Reuters Sports News Summary

The draw was delayed for an hour without explanation, even as Immigration Minister Alex Hawke mulled whether to exercise discretionary power https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/what-could-novak-djokovic-face-next-australia-visa-fight-2022-01-13to cancel Djokovic's visa over concern about the his medical exemption from Australia's strict vaccine rules. WTA roundup: Coco Gauff leads U.S. contingent into Adelaide semifinals The semifinals of the Adelaide International 2 will have an American flair, with three U.S. women advancing Thursday in Adelaide, Australia.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Sport-Osaka tops Forbes list of highest-earning female athletes

Japan's Naomi Osaka, a four-times Grand Slam tennis champion who has helped raise awareness of mental health issues in sport, is the world's highest-paid female athlete, according to a list published by business magazine Forbes on Thursday. Osaka raked in $57.3 million in prize money and endorsements over the last year, nearly all of which came from an endorsement portfolio that has added more than 10 brand partners over the last year and a half.

Texans fire head coach David Culley

The Houston Texans fired first-year head coach David Culley, he confirmed Thursday. "I'm disappointed, but it's part of the business," Culley told SportsTalk 790 in a radio interview. "I understand and I move on."

Djokovic in Australian Open draw but may still be kicked out

Tennis world No.1 Novak Djokovic was included in the Australian Open draw as top seed on Thursday though the government could still kick him out in a row over COVID-19 vaccination. The draw was delayed for an hour without explanation, even as Immigration Minister Alex Hawke mulled whether to exercise discretionary power https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/what-could-novak-djokovic-face-next-australia-visa-fight-2022-01-13to cancel Djokovic's visa over concern about the his medical exemption from Australia's strict vaccine rules.

WTA roundup: Coco Gauff leads U.S. contingent into Adelaide semifinals

The semifinals of the Adelaide International 2 will have an American flair, with three U.S. women advancing Thursday in Adelaide, Australia. Third-seeded Coco Gauff defeated Ana Konjuh of Croatia 6-3, 6-4 to move into a semifinal match against Madison Keys. Keys struck 12 aces en route to her upset victory over Liudmilla Samsonova of Russia, the No. 8 seed, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

U.N. chief to attend opening of Beijing Winter Olympics

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that he would attend the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics next month with the message that the event "must be an instrument of peace in the world." His confirmed attendance comes amid a U.S.-led diplomatic boycott to protest China's human rights record, joined by Australia, Britain, Canada and Japan. China denies rights abuses and condemned the boycott as betraying Olympic principles.

Olympics-U.S. turns to college ranks to fill out men's ice hockey roster

With the National Hockey League having pulled out of the Beijing Olympics the United States turned to the college ranks to fill out its men's ice hockey roster on Thursday, calling up 15 university players for next month's Winter Games. The U.S. squad that was expected to be packed from top to bottom with high-profile NHLers instead included a mostly anonymous group cobbled together from colleges, European professional and North American minor leagues.

NFL-LA Super Bowl 'red carpet ready', full stadium expected

With a month to go before Super Bowl LVI kicks off in Los Angeles, NFL officials said on Thursday the game will be played before a full house at SoFi Stadium despite a surge in COVID-19 cases. Fans who attend the game at the new 70,240-seat venue in Inglewood on Feb. 13 will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test and wear masks when not eating or drinking, but no capacity limit will be set.

Exclusive-Soccer-Saudi Arabia waived vaccination rules for the Spanish Super Cup - sources

Saudi Arabia waived its requirement for visitors to be fully vaccinated to allow soccer players from Spain to compete in the Spanish Super Cup on Saudi soil, sources have told Reuters. Full vaccination is mandatory to enter the kingdom according to guidelines on the government website.

Exclusive-Olympics-African slider's hopes of competing in Beijing dashed by IOC

African winter sports athletes have suffered a blow after the International Olympic Committee denied a request to reinstate continental quotas in bobsleigh and skeleton for the Beijing Games, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday. Ghana's Akwasi Frimpong was just outside the skeleton top 60, a prerequisite to qualify for the Feb. 4-20 Beijing Olympics, when his chances faded after he tested positive for COVID-19 while training for his last three qualifying races.

Steph Curry No. 1, Bulls guards among ASG vote leaders

Chicago backcourt mates DeMar DeRozan and Zach Lavine are both in the top three of All-Star Game vote-getters at guard in the Eastern Conference while Steph Curry remains No. 1 overall by a large margin. Golden State's Curry leads the fan voting by more than 77,000 votes over LeBron James with 4.46 million in the latest update released Thursday by the NBA. James is No. 2 with 4.39 million votes.