Sports News Roundup: NBA fines, suspends Suns owner Robert Sarver; AC Milan investor drops efforts to freeze club sale in Italian court and more

It was after midnight on Friday and, for hours, nearly 78,000 people had been filing out of the stadium after a near-capacity match tested the small Gulf state's readiness for the tournament, which kicks off on Nov. 20. Tennis-Zverev's comeback delayed by new injury, could be out for months Alexander Zverev's return to the court could be delayed by months after the German said he has suffered a bone edema issue, which forced him to withdraw from the Davis Cup Finals group stage this week.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Cycling-Alaphilippe to defend title at World Championships after crash in Vuelta

Julian Alaphilippe will defend his road race title at the World Championships in Wollongong, Australia, the French Cycling Federation said on Tuesday, after he dislocated his right shoulder in a crash in the Vuelta a Espana this month. Alaphilippe's participation had been in doubt after the QuickStep-AlphaVinyl rider suffered a crash in stage 11 on the Vuelta.

Soccer-Real Madrid closed financial year with 13 million euros profit

Real Madrid closed the 2021-22 financial year with a 13 million euros ($13.19 million) profit, the Spanish club said, with the COVID-19 pandemic still having an impact on revenues. The club had managed to remain in profit over the three financial years affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, it added.

Tennis-Spain skipper Bruguera hopes Alcaraz ready for Davis Cup duty

Spain hope new world number one Carlos Alcaraz will be ready for their Davis Cup Finals group stage ties in Valencia this week. The 19-year-old, who became the youngest player to top the ATP rankings when he won the U.S. Open on Sunday, was due to join Sergi Bruguera's squad on Tuesday.

Long lines and lack of water mar Qatar World Cup stadium trial

"Stop! Can't you see the metro station is full? Stop!" a frazzled supervisor shouted as green-vested marshals linked arms to contain thousands of fans streaming from the stadium that will host soccer's World Cup final in Qatar. It was after midnight on Friday and, for hours, nearly 78,000 people had been filing out of the stadium after a near-capacity match tested the small Gulf state's readiness for the tournament, which kicks off on Nov. 20.

Tennis-Zverev's comeback delayed by new injury, could be out for months

Alexander Zverev's return to the court could be delayed by months after the German said he has suffered a bone edema issue, which forced him to withdraw from the Davis Cup Finals group stage this week. Zverev has not played since June after undergoing surgery to fix damaged ankle ligaments following an injury he suffered during his French Open semi-final against Rafa Nadal.

AC Milan investor drops efforts to freeze club sale in Italian court

Blue Skye Financial Partners, a minority investor in Italian soccer champions AC Milan, have dropped efforts in an Italian court to try to suspend the 1.2 billion euro ($1.20 billion) sale of the club, legal sources said on Tuesday. Earlier this month U.S. private equity fund RedBird Capital Partners announced it had closed a deal to buy AC Milan from U.S. fund Elliott.

Motorcycling-Marquez to return to racing at Aragon Grand Prix, says Honda

Six-times MotoGP champion Marc Marquez will return to racing at this weekend's Aragon Grand Prix after recovering from surgery and conducting successful tests on the bike, his team Honda said on Tuesday. The Spaniard had surgery on a troublesome right arm in June, missing the last six races as a result, but he completed two days of testing in Misano which gave the team and the Spaniard hope of returning to racing.

Athletics-Boston Marathon to feature non-binary category in 2023 race

Athletes will have the option to register as non-binary in the 2023 edition of the Boston Marathon, the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) said. "Non-binary athletes who have completed a marathon as a non-binary participant during the current qualifying window (Sept. 1, 2021 through Sept. 16, 2023) may submit an entry application into the 2023 Boston Marathon," BAA said in a statement on Monday.

Boxing-Joshua accepts terms for Dec 3 title fight with Fury

Britain's Anthony Joshua has accepted terms for a Dec. 3 fight with Tyson Fury and is waiting for the WBC world heavyweight champion to respond, his management said on Tuesday.

Joshua's 258 Management and promoter Matchroom Boxing said they had "accepted all terms presented to us by Fury's team" last Friday but agreed to halt all communication due to the death of Queen Elizabeth.

NBA fines, suspends Suns owner Robert Sarver

The NBA suspended Phoenix Suns managing partner Robert Sarver for one year and fined him $10 million on Tuesday for creating a toxic work environment. The league launched an independent investigation last November following an ESPN report alleging racist and sexist remarks made by Sarver during the 18 years he has owned the franchise.

(With inputs from agencies.)