Sports News Roundup: Tennis-Federer highest paid player in 2022 despite year-long absence – Forbes; Motor racing-Norris has no sympathy for departing Ricciardo and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Federer highest paid player in 2022 despite year-long absence – Forbes

Former world number one Roger Federer retained his place at the top of the list of the world’s highest-paid tennis players for a 17th year despite not playing a match for nearly 14 months, Forbes has revealed. Federer, 41, has not featured since Wimbledon last year after he had another operation on his knee, which has bothered the Swiss great in the twilight of his career.

Motor racing-Norris has no sympathy for departing Ricciardo

McLaren’s Lando Norris said he had no sympathy for teammate Daniel Ricciardo after the Australian’s split from the former champions was announced this week. Ricciardo will leave the British-based team at the end of the season, paid off a year before his contract was due to expire.

Djokovic will miss U.S. Open as unable to travel to New York without COVID vaccine

Former world number one Novak Djokovic will miss the U.S. Open after he said on Thursday that he will not be able to travel to New York for the tournament, having chosen not to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Current rules require travelers to show proof of full vaccination to board flights to and enter the United States.

Motor racing-Audi to enter Formula One from 2026

Audi will enter Formula One from 2026 with a power unit built in Germany under new regulations, the Volkswagen premium brand announced at the Belgian Grand Prix on Friday. Audi said it would announce by the end of the year which outfit it would be lining up with. It has been in talks with the Swiss-based Sauber Group, whose team competes under the Alfa Romeo name, according to reports by Reuters and other media.

MLB roundup: Phillies’ Aaron Nola shuts out Reds

Aaron Nola tossed a five-hit shutout, guiding the host Philadelphia Phillies over the Cincinnati Reds 4-0 on Thursday to complete a four-game sweep. Nola (9-10) struck out 11, walked none and hit one batter. He threw 101 pitches, 77 for strikes.

Soccer-Man City’s Haaland, Barca’s Lewandowski to meet former clubs in Champions League

Two of Europe’s leading strikers will take on their former teams as Manchester City’s Erling Haaland faces Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski meets Bayern Munich after the Champions League group-stage draw was made on Thursday. Holders Real Madrid, who captured a record-extending 14th European crown when they beat Liverpool in last season’s final, will play RB Leipzig, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic in Group F.

Cycling-‘Heartbroken’ Ewan misses out on home world championships

Australian cyclist Caleb Ewan said he was heartbroken to have missed out on his country’s team for the road World Championships on home soil in Wollongong next month. The 28-year-old posted a picture of himself winning the first stage of the Deutschland Tour in Meiningen on Thursday on social media along with confirmation that he had failed to make the cut for the team.

Tennis-Serena Williams begins U.S. Open bid against Kovinic

Serena Williams begins what is expected to be her final U.S. Open with a match against Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic but things could get tough quickly for the 23-time Grand Slam champion with second seed Anett Kontaveit possibly awaiting the winner. The U.S. Open draw released on Thursday did Williams no favors, the 40-year-old American landing in the bottom quarter where fifth-seeded Tunisian Ons Jabeur, the Wimbledon runner-up, 10th-seeded Russian Daria Kasatkina, and last year’s losing finalist Leylah Fernandez of Canada all lurk.

Tennis-Medvedev handed a tough draw for U.S. Open title defense

Top seed Daniil Medvedev will open his U.S. Open title defense on Monday against American Stefan Kozlov but faces major hurdles on the path to a second Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows, including in-form Australian Nick Kyrgios. While Medvedev will not be looking too far ahead, fans certainly will at the prospect of an enthralling fourth-round showdown between the Russian and Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios who beat the world number one in three sets in Montreal this month.

Golf-PGA Tour’s overhauled schedule ‘a copy’ of LIV series – Westwood

Sweeping changes that the PGA Tour announced this week are “a copy” of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf series, former world number one Lee Westwood said. On Wednesday, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced the tour’s top golfers had committed to competing against each other more regularly.

(With inputs from agencies.)