Suni Lee’s ‘Dancing with the Stars’ competitors revealed

By OlympicTalkSep 8, 2021, 9:31 AM EDT

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The cast of 15 celebrities for this fall’s season of “Dancing with the Stars” was revealed on “Good Morning America” Wednesday morning, meaning gymnast Suni Lee now knows who she will contend against for the show’s mirror ball trophy.

Lee — who earlier this summer won gold in the individual all-around, silver with the team and bronze on uneven bars at the Tokyo Olympics — was one of the first two contestants revealed for the show’s 30th season in late August, along with trained dancer and YouTube personality Jojo Siwa.

“It’s very different from gymnastics, but it’s obviously not going to be as difficult as doing gymnastics,” Lee said on GMA on Aug. 27. “I’m really excited because I just get to have fun and let loose.”

They will be joined on the dance floor by country music singer Jimmie Allen, Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm (“Sporty Spice”), “Bling Empire”‘s Christine Chiu, “90210” actor Brian Austin Green, Melora Hardin of “The Office,” social media personality Olivia Jade Giannulli, “The Bachelor”‘s Matt James, “The Talk” cohost Amanda Kloots, actor Martin Kove from “The Karate Kid” franchise, WWE wrestler Mike ‘The Miz’ Mizanin, “Real Housewives of Atlanta”‘s Kenya Moore, Peloton fitness instructor Cody Rigsby and former Brooklyn Nets shooting guard Iman Shumpert.

After coming out as pansexual earlier this year, Siwa will be part of the first same-sex couple in the show’s 16-year history.

The pairings have not yet been announced for this season, but Lee will dance with any of the following professionals: Brandon Armstrong, Alan Bersten, Artem Chigvintsev, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Pasha Pashkov, Gleb Savchenko.

Lee, an 18-year-old Hmong American, became the first Asian American to win the Olympic all-around title, and the fifth U.S. woman in a row, on July 29.

She started college at Auburn University last month and will balance online courses while on the reality television show, then begin her NCAA gymnastics career in the spring.

Lee is the seventh U.S. gymnast to appear on the show behind Shawn Johnson, Aly Raisman, Nastia Liukin, Laurie Hernandez, Simone Biles and Mary Lou Retton. Johnson and Hernandez won their seasons.

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Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz set French Open semifinal showdown

By OlympicTalkJun 6, 2023, 6:59 PM EDT

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will play in the French Open semifinals on Friday in the most anticipated match of the tournament.

Each man advanced with a quarterfinal win on Tuesday.

Djokovic, eyeing a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam men’s singles title, rallied past 11th-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4. The Serb reached his 45th career major semifinal, one shy of Roger Federer‘s men’s record.

Later Tuesday, top seed Alcaraz crushed fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (5) to consolidate his status as the favorite in Friday’s showdown.

“This match, everyone wants to watch,” Alcaraz said. “I really wanted to play this match as well. I always say that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.”

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Alcaraz, who at last year’s U.S. Open became the first male teen to win a major since Rafael Nadal in 2005, is at this event the youngest man to be the top seed at a major since Boris Becker at 1987 Wimbledon.

The Djokovic-Alcaraz semifinal will produce the clear favorite for Sunday’s final given left-handed 14-time French Open champion Nadal is out this year with a hip injury and No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev lost in the first round. Djokovic and Nadal share the record 22 men’s major titles.

Djokovic and Alcaraz met once, with Alcaraz winning last year on clay in Madrid 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5).

“[Alcaraz] brings a lot of intensity on the court,” Djokovic said, before breaking into a smile. “Reminds me of someone from his country that plays with a left hand.”

Alcaraz and Djokovic were set to be on opposite halves of the draw — and thus not able to meet until the final — until Medvedev won the last top-level clay event before the French Open to move ahead of Djokovic in the rankings. That meant Djokovic had a 50 percent chance to wind up in Alcaraz’s half, and that’s what the random draw spit out two weeks ago.

Earlier Tuesday in the first two women’s quarterfinals, No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and 43rd-ranked Czech Karolina Muchova advanced to face off in Thursday’s semifinals.

Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, swept Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-4 to complete her set of semifinals in all four Grand Slams. Sabalenka will take the No. 1 ranking from Iga Swiatek if Swiatek loses before the final, or if Sabalenka makes the final and Swiatek does not win the title.

Svitolina, a former world No. 3, returned to competition in April from childbirth.

Muchova took out 2021 French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 7-5, 6-2, to make her second major semifinal after the 2021 Australian Open.

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2023 French Open men’s singles draw

By OlympicTalkJun 6, 2023, 5:16 PM EDT

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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 meet in Friday’s 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

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