World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz will play for a third consecutive Wimbledon title after a four-set semifinal win over American Taylor Fritz.

Alcaraz earned the 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) victory in a match that lasted two hours and 49 minutes.

Alcaraz showed a dominant serve throughout the contest, winning 88% of his first serve points and allowing Fritz to break him just once during the match. While the American’s break came at an opportune time and allowed him to win the second set, the Spaniard responded by winning a whopping 94% of his service points in the match’s critical third set.

‘This is my dream – stepping on these beautiful courts and playing tennis in the most beautiful tournaments in the world,’ Alcaraz told reporters. ‘That’s all I try to think at every tournament and why I try to bring the joy to the courts.’

Fritz battled hard in the fourth set and had multiple set points in their tiebreaker after earning a mini-break over Alcaraz. Nonetheless, the 22-year-old staved them off, re-took control of the match and battled back to win the set and deny the American his second-career major final appearance.

Now, Alcaraz will look to become the 17th man to win at least three Wimbledon singles titles in the event’s 148-year history. The 22-year-old will play face Jannik Sinner in the final.

Alcaraz has beaten Djokovic in the Wimbledon finals in back-to-back seasons but sports a career record of 3-5 against the Serbian star. The five-time major winner has had more consistent success against Sinner, logging an 8-4 career record against him and upsetting the top-seeded talent in five sets in the final at the 2025 French Open.

Meanwhile, Fritz’s defeat continues the ignominious drought of American winners in the men’s singles draw at Wimbledon. Pete Sampras was the last American man to win Wimbledon. He did so in 2000, with a four-set win over Australian Patrick Rafter.

Since then, an American has only made the grass-court Grand Slam final three times, with the last being Andy Roddick in 2009. And no American man has won a major since Roddick’s victory at the 2003 US Open.

This story was updated with hew information

Venus Williams is planning to return to professional tennis later this month for the first time in more than a year.

The 45-year-old has accepted a wild-card invite to compete in the women’s singles draw at the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open beginning July 19 in Washington, D.C., tournament organizers announced on Friday, July 11.. It will be the first professional singles match for the seven-time Grand Slam winner since the Miami Open in March 2024, when Williams lost in the first round. She last appeared at the DC Open in 2022.

‘There’s something truly special about D.C.: the energy, the fans, the history,’ Williams said in a statement. ‘This city has always shown me so much love, and I can’t wait to compete there again.’

It seemed Williams might make a return to professional tennis earlier this year when the BNP Paribas Open announced she had received a wild-card entry into the main singles draw at the 1000-level WTA tournament in Indian Wells, California in March. But Williams later clarified she had not actually committed to play in the event.

Williams is currently listed as an ‘inactive’ player on her WTA website profile page. She hasn’t played in a Grand Slam event since Wimbledon in 2023, when she lost in the first round after suffering a knee injury. Williams announced in 2011 she had been diagnosed with Sjögren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease.

‘She has inspired people around the world with her accomplishments on the court and her visionary impact off the court,’ said Mark Ein, chairman of the Mubadala Citi DC Open. ‘I know how much it means to our D.C. fans and community to be able to watch her compete in person this summer.’

Williams won Wimbledon five times during her career, most recently in 2008, and also has two U.S. Open titles since first bursting onto the scene as a professional more than 30 years ago.

Defending French Open champion Coco Gauff, Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu and four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka are among the other notable commitments for the women’s singles portion of the 2025 DC Open alongside Williams.

Late June into early July marks an off time for NFL players. There’s a break between mandatory minicamps and when players report back to team facilities for training camp.

We’re weeks away from the start of what will be a six-month grind for most and a seven-month marathon for the playoff contenders. That makes now a good time for players to relax and/or spend their time on passion projects.

Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews leaned into the latter today.

Andrews has long been outspoken about living with Type I diabetes after being diagnosed as a child. He’s become a spokesperson for Dexcom, a company that manufactures continuous glucose monitoring systems to help those with diabetes monitor their insulin levels.

Dexcom and Andrews’ partnership includes ‘Dexcom U’ – a Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) program specifically for college athletes with diabetes. They hosted a camp today in Baltimore as part of Dexcom U Signing Day.

This is the fourth year of the event but was the first time the NIL program hosted a nationwide open call for athletes to join its roster.

This year’s class of athletes has yet to be announced.

Last year’s class included collegiate athletes competing in soccer, steeplechase, water polo, football, lacrosse, basketball and beach volleyball.

Andrews’ appearance at the Baltimore camp also included a game of head, shoulders, knees and ball against some of the athletes there.

Andrews isn’t the only current NFL player with Type I diabetes. Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray and Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Chad Muma are some of the other notable players.

Baltimore’s training camp kicks off on July 15 for the rookies while Andrews and the rest of the veterans will report on July 22. The Ravens open their preseason action against the Colts on Aug. 7.

The Dallas Mavericks, as with any debut, would do well to take the bad with the good.

In a much-hyped matchup against Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers, No. 1 overall selection Cooper Flagg overcame scoring issues in his summer league debut Thursday, July 10 to help push the Mavericks to an 87-85 victory.

It was uneven and inefficient — Flagg scored just 10 points on 5-of-21 shooting (23.8%), adding six rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block. He looked very much like someone who played his first competitive game of basketball since April 6. He also looked very much like someone who was dropped into a group of new teammates with whom he had little chemistry.

“That,” Flagg said after the victory, “might be one of the worst games of my life.”

Yet, Flagg also flashed traits that should elevate him into a dependable scorer and facilitator in the NBA, perhaps reaching All-Star and All-NBA levels. He was most comfortable Thursday night in transition, pushing the ball up the floor to create easy dunks and layups, or sucking defenders into his space to leave teammates wide open along the perimeter.

No example was more illustrative than the sequence that produced the eventual game-winning shot.

With the Lakers holding a one-point lead with 1:11 left to play, Flagg rotated on help defense to swat away a layup try from Los Angeles guard DJ Steward. He then found the ball in transition, pushed his way into the paint and drew three Lakers defenders, before spinning and finding a wide open Ryan Nembhard, who sunk the go-ahead 3.

Also on show were his raw edges, like an unorthodox release that will certainly be the focus of his shooting coaches, one that positions the ball at a slight angle. Perhaps because of the added distance of the 3-pointer in the NBA, Flagg missed all five of his attempts from beyond the arc, despite his shooting it 38.5% in his lone season at Duke.

“I was obviously a little nervous,” Flagg said. “It’s a new environment, a lot of new fans and whatnot. So I was a little nervous and a little excited, but just happy to be here. It’s a dream come true, so I’m just trying to enjoy the moment.”

In the 31:43 Flagg played, he was often the primary ball handler, bringing the ball up the floor and initiating the offense.

In fact, literally seconds after Dallas won the opening tip, the Lakers threw a quick blitz at Flagg, who calmly moved the ball along to avoid the pressure.

Flagg committed just a single turnover on the night, and it came on a drive to the basket, when he slipped on a wet spot on the floor.

On the other hand, he failed to score even a single point in the second half, missing all six of his attempts after intermission.

Yet, Flagg is built for contemporary offense in the NBA: his blend of size, speed, agility, control and ball handling make him a versatile, plug-and-play asset, and it makes it easy to forget that he’s only 18 years old.

It also makes it easy to forget another hyped summer league debut.

Nearly two years ago to the day, Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama struggled to nine points on 2-of-13 shooting (15.4%), while scooping eight rebounds and five blocks.

That Flagg could impact winning, in spite of his scoring struggles, shows maturity that will serve him well.

Patience will serve both Flagg and the Mavericks, and Dallas should embrace Flagg’s early mistakes, providing him the space and opportunity to grow. It helps that Mavericks coach Jason Kidd, the 1994-95 Rookie of the Year, was a No. 2 overall selection, and Kidd has shown every indication that he will allow Flagg to find his way.

“I couldn’t really get into a rhythm,” Flagg said. “It’s a different environment, obviously very different from college. It’s probably very different from what the real NBA is going to be like. The coaches had a lot of confidence in me. They’ve been telling me they want me to experiment, try some new things, and I was trying to be aggressive. That’s new for me, too.”

At this stage, experimentation is good. Necessary, even.

For Flagg to excel, he’ll need to lean into that exploratory work. And for the Mavericks to also excel, they would be wise — at least early on — to let him fail.

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Boxer Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis was booked Friday, July 11 on battery and domestic violence charges in Florida, according to Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation records.

Davis, the WBA lightweight champion, is in Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade County and bond has not yet been set, according to records.

Davis, 30, has a history of legal trouble, including a 2020 domestic battery charge in Florida and jail time related to fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run accident.

He was 30-0 until his last fight, when Davis and Lamont Roach Jr. fought to a controversial draw.

There are more than 14,000 college football players at the Bowl Subdivision level, but only one person can join the elite fraternity of Heisman Trophy winners.

Even with all of the elite players in the sport, it can be tough to predict who will the sport’s top individual award, as several factors like stats, team success and highlight reel moments play a role in getting the top vote.

In order to figure out who are the top choices to win the Heisman, USA TODAY Sports turned EA Sports College Football 26 by simulating the 2025-26 season 100 times to see who wins the trophy.

People will notice a trend in the simulated Heisman Trophy results. The betting favorites to win the award most often took it in the video game. But often in the real world, someone emerges out of nowhere into the national spotlight and has a dazzling season toward the honor, and it happened in the simulation.

Most Heisman Trophy wins in College Football 26 simulation

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik won the Heisman Trophy the most with 31 wins in 100 simulated seasons.

Which players won the Heisman Trophy in College Football 26 simulation

A total of 24 players won the Heisman Trophy in the simulation. Eleven were quarterbacks, four were running backs and nine were receivers. The winners ranged across college football from the Power Four to Group of Five schools. The winners include:

Cade Klubnik: Clemson quarterback
Julian Sayin: Ohio State quarterback
Byrum Brown: South Florida quarterback
Behren Morton: Texas Tech quarterback
Kevin Jennings: SMU quarterback
John Mateer: Oklahoma quarterback
Jayden Maiava: Southern California quarterback
Gunner Stockton: Georgia quarterback
Braylon Braxton: Southern Mississippi quarterback
Joey Aguilar: Tennessee quarterback
Fernando Mendoza: Indiana quarterback
Makhi Hughes: Oregon running back
Jeremiyah Love: Notre Dame running back
Isaac Brown: Louisville running back
Terion Stewart: Virginia Tech running back
Jeremiah Smith: Ohio State receiver
Zachariah Branch: Georgia receiver
Ryan Williams: Alabama receiver
Braylon Staley: Tennessee receiver
Bryant Wesco Jr.: Clemson recevier
Tyler Brown: Clemson receiver
Dillon Bell: Georgia receiver
Romello Brinson: SMU receiver
Kole Wilson: Baylor receiver

College Football 26 Heisman Trophy simulation breakdown

Here is how many teams each player won the Heisman Trophy:

Cade Klubnik: 31
Jeremiah Smith: 18
Zachariah Branch: 9
Makhi Hughes: 6
Julian Sayin: 5
Byrum Brown: 4
Behran Morton: 3
Kevin Jennings: 3
Ryan Williams: 2
John Mateer: 2
Jayden Maiava: 2
Gunner Stockton: 2
Braylon Braxton: 2
Braylon Staley: 1
Bryant Wesco Jr.: 1
Joey Aguilar: 1
Fernando Mendoza: 1
Jeremiyah Love: 1
Isaac Brown: 1
Terion Stewart: 1
Tyler Brown: 1
Dillon Bell: 1
Romello Brinson: 1
Kole Wilson: 1

Amanda Serrano speaks with authority. Katie Taylor speaks barely above a whisper.

The Puerto Rican Serrano is a 36-year-old southpaw. The Irish Taylor is a 39-year-old fighting out of the orthodox stance.

Together, they’ve formed a sizzling rivalry in the boxing ring, earning them a spot among some of sports greatest rivalries.

It’ll be on global display July 11, 2025.

The first two fights were electric, with Taylor winning both by decision even though the outcome could have gone either way. Jabs, hooks, uppercuts. Non-stop action. Fightin until the final bell.

The big winner, as is the case with rivalries, is the fans.

Here’s a look at some of the greatest sports rivalries through the years:

Ford vs. Ferrari

A 98-percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes in the first evidence that Ford vs. Ferrari deserves a spot among greatest sport rivalries. Few of them inspire films that star Matt Damon and Christian Bale.

Ford vs. Ferrari in real life was even better.

In 1963, bad blood led Ford Motor Company to build a race car that would challenge Ferrari. Which at first seemed about as plausible as the Cleveland Browns building a Super Bowl contender. Or the Washington Wizards building a NBA championship team. Or the Colorado Rockies … OK, you get the drift.

Yet Ferrari’s superiority drove Ford in a way only a rival can.

In 1966, Ferrari had a six-year winning streak at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That year, Ford finally beat Ferrari, when the Ford GT40s finished 1-2-3 and a rivalry was born.

Ford vanquished Ferrari yet again the following year at LeMans.

Kobe vs. Shaq

Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, who played together for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996 to 2004, proved that being teammates does not preclude a rivalry.

Neither does winning.

They pulled off a three-peat together, leading the Lakers to the NBA championship in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Yet it would have been a stretch to call them friends.

The rivalry was born on the basketball court – especially at practice – where O’Neal lacked the discipline, drive and leadership that defined Bryant.

The partnership ended in 2004 when O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat. Though O’Neal won another NBA title in 2006 with the Heat and Bryant won NBA titles in 2009 and 2010, no amount of Larry O’Brien trophies offset the loss of a special rivalry.

Ohio State vs. Michigan

In 2017, A self-described Ohio State fan posted on social media video of him mowing the script Ohio on the lawn of a Michigan fan.

Cute, but there’s not much cute about the rivalry on the football field.

Woody Hayes vs. Bo Schembechler. “The Shoe’ vs. “The Big House.’’ Scarlet and grey vs. maize and blue. Any confusion over this sentence should might earn residents or Ohio or Michigan removal to another state.

It’s a rivalry that lives and breathes on the football field and obsesses the adjoining states.

Losing sting.s But losses against this rival? They burn.

The inaugural clash between the two schools took place in 1897, when Michigan fans’ lawns were safe. It’s lost no luster since. Michigan entered this year’s game as a 19 ½ point favorite, and the Wolverines prevailed 13-10.

Going on to win the national championship was Ohio State’s consolation prize.

Joey Chestnut vs. Takeru Kobayashi

Joey “Jaws’’ Chestnut stood 6-1 and weighed over 200 pounds.

Takeru “The Tsunami’’ Kobayashi stood 5-8 and weighed 130 pounds.

Together, at an astounding pace, they devoured hot dogs and buns on the world’s biggest stage – the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, New York. The timing of the annual contest accentuated their differences – an American man competing against a Japanese man in front of a largely American crowd on the Fourth of July – that helped stoke their competition.

The rivalry was hotter than anything Nathan’s was grilling on the day of the contest. Five years of hot dog eating madness.

From 2005 to 2009, Chestnut and Kobayashi stood on the same stage and went head to head. Twice Kobayashi won in regulation. Twice Chestnut won in regulation. Once they went into overtime, with Chestnut prevailing in a five hot dog eat-off in 2008.

Two years later, Kobayashi left the contest over a contract dispute. Last year Chestnut  was barred from Nathan’s because of his own contract dispute. And so the great rivalry was renewed.

Jaws and a bulked-up Tsunami went head-to-head one last time with Netflix livestreaming the contest. It was no contest. Chestnut ate a world-record 83 hot dogs. Kobayashi at 66.

Afterwards, on stage, they did not shake hands. They did not exchange a glance. The rivalry still burned.