Healthy Ball stars in Hornets’ opener

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PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 30: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY - For Non-Editorial use please seek approval from Fashion House) Maria Sharapova attends the Stella McCartney Paris Womenswear Spring-Summer 2025 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on September 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Charlotte Hornets’ LaMelo Ball poses during the NBA basketball team’s media day, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

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New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) holds the championship trophy after the Liberty defeated the Minnesota Lynx in Game 5 of the WNBA basketball final series, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

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Healthy Ball stars in Hornets’ opener

LaMelo Ball looked like the superstar that nagging ankle injuries have kept him from being for most of the last two seasons in the Hornets’ opener on Wednesday night. Playing in a regular-season game for the first time since Jan. 26, Ball had 34 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds to lead the Hornets to a 110-105 win over the host Rockets. Ball made four 3-pointers and all 10 of his free throws to help the Hornets to the victory. The Hornets are counting on Ball to be on the court a lot more than he has been in recent years as they attempt to end an eight-year playoff drought. He was the third overall pick in the 2020 draft and was named Rookie of the Year that season before making the All-Star game in his second year. But soon he began to struggle with ankle injuries and was limited to just 58 games combined in the last two seasons because of them. The 23-year-old Ball was all smiles after the game and reflected on being back on the court after his tough stretch. “It’s blessings, just doing what we love,” he said. “We grew up playing basketball, so to be able to still do it for your living is an amazing feeling.”

Sharapova into Tennis Hall of Fame

Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion known for plenty of on-court grit and off-court attention, and Bob and Mike Bryan, twins who won a record 16 major titles in men’s doubles together, are first-ballot selections for the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The Newport, Rhode Island-based Hall announced the Class of 2025 on Thursday. Sharapova won at least one championship at each of her sport’s four most prestigious events, making her one of 10 women in tennis history to complete a career Grand Slam, and she was the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the WTA singles rankings. She retired in 2020 at age 32 after a career that included 15 years in the spotlight, a 15-month doping ban and multiple operations on her right shoulder. The Bryan brothers also compiled a career Grand Slam and spent 438 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP doubles rankings. They won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and helped the United States win the 2007 Davis Cup title. The Bryans and Sharapova will be inducted in August.

Liberty, fans celebrate WNBA title

Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and their Liberty teammates were showered with confetti as the team celebrated winning the WNBA title in the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan. New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined the thousands who lined the streets on Thursday. The Liberty won the franchise’s first title, beating the Lynx in overtime in a decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Some veteran Liberty players from the early teams, including Teresa Weatherspoon, Vickie Johnson and Kym Hampton, attended the parade. The route was full of fans of all ages. Jones carried her Finals MVP trophy atop her float, while Stewart, above, and Ionescu went into the crowd, giving high-fives and taking selfies with fans. There have been over 200 ticker-tape and confetti parades in New York. The most recent to honor a women’s sports team came in 2019 when the U.S. soccer team won the World Cup. —Associated Press