(LONDON) — Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 38.
In a statement posted to social media, Nadal — who has won 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, including a record 14 French Open titles — said that “in this life everything has a beginning and an end.”
“I am here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis,” Nadal said in the video. The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make … and I think it is the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.
Nadal’s prowess on the tennis court is unparalleled in the history of the sport, particularly on clay. He is one of only three men to complete the Career Golden Slam in singles and has won 92 ATP-level singles titles — 63 of these coming on clay courts — including 36 Masters titles and an Olympic gold medal.
“I am very excited that my last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup and representing my country,” Nadal said. “I think I have come full circle since one of my first great joys as a professional tennis player was the Davis Cup final in Sevilla in 2004. I feel super, super lucky for all the things I have been able to experience.”
From 2005 to 2014, Nadal won nine out of 10 French Open titles, and managed to put together another streak in Paris from 2017 to 2022 where he won five out of six on the hallowed grounds of Court Philippe Chatrier.
Nadal took a moment to thank his family, his team and the rivals he played against on the courts for more than two decades.
“I want to thank the entire tennis industry, all the people involved in this sport, my life-long colleagues, especially my great rivals,” Nadal said. “I have spent many, many hours with them and I have lived many moments that I will remember for the rest of my life.
In his more than 20 years in the sport, Nadal has earned an estimated $135 million, which places him second all-time in career earnings.
“I can’t thank you enough for what you have made me feel,” Nadal said, addressing his fans around the world. “You have given me the energy I needed at every moment. Really, everything I have experienced has been a dream come true. I leave with the absolute peace of mind of having given my best, of having made an effort in every way. I can only end by saying a thousand thanks to all and see you soon.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS Detroit Tigers 3, Houston Astros 1 Kansas City Royals 1, Baltimore Orioles 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS NY Mets 8, Milwaukee Brewers 4 San Diego Padres 4, Atlanta Braves 0
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON Vegas Golden Knights 6, Colorado Avalanche 1 Utah Hockey Club 3, San Jose Sharks 1 Detroit Red Wings 2, Pittsburgh Penguins 1 Boston Bruins 4, Philadelphia Flyers 1 NY Rangers 5, New Jersey Devils 4 Ottawa Senators 4, Montreal Canadiens 3 Columbus Blue Jackets 3, St. Louis Blues 1 Minnesota Wild 7, Chicago Blackhawks 2
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS Minnesota Lynx 77, Connecticut Sun 70 New York Liberty 88, Las Vegas Aces 84
Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds looks on from the field during batting practice during a Major League Baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium circa 1985 in Pittsburgh. (George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Pete Rose, Major League Baseball’s hit king who then became a pariah for gambling on the game, has died at the age of 83, the medical examiner in Clark County, Nevada, confirmed to ABC News on Monday.
Rose was found at his home by a family member, according to the medical examiner. There were no signs of foul play.
The medical examiner told ABC News that Rose was not under the care of a doctor when he died, and the scene is being examined.
The coroner will investigate to determine the cause and manner of death.
ABC News has reached out to Rose’s rep.
Rose brought a workmanlike attitude to America’s pastime and won innumerable fans for his hustle on the field. By the end of his 24-year career, 19 of which were with the Cincinnati Reds, he held the record for most career hits, as well as games played, plate appearances and at-bats. He was also a 17-time All-Star, the 1973 NL MVP and 1963 Rookie of the Year.
He also won three World Series — two with Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” clubs in 1975 and 1976, and a third with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980.
But Rose will always be remembered as much for being banned for life from MLB in 1989 over gambling on games while he was managing the Reds.
With Rose under suspicion, new MLB Commissioner Bart Giamatti commissioned an investigation led by John Dowd, a lawyer with the Department of Justice, in April 1989. By June, the damning report was released, documenting at least 52 bets on Reds games in 1987, his first season as solely a manager after serving as player/manager for three seasons. The bets totaled thousands of dollars per day, according to the Dowd Report.
Faced with few options, Rose voluntarily accepted placement on baseball’s ineligible list in August 1989. Despite this, Rose continued to deny he ever gambled on his own team for over a decade.
He finally admitted to gambling on Reds games in his 2004 autobiography, My Prison Without Bars. In an interview on ABC News promoting the book, he came clean for the first time as well.
“I bet on baseball in 1987 and 1988,” he told ABC News’ Charles Gibson in an exclusive interview that aired Jan. 8, 2004, on Primetime Thursday. “That was my mistake, not coming clean a lot earlier.”
He maintained he never bet against his team, saying he “want[ed] to win every game.”
“I think what happens is you’re, at the time, you’re betting football and then what’s after football is basketball … and obviously the next thing that follows is baseball,” Rose said. “It’s just a pattern that you got into.”
Two years after Rose was banned for life, the Baseball Hall of Fame ruled no one on the ineligible list would be allowed into the institution.
The controversy over Rose’s suspension and ban from the Hall of Fame has taken on a life of its own, becoming a subject sports fans often debate more than his legendary on-field exploits.
Even then-President Donald Trump weighed in on the debate in February 2020, tweeting, “He gambled, but only on his team winning, and paid a decades long price. GET PETE ROSE INTO THE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME! It’s Time.”
Rose petitioned the league to be removed from the list in 1992, 1998, 2003, 2015 and 2022 — but either was rejected or received no response each time.
“That was a part of my life that you can’t change, you wish it hadn’t happened, but you can just guarantee yourself that it won’t happen again,” Rose told ABC News in 2004.
There’s little debate over whether his on-field performance merits inclusion in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Rose’s pursuit of the career hits record captivated the country in 1985. Rose broke Ty Cobb’s hallowed record on Sept. 11, 1985, with a single against the San Diego Padres for his 4,192nd hit. He would play just one more season, finishing his career with 4,256 hits.
Decades later, Rose remains atop the career hits list. Only Derek Jeter (3,465), Albert Pujols (3,384) and Paul Molitor (3,319) have even come within 1,000 hits of Rose’s record in the time since it was set — and none seriously challenged the mark.
Years earlier, in 1978, Rose captured attention when he made a run at Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak — maybe the most vaunted record in sports. Starting on June 14, Rose would record a hit in 44 straight games. The streak finally came to an end on July 19, but 44 games remains the second-longest streak since 1900.
Rose was married twice and was in a long-term relationship with model Kiana Kim since 2011. The two appeared in a reality TV show, Pete Rose: Hits and Mrs. in 2013. Rose has four children.
Rose’s eldest son, Pete Rose Jr., played in the minors and independent baseball for over 10 years, but played just 11 games in the majors with the Reds in 1997. He had two career hits.
Rose never strayed far from baseball, despite being on the sport’s ineligible list. His No. 14 was retired by the Reds and appeared on the sport’s All-Century Team, as voted by fans, in 1999. The team was announced at that year’s All-Star Game in Boston and Rose received a standing ovation. Only three non-Hall of Famers are on the list of 30 players, with Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire absent due to allegations of steroid use that popped up after the list was compiled.
“I owe baseball,” Rose told Gibson in 2004. “Baseball doesn’t owe me a damn thing. I owe baseball. And the only way I can make my peace with baseball is taking this negative and somehow making it into a positive.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Monday’s sports events:
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Tennessee Titans 31, Miami Dolphins 12 Detroit Lions 42, Seattle Seahawks 29
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON Calgary Flames 4, Seattle Kraken 3 (OT) Vancouver Canucks 2, Edmonton Oilers 2 (SO) Los Angeles Kings 3, Anaheim Ducks 0 (2nd Period) Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Detroit Red Wings 1 NY Islanders 4, Philadelphia Flyers 3 Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Florida Panthers 1 Washington Capitals 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 2 New Jersey Devils 3, NY Rangers 1 Buffalo Sabres 4, Detroit Red Wings 3 (OT)
NATIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE Atlanta Braves 3, NY Mets 0
(NEW YORK) — Women are taking the helm at the 37th edition of the America’s Cup.
For the first time in the racing event’s storied 173-year history, all-female sailing teams representing longtime participants New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy and Switzerland will be joined by six new all-female teams from Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Australia. The teams will take to the seas next week in Barcelona and compete in the brand-new Puig Women’s America’s Cup trophy.
While this is the first time all-female sailing teams will compete for this trophy, it is not the first time women take to the water. Dating back to the 1800s, women have been pivotal members of the sailing, engineering and building teams in America’s Cup but momentum to build up and invest in women sailors has always dwindled and stalled leaving women out of the world’s oldest continually contested sporting trophy.
The Puig Women’s America’s Cup is trying to change that. The inaugural yacht race, which begins Oct. 5, is in part intended as a pipeline for women to eventually enter and compete in the America’s Cup alongside male sailors.
Although there isn’t a formal gender restriction that keeps women from sailing in the America’s Cup, the sport has traditionally been dominated by men due to the intense physical nature of the sport. However, recent technological advancements have changed all of that, according to Coraline Jonet, project manager for Swiss Alinghi Red Bull Racing’s youth and women’s teams and herself a lifelong sailor.
“We saw that in the new boats half of the crew don’t need physical strength, which means women and men can do the same job,” she told ABC News. “Obviously, you need experience. And with this first women’s America’s Cup, doing all the jobs, getting that experience, will hopefully mean being able to join the America’s Cup.”
Marie Mazuay, 19, is a trimmer on the Alinghi Red Bull Racing women’s team and has been sailing since she was seven. Her job is to control the sails, adjusting them in relation to the changing wind to turn the boat and control its speed. Previously, that role would require the strength necessary to manually haul on the ropes or crank the sails in place. In the new, high-tech AC40 boats that the teams will be racing, that job is accomplished by using a video game-type remote controller.
For Mazuay, this is a full-circle moment. “It’s a real source of pride to be part of the new generation that is giving more and more opportunities for gender equity in sailing,” she told ABC News. “I’m proud to represent women in sailing alongside women who have achieved great things, and I know how lucky I am to be part of this generation, and I’m going to make sure that this path for women continues.”
And while Jonet and Mazuay hope Alinghi Red Bull Racing will win the Puig Women’s America’s Cup, they say the impact of the race itself surpasses winning a trophy.
“I hope that after this America’s Cup, people will take women more seriously and realize that they are just as competitive and hard-working as men,” Mazuay says.
“Young guys already see male sailors shining, and young girls will now be seeing women sailors as well shining, and the media highlighting them … it’s going to be inspiration and show them that their dream can be true,” Jonet said. “Little girls will see that they can make it. I hope that in time we’ll have more and more women treated just as a sailors, no matter which gender, with the skills that she will get from this kind of pathway.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE Miami 3, Toronto 1 NY Yankees 6, Pittsburgh 4 Kansas City 4, Atlanta 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE Houston at Cleveland (Canceled) Boston 3, Tampa Bay 1 Texas 8, LA Angels 0 Baltimore 6, Minnesota 2 Seattle 6, Oakland 4 Chi White Sox 9, Detroit 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE St. Louis 6, San Francisco 1 LA Dodgers 2, Colorado 1 NY Mets 5, Milwaukee 0 Philadelphia 6, Washington 3 Arizona 11, San Diego 2 Cincinnati 3, Chi Cubs 0
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRESEASON Pittsburgh 5, Ottawa 2 Dallas 4, Minnesota 2 Utah 6, Colorado 3
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Atlanta 26, New Orleans 24 Chicago 24, LA Rams 18 Cincinnati 34, Carolina 24 Denver 10, NY Jets 9 Houston 24, Jacksonville 20 Indianapolis 27, Pittsburgh 24 Minnesota 31, Green Bay 29 Tampa Bay 33, Philadelphia 16 San Francisco 30, New England 13 Washington 42, Arizona 14 Kansas City 17, LA Chargers 10 Las Vegas 20, Cleveland 16 Baltimore 35, Buffalo 10
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS New York 87, Las Vegas 77 NY leads series 1-0) Connecticut 73, Minnesota 70 (Conn. leads series 1-0)
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Kansas City Royals 7, Washington Nationals 4 Miami Marlins 8, Minnesota Twins 6
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Detroit Tigers 4, Tampa Bay Rays 3 Chicago White Sox 7, L-A Angels 0 Oakland Athletics 3, Texas Rangers 2 Oakland Athletics 3, Baltimore Orioles 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Milwaukee Brewers 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 2 Colorado Rockies 10, St. Louis Cardinals 8 San Diego Padres at L-A Dodgers (TBA) N-Y Mets at Atlanta 1:10 p.m. (Postponed)
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE Cleveland Guardians 5, Cincinnati Reds 2 Kansas City Royals 3, Washington Nationals 0 Minnesota Twins 8, Miami Marlins 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE Seattle Mariners 8, Houston Astros 1 Detroit Tigers 7, Tampa Bay Rays 1 Baltimore Orioles 9, NY Yankees 7 Toronto Blue Jays 6, Boston Red Sox 1 Chicago White Sox 4, LA Angels 3 Texas Rangers 5, Oakland Athletics 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE Philadelphia Phillies 9, Chicago Cubs 6 Pittsburgh Pirates 2, Milwaukee Brewers 1 St. Louis Cardinals 5, Colorado Rockies 2 NY Mets at Atlanta Braves (PPD) San Francisco Giants 2, Arizona Diamondbacks 8 San Diego Padres 3, LA Dodgers 4
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS Connecticut Sun 87, Indiana Fever 81 Minnesota Lynx 101, Phoenix Mercury 88
Jordan Chiles of Team USA looks on with her Bronze Medal from the Women’s Apparatus floor final on day ten of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 05, 2024 in Paris, France. (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles could be one step closer to reclaiming her Olympic bronze medal.
In the ongoing battle to get back the medal that was stripped from Chiles after the women’s floor exercise final at the Paris games, her legal team said it believes they have new evidence to further support her case.
The Olympic gymnast filed a second appeal to overturn the decision to strip her of the medal, urging Switzerland’s supreme court to require the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reopen the case and consider what her attorneys said is crucial video and audio evidence.
In video footage that was filmed by a documentary crew who was following Chiles’ teammate Simone Biles at the 2024 Paris Olympics, her coach can be heard asking for an inquiry into Chiles’ floor routine twice within what appears to be the one minute deadline required by the committee.
The inquiry initially led the judges to award Chiles an extra tenth of a point increase that, at the time, moved her from fifth place to third over Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu, who had already begun celebrating the bronze before Chiles’ adjusted score was posted.
Days later, the Court of Arbitration for Sport voided that inquiry and said the coach’s appeal to change her degree in difficulty score was filed four seconds too late and gave the bronze medal Barbosu.
The latest appeal was filed in conjunction with a similar application from USA Gymnastics, which told ABC News the video evidence “…Clearly proves Jordan’s bronze-medal finish in Paris was correct … as Jordan has publicly stated, the case at this point is about her peace and justice, and the right of all athletes to be treated fairly.”
Chiles recently choked up when talking about the controversy earlier this month.
“The biggest thing that was taken from me was a recognition of who I was,” she said holding back tears at the 2024 Forbes Power Women’s Summit.
(WASHINGTON) — NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre told lawmakers he was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease as he testified Tuesday before the House Ways and Means Committee investigating Mississippi’s misuse of welfare funds — a scandal that has tainted the Green Bay Packers legend after his retirement.
At a hearing titled, “Reforming Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): States’ Misuse of Welfare Funds Leaves Poor Families Behind,” the former quarterback said state officials “failed to protect federal TANF funds from fraud and abuse” and then attempted to blame him.
“When this started, I didn’t know what TANF was. Now I know TANF is one of the country’s most important welfare programs to help people in need,” Favre testified.
Favre, wearing a sportscoat, untucked dress shirt and blue jeans, told the committee he was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
“I also lost an investment in a company that I believe was developing a breakthrough concussion drug I thought would help others, and I’m sure you’ll understand why it’s too late for me, because I recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s,” Favre revealed.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
