• American rallies from brink to defeat Andreeva

• Gauff survives 12 double faults in three-set escape

Coco Gauff has played far cleaner matches than on Wednesday afternoon. But few players today on the women’s tour have become better at finding answers on the fly when almost nothing is working for them.

The 22-year-old American’s serene march through the US Open women’s draw hit extreme turbulence early in her quarter-final clash with fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. She dropped the first four games before surrendering the opening set in 26 minutes, ending a streak of 20 consecutive sets won dating back nearly a month. She piled up 12 double faults and 42 unforced errors, the majority off a forehand in open revolt. She found herself one point from defeat not once but twice during a hairy second-set tiebreaker.

• Distance tops US men’s mark by more than 30 miles

• Eckert also beat women’s world record she set last year

While some teachers spent the second week of September easing into their school routines, Megan Eckert was making more ultrarunning history.

The New Mexico middle school math teacher shattered the six-day women’s world record and the American men’s record by running 636.482 miles, completing her feat on Wednesday morning in Balatonfüred, Hungary.

Coco Gauff saved two match points to set up a semi-final against Elena Rybakina, who secured the world No 1 ranking with her three-set win over Zheng Qinwen

Rybakina has won four of her five meetings with Zheng, including two three-set victories this year. But Zheng was earlier in her comeback from elbow surgery then, the 2024 Olympic champion is a totally different proposition now, carrying the momentum of seven successive match wins in New York having come through qualifying - and the belief she can turn around any deficit after coming from 5-0 down in sets against both Madison Keys in the third round and Iga Swiatek in the last 16.

Here come Zheng and Rybakina, Zheng stepping on to court wearing headphones, not that there’s much noise to drown out yet at 11.35am New York time. Both already look extremely focused with their game faces on.

The 23-year-old’s epic win over Carlos Alcaraz means there is a real chance of an American man winning the US Open for the first time since 2003

In yet another graveyard shift at the US Open, Ben Shelton showed he can hang around late, ousting defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in five sets in a quarter-final that started on Tuesday night and finished on Wednesday morning. When Shelton fired the final ball out wide for his seventh ace of the night, the clock on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court read 3.33am. It was the latest-ever finish at the Open and the fifth-latest finish in grand slam history.

After embracing Alcaraz at the net, he pumped his fists and greeted his coach’s box with a primal scream. Parents have a name for this: the zoomies. Then Shelton looked to the stands and gestured at his mother and his girlfriend, soccer star Trinity Rodman. In his on-court interview, he asked that his sister, Emma, be given the day off. She had spent the entire night and much of the early morning watching her little brother play.

Through the loss of one franchise, name controversies and stadium changes, Legacy supporters have created an environment of advocacy and belonging

More than two years of work had led to this moment for the Boston Independent Supporters’ Association (ISA). Even before Boston’s new NWSL team had a name, a mascot or a roster, there were fans organizing, ready and waiting to embrace the franchise.

On 14 March 2026, it finally paid off. The Boston ISA members marched into Gillette Stadium for the Legacy’s opening match, following behind the marching band from Boston Public Schools and holding their “Up the Swans” scarves over their heads. The group arrived at their seats in the supporters’ section behind the north goal and unfurled the tifo they had spent many hours diligently painting.

Sports is the rare topic in which the president has succeeded in shifting the conversation to his preferred terms

Lately, it seems Donald Trump’s scope of interests has narrowed to a few things: remaking downtown Washington DC in his gaudy image; wars he thinks he can win quickly and easily, even though he can’t.

Also, golf. Always golf. Ever golf.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is the author of The Long Game: U.S. Men’s Soccer and Its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts, which is out now. He teaches at Marist University.

• Winner claims 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (7) victory

• Epic quarter-final ends after 3.30am in New York

As the official 10th day of play in New York moved deeper into the remote hours of the new morning, every passing game imbued Carlos Alcaraz with greater despair. From his focused start, Alcaraz’s intensity had flatlined and he could barely put a ball in court. He lost nine consecutive games against Ben Shelton and seemed to have nothing left.

Instead, the defending champion improbably dragged himself back into a contest that soon developed into one of the most remarkable matches of the year. The latest attempt by Alcaraz, the second seed, at orchestrating a monumental comeback was denied by a brave, defiant Shelton, the eighth seed, who refused to be shaken by his legendary rival or the looming prospect of securing the greatest win of career.

The new season kicks off on Wednesday night. Our writers have their say on the MVP, rookies to watch and the disasters waiting to happen

Quarterbacks living under center. The NFL has developed into a shotgun league, where most quarterbacks take the majority of their snaps three to seven yards away from the center. But the increase in efficiency when it comes to snaps taken right behind the center should have coaches directing their quarterbacks to do more of it. Matthew Stafford, Caleb Williams, and Sam Darnold led the way in 2025, and others will follow. DF

• Shelton sees off Alcaraz in latest ever US Open finish

• Tiafoe breaks Michelsen’s heart with epic comeback

First set: Shelton 3-2 Alcaraz* (*denotes next server)

An even breezier service game from Shelton, who holds to love. During the changeover, the cameras pan to a few of the celebrities in the audience. There’s Kevin Hart taking it in from a suite. And, of course, there’s USA and Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, Shelton’s girlfriend, watching from his player box. We’ve also heard Simone Biles is in the building somewhere.

• No 11 seed rallies for 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (6) win

• Tiafoe into third US Open semi-final in five years

• American will play Alcaraz or Shelton in last four

At the end of more than four and a half hours of escalating drama inside the world’s biggest tennis stadium, a devastated Alex Michelsen fell into Frances Tiafoe’s arms just outside the tramlines, sobbing uncontrollably. Tiafoe took his younger countryman in an embrace and held him there for 23 seconds, the victor consoling the vanquished in the aftermath of an extraordinary comeback that had carried him, somehow, into the US Open semi-finals.

Only a couple of hours earlier, the 28-year-old Tiafoe had been two sets down and two points from elimination in the third set, with Michelsen within touching distance of the biggest victory of his young career. Instead, Tiafoe roared back from the brink to win a quarter-final that will be long remembered in New York, outlasting Michelsen 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (6) on Tuesday afternoon to reach the last four at Flushing Meadows for the third time in five years. Now he will face Ben Shelton on Friday after the American ousted defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in another epic five-set marathon that ended at 3.33am on Wednesday morning.

• Saudi investors stopped backing LIV this year

• Rahm, DeChambeau and Smith among the creditors

LIV Golf, the breakaway tour that spent billions of dollars luring top players away from the PGA and triggered bitter divisions within the sport, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US.

The filing at a New Jersey court indicates LIV, which abruptly lost its deep-pocketed Saudi investors earlier this year, intends to restructure and return in a new form.

• Derek Phillips suffered cardiac arrest at football game

• Temperatures reached 94F in Iowa City on Saturday

• University has not said whether heat caused collapse

A University of Iowa marching band member has been taken off life support after collapsing during extreme heat at the Hawkeyes’ season-opening football game on Saturday, his family said.

Derek Phillips, a third-year student from Dubuque, Iowa, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest shortly before the band was scheduled to perform its half-time show against Northern Illinois at Kinnick Stadium, according to a message posted to his Instagram account by his family.

Summer spending across the league’s 30 clubs has ballooned. Here are three takeaways from the league’s transfer window

With the shadow of the 2026 World Cup hanging over the league and a potential set of rule changes looming, Major League Soccer’s summer transfer window was one defined by uncertainty, diverse strategies and record spending. It was the fourth transfer window since MLS allowed clubs to purchase players from other clubs using traditional transfer fees rather than general allocation money (GAM), the intraleague currency system. The new rule, which is now being used more frequently, has helped account for rapid growth in league expenditure, as has increased GAM allotted to each club.

These trends have been seen broadly over the last two seasons, but this past window took it to a new level, smashing the previous record for summer spending. This summer, MLS teams spent 65% more year-over-year, with a total of nearly $190m spent, accounting for 45% of the 2026 total. The above factors combined to create one of the most consequential transfer windows in MLS history, which may give a glimpse into the league’s future trajectory.

Frances Tiafoe came from two sets down to deny Alex Michelsen in an all-American epic, while Aryna Sabalenka prevailed in a high-quality battle against the Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova

First set: Sabalenka* 3-1 Noskova (*denotes next server)

At 30-all, Sabalenka is applying more pressure on Noskova’s serve, but Sabalenka smacks a backhand return into the net and Noskova can breathe a little at 40-30. And the Wimbledon champion gets her side of the scoreboard moving when Sabalenka again errs with her return. The Arthur Ashe crowd – perhaps only about a half full so far – cheer loudly. They’re not against Sabelenka – as they were in the previous round when she played the American Taylor Townsend – but of course they want a close match.

Our cartoonist imagines how the football great might while away the hours after calling time on his international career

• Buy this cartoon | Some of David’s favourite works

• And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now

Players generally welcome interacting with their fans. But as the league’s popularity surges, there are dangers to be aware of

Caitlin Clark spent most of the 2025 WNBA season sidelined with a series of injuries that forced her to miss more than 30 games. But she also spent part of the season (and the preceding offseason) quietly navigating a tumultuous and scary reality: a 55-year-old man was stalking her, and he was convinced they were in a relationship.

That man, Michael Lewis, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison last July. Lewis sent Clark “hundreds” of messages – many of which were “threats and sexually explicit” – between 12 December 2024 and 11 January 2025. Lewis, who is from Texas, was arrested at a hotel in Indianapolis, where Clark plays for the Indiana Fever. The case took a toll on Clark: she said she feared for her safety and had changed her appearance in public.

The Philadelphia Union midfielder has gotten his longest run of game time since turning pro, and the data is tantalizing

There’s a video from a United States U-15 camp three years ago that will make your head spin. It’s a routine training session for the boys on the pitch except one, a head shorter and a year or two younger than the others, who’s practicing with the national team for the first time.

Is the boy nervous? He is not. A pass floats into the box and he checks his run, tries to get under it, but the ball is too high for his 13-year-old head to reach. He doesn’t even jump. As the cross sails over him, he flings himself forward like Superman and flicks a heel up behind his back, catching the ball with a scorpion kick that bounces straight into the path of a teammate for a cartoon assist.

A large part of San Francisco’s summer was a literal car crash. On the positive side, they have so far avoided their usual list of crushing injuries

The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers have trekked to Australia for this week’s NFL season opener in Melbourne. The flight time from California to Victoria is nearly the same for both teams – roughly 16 hours – but their journeys to the start of the season couldn’t be more different.

It’s been smooth sailing for the Rams, with their collection of playmakers growing by the day. It’s a very different story for the 49ers: facing Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett, not to mention the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks, at least twice this season is the least of their problems. Their offseason has been more than lightly turbulent: it’s been batshit crazy.

• Gauff defeats Jovic 6-1, 6-4 in 80 minutes

• American has yet to drop a set in New York

• Andreeva awaits in anticipated quarter-final

Coco Gauff continued her serene march through the US Open women’s draw with her most complete performance yet on Monday night, seeing off fellow American Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-4 to reach the last eight in New York for the first time since winning it all in her grand slam breakthrough three years ago.

The fourth-seeded Gauff overwhelmed Jovic with the depth of her returns and an assured blend of aggression and defense, finishing with twice as many winners (18 to nine) and half as many unforced errors (15 to 30). The 1hr 20min clinic was the latest statement in a late-summer win streak that has transformed her from a player searching for answers this time last year into perhaps the most dangerous woman in the field right now.

• Former general manager has resigned post

• Belichick’s son Steve is on medical leave

• School has launched investigation into program

North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick said on Monday he believes his program “totally” has an atmosphere of following rules amid an investigation into its conduct.

“Obviously everybody’s responsible, including me, for doing things properly,” Belichick said. “And we intend to do that.”

As he prepares for the upcoming international window, the US head coach spoke about Folarin Balogun, the LA Olympics and dual national players

It’s been two months since the US men’s national team crashed out of the World Cup in disappointing fashion, and their head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, is back at work.

The former Tottenham and PSG manager was largely viewed as a short-term hire when he joined the US in 2024, brought on to help the team capitalize on their first home World Cup in more than three decades. Along the way, Pochettino and US Soccer warmed to the idea of a contract extension, one they finalized in August.

The US will play four friendlies in late September and early October against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada, but that stretch of games pales in comparison to the larger task at hand. Pochettino must guide the US to qualification for the 2030 World Cup, of course, but the Argentinian – and the federation – have more ambitious goals that involve reshaping the structure of soccer in the United States.

Qinwen Zheng comes from 0-5 down in the first set to beat Iga Swiatek in two, while Mirra Andreeva, Elena Rybakina and Alexander Blockx also make the last eight

Back on Armstrong, we’re still level but at 4-4, Potapova playing with confidence and poise. She holds to 30, and Andreeva must now serve to stay in set one.

Zheng and Swiatek are out on court; Zheng, the Olympic champion, had to come through qualifying after missing time with an elbow injury, but two weeks of competition have brought her into the main event nicely loose. I’d be surprised if she finds a way to win here, but she did at those Olympics, so knows she can.

From home-run celebrations to tilted caps, players embracing joy continue to collide with an old guard devoted to Dust Bowl grimness

Over the last several years, simultaneously lauded and paralyzed by its ironclad traditions, baseball has undergone various forays into reinvention, trying to free itself from its unwritten rules of retaliation, its seeming aversion to joy, its demand that every generation of player of every culture and background play the game with the grimness of a Dust Bowl farmer.

The sport even attempted to change those customs by promoting a cultural shift with an industry-wide motto: Let the Kids Play. But in a time of intense division within the aggressive backdrop of Trumpism, the result is a racial clash that is actually a generational and cultural one that predates current politics by a century.

Howard Bryant is the author of 11 books, including Full Dissidence: Notes from an Uneven Playing Field, and Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America. He writes at Substack.

Kate Scott, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards discuss their oft-viral approach to covering soccer for a US audience

It takes something special for a sports broadcast to outshine the action on the field. Yet that is often what happens on CBS Sports, where the Champions League studio show has struck a rare chord with viewers, most often broadcast on streaming branch Paramount+.

The usual group (Kate Scott, Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry, and Micah Richards), have become fixtures on the American TV circuit, thanks in large part to their on-air chemistry. Scott guides the show expertly – all with with a mass of banter and ribbing along the way.