Russia loses more Sochi Olympic medals in latest doping bans

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The IOC banned five more Russian Olympians — and stripped the nation of two more Sochi Olympic medals — in its latest round of punishments for the nation’s doping violations leading up to and during the 2014 Winter Games.

Russia has now been stripped of 11 of its leading 33 medals from the Sochi Olympics. The U.S. is temporarily the medal standings leader with 28 overall, though medal upgrades and more disqualifications will impact the table.

Nineteen Russian Sochi Olympians have been banned overall.

The IOC will announce whether Russia will be allowed to take part in the PyeongChang Olympics on Dec. 5.

Bobsledders Dmitry Trunenkov and Aleksey Negodaylo, who made up half of Russia’s four-man gold-medal team, led Monday’s banned list.

The driver of that four-man sled (and Russia’s two-man gold-medal sled), the retired Aleksandr Zubkov, was retroactively disqualified and banned for life last week. So Trunenkov and Negodaylo had already lost their gold medals before Monday’s announcement.

A Latvian team led by driver Oskars Melbardis is in line to move up from silver to gold. The late Steven Holcomb and his U.S. team could get silver.

The fourth-place team, piloted by Russian Alexander Kasjanov, could get bronze. None of the members of Kasjanov’s sled have been sanctioned by the IOC or the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (IBSF).

MORE: Updated Sochi Olympic medal standings

Two Russian biathletes were stripped of two combined medals on Monday.

Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova, two of the four members of Russia’s biathlon relay team that took silver, are banned from any future Olympics.

Vilukhina also took silver in the 7.5km sprint.

Vilukhina and Romanova were also banned by the International Biathlon Union last winter after being named in a Russian doping investigation. Vilukhina hasn’t competed in nearly two years; Romanova since March 2015.

Norway and the Czech Republic could be upgraded to silver and bronze, respectively, in the relay. Ukraine’s Vita Semerenko and Italy’s Karin Oberhofer could move up to silver and bronze, respectively, in the sprint.

The fifth athlete retroactively disqualified and banned for life Monday was skeleton slider Sergei Chudinov, who finished fifth in Sochi.

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MORE: No end in sight for Russia track and field ban

2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

French Open Men's Draw
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The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

All of the American men lost before the fourth round. The last U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals was Andre Agassi in 2003.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

French Open Men's Singles Draw French Open Men's Singles Draw French Open Men's Singles Draw French Open Men's Singles Draw

2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

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At the French Open, Iga Swiatek of Poland eyes a third title at Roland Garros and a fourth Grand Slam singles crown overall.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Swiatek, the No. 1 seed from Poland, can join Serena Williams and Justine Henin as the lone women to win three or more French Opens since 2000.

Having turned 22 on Wednesday, she can become the youngest woman to win three French Opens since Monica Seles in 1992 and the youngest woman to win four Slams overall since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Men’s Draw

But Swiatek is not as dominant as in 2022, when she went 16-0 in the spring clay season during an overall 37-match win streak.

She retired from her last pre-French Open match with a right thigh injury and said it wasn’t serious. Before that, she lost the final of another clay-court tournament to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, is her top remaining challenger in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the highest-seeded American man or woman, was eliminated in the third round. No. 4 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who has three wins over Swiatek this year, withdrew before her third-round match due to illness.

No. 6 Coco Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek last year, is the best hope to become the first American to win a Grand Slam singles title since Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought is the longest for U.S. women since Seles won the 1996 Australian Open.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

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