TENNIS

Aryna Sabalenka won her first title since the Australian Open in January, beating Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5 in the Cincinnati Open on Monday in Mason, Ohio.

Sabalenka, who moved up a spot to No. 2 in the rankings before the match, didn’t lose a set en route to her 15th WTA title. She had never gotten past the semifinals at Cincinnati, losing three times.

Sabalenka, 26, can now be considered a favorite at the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 26 in New York. She missed Wimbledon with a shoulder injury, then returned to the tour at Washington two weeks ago.

COLLEGES

FOOTBALL: Furman’s football helmets this season will include a decal in memory of the defensive lineman Bryce Stanfield, who died Feb. 9, two days after collapsing while working out at the school’s stadium.

Furman announced two weeks later that Stanfield’s cause of death was a pulmonary embolism that was not related to football.

HOCKEY

NHL: The Columbus Blue Jackets traded forward Patrik Laine to the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Jordan Harris and a second-round draft pick in 2026.

The Blue Jackets were without the 26-year-old Laine for much of the 2023-24 season. He sought help from the NHL’s player assistance program in January and made it known his issues were mental-health related. He was cleared in July.

SOCCER

U.S. MEN: The United States will play an Oct. 15 exhibition against Mexico at Guadalajara in what could be the second match for Mauricio Pochettino, who is negotiating to become the Americans’ coach.

The U.S. plays Canada on Sept. 7 at Kansas City, Kansas, and New Zealand three days later at Cincinnati in its first matches since a first-round exit at the Copa America led the U.S. Soccer Federation to fire Coach Gregg Berhalter. Mikey Varas, a Berhalter assistant, is likely to be in charge of the team for the September games.

HENRY LEAVES: After leading France to a silver medal at the Olympics, Thierry Henry left his coaching job, with the French soccer federation saying he cited personal reasons for the departure.

PREMIER LEAGUE: Jamie Vardy rescued a point for Leicester in its return to the Premier League, heading home a second-half equalizer in a 1-1 draw against visiting Tottenham, which largely dominated the first half.

CYCLNG

SPANISH VUELTA: Overall leader Wout van Aert won a sprint finish at Castelo Branco, Portugal, to capture the third stage.

Wearing the leader’s red jersey, Van Aert surged into the lead with about 250 meters left to edge Kaden Groves of Australia and flip the result of the second stage Sunday, when Groves took the sprint win.

TEAM SWITCH: After winning three medals racing for Australia at the Olympics, track cyclist Matt Richardson switched teams eight days later to ride for Britain.

BASKETBALL

WNBA: Las Vegas Coach Becky Hammon again disputed former Aces player Dearica Hamby’s claim the team mistreated her and traded her because of her pregnancy.

Hamby, traded to Los Angeles in January 2023, played for the organization from 2015-22, beginning when the Aces were based in San Antonio. She earned the league Sixth Player of the Year award in 2019 and 2020, and won a bronze medal in 3X3 basketball at the Paris Olympics.