International sports

NEW YORK – The drought for American men’s tennis endured Sunday at the U.S. Open, extended by an indomitable Italian, and will soon yawn into a 22nd year. Taylor Fritz, a 26-year-old from California, was trying to become the first American man to claim a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick won here in 2003 but was undone, partly by the pressure of the moment but mostly by top-ranked Jannik Sinner.

Few college volleyball teams nationally have experienced as much change as Washington State since the Cougars’ loss to Pittsburgh last December in the third round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. WSU has a new head coach and coaching staff, a bunch of new players and a new conference home.

Redondo Krišková needed just nine words to sum up why she wanted to be the one to lead the Vandals. “Because life is not easy and I like challenges,” she said.

Mauricio Pochettino, an Argentine who has led major clubs in Europe and guided some of soccer’s most famous players, is deep in talks about becoming the U.S. men’s national soccer team coach as it prepares for the 2026 World Cup, people familiar with the situation said Thursday.

PARIS – At Sunday’s Closing Ceremonies, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo passed the Olympic flag to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass – and with it, the pressure to welcome and wow the world.

PARIS – The Olympic cauldron here was unlike any other, a hot-air balloon that rose nightly above Jardin des Tuileries. That garden, the largest in this gorgeous city, is bordered by the Louvre on one side, the Seine on another, the Rue de Rivoli to the north, and is a short walk to the Champs-Élysées. What a picture. What a place.

PARIS – This was an afternoon of agony when all the easy things were difficult, and the difficult things spiraled into existential crises. With 28 unblemished years at stake, the U.S. women’s basketball team’s fate was determined by mere inches at the final buzzer.

PARIS – Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, cloaked in American flags, shared hugs with LeBron James as the final buzzer sounded and their tumultuous road to Olympic gold was finally complete.

TRACK AND FIELD: Masai Russell couldn’t stay asleep. She’d close her eyes and start dreaming. Each time the unconscious film played in her mind, she looked up at the scoreboard and saw her name in first place.

Team USA handled every aspect of its semifinal game against Australia and is now heading to a heralded game on Sunday to play for their eighth consecutive Olympic gold. They’ll face the home team, France, who beat Belgium in overtime on Friday.

PARIS – This is what the U.S. women’s national soccer team should look like at the end of a major international competition: Absolutely spent athletes in red, white and blue falling to their knees and all over each other, some with arms raised in full triumph, some without the energy to do even that. Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A” blared through the speakers at Parc des Princes. It had been a bit.

PARIS – There has been, in fact, a critical flaw with the U.S. women’s soccer front line: It has lacked a nickname.

SAINT-DENIS, France – Sha’Carri Richardson took the baton and ran like the track owed her a gold medal.

Stephen Curry knew what he was in for when he joined the Team USA men's basketball team. The NBA superstar who had won four NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors, with six NBA Finals appearances in all along the way, spent the better part of the last decade facing the kind of pressure that not many of his contemporaries have known. But joining national team, the one that bears the weight of the four consecutive gold medals and the 2004 team before them that earned eternal infamy by settling for bronze, was different.

SAINT-DENIS, France – Shortly after finishing third in the Olympic 200 meters Thursday night, American sprinter Noah Lyles revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday morning.

Stephen Curry exploded for 36 points, Joel Embiid lived up to his potential in the middle of Team USA’s star-studded lineup and the Americans overcame extraordinary odds to defeat Serbia 95-91 on Thursday and reach the Olympic gold-medal round.

PARIS – They played poorly in the first half against Nigeria.

From staff reports

There's nothing brighter for Sonja "Sunny" Greinacher than gold. Greinacher, the former Gonzaga basketball standout who has played overseas in her home country in Germany since her college career ended in 2015, earned a gold medal on Monday after leading the Germans past Spain 17-16 in the women's 3x3 final at the Paris Olympics.