COLLEGES

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: The NCAA announced Monday it is creating another women’s college basketball tournament that it will operate like the men’s NIT as a second option for 32 teams that do not make the NCAA Tournament.

The Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, which will be first held this season, brings the men’s and women’s NCAA postseason opportunities to an equal number. An NCAA-operated second option for women was one of the key focuses of an external gender equity report on the NCAA.

Women’s teams that didn’t make the NCAA Tournament in the past had the opportunity to play in an independently operated WNIT – with a 64-team field – in which teams bid to host games and paid most of their own travel expenses. Hosting in that tournament could cost a school tens of thousands of dollars if they advanced far enough.

The new Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament will lessen the financial burden on teams. It’s unclear what will happen to the postseason WNIT with the start of this new tournament.

HOCKEY

NHL: The Chicago Blackhawks and forward Connor Bedard have agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract for the No. 1 overall draft pick.

The team said Monday the deal through the 2025-26 season will mean a $950,000 annual salary cap hit, the maximum allowed. It was announced on Bedard’s 18th birthday.

TENNIS

RANKINGS: Carlos Alcaraz held onto No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday by virtue of his victory over No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, and Marketa Vondrousova’s first Grand Slam title pushed her all the way up to a career-high No. 10 on the WTA list.

Vondrousova jumped 32 places from No. 42 thanks to her 6-4, 6-4 win against Ons Jabeur in Saturday’s final at the All England Club. Vondrousova, a 24-year-old from the Czech Republic, was the lowest-ranked and first unseeded women’s champion at the grass-court major.

Iga Swiatek could have relinquished her 15-month hold on the WTA’s No. 1 ranking to No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon but remained there Monday. Swiatek lost in the quarterfinals; Sabalenka lost in the semifinals.

The top seven slots in the women’s rankings stayed the same Monday, with 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina remaining at No. 3, followed by Jessica Pegula, Caroline Garcia, Jabeur and Coco Gauff.

The big mover in the men’s rankings was Chris Eubanks, a 27-year-old from Atlanta who moved from a career-high No. 43 to a new personal best of No. 31 after beating No. 5 seed Tsitsipas and No. 12 seed Cam Norrie on the way to his first major quarterfinal before losing to No. 3 Daniil Medvedev.

SOCCER

GOLD CUP: Santiago Giménez scored after an electrifying sprint in the 88th minute, and Mexico won the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the record ninth time with a 1-0 victory over Panama late Sunday night in Inglewood, California.

After Edson Álvarez slid to block Iván Anderson’s cross in the Mexico penalty area, Orbelín Pineda dribbled away and made a tremendous pass in the center circle. The 22-year-old Feyenoord forward dribbled past Harold Cummings and outraced Cummings and Fidel Escobar into the penalty area, where he scuffed a bouncing left-foot shot over goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera for his fourth goal in 18 international appearances.

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