Reuters Sports News Summary

Red-hot fourth seed Medvedev has now reached the final in five consecutive events after triumphs in Doha, Rotterdam and Dubai before finishing runner-up at Indian Wells. Baseball-MLB Opening Day rosters feature 269 international players The number of players born outside the United States that featured on Opening Day rosters dipped 2% to 269 compared to last year, Major League Baseball (MLB) said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Spurs director Paratici takes leave of absence due to FIFA's worldwide ban

Tottenham Hotspur's managing director of football Fabio Paratici will take a leave of absence pending the outcome of an appeal filed after FIFA extended his ban over Juventus's dealings to apply worldwide, the Premier League club said on Friday. In January, Serie A side Juve were deducted 15 points for the season by an Italian soccer court investigating the club's transfer dealings and finances.

Soccer-It would be a mistake not to stage 2030 World Cup in South America - CONMEBOL

The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) believes FIFA would be making a mistake to not award the 2030 World Cup to a joint bid from Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile, the regional governing body said at its 76th Congress on Friday. With the slogan "Juntos" (together) and the promise of a "Centenary Cup", CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez called on FIFA to award the World Cup to the continent where it began.

MLB roundup: Aaron Judge homers in Yankees' opening win

Aaron Judge homered in his first at-bat, Gerrit Cole struck out 11 in six sharp innings and the host New York Yankees beat the San Francisco Giants 5-0 on the Thursday in the season opener for both teams. After hitting an AL-record 62 home runs last season to break Roger Maris' record, Judge homered against the team he grew up rooting for and the team who courted him in free agency.

Olympics-Ukraine says athletes not allowed to compete against Russians in Paris qualifiers

Ukrainian athletes will not be allowed to take part in qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics if they have to compete against Russians, government minister Oleh Nemchinov said. Nemchinov, secretary of Ukraine's cabinet ministers, said the government's decision was adopted following a proposal by sports minister Vadym Huttsait and that national federations ignoring the ruling could be sanctioned. Huttsait is also president of Ukraine's Olympic committee.

Motorcycling-Pol Espargaro out of ICU after Portugal crash

Pol Espargaro is no longer in intensive care after suffering a crash during the season-opening Portuguese Grand Prix weekend but the road to a full recovery is long, GasGas Factory Racing Tech3 boss Herve Poncharal said on Friday. Espargaro crashed in Friday practice in Portimao and suffered a pulmonary contusion, jaw fracture and a fractured dorsal vertebra after he was thrown off his bike and hit the barrier.

Tennis-Medvedev survives Khachanov test to reach Miami final

Daniil Medvedev survived a stern test from his friend and fellow Russian Karen Khachanov to win 7-6(5) 3-6 6-3 for a tour-leading 28th victory this season and a spot in the Miami Open final. Red-hot fourth seed Medvedev has now reached the final in five consecutive events after triumphs in Doha, Rotterdam and Dubai before finishing runner-up at Indian Wells.

Baseball-MLB Opening Day rosters feature 269 international players

The number of players born outside the United States that featured on Opening Day rosters dipped 2% to 269 compared to last year, Major League Baseball (MLB) said on Friday. The number of internationally-born players represents 28.5% of a total pool of 945 players and trails only the 2020 (291) and 2022 (275) seasons.

NHL-Wrong to push players into being activists, says Subban

All National Hockey League players do no need to be activists and do not have to wear a rainbow jersey or hat to support the LGBTQ+ community," former Norris trophy-winning defenseman PK Subban said on Friday. NHL Pride Night events have been under an unwelcome spotlight in recent months as some teams and a handful of players have objected to participating for reasons that include religious beliefs.

Tennis-Russian, Belarusian players to compete as 'neutrals' at Wimbledon after ban lifted

Wimbledon lifted its ban on Russian and Belarusian players on Friday and will allow them to compete in the grasscourt Grand Slam this year as "neutral" athletes in a climbdown from the stance it took after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The players will be prohibited from expressing support for the invasion and must not receive funding from the Russian or Belarusian states, tournament organisers the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said in a statement.

Golf-Wise withdraws from Masters to focus on mental health

Former PGA Tour rookie of the year Aaron Wise said on Friday he had decided to withdraw from next week's Masters to focus on his mental health. The 26-year-old American has competed in the Masters once before, finishing solo 17th in 2019, and earned a spot in this year's field at Augusta National by ending 2022 inside the top 50 of the world rankings.

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