Reuters Sports News Summary
Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Struggling Sharapova splits with coach
Former world number one Maria Sharapova said on Friday she had split with her coach Sven Groeneveld, two days after losing a third consecutive match for the first time since 2003. The news comes after Sharapova, who said the decision to end their four-year partnership was "mutually agreed", was beaten by 44th-ranked Naomi Osaka in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open in California on Wednesday.
Tennis: Kvitova beats Putintseva in marathon match at Indian Wells
Petra Kvitova survived a marathon second-round match against Dulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan to emerge with a 6-7(4) 7-6(3) 6-4 at the BNP Paribas Open in California on Friday. After capturing her 21st and 22nd career titles in St. Petersburg and Doha, ninth seed Kvitova was not at her best in Indian Wells, mixing 66 winners with 78 unforced errors.
McLaren defend 'ambitious' car after testing problems
McLaren have defended their "ambitious" car design after Fernando Alonso suffered more reliability problems on Friday's final day of Formula One pre-season testing. The Spaniard was sidelined for almost five hours by an oil leak and engine change before eventually returning to put in the second fastest lap of the day and third fastest of this year's testing.
U.S. skating coach suspended, to be investigated by sex-abuse group
A longtime U.S. figure skating coach who trained Tara Lipinski to an Olympic gold medal in 1998 has been suspended and will be investigated by an organization formed to prevent sexual abuse of athletes, the sport's governing body said on Friday. Richard Callaghan, 72, is barred from any figure skating activities sanctioned by the sports group or the U.S. Olympic Committee pending the outcome of an inquiry by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, an independent watchdog group, U.S Figure Skating said in a statement.
Alpine Skiing: Shiffrin retains overall World Cup title
American Mikaela Shiffrin claimed a second successive overall Alpine skiing World Cup title when she finished third in the giant slalom race at Ofterschwang on Friday. Fourth after the first leg, Olympic giant slalom champion Shiffrin rose one place while Swiss Wendy Holdener, the only woman who still had a mathematical chance of depriving her of the title, was back in 14th place.
Ferrari again fastest on final day of F1 testing
Formula One wrapped up pre-season testing on Friday with Kimi Raikkonen keeping Ferrari on top of the timesheets for the second day in a row. The Finn's lap of one minute 17.221 seconds around Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya was the second fastest of the eight days of winter testing and slower only than team mate Sebastian Vettel's best on Thursday.
Grillo stretches Indian Open lead as Sharma storms into contention
Agrentina's Emiliano Grillo opened up a four-shot lead heading into the weekend at the Indian Open but will be wary of local hope Shubhankar Sharma, who posted a new course record on Friday. Grillo fired a four-under-par 68 to get to 11-under total after two rounds at Gurgaon's DLF Golf and Country Club and looked set to take a commanding lead into round three.
Serena enjoys winning return at Indian Wells
Serena Williams conceded she had been rusty on her return to professional tennis after more than a year away from the game but still did enough to secure a 7-5 6-3 win over Zarina Diyas in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday. Williams, who had not played a singles match since winning the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant, chalked up 27 unforced errors with 34 winners to defeat her 53rd-ranked opponent in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd in California.
WADA sourcing new doping control kits after Swiss firm pulls out
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will seek alternative sources of sample collection kits after Swiss manufacturer Berlinger Special AG announced it was pulling out of the business. WADA said in January it was looking into a potential integrity issue with Berlinger's sample collection bottles after the accredited laboratory in Cologne discovered they might potentially be susceptible to manual opening "upon freezing".
Tiger in share of clubhouse lead at Valspar
Tiger Woods, in only his fourth start since returning from injury, was in a three-way share of the clubhouse lead in the Valspar Championship second round on Friday in Palm Harbor, Florida. Former world number one Woods, who had spinal-fusion surgery last April and only returned to the PGA Tour this year, made his only bogey of the day on his final hole for a three-under-par 68 at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead course.
