With the World Cup about a year away, contingency plans for wildfire smoke risks remain unclear
The 48-team World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Canada is hosting 13 matches — seven in Vancouver and six in Toronto.
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9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tennis fans dudded after Djokovic and Sinner opt out in 'disastrous' $14m blow
The ATP tour is once again facing questions about the unrelenting and gruelling tennis schedule, after Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper all announced their withdrawals from the upcoming Toronto Masters on Sunday. And Spanish media is reporting that Carlos Alcaraz is set to join them in skipping the $14 million event. The Masters 1000 tournament - which serves as a traditional lead-up event to the US Open - is set to take place next week in Canada, with a total of $14m up for grabs. But the tournament will be missing some serious star power, with four of the top six players in men's tennis opting not to play. World No.1 Sinner has opted to rest his right elbow, which he injured on his way to winning the Wimbledon title for the first time. The Italian won the first Masters 1000 event of his career in Toronto in 2023. 'Winning that title in Toronto two years ago was the start of a really special moment for me," Sinner said in a statement. "But after speaking with my team, I have to recover." Djokovic cited a groin injury for his withdrawal, which he also suffered at Wimbledon. The World No.6 slipped on the grass at the All England Club, but was able to continue and eventually lost in the semi-finals to Sinner. Jack Draper and Carlos Alcaraz also out And World No.5 Draper will miss both Toronto and the Cincinnati Masters next month because of a problem with his left arm. It means the top-ranked British star likely won't have any hard-court warm-up events before the US Open begins on August 24. 'After Wimbledon I picked up an injury in my left arm, nothing serious, but I have to make sure it recovers fully for the rest of the season,' Draper posted on social media. 'Unfortunately, I won't be able to compete in Toronto and Cincinnati…. See you in NYC!' Later on Sunday, reports from local Spanish media stated that Alcaraz won't play either. The World No.2 was runner-up to Sinner at Wimbledon, and is reportedly prioritising rest and recovery to be fully-fit for the US Open. Tennis fans dudded by 'unacceptable' scheduling Tennis fans took to social media on Sunday amid the news about Sinner, Alcaraz, Djokovic and Draper not playing in Toronto. While many said they understood their decisions, there was still plenty of disappointment and frustration - particularly from fans in Toronto who'd already bought tickets. Many pointed out that Toronto and Cincinnati have both been increased to 12-day events this year, meaning the schedule has become even more packed. With the US Open now a three-week event due to the revamped mixed doubles program, players need to be selective about when and where they play. But considering Toronto is a Masters 1000 event (the tier just below grand slams), some described it as "disastrous" and "unacceptable" for the ATP that so many top-10 players would withdraw. "I think it is time to address the gruelling schedule athletes must maintain during the season," one person wrote. Another added: "I hope the ATP Tour takes a long, hard look at these 2-week Masters (especially Toronto and Cincy) and figures out how to ensure the top players participate. Just because players don't want to be in North America for 6-7 weeks (especially the European ones) doesn't mean the Canadian fans should suffer. Completely unacceptable." Sinner Djokovic & Draper all out of Toronto this year it seems the Canadian event misses out on some of the big names with Cincinnati 1000 the week after... Djokovic hasn't played in Canada since 2018! #ATP — John Horn (@SportsHorn) July 20, 2025 I think it is time to address the grueling schedule athletes must maintain during the season?!?!@WTA @atptour — Laffy Taffy (@winggirle) July 20, 2025 Gone are the days when in Toronto/Montreal we had the top 10 in the tournament. — Jonathan Riveros (@JonyHidalgo_) July 20, 2025 I hope the @atptour takes a long, hard look at these 2 week Masters (especially Toronto and Cincy) and figures out how to ensure the top players participate. Sinner, Alcaraz and Draper are young. Djokovic you can't blame and he's sustained an injury. Draper isn't playing Cincy… — Tennis Connected (@TennisConnected) July 20, 2025 Tennis when it gets physical to the level of Alcaraz and Sinner, it's bound to break your you're Rafa Nadal, it's impossible to make n number of comebacks and win big should lessen the workload of players — 🐂 (@theBlackkSky) July 20, 2025 Sadly I don't think that he'll ever play Toronto/Montréal ever again — Nick (@RealxCR7) July 20, 2025 Djokovic, Sinner, Draper & now Alcaraz have all withdrawn from Toronto. Disastrous blow to any tournament much less a Masters 1000. — AAsarwar (@aasarwar7862) July 20, 2025 Withdrawals open door for Alex de Minaur However it does open up a huge opportunity for Australia's Alex de Minaur, who's fallen down the rankings to World No.12. De Minaur is slated to play the DC Open in Washington this week, and has a golden opportunity to climb the rankings heading into the US Open. Because he didn't play any lead-up events before last year's US Open due to a hip injury, he isn't defending any rankings points. That means any tournament he plays before the grand slam at Flushing Meadows will see him earn points. 'The whole back end of the year I've got very little to defend,' he said after his exit from Wimbledon in the fourth round. 'It's opportunity after opportunity for me. I'm hoping that the little bit of time off before (Wimbledon), a bit of time off after, I will put myself in a good position to finish the year strongly.' However de Minaur has flagged being smarter about how many tournaments he plays after feeling burnt out after the French Open. How many events be plays heading into the US Open remains to be seen. with agencies
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ottawa Senators Re-Sign Xavier Bourgault To One-Year Contract
The Ottawa Senators have re-signed forward Xavier Bourgault to a one-year, two-way contract, the team announced Saturday. The contract will pay him $775,000 at the NHL level and $90,000 at the AHL level. Bourgault had 12 goals and 26 points in 61 games with the AHL's Belleville Senators last season. The 22-year-old was acquired by the Senators along with Jake Chiasson in exchange for Roby Jarventie and a fourth round pick from the Edmonton Oilers in July 2024. The 22nd overall selection by the Oilers in the 2021 draft, Bourgault's offensive talent has not yet translated from the QMJHL, he has 33 goals and 80 points in 178 career AHL games with the Senators and Bakersfield Condors. The L'Islet, Que., native was instrumental in the Shawinigan Cataractes' 2022 QMJHL Championship after posting 22 points in 16 playoff games. He finished his junior career with 206 points in 197 games. The Senators have made several signings to improve their AHL squad and hope Bourgault is part of the improvement next season. Check out our AHL Free Agency signing tracker here. Photo Credit: © Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NHL Summer Splash Rankings: No. 29, Los Angeles Kings
As the NHL's off-season unfolds, is analyzing the state of every team in the league in a special 'Summer Splash' team-by-team series. Did they get better? Did they get worse? Or did they stay the same? That's what we're answering in these columns. In every Summer Splash file, we'll be going in reverse order in terms of improvement. And we'll be breaking down the major and minor moves each team has made, focusing on trade and free-agent acquisitions, departures, and in certain cases, on hirings and firings. To decide on the team rankings, the writers and editors at debated and decided what teams have improved, what teams stayed the same, and what teams got worse. On occasion, there'll be exceptions to the rules, for instance, there are teams out there that aren't notably worse than they were last year, but that made fewer moves of note than they should've or could've made. But otherwise, this is a simple analysis process. We began the Summer Splash series late last week and focused on team No. 32, the Buffalo Sabres. We then turned to team No. 31, the Chicago Blackhawks, and on Saturday, we focused on the Winnipeg Jets. Today, the Los Angeles Kings are next under the microscope. Additions Joel Armia (RW), Corey Perry (RW), Cody Ceci (D), Brian Dumoulin (D), Anton Forsberg (G) The Breakdown: The Kings were one of the most active teams this off-season, bringing in experienced hands at forward in Armia and Perry, radically remaking their blueline with the signings of D-men Ceci and Dumoulin, and finally, adding a backup goalie in Forsberg. Even a Kings team that finished second in the Pacific Division last season has felt the need to effect notable change, and with these additions, they have it. New L.A. GM Ken Holland has never been shy about changing things up, and in his first off-season running things in Los Angeles, Holland once again has drastically altered the team he's responsible for. Perry and Armia add grit and know-how, Ceci and Dumoulin provide depth on the back end, and Forsberg provides a capable understudy for Darcy Kuemper. You can't say Holland hasn't tried to improve his team. But as we'll explain below, we don't believe Holland has succeeded at that goal. Departures Vladislav Gavrikov (D), Jordan Spence (D) The Breakdown: Let's be real here – Gavrikov's departure to the New York Rangers in free agency is a huge loss for the Kings. The veteran defenseman averaged 23:05 of ice time last season, second only to star Drew Doughty (24:08) – and Gavrikov's penalty-kill average of 3:17 shorthanded minutes per game also demonstrates what a fixture Gavrikov was defensively for this Kings squad. Trading Spence to the Ottawa Senators didn't move the needle for the Kings, and replacing Gavrikov with Ceci, who is now on his seventh NHL team in the past nine years for good reason, is not anywhere close to an upgrade. Nor is Dumoulin going to make the Kings genuinely better, if better at all. L.A. may be slightly more experienced up front, but the poor trade-off of losing Gavrikov and replacing him with Ceci and Dumoulin is chiefly why the Kings are ranked here on our Summer Splash list. Hirings Ken Holland (GM) Firings Rob Blake (GM) The Breakdown: After being unable to build a team that gets out of the first round, Blake and the Kings mutually agreed to part ways. And coming in is Holland, a fearless GM who helped craft the Edmonton Oilers team that has been a Stanley Cup finalist for the past two seasons – and a team that's had the Kings' number for years now. Blake always had his established group of core players to turn to, and he did so until the end. And while Holland has made many moves, he hasn't really touched that core group. However, Holland's sledgehammer approach to the Kings' peripheral players is no guarantee of greater success this coming season. Holland knows this team has veterans in Doughty and Anze Kopitar who may not have many shots left at a long Cup run, so he's trading with a sense of urgency. There's no denying he's done that – we just don't feel like he's made the right moves. The Bottom Line We're not here to tell you the Kings aren't going to be a playoff team next season. They've got some solid depth in the right places – mostly at forward, with a small nod to the improved goalie tandem – and Los Angeles is still better than many, if not most, teams in their division. With that out of the way, we also have to be dispassionate and consider all outcomes for this Kings team. And there's no question the players Holland brought in are all question marks to one degree or another. How much gas does Perry have left? Can Forsberg keep his save percentage above .900? Will the new-look defense corps be better equipped to handle another playoff showdown with the Oilers? Those are only a few of the questions regarding the Kings. Thus, we can't say we're especially optimistic about this Los Angeles group after their many changes. The Kings weren't a top team in goals-for last season, as they were 14th overall in that department, averaging 3.04 goals-for per game. And their power play was abysmal, as it ranked 27th in the league at 17.9 percent efficiency. Every other team below them in power-play effectiveness were non-playoff teams, and that tells you something about the offensive issues the Kings had last year. There's no great solution in that regard among the Kings' new players, as Perry is well past his prime and Armia isn't known for his offense. And the worry with the general state of the defense corps is justifiable. So until we see this team play the way Holland envisions they can play at their best, we're going to be skeptical that the Kings did anything other than take a step back, however slight that step may be. 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