Sports News Roundup: Brazil's top court dismisses bids to block Copa America; Tennis-Long and special road leads Pavlyuchenkova to brink of French Open glory and more

The 10-nation South American event is due to kick off on Sunday at Brasilia's Mané Garrincha stadium despite criticism of its organizer for hastily relocating the tournament from co-hosts Colombia and Argentina. Olympics-Brisbane 2032 not a done deal yet, says Coates Australia's top Olympic official John Coates said on Friday that Brisbane winning the right to host the 2032 Summer Games was not a done deal, despite the International Olympic Committee's executive board approving the bid.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Brazil's top court dismisses bids to block Copa America

Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday rejected two of three injunctions sought to prevent the Copa America soccer tournament being held in the country because of the coronavirus pandemic. The 10-nation South American event is due to kick off on Sunday at Brasilia's Mané Garrincha stadium despite criticism of its organizer for hastily relocating the tournament from co-hosts Colombia and Argentina.

Olympics-Brisbane 2032 not a done deal yet, says Coates

Australia's top Olympic official John Coates said on Friday that Brisbane winning the right to host the 2032 Summer Games was not a done deal, despite the International Olympic Committee's executive board approving the bid. The IOC executive board signed off on the bid on Thursday and, under a new system designed to make bidding cheaper and more efficient, a full session of the sporting body will now vote on it on July 21.

Tennis-Long and special road leads Pavlyuchenkova to brink of French Open glory

When Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won the Australian Open junior title in 2006, aged 14, it looked as though it would not be long before she would emulate the likes of Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova and start winning Grand Slams. On Thursday, she finally reached a Grand Slam final in her 52nd appearance, beating Slovenia's Tamara Zidansek in straight sets to move to within one win of French Open glory.

Tennis-Let battle commence, says Djokovic ahead of Nadal showdown

Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will add another chapter to their rivalry when they face off in a much-anticipated clash on Friday but there will be more at stake than just a spot in the French Open final. A semi-final battle between world number one Djokovic and 13-time Roland Garros winner Nadal was the expected outcome once they were placed on the same side of the draw after the Spaniard slipped down the rankings to third behind Russian Daniil Medvedev.

Olympics-Tokyo crowds decision to be part of wider ruling on sport: Coates

Senior Olympic official John Coates says a decision on whether spectators will be allowed at the Tokyo Games will be made at the end of June as part of a more general ruling for all sports events in Japan, the Australian said on Friday. The Japanese government has already decided that fans from overseas will not be permitted because of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 which has forced Tokyo and other areas of the country into a state of emergency.

Diageo pulls out of sponsoring Copa America soccer tournament

Alcoholic beverage company Diageo Plc on Thursday joined other major sponsors pulling out of the Copa America after players criticized organizers for moving the soccer tournament to Brazil despite one of the world's worst COVID-19 outbreaks. The spirits makers said it was withdrawing its brand names as sponsors of the 10-nation South American tournament "before the current Brazilian health situation and out of respect for this moment of the COVID-19 pandemic".

Soccer-Most European fans back players kneeling against racism

A majority of football supporters around nine European nations support professional players taking a knee ahead of matches as an anti-racism gesture, according to a new survey. The gesture began at games from the middle of last year in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, drawing widespread public support although a minority of fans say it has lost its relevance and sport should not be politicised.

Baseball All-Star Game will not return to Atlanta, can stay in Denver -judge

Baseball's annual All-Star Game next month will remain in Denver after a federal judge on Thursday rejected a conservative small business group's request that it be returned to Atlanta. At a hearing in Manhattan federal court, U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni said Job Creators Network lacked legal standing to challenge Major League Baseball's decision to move the game, or show it faced irreparable harm.

Tokyo Olympics coronavirus expert says focus is to minimise risk

Completely shutting out the coronavirus will be too difficult and the focus on COVID measures should be on risk minimisation, said a Tokyo 2020 Olympic coronavirus expert on Friday. He added that organisers will need the full cooperation of athletes and foreign delegations in order for the coronavirus measures to work.

Olympics-Australian swimmer Groves pulls out of Games trials, citing 'perverts'

Double Olympic silver medallist Madeline Groves has pulled out of Australia's swimming trials for the Tokyo Games, citing "misogynistic perverts in sport". Groves, who won silver in the 200 metres butterfly and 4x100 medley at the 2016 Rio Games, announced her decision on Instagram before following up with a furious tirade on Twitter on Thursday.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)