Basketball, NBA: The San Antonio Spurs, looking to fill a void left by the retirement of future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan, officially added Pau Gasol on Thursday in an effort to shore up their front line. Gasol, a 15-year NBA veteran, played for the Chicago Bulls last season. “I am thrilled to join an unbelievable NBA franchise, with an amazing head coach and staff, and a roster full of talent, toughness and competitiveness,” wrote Gasol.

Tennis: World number six Victoria Azarenka said yesterday she will miss the rest of the season because she was having a baby. The 26-year-old Belarussian, who won the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013, did not play at Wimbledon this year due to a knee injury. The former world number one will return to the circuit. “I have been truly inspired by so many strong female athletes who return to the very top of their sport after having children, and I plan to do exactly that,” Azarenka said.

Weightlifting: Russian weightlifter Alexei Lovchev will miss next month’s Rio Olympics after his appeal against a four-year ban was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) yesterday. The ruling means Lovchev’s gold medal at the 2015 world championships, which he won with a world record total lift in the +105kg category, is cancelled. Weightlifting’s body imposed the ban in May after the 27-year-old tested positive for Ipamorelin.

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