Australian Open holder Djokovic, who went on an 18-0 run at the start of the season, confirmed there would be three big names – Dominic Thiem, Grigor Dimitrov and Alexander Zverev – apart from himself at the June 13-July 5 tournament.
* New York Knicks great Patrick Ewing was released from hospital on Monday and sent home to recover after he tested positive for COVID-19 last week, his son has said. The 57-year-old Ewing, who played 17 seasons in the NBA and is currently the head coach of the Georgetown University men's basketball team, had shared his diagnosis on Twitter on Friday in a bid to encourage people to stay safe.
* Atletico Madrid’s record signing Joao Felix is likely to miss the start of the Spanish soccer season when it resumes next month after sustaining a sprained knee in training on Monday. Atleti said in a statement the 20-year-old, who cost the club 126 million euros (US$137.31 million) from Benfica last year, had sprained the medial ligament in his left knee.
* Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is happy to finally play tennis again for fans around the world - even if they can only watch on television. The world number 12 will headline an all-Czech tournament in Prague starting on Tuesday without spectators, handshakes or the usual towel service.
* England's Football Association (FA) has ended the Women's Super League season, which was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, in response to "overwhelming feedback" from clubs, it said on Monday. The FA said no decision had yet been made on how the league winner or relegation to the Women's Championship - whose season was also terminated - would be decided, or how entries for the 2020-21 UEFA Women's Champions League would be determined.
* AC Milan's veteran forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has suffered an injury in training, several Italian media reports said on Monday. The 38-year-old Swede pulled up at the end of the session, possibly with a calf muscle problem, according to Gazzetta dello Sport and Sky Sport Italia, among others. There was no immediate comment from the club itself.
* The French tennis federation's 35-million euro (31.3 million pounds) plan will be effectively launched on June 3 with a dedicated platform distributing aid to clubs, tournaments, players and officials, the FFT said on Monday. Some 21 million euros will be dedicated to the French clubs, nine million will go to the 142 tennis, chair tennis, paddle and beach tennis players outside the top 100, as well as officials and tournaments that had to be cancelled amid the COVID-19 crisis, FFT president Bernard Giudicelli told reporters. The remaining five million will go to the independent teachers and coaches who could not benefit from French government aids.
* Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara has been ruled out of Tuesday's Bundesliga top game against Borussia Dortmund after failing to recover from a muscle injury, Bayern coach Hansi Flick said on Monday. The playmaker had already missed Saturday's 5-2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
* Europe's top two club basketball competitions have been terminated this season without naming any winners due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organisers EuroLeague Basketball said on Monday. The 2020-21 EuroLeague and EuroCup seasons will start on Oct. 1 and Sept. 30 respectively, said the statement, which added that the same 18 teams that contested this season's EuroLeague would also compete in the next campaign.
* India's three-times Olympic gold medallist Balbir Singh has died at the age of 95 after a prolonged pulmonary illness.
* The Italian winter sports federation will ask to push back the 2021 Alpine skiing World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo by a year because of uncertainties linked to the coronavirus, the head of the country's Olympic committee said. Should the request to stage the event in March, 2022 be approved, the World Championships would take place in the month after the Winter Olympics in China.
* England lock George Kruis and Welsh centre Hadleigh Parkes will play in Japan for the Panasonic Wild Knights next season, the Top League club said on Monday. The pair are expected to arrive in Japan in November ahead of the 2021 Top League season, which begins in January. The 2020 campaign was cancelled due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
