BOXING
Obama to miss Ali funeral
The White House said US President Barack Obama will not attend Muhammad Ali’s funeral, which coincides with his oldest daughter’s graduation. “They will be attending Malia’s high-school graduation ceremony in Washington, DC,” spokeswoman Jen Friedman said. Instead, a close aide “will read a letter from the president and the first lady as part of Friday’s service in Louisville.”
SOCCER
Trump ‘may scupper Cup bid’
A Donald Trump victory in the US presidential elections could scupper the US’ chances of mounting a successful bid for the 2026 World Cup, the country’s top soccer official told US media outlets on Tuesday. US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said Trump’s election could adversely affect international opinion of the US, potentially dealing a fatal blow to hopes of gathering enough votes to land the tournament. The US Soccer Federation has not formally announced a bid for the 2026 tournament, but is already seen as the popular frontrunner. Gulati was quoted by USA Today as saying that the US, beaten by Russia and Qatar in bids for 2018 and 2022, would only chase the 2026 World Cup if victory was possible. “We are going to bid for a World Cup if we think we can be successful,” Gulati was quoted as saying during a briefing to US journalists in Chicago. “Being successful in a World Cup bid or an Olympic bid for Los Angeles [in 2024] is affected by the world’s view of our leaders — not just leaders of the soccer federation. I think the world’s perception of the US is affected by who is in the White House. So it has some bearing.”
TENNIS
Troicki ousted in Stuttgart
Qualifier Florian Mayer defeated sixth-seeded Viktor Troicki 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in the opening round of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany, on Tuesday. Troicki was the runner-up last season, when the tournament was still played on clay. It is now played on grass, as a tuneup for Wimbledon. Troicki went down despite serving 10 aces. He lost his footing several times and produced a double fault that allowed Mayer to serve out the match. Wild-card Juan Martin del Potro fired 12 aces and cruised past Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-2. Mikhail Youzhny beat fifth-seeded Feliciano Lopez 7-5, 6-3 and John Millman defeated eighth-seeded Lucas Pouille 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-4. Taylor Fritz beat Fabrice Martin 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 and will next play top-seeded Roger Federer, who had a bye into the second round. Federer is coming back after a back injury that forced him to skip the French Open.
TENNIS
Mannarino upsets Seppi
Adrian Mannarino upset sixth-seeded Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the second round of the Ricoh Open in The Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday. Seventh-seeded Gilles Muller beat Robin Haase 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 in another first-round match. Igor Sijsling, Tatsuma Ito, Daniil Medvedev, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Dudi Sela also advanced to the second round of the grass-court event in Rosmalen that serves as a tuneup for Wimbledon. On the women’s side, top-seeded Belinda Bencic needed three sets to overcome Alison van Uytvanck 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3). Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic had an easier path into the second round, beating Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 6-2. Also advancing to the second round were third-seeded Kristina Mladenovic, Richel Hogenkamp, Aleksandra Krunic, Nao Hibino, Jelena Ostapenko, Risa Ozaki, Varvara Lepchenko, Viktorija Golubic, Evgeniya Rodina and Kateryna Kozlova.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite