Sports
Verstappen clinches Azerbaijan GP crown after Piastri crash
Four-time champion Max Verstappen won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for Red Bull on Sunday after series leader Oscar Piastri crashed on the opening lap, delaying McLaren’s bid to secure the constructors’ title.
Driving with supreme authority, the Dutchman led from lights to flag to claim his first win on the unforgiving barrier-lined Baku street track, his second in succession this month, fourth this year and 67th of his career.
Verstappen came home 14.609 seconds clear of Mercedes’ George Russell, who has been struggling with sickness all weekend, and 19 seconds clear of Carlos Sainz, who scored his first podium and best result since joining Williams from Ferrari this season.
Mercedes’ teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli put his run of poor outings behind him by finishing fourth ahead of Racing Bulls’ rookie Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull – leaving Lando Norris, in the second McLaren, to come home seventh.
For Norris, it was a wasted opportunity to exploit Piastri’s rare misfortune after the Australian’s run of 34 points finishes ended in the Turn Six barriers.
He trimmed his title lead by only six points to 25 while McLaren, needing to beat Ferrari by nine points for a second consecutive teams’ title missed out, but have seven rounds remaining.
In winning, Verstappen completed more laps as race leader this season than Norris and delivered the sixth “grand slam” of pole, win and fastest lap in his career.
With 255 points, he is now third behind Norris on 299 and leader Piastri on 324.
“An incredible weekend,” said Verstappen.
“For us to win here is fantastic. The car was great on both compounds, we had clean air all the way and it was pretty straightforward,” he said, adding that: “It was windy and the car moved around a lot, but I’m happy with the performance and glad there weren’t too many safety cars.”
A croaky Russell said he was happy to be back on the podium after a “rough weekend” but admitted he was “glad to see the chequered flag.”
Ferrari’s seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton finished eighth ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, with Racing Bulls’ second rookie Isack Hadjar 10th.
“Vamos, Vamos!” yelled Sainz, a four-time race winner. “This is the best result of my career! Honestly, I can’t describe how it feels. It tastes better than my first podium.”
Piastri shunt
Verstappen made a clean start from his 46th pole, but the real drama unfolded behind him as Piastri made a jump start, paused, fell to last and, after joining the fray, locked up and hit the wall at Turn Six.
It was the 24-year-old Australian’s first no-points finish of the year, ending a run of 34 races in the points and threw open the title race, giving Norris a great opportunity to reduce his 31-point advantage.
Fernando Alonso also made a false start, for which he was given a five-second penalty and the Safety Car was deployed until lap five, giving the field a chance to settle in the breezy and cool conditions.
After the crash-hit chaos, with a record six red flags, in Saturday’s qualifying, serenity prevailed with Verstappen opening a five-second lead by lap 20, ahead of Sainz and Lawson.
Only a skirmish when Williams’ Alex Albon hit Alpine’s luckless Franco Colapinto interrupted the flow before Leclerc began the pit-stops, swapping his mediums for hards to rejoin 12th. Albon was given a 10-second penalty.
As Verstappen cruised calmly towards victory, the cars behind him scrapped for the crumbs as they boxed in the hope of finding fresh wind on new tyres.
It didn’t work out for Norris, who had battled his way into the top six when he came in. A messy pit-stop lost him a couple of places, which could prove costly in the race for the title.
The Australian Open will bring back its wildly unpredictable 1 Point Slam in 2027, with Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka and Jannik Sinner among the stars confirmed to compete in the one-point, sudden-death tournament.
The event will return to Melbourne Park on Jan. 13, ahead of the Australian Open, after its headline-making debut in 2026 gave amateur players a rare chance to share the court with some of the biggest names in tennis.
The format is deliberately simple. Every match consists of a single point, with the winner advancing and the loser immediately eliminated. Professionals, amateurs and celebrity wildcards compete in the same knockout field, meaning one serve, return or mistake can decide a player’s entire tournament.
The concept produced one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 Australian tennis season when Sydney amateur Jordan Smith won the inaugural edition in front of a packed Rod Laver Arena.
Smith, who qualified through the grassroots pathway as New South Wales state champion, defeated several established professionals on his way to the title, including Sinner and Amanda Anisimova, before beating Taiwan’s Joanna Garland in the final to claim the A$1 million prize.
His unexpected run illustrated the appeal of the format, giving club-level players the opportunity to face elite professionals while putting a significant prize and the spotlight of a Grand Slam crowd on the line.
Tennis Australia Chief Tennis Officer Tom Larner said the event was designed to bring elite and grassroots tennis together.
“It creates an opportunity for grassroots tennis players to share the spotlight with some of the biggest names in the game,” Larner said.
“Having stars like Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka and Jannik Sinner locked in to play, alongside everyday Australians … captures exactly what this event is about, bringing people together through tennis.”
The amateur field for 2027 will again feature eight state and territory championship winners, with eight additional players earning places through qualifying events held across Australia. Community competitions and club events will provide pathways into the tournament, with more qualifying opportunities scheduled during Australian Open Opening Week.
The format will again put men and women in the same draw, adding another layer of unpredictability to a competition where traditional rankings and experience can quickly become irrelevant.
A game of rock-paper-scissors typically determines who serves and who receives, before the players have just one point to settle the contest.
That simplicity is central to the event’s appeal. A world-class player can be eliminated by a perfectly timed return, while an amateur can seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with a single winning point.
The 2027 final will be played at Rod Laver Arena, with the winner again taking home the A$1 million prize and the tournament’s distinctive trophy made from Australian silver.
The 1 Point Slam will form part of an expanded Australian Open festival that begins Jan. 11, with the main draw getting underway Jan. 17 and the tournament running through Jan. 31.
More than 1.3 million fans attended the 2026 Australian Open, setting a record for the tournament, and organizers are planning further upgrades for 2027. Those changes include increased viewing capacity, additional seating, expanded shaded areas and a larger Grand Slam Oval designed to accommodate more fans across the Melbourne Park precinct.
The International Olympic Committee has set a timetable for selecting the host of the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with seven national Olympic committees currently engaged in the process.
Türkiye, Germany, Hungary, India, Qatar, South Korea and South Africa are in the IOC’s Continuous Dialogue phase, the first stage of a revamped selection process designed to provide greater technical scrutiny, financial oversight and support before a host is chosen.
The IOC said Oct. 31 will be the deadline for any additional interested parties to enter the race. The seven current candidates will then present their projects virtually to the IOC’s Future Host Commission in November.
The process is part of reforms approved by the IOC Executive Board and endorsed by the 146th IOC Session in Lausanne in June.
The changes, introduced under the IOC’s “Fit for the Future” reforms, add a Strategic Dialogue stage between the existing Continuous Dialogue and Targeted Dialogue phases.
The IOC said the revised approach is intended to improve transparency, control costs, assess the feasibility of projects at an earlier stage and ensure that proposed Games fit into the long-term development plans of host regions.
The IOC Executive Board is expected to announce the shortlist in March 2027, when the successful candidates will advance into the Strategic Dialogue phase.
Candidates reaching that stage will have to provide initial legal and financial guarantees and respond to the IOC’s Future Host Questionnaire. The Future Host Commission will also conduct site visits to the proposed host regions before preparing its assessment for the Executive Board.
Projects will be judged on several technical criteria, including venue plans, athlete experience, financing, political and public support, organizational capacity and the long-term legacy for host communities.
The IOC will also consider the overall feasibility of each proposal, including cost control and how closely the Games align with broader regional development plans.
The Strategic Dialogue is expected to continue through much of 2028. By the end of that year, the Executive Board will invite a smaller number of candidates to enter the Targeted Dialogue phase.
Those candidates will be required to submit final responses to the IOC questionnaire and provide comprehensive legal, financial and other guarantees covering areas such as venue use and Games delivery.
The Future Host Commission will then submit a final report, allowing the Executive Board to determine which preferred host or hosts should be presented to IOC members for a vote.
The 2036 host is expected to be elected at an IOC Session in the middle of 2029, roughly seven years before the Games.
The seven candidates represent a diverse field, with several bringing previous experience of hosting major international sporting events.
Türkiye’s bid is closely associated with Istanbul, which has made several unsuccessful attempts to host the Olympics. Germany is expected to focus on Munich, which hosted the 1972 Summer Games, while Hungary’s proposal is centered on Budapest.
India’s interest is led by Ahmedabad, which is scheduled to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. India has never hosted an Olympic Games.
Qatar’s proposal is centered on Doha, which hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup and is scheduled to host the Asian Games in 2030. A successful bid would make Qatar the first Muslim-majority country to host the Summer Olympics.
South Korea is considering a proposal involving Seoul, host of the 1988 Olympics, potentially alongside other regions. The country also hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
South Africa is seeking to bring the Summer Olympics to Africa for the first time in the modern era. Cities including Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg have previously been discussed as possible hosts. South Africa hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The IOC’s new system is designed to gradually narrow the field, moving candidates from exploratory discussions to increasingly detailed assessments before the final vote.
The next Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032. The 2036 Games will therefore be the next edition whose host remains undecided.
Tennis great Novak Djokovic credited his “never-die spirit” for carrying him to the 102nd title of his career Tuesday after Alex de Minaur retired injured during their China Open final.
The victory extended Djokovic’s perfect record in Beijing to 34-0 and secured his seventh China Open title, his first at the tournament since 2015.
The 39-year-old Serbian said his success over more than two decades at the top of professional tennis has been built on his “grit and dedication” and the relentless mentality that has kept him fighting through difficult moments.
“The kind of never-die spirit that really is always with me” has been a defining part of his career, Djokovic said after the match.
He also described tennis as a “quite cruel sport,” with players facing elimination in knockout tournaments throughout the year while carrying the pressure of performing in front of demanding crowds.
That combination of high stakes and constant competition, Djokovic said, makes tennis “so demanding and so special.”
“You can feel so much weight on your shoulders, but it is what I have been destined to do,” he said.
In front of a packed stadium, Djokovic won the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-3) and was down a game in the second set when the Australian ended the match early.
“I always want to visualize myself with the trophy, particularly here in Beijing,” Djokovic said during the trophy ceremony.
“But I was also quite aware that reality is a little bit different these days,” he said, adding that it had been a challenging year with “physical and health issues.”
“I was just trying to find the good feeling on the court,” he said.
The first set was a physical battle that lasted more than an hour, and both men needed medical timeouts before the second.
De Minaur, the No. 9 player in the world, won the first game of the second set before retiring because of a left adductor strain.
The 27-year-old returned to the court after his medical timeout with a white wrap around his left thigh.
“I don’t feel great,” de Minaur told the crowd afterward.
“I want to say sorry to the amazing fans that came to watch … I didn’t want to finish like this.”
De Minaur advanced to the final after his opponent, Hubert Hurkacz, retired injured from their semifinal Monday, while Djokovic advanced when Daniil Medvedev was disqualified for hitting a fan with a ball.
But Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, put on a valiant show to lift the trophy, ousting top seed Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals after defeating home hope Bu Yunchaokete in a demanding three-set match.
The victory means Djokovic will end the season with at least one title for the 21st consecutive year and become the oldest man to win a singles final since Ken Rosewall in Hong Kong in 1977 at age 43.
‘Really grateful’
In the women’s draw, Karolina Muchova beat former No. 1 Naomi Osaka on her ninth match point to reach the quarterfinals, prevailing in a tense tiebreaker.
Muchova, the No. 7 seed, overcame 50 unforced errors across the two-hour, 52-minute match to beat Osaka 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (9-7).
Osaka, who represents Japan, saved eight match points but could not get past Muchova’s match-winning volley.
“I was shaking. I’m happy I made the last volley … Naomi could be standing here. It’s me, and I’m really grateful for it,” the 30-year-old Czech player told the crowd.
She next faces compatriot Nikola Bartunkova.
Earlier, Russia’s Mirra Andreeva beat Ukraine’s Daria Snigur 6-2, 6-2 to book her quarterfinal spot against fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Alexandrova, ranked No. 28, upset Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova 6-2, 6-2, ending the Czech player’s bid to return to the Beijing final that she reached last year.
Former and current teammates, along with tearful fans gathered outside Buenos Aires’ Monumental Stadium, paid emotional tribute to Argentine great Lionel Messi on Tuesday as the country prepared to bid farewell to its captain in his final international appearance.
Brazil star Neymar, Messi’s former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain teammate and longtime friend, said the entire world should be grateful for everything the Argentine has given to football.
“It’s not only Argentina that thanks you, the world thanks you for everything you have done for football,” Neymar wrote on Instagram, hours before Messi was due to play his 208th and final match for Argentina against Benin.
“Thank you for making me love football even more. It was an honor for me to have played against you and even more so to make history alongside you.”
For Rodrigo De Paul, Messi’s close friend and Argentina teammate who also plays alongside him at Inter Miami, Messi’s impact extends far beyond the football field.
“He made me grow not only as a footballer, but also as a person. I became a better person, a better human being, a better athlete, a better father and a better friend,” De Paul said in a farewell message released Tuesday.
“I want to tell him that I love him. He knows that he is my brother and that he has an enormous heart.”
Former Argentina teammate Angel Di Maria said it was a day nobody had wanted to come.
“Seeing him with so much happiness, and that tranquility of knowing that he gave everything he had, is what makes us all happy,” Di Maria said. “It will be a very special day for everyone. I thank him for life.”
Fans say goodbye
In Buenos Aires, fans flocking to the Monumental Stadium for Argentina’s friendly against Benin expressed a mixture of gratitude and sadness.
“I cried because I was able to come and see Messi in his last game, and also because of the sadness of knowing that he won’t be here anymore,” 19-year-old Jose Garracedo told Reuters TV.
“He fought for this shirt … everything that was demanded of him. He knew how to stay the course, enjoy it and keep saying that he was going to fight for this.”
For Isaias Zenas, a 27-year-old medical student, Messi’s importance extended beyond football.
“The last joys we have had as an Argentine people, we owe to him,” he said. “All the cups he brought us, with the country in a bad economic situation, people who are struggling have their refuge in football. How could we not come here at this moment to say goodbye to him?”
Messi, who helped Argentina win the World Cup and two Copa America titles, entered the game with a national-record 125 goals and 68 assists for his country.
Before the final goodbye, he offered a simple message of his own.
“I leave in peace. I gave everything.”
Lionel Messi’s final match for Argentina ended the only way many believed it should: with a goal, two assists and a stadium full of tears.
The 39-year-old captain signed off from international football Tuesday night by inspiring Argentina to a 3-0 friendly victory over Benin at a sold-out Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, bringing down the curtain on a remarkable 21-year national team career that transformed him from a misunderstood prodigy into one of the country’s most beloved figures.
Messi, making his 208th and final appearance for Argentina, created the opening two goals before converting a second-half penalty for his 126th international goal, extending records he already held as the nation’s all-time leader in appearances and scoring.
Yet the result mattered little.
What unfolded under the lights in Buenos Aires was a farewell to a player who became far more than a football icon in Argentina, a nation where sporting triumphs often provide moments of collective joy amid decades of economic and political turbulence.
“It feels like an era is ending,” said 17-year-old fan Valentino Ruso before kickoff. “Everyone is sad today. He will be missed.”
Messi’s departure marks the end of one of football’s most complicated and ultimately rewarding relationships.
The shy teenager who left Rosario for Barcelona’s academy at 13 was long viewed with suspicion by some compatriots who felt he lacked the emotional connection embodied by Diego Maradona.
While Messi conquered club football and became a global superstar, critics questioned whether the quiet forward who spent most of his life abroad truly represented Argentina.
Those doubts persisted through years of heartbreak, including defeats in the 2014 World Cup final and consecutive Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016. After the latter loss, Messi briefly retired from international football.
Everything changed in 2021.
Argentina’s Copa America triumph over Brazil ended a 28-year trophy drought and redefined Messi’s standing at home. The World Cup victory in Qatar the following year completed the transformation, elevating him into the pantheon of Argentina’s greatest sporting figures.
“Winning disarmed his critics,” sports sociologist Diego Murzi said. “That’s how football works in Argentina.”
Messi leaves behind a glittering international resume: a World Cup title in 2022, Copa America crowns in 2021 and 2024, six World Cup appearances, 21 World Cup goals and more than two decades carrying the expectations of an entire nation.
The Argentine Football Association turned Tuesday’s match into a national celebration dubbed “The Last Tango.” More than 85,000 fans packed the Monumental, while former players from Argentina’s World Cup-winning teams of 1978, 1986 and 2022 returned to honor the captain.
Messi delivered one final masterclass.
After a scoreless first half, his corner kick led to Nicolas Otamendi’s header shortly after the break. He then set up Nico Paz for Argentina’s second goal before calmly blasting a penalty into the top corner in the 70th minute after Agustin Giay was fouled.
As chants of “Messi, Messi” echoed around the stadium, teammates gathered around their captain after the final whistle. Banners hailed him as the “Eternal Captain,” while thousands remained in their seats simply to watch him take one last lap of honor.
“The saddest day of my career has arrived,” Messi told supporters. “Playing for the Argentina national team is the most wonderful thing that can happen to you. I’m proud to be Argentine and grateful for every moment we shared.”
Messi also paid tribute to his father, Jorge Messi, who died in August at age 68 after an illness. His father had guided his career for decades as both adviser and agent.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni struggled to contain his emotions.
“I never imagined I would coach the best player in history,” Scaloni said. “He leaves us an incredible legacy. Having him on your side was incomparable.”
Tributes poured in from around the football world, including from Brazil star and former Barcelona teammate Neymar.
“It’s not just Argentina that thanks you,” Neymar wrote on social media. “The world thanks you for everything you did for football.”
Messi’s playing career is not over. He remains under contract with Inter Miami through the 2028 MLS season.
But for Argentina, something irreplaceable has ended.
For more than two decades, fans entered every match believing that anything was possible because Messi was on the field. That feeling, as much as the goals and trophies, is what the country will miss most.
Late Tuesday night, after the celebrations had faded and the stadium lights dimmed, Messi paused at the tunnel entrance, raised his arms toward the crowd one final time and disappeared into football history.
Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from his China Open semifinal against Novak Djokovic on Monday after hitting a spectator with a ball in an incident he described as an accident.
The spectator was escorted from the arena with a hand covering his left eye after being struck by Medvedev’s backhand.
“I feel terribly sorry for him actually and I just hope he’s OK,” Medvedev said. “Hopefully I can meet him and make up for it somehow.”
The incident occurred with Djokovic serving for the match at 7-5, 5-3. After Djokovic hit a forehand volley winner, the ball bounced off the advertising boards and back toward Medvedev. The Russian then struck a backhand that sailed into the front row and hit the spectator.
Medvedev immediately appeared to raise his left hand in apology but remained on the court.
“It was 100% an accident,” Medvedev said. “You can see that I didn’t hit the ball in anger. The ball was bouncing back, so I tried to just hit it anywhere, so it wouldn’t go out of the court.”
“When I saw the result, I felt horrible,” Medvedev said. “The most important thing is I hope that he’s OK because you never know with these types of situations.”
The chair umpire and tournament supervisor came onto the court to talk with Medvedev, who didn’t appear to put up much of an argument over the disqualification. Medvedev then walked to the net and shook hands with Djokovic.
The incident was reminiscent of when Djokovic was defaulted from the 2020 U.S. Open for hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball. That was also accidental.
“A bit of a shock, to be honest,” Djokovic said. “I honestly didn’t see what happened. I hope that person is not badly injured. On the other hand, I also feel sorry for Daniil, because I know exactly how he feels to be disqualified in a big match. … I am sure that Daniil didn’t want to do this intentionally. It just happens.”
Medvedev has a history of on-court behavior issues. In April, he was fined 6,000 euros ($7,000) for unsportsmanlike conduct after smashing his racket seven times during a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Matteo Berrettini at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Djokovic extended his perfect career record at the China Open to 33-0.
Aiming for a seventh China Open title in Tuesday’s final, Djokovic will face ninth-ranked Alex de Minaur, who advanced when Hubert Hurkacz retired because of an apparent injury midway through the second set of their semifinal.
It will be Djokovic’s second final of the year after losing to Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open.
With his ranking down to No. 11, this is the first time in eight years that Djokovic is playing a tournament without being in the top 10. It’s also his first tournament since a first-round exit from the U.S. Open. The 39-year-old Serb rallied to beat top-seeded Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals Sunday.
Against Medvedev, Djokovic was twice caught exceeding the time limit on the serve clock. After first receiving a warning, he was then stripped of his first serve on a crucial break point midway through the second set. But Djokovic still won the point.
Medvedev won only two of 18 break points as the pair of former No. 1s traded one grueling rally after another.
“It was a tough match for me,” Medvedev said. “He played really well. I felt he played like when we played our best matches. I had some opportunities, which I missed. He played incredibly, so I think he has big chances in the final.”
The match was 2 1/2 hours old when Medvedev was defaulted.
“I was three points away from the win,” Djokovic said. “It’s always a big battle with Daniil and it’s so hard to play him when he’s feeling the ball well in slower conditions with a big serve. But we move on.”
De Minaur led 6-4, 3-2 when Hurkacz, who was barely able to run for balls in the second set, stopped playing. The nature of Hurkacz’s injury was not immediately clear.
In the third round of the women’s tournament, which ends Sunday, Coco Gauff eliminated 16-year-old Chinese wild card Sun Xinran 7-5, 6-1. Sun recently won the U.S. Open junior title.
Also, six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek rallied past Donna Vekic 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2 and will next meet Iva Jovic, who beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 7-5.
Elina Svitolina beat Maria Sakkari 6-4, 7-5.
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