I Dig Sports
Inside the doping deal for tennis' world number one
Some top players continue to believe Sinner has been given preferential treatment because of his status.
Both the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) and Wada flatly reject any suggestion that is the case.
But it is clear Sinner - and five-time women's major champion Iga Swiatek, who received a one-month suspension last year after testing positive for heart medication trimetazidine - have benefitted from being able to pay top lawyers to act quickly.
"A majority of the players don't feel that it's fair," said 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
"It appears that you can almost affect the outcome if you are a top player, if you have access to the top lawyers."
Sinner's lawyer said he thought the swift resolution of the case came down to taking an "unusual" legal approach.
"From day one [Jannik] didn't challenge the science, he didn't challenge the test, didn't challenge the rules," Singer told BBC Sport.
"He accepted, even though it's a trace - it's a billionth of a gram - he accepted that he was liable for what was in his body.
"And so we didn't waste time and money on all of those challenges, which traditionally defence attorneys would throw the kitchen sink at.
"We just focused on the evidence of what actually happened, and when we did that we managed to do that very quickly and demonstrate very plausibly what had happened."
Singer was also aware that the timing of the ban was as good as it could possibly be.
"We can't get away from the fact that you can't choose when these things happen," he said.
"So the fact that Wada approached us and in the next three months there are no Grand Slams, that seemed to me to make their offer more compelling."
Several players believe the timing was suspiciously convenient, with Britain's Liam Broady saying it had impacted Sinner's career as "little as possible".
Asked directly why the deal had come about now, Wenzel insisted it was not taken with the tennis calendar in mind.
"Because of the timing of the Cas proceedings, it happened to be decided on 14 or 15 February, whatever it was, last Friday," said Wenzel. "It was a very late night, and it came into effect immediately, so that is the reason for the timing."
The Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA) - an organisation co-founded by Djokovic which aims to increase player power - believes there is a lack of "transparency", "process" and "consistency" in the system.
"Supposed case-by-case discretion is, in fact, merely cover for tailored deals, unfair treatment, and inconsistent rulings," the PTPA said in a statement.
"It's time for change."
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, writing on social media, said he did not "believe in a clean sport anymore".
Heartbreak for Gonzalez, Triumph for Annunziata in TA2 Opener
SEBRING, Fla. Tyler Gonzalez was the class of the field in the season-opening Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series race at Sebring Intl Raceway, but after showing dominant speed all day, he experienced a mechanical issue coming to the white flag. When Gonzalez fell off the pace, it was his teammate, Thomas Annunziata, who was in place to take the checkers in the caution-filled event.
Notes of Interest
- Thomas Annunziata earned the third win of his Trans Am career and his first victory at Sebring.
- Tyler Gonzalez led every lap of the race until the white flag before his throttle pedal broke, relegating him to a 27th-place finish.
- Newcomer Noah Harmon earned a top-five finish in his first-career Trans Am start.
The event aired LIVE on SPEED SPORT 1.
Mike Skeen (No. 48 CUBE 3/Franklin Road/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) earned the pole in yesterdays qualifying session while setting a new track record, but when the green flag was displayed, it was Gonzalez (No. 10 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) who had the advantage, overtaking Skeen in the first turn. The action didnt last long, as a six-car incident in Turn 10 brought out the yellow flag before the conclusion of the opening lap.
When racing resumed on lap four, Gonzalez got a great jump, protecting his lead. The following lap, third-place starter Rafa Matos (No. 57 Concord American Flagpole/SHR Chevrolet Camaro) got around Skeen for second, and the two battled for a few turns until they made contact, sending Matos spinning off the racing surface and out of the top 15. Gonzalez teammate Annunziata (No. 90 Nitro Motorsports Ford Mustang) took over the third position, followed by Tristan McKee (No. 28 Spire Gainbridge/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) and Austin Green (No. 89 3-Dimensional Services Group Ford Mustang).
The field slowed for a long caution period on lap six, going back to green on lap 13. Gonzalez once again pulled ahead of the pack while Annunziata was on the attack, passing Skeen by the conclusion of the lap. The racing action was paused again on lap 14 and lap 17 for cars stopped on the racetrack, and with the race clock ticking down, the restart on lap 19 would be the last one of the event.
Gonzalez once again maintained his point position and Annunziata held second while Skeen and McKee battled for the final podium position behind them. Skeen held the spot, and Green was also able to make his way around McKee, taking over fourth. Gonzalez opened up a two-second lead over the course of two laps, but just as the white flag was about to wave, his car suddenly slowed off the pace due to a broken throttle pedal. Annunziata inherited the lead for the final laps and crossed the finish line, followed by Skeen and Green. Adrian Wlostowski (No. 3 CMI/Spot-On Services/AMT Motorsports Ford Mustang) and Noah Harmon (No. 7 Streetside Classics/Flanigans Chevrolet Camaro) rounded out the top five, with McKee falling back to seventh before the checkers. 2024 champion Matos recovered from his early spin to finish 11th, and Gonzalez was ultimately scored 27th.
Well, it was a slow start, said Annunziata. I got under Rafa Matos in the beginning, and he looked like he got sideways and I got knocked off the racetrack. I fell down to fifth, but the car was really good. I wish we had more green-flag laps, but we got up to the front, and this win comes down to Michael, Ronnie and Nick Tucker. A driver is nothing without their car, so thank you Nitro Motorsports. In my eyes, I finished second today. My teammate and a great friend of mine, Tyler Gonzalez, drove an amazing race. He was the class of the field all day, and I hate to see that happen to him. I had a second-place car today, but Ill take the win. We went through a lot of bad luck last year, so it feels good to be on the good end for once. Thank you to Chipoys, everyone at Nitro Motorsports and Trans Am for putting on a great show.
Pro/Am Challenge
In Pro/Am Challenge, Barry Boes (No. 27 Accio Data/SLR-M1 Chevrolet Camaro) led the field from the first lap until the penultimate one, getting turned on the final lap in traffic and losing his lead to Keith Prociuk (No. 9 HP Tuners/Cope Race Cars Ford Mustang), who ultimately crossed the finish line first. Boes finished second, and Jared Odrick (No. 00 Black Underwear Ford Mustang) came from 32nd overall and eighth in class to take the third step on the podium, finishing 15th overall and earning the Bassett Hard Charger Award.
It feels great to be on the top step, said Prociuk. Thanks to CUBE 3 and Trans Am. Jared [Odrick], that was a great drive from the back. Youre keeping me honest in my mirrors. Barry [Boes], that was definitely your race. You got taken out there on the last lap and I capitalized. I wish we had more green laps, but I certainly had a fantastic car. Thanks to the team, thanks to the Trans Am staff for keeping us safe out there. Im looking forward to more of these.
SEBRING, Fla. Practice and qualifying have concluded for the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli at the Sebring SpeedTour at Sebring Intl Raceway. Paul Menard in the No. 3 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Ford Mustang will lead the field to green for the first time in 2025 after setting a new qualifying track record of 1:57.629.
Sundays event airs LIVE on SPEED SPORT 1 at 10:30 a.m. ET.
We have a new partner with Pittsburgh Paints and Stains, they came on in January, so Im really excited to get on the front row, get a pole, and a new track record for those guys, said Menard. Its a really cool, different design; I like the paint splashes and all that. The car itself is the same as last year, different livery, but a super-fast car again. Over the off-season the car was totally rebuilt, so it had some bugs to work through in the test sessions and then again in practice, but we kind of put it all together there for qualifying.
The track was slippery, must have been from the TA2 race, so the track didnt have the grip that I was expecting, but still good enough for the pole and a track record.
Paul Tracy (No. 10 Race Cars For You Innovation IRC GT) was quickest in XGT, while Joshua Carlson (No. 36 Enseva/Diercks Ltd./TC Fab Ford Mustang) topped SGT. Chris Coffey (No. 97 Traffic Grafix/Chill Out Motorsports Maserati MC GT4) was fastest in the GT class, and Jon DeGaynor (No. 04 Speed Dreamn Racing Ford Mustang) was the sole competitor in GT1 Challenge.
HAMPTON, Ga. The Atlanta Motor Speedway is Austin Hills home track after all and the Georgia native proved again Saturday night that he absolutely owns it.
Hill dominated the NASCAR Xfinity Series Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250 on the Atlanta high banks leading 146 of the 163 laps to claim his first victory of the early 2025 season driving the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet sponsored by the races title sponsor.
Hill has won four of the last six Atlanta races the last three consecutively and five in all including a sweep of both events last year. And although his laps led total is impressive, he really had to work for this trophy, after losing the lead briefly on a restart with three laps to go.
With a timely tap on Hills Chevrolets rear bumper from Parker Retzlaff, Hill was able to push forward and take the lead entering the first turn on the final lap. He held on to the win by a slight .216-second having to fend off reigning series champion, JR Motorsports Justin Allgaier and Joe Gibbs Racings veteran Aric Almirola who both previously led at various times on that final restart.
Thank you to Parker Retzlaff for giving me that push, and then once I got clear and into [turn] one I was just wide open and I was hoping they werent going to build up momentum, Hill said, adding, To be able to do this is something special.
Hills five Xfinity Series wins at Atlanta ties a record set by former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick. His eight-win total at drafting tracks ties a series record with a pair of NASCAR Hall of Famers, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart.
Hill swept the two stage wins for the second time in as many races this year giving him a 100 percent mark in 2025.
With his teammate Jesse Love winning the pole position for the race, it gives the RCR team a weekend sweep of pole and race wins for the second time no other team has won a pole position or hoisted a trophy in 2025. It also marks the 99th Xfinity Series victory for the NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Childresss team. Hill and Love led all but four laps in the race.
This is Hills 11th career win and after holding the point for the vast majority of the race, he ultimately earned it the hard way a last lap pass.
He definitely had the dominant car but I thought we might snooker one away, Almirola said of racing Hill in those final three laps. But it just wasnt meant to be.
JR Motorsports Sammy Smith and Big Machine Racing rookie Nick Sanchez rounded out the top-five. A final lap accident on the backstretch created chaos for several of the nights most consistent top-10 frontrunners.
Jeb Burton, rookie Daniel Dye, Leland Honeyman, rookie William Sawalich and Harrison Burton ultimately rounded out the top-10 at the checkered flag. Kaulig Racing rookie Christian Eckes earned the Fastest Lap Bonus point.
With the victory, Hill takes a 1-point lead over Haas Factory Team driver Sheldon Creed, who was eliminated from a top-10 finish in that multi-car accident on the last lap and scored 14th. Hills teammate, last weeks Daytona winner Love, finished 16th.
Manjrekar: 'Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi have seen better days'
Indian anthem before Aus vs Eng in Lahore - PCB asks ICC for clarification
The PCB has reached out to the ICC for clarification after the Indian national anthem was erroneously played for a moment at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
ESPNcricinfo understands that the PCB is unhappy with the error, which it has blamed the ICC for. A PCB official told ESPNcricinfo that as this is an ICC tournament, the anthem playlist was produced and distributed by the ICC, with the ICC in charge of playing the anthems ahead of the matches. The PCB also questioned the presence of the Indian anthem in the playlist in the first place, given India are not playing any of their matches in Pakistan.
This was a departure from the broadcast graphics for the other matches of the tournament so far, including the tournament opener between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi where the event name as well as 'Pakistan' was visible on the broadcast.
The ICC put that down to a technical glitch, though it was an explanation that didn't satisfy the PCB. The ICC gave assurances that such a thing would not be repeated, regardless of where the games were being held. That means the feed for Sunday's game between India and Pakistan in Dubai - the most high-profile contest of the tournament - will include Pakistan's name on the official on-screen logo.
The game between Australia and England drew the biggest crowd of the tournament so far, and was the most dramatic, as Australia chased down a record 351 to beat England by five wickets with 15 balls to spare.
Queensland crash out of One-Day Cup to youthful WA
Western Australia 132 for 4 beat Queensland 131 (Swepson 45, Jackson 4-39, Couch 3-45) by six wickets
Queensland crashed out of the One-Day Cup title race in humbling fashion, suffering a six-wicket loss to wooden spooners Western Australia at the Gabba.
In reply, a WA side featuring mostly emerging players reached the victory target in just 26 overs, with Hilton Cartwright, Sam Fanning and Jayden Goodwin all chipping in.
Queensland entered their last match of the regular season in third spot and well in the hunt to claim a spot in the March 1 final. They needed to beat WA and for Victoria to beat second-placed NSW to lock away a spot in the decider.
Even if NSW beat Victoria, Queensland could have still made the final by posting a bonus-point win over WA. But things went awry for the Bulls from the outset.
Star trio Ben McDermott, Jimmy Peirson and Matt Renshaw all fell cheaply as Queensland slumped to 17 for 3 in the fifth over.
Lachlan Hearne and Angus Lovell briefly steadied the ship, but those knocks were only a temporary reprieve as WA's youth-laden attack continued to wreak havoc.
Queensland were 102 for 9 before No. 10 Mitchell Swepson whacked 45 off 35 balls to at least give Queensland some sort of chance to pull off a miracle win.
The pace trio have just 15 List A appearances between them, and spinner Corey Rocchiccioli was playing just his second List A match.
But despite their youth and inexperience, the WA attack ripped through Queensland's talented line-up with ease. Swepson whacked three sixes and three fours in the sole real resistance Queensland were able to put up.
WA made light work of the run chase, with teenage paceman Callum Vidler the only Queensland bowler to make any true inroads.
The win was only WA's second of the season, with their hopes of winning four straight titles derailed by injuries and poor form across the campaign.
After lengthy injury layoff, Jamieson climbs back from the 'bottom of the cliff'
Jamieson last played an ODI in September 2023, against Bangladesh just before the World Cup. Looking back at his time off, Jamieson said his comeback worked out "roughly around the time-frames we looked at".
"I had a good crew around me, and the start of it was trying to put that all together around, what that's going to look like, and how we're going to get from where I was at the bottom of the cliff and how we're going to get back up to the top of it," he said after reaching Rawalpindi ahead of New Zealand's match against Bangladesh.
Jamieson has had his share of injures in a short international career so far. In June 2022, he experienced "sharp pain" in his lower back and walked off midway through his 17th over in a Test at Trent Bridge. Just ahead of the home Tests against England in early 2023, a suspected recurrence of the back injury ruled him out and he underwent surgery. It was only in August that year that Jamieson was back on the field, when he played five T20Is and three ODIs across the tours of the UAE and England. He then toured Bangladesh, where he played in two of the three ODIs.
New Zealand even named Jamieson as cover for an injured Matt Henry for the World Cup in 2023, before drafting him into the squad proper. Although Jamieson didn't get to play the tournament, he featured in both Tests on the subsequent tour of Bangladesh. However, a stiff hamstring ruled him out of the ODI series at home against the same opposition, and he also sat out of the T20Is on "medical advice". It was after that, halfway through the home series against South Africa, that Jamieson found himself out again.
"It's been a long one. Obviously, a lot of hard work [has gone into the comeback]," he said. "I had to go back to square one, and rebuild a few things. [I had to] try and solidify the foundations so I can get back to this arena and take on the different forms of cricket again. It's certainly been a long road, but it's quite funny once you're back in the mix and forget about how long it's taken."
"From the cricket point of view, it was great to be back in the park and just see where your game's at. I was always reasonably confident that part was going to be okay, but it's just nice to obviously put it back into that arena."
Kyle Jamieson on his return to action after a ten-month layoff
In the lead-up to the Champions Trophy, Jamieson worked his way back by representing Canterbury in the Super Smash and Ford Trophy, New Zealand's domestic T20 and 50-over competitions respectively. He bagged 14 wickets at an average of 18.71 to be Canterbury Magicians' highest wicket-taker in the Super Smash, where he played in all 12 matches.
"I really enjoyed being a part of a full campaign. You don't often get a chance to be a part of long stretches of time with your domestic team," he said. "From the cricket point of view, it was great to be back in the park and just see where your game's at. I was always reasonably confident that part was going to be okay, but it's just nice to obviously put it back into that arena. I guess those are some of the pressures and challenges that come with that sort of high-pressure cricket."
USMNT legend Meola recovering from heart attack
Former United States national team and MLS goalkeeper Tony Meola is recovering after suffering a heart attack Thursday, one day before his 56th birthday.
Meola underwent an unspecified procedure after the heart attack. He told Front Row Soccer that he ran four miles last Saturday and had the heart attack five days later.
"If I get one of you to go to the doctor and get a checkup, this was all worth it for me," Meola said, according to Front Row Soccer. "I'm going to be fine in a week, but I should have been smarter."
Meola was the USMNT's starting goalie in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups and was a backup in 2002. He made 101 appearances for the national team and had 35 shutouts.
Meola was a four-time All-Star in 11 MLS seasons with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (1996-98), Kansas City Wizards (1999-2004) and New York Red Bulls (2005-06).
Meola was the regular-season MVP and MLS Cup MVP in 2000 when Kansas City won the title. He had 16 regular-season shutouts and added five more in the postseason.
Overall, he had 62 clean sheets in 250 MLS starts. In 23 playoff matches, he had eight shutouts.
After the 1994 World Cup, the New York Jets brought in Meola, who kicked off five times during the preseason but failed to make the team.
Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.
Duke's Lucas focus of Miami search, sources say
Duke associate head coach Jai Lucas has emerged as the focus of Miami's search for a new basketball coach, sources told ESPN on Saturday.
A deal is not completed, and the plan is for the search to come together on a traditional timeline close to the end of the regular season.
Multiple sources told ESPN on Saturday night that the job has not been formally offered, nor is a deal expected to be imminent. Miami plays Duke on Tuesday in Coral Gables, Florida.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer was asked about Lucas following the Blue Devils' 110-67 win over Illinois on Saturday night in New York.
"Absolutely he's a head coach, no question about it," Scheyer said. "It's part of why I hired him. The job he's done for us has been incredible.
"Any report or anything that's out there, I'm just getting wind of it now. We'll cross that bridge and figure it out."
Lucas, 36, is considered one of the country's top assistant coaches, having worked at Texas (2016-20) and Kentucky (2020-22) as an assistant prior to landing at Duke in 2022. He was elevated to Duke's associate head coach in 2023.
He is also Duke's defensive coordinator. The Blue Devils rank No. 4 nationally in KenPom's defensive efficiency ratings and No. 1 in 2-point field goal percentage allowed. In Lucas' first two seasons with Duke, the team finished in the top 20 in KenPom's defense rankings.
Miami is set to replace Jim Larranaga, who stepped down in December amid his 14th season at the school. Larranaga led Miami to the Final Four in 2023 and twice won the ACC regular-season title. The Hurricanes are 6-20 overall this season and in last place in the ACC at 2-13.
Lucas is considered one of the country's best recruiters, as he helped bring elite talent to Texas and Kentucky when he was with those programs. Duke's recruiting class has been ranked in the top two nationally in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Lucas played a big role in helping bring in the Boozer twins -- No. 3 Cameron and No. 16 Cayden -- for the 2025 class.
Lucas is the son of John Lucas II, the former Maryland All-American, No. 1 NBA draft pick and longtime NBA coach and assistant.
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