Digest

TRACK AND FIELD

Still too fast: Semenya arrested for speeding

Olympic champion Caster Semenya was sentenced to 50 hours of community service for speeding while driving in South Africa, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The runner was arrested last Thursday and released on $35 bail, the National Prosecuting Authority said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Semenya appeared in court in the capital, Pretoria, on Friday and pleaded guilty to the offense, the NPA said.

She faces a second court hearing in August when authorities will report back on whether she completed her community service.

The 30-year-old Semenya is a two-time Olympic and three-time world champion over 800 meters whose career has been halted by contentious rules regulating the natural level of testosterone in female runners.

World Athletics won't allow Semenya and other women with similarly high levels of natural testosterone to compete at any major international events in races from 400 meters to one mile unless they agree to artificially reduce their hormone levels to below a specific threshold.

TENNIS

Rusty Serena slumps to defeat in milestone match

Serena Williams' 1,000th tour-level match ended in defeat as she marked her return to action with a 7-6(6), 7-5 loss to Nadia Podoroska on Wednesday in the second round of the Italian Open.

The eighth-seeded Williams, who hadn't played since the Australian Open, came from a break down twice in the opening set and saved the first three set points she faced in the tiebreaker before Podoroska converted her fourth. The Argentine went on to win in one hour, 58 minutes.

"It's tough to have a first match on clay. It was definitely kind of good to go the distance and to try to be out there, but clearly I can do legions better," said Williams, who has won the Italian Open four times.

"Maybe I do need a few more matches, so I'm going to try to figure that out with my coach and my team and see what we would like to do. ... I have been training for months, but it feels definitely different on clay to make that last adjustment."

Players granted one-hour break from Paris bubble

Players at the French Open will be allowed a daily one-hour window outside their social-distancing bubble, tournament organizers said Wednesday.

Guy Forget, the director of the clay-court Grand Slam, said players will have the chance to get out for a jog or enjoy some fresh air during their stay in the French capital despite coronavirus restrictions. Insisting players are "extremely aware of the danger" of the virus, Forget said they won't be put under surveillance.

"Our goal is not to put them in a necklace and attach them to their hotel or to the Roland Garros stadium," he said.

For the second year in a row, the French Open schedule has been disrupted by the pandemic. Initially scheduled to start on May 23, first-round matches will now get underway on May 30. Last year's tournament was pushed back to September, with crowds limited to 1,000 per day. This year's delay allows organizers to welcome more fans since restrictions in France are set to ease before and during the tournament.

BADMINTON

Singapore Open canceled due to travel 'challenges'

The Singapore Open, the last remaining badminton qualifying tournament for the Tokyo Olympics, has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers said on Wednesday.

The tournament, which was scheduled for June 1-6, will not be rescheduled, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said in a statement.

"All attempts were made by the organizers and BWF to provide a safe tournament environment for all participants," the BWF said."However, rising COVID-19 cases globally led to complex challenges in managing inbound travel."

The BWF added that it would issue a further statement on qualifying for this summer's Tokyo Olympic Games at a later date.

Singapore's infection numbers have been very low compared to the rest of the world, but officials last week banned spectators at sporting events and tightened travel curbs after discovering several new clusters.

Agencies