Serena Williams gave herself a pep talk to play singles at Wimbledon at age 44

June 29, 2026

LONDON — Serena Williams had to talk herself into accepting Wimbledon's offer to play singles. The All England club was holding one last wild card entry and the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion — who had already announced she'd play doubles with her sister Venus — had a decision to make. "I thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I'll ever make it here again. This could be it," the 44-year-old Williams said Sunday at a press conference. "I was like, 'What's wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts? Like you really should do this,'" she ...

England beats Panama 2-0 on goals by Bellingham and Kane to win its World Cup group

June 29, 2026

EAST RUTHERFORD, N,.J. — Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and England's fervid fans made MetLife Stadium feel like Wembley. They hope for a repeat at next month's World Cup final. With supporters' red-and-white St. George's Cross signs circling the field on an afternoon of sporadic rain, ...

Messi subs in and scores again as defending World Cup champ Argentina beats Jordan to sweep group

June 29, 2026

ARLINGTON, Texas — Giovani Lo Celso became the first Argentina player other than Lionel Messi to score in this World Cup as the defending champions finished the group stage with a three-game sweep after a 3-1 victory over Jordan on Saturday night. Lo Celso, in his first World Cup start, ...

Austria, Algeria trade goals in stoppage time, both advance at World Cup with stunning 3-3 draw

June 29, 2026

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Algeria and Austria knew that a pedestrian draw Saturday night would have sent both to the knockout round of the World Cup. They delivered a thrilling 3-3 draw instead. In the wildest finish of the group stage, Algeria took the lead in stoppage time only for Austria to ...

Pochettino annoyed by perceived disappointment after US finishes group play with 3-2 loss to Turkey

June 27, 2026

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The United States only wanted to get through its final World Cup group stage match Thursday night without an injury or a red card, while Turkey was playing for a face-saving victory to end a dismal tournament. Both teams got what they wanted most out of their ...

With US, Canada and Mexico through, the World Cup knockout round hinges on who finishes third

June 27, 2026

As group play winds down at the World Cup, the biggest intrigue might be not who finishes first in a four-team group. It's who finishes third. Teams that are first and second in their groups move on automatically to the Round of 32. The U.S., Canada and Mexico, co-hosts of the tournament, ...