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American Star Pegula Pulls Out of French Open

Jessica Pegula will miss the French Open but 'will definitely be back for a full grass season'. Rich Storry / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Jessica Pegula will miss the French Open but 'will definitely be back for a full grass season'. Rich Storry / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
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American Star Pegula Pulls Out of French Open

Jessica Pegula will miss the French Open but 'will definitely be back for a full grass season'. Rich Storry / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Jessica Pegula will miss the French Open but 'will definitely be back for a full grass season'. Rich Storry / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

World number five Jessica Pegula announced her withdrawal from the French Open on Thursday, saying she had not yet sufficiently recovered from an injury.
"Unfortunately pulling out of @rolandgarros this year," the American posted on Instagram.
"I'm just about back to practicing normal (haven't had any issues for weeks) but played it super safe with recovery & return to play.
"If I had another 5-7 days I would have been there 100%."
Pegula, 30, has not played an official match since the Billie Jean King Cup in mid-April, said AFP.
She then withdrew from the Madrid Open after "hurting herself", without giving any further details on the nature of her injury.
She also missed the Rome Open, the last big clay-court tournament prior to Roland Garros.
Pegula, however, is confident she will soon return to competition.
"I will definitely be back for a full grass season and the rest of the summer and grinding out the rest of the year," she posted.
Last year, Pegula, 30, was eliminated in the third round of the French Open by Belgium's Elise Mertens.
Her best result at Roland Garros is a quarter-final appearance in 2022 when she lost to eventual winner Iga Swiatek.
The draw for the French Open, which begins at the weekend, takes place later on Thursday.

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Donnarumma is Italy's Man to Beat in Uncertain Euros Title Defense

AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. (AP)
AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. (AP)
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Donnarumma is Italy's Man to Beat in Uncertain Euros Title Defense

AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. (AP)
AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. (AP)

Gianluigi Donnarumma has reprised his role as European Championship hero for Italy as he leads the uncertain holders into their Euro 2024 last 16 clash with Switzerland.
Named player of the tournament at the last Euros, Donnarumma has a decent claim to have been the best player of this year's group stage in Germany, pulling off save after save as the Italians stumbled towards qualification from Group B, AFP said.
The Azzurri skipper's last-gasp save stopped Rey Manaj snatching an undeserved draw for Albania in Italy's opening match, a 2-1 win which was crucial to the champions getting out of the group.
Donnarumma then made sure that Spain didn't beat Italy by a cricket score in a humbling 1-0 defeat and starred again in the dramatic 1-1 draw with Croatia which his team were losing until the final few seconds of stoppage time.
The 25-year-old pulled off a couple of miracle stops before Luka Modric finally forced Croatia into the lead, just moments after the Real Madrid midfielder watched Donnarumma save his penalty.
And the giant 'keeper's ability at stopping spot-kicks will be a huge plus in the knockouts, especially for a team which has trouble creating chances, much less putting them away.
Donnarumma's top-drawer performances in Germany comes after criticism over the past season with Paris Saint-Germain, but he is reveling in leading Italy at a major tournament after coach Luciano Spalletti resisted calls to replace him with Tottenham Hotspur's Guglielmo Vicario.
"It's difficult to explain what it means to wear this shirt, come here and know that 60 million Italians are watching at home," said Donnarumma before the Croatia match.
"It means even more when you're wearing the captain's armband."
No Calafiori
Donnarumma will be of even more importance on Saturday due to the absence of center-back Riccardo Calafiori, whose ability to bring the ball out of defense was key to Mattia Zaccagni's crucial equalizer against Croatia.
Calafiori is suspended for picking up a second booking of the group phase against Croatia, meaning that one of Gianluca Mancini or Alessandro Buongiorno could take his place in the heart of Italy defense.
At 28, and with 12 caps, Roma defender Mancini is the more senior defender but Buongiorno's style of play and defending better replicates Calafiori as Mancini is more of a traditional, hard-nosed center-back.
"I don't know if I'm going to play, all I can do is give my best in training and make the coach's decision as difficult as possible," said Buongiorno on Thursday.
Italy have also benefited from being on the opposite side of the knockout draw to most of the big hitters, with only raggedy pair England and the Netherlands among the tournament heavyweights they could meet before the final.
However, based on their performances so far at this Euros Italy won't strike fear into the heart of anyone, even if the Azzurri have a remarkable ability to drag themselves into contention no matter how difficult the circumstances.
"We've realized that there are no easy games. You can see these big teams struggle with their style of play and getting results," added Buongiorno.
"Having seen their matches tells us that we can't underestimate anyone, because every team is good and can hurt you if you're not at your best."
Italy will face either Slovakia or England, vanquished finalists three years ago, in Duesseldorf a week on Saturday if they see off the Swiss.