Sports News Roundup: MLB roundup: Red Sox's Kenley Jansen notches 400th save; Snooker-O'Sullivan says he lost years of his career to alcohol and drugs and more

Alcaraz has won back-to-back claycourt titles in Barcelona and Madrid after beginning an injury-hit season with the Buenos Aires crown and is poised to leapfrog Djokovic into top spot in the rankings after the ongoing Italian Open. Snooker-O'Sullivan says he lost years of his career to alcohol and drugs Seven-times world snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan said he lost "six to seven" years of his career to alcohol and drugs.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

MLB roundup: Red Sox's Kenley Jansen notches 400th save

Raimel Tapia's pinch-hit double drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and Kenley Jansen pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 400th career save as the visiting Boston Red Sox beat the Atlanta Braves 5-2 on Wednesday to earn a split of their two-game series. Jansen pitched one inning and allowed one hit, striking out Travis d'Arnaud to end the game and earn his ninth save. Jansen, who pitched for the Braves last season and led the National League in saves with 41, is the seventh player to record 400 saves and trails No. 6 Billy Wagner, who has 422.

Snooker-O'Sullivan says he lost years of his career to alcohol and drugs

Seven-times world snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan said he lost "six to seven" years of his career to alcohol and drugs. O'Sullivan was stripped of his Irish Masters title in 1998 after a post-match drug test found evidence of cannabis in his system. He later acknowledged frequent abuse of drugs and alcohol in the early years of his career before he entered rehabilitation in 2000.

Canada unveils reforms in bid to enhance safe sport practices

The Canadian federal government announced a series of reforms on Thursday in a bid to enhance safe sport practices and hold the country's national sports oganizations (NSOs) accountable after complaints about a toxic culture from a slew of athletes. A public registry of individuals who have been sanctioned will be created within a year while NSOs must meet a number of requirements, including having at least one athlete on their board before April 2025, to maintain their federal funding.

Cycling-Pedersen wins stage six of Giro after duo caught 300m from finish

Mads Pedersen of Trek–Segafredo held his nerve to win stage six of the Giro d'Italia in the final sprint on Thursday after the peloton caught up with a breakaway duo of Simon Clarke and Alessandro De Marchi 300 metres from the finish. After a rain-sodden stage five that was marred by crashes, including one caused by a dog, the 162-km sixth stage in Naples was a far more pleasant ride under blue skies with the sun beating down on the riders who were glad to have dry roads.

Tennis-Resurgent Kenin knocks out Sabalenka on day of upsets in Rome

World number two Aryna Sabalenka suffered an early shock at the Italian Open on Thursday as the in-form Belarusian crashed to a 7-6(4) 6-2 defeat by American Sofia Kenin in a high-octane second-round match. Sabalenka wobbled on serve early in her first match since claiming the Madrid title last week and squandered three chances to break Kenin before finding her groove to level a pulsating opening set at 4-4.

Rugby league-Hayne sentenced to four years and nine months jail for sexual assault

Former Australia rugby league international Jarryd Hayne has been sentenced to four years and nine months in jail after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman. The 35-year-old, who also had a brief stint in the National Football League (NFL) with the San Francisco 49ers, was found guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent last month and taken into custody 10 days later.

Swimming-Mexican artistic team keep Olympic dream alive by selling towels and swimsuits

Mexico's artistic swimming team have put bathing suits and towels on sale to pay for their preparations for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after the National Commission for Physical Culture and Sport (CONADE) stopped providing financial support. The crowd-funding project, led by three-times Olympian Nuria Diosdado, caught the attention of businessman Carlos Slim, who is known for providing scholarships to high-performance athletes in disciplines such as tennis, archery, karate and motorsports in which he sponsors F1 driver Sergio Perez.

Golf-DP World Tour issues new sanctions on 26 players

The DP World Tour said it has imposed a new round of suspensions and fines on 26 players who breached its rules by competing in LIV Golf and Asian Tour events without permission. The DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, said in a statement on Thursday that the sanctions were related to events that took place from June 22, 2022 to April 2, 2023.

Tennis-Madrid organisers apologise for denying women's doubles finalists speeches

The organisers of the Madrid Open have apologised to the women's doubles finalists of this year's tournament following criticism for denying players the opportunity to make speeches at the trophy ceremony. Singles world number three Jessica Pegula, who partnered Coco Gauff in their 6-1 6-4 defeat by Victoria Azarenka and Beatriz Haddad Maia, said on Sunday she was left disappointed after organisers did not allow the finalists to address fans.

Tennis-Alcaraz the man to beat on clay, says Djokovic

World number one Novak Djokovic said Carlos Alcaraz is the man to beat on clay and is one of the top title contenders for the French Open. Alcaraz has won back-to-back claycourt titles in Barcelona and Madrid after beginning an injury-hit season with the Buenos Aires crown and is poised to leapfrog Djokovic into top spot in the rankings after the ongoing Italian Open.