Kyrgios’ long wait for victory over

Nick Kyrgios won a match for the first time in nearly 2 1/2 years on Wednesday at the Miami Open, beating Mackie McDonald 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 while wearing a thick wrap of beige tape on his surgically repaired right wrist that he said was numb after he took five painkillers. “I’m not going to lie: I was pretty close to crying on court. I just think about the last two years, and it’s been pretty brutal,” said Kyrgios, the runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2022. “I was in a cast for 12 weeks. Couldn’t move my wrist. And the surgeons were saying I’d never play again. So I was listening to a lot of the outside noise — whether I’d be able to play at this level and win. Playing’s one thing, but winning is another.” The Australian, who turns 30 next month, hadn’t won an official contest since October 2022, when he defeated Kamil Majchrzak at a tournament in Tokyo and then withdrew before the quarterfinals. Since then, Kyrgios needed operations for a torn ligament in his wrist and on his knee, sidelining him for nearly all of 2023 — when he competed once in singles — and all of the 2024 season.

Stanford to lead US at Solheim Cup

Angela Stanford was introduced Thursday as the next U.S. captain of the Solheim Cup, leading a young core of Americans who are coming off a victory and will try to win the Cup overseas for the first time in more than a decade. Stanford was on the last American team that won away from home, in 2015 in Germany when Juli Inkster was at the helm. She was an assistant on the last three teams, including what she calls a “massive” victory in Virginia last September. The 2026 matches will be held in the Netherlands. Anna Nordqvist of Sweden is the captain for Europe. “I’ve always wanted to be a captain overseas,” Stanford said. “... I got to play on two of the teams that have won the Solheim Cup overseas. Growing up, I played a lot of different team sports and I loved going to other people’s gyms, going to their fields. It doesn’t bother me to go into a hostile environment and try to play and try to perform.” Stanford, 47, has seven LPGA Tour victories, including her lone major in the 2018 Evian Championship when she was 40. She played six times in the Solheim Cup, with three wins and three losses.

Japan 1st team to qualify for ’26 WC

Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after beating Bahrain 2-0 at Saitama Stadium on Thursday. Second-half goals from Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo ensured the Samurai Blue secured a spot in Asia Group C’s top two automatic qualification places. At its eighth successive World Cup, Japan joins co-hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico in the expanded 48-team tournament. “We knew that if we persevered that the goals would come,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu, above, said. Bahrain coach Dragan Talajic said, “It is not surprising that Japan has qualified, as it is a high quality team. They will achieve great results at the World Cup.” Earlier, second-placed Australia took a big step towards a seventh appearance by defeating Indonesia 5-1 in Sydney in the visitor’s first game under new coach Patrick Kluivert. The top two from each of the three six-team groups in the third round of Asian qualifying advance to the World Cup while the third- and fourth-placed teams advance to another stage to compete for two more places. —Associated Press