NADAL WITHDRAWS FROM AUSTRALIAN
Rafael Nadal’s comeback from hip surgery is on hold after he withdrew from the Australian Open with an injury a week before the start of the season’s first Grand Slam tournament.
The 22-time major champion said Sunday on social media that medical tests he took in Melbourne revealed a small tear in a hip muscle and he would fly home to Spain for treatment.
The 37year-old Nadal has won the Aus- tralian Open twice — in 2009 and 2022 — and his absence will leave this year’s event without what had been expected to be one of its main story lines.
It was a year ago at Melbourne Park that Nadal hurt his hip flexor during a second-round loss to Mackie McDonald, then missed the rest of the season.
More tennis
U.S. Open champion
Coco Gauff will head to the Australian Open with greater confidence in her form and fitness after beating
Elina Svitolina in three sets in the Auckland Classic final in New Zealand.
Elena Rybakina claimed her sixth career title with a 6-0, 6-3 rout of topseeded Aryna Sabalenka to win the the Brisbane International in a perfect tuneup for the first major of 2024.
Second-seeded Grigor Dimitrov beat top-seeded
Holger Rune 7-6 (5), 6-4 in a tightly fought men’s final for his first tour title in six years.
Reigning Olympic champion Alexander Zverev saved two match points in a remarkable comeback to win his singles match in an epic three-setter and then helped clinch the United Cup final for Germany in the deciding mixed doubles match.
College football
Mark Gronowski ran for a touchdown and threw for another after halftime as South Dakota State won its second straight Football Championship Subdivision title, beating Montana 23-3 on Sunday.
The Jackrabbits (15-0) extended their overall winning streak to 29 games in a row, including their win over North Dakota State in last year’s FCS game for their first national title.
Soccer
Chelsea striker Sam Kerr ruptured her ACL and is expected to be sidelined “for an extended period,” the national team in her native Australia announced on social media Sunday.
Arsenal’s increasingly alarming problems in front of goal were further exposed in a 2-0 loss to Liverpool in a heavyweight FA Cup match.
Manchester City looks in prime shape again heading into the second half of the season, with a 5-0 win over second-tier Huddersfield in the FA Cup notable for the return from injury of Kevin De Bruyne after nearly five months out.
Fans, players and coaches paid their last respects in Brazil to Mario Zagallo, the first person to win the World Cup both as a player and a manager.
Sao Paulo coach Dorival Júnior announced his departure to take charge of Brazil’s national team, the club said Sunday.
Winter sports
Jessie Diggins won a second title for the United States in cross-country skiing ’s Tour de Ski on Sunday, three years after securing America’s first victory in the competition.
American AJ Hurt used a blistering second run to finish third in a women’s World Cup race Sunday, after Mikaela Shiffrin failed to finish the opening leg. Slovakian skier Petra Vlhova held on to her first-run lead to win the event.