Sports News Roundup: Gauff hoping return to Paris will her help rediscover spark; Thomas stays in charge of Giro after brutal Queen stage and more

Former Australian tennis player Philippoussis, who joined Tsitsipas's coaching team last season and helped guide the world number five to the Australian Open final in January, confirmed the split on Instagram earlier this week. Cycling-British federation bars transgender women from competing in female category British Cycling became the latest sports governing body to ban transgender women from competing in the female category of competitive events on Friday, tightening its rules around participation to "safeguard the fairness" of the sport.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Gauff hoping return to Paris will her help rediscover spark

American teenager Coco Gauff hopes a return to Paris will help her rediscover the spark that has so far been missing during what has been a disappointing claycourt season. Gauff, still only 19, reached the French Open final last year, losing to Iga Swiatek, and will be seeded sixth for this year's tournament which begins on Sunday.

Tennis-Swiatek faces French Open test as new 'Big Three' rivalry emerges

The next instalment of a burgeoning three-way rivalry between world number one Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will play out at the French Open with the world number one spot up for grabs. Touted as the next 'Big Three' rivalry in tennis and with the sport in desperate need of such narratives, the trio have won seven tournaments between them this year.

Cycling-Thomas stays in charge of Giro after brutal Queen stage

Britain's Geraint Thomas took a big step towards winning his first Giro d'Italia as he avoided any significant time losses to Maglia Rosa rival Primoz Roglic in a brutal Queen Stage high in the Dolomites on Friday. Colombia's Santiago Buitrago (Team Bahrain Victorious) crossed the Stage 19 finish line at Tre Cime Di Lavaredo in first place while behind him the battle for the overall lead raged on the fifth and final climb of the day.

Tennis-'Less is more', says Tsitsipas after splitting with coach Philippoussis

Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday said his split with coach Mark Philippoussis ahead of the French Open was motivated by a desire to simplify the feedback he was receiving from his box. Former Australian tennis player Philippoussis, who joined Tsitsipas's coaching team last season and helped guide the world number five to the Australian Open final in January, confirmed the split on Instagram earlier this week.

Cycling-British federation bars transgender women from competing in female category

British Cycling became the latest sports governing body to ban transgender women from competing in the female category of competitive events on Friday, tightening its rules around participation to "safeguard the fairness" of the sport. Announced after a nine-month policy review, the new rules, which come into effect at the end of 2023, divide cyclists into "female" and "open" categories in a departure from cycling's international governing body.

MLB roundup: Braves' Austin Riley belts two 450-foot HRs

Austin Riley hit a pair of tape-measure home runs and Travis d'Arnaud drove in two runs with a pinch-hit go-ahead single in the eighth inning to lift the Atlanta Braves to an 8-5 win over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday in the opener of a four-game series. With the bases loaded, d'Arnaud lined a single to left field against reliever Gregory Soto (1-4) to drive in Ozzie Albies and Marcell Ozuna and break a 5-5 tie. Matt Olson followed with a long sacrifice fly.

Olympics-Paris to ban single-use plastic at 2024 Games

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Friday the city planned to ban single-use plastic when it holds the 2024 Olympic Games as part of efforts to tackle a global plastic pollution crisis. "We have decided to make the Olympic Games the first major major event without single-use plastic," Hidalgo told a press conference at a session of the International Forum of Mayors against Plastic Pollution.

Spanish grassroots club players see more racism outside the sport

As public debate about racism in Spanish football hit boiling point this week after complaints from Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr, players at grassroots football clubs saw racism in sports as a lesser problem than in their everyday lives. On Sunday, racist chants were hurled at the Brazilian at Valencia's Mestalla stadium and he complained about Spain and LaLiga not doing enough to prevent that from happening, leading to detentions of several fans.

Soccer-FA reduced Toney's suspension due to gambling addiction diagnosis

Ivan Toney's ban from football was reduced to eight months due to his good record, "genuine remorse" and having been diagnosed with a gambling addiction, the Football Association (FA) said on Friday. Toney was banned and fined 50,000 pounds ($63,105) earlier this month after the 27-year-old Brentford and England forward admitted to 232 breaches of the FA's betting rules, which included betting on matches he played in.

Tennis-In Nadal's absence, new generation set to challenge at wide open Roland Garros

Rafa Nadal's decision to skip the French Open due to injury has set up one of the most uncertain men's tournaments in Paris in almost 20 years but a new generation led by world number one Carlos Alcaraz stands ready to grab a rare opportunity. Nadal, who won the first of his record 14 titles at the claycourt Grand Slam in 2005, withdrew due to a lingering hip issue that has decimated his season since the Australian Open and the Spaniard expects to retire after the 2024 campaign.

(With inputs from agencies.)