has successfully completed his cancer treatment. Brooks was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin Lymphoma last year. It is a form of cancer affecting the lymph system or “tissues and organs that produce, store, and carry white blood cells that

By Amy Simonson and Aya Elamroussi, CNN James Madison University said it will cancel the remainder of its softball season as the death of student athlete Lauren Bernett was ruled a suicide. Bernett, 20, played a major role in the 2021 Women’s College World Series. She died April 25 and the Western District Medical Examiner’s

By Jennifer Hansler and Wayne Sterling, CNN The State Department has now classified WNBA star Brittney Griner as wrongfully detained in Russia and her case is being handled by the office of the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA) Roger Carstens, a State Department official confirmed to CNN Tuesday. The SPEHA office leads

By Issy Ronald, CNN The Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat secured wins in Game 1 of their respective second round playoff series: Miami defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 106-92 while the Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks 121-114. Dallas star Luka Doncic’s outstanding game — 45 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists — was not enough for

By Jack Bantock, CNN Jon Rahm secured his first victory of the season in dramatic fashion at the inaugural Mexico Open on Sunday. Having not won a PGA Tour event since the U.S. Open last summer, the Spaniard was pushed to the wire to end his dry spell, surviving a late flurry from American pair

By Ben Morse, CNN The Golden State Warriors overcame the ejection of key forward Draymond Green to win a nail-biter against the Memphis Grizzlies, 117-116, on Sunday in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal in the NBA playoffs. The Warriors had to play the whole second half without Green after he was ejected for

By Ben Morse, CNN Facing the NBA’s No. 1 defense in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Giannis Antetokounmpo was still able to blow people’s minds with a crazy highlight play. In the fourth quarter in Boston on Sunday, Antetokounmpo — with a defender draped all over him — had picked up his dribble

By Ben Morse, CNN When Walter Hagen won the PGA Championship for the second year in a row in 1925, he did what any champion would do: head out to celebrate. So, he grabbed the famous Wanamaker Trophy — given to the winner of the major — jumped in a nearby taxi and headed to

By Jacob Lev, CNN Ireland’s Katie Taylor defeated Puerto Rico’s Amanda Serrano Saturday night in the first boxing match headlined by two women at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Taylor, who won a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics, stays undefeated and improves her career record to 21-0 and six knockouts. The 35-year-old won via

By Jacob Lev and Alaa Elassar, CNN The University of Georgia Bulldogs saw 15 of its players drafted this week, breaking an all-time NFL record for most players selected from a single college team in a seven-round draft. The record was broken in the sixth round Saturday, with the consecutive selections of cornerback Derion Kendrick

By George Ramsay, CNN Real Madrid wrapped up the La Liga title with a comprehensive 4-0 victory against Espanyol on Saturday. It is Real’s second league title in three years and one Carlo Ancelotti’s side has claimed with relative ease having moved an unassailable 18 points ahead of Barcelona — which has five games left

By CNN Sports staff Boxers Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano are set to go head-to-head at Madison Square Garden on Saturday — the first time two women will headline the iconic venue in its 140-year history. Ireland’s Taylor is the undisputed lightweight champion and is undefeated in 20 professional fights, while Puerto Rico’s Serrano has

By Jacob Lev, CNN Philadelphia 76ers’ center Joel Embiid is out indefinitely after suffering an orbital fracture and mild concussion during Thursday’s series-clinching win over the Toronto Raptors, the team said Friday. Embiid suffered the injury late in the fourth quarter while defending Raptors forward Pascal Siakam. He went to the bench and did not

By Ben Church and Benjamin Brown, CNN West Ham United are investigating an incident in which two German commentators were allegedly attacked inside the London Stadium during the team’s Europa League semifinal first leg against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday. Tim Brockmeier and Philipp Hofmeister, working for German broadcaster Hessischer Runfunk, said their headsets were ripped

By Kikue Higuchi and Don Riddell CNN For the first time in its 140-year history, two female boxers are headlining at Madison Square Garden as undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor goes toe-to-toe with seven-weight champion Amanda Serrano in the ring on Saturday. “I think this is one of those history making fights. Male or female,

By Eric Levenson, Amir Vera and Jacob Lev, CNN The Jacksonville Jaguars made Travon Walker, a defensive lineman from the University of Georgia, the first pick in the NFL draft Thursday on a glitzy night in Las Vegas. Walker just came off a championship season with the Bulldogs, where he recorded 37 total tackles for

By John Sinnott and George Ramsay, CNN Jurgen Klopp says he is “delighted, humbled, blessed, privileged and excited” to sign a new contract with Liverpool. The 54-year-old German took charge of Liverpool in 2015, and since then has steered the Reds to the club’s sixth Champions League title in 2019 and first league title in

By Matias Grez, CNN British tennis star Emma Raducanu says it was a “tough” decision to split with coach Torben Beltz after only five months together. The 19-year-old, who stunned the tennis world by winning the US Open as a qualifier last year, is now searching for a fourth coach in less than year. Raducanu’s

By Ben Church, CNN Liverpool produced an impressive performance to beat Villarreal 2-0 in its Champions League semifinal first leg on Wednesday. Jurgen Klopp’s side was at its devastating best to take full control of the tie, striking twice in the second half to take a healthy advantage into the second leg in Spain next

By Don Riddell, CNN Even though she says the images play out like a movie in her mind, it’s a scene she couldn’t possibly ever have imagined: The end of her world as she knew it, and quite possibly her own imminent demise. “They were beating our parents, our family members, our teammates,” Fatima, who

By Darren Lewis and Sana Noor Haq, CNN Jarrod Bowen joined West Ham United in January 2020 and as he looks back over the last few years with the club it’s almost as if he can’t quite believe what has happened. West Ham finished the 2019/20 season five points shy of relegation, having lost half

By Issy Ronald, CNN Ja Morant exploded into life during the fourth quarter — including an acrobatic game-winning lay-up with one second remaining — to lead a dazzling comeback from the Memphis Grizzlies as they stunned the Minnesota Timberwolves 111-109 on Tuesday to take a 3-2 series lead in the first round of the NBA

By Matias Grez, CNN Novak Djokovic will be able to defend his Wimbledon title this summer after tournament organizers said that players who are unvaccinated against Covid-19 can compete at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC). The world No. 1 was not permitted to play at the Australian Open in January after twice having

By Melissa Alonso and Abby Bustin, CNN Attorneys general in Virginia and Washington, DC, have launched investigations into financial misconduct allegations against the NFL’s Washington Commanders and owner Daniel Snyder. The investigations come after lawmakers in Congress laid out accusations against the team and executives including Synder last week, including that they “may have intentionally

By Aimee Lewis, CNN It was a match which will be remembered as a Champions League classic. There were seven goals, one an outrageous penalty, plenty of chances and outstanding performances as Manchester City and Real Madrid played out a thrilling 4-3 first-leg semifinal tie Tuesday. Football fans drooled on social media as Real came

By Don Riddell and Matias Grez, CNN When Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on the morning of February 24, Darijo Srna was awoken at 6 a.m. by the sound of air raid sirens. It was a noise the former international football star says immediately transported his “head and body” back to his native Croatia,

By Elizabeth Wolfe and Kevin Dotson, CNN Women’s professional soccer team Houston Dash suspended its head coach and general manager James Clarkson after reviewing the initial findings of an investigation into league-wide allegations of wrongdoing, the team announced on Twitter Tuesday. The decision comes at the recommendation of a joint investigative team from the National

By Issy Ronald, CNN The Boston Celtics completed a 4-0 sweep of the Brooklyn Nets in their Eastern Conference first-round series by holding on to a 116-112 victory Monday night in New York. The Celtics led from the start as Jayson Tatum scored 29 points before fouling out with 2:49 remaining in the fourth quarter,

By Ben Morse, CNN Suppositions, distractions or “mentality monsters” — athletes deal with pressure in their own unique way. Calmness in the face of adversity had been Scottie Scheffler’s calling card over the first three days of the Masters. An errant shot didn’t seem to bother him, almost losing his ball on the 54th hole

By Matias Grez, CNN The Denver Nuggets avoided a first-round series sweep against the Golden State Warriors with a gritty 126-121 home win at Ball Arena. Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic put up a game-high 37 points for the Nuggets, shooting an absurdly efficient 66.7% from the field, to go along with eight rebounds and six

By Ben Church, CNN Lionel Messi scored a stunning long-range goal to help Paris Saint-Germain win a much expected Ligue 1 title Saturday. The Parisians knew they would clinch a record-equaling 10th title if they avoided defeat against RC Lens and Mauricio Pochettino’s side stuttered to a 1-1 draw. Messi’s curling effort from outside the

By Ben Church, CNN Tyson Fury vowed to retire from professional boxing after producing a masterclass to beat Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium Saturday. The 33-year-old knocked out his opponent in the sixth round with a devastating uppercut before reiterating a promise he made to his wife, Paris, to step away from the sport. “I

By Matias Grez, CNN Tyson Fury retained his WBC heavyweight title after beating Dillian Whyte by technical knockout in the sixth round in front of a raucous 94,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. It was a true boxing masterclass from Fury, who further cemented his place at the top of this generation’s heavyweight division. Whyte came

By Jomana Karadsheh and Sana Noor Haq, CNN On February 17, a team of young disabled Ukrainian swimmers traveled to Turkey to nurture their ambitions of becoming elite professionals. The camp of seven budding athletes arrived with their three coaches in the town of Silivri, just outside of Istanbul, to take part in a two-week

By Ben Morse, CNN The Golden State Warriors offense is purring and it’s fun, must-watch TV. The Dubs’ trio of stars — Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole — combined for 80 points as the Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets, 118-113, in Game 3 on Thursday night. The ‘Splash Bros’ — Curry and Thompson

By Matias Grez, CNN “We in Minnesota now,” a cocky Karl-Anthony Towns was heard saying on the bench. “Like I said after [Game 2] to the media: ‘Cool, we got to come back to our house now. I only seen them at their house.’” At the time, his Minnesota Timberwolves held a 17-point lead over

Matias Grez, CNN “Who would have thought it?” Tyson Fury asked, almost incredulous. “Even we didn’t think we’d be doing 90-odd thousand at Wembley.” Such is the grandeur of Saturday’s WBC world heavyweight title fight against Dillian Whyte, set against the backdrop of a record-breaking 94,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, that even Fury himself is

By Andy Rose, CNN The woman who sued Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, asking the court to establish that he is her biological father, dropped the lawsuit Wednesday. In her suit, Alexandra Davis claimed Jones paid her and her mother to keep his paternity confidential. Jones has not commented on the claim of paternity, but

By Amanda Davies, CNN Twenty-three-time grand slam champion Serena Williams and seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton have joined Martin Broughton’s bid to buy Premier League club Chelsea, a source close to the bid told CNN Sport on Thursday. The source was speaking on the condition of anonymity, and while they would not confirm

By Amy Woodyatt, Aleks Klosok and Anna Chernova, CNN Twenty-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic has criticized the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from competing at Wimbledon this year, calling the move “crazy.” Wimbledon organizers announced on Wednesday that Russian and Belarusian players will not be allowed to compete at this year’s edition

By Ben Morse, CNN Shohei Ohtani had a brush with perfection on Wednesday night on a history-making evening. He was throwing a perfect game until giving up one hit and one walk over six scoreless innings — to go with 12 strikeouts — in the Los Angeles Angels’ 6-0 shutout victory over the Houston Astros

By Matias Grez, CNN Joel Embiid hit a clutch three pointer with less than a second remaining to seal a 104-101 overtime win for the Philadelphia 76ers, extending their first round series lead over the Toronto Raptors to 3-0 in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs. The MVP candidate received an inbound pass from Danny Green

By CNN Sport Staff Jay Wright has announced his retirement after 21 seasons as head coach for the Villanova Wildcats. During his tenure, Villanova won two NCAA championships — in 2016 and 2018 — and reached the Final Four four times. “Over the past 21 seasons, I have had the opportunity to live out a

By CNN Sports Staff Maria Sharapova, who won all four tennis grand slam titles during her career, celebrated her 35th birthday on Tuesday but will remember the day for more than one reason after she announced she was expecting her first child with fiancée Alexander Gilkes. The former tennis star posted a picture on Instagram

Aimee Lewis, CNN Rivalries were put aside at Anfield Tuesday as Liverpool and Manchester United’s fans came together for a minute’s applause in support of Cristiano Ronaldo and his family following the death of the player’s newborn boy. In an emotional seventh minute, which Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp described as the “moment of the game,”

By Issy Ronald, CNN Five-time Olympic champion and 2012 Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins has told Men’s Health UK in an interview he was sexually groomed by a coach when he was a teenager. Wiggins did not name the coach in question but spoke about the impact of the alleged abuse on his life.

By Amy Woodyatt, CNN Just a month after she shocked the tennis world by announcing her retirement from the sport, former world No.1 Ashleigh Barty is returning to the spotlight with a golf club instead of a racket in hand. Captained by two time Masters champion and former world no. 1 Ernie Els, Barty will

By Matias Grez, CNN Boxer Amir Khan says was he robbed at gunpoint on Monday while he was out in London with wife Faryal Makhdoom. “Just had my watch taken off me at gun point in East London, Leyton,” Khan wrote on Twitter. “I crossed the road with Faryal, luckily she was few steps behind

CNN Sport staff The football world has been offering support and sympathy to Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo and his family following the announcement on Monday of his baby son’s death. The Manchester United and Portugal star had announced in October he and partner Georgina Rodriguez were expecting twins. In December, they announced they were