The WNBA has offered a 30-day extension to players to continue negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, two people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday night.

The current CBA is set to expire on Friday and tensions have been rising in recent weeks as the sides try to work toward a new deal.

The league is willing to push back the deadline, according to the people who spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made.

An extension would give both sides more time to come up with a new deal that would be transformational for the players in terms of salary.

In 2019, when the last CBA deal had expired, the sides agreed to a 60-day extension and eventually ratified the current CBA in January 2020.

It’s unclear if the union will accept the extension.

ESPN was the first to report the extension offer.

The sides have had meetings over the past few weeks, including once in New York earlier this month, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The players exercised their right to opt out of the current CBA last year with hopes of getting, among other things, increased revenue sharing, higher salaries, improved benefits and a softer salary cap.

The WNBA’s offers to this point have clearly not been to the players’ liking, although it is unclear how far apart the sides are in terms of salary parameters. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said during the WNBA Finals that the league — like the players — wants a “transformative deal” done with significant increases to salary and benefits.

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

The NCAA is delaying a rule change that will allow athletes and athletic department staff members to bet on professional sports.

The Division I Board voted to delay the effective date of the sports betting legislative change, moving it from Nov. 1 to Nov. 22, one day after the close of a membership rescission period.

A rarely used rule allows 30 days for each Division I school to vote to rescind a proposal if it is adopted by less than 75% of the Division I cabinet. The original vote to approve betting was under that threshold earlier this month.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey sent a note to NCAA President Charlie Baker on Saturday expressing concerns about the rule change.

TENNIS

Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz looked out of rhythm in his 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to unseeded Cameron Norrie in the second round of the Paris Masters.

The six-time Grand Slam winner even had an animated discussion with a coach Juan Carlos Ferrero after losing the second set.

“I’m really disappointed about my level,” Alcaraz said. “I didn’t feel well today. A lot of mistakes.”

Norrie sealed victory on his second match point with a strong first serve that Alcaraz returned long. It was his first career win against a No. 1-ranked player.

Alcaraz made 54 unforced errors and won only 64% of his first-serve points as he slipped to a third loss in eight matches against Norrie. It was their first meeting indoors.

The defeat also ended Alcaraz’s 17-match winning run in Masters events and means second-ranked Jannik Sinner will move to the top of the ATP rankings if he wins the tournament. Sinner plays Zizou Bergs today.

MOTORSPORTS

A federal judge dismissed NASCAR’s counterclaim against the two teams suing the racing series over antitrust allegations.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell issued the summary judgment in favor of 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, dismissing NASCAR’s claim that 23XI co-owner Curtis Polk illegally colluded with other teams during negotiations for new charters.

23XI is also owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Polk is Jordan’s longtime business manager. Polk was also part of a four-member negotiating team that worked with NASCAR during two-plus years on the charter agreement signed by 13 of 15 organizations last year.

NASCAR argued in its countersuit that a 2023 boycott of the team owners council meeting negatively impacted its media rights negotiations, and that by the 15 organizations unifying for the charter talks, the teams got a better deal than they could have gotten if NASCAR negotiated with the teams separately.

Bell found the boycott to be a negotiating tactic “which appeared to have little impact” because NASCAR started individual negotiations shortly after.

YACHT RACING

There will be no American boat in the America’s Cup for the first time in the event’s 175-year history. The team representing the New York Yacht Club announced it will not enter its boat, American Magic, when the regatta is held in Naples, Italy, in 2027.

Doug DeVos, the team principle for American Magic, said in a release that while the group cares “deeply” about the America’s Cup, the climate isn’t right for the team to race.

American boats have won the America’s Cup a record 25 times.