General Sports 24 Hours

Last updated: September 12, 2026, 11:03 PM ET

Tennis: Rybakina Claims First US Open Crown

Elena Rybakina captured her first US Open championship, defeating Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, punctuating her climb to world No. 1. The victory capped a miraculous run that began with Rybakina's injury status in serious question, yet ended with her hoisting the trophy and unseating Sabalenka atop the rankings. Sabalenka entered as the top seed and carried extra motivation after losing the No. 1 ranking to Rybakina, but her power game could not solve the Kazakh in the deciding set. Experts had framed the clash of big hitters as a coin flip, and the final delivered three sets of baseline firepower before Rybakina pulled away.

Tennis: Shelton Carries American Hopes Into Men's Final

Ben Shelton powered past Frances Tiafoe in an all-American semifinal to reach Sunday's final against top seed Alexander Zverev, who eliminated Karen Khachanov in the other semifinal. Shelton now stands one win from becoming the first American man in 23 years to win a major, carrying the full weight of home-court pressure into the showdown with Zverev.

Tennis: Doubles Titles Decided in New York

American Christian Harrison and British partner Neal Skupski won their second Grand Slam men's doubles title of the year, defeating Germany's duo Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-4, 7-6 (6). Skupski was still in shock after the win, which secured the pair's second Slam together. In women's doubles, Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova completed their career Grand Slam as a team by beating the wild-card pair of Ashlyn Krueger and Robin Montgomery for their first US Open title together. In wheelchair singles, Great Britain's Alfie Hewett beat Japanese top seed Tokito Oda to win a fifth US Open title and his 11th Grand Slam singles crown overall.

College Football: Oklahoma State Stuns Oregon

Oklahoma State ended a 21-game skid against FBS opponents by pulling off the first true stunner of the 2026 season, beating No. 6 Oregon 39-31 on Saturday. The Cowboys' breakthrough ended a drought that had stretched across multiple seasons and immediately reshaped the early-season narrative.

College Football: Michigan Upsets Oklahoma in Defensive Battle

Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham clarified his remarks from last week and said Bryce Underwood is solidified as the team's quarterback after Underwood led the Wolverines to a 17-10 upset of No. 11 Oklahoma. The game was a physical, defensive battle that headlined a Week 2 slate bookended by two helmet games: Ohio State-Texas and Oklahoma-Michigan. The Sooners suffered a significant loss when standout linebacker Kip Lewis left with a knee injury in the first quarter and did not return.

College Football: Missouri Trolls Kansas After Border War Win

Missouri backed up its Border War victory with a series of jabs aimed at Kansas, headlining Week 2's best college football trolls. Coach Eli Drinkwitz had plenty to say after the win, saying he was "embarrassed" for the Jayhawks for leaning into the historic nature of the rivalry.

College Football: Week 2 Slate and Storylines

The weekend's marquee matchups were previewed as an SEC-Big Ten showdown, with Ohio State-Texas leading the intersectional battles plus five huge Big 12 games. Off the field, Boston College hosted Rutgers in its annual Red Bandanna Game on the 25th anniversary of 9/11. The Eagles' Red Bandanna uniforms led the best looks of Week, carrying even more emotion than usual. At Texas, a group of students and alumni turned overnight stadium camp-outs into a tradition, holding their spot in line since Thursday night for the Longhorns' marquee matchup. Texas quarterback Arch Manning has been a name since high school, and his dealings with fame are a family affair, with his also-famous grandfather having had more time to adjust to the spotlight.

College Football: Group of 6 Innovation

Akron let a fan call a drive as part of its "Offensive Coordinator For A Day" contest, one of the ways the Group of 6 is staying relevant in 2026. Season-ticket holder Marty Whims won the contest, but his first drive as a coach ended with a receiver's fumble.

FIBA Women's World Cup: USA-France Gold Medal Rematch

The World Cup finale fans wanted is set: USA and France will meet in a rematch of the Olympic gold medal game, with Les Bleues having been the better team so far in Berlin. The semifinal matchups are set, and analysts assessed how each team stacks up going into Saturday's games.

Boxing: Garcia Defends WBC Welterweight Title Against Benn

Ryan Garcia defended his WBC welterweight world title against Conor Benn on Saturday, with live updates and analysis tracking the action. Figures from the boxing world offered their predictions for the fight. Both fighters comfortably made the welterweight limit despite concerns about how they would fare on the scales, though Benn then put on 32lbs in 12 hours after the weigh-in. Garcia is well positioned to become this generation's face of boxing, using the one thing that has stopped many from taking him seriously as a potential star.

Golf: Solheim Cup Deadlocked Entering Final Day

Jennifer Kupcho rolled in two late birdie putts — one from 93 feet — to earn the Americans an unlikely point and tie the Solheim Cup at 8-8 after four sessions. Earlier, Team Europe finally took down the record-setting U.S. partnership of Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz on the way to winning the morning foursomes and building a 7-5 lead after three sessions. With singles to play, questions loom over captain Anna Nordqvist's faith in the pairing of Charley Hull and Lottie Woad should Europe fail to reach the 14½ points required to win. At the Irish Open, Shane Lowry produced an inspired display on the greens to take a four-shot lead into the final round, closing in on his first individual win since 2022.

Rugby: South Africa, England, Canada Roll in WXV Openers

South Africa completed a 3-1 series win over New Zealand, as the world champions' consistency, power and cohesion proved too much in the fourth Test in Baltimore, winning 43-28. England trailed at half-time but a dominant second-half performance delivered an emphatic 48-15 victory over Australia at Corp Acq Stadium in the opening game of the new WXV Global Series. Canada proved too strong for Scotland, scoring 10 tries in a resounding WXV opener in Edinburgh.

Cricket: England Sweep Pakistan; Root Sees Progress

England survived an almighty scare to eventually win the third Test against Pakistan by eight wickets and complete a 3-0 clean sweep. Player ratings from Edgbaston assessed which batter played his most mature innings of the year and who has given the selectors food for thought. Captain Joe Root said England are in a better place at the end of their tumultuous summer and praised how they handled the chaos. Broader questions remain about whether England are a better team in September than in June, as the turbulent Test summer left more questions than answers.

Athletics: Jefferson-Wooden, Bednarek Win Ultimate Championship Titles

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden ran a world-leading 10.62 seconds in the 100 meters at the Ultimate Championship on Saturday, while Bednarek captured the men's 100m title. Keely Hodgkinson was again denied a major prize by rival Audrey Werro, but revealed she had to overcome a torn hamstring to make the start line. Jakob Ingebrigtsen will not contest the men's 1500m final, withdrawing from the showdown with rival Josh Kerr and putting their reunion on hold.

Cycling: Landa Wins Stage 20 as Mas Nears Vuelta Title

Spanish cycling enjoyed a memorable day at the Vuelta a España as veteran Mikel Landa won the penultimate stage and Enric Mas moved to the brink of the overall title.

Snooker: Williams Fightback Sets Up English Open Final

Mark Williams pulled off a superb fightback to beat Shaun Murphy and book a spot against Ali Carter in Sunday's English Open final.

Soccer: Swansea's Strong Start

Vitor Matos believes Swansea City's bright start to the new season proves they are capable of competing with any team in the Championship.

Basketball: Baylor Signs Ukrainian Center Koval

Baylor has signed Ukrainian center Kate Koval, several weeks after she left LSU because Tigers coach Kim Mulkey brought in a Russian player.

NFL: Rodgers Chases Records in 22nd Season

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, entering his 22nd season, is chasing records, and ESPN will chronicle his "last rodeo" throughout the 2026 campaign.

NBA: Board of Governors Meeting Could Reshape League

The next steps in the Clippers investigation, league expansion and NBA Europe could all be decided at next week's board of governors meeting, a gathering that could reshape the league.