Leylah Fernandez is on to the finals of the Citi Open. Fernandez, from Laval, Que., beat the third-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) in a three-hour and 12-minute marathon on Saturday afternoon. She’ll face the winner of the other semifinal between Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu and Anna Kalinskaya, who is from Russia, on Sunday. Fernandez was ranked 36th in the world heading into the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. She is scheduled to play in the National Bank Open in Montreal this coming week. The 22-year-old Fernandez is now into her first final since she…

Eugenie Bouchard’s final tennis tournament will begin against Colombia’s Emiliana Arango at the National Bank Open. Bouchard, who reached No. 5 in the WTA rankings in a breakout 2014 season, announced she will retire at the end of her hometown event. The 31-year-old from Westmount, Que., made it to the Wimbledon women’s final in 2014, losing to Petra Kvitova in straight sets. She became the first Canadian woman in the open era to reach a Grand Slam singles final. Bouchard received a main-draw wild card to the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal, which began play with qualifying Saturday. This year’s…

Canada’s Simone Leathead captured the first world championship medal of her career on Saturday in Singapore, winning silver in the women’s 20 metre high dive. The Montreal native moved from fourth place into second on her final dive, an inward three somersaults ½ twist pike, which scored 90 points. WATCH | Leathead captures silver medal in Singapore: Montreal’s Simone Leathead wins world championship silver in the 20m high dive Simone Leathead of Montreal finishes second in the women’s 20-metre high dive event at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. “Today took a little turn because of the weather, but I’m super happy with…

Nick Kurtz of the Athletics became the first rookie in Major League Baseball history to hit four home runs in a game and matched the MLB record with 19 total bases against the Astros on Friday night in Houston. Kurtz went deep in the second, sixth, eighth and ninth innings. He also doubled and singled on his 6-for-6 night to equal Shawn Green, who had four homers, six hits and 19 total bases for the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 23, 2002 at Milwaukee. “It’s hard to think about this day being kind of real, it still feels like a dream,”…

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez advanced to her first semifinal of the season with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over American qualifier and former doubles partner Taylor Townsend on Friday at the Citi Open hard court tennis tournament in Washington, D.C. Fernandez played an aggressive return game against Townsend and had 23 break-point chances, converting five. Still, Fernandez only finished the game one break ahead after defending just three of the seven break-point chances she faced. Fernandez, who advanced to the quarterfinals with a win Thursday over top-seed Jessica Pegula, appeared to be battling cramps in the second set, but held on…

Winning still feels great for Gabriela Dabrowski, but it’s not the be-all and end-all like it used to be. Ever since her battle with cancer last year, swinging a tennis racket has taken on a new meaning. “Tennis really feels like it’s not the No. 1 thing in life anymore,” Dabrowski said. “If it was taken away from me tomorrow? Yeah, I would be sad. But if I’m healthy, then to me, that’s all that really matters. “There are bigger problems in life than winning a tennis match.” Last December, the 33-year-old doubles star from Ottawa revealed months after the…

Chloe Moore steps up to the plate, stares down her pitching coach and then rips a deep, fly ball into the outfield. She loves that feeling, and can’t wait to chase it again when Team P.E.I.’s women’s softball team competes at the Canada Games in August. The squad has been training since September, and the players like their chances. “It’s a little intimidating, but I think we have it in the bag,” said Moore, an outfielder. “I think it’s going to be way more competitive and exciting to play really hard teams.” WATCH | Women’s softball players fired up to represent P.E.I. at Canada…

The path for a homegrown tennis player to win the men’s Canadian Open title for the first time in the Open Era is set. Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Diallo were each placed in separate quadrants as the National Bank Open draw took place at Sobeys Stadium on Friday in Toronto. All three receive byes to the second round as part of the revamped tournament format, which will feature 96 players and take place over 12 days for the first time. The 2025 tournament marks the first time in history that three Canadian men will be seeded. Montreal’s Auger-Aliassime…

WARNING: This article references alleged sexual assault and may affect those who have experienced​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone impacted by it. Five former world junior hockey players on Thursday were found not guilty of sexual assault, prompting a wave of reaction — including from the NHL and the league’s players’ association — and a scathing rebuke from defence lawyers about how Hockey Canada handled the accusations.  Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia spent over five hours recounting the evidence before handing down the rulings in London, Ont., court. Only select media were allowed in the main courtroom, due to the overwhelming number of people jockeying to get a seat,…

In the summer of 2018, Laura Stacey had an Olympic silver medal to her name, and little sense of what might be next for her. Two years after she’d graduated from Dartmouth College, Stacey had just won the Clarkson Cup, the top prize of the now-defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League, with the Markham Thunder. But pro women’s hockey didn’t pay the bills back then, and Stacey’s spot on the national team was far from guaranteed. “I remember my parents asking me early on when I graduated [in 2016], how long are you going to do this for?” the Montreal Victoire…