Anisimova upsets 2nd-seeded Sabalenka to reach Toronto semifinals

Amanda Anisimova upset second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday to reach the National Bank Open semifinals, her first victory over a top-10 player in nearly two years.

One of five U.S. quarterfinalists, the 22-year-old Anisimova took a mental-health break from tennis last year. She has two WTA Tour titles — in 2019 in Bogota and 2022 in Melbourne.

One of five U.S. quarterfinalists, the 22-year-old Anisimova took a mental-health break from tennis last year. She has two WTA Tour titles — in 2019 in Bogota and 2022 in Melbourne.

“She’s an amazing player, so it’s always really tough playing against her,” Anisimova said about Sabalenka, the Australian Open winner the last two years. Anisimova improved to 5-2 against Sabalenka after losing the previous two matchups.

“I played her earlier this year at the Australian Open when she was on fire,” Anisimova said. “I went in with a little bit of a different game plan, and I was really happy with how I was able to execute that today.”

Sabalenka, from Belarus, had eight double faults in windy conditions, the last at love-40 in the final game. She withdrew from Wimbledon because of a shoulder injury and skipped the Paris Olympics

Anisimova will face eighth-seeded Emma Navarro in an all-American semifinal. Navarro beat fellow American Taylor Townsend 6-3, 7-6 (5).

“It was really tough,” Navarro said. “The wind was swirling.”

Townsend was the first “lucky loser” to reach a WTA 1000 quarterfinal. She got into the main draw as an injury replacement.

“This week has been amazing,” Townsend said..

IOC president Bach plans to leave office next year

The Olympic movement will have a new leader next year.

IOC president Thomas Bach told a meeting of members Saturday that he will not change the rules to stay in office and that the Olympics will be “best served with a change in leadership.”

Bach has led the International Olympic Committee since September 2013 and his 12-year presidency was to expire next year — a term limit introduced as part of reforms passed after the Salt Lake City bidding scandal 25 years ago.

But speculation has grown since last October that Bach could stay on after IOC members asked him to consider changing Olympic Charter rules that would otherwise end his leadership.

The 70-year-old Bach ended any doubt about his plans on the penultimate day of the Paris Games, noting that governance had to be respected “in order to safeguard the credibility of the IOC.”

The IOC now needed a new leader, he said, who could navigate an increasingly digital and politically pressured world while building strong relations with emerging powers in the “ever more influential so-called Global South.”

“New times are calling for new leaders,” Bach said in a speech where he paused to hold back tears. “I, with my age, am not the best captain. I know with this decision I am disappointing many of you.”

The IOC membership comprises invited members including royalty from the Middle East and Europe, a current head of state — the Emir of Qatar — former diplomats and lawmakers, industrialists, and leaders of sports bodies and athletes.

The likely candidates include several members of the IOC’s executive board, including vice presidents Nicole Hoevertsz of Aruba and Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. of Spain, whose father was IOC president for 21 years until leaving in 2001 after the Salt Lake turmoil.

No-car Games: L.A.s Olympic venues will only be accessible by public transportation

Traffic. What will you do about notorious gridlocked Los Angeles traffic? That’s the one burning question repeatedly posed to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass as she prepares to receive the Olympic flag ahead of the 2028 Summer Games.

“A no-car Games,”Bass said Saturday.

Huh?

Bass and Casey Wasserman, chairman of the LA 2028 organizing committee, highlighted some of the planning already completed before Paris organizers hand the Games over to them during Sunday’s closing ceremony. Bass was preemptive about the traffic, addressing it in her opening remarks.

“We’re already working to create jobs by expanding our public transportation system in order for us to have a no-car Games,” she said. “And that’s a feat for Los Angeles, as we’ve always been in love with our cars. We’re working to ensure that we can build a greener Los Angeles.”

Working from home, that is.

Bass said public transportation will be the only way to access the Los Angeles venues.