The French Tennis Federation, in a surprise move, switched the claycourt Grand Slam tournament to Sept. 20-Oct. 4 from its May start due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The new Roland Garros dates clashed with the Sept. 25-27 Laver Cup, which is a team event co-created by Roger Federer and featuring the best of Europe against a World team.
* Live tennis action is a fading memory during the coronavirus shutdown but 20,000 fans tuned in to watch old rivals Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray chew the fat on Instagram on Friday. Sitting on their sofas at home, the duo spent an entertaining hour reminiscing about some of the classics in their 36-match series, painful losses and even came up with the perfect tennis player.
* Major League Soccer said on Friday it extended its moratorium on matches until at least June 8 because of the coronavirus outbreak and is exploring a number of ways to play the entire 2020 season. All MLS teams had played two of their 34 scheduled regular season games when action was suspended in mid-March as the league implemented measures in response to the pandemic.
* The tennis governing bodies have joined forces to support lower-level professionals who are struggling financially during the sport's shutdown due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The tennis season was halted in early March due to the pandemic, leaving players in the lower tiers who depend solely on tournament winnings without the chance to earn a living.
* Premier League clubs on Friday discussed possible models for finishing the current season but did not consider a specific date for play to resume while UK government lockdown restrictions remain in place. Representatives of the 20 teams took part in a conference call to look at various possible options for restarting the season and remain committed to completing the fixtures rather than voiding the season.
* Quinton de Kock will be overlooked as captain of the South Africa test team to avoid overburdening the nation's top performer over recent years, director of cricket Graeme Smith said on Friday. De Kock was named captain of the limited overs side after Faf du Plessis resigned as captain in all formats this year, but Smith has ruled him out as skipper in the five-day game, citing the heavy workload for the wicketkeeper-batsman.
* Organisers of marathons and other endurance events involving mass participation are to be provided with detailed guidelines on how to deal with the threat of contagious diseases, the governing body of athletics said on Friday. World Athletics said in a statement that it was setting up a medical task force with representatives from the governing bodies of cycling, skiing, rowing and triathlon to draw up the guidelines.
* Former Leeds United and England defender Norman 'Bites Yer Legs' Hunter has died at 76 after contracting the new coronavirus, the Championship (second-tier) club said on Friday. Hunter made 726 appearances for Leeds in 15 years at the Yorkshire club and earned his fearsome nickname for his tough tackling.
* Three-time World Player of the Year Dan Carter announced he was leaving Japanese Top League side Kobe Steelers in an Instagram post on Friday. The New Zealander, who won the Top League in his first season with Kobe last year, signed a two-year contract with the club in 2018 but, with Japan's domestic season cancelled due to the new coronavirus outbreak, his time in the country looks to be over.
* US-based Andretti Autosport has signed up as the sixth team to race in Extreme E next year, the electric off-road SUV racing series announced on Friday. The Michael Andretti-led outfit has won the Indianapolis 500 five times and taken four IndyCar series titles. It also runs the BMW i Andretti team in the all-electric Formula E championship.
