TENNIS

Five-time Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray received a wild-card entry Thursday for the tournament’s main draw. Murray last played at Melbourne Park in 2019, when he made a teary retirement announcement before undergoing a second hip surgery to extend his career.

The former top-ranked Murray also accepted a wild-card entry last year but didn’t go after testing positive for COVID-19 shortly before he was due to board a charter flight to Melbourne.

“Andy is renowned for his fighting spirit, passion and love of the game and I’m delighted to welcome him back to Melbourne in January,” Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said.

The Australian Open begins Jan. 17.

SOCCER

ENGLAND: Coronavirus outbreaks at Leeds and Watford have led to two Premier League matches scheduled for Sunday being postponed in the latest disruption to the schedule.

Leeds was due to travel to Liverpool and Watford was set to play at Wolverhampton as part of the Boxing Day program that still features seven games.

The Premier League has now postponed 12 matches because of coronavirus issues in the last two weeks, with players having to isolate after testing positive or if they are unvaccinated and a close contact of a COVID-19 case.

Games are also being postponed in lower-level leagues, with six of Sunday’s 10 matches in the second-tier Championship postponed.

BRAZIL: Brazilian soccer great Pele was released from a Sao Paulo hospital but will continue being treated for a colon tumor.

Pele, 81, was hospitalized at the start of December for sessions of chemotherapy. He was also previously hospitalized for almost a month after having surgery to remove the tumor.

Pele helped Brazil win the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cups and is his country’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals in 92 matches.

AFRICA: African Cup organizers insist the tournament will begin as planned in Cameroon early next month despite the fast-spreading omicron variant adding to an extensive list of concerns for the continent’s top soccer event.

Amid rumors that the already-delayed 2021 African Cup of Nations might be postponed for a second time because of the coronavirus pandemic, or even moved to a country outside Africa, the Confederation of African Football said in a statement that it will still open on Jan. 9 at Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.