Sports News Roundup: Serena 'cannot wait' to compete in this year; La Liga television audiences soar 48% in first week back and more

Serena 'cannot wait' to compete in this year's U.S. Open Serena Williams confirmed on Wednesday she will compete at this year's U.S. Open in New York amid the COVID-19 outbreak, where the seven-times champion will seek a record-tying 24th career Grand Slam singles title.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Serena 'cannot wait' to compete in this year's U.S. Open

Serena Williams confirmed on Wednesday she will compete at this year's U.S. Open in New York amid the COVID-19 outbreak, where the seven-times champion will seek a record-tying 24th career Grand Slam singles title. "Ultimately, I really cannot wait to return to New York and play the U.S. Open 2020," Williams said in a video message played during a United States Tennis Association news conference to confirm that the Aug. 31-Sept. 13 tournament will proceed without fans.

Exclusive: La Liga television audiences soar 48% in first week back

Spanish football's international viewing figures have increased by over 48% since the season returned after being halted for three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organising body La Liga said on Thursday. Citing a study by analytics firm Nielsen Sports of the first round of matches since the campaign resumed on June 11 without fans, La Liga said its biggest audience bounce came in Africa, where it received a 73% boost in viewers.

Pilot in Kobe Bryant helicopter crash may have become disoriented in heavy fog, NTSB says

U.S. federal safety investigators said on Wednesday that the pilot of a helicopter that crashed in foothills near Los Angeles, killing basketball great Kobe Bryant and seven others, likely became disoriented in the fog. The findings came in a so-called "public docket" released by the National Transportation Safety Board as it investigates the January crash.

The NTSB has not yet released it's final report. Fauci casts doubt on football this fall

With the United States bracing for a possible second wave of the novel coronavirus, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on Thursday cast doubt on the National Football League playing this year. "Unless players are essentially in a bubble -- insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day -- it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall," Fauci said in an interview with CNN.

On this day: Born June 19, 1978 - Dirk Nowitzki, NBA player

Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki was one of the finest imports to feature in the NBA and became the first European player to win the league's Most Valuable Player award (MVP) in 2007 before he led the franchise to a maiden championship in 2011. The towering power forward joined the NBA in 1998 from the wilderness of German basketball, where he played for local club Wurzburg in his hometown before he was selected as a first-round draft pick by the Milwaukee Bucks.

Alcott slams U.S. Open 'discrimination' over wheelchair omission

Australian Paralympic tennis champion Dylan Alcott has slammed the omission of the wheelchair tournament from the U.S. Open, calling it "disgusting discrimination". Alcott, who won the 2015 and 2018 wheelchair singles titles at Flushing Meadows and is the reigning doubles champion, said players were not consulted and posed no greater health threat than able-bodied entrants.

Kvitova hopes for 'easy' U.S. Open decision

Petra Kvitova is yet to make a call on participating in the U.S. Open and hopes the health situation in New York will improve to make her decision easier, the two-times Wimbledon champion told Reuters. A number of top players, including world number ones Novak Djokovic and Ash Barty as well as reigning men's champion Rafa Nadal are among those who have expressed concerns about going to Flushing Meadows.

Water polo: Hungary's triple Olympic champion Benedek dies at 47

The former captain and coach of Hungary's water polo team Tibor Benedek, who won three straight Olympic golds as a player in the 2000s and a world championship as coach, died on Thursday aged 47, the Hungarian Water Polo Federation said. Benedek suffered from pancreatic cancer, according to several sources. He resigned from his last job, as head coach of the UVSE water polo club in Budapest, in early May, citing personal reasons.

Djokovic says important all players free to travel to U.S. Open

World number one Novak Djokovic says he is excited by the prospect of playing at the U.S. Open but says it would only be fair if every player eligible is able to compete. The c (USTA) announced this week that the U.S. Open would go ahead at the end of August without fans and with strict health protocols in place.

CONMEBOL, Colombia complain to FIFA about 2023 World Cup bid report

Colombia's soccer chief and the head of South American football confederation CONMEBOL have written to FIFA complaining of "erroneous and discriminatory conclusions" in the assessment of the country's bid to host the 2023 Women's World Cup. The Colombian proposal to bring the tournament to South America for the first time received the lowest score in an evaluation of three bids to host the tournament carried out by world soccer's governing body ahead of next Friday's vote.