Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Golf-Fleetwood banks on home comforts for elusive major title

Tommy Fleetwood will be on familiar territory at Hoylake as he bids to become the first Englishman to win the British Open since Nick Faldo in 1992. Fleetwood was born in Southport, around 30 miles north of Royal Liverpool, and the world number 21 would be a popular champion after a couple of near-misses.

NBA-Paris to host Nets-Cavaliers game next year

The Brooklyn Nets will face the Cleveland Cavaliers at Paris's Accor Arena on Jan. 11, 2024 for the third regular-season NBA game in the French capital, the NBA announced on Wednesday. The league and France have long been intertwined, with more players coming from the European country than anywhere else outside North America, including this year's number one overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.

Gymnastics-Russian, Belarusian gymnasts allowed to compete as neutrals from January, says FIG

Russian and Belarusian gymnasts will be allowed to compete as "individual neutral athletes" at events organised by the governing body from next January, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said on Wednesday. The FIG Executive Committee (EC) decided that Russian and Belarusian gymnasts may compete as long as they are not associated with their countries' gymnastics federations, their national federations and Olympic committees.

Motor racing-'Hurt' de Vries breaks silence after AlphaTauri exit

Nyck de Vries spoke on Wednesday of his hurt at losing his AlphaTauri Formula One seat to Australian Daniel Ricciardo after only 10 races and before he got a chance to race at his home Dutch Grand Prix. The 28-year-old was dropped by the Red Bull-owned team last week and replaced by eight times grand prix winner Ricciardo, 34, who had been filling a reserve role since leaving McLaren at the end of last year.

Soccer-Ligue 1 side Lorient sign Benjamin Mendy after rape acquittal

Former Manchester City left-back Benjamin Mendy has signed for Ligue 1 side Lorient on a two-year deal days after being acquitted of rape. The 29-year-old France international was found not guilty of one count of rape and one of attempted rape by a British court on Friday.

Soccer-US players say 'deep flaws' in how SafeSport handles abuse claims

The U.S. Center for SafeSport is failing to handle abuse claims appropriately, United States national soccer team players said, asking Congress to change how the body operates days before the women's team launch their bid for a fifth World Cup title. The players' concerns were outlined in a letter to House members on Wednesday that included the signatures of all 23 athletes on the U.S. women's World Cup squad and comes after revelations of widespread abuse across the women's game in the United States.

Tennis-Zhang retires in tears after opponent erases mark on court

China's Zhang Shuai retired from her Hungarian Grand Prix match in tears on Tuesday after her local opponent Amarissa Toth erased a ball mark on the clay court following a disputed line call. Second seed Zhang hit a crosscourt forehand that appeared to land on the line but was called out by the line judge. The chair umpire then stepped down to take a look at the mark and confirmed the ball had landed outside the line.

Soccer-World Cup final should be played on biggest stage, say New York and New Jersey

The world's biggest game needs to be played on the world's biggest stage says New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who along with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy are making a pitch to land the 2026 World Cup Final. The United States, Canada and Mexico will co-host the global soccer showcase in three years and the big prize still up for grabs is the venue for the final match.

WTA roundup: Unheralded Fanny Stollar upsets Tatjana Maria in Budapest

Fifth-seeded Tatjana Maria of Germany was ousted in the second round of the Hungarian Grand Prix, stunned by World No. 442 Fanny Stollar on Wednesday in Budapest. Stollar, a Hungarian playing on home turf, scored a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (6) victory. She converted six of 16 break chances on the day -- none bigger than in the 12th game of the third set when Maria, serving 6-5 for the match, was shut out to send the contest to a tiebreak.

Cycling-Vingegaard marches towards Tour de France title as Pogacar cracks

Jonas Vingegaard took a giant stride towards a second consecutive Tour de France title when crash-hit rival Tadej Pogacar cracked in unexpected and spectacular fashion on Wednesday's 17 stage, the toughest of the race. A day after crushing Pogacar in the individual time trial, Vingegaard went solo some five kilometres from the top of the Col de la Loze (28.1km at 6%) and did not look back despite being slowed down by an organisers' car and a race motorbike.

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