Reuters Sports News Summary

Russian and Belarusian players are banned from competing at Wimbledon, which starts on June 27, but the United States Tennis Association allowed them to play under a neutral flag at the hardcourt major in New York. Tennis-Osaka pulls out of Wimbledon due to Achilles injury Former world number one Naomi Osaka has pulled out of Wimbledon due to a left Achilles injury, the four-times Grand Slam champion said on Saturday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-More than half of all players at Euros, AFCON finals abused online-study

More than half of all players at the finals of last year's European Championship and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) were subjected to some form of discriminatory abuse online, a report published by global soccer governing body FIFA has revealed. The independent report used artificial intelligence to track over 400,000 posts on social media platforms during the semi-final and final stages of the two competitions and found the majority of abuse to be homophobic (40%) and racist (38%).

Golf-Zalatoris grabs two-shot clubhouse lead at U.S. Open

Will Zalatoris enjoyed a near flawless trip around The Country Club to grab the third-round clubhouse lead at the U.S. Open on Saturday as whipping winds made for difficult conditions. Zalatoris, who finished runner-up at last month's PGA Championship, began the day four shots behind co-leaders Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen but carded a three-under-par 67 that left him two shots clear of Keegan Bradley (69).

Tennis-Ukraine's Svitolina hoped U.S. Open would take firmer action on Russians

Ukraine's Elina Svitolina does not agree with the U.S. Open decision to allow players from Russia and Belarus to compete as neutrals and hoped the Grand Slam organisers would take a firmer stand following Moscow's invasion of her country. Russian and Belarusian players are banned from competing at Wimbledon, which starts on June 27, but the United States Tennis Association allowed them to play under a neutral flag at the hardcourt major in New York.

Tennis-Osaka pulls out of Wimbledon due to Achilles injury

Former world number one Naomi Osaka has pulled out of Wimbledon due to a left Achilles injury, the four-times Grand Slam champion said on Saturday. Japan's Osaka suffered the injury in Madrid, forcing her to miss the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome in the leadup to the French Open where she lost in the first round.

Athletics-Fraser-Pryce dazzles in Paris Diamond League meeting

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce matched her season's best of 10.67 seconds to win the 100 metres at the Paris Diamond League meeting on Saturday. The 35-year-old Jamaican was in a class of her own after a super fast start to beat Britain's Daryll Neita by 0.32 and Ivory Coast's Marie-Josee Ta Lou by 0.34.

Motor racing-Verstappen on pole in Canada, Alonso on front row

Red Bull's Formula One leader Max Verstappen shone in the wet to take pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday as Alpine's evergreen Fernando Alonso celebrated his first front row slot in a decade. Verstappen's main title rivals sunk out of sight, Mexican team mate Sergio Perez crashing and qualifying 13th while Ferrari's Charles Leclerc ended a run of four poles in a row by dropping to 19th due to engine penalties.

Soccer-England defender Bronze joins Barcelona on two-year deal

England defender Lucy Bronze has joined Barcelona on a free transfer after leaving Manchester City, the Spanish club said on Saturday. Bronze, the FIFA Best Women's Player of the Year for 2020, has signed a two-year contract. She has Champions League winning pedigree having won the competition three times in a row with Olympique Lyonnais.

Motor racing-Stop complaining and drive, says AlphaTauri boss

As Formula One wrestles with 'porpoising' problems that have left some drivers battered and bruised, AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost suggested on Saturday that if conditions are too tough in the cockpit there is always a comfortable couch at home. Driver health has been put in the spotlight at the Canadian Grand Prix with teams told to put safety before performance and address the problem of cars bouncing dramatically at high speeds.

Swimming-Ledecky leads U.S. medal haul on first day of world championships

Olympic silver medallist Katie Ledecky powered to victory in the women's 400 metres freestyle event on the opening day of the swimming world championships in Budapest on Saturday to capture a record-extending 16th gold medal in the competition. Ledecky, 25, was already the most successful female swimmer coming into the world championships and now has 19 medals in total. Only her male compatriots Michael Phelps (26 titles) and Ryan Lochte (18) have won more gold medals.

Tennis-Berrettini powers into Queen's final, will face Krajinovic

Italy's Matteo Berrettini reached his fourth consecutive grasscourt final as he overpowered unseeded Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp at the Queen's Club Championship on Saturday. Friday's sizzling heat had disappeared at the historic London venue, but defending champion Berrettini maintained his hot streak on the grass to win 6-4 6-3.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)