TENNIS
Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep , who reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings in 2017, has been suspended from professional tennis for four years for doping violations, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Tuesday.
Halep, a 31-year-old Romanian, “committed intentional anti-doping rule violations ” by failing a drug test during the 2022 U.S. Open and for irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport,” the ITIA said.
Halep, who plans to appeal the ruling, had been provisionally suspended since October 2022. The four-year ban will run to Oct. 6, 2026.
Halep won Wimbledon in 2019, beating 23-time major champion Serena Williams in the final, a year after winning the French Open.
Halep, who had blamed contaminated nutritional supplements, plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
BASKETBALL
NBA: Kevin Porter Jr. of the Houston Rockets was released on $75,000 cash bond after prosecutors revealed his girlfriend’s vertebrae was fractured during a brutal New York hotel beating, with Porter accused of repeatedly punching and choking the victim.
Porter, 23, appeared for his arraignment in the Monday morning beatdown of WNBA free agent Kysre Gondrezick inside the Millennium Hilton New York One UN Plaza barely 24 hours after a 6:45 a.m. call to 911 brought police to the East Side location.
The alleged assault was sparked when Porter returned to their hotel after a late night only to find he was locked out of the room, police sources said. The ensuing argument between the couple escalated quickly, with Porter assaulting his girlfriend once hotel staff let him inside, the sources said.
SOCCER
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: Luciano Spalletti engineered his first win as Italy coach with a 2-1 victory against Ukraine in a crucial qualifier thanks to two goals from Davide Frattesi.
The Inter Milan midfielder scored both goals in a dominant first half for Italy before Andriy Yarmolenko got Ukraine back into the match four minutes before the break.
WORLD CUP: Lionel Messi was neither in the starting lineup nor on the bench for Argentina’s 3-0 qualifying victory at Bolivia. Coach Lionel Scaloni said Sunday that Messi left the match against Ecuador last week complaining of fatigue.
U.S. MEN: Folarin Balogun scored in the 13th minute, Brenden Aaronson converted a free kick in the 60th and Ricardo Pepi got a goal in the 79th to lead the United States over Oman 4-0 in an exhibition at St. Paul, Minnesota.
HORSE RACING
CHURCHILL DOWNS: An investigation into the dramatic rise in deaths at Churchill Downs around the Kentucky Derby was released with a very familiar answer — we don’t know what happened.
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) released its 197-page report on Churchill Downs, filled with graphs, charts and all the trappings of a thorough examination. The only thing it lacked was a conclusion.
HOCKEY
NHL: New Columbus Blue Jackets coach Mike Babcock said he had done nothing wrong in asking players to show him photos off their phones, clarifying he was trying to get to know them after a report emerged criticizing him for invasion of privacy.
Paul Bissonnette said on the ‘Spittin’ Chiclets’ podcast he was told by an unidentified player that Babcock asked captain Boone Jenner to show him photos. Bissonnette, a former NHL player-turned-analyst for TNT, relayed he was informed Babcock told Jenner: “Let me see the photos in your phone. I want to know the type of person you are.”
Babcock and Jenner in a joint statement released by the Blue Jackets called it “a gross misrepresentation of those meetings and extremely offensive.” Jenner said the meeting was a good start to his relationship with Babcock and expressed disappointment.
– News service report
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