Novak Djokovic cuts ties with the PTPA players' association he co-founded

Novak Djokovic is cutting ties withthe Professional Tennis Players Association, a group he co-founded that sued the sport's governing bodies last year, writing on social media Sunday that "my values and approach are no longer aligned with the current direction of the organization."

The 24-time Grand Slam champion announced at the 2020 U.S. Open that he and now-retired Canadian player Vasek Pospisil were launching the PTPA. They said they were aiming to offer representation for players who are independent contractors in a largely individual sport.

One of the goals made clear along the way was to become a sort of full-fledged union that negotiates collective bargaining agreements like those that exist in team sports, although that sort of thing hasn't happened.

Djokovic said Sunday on X that he had "ongoing concerns regarding transparency, governance, and the way my voice and image have been represented."

ThePTPA filed a class-action lawsuitin March against the women's and men's tours, the International Tennis Federation and the sport's integrity agency, accusing the organizations of "systemic abuse, anti-competitive practices, and a blatant disregard for player welfare." The four Grand Slam tournaments were later added as defendants.

Djokovic was not listed as a plaintiff when the suit was filed; Pospisil and other players were.

That's because, Djokovic said in March, "I want other players to step up."

The lawsuit says players should gain access to more earnings, arguing that the governing bodies that oversee the four Grand Slam tournaments — Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open and the Australian Open — and other professional events "cap the prize money tournaments award and limit players' ability to earn money off the court."

Djokovic said Sunday he "will continue to focus on my tennis, my family, and contributing to the sport in ways that reflect my principles and integrity. I wish the players and those involved the best as they move forward, but for me, this chapter is now closed."

AP tennis:https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

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January 04, 2026

Novak Djokovic cuts ties with the PTPA players' association he co-founded

Novak Djokovic is cutting ties withthe Professional Tennis Players Association, a group he co-founded that sued the spor...

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Colts wideout Alec Pierce receives controversial ejection after making contact with official during career day

Indianapolis Colts wideout Alec Pierce was well on his way to shattering a handful of career-highs Sunday before being forced out of the game early. After nearly catching his third touchdown of the day, Pierce was ejected after making contact with an official.

The incident occurred with under two minutes to play in the third quarter. Pierce attempted to haul in a pass in the back of the end zone, but was pushed out of bounds by a Houston Texans defender. Pierce, looking for a flag, got up to talk to an official about the play. As Pierce extended his arm out behind the official, his shoulder bumped the official's arm. The ref immediately threw a flag, and disqualified Pierce from the rest of the game.

Alec Pierce has been disqualifiedpic.twitter.com/v5QiRjlQj1

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS)January 4, 2026

The broadcast seemingly disagreed with the penalty, with J.J. Watt calling it "harsh." Play-by-play man Ian Eagle threw it to former NFL ref Gene Steratore who noted, "It's not a lot of contact."

The ejection ended a career-day for Pierce, who hauled in four passes for 132 yards and two scores earlier in the contest. That was only two yards off his previous career-high and marked just the second time in his career Pierce scored multiple touchdowns in a game. Had he been allowed to keep playing, there's a decent chance Pierce would have exceeded his previous career-high of 134 receiving yards.

There's also a chance he could have helped the Colts win the game. After leading most of the way, the team coughed up a late lead,eventually losing the contest 38-30.

While he didn't get to realize that dream Sunday, he picked a tremendous time to post his best-ever game. Pierce is set to hit the free-agent market in the offseason, and stands to make quite a bit of money there. Though he's never had a 1,000-yard season as a receiver, Pierce has proven to be one of the game's best deep threats. He's led the NFL in yards per reception in each of the past two seasons.

Given Pierce's ability to get open deep, there's bound to be some teams that are convinced he could take a huge step forward in a good offense. Pierce hasn't had many opportunities to play with elite quarterbacks over his career, and could really benefit from joining a team with an accurate, deep-ball passer.

But that will have to wait until the offseason. Following Pierce's early exit in Week 18, the next time he'll take the field could come with a new team next year. If he can build off his career day — and his strong second half — Pierce could wind up being one of biggest free-agent additions of the offseason.

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January 04, 2026

Colts wideout Alec Pierce receives controversial ejection after making contact with official during career day

Indianapolis Colts wideout Alec Pierce was well on his way to shattering a handful of career-highs Sunday before being f...

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Infielder Kazuma Okamoto and Blue Jays finalize $60 million, 4-year contract

TORONTO (AP) — Infielder Kazuma Okamoto and the Toronto Blue Jays finalized their $60 million, four-year contract Sunday.

Okamoto will get a $5 million signing bonus, a $7 million salary this year and $16 million in each of the following three seasons.

To open a roster spot, Toronto designated right-hander Paxton Schultz for assignment.

A six-time All-Star, Okamoto has a .277 average with 248 homers and 717 RBIs in 11 Japanese big league seasons, leading the Central League in home runs in 2020, 2021 and 2023. Hehomered off Colorado's Kyle Freelandto help Japan beat the U.S. 3-2 in the 2023 World Baseball Classic final.

Okamoto, a 29-year-old third baseman and first baseman, hit .327 with 15 homers and 49 RBIs in 69 games last year for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants. He injured his left elbow while trying to catch a throw at first base on May 6 when he collided with the Hanshin Tigers' Takumu Nakano, an injury that sidelined Okamoto until Aug. 16.

With five-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first, Okamoto presumably would play mostly at third. Addison Barger had 67 starts there last year, Ernie Clement 66, Will Wagner 22, Isiah Kiner-Falefa six and Buddy Kennedy one.

Barger also plays right field, and the addition of Okamoto could mean Andrés Giménez would move from second to shortstop if free agent Bo Bichette doesn't re-sign. Clement and Davis Scheider could share time at second.

Under MLB's posting agreement with Nippon Professional Baseball, the Blue Jays owe the Giants a posting fee of $10,875,000.

Aftercoming within two outs of their first World Series title since 1993, the Blue Jays have made significant additions to the roster. Toronto signed right-hander Dylan Cease to a$210 million, seven-year contract, agreed to a $30 million, three-year contract with right-hander Cody Ponce and reached a$37 million, three-year dealwith reliever Tyler Rogers.

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

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January 04, 2026

Infielder Kazuma Okamoto and Blue Jays finalize $60 million, 4-year contract

TORONTO (AP) — Infielder Kazuma Okamoto and the Toronto Blue Jays finalized their $60 million, four-year contract Sunday...

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Cowboys DE Donovan Ezeiruaku ejected from loss to Giants early after ripping Greg Van Roten's helmet off

Dallas defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku was ejected from the Cowboys' 34-17 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday afternoon after he got into an altercation in the second half and ripped a Giants player's helmet off his head.

Things erupted early in the third quarter after Jaxson Dart hit Tyrone Tracy in the back of the end zone at MetLife Stadium for a 13-yard touchdown, which extended the Giants' lead in the regular-season finale.

[Get more Cowboys news: Dallas team feed]

It's unclear exactly what started the altercation, but Ezeiruaku and Giants guard Greg Van Roten were at the center of it. Ezeiruaku held onto Van Roten's facemask as others ran into the pile and eventually ripped it off his head, which led to more flags being thrown.

Week 18 fight! Helmets coming off between Cowboys and Giants, you love to see itpic.twitter.com/HlIoOvmddK

— Rate the Refs (@Rate_the_Refs)January 4, 2026

Ezeiruaku was ejected from the contest after that, and Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was hit with an unnecessary roughness penalty for his role. It looked like Van Roten was grabbing Sam Williams' facemask early on, too, but he was not penalized.

Once things settled down, the Giants went for a 2-point conversion and succeeded after running back Devin Singletary found Darius Slayton for a short completion. That put the Giants up 24-10.

Ezeiruaku had one tackle in Sunday's game before he was ejected. He finished his rookie season with 40 total tackles and two sacks. The Cowboys selected the 22-year-old in the second round of the draft last spring out of Boston College.

Both the Cowboys and the Giants entered Sunday's game, the final one of the regular season, having already been eliminated from playoff contention. The Giants had an outside shot at securing the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft but their 17-point win over the Cowboyshanded that to the Las Vegas Raidersinstead.

The Giants ended the season 4-13 and the Cowboys fell to 7-9-1, which marked their fourth defeat in their final five games of the season.

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January 04, 2026

Cowboys DE Donovan Ezeiruaku ejected from loss to Giants early after ripping Greg Van Roten's helmet off

Dallas defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku was ejected from the Cowboys' 34-17 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday aft...

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Myles Garrett breaks NFL single-season sacks record

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett broke the NFL's single-season sacks record on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals with his 23rd on the season.

After being held without a sack last week, Garrett entered the 18th and final week of the regular season with 22, a half-sack away from the record shared by T.J. Watt (2021) and Michael Strahan (2001).

Garrett beat the Bengals' left tackle on a rush upfield with 5:16 to play in the fourth quarter and smothered quarterback Joe Burrow as he fell to the turf in Cincinnati.

Teammates surrounded Garrett for a brief celebration on the sideline before he returned to the field just one play later.

Though the NFL first recognized sacks officially in 1982, some accounting suggests Garrett is not the first player to reach 23 sacks in a season. Researchers who have studied past game logs and footage have said that Al "Bubba" Baker also recorded 23 sacks in 1978 with the Detroit Lions. That total is not recognized by the league, however, as it came before 1982.

While the season is lost — the Browns will miss the playoffs for the eighth time in Garrett's 10 seasons in Cleveland — this has been a career-best year for Garrett. The gulf between Garrett and the rest of the league's defenders is so wide that the 5.5-sack difference between his league-best sack total and the No. 2-ranked player — Brian Burns of the Giants, with 16.5 — is the same as the gap between Burns and the ninth-ranked player.

Garrett's previous season high in sacks was 16, and in tackles for loss was 22; this season, in addition to entering Week 18 with 22 sacks, he had a league-best 32 tackles for loss.

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January 04, 2026

Myles Garrett breaks NFL single-season sacks record

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett broke the NFL's single-season sacks record on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals with ...

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