Axios

A woman who publicly accused Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer of sexual abuse in 2021 filed a counterclaim against him on Tuesday, alleging that he "violently sexually battered" her two times.

Why it matters: The new lawsuit is in response to a defamation case Bauer filed against the woman and her lawyer while he was appealing his two-season suspension under the MLB's domestic violence policy.

The U.S. Open is always a spectacle, but this year's edition will be downright historic.

Driving the news: Serena Williams, 40, plans to retire sometime after the tournament, she wrote Tuesday in an essay for Vogue, though she didn't pinpoint an exact date for her final match.

SMU is famous for boosters paying athletes. Now, they'll be doing it legally.

Driving the news: The Boulevard Collective, a new NIL collective driven by Dallas business leaders and SMU alumni, will pay football and men's basketball players $36,000 each for a total of $3.5 million annually.

A California federal judge ruled on Tuesday that three golfers who joined the Saudi-backed LIV Tour will not be able to compete in the PGA Tour's postseason.

Why it matters: It's the latest ruling in a legal battle between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, which suspended golfers who joined the rival circuit since tour bylaws bar members from appearing in other events without the permission of the commissioner, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Alabama sits atop the preseason USA Today coaches poll, with Ohio State second and defending national champion Georgia third.

The big picture: This marks the seventh time in 13 years that the Crimson Tide will begin the season at No. 1 in the coaches poll.

In America, the madness arrives in March. In Japan, it comes in August, swapping basketballs for baseballs and colleges for high schools, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

Driving the news: Japan's Summer Koshien — the national high school baseball tournament named after the stadium where it's held — began Saturday, back with full crowds for the first time since 2019.

Serena Williams, one of the country's most iconic tennis stars, hinted Tuesday that she will retire from the sport after this year's U.S. Open.

Why it matters: Williams is a 23-time Grand Slam champion and has been a pillar of the sport of tennis since she first won the U.S. Open in 1999.

Overtime, a sports media company targeting Gen-Z and millennials, has raised $100 million in series D funding, its co-founder and president Zack Weiner told Axios.

Why it matters: The latest round values the six-year-old company at over $500 million, according to a source familiar with the figures.