Football

Buenos Aires: Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, the Inter Miami CF forward, has announced his retirement from international football after a long and illustrious career with his national team. In a lengthy statement posted on his official social media accounts, Messi said that he has decided to retire from international football with the Argentina national team, following the FIFA World Cup 2026 final and upon deep reflection. The former FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star added that this is a painful decision, one that still hurts him deeply, yet, he stressed that it comes at the right time. Messi swore that he had given the national team his absolute best, not only in recent years, which saw numerous victories, but also before that. The Argentine superstar stressed that he had given his country's jersey his everything, as to make fans happy and proud of being Argentines. Messi has won two Copa America titles with Argentina, in 2021 and 2024, as well as the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Meanwhile, he has lost the FIFA World Cup 2026 final to Spain 1-0.

Tennis

New York, USA: Venus Williams tumbled out of the US Open first round early Monday, the veteran US tennis icon losing in straight sets to compatriot Sofia Kenin. The 46-year-old Williams -- handed a wild card into the singles in New York some 29 years after reaching the final at Flushing Meadows as a teenager in 1997 -- exited 6-2, 7-6 (8/6). Williams, though, left with her head held high after a battling performance on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court that finished at just after 2am local time. Kenin appeared to be cruising to a straightforward win after racing through the opening set and then taking a 4-2 lead in the second. The 27-year-old American had a break point for what would have been a 5-2 lead but was then rocked by a ferocious fightback from Williams, who recovered to force a tie-break to the delight of the late-night crowd. An improbable comeback appeared to be beckoning when Williams sprinted into a 6-2 lead in the tie-break, but Kenin regrouped impressively to rattle off six straight points to clinch victory. Williams and Kenin's match got under way just after midnight local time following Novak Djokovic's marathon five-set loss earlier in the night session. Williams, who saluted fans as she left the court, has given no indication of when she plans to call time on her singles career. Her last victory in a Grand Slam singles game came at Wimbledon in 2021, where she reached the second round. Since then Williams has made six Grand Slam singles appearances and exited in the first round on each occasion. She will extend her US Open campaign when she plays in the women's doubles alongside sister Serena later in the tournament.

Tennis

New York, USA: Ailing Novak Djokovic crashed out of the first round of the US Open on Sunday, falling in five brutal sets to 48th-ranked Argentinian Mariano Navone. Navone's 7-6 (7/5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory ended Djokovic's latest bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title. It also ended his run of 78 Grand Slam first-round victories, a streak stretching back to Djokovic's 2006 loss to Paul Goldstein at the 2006 Australian Open.