Nadal, who has dominated the claycourt season for close to two decades, has competed at Roland Garros every year since claiming the first of his 22 majors in Paris in 2005. Nadal said he needs to stop playing for the foreseeable future to make a full recovery and return for what he anticipates will be his farewell season.
* Sheffield Wednesday pulled off the greatest comeback in English Football League playoff history as they overturned a 4-0 first-leg deficit against Peterborough United to reach the League One playoff final via a penalty shootout on Thursday (May 18). Wednesday, who narrowly missed automatic promotion from the third tier and finished 19 points above Peterborough in the regular season, looked down and out after Friday's hammering. But roared on by the home fans at Hillsborough, they turned the tie on its head to win 5-1 on the night after extra time and then held their nerve to prevail 5-3 in the shootout to spark wild scenes of celebration with the fans invading the pitch.
* Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has been suspended from the touchline for two matches and fined 75,000 pounds (US$95,000) following his comments to the media after the match against Tottenham Hotspur on Apr 30, the Football Association said on Thursday. The decision means that the German will not take charge of his side when they host Aston Villa on Saturday.
* Fiorentina's Antonin Barak struck deep into stoppage time at the end of extra time to take his side into the Europa Conference League final with a 3-1 win at Basel in the second leg of the semi-final on Thursday that secured a 4-3 aggregate victory. The Italians made their first European final in 33 years and will face West Ham United in the showpiece match in Prague on Jun 7 after the Londoners beat AZ Alkmaar in their semi-final. Substitute Pablo Formals scored a breakaway goal in stoppage time as West Ham secured a 1-0 win at AZ Alkmaar and a place in the final after a 3-1 aggregate triumph.
* Bryson DeChambeau ditched his bulked-up look in favour of a slimmer physique and the decision is paying off as the LIV Golf member outperformed the game's top players to grab the clubhouse lead at the PGA Championship on Thursday. DeChambeau made an ideal start to the year's second major as he fired a four-under-par 66 that left him in the clubhouse with a one-shot lead over world number two Scottie Scheffler and Canada's Corey Conners.
* Tottenham Hotspur striker Lucas Moura will leave when his contract ends at the conclusion this season, the Premier League club said on Thursday. The Brazil international joined the English club in January 2018 from French side Paris St Germain. During his time with the London club, he has made 219 appearances, scoring 38 goals.
* Newcastle United claimed an emphatic 4-1 home victory over Brighton & Hove Albion to take a massive step towards clinching a top-four finish in the Premier League on Thursday. One more win from their last two games will guarantee Newcastle a place in the Champions League for the first time in two decades. They have 69 points above fourth-placed Manchester United, who are on 66 with a game in hand. Liverpool have 65.
* VfL Wolfsburg Women secured their ninth consecutive Women's German Cup title by defeating SC Freiburg 4-1 in Cologne on Thursday. After an evenly contested first half ending 1-1, Wolfsburg displayed their supremacy with a flurry of three goals in the second half, securing a resounding victory.
* Wasps will not play in the Championship next season after the club's financial struggles led the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to withdraw their licence, the governing body said on Thursday. The RFU approved the takeover of financially-hit Wasps in December after they were suspended for going into administration and relegated to the second-tier Championship for the 2023-24 season.
* World number three Daniil Medvedev produced a dominant performance against German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann to reach his first Italian Open semi-final, cruising to a 6-2 6-2 victory on Thursday. Medvedev will meet world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas who triumphed over Borna Coric with a commanding 6-3, 6-4 win later in the evening.
* New York/New Jersey stepped up their bid to host the final of the 2026 World Cup by promising a spectacle on par with "eight Super Bowls" at a launch event on Thursday for the tournament which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. FIFA president Gianni Infantino gave no indication as to which of the host cities across the three countries would stage the finale when the venues were announced last year.
* Formula One raced through the pandemic and has overcome typhoons and earthquakes but the cancellation of this weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix due to torrential rain and flooding in northern Italy is a rare defeat. With little flexibility on a crowded calendar that started off with a record 24 rounds, and now looks likely to end up with 22, the race at Imola is unlikely to find another slot this season.
* After a Giro d'Italia pockmarked by crashes, dreadful weather, sickness and abandonments, stage 12 from Bra to Rivoli on Thursday offered some much-needed respite before the serious business kicks in again. The 185km route, featuring two climbs, offered the perfect day for the GC contenders to stay safe and allow riders in the breakaways to have their day in the sunshine. And so they did, with the stage coming down to a three-way sprint eventually taken comfortably by Germany's Nico Denz (Bora-Hansgrohe) - his first Grand Tour stage win.
* There will be a sense of deja vu around Dublin when Leinster take on defending champions La Rochelle in a repeat of last year’s European Champions Cup final at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, though this year the Irish side has home advantage. La Rochelle claimed their maiden title in the continent’s elite club competition when they edged Leinster 24-21 in a thrilling decider 12 months ago, a match that was played in the French city of Marseille.
* Bayern Munich could be crowned Bundesliga champions on Sunday without kicking a ball in what would be an anticlimactic finale to the tightest league race in years. The Bavarians, chasing an 11th straight league title, have been less dominant than in the past but go into the last two matches a point ahead of second-placed Borussia Dortmund. Bayern host RB Leipzig, in third, on Saturday and with a win would be four points clear of Dortmund, who visit lowly Augsburg a day later.
