NEWSMAKERS
Ko in lead with best opener of the year
Lydia Ko fired a 7-under 64 for her best opening round of the year to lead the LPGA Tour’s Sime Darby event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The former No. 1-ranked Ko is one shot ahead of Su Oh and two ahead of defending champion and two-time winner Shanshan Feng, Madelene Sagstrom and Eun-Hee Ji, who won by six strokes in Taiwan last week for her first LPGA Tour title since 2009. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., had a 1-under 70 to sit in a tie for 20th, while Hamilton’s Alena Sharp had a 71 to sit in a tie for 32nd. Ko has three top-10 finishes since September and 10 overall this year.
Williams in vintage form at WTA Finals
Venus Williams reached the semifinals at the WTA Finals by beating Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza 7-5, 6-4 Thursday in Singapore. The 37-year-old Williams advanced from the White Group along with Karolina Pliskova, who lost to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-1. Both Williams and Pliskova finished with 2-1 records. Williams won the WTA Finals in 2008 and reached the final in 2009, which was the last time she appeared in the year-end tournament.
Doan lands new career with NHL hockey ops
Former Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan has joined the NHL’s hockey operations department, the league announced. Doan will work with senior executive vice-president of hockey operations Colin Campbell. The league said in a statement that Doan will “work closely with hockey executives on the club level and be involved with the competition committee.” Doan, who played in the NHL from 1995-96 through 2016-17, announced his retirement as an active player on Aug. 30. His 1,540 regular-season games played are tied with John Bucyk for 14th place on the league’s all-time list.
Is the third retirement the charm for Hingis?
Martina Hingis announced Thursday that she will retire from tennis for the third time in her career at the end of the ongoing WTA Finals. The Swiss player initially confirmed the news after winning her quarter-final doubles match. The top-seeded pair, Hingis and Chan Yung-Jan of Taipei, defeated Anna-Lena Gronefeld of Germany and Kveta Peschke of Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2. The 37-year-old Hingis amassed five Grand Slam singles titles, 13 Grand Slam doubles titles and seven Grand Slam mixed doubles titles during her stop-and-start career. Overall, she has won 43 singles and 64 doubles titles and was one of six players to hold the No. 1 ranking in singles and doubles at the same time in her career.
Koepka’s wild ride good enough for lead
U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka turned a sure birdie into a bogey and then turned a certain bogey into an unlikely birdie. It added to an 8-under 64 and a one-shot lead Thursday after the opening round of the HSBC Champions in Shanghai. He had a one-shot lead over Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, who dressed in black in honour of the five-day funeral that began at home for King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Malaysia’s Gavin Green also opened with a 65, while American Patrick Reed and Haydn Porteous of South Africa were another shot back. Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama opened with a 74. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 3-under 69 to sit in a tie for 21st.
Slovenian biathlete flunks doping retest
A Slovenian biathlete was the only competitor who failed doping retests from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The International Biathlon Union said Thursday that two samples given by Teja Gregorin tested positive for GHRP-2 — a banned substance that stimulates the body to produce more growth hormone — in samples taken the week before competition started. The same drug was also used by three Chinese weightlifting champions at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Gregorin didn’t win a medal in any of her four events in 2010, but she was the Olympic bronze medallist four years later in the pursuit race. The International Olympic Committee said earlier this month that only one person tested positive after 1,195 samples from the Vancouver Olympics were re-examined using newer technology.