THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) late last week touched base with Filipino athletes who have already qualified for next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

WARSAW — Poland’s President Andrzej Duda was among those offering congratulations as the nation celebrated on Saturday after 19-year-old Iga Swiatek won the French Open, becoming the first Pole to win a Grand Slam singles title.

KIEV — Germany scored once in either half to beat hosts Ukraine (2-1) in the Nations League on Saturday for their first win in four matches and their first ever victory in this competition.

MADRID — Mikel Oyarzabal scored early to help an underwhelming Spain secure a scrappy 1-0 victory over Switzerland in the Nations League on Saturday, keeping them top of their group.

MIKE BROSSEAU belted a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning to propel the Tampa Bay Rays to the American League Championship Series with a 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday in San Diego.

TAMPA Bay ace Blake Snell will oppose fellow left-hander Framber Valdez when the Rays face the Houston Astros on Sunday in the opener of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) at San Diego.

Given the dominance with which Iga Swiatek claimed the French Open ladies’ singles championship, it’s hard to imagine she just graduated from high school. True, the nature of the Grand Slam stop and the extraordinary circumstances behind the tournament’s latest staging helped set up her singular accomplishment. Then again, there can be no discounting her efforts en route to becoming just the fourth player in tennis annals (after Mats Wilander in 1982, Gustavo Kuerten in 1997, and Jelena Ostapenko three years ago) to break into the win column on tour with a major title.

LOCAL fans longing for basketball entertainment need not wait too long as the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is set to return in a “bubble” setting this weekend.

YOUNG Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala was looking to go even deeper at the 2020 French Open Juniors’ Grand Slam Tournament after reaching the quarterfinals of the girls’ singles play late on Wednesday (Manila time).

FACING the challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, one could either sink or swim. For ONE Championship, it has chosen the latter, banking on its team’s collective creativity and resilience.

PARIS — World number one Novak Djokovic reached his 10th French Open semi-final, but suffered an injury scare before beating Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta (4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4) on Wednesday.

TO ASSIST the country’s blended learning push for the new academic year amid prevailing conditions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, Milo and the Philippine Jump Rope Association (PJRA) teamed up in turning over 600 jump ropes to the Department of Education (DepEd).