Chicago Sky’s Lexie Brown, second from left, holds the trophy while she and teammates celebrate their 2021 WNBA Championship during a rally at Millennium Park on Tuesday in Chicago. Matt Marton/Associated Press

BASKETBALL

Chicago turned out to Tuesday for a parade celebrating the WNBA champion Sky, bringing a big smile to the city celebrating its first world championship since 2016.

Fans lined Michigan Avenue to cheer on the Sky after they beat the Phoenix Mercury 80-74 Sunday at Wintrust Arena, becoming the first Chicago team to win a title since the Cubs five years ago.

“I think every time I see someone teary-eyed and you see the passion on their face, just for the love they have in the team. It’s been amazing,” head coach James Wade said.

Naperville native Candace Parker and said she remembered growing up watching the Chicago Bulls and “dreaming of being and bringing a title to your hometown.”

Point guard Courtney Vandersloot looked out at the fans and said, “I truly can’t believe this.”

The parade ended at Millennium Park for a noon rally.

• The Phoenix Mercury were fined $10,000 by the WNBA for violating the league’s rules on postgame media interview access following Game 4 of the WNBA finals.

The Mercury’s players — including stars Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins-Smith — didn’t do interviews after Chicago’s series-clinching 80-74 win on Sunday. The $10,000 fine is the biggest in league history for a media infraction.

TENNIS

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Tennis players who haven’t received a COVID-19 vaccination are unlikely to get a visa to enter the country for the Australian Open in Melbourne in January, according to the political leader of the state which hosts the season-opening major.

Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews has already introduced a vaccine mandate for professional athletes competing in domestic sports leagues and people working in some industries including health. On Tuesday, he increased the pressure on tennis players traveling from abroad.

“I don’t think any unvaccinated tennis player is going to get a visa to come into this country,” Andrews said. “If they did get a visa, they’d probably have to quarantine for a couple of weeks when no other players will have to.

“Professional sport is part of that authorized worker list and they have to be double-dose vaccinated.”

Australia is preparing to re-open its international borders for the first time in more than 18 months, but it’ll be a gradual, state-by-state process starting next month and will depend on vaccination rates across the country. Fully vaccinated people will have fewer restrictions in Australia than those who are not.

KRELMIN CUP: Simona Halep started her campaign at the Kremlin Cup with a straight-sets win, while Ons Jabeur retired from her first-round match.

Halep won 6-1, 6-4 against Anastasia Potapova despite losing her serve three times and next plays Veronika Kudermetova in the second round after the Russian beat 18-year-old qualifier Oksana Selekhmetova 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Halep hasn’t won more than three consecutive matches since returning in August from a three-month layoff with a calf injury that kept her out of the French Open and Wimbledon.

In the men’s draw, fifth-seeded Alexander Bublik was upset by Illya Marchenko 6-4, 6-3 and veteran French player Gilles Simon surprised eighth-seeded Laslo Djere 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-3.

SOCCER

PREMIER LEAGUE: Almost a third of Premier League soccer players have yet to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus and about 20% have yet to receive a first dose. The first vaccination data from the league shows its players are below the national average. Government statistics show 79% of people over the age of 12 in Britain have been fully vaccinated.

Only 68% of players have been fully vaccinated and 81% have received at least one dose, the league said.

• Christian Pulisic has yet to resume training with Chelsea following another injury setback, Manager Thomas Tuchel said.

Pulisic has not featured since Aug. 14 when he scored in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace to open the English Premier League.

The American forward injured an ankle while on international duty in early September — his sixth significant injury in his two years at Chelsea.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Manchester City put on a dominant display of slick passing and movement to rout Club Brugge 5-1.

Following its loss to Paris Saint-Germain last month, Pep Guardiola’s team recovered in style, making things look easy against opponents who were overwhelmed from the start and were forced to defend throughout the match.

• Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool took advantage of Antoine Griezmann’s red card to beat Atletico Madrid 3-2.

• Sebastian Coates waited years to score his first Champions League goal but only 12 minutes for the next one, a near-exact copy.

The Sporting Lisbon captain scored two headers in almost identical circumstances and won a penalty for good measure, as he led his team to a 4-1 win against Besiktas.

• Edin Dzeko scored one goal and set up another as Inter Milan posted a 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Sheriff.

• Vinicius Junior scored twice, including a wondrous solo goal, to lead Real Madrid to a 5-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.

• Ajax surged past Borussia Dortmund 4-0 to take a big step toward advancing to the knockout stage for the first time since the Dutch club reached the semifinals three seasons ago.

• Lionel Messi scored twice in quick succession, including an exquisite Panenka-style penalty, to rescue Paris Saint-Germain as it rallied to beat Leipzig 3-2.

•  AC Milan lost 1-0 at Porto to stay winless.

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