When Aaron Pierre was cast as Mufasa, the weight of following in the late James Earl Jones’ legendary footsteps was enough to rattle any actor.

Iga Swiatek is the second high-profile tennis player to test positive for a banned substance this year.

Rafael Nadal’s relatively low-key retirement ceremony at the Davis Cup has been defended by the head of the International Tennis Federation as being dictated by the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s wishes.

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini won their singles matches to lift defending champion Italy past Australia 2-0 and back into the Davis Cup final.

Rafael Nadal wanted to play his last match before retiring at home in Spain and as part of Spain's Davis Cup team.

Two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini has capped a breakthrough season by leading Italy to its first Billie Jean King Cup title since 2013.

Iga Swiatek has beaten Paula Badosa in three sets and Poland has knocked out host Spain 2-0 in the opening round of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga.

The Houston Astrodome has been in limbo, waiting for its chance at a second life since being shuttered more than 15 years ago.

With the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup set to be played in Malaga, Spain, this month, the International Tennis Federation is making a donation to the Spanish Red Cross to support relief and recovery efforts for the recent catastrophic flooding in the country.

Billie Jean King started the Women’s Sports Foundation with a $5,000 check.

Tennis great Billie Jean King will preside over the 136th Rose Parade as grand marshal next year.

Billie Jean King is now the first individual female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Does American tennis have a pickleball problem.

How well do you know the U.S. Open.

Play in the year’s last Grand Slam tennis tournament is scheduled to begin at the U.S. Open on Monday.

A year after becoming a Grand Slam champion, Coco Gauff is teaming up with the “Breakfast of Champions.”.

Coco Gauff, Novak Djokovic and other players at the U.S. Open will be playing for a record total of $75 million in compensation at the year’s last Grand Slam tennis tournament.

Reaction from the sports world and beyond to the death of baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays.

Naomi Osaka put Japan a step away from reaching the Billie Jean King Cup Finals with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.

New York City officials have approved a plan to build a 25,000-seat stadium for Major League Soccer’s New York City Football Club next to the New York Mets’ stadium, Citi Field.

Hall of Famers Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova are calling on the women’s tennis tour to stay out of Saudi Arabia.

The Associated Press went behind the scenes to capture what former tennis star and gender equality champion Billie Jean King referred to as the birth of women's hockey.

Leylah Fernandez and Marina Stakusic won their singles matches as Canada defeated Italy 2-0 to claim its first-ever Billie Jean King Cup.

Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova have sent the Czech Republic into the semifinals of the Billie Jean King Cup by beating American duo Danielle Collins and Taylor Townsend 6-3, 7-5 in their decisive doubles match.

The Billie Jean King Cup Finals will offer a record total of $9.6 million in prize money.

Lindsay Davenport will replace Kathy Rinaldi as the U.S. captain for the Billie Jean King Cup after this year’s competition ends.

Billie Jean King’s victory in the “Battle of the Sexes” was a milestone moment as women pushed for equality on the playing field and beyond.

Former President Barack Obama congratulated Coco Gauff on her U.S. Open title, less than two weeks after attending her first comeback of the tournament.

The women’s tennis tour will hold the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.

The smell of marijuana has become a stink at the U.S. Open.

The new Professional Women’s Hockey League has unveiled its Original Six franchises.

After a rousing tribute from former first lady Michelle Obama, Billie Jean King on Monday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Open becoming the first sporting event to offer equal prize money to female and male competitors, promising to never stop fighting to maintain that hard-won progress.

Former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, were in the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands to watch Coco Gauff’s first-round victory at the U.S. Open.

When Billie Jean King won the U.S. Open in 1972, she didn’t follow with the usual remarks about hoping to win again the next year.

Total prize money and player compensation at this year’s U.S. Open tennis tournament will reach a record $65 million.

The Billie Jean King Cup has a new part-owner: Billie Jean King herself.

Princess Kate was back again at Wimbledon and this time with her family in tow.

Princess Kate was back in the Royal Box at Wimbledon for the women’s final along with several former champions and some stars of the entertainment world.

Marketa Vondrousova has become the first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon.

Ons Jabeur has defeated Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Wimbledon final for the second consecutive year.

Only six of the 128 women entered in singles at Wimbledon work with a female coach.

Tennis appears set to follow the path of golf and other sports by doing business with Saudi Arabia and its $650 billion sovereign wealth fund.

The stage is set for a new women’s hockey league to begin in January.

It took more than three decades after the founding of the Women’s Tennis Association for all four Grand Slam tournaments to agree to give the same prize money to female and male players.

Billie Jean King thinks back on the landmark gathering of female tennis players at a London hotel shortly before they competed at Wimbledon a half-century ago and acknowledges she wasn’t sure how things would go that day.

They’re at the top of their sport.

The All England Club will pay for two rooms for Ukrainian tennis players and their teams during the grass-court season and will donate what could top more than $600,000 after deciding to allow players from Russia and Belarus back into the tournament despite the ongoing war.

President Joe Biden has scrapped the idea of inviting to the White House the NCAA champion Louisiana State women’s basketball team along with Iowa’s players, who lost the title to LSU.

The 2023 Australian Open will be the first Grand Slam tournament to be held since Serena Williams walked away from tennis with a farewell at the U.S. Open shortly before her 41st birthday.

Hall of Fame golfer Kathy Whitworth has died at the age of 83.

Angel City FC founding investor Alexis Ohanian is calling for a safe work environment in the National Women’s Soccer League.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is set to receive the Billie Jean King Leadership Award at the Women's Sports Foundation's annual dinner in New York.

Flag football is rising in popularity, especially among girls.

Reaction to Roger Federer’s announcement that he will retire from tennis after the Laver Cup in London next week.

Frances Tiafoe calls his run to the U.S. Open semifinals ‘a Cinderella story.

The next woman who must deal with the daunting task of playing Serena Williams at the U.S. Open, Ajla Tomljanovic, considers herself an admirer of the 23-time Grand Slam champion.

When Serena Williams won the 1999 U.S. Open for her first Grand Slam title at age 17, she wore white beads in her hair.

The Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association is resuming its Dream Gap barnstorming tour for a fourth consecutive year.

The Jackie Robinson Museum has opened in Manhattan with a gala ceremony attended by the 100-year-old widow of the barrier-breaking ballplayer and two of his children.

Detained WNBA star Brittney Griner was front and center at The ESPYS.

The WTA women’s professional tennis tour and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are partnering to raise awareness about — and money for — women’s health and nutrition around the world.

Ons Jabeur added a new “first” to her résumé by becoming the first Arab woman to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament.

Roger Federer says he hopes to play one more time at Wimbledon before retiring from tennis.

Centre Court at the current Church Road location of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club opened in 1922.

U.S. national soccer team star Megan Rapinoe is among a group of leading sports figures who have expressed anger over the Supreme Court’s decision to strip the nation’s constitutional protections for abortion, decrying an erosion of rights that women have had for a generation.

It's the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

Ann Meyers Drysdale was the first woman to receive an athletic scholarship at UCLA.

As the nation celebrates the 50th anniversary of Title IX, a new poll finds Americans are split on how much progress has come from the landmark women's rights law.

Oklahoma softball player Jocelyn Alo will play for the new Women's Professional Fastpitch league.

Tennis legend and LGBTQ rights activist Billie Jean King has received France’s highest civilian award.

Dottie Pepper recalls being paired with Meg Mallon for the final round of the 1991 U.S. Women’s Open with what she viewed as an impressive $110,000 first-place prize on the line.

Chris Evert, Serena Williams and other Wimbledon women’s singles champions will now be listed on the All England Club’s honor boards in a Centre Court hallway simply by their first initial and last name instead of including “Miss” or “Mrs.” A spokeswoman for the All England Club confirmed the switch to the women’s honor board has been completed.

A person with direct knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press that North America's top women's hockey players are teaming up with former tennis star Billie Jean King and Los Angeles Dodgers chairman Mark Walter to explore launching a pro league within the next year.

Katie Taylor used to pretend she was a boy so she could box.

Two of the NBA’s most significant dynasties emerged in the second decade of the 2000s.

Rachel Balkovec was introduced as manager of the New York Yankees’ Low A affiliate in the Florida State League.

Reaction is coming in to the death of Lee Elder, the first Black golfer to play in the Masters.

Garbiñe Muguruza has defeated Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 7-5 to win the WTA Finals for the first time.

Four months after the pandemic-delayed induction of the Class of 2020, the Basketball Hall of Fame gathered to enshrine 16 more new members.

Novak Djokovic has won two straight sets to put himself on the verge of the U.S. Open semifinals.

This week’s new entertainment releases include new music from producer and multiinstrumentalist Jack Antonoff and Billie Eilish, whose upcoming “Happier Than Ever” is the second studio album from the 19-year-old superstar.

Rafael Nadal says he is not thinking about retirement at all as his 35th birthday approaches.

Outside of it, the Olympic champion is pushing herself in a new endeavor to boost the profile of women’s sports. AdShe’s aiming to defend her 100 free title at the Tokyo Olympics, delayed for a year by the coronavirus pandemic. When Stanford closed its facilities last March, Manuel and training partner Katie Ledecky found a backyard pool to work out in. He failed to make it out of the preliminaries, finishing 32nd in the 100 free and 25th in the 100 breaststroke. Blake Pieroni won the men’s 100 free in 49.19 seconds.

This combination photo shows the cover of "All In: An Autobiography" by Billie Jean King, left, and King posing for a portrait on June 4, 2015, in New York. Alfred A. Knopf announced Thursday, March 4, 2021, that the book will be published Aug. 17 and will cover the highlights of King's celebrated and groundbreaking tennis career. (Knopf via AP, left, and AP)NEW YORK – Billie Jean King has a memoir coming this summer, and she calls it a journey to her “authentic self.”Alfred A. Knopf announced Thursday that “All In: An Autobiography” will be published Aug. 17. She was married to Larry King (no relation to the late broadcaster) for more than a decade before being outed in 1981. King published a memoir in the early 1980s, “Billie Jean King: The Autobiography,” but says she rushed it out at the urging of her then-manager, who was concerned about her finances in the wake of her outing.

Fauci presented the donation Tuesday night in a virtual ceremony to honor him with the museums Great Americans Medal. (Smithsonian's National Museum of American History via AP)WASHINGTON – Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the U.S. government’s pandemic response, has donated his personal 3D model of the COVID-19 virus to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The museum on Tuesday honored Fauci with its Great Americans Medal. “His humanitarianism and dedication truly exemplify what it means to be a Great American." The museum asked Fauci to contribute a personal artifact to mark the pandemic, and he chose the lumpy blue and orange ball that he used to explain the complexities of the virus in dozens of interviews.

(AP Photo/Hamish Blair)Billie Jean King and the other members of the Original 9 who laid the groundwork for the women’s professional tour are the first group elected together to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, joining Lleyton Hewitt and Dennis Van der Meer in the Class of 2021. In results announced Wednesday, Hewitt was the only one of five nominees in the Player Category who was voted in. He won Grand Slam singles titles at the U.S. Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002, reached No. On Sept. 23, 1970, they all signed $1 contracts with World Tennis Magazine publisher Gladys Heldman to participate in the first women-only tennis tournament. Now all four Grand Slam tournaments offer equal prize money to women and men.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers strength and conditioning coach Maral Javadifar on the field before the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buccaneers, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)TAMPA, Fla. – Lori Locust and Maral Javadifar, Super Bowl champs. Locust and Javadifar became the first female coaches on a team to win the Super Bowl, helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 Sunday night. The 30-year-old Javadifar is an assistant strength and conditioning coach, and the 56-year-old Locust is an assistant defensive line coach. Soon enough, they’ll get their Super Bowl rings, just like Tom Brady and the rest of the Buccaneers. The ones we have are overly qualified.”AdLast season, Katie Sowers became the first female to coach in a Super Bowl.

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2020, file photo, Naomi Osaka, of Japan, holds up the championship trophy after defeating Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, in the women's singles final of the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. Osaka has been selected by The Associated Press as the Female Athlete of the Year. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)With tennis, like so much of the world, shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, Naomi Osaka found herself with time to read and think. LeBron James was announced Saturday as the AP Male Athlete of the Year. I cannot be more excited.”___Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HowardFendrich___More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

MIAMI – The Miami Marlins' new general manager sat at home plate in the team's ballpark Monday, reflecting on all the times she struck out. She is believed to be the first female general manager in the four major North American professional sports leagues, and she's also being saluted as a pioneering Asian American, even overseas. She spent four years with the New York Yankees when their star shortstop was Derek Jeter, now the Marlins' CEO. By reaching out to her regarding the Miami job, she said, Jeter showed fearlessness. “That’s a big responsibility, but I take it on.”As baseball's first female general manager, she embraces the chance to be judged on wins and losses.

Talu Massey speaks about voting from her home in Detroit, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. But this is far from the Detroit resident's first election. The 103-year-old is proud of her lengthy voting record, saying it's every citizen's "civic duty" to take part in the process. The 103-year-old is proud of her lengthy voting record, saying it’s every citizen’s “civic duty” to take part in the process. Massey voted absentee in September, eight decades after she cast her first presidential ballot — for President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw, center, celebrates after their win against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the baseball World Series Sunday, Oct. 25, 2020, in Arlington, Texas. Dodgers beat the Rays 4-2 to lead the series 3-2 games. The rookie right-hander hopes to keep the World Series from reaching a Game 7 for the fourth time in five years. The Rays and Cash have impressed Roberts with their relentlessness, evidenced by their ninth-inning rally to win Game 4. Hershiser, the 1988 World Series MVP, says each time the postseason is lengthened it adds another level of uncertainty to the competition.

NEW YORK – Laila Ali is applauding athletes who speak out about social issues. Ali was to host the virtual Women’s Sports Foundation awards on Wednesday night, recognizing athletes and leaders working toward social justice and racial equality. “I think all people should take a stand,” Ali told The Associated Press. What are your thoughts on athletes taking a stand on social justice issues? I think my dad would definitely have something positive to say about the athletes that are taking a stand.

FILE - In this July 10, 2019, file photo, Laila Ali arrives at the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles. Ali will host the Womens Sports Foundation awards show featuring Candace Parker, Tom Brady and Carli Lloyd. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK – Laila Ali will host the Women’s Sports Foundation awards show featuring Candace Parker, Tom Brady and Carli Lloyd. In 1974, King created the Women’s Sports Foundation, which provides sports programming and grants for young athletes. The Czech team says 16 others have to be re-tested after the results of their tests were inconclusive.

In this Sept. 23, 1970, photo provided the Houston Library, tennis players hold up $1 bills after signing a contract with World Tennis magazine publisher Gladys Heldman to turn pro and start the Virginia Slims tennis circuit. The Original 9 will gather by Zoom to celebrate the inaugural Virginia Slims event. It included the Welsh Open Women’s Championship, the U.S. Eastern Women’s Grass Court Championship and the U.S. She called it “perfect timing” when tobacco ads were banned on TV in 1971, making a budget available for Philip Morris to sponsor the women's tennis circuit. Heldman quickly set up the $7,500-purse Virginia Slims Invitational in Houston for the same week as Kramer’s event.

NEWPORT, R.I. – Billie Jean King and the other members of the Original 9 who laid the groundwork for the women’s professional tennis tour are the first group nominated together for the International Tennis Hall of Fame. They join Jonas Bjorkman, Sergi Brugera, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Lleyton Hewitt, Lisa Raymond and the late Dennis Van der Meer on the ballot announced Monday for the Hall’s Class of 2021. That group and Van der Meer, who advocated for a universal teaching method in tennis, were nominated in the Contributor Category. Van der Meer died last year. The full ballot now goes to the official voting group — which includes tennis journalists, historians and Hall of Fame members — and fans can vote online in the Player Category from Oct. 1-25.

The Fed Cup is changing its name to honour tennis great Billie Jean King, becoming The Billie Jean King Cup, the first major global team competition to be named after a woman, it is announced Thursday Sept. 17, 2020. (AP Photo/Miles Kennedy, FILE)The Fed Cup is changing its name to honor tennis great Billie Jean King, the woman whose lifelong battle for equality and social justice laid the foundation for generations that followed. The Billie Jean King Cup will become the first major global team competition to be named after a woman, the International Tennis Federation said Thursday. Their work led to the creation of the Women’s Tennis Association in 1973 as the organizing body for women’s professional tennis. The Billie Jean King Cup Finals are scheduled for April 13-18 in Budapest, Hungary.

Their tenacity and vision led to the creation of the Women's Tennis Association in 1973 as the organizing body for women's pro tennis. He became a tennis promoter and saw a dismal future for womens tennis, with more tournaments, money and TV exposure for the men. My mother ... had an unsurpassed Rolodex, an extraordinary work ethic, and a commitment to the success of the womens pro tour," Heldman said. When we held up that $1 bill, that really was the start of womens pro tennis the way we know it today, King said. The 76-year-old King would like to see more pay and exposure for women's pro soccer, hockey and softball.

The AP is republishing stories about a handful of such matches while the canceled grass-court Grand Slam tournament was supposed to be played. The following story, about their first meeting in a Wimbledon final, was sent July 7, 1978. But when Evert twice a Wimbledon champion went from 0-2 to 4-2 in the final set, it seemed that her coolness and experience would prevail. That left Navratilova needing only to hold service for the title, and she did it without dropping a point. Evert set a pattern for the tentative match by dropping the opening game in each of the three sets.

Not long after, with many of its best players gradually following Robinsons path, the Negro Leagues ceased operations. President Clinton said he chose a Chicago Cubs cap in honor of Ernie Banks, the late Hall of Famer who got his start in the Negro Leagues. Long before that, the Negro Leagues made baseball better and America better.The celebration was moved online after a major league-wide tribute to baseballs Black pioneers scheduled for June 27 was shelved along with the games because of the coronavirus pandemic. So then I thought, How about a virtual tip of the cap?''' I always felt if there was going to be conversations about race in sports, the Negro Leagues should be at the center, because thats the story: They triumphed over adversity.

Love received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the ESPY Awards on Sunday, June 21, 2020, for sparking a national conversation about mental health. The focus of Sunday night's show on ESPN was hope and inspiration in the time of coronavirus. Two years ago, he wrote an online essay detailing his struggles with mental health, including having a panic attack during a game. As a result, other athletes and fans began sharing details of their own mental health challenges and sharing resources on how to get help. During the COVID-19 crisis, he's shared tips on how to cope with the stress and isolation caused by the pandemic.