The WNBA returns to action on September 17 after a roughly two-week pause for the FIBA World Cup. The break left teams one week to settle the standings: the regular season ends September 24 and the playoffs tip off September 27. Eight of the league's 15 teams qualify, and the first round is a best-of-three series. Atlanta, Indiana, Las Vegas, Washington, New York, Dallas and Golden State are among the teams fighting for position. Las Vegas forward A'ja Wilson is the favorite for MVP. In baseball, Milwaukee has clinched the NL Central and owns the best record in the majors.
Half of Major League Baseball's divisions are still undecided with under two weeks left in the regular season, which ends on September 27. The Chicago White Sox lead the Cleveland Guardians by half a game in the AL Central, and the Houston Astros hold a small lead over the Texas Rangers in the AL West. The New York Yankees have closed the gap on the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East before a series between the two clubs on September 22. Tampa Bay and Milwaukee have already clinched playoff spots. The Wild Card Series open on September 29.
Team USA came back from 14 points down to beat France 97-79 in the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup final in Berlin, winning a fifth consecutive title and a 12th overall. Breanna Stewart scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and was named TISSOT MVP for a second time, a first in tournament history. Jackie Young added 18 points. Spain took bronze by beating host Germany 81-58, and the tournament set a record for attendance.
Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6, 5-7, 6-2 to win the 2026 US Open men's singles title, his second Grand Slam after this year's French Open. Shelton, the eighth seed, was the first Black American man to reach the US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972 and was trying to end a 23-year American drought in men's majors. Zverev, the top seed, steadied after losing the third set. Shelton's run included a five-set win over Carlos Alcaraz that finished at 3:33 a.m., the latest in tournament history.
Ben Shelton beat Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in an all-American semifinal to reach his first Grand Slam final, where he faces top seed Alexander Zverev on Sunday at Flushing Meadows. Shelton is the first Black American man to reach a US Open final since Arthur Ashe in 1972, and he is trying to end a US men's title drought that runs back to Andy Roddick in 2003. Zverev beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 and has won all five previous meetings with Shelton.
Ben Shelton beat Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set match at the US Open, one of the biggest wins of his career and a result that changes the shape of the men's draw. Alcaraz, a former champion in New York, had been among the favorites. The win put Shelton into the semifinals along with other American players, in a tournament that lost Jannik Sinner before it began because of a knee injury, and saw Novak Djokovic exit in the first round. Frances Tiafoe also advanced with a five-set comeback. In the women's draw, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff both lost in the semifinals, leaving no American women in the final. The result also carries ranking value heading into the indoor hard-court season, with year-end standings still in play.
The Seattle Seahawks opened the NFL season with a comeback win over the New England Patriots on Thursday night, beating the team they defeated in Super Bowl LX. Seattle played without quarterback Sam Darnold and tied the game on a 45-yard touchdown catch by Jaxon Smith-Njigba on fourth down. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye then threw three interceptions in the fourth quarter, the last on a toe-tap grab by Seattle's Josh Jobe that sealed the result. New England also lost a player to an ankle injury during the game. The Seahawks won the Super Bowl in February behind six sacks and a pick-six. Both teams are expected to contend again this season.
Ben Shelton ended Carlos Alcaraz's US Open title defense in a five-set quarterfinal that finished at 3:33 a.m. New York time, the latest finish in the tournament's history. Shelton won 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(10-7) after four hours and 28 minutes, his first win over Alcaraz in four meetings. The eighth seed lost a first-set tiebreak, then took the next two sets before Alcaraz, the second seed and defending champion, forced a decider with a 6-1 fourth set. Shelton won the final-set tiebreak 10-7 as about 10,000 fans stayed in Arthur Ashe Stadium. He next faces Frances Tiafoe in an all-American semifinal.
A string of matches finishing after 2 a.m. at this year's US Open has players and fans pushing back against the tournament's late-night schedule. Alexander Zverev finished a first-round match in the early morning to rows of empty seats, then told reporters everyone was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Venus Williams' first-round loss to Sofia Kenin at Arthur Ashe Stadium also ended beyond 2 a.m., with few spectators left to watch what may have been her final singles match. Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka said late finishes shift players' entire schedules and can mess up their recovery. The debate has already led Wimbledon and the US Open to raise prize money and create a players' advisory council.
Defending champions Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz powered into the US Open quarterfinals on Sunday with straight-set wins in New York. Top-ranked Sabalenka overcame early trouble on her serve to beat American Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-3, while Alcaraz defeated Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the second match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Sabalenka has not dropped a set in the tournament. American men also surged into the last eight, with Frances Tiafoe beating Daniil Medvedev and Alex Michelsen also advancing, as US men chase their first Grand Slam title in years. The quarterfinals begin later this week at Flushing Meadows, where Sabalenka is set to face Czech teenager Linda Noskova.