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Can Lydia Ko repeat at LPGA’s Kroger Queen City Championship?

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Shelby Dermer | USA TOday

MAINEVILLE, OH − The Kroger Queen City City Championship Presented by P&G returns to TPC River’s Bend from Sept. 11-Sept. 14.

After two years at Kenwood Country Club in Madeira, the event moved in 2024 to TPC River’s Bend, which has hosted several different levels of tournaments in its history.

The LPGA has a contract in place to keep the Kroger Queen City Championship at TPC River’s Bend through next year.More: LPGA’s Kroger Queen City Championship returns to TPC River’s Bend in September

Last year’s tournament at TPC River’s Bend had over 50,000 fans with 700 volunteers and generated nearly $50 million of economic impact for Cincinnati, according to a press release.Looking for a free mini puzzle? Play the USA TODAY Quick Cross now.

This year’s field features 144 of the LPGA’s top golfers competing for a $2 million purse.

“It’s a really exciting time for our players heading into the tour championship at the end of the year. They are kind of jockeying for position,” LPGA Vice President of Tournament Business Affairs Casey Ceman said at media day Aug. 19. “It’s gonna be really exciting.”

Lydia Ko begins title defense at Kroger Queen City Championship

Last year, Lydia Ko entered the final round of the Kroger Queen City Championship facing a two-stroke deficit. A few hours later, she was cruising to the title after firing a course record 63 for her 22nd career victory on the LPGA Tour.

Ko, who also won an Olympic gold medal and secured a berth in the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2024, is ranked No. 3 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

Lydia Ko won the 2024 Kroger Queen City Championship.

“It’s crazy to think that even happened a year ago,” Ko said at her pre-tournament press conference Sept. 10. “We played Kenwood before we came to TPC River’s Bend, and the two golf courses are very different. I do think this year the course is not as dry as what it got to on the weekend of last year.”

Atlanta Dream Boss Karl Smesko Makes History as Winningest First-Year WNBA Coach

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Atlanta head coach Karl Smesko made WNBA history on Monday, becoming the winningest first-year manager on record after the No. 3 Dream earned their 29th victory of the season by defeating the No. 11 Connecticut Sun 87-62.

With Monday’s result, Smesko surpassed the previous 28-win record set by former LA Sparks head coach Michael Cooper in 2000 — and boosted his position in the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year race in the process.

Notably, while coaches like Cooper spent years as an assistant in the pros before leading a team, Smesko entered the 2025 WNBA season without any experience on the professional sidelines, with the Atlanta Dream hiring the 54-year-old following Smesko’s 22 years helming the college team at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Smesko is now one of several new coaches seeing quick success at the sport’s top level — with even more WNBA milestones looming on the horizon.

“It’s nice that we’re winning and that we’re in a good position for the playoffs,” Smesko said following Monday’s victory. “Those types of [records] don’t have a lot of meaning for me. The meaningful part is coming up: Are we going to be the best prepared for the playoffs?”

How to watch the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday

While it might not matter too much to Smesko, with one game left in the Atlanta Dream’s 2025 regular season, he has the opportunity to pad his new record even more and finish the year with an even 30 wins on Wednesday.

The Dream will close out their 2025 regular season with a rematch against the Sun at 7 PM ET, with live coverage of the game airing on WNBA League Pass.

Aryna Sabalenka defeats Amanda Anisimova for 2nd consecutive title

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Sabalenka is the first woman since Serena Williams in 2014 to repeat as US Open champion


Ian Casselberry | Yahoo Sports

Aryna Sabalenka has won her second consecutive US Open women’s championship, dispatching Amanda Anisimova in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (3).

With the victory, Sabalenka becomes the first woman to earn consecutive US Open titles since Serena Williams won three straight from 2012-14.

The match presented a change of typical roles for the two players. In the past, Sabalenka has let her emotions rattle her when play wasn’t going her way. That appeared as if it might happen when she couldn’t dominate with her serve early on. Anisimova quickly moved from corner to corner, covering every area where Sabalenka could hit the ball.

However, Sabalenka didn’t get flustered and maintained her composure while slowly making adjustments with her shot-making. Initially trying to push Anisimova back with her serve and forehand, Sabalenka slowly worked in some touch and left Anisimova flailing at a few well-placed drop shots.

Early on, Anisimova looked like she would be the one to win with power. Her forehand was particularly formidable, firing shots deep into the corners that left Sabalenka out of position. She also showed impressive precision, slicing backhand and forehand slots just inside the sidelines. Sabalenka thought those shots might go out, but they repeatedly landed in.

However, Anisimova was the player who slowly became unglued as she continually made unforced errors. Those shots along the sideline that landed inside the boundary began to fall out of bounds. And she frequently missed with her serve, hitting the ball into the net.

The roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium was closed due to rain in Flushing, New York. Going into the match, the belief was that might help Anisimova if it made the crowd noise louder as they cheered for the American versus Sabalenka. Yet Anisimova claimed the lights from the roof were shining into her eyes as she tossed the ball up to serve.

Altogether, Anisimova committed 29 unforced errors while Sabalenka made only four for the match. That disparity might explain the match more than any other number.

The other imposing number was Sabalenka’s 20-1 record in tiebreakers. Anisimova won three consecutive games to rally from a 5-3 deficit in the second set to take a 6-5 lead. Suddenly, Sabalenka was in position of needing to hold to stay alive, which she did by rocketing a serve far to Anisimova’s right that she couldn’t hit back over the net.

Sabalenka’s record is now 21-1 in tiebreakers as she dominated the extra game. Anisimova didn’t help herself by again committing errors, hitting the ball outside or long. Despite blowing that lead in the second set, Sabalenka gained confidence and showed with her body language that she knew victory was imminent in a tiebreaker she easily controlled.

Sabalenka also becomes the 10th woman to win consecutive US Open championships. She joins Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams.

‘Such a trip!’: Aussie surfing star Molly Picklum’s priceless reaction to winning world title

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Emily Patterson | Wide World of Sports

Australian surfing star Molly Picklum was beside herself when she secured her maiden world championship title in Fiji on Tuesday afternoon (AEST).

After dominating the World Surf League season, the women’s world No.1 claimed the coveted title by defeating American 2023 world champion Caroline Marks 2-1 in the title match.

In the first heat at the iconic Cloudbreak, Picklum recorded a combined wave score of 10.50 as Marks laid down a 12.50 to take an early lead.But in the second and third heats, Picklum hit back with scores of 15.83 and 16.93 to snatch victory.

She became the eighth Australian woman to win a world championship surfing title since the launch of the World Surf League in 1976, originally known as the International Professional Surfers.

“I cannot believe I’m a world champion!” Picklum said while still on her board.

“Oh my God. Oh my.”

Australia’s first seven female world champions were Pam Burridge, Wendy Botha (who won world titles for both South Africa and Australia), Pauline Menczer, Chelsea Hedges (née Georgeson), Layne Beachley, Stephanie Gilmore and Tyler Wright.

Gilmore won a record eight world titles.

“It’s such a trip!” Picklum said.

“From a Central Coast kid, a little grom, looking up to Steph and Layne and Sally [Fitzgibbons] and Tyler and all those girls, it’s such a trip that I’m on a list with those females.”

In the lead-up to the showdown, Marks successfully surfed through three matches, which included dethroning defending world champion Caitlin Simmer in a rematch of last year’s title decider.

With a building swell at Cloudbreak, Picklum tapped into her No.1 form.

Marks needed to win the first heat of the title match to force a best-of-three heats, and did so with a score of 12.50, after a slow start and early fall from Picklum.

However, an invigorated Picklum flipped the script in the second heat, leveraging her renowned tube-riding to total 15.83 as Marks struggled to find a wave.

The Central Coast product threaded a deep barrel, drawing an individual wave score of 8.83 to take command heading into the final heat.

Contesting her seventh heat of the day, fatigue ultimately became a factor for Marks.

Another 8.83 wave from Picklum set the tone before a final 8.10 two-turn manoeuvre delivered the winning score and the world title.

Picklum’s 2025 campaign has been marked by consistency and significant results, reaching five finals.

For two thirds of the season, Picklum trailed Simmers and Hawaiian Gabriela Bryan before making a strong push to claim the No.1 ranking.

The 22-year-old won two World Surf League events this season: the Rio Pro in June and last month’s Tahiti Pro.

Picklum’s victory in Brazil saw her leapfrog her rivals to the top of the rankings.

She then solidified her lead with a runner-up finish in South Africa before she cemented her place as the No.1 seed for the finals by conquering the powerful Teahupo’o wave.

Fellow Aussie Jack Robinson exited the title race early after he was eliminated by Brazil’s Italo Ferreira in the first match of the men’s bracket.

The fourth-ranked surfer, who won Olympic silver last year, struggled with uncharacteristic falls in the smaller swell, finishing with a two-wave score of 5.83.

Meanwhile, Ferreira took full advantage of the inconsistent conditions, posting 14.33 thanks to a big frontside air and an alley-oop that set up an early lead.

Brazilian Yago Dora subsequently prevailed over Griffin Colapinto in the title match, outscoring the American 15.66 to 12.33.

‘Incredible achievement’: Angela Jones becomes first female winner of Brisbane metro jockeys’ premiership

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Liam O’Loughlin | Wide World of Sports

Angela Jones has etched her name into the history books, becoming the first woman to win the Brisbane metro jockeys’ premiership.

She went into Wednesday’s meeting at Doomben with 66 wins for the racing year – two clear of nearest rival and close friend Emily Lang.

Neither rider finished with a winner on the final day of the metro season, which saw Jones walk away with the coveted trophy.

Jones has become a consistent rider in Queensland and a favourite of leading trainer Tony Gollan, with more than half of her career victories coming for him.

In recent years, James Orman has had a mortgage on the top prize in Brisbane, having won the premiership for three-straight seasons before Jones took the mantle.

Elsewhere across the country, James McDonald took home the NSW premiership after another incredible season that included wins in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Chipping Norton Stakes with champion mare Via Sistina.

McDonald finished with 83 metro victories and amassed over $19 million in prizemoney.

Blake Shinn emerged with the top honour in Victoria and took to social media, heaping praise on close rival Craig Williams in the tightly-run battle.

“What a way to finish an incredible season by securing the 24/25 Metropolitan title here in Melbourne,” he said via X.

“This result reflects 12 months of sacrifice and relentless hard work, made possible by the unwavering support of the exceptional team around me.

“A sincere thank you to the trainers and owners for your trust and belief in me.

“To my great mate Craig Williams, congrats on an outstanding season. You pushed me right to the final day and your class and determination kept me at my best.

“I’m very grateful for the position I’m in and never take it for granted. To everyone behind the scenes from strappers, barrier staff, farriers and vets to the course attendants, stewards and media – your efforts don’t go unnoticed.”

Cult hero William Pike was the West Australian jockeys’ premiership winner.

The racing season in Australia will officially reset on Friday, August 1.

Desiree Miller’s Rugby World Cup Diary

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Desiree Miller | World Cup Diary

Writing this on the bus ahead of a six-hour trip from York to Brighton, it’s given me an opportunity to reflect on what an awesome past three weeks it’s been so far in England.

To look forward though we must look back, and what a crazy game to be involved in last weekend against the USA. It brought out the best in both sides and we knew going into the game it wasn’t going to be easy with the Americans on the improve in the XVs space.

We’ve had some great battles with them the past two years and the match in York had every twist and turn possible. Listening to people after the game they were commenting on how awesome the game was.

For us we take our lessons away from the fact we could’ve won that game but our discipline cost us, particularly in the second half. It just felt like no matter how far we hit the front on the scoreboard the Americans would find a way to strike back and vice versa.

For me being at my first World Cup I have been loving the journey so far, it’s everything I imagined it to be. As someone who came into rugby late, to be at the biggest stage of them all now has been surreal and I’m enjoying the rapid journey representing my country.

It is always good to score a couple of tries but my teammates next to me are the reason I’m getting over the line as much as I am too. Caitlyn Halse is an outstanding teenager coming through and she is putting me into some space, while those next to her are all contributing as well.

It was also nice to see the support we had in York for a sell-out fixture in the region. The stadium was deafening at times and after the game it’s always nice to be able to say thank you. We noticed there were a lot of English fans or general supporters cheering us on, so it made the atmosphere electric.

We’ve also been welcomed into the north of England so kindly. From when we arrived in Manchester, through to the hospitality at our hotels and training facilities and match venues, it’s made it feel exactly like a world-class tournament.

Off the field we’ve also been able to get out and explore some of the cities. Lori Cramer is our social butterfly on tour and given her previous playing experience in England we’ve very much been following her lead which has included a scavenger hunt around Manchester and a Wicked singalong experience.

I can confirm that she has her fish flops around but generally keeps them limited to around the hotel or at training sessions, you are unlikely to see them at a game.

I also went along to The Hundred cricket in my first week and caught up with Australian cricketer Phoebe Litchfield, who we did some cross-promo with before we left for the World Cup in July. Beth Mooney presented our jerseys against Samoa, bringing a real Aussie sporting flavour to our campaign.

In York I headed along to the Jorvik Viking centre to learn about the city’s rich history, while others went to the York Dungeon, with a few still alive to tell the tale I hear.

Our attention though now turns to Brighton and it’s a game we’ve been looking forward to for a while. I made my debut against England during WXV 1 in 2023 and it’s a game I’ll never forget. To be able to play the Red Roses, the host nation of a Rugby World Cup and No.1 ranked team in the world, is truly an honour. You want to play against the best to learn to beat the best and from our matches moving forward we know it is a challenging roadmap to the final.

I am no mathematician but there are a few scenarios that can play out this weekend that will determine whether we’re in the quarter-finals or not in 2025. Firstly, we want to try and win the game, and the second otherwise is scoring at least four tries for a bonus point.

If not, it will come down to our for-and-against alongside the USA, who we drew with last week. It sets up an exciting ending for the fans, and our advantage is we’ll know our targets before we run out onto the field. The result can still be in our control, which is the main thing. If we limit the Red Roses as much as possible and put points on the board it will go a long way to us advancing.

The thought that there will be over 30,000 at our game blows my mind. They might not all be cheering for us but it’s truly a great showing of the impact the tournament is having in England. We will need to contain that element of the game as well, but as an athlete it’s what you live for, to play in big matches against the world’s best.

Whether you’re going to be at the game, tuning in or supporting from afar, it should be a great occasion and arguably one of the biggest games of our lives on Saturday night.

See you there!

Desiree

1st woman to skateboard across US raises $50K for spinal cord injury research

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ByKelly McCarthy 

Brooke Johnson has made history as the first woman to skateboard across the U.S.

The 29-year-old kicked off her journey at the beach in Santa Monica, California, and after 119 days and 3,266 miles, she completed the historic feat in Virginia Beach on Friday.

Johnson set out on the grueling adventure to raise money for Wings for Life, a nonprofit spinal cord research foundation, in honor of her late stepfather Roger, who she said broke his C5 vertebrae, became a quadriplegic and died of the spinal cord injury last year.

From inclement weather to tough terrain and holes in her shoes, Johnson persevered through every obstacle, raising $50,000 while setting the new world record.

Johnson told ABC Norfolk station WVEC that her late stepfather’s presence helped motivate her along the way.

“He’s, like, supported me through this whole thing — it’s actually crazy,” she said.

Prior to his death, Johnson said the pair’s hope was to skate across the finish line with Johnson pushing her stepfather in his wheelchair.

“I was like, ‘Roger it’s a really big country.’ And he was like, ‘Well, you can do it,'” Johnson said.

Johnson was wearing a heart-shaped necklace with Roger’s ashes inside when she crossed the Red Bull finish line on Friday.

“Roger left me purpose, and for that I thank him every single day,” she said.

Johnson shared a recap of the journey on her Instagram page Saturday. The video montage was set to an old voicemail left by her stepfather, which she said “was one of those messages that felt like he left it for the present moment.”

“If there’s one thing you take away from this trip, it’s that you can truly do anything you put your mind to,” she wrote in the caption.

Aryna Sabalenka Defends Grand Slam Title as 2025 US Open Takes Over Queens

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Just Women’s Sports

The 2025 US Open has officially landed in New York, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka looks to kick off her 2024 title defense when the main draw of the tennis season’s final Grand Slam hits courts on Sunday.

The Queens-based tournament marks Sabalenka’s last shot at winning a major title this season, with the three-time Slam victor falling in both the 2025 Australian Open and 2025 French Open finals as well as stumbling out of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships in the semifinal round.

With the sport’s biggest payday on the line, tennis’s top talent are preparing to battle Sabalenka for both hardware and the tournament’s record $5 million champion’s check.

Joining the 27-year-old on this year’s US Open roster are reigning Wimbledon champion No. 2 Iga Świątek, 2025 French Open winner No. 3 Coco Gauff, and home-state hero and 2024 US Open runner-up No. 4 Jessica Pegula.

With five of the WTA’s Top-11 players, the US contingent is hoping the reclaim the host nation’s Grand Slam trophy this year, as reigning Australian Open champ No. 6 Madison Keys, 2025 Wimbledon runner-up No. 9 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 11 Emma Navarro join Gauff and Pegula as the USA’s frontrunners.

Two-time US Open winner and fan favorite No. 25 Naomi Osaka also enters the tournament as a seeded competitor for the first time since 2021, while 45-year-old icon Venus Williams will take the main-draw court for her 25th Queens Slam after headlining this year’s wild card list.

Building a league of their own: What’s ahead for upstart women’s baseball league after tryouts

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By Alanis Thames | The Associated Press 

There was a merging of generations on the final day of the Women’s Professional Baseball League tryouts.

The 98-year-old former baseball pitcher Maybelle Blair kicked off the first of two live scrimmage games at Nationals Park by throwing out the first pitch to 24-year-old former Little league sensation Mo’ne Davis.

Blair, full of the same vibrance and wit she had when she helped inspire the baseball film “A League of Their Own” with her play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, was happy to symbolically pass the women’s baseball torch.

She waited long enough.

“You have no idea what I went through when I was playing ball,” Blair said, “and how I wished that these girls could have the same opportunity that I’ve had. And it has come to reality. I never figured that we would have another league of their own. And here it is. And it’s my dream. Thank you for all being here. We’re going to make this thing go and show that women can play baseball.”

Four days of drills concluded with Monday’s live scrimmages. A group of baseball scouts and coaches, led by Team USA women’s baseball star Alex Hugo, a special adviser to the WPBL, whittled down a player pool of more than 600 tryout hopefuls to the final 100 players who will be invited to the league’s draft in October.

The first three days of tryouts consisted of performance testing and drills at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball academy, with cuts made at the end of each day. The final group of women were divided into four teams to participate in a pair of seven-inning — the length that WPBL games will be — live scrimmages at Nationals Park on Monday.

Coaches noted a wide range of talent across the four days. Some of the sport’s biggest names, including Davis, USA baseball’s Kelsie Whitmore and Japanese pitcher Ayami Sato are already signed to the league and automatically draft-eligible. But the WPBL kept its tryouts open to any women pursuing a shot at the pros. While there were plenty of tryouts attendees with baseball backgrounds, many were making the transition from softball.

MLBSep 10, 2024

Billie Jean King advocates for women’s baseball inception, her ‘first true love’

Hugo, a two-time USA baseball Sports Woman of the Year, said the open tryout was designed to bridge the league with the international circuit — women’s pro baseball has a strong presence in countries like Japan and Australia — and establish the right culture for the WPBL from the start.

“We have a standard,” Hugo said. “Obviously, we want to put the most elite talent level out there that we can, but this atmosphere and having an open tryout I think was super important, especially for the first year, because there’s so many people that want to be a part of this.”

The league will announce its teams by late September and has plans to announce front-office additions and celebrity partners by the end of the year. The league is working to secure a national broadcast deal before the start of the regular season, though it already has a media deal with Fremantle, the production company behind shows like “The Price Is Right” and “Family Feud,” to produce and distribute broadcasts, create original content and secure sponsors as well as handle marketing.

Keith Stein, a lawyer and businessman who co-founded the WPBL with Justine Siegal, said the atmosphere at the tryouts was an indication of the appetite for a women’s baseball league.

Fans of all ages were in attendance at the scrimmages on Monday, which were open to the public. Many were already sporting WPBL gear. Stein said the league sold approximately $20,000 in WPBL merchandise over a 24-hour period at the tryouts.

“But we haven’t done any marketing (yet),” Stein added. “There’s so much demand and support for these players and for our league. So you’re going to continue to hear a lot more about us.”

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