Entertainment
Carlos Alcaraz’s season is done but the tennis star’s year isn’t
Carlos Alcaraz recently wrapped up his 2025 official schedule with the ATP’s year-end No. 1 ranking, tour-highs of 71 match wins and eight trophies and a pair of Grand Slam titles that lifted his career total to six.
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Join us on WhatsAppYes, his season is done — but his year isn’t. That’s because the 22-year-old Alcaraz, who skipped representing Spain in last week’s Davis Cup Final 8 because of pain in his right hamstring, is signed up for a pair of upcoming exhibition events that include singles matches against two-time U.S. Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe in Newark, New Jersey, on Dec. 7, and against João Fonseca, a 19-year-old Brazilian ranked 24th, in Miami on Dec. 8.
Alcaraz is one of many tennis players critical of his sport’s calendar, saying it runs too long, asks too much of the athletes and provides too short of an offseason.
Does he get why some fans might wonder why he would add these unofficial outings?
“First of all, it’s normal that people think that way and they don’t understand why we’re complaining about the calendar and then we set up the exhibition matches,” Alcaraz told The Associated Press. “But for me, the main difference is that, at a tournament, you’ve got to keep your focus and it’s really physically and mentally demanding for one week and a half. And an exhibition is just one day. You just stay focused, just warm up, just practice not that much — for one match.”
It boils down, he said, to the external and internal pressure that come with the week-in, week-out grind — for victories, for rankings points, for hardware — that adds up over the season.
Those sorts of things are absent when Alcaraz swings his racket somewhere other than the All England Club or Roland-Garros, and instead at the homes of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, say, or Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins, two sites that never previously hosted professional tennis.
Ross Hutchins, who oversees the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup as the new CEO of the International Tennis Federation, thinks that kind of exposure is good for the game.
“We have cities, governments, locations, individuals, entrepreneurs, federations that just want more tennis. Everyone wants more tennis, and the sport is growing and growing and growing with its appeal. So we’re in a fortunate situation at the moment,” Hutchins said.
“It’s difficult to say it’s bad for players to play in a new location,” he added, “and it’s difficult to criticize the players for doing so because of the dynamics that they’re in” as independent contractors who “never know when your form is going to drop or what injury might hit.”
At the Prudential Center, in addition to Alcaraz vs. Tiafoe, there will be a singles match between 2024 U.S. Open runner-up Jessica Pegula and 2025 Wimbledon and U.S. Open runner-up Amanda Anisimova, plus some mixed doubles.
At loanDepot Park the following night, Alcaraz vs. Fonseca will be accompanied by another matchup between Pegula and Anisimova, along with a mixed doubles 10-point tiebreaker.
“You could approach the exhibitions in different ways. You can (do it) just to have fun, playing good tennis, good shots and having fun. Or you can approach them playing really serious and (using) tactics and trying different things you will want to do later, in an event,” Alcaraz said. “So for these matches, I’m going to play well, I’m going to take it really seriously, but at the same time, I’m going to try to have as much fun as I can. To me, that’s what matters. When I’m having fun on court, I can show my best tennis.”
Entertainment
Paige Spiranac’s surprising NFL fandom confession triggers heated debate over loyalty, authenticity, and fan culture
The 2026 NFL Draft starts Thursday night in Pittsburgh, and the spotlight isn’t only on prospects and front offices. Golf influencer Paige Spiranac has again found herself pulled into NFL conversation, this time for her open support of multiple teams.
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Join us on WhatsAppWith the Steelers hosting the first round, her long-standing connection to Pittsburgh has resurfaced. But it’s not just about hometown ties. Her broader fandom, which stretches beyond one franchise, continues to draw mixed reactions at a time when fan loyalty is often treated as non-negotiable.
Paige Spiranac roots for 2 NFL teams: Who are they?
Paige Spiranac has never hidden where her loyalties lie, even if they don’t fit the usual mold. She has consistently pointed to her roots while leaving space for other allegiances.
“Both my parents are from Pittsburgh so I’ve been a Steelers ..fan since the day I was born. I also love the Bills. It’s a complicated relationship…Who’s your team?” she previously asked her followers. It’s a candid admission, one that reflects personal history more than calculated fandom.
Still, the reaction has been sharp. NFL culture tends to rew ..
Entertainment
Quiet moments on the course can say a lot about what’s coming next.
Sometimes the most important work happens when nobody is really watching.
Lexi Thompson was out on the 18th green, working through her putting during a practice round ahead of the Chevron Championship in Houston.
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Join us on WhatsAppIt’s a simple scene, but it shows the kind of quiet preparation that goes into these big tournaments—getting the feel of the greens, adjusting to conditions, and building trust in every stroke.
These are the small details that can shape how a player starts when the pressure kicks in.
Entertainment
Predicting what will happen to Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson if LIV Golf collapses
It looks like LIV Golf is over.
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Join us on WhatsAppThe Saudi Public Investment Fund has reportedly decided that this league simply isn’t worth the hole it’s burning in their pocket, and they’re pulling funds at the end of 2026.
That gives them less than a year to seek new investment. While CEO Scott O’Neil seems confident, it’s going to be extremely difficult to secure funding for a league that is operating at such eye-watering losses.
So this probably pulls the curtain closed on one of the most turbulent, frustrating, confusing, and ridiculous eras in golfing history. Hopefully, we can all return to some reality after the year is over.
But there is still so much uncertainty surrounding golf’s future thanks to this. Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed saw the signs early and jumped ship, but they did that with some leverage. So what on earth is going to happen to the rest of these players who didn’t take the olive branch when it was offered to them?
Feelings will be hurt, and careers will be ended. Let’s take a look.
Jon Rahm rejoins the PGA Tour
Koepka returned to the PGA Tour under the returning member program, which saw him pay $5 million to charity, accept that he’ll receive no FedEx Cup bonus money, and agree he cannot be a sponsor exemption for the 2026 signature events.
That same deal was offered to Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. They didn’t accept it, but a similar offer will likely be handed out to them again.
If LIV Golf folds, Rahm will not hold the same leverage as Koepka did, but he is a bigger star at this stage of his career. Make no mistake, the PGA Tour will want him back immediately.
But Rahm does risk leaving himself without any options at all. Reed didn’t come straight back to the PGA Tour, so he’s spending a year on the DP World Tour first. You’d imagine Rahm would consider doing the same, but it might not be so easy for him.
Rahm is in a feud with the DP World Tour, as the only one of eight players to reject a deal which would have seen him retain his full-time membership. If Rahm agreed to play in six DP World Tour events this year, then he could have played on both LIV Golf and the tour. He did not agree.
For now, his membership is at risk. So, will it be possible for him to spend a season on the DP World Tour like Reed? Maybe not. That makes it all the more likely that Rahm will be back on the PGA Tour the moment LIV folds.
Bryson DeChambeau does YouTube full-time
With DeChambeau, I don’t think it’s as much of a done deal that he returns to the PGA Tour. Not immediately anyway.
He’s been negotiating his contract with LIV, which expires at the end of this season. During these negotiations, he’s made it very clear that he is completely willing to step away from full-time competition and be a full-time YouTuber.
DeChambeau’s channel has over two million subscribers, so he could feasibly do that with all of the money he’s making there.
He was annoyed to see LIV move to a four-day format, so he could commit himself fully to being the content king. It would be a wild thing to do, but it’s also exactly the kind of move you could see the two-time major winner making.
He could qualify for The Open Championship and the US Open, and earn enough points there to play The Masters and the PGA Championship. It’s possible.
He does seem to live for competition, so maybe YouTube won’t quite scratch the itch, but it is on the table for DeChambeau. At least for a year until his suspension expires. Out of Rahm and DeChambeau, the American is absolutely the least likely to take a deal.
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