Sports News Roundup: Djokovic best in history, says Nadal; Madison Keys loses Guadalajara opener and more

The 35-year-old Frenchwoman brought back two bronze medals from the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games on the track and she now looks set to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympics after claiming the paracycling road race world title last year. Motor racing-Formula One statistics for the Japanese Grand Prix Formula One statistics for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, round 16 of the 22-race championship: Lap distance: 5.807km.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Goalkeeper Earps wins England Women's Player of the Year

Goalkeeper Mary Earps was voted England's Women's Player of the Year on Tuesday. The 30-year-old, who won FIFA's Golden Glove award at the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, finished ahead of Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood in the voting.

Tennis-Djokovic best in history, says Nadal

Rafael Nadal's last Grand Slam win came at the French Open in 2022, but with Novak Djokovic having overtaken his impressive haul of most major titles in men's tennis, the Spaniard conceded the Serbian is the best player in history. Djokovic's recent win at the U.S. Open, his third Grand Slam title this year, took his tally to 24 Grand Slams, two ahead of Nadal's total.

WTA roundup: Madison Keys loses Guadalajara opener

Madison Keys stumbled in her first match after reaching the U.S. Open semifinals, falling 6-2, 7-6 (5) in an all-U.S. second-round matchup at the Guadalajara (Mexico) Open Akron on Tuesday. Keys, the tournament's fourth seed, received a first-round bye.

Rugby-World Cup organisers hail "spectacular" television numbers

Rugby World Cup organisers have welcomed impressive domestic and international television audiences that far exceed previous editions as the tournament reaches the one-third point of its 48 matches. In an upbeat Paris press conference on Wednesday, when the night's Italy v Uruguay will be the 17th match to be played, Jacques Rivoal, President of France 2023, said: "There's excitement everywhere -- in the stadiums and TV screens.

Soccer-Solskjaer has sympathy for under-pressure Ten Hag

Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he sympathises with current incumbent Erik ten Hag who is under pressure after a poor start to the season. United have lost three of their opening five Premier League games and face Bayern Munich later on Wednesday in a daunting start to their Champions League campaign.

Soccer-Spain's women players to end boycott after federation commits to change

Spain's World Cup winning-squad agreed to end their boycott of the national team early on Wednesday after the country's football federation (RFEF) said it would make "immediate and profound changes" to its structure. The decision was reached around 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) after more than seven hours of meetings at a hotel in Oliva, an hour from Valencia, involving the players, RFEF officials, the National Sports Council (CSD) and the women's players' union FUTPRO.

Paralympics-World champion Patouillet hopes for more LGBTQIA+ acceptance in cycling

When Marie Patouillet was forced to give up running due to a foot malformation in her late 20s, she turned to para-cycling as a new means to perform. The 35-year-old Frenchwoman brought back two bronze medals from the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games on the track and she now looks set to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympics after claiming the paracycling road race world title last year.

Motor racing-Formula One statistics for the Japanese Grand Prix

Formula One statistics for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, round 16 of the 22-race championship: Lap distance: 5.807km. Total distance: 307.471km (53 laps)

Motor racing-Red Bull set for Suzuka celebration after Singapore shock

Red Bull need score only a point more than Mercedes at Suzuka on Sunday to retain their Formula One constructors' title and trigger celebrations after last weekend's Singapore shock. After failing to win for the first time this season, and 15 victories in a row dating back to the end of last year, the champions look likely to be back to their dominant ways in Japan.

MLB roundup: Blake Snell, Padres flirt with no-hitter in win

San Diego ace Blake Snell exited after seven hitless innings on Tuesday, and the Padres beat the visiting Colorado Rockies 2-0 when Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run, walk-off homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Padres pitchers took a combined no-hitter into the ninth and wound up with a two-hit shutout for the team's sixth straight win.

(With inputs from agencies.)