Djokovic breaks record for most weeks at No. 1
Novak Djokovic broke the record for the most time spent at No. 1 in the professional tennis rankings by a man or woman, beginning his 378th week in the ATP's top spot on Monday to surpass Steffi Graf's 377 leading the WTA.
He already held the men's mark, eclipsing Roger Federer's old ATP standard of 310 weeks in March 2021.
“I'm flattered, obviously. Extremely, extremely proud and happy for this achievement,” Djokovic said in a video posted on social media, in which he referred to Graf as “one of the greatest, most legendary, tennis players.”
After Djokovic and Graf on the all-time No. 1 weeks list are Martina Navratilova, with 332, and Serena Williams, with 319, followed by Federer. The computerized rankings began in the 1970s.
Djokovic has finished seven years atop the ATP, another men's record.
The 35-year-old from Serbia returned to No. 1 this time by winning the Australian Open in January, jumping up from No. 5 to overtake Carlos Alcaraz. That title was Djokovic's 22nd at a Grand Slam tournament, equaling Rafael Nadal for the most by a man in tennis history.
Men's basketball HOUSTON, ALABAMA TOP AP TOP 25 >>
The top five spots in the Associated Press men's college basketball poll remained the same. The rest of the AP Top 25 was a big jumble.
Houston was No. 1 for the second straight week in the poll released Monday, receiving 49 first-place votes from a 62-person media panel. No. 2 Alabama had five first-place votes and No. 3 Kansas received eight.
UCLA and Purdue rounded out the top five. The Boilermakers held at No. 5 despite losing to No. 15 Indiana.
Women's basketball
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA WOMEN RUN AP TOP 25 STREAK TO 36 WEEKS >> After a week of upsets that saw 15 ranked teams lose, South Carolina remained the lone unbeaten school.
The Gamecocks ran their streak to 36 consecutive weeks atop The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll to match Louisiana Tech for the secondlongest run in the history of the poll that dates to 1976.
Indiana, which lost at the buzzer to then-No. 6 Iowa on Caitlin Clark's 3-pointer on Sunday, remained No. 2. Utah jumped up five places to No. 3 after beating thenNo. 3 Stanford to clinch a share of the Pac-12 title. It's
Utah's best ranking ever. The Cardinal dropped to sixth.
Soccer MESSI AND PUTELLAS VOTED BEST PLAYERS AT FIFA AWARDS AGAIN >>
World Cup winner Lionel Messi edged Kylian Mbappé again, this time to take FIFA's best men's player award.
The best women's player was Spain's Alexia Putellas for a second straight year.
After steering Argentina to World Cup glory in an epic final against Mbappé's France last year in Qatar, Messi won the best player vote against Mbappé and Karim Benzema to secure the FIFA prize for the seventh time in 14 years.
The three players made the final shortlist in voting by a global panel of national team captains and coaches, selected journalists in each of FIFA's 211 member countries, plus fans online.
NBA HASLAMS AGREE TO PURCHASE LASRY'S STAKE IN BUCKS >>
Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam have agreed to purchase Marc Lasry's 25% stake of the Milwaukee Bucks in a deal that puts the value of the NBA franchise at $3.5 billion, two people with knowledge of the negotiations.
The agreement has not been finalized, said the people, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the Bucks nor the Haslams publicly disclosed any element of the agreement.
NFL COMMANDERS RELEASE QUARTERBACK WENTZ AFTER ONE SEASON >>
The Washington Commanders released Carson Wentz, an expected move that puts an end to the one-season experiment with the veteran quarterback that did not work out.
After giving up draft picks to acquire him in a trade with Indianapolis last March, the Commanders were able to get out of the final two years of Wentz's contract without any salary cap penalty.
MLB AVERAGE SALARY ROSE 14.8% TO RECORD $4.22M LAST SEASON >>
Major League Baseball's average salary rose 14.8% to a record $4.22 million last year after the end of the lockout, boosted by big deals for Max Scherzer, Francisco Lindor, Marcus Semien and Corey Seager.
The rate of increase was the highest since a 17.7% increase in 2000 to $1.61 million, according to final calculations by the players' association.
The average had dropped in each of the previous four seasons before 2022, sparking player anger that was expressed by the union during a 99-day lockout that ended last March.