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Iga Swiatek finds Billie Jean King Cup joy, ATP Tour Finals sets up Australian Open draw

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Iga Swiatek finds Billie Jean King Cup joy, ATP Tour Finals sets up Australian Open draw

Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court.

This week, Jannik Sinner further stamped his authority on men’s tennis by winning the ATP Tour Finals against Taylor Fritz. Elsewhere, the Billie Jean King Cup took center stage on the women’s tour and Nick Kyrgios announced his return to the sport.

If you’d like to follow our fantastic tennis coverage, click here.


The end to a season Iga Swiatek needed?

She split with her coach, breaking up a partnership that won four Grand Slams.

She lost her No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka.

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She lost a match to Coco Gauff, in a rivalry she leads 12-2.

Then Iga Swiatek went to the Billie Jean King Cup in Malaga to play team tennis for Poland and got back on track. She battled back from dropping several healthy leads against Linda Noskova, who knocked her out of the Australian Open in January, then walked on court 30 minutes after that with Katarzyna Kawa for a 6-2, 6-4 win over Marie Bouzkova and doubles world No. 1 Katerina Siniakova to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 and move into the semifinals.

Swiatek skipped the past two editions to recover from the WTA Tour Finals. A flourish of wins and camaraderie in Malaga appears to be just what the doctor ordered at the start of her new partnership with Wim Fissette.

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Emotional intelligence, data, and tough love: Who is Wim Fissette the coach?

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Matt Futterman


Will rankings help Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup?

Great Britain’s doubles players Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls have been spectators at the Billie Jean King Cup.

Britain have beaten Germany and 2023 champions Canada 2-0 with all four victories in straight sets — thanks to the excellent performances of singles players Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu.

The pair are No. 24 and No. 58 in the world but their rankings would be closer were it not for Raducanu’s various injuries over the last few years. They play to a very similar level and both raise their game in a team environment.


Emma Raducanu has thrived in the Billie Jean King Cup in 2024. (Fran Santiago / Getty Images for ITF)

Great Britain’s singles team effectively features two players worthy of top singles billing, a handy advantage when the second-tier players by world ranking go head-to-head in the opening rubber of a tie. Raducanu led off for Great Britain against Germany and Canada and was a level above her opponent. She thrashed world No. 91 Jule Niemeier 6-2, 6-2 in the win over Germany on Friday and then beat Canada’s world No. 103 Rebecca Marino 6-0, 7-5. Boulter followed up with straight-sets victories of her own.

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Next up for Britain is a semifinal on Tuesday against Team USA’s conquerors Slovakia, with world No. 41 Rebecca Sramkova in remarkable form. If Boulter and Raducanu keep playing the way they are then Watson and Nicholls will remain as active on the Malaga match court as the rest of us watching.

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Emma Raducanu has done all-or-nothing tennis. Now, can she just play?

Charlie Eccleshare


How do the ATP Tour Finals affect the Australian Open?

The biggest knock-on from the men’s tour finals to the first Grand Slam of 2025 probably happened before the event started in Turin, Italy. When Novak Djokovic decided not to play — and to relinquish his 1,300 ranking points as defending champion — he sealed his fate of falling outside the top four seeds in Melbourne, making him a pretty nightmarish quarterfinal opponent for anyone in that top four if he goes deep in Australia, the major he has won more than any other.

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The rest of men’s tennis has roughly two months to obsess about how far ahead of them Jannik Sinner is. Carlos Alcaraz is excused after beating Sinner three times out of three in 2024 and winning the two majors that Sinner did not, but the Italian’s destruction of the field on Turin’s hard court made plain what all of them have sensed: the era of tennis as chess is on hiatus.

Casper Ruud, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, has declared himself a dinosaur at 25.

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“I’m not going to start playing a different style of tennis now,” he said in a news conference in Turin.

“I need to flatten out the shots more. From defense, especially on hard court, I need to take a bit more risk.”

A few other strays: Alex de Minaur knows he needs to take a break and get healthy. Taylor Fritz is going to feel very good about a potential match-up with Alexander Zverev. Alcaraz will kiss the ground knowing that he will be playing an outdoor tournament.

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Jannik Sinner wins ATP Tour Finals with serve masterclass against Taylor Fritz

Matt Futterman

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What does Nick Kyrgios have in store for tennis?

While the best players in the world were duking it out in Turin last week, Nick Kyrgios announced that his on-court comeback is imminent.

Kyrgios hasn’t played competitively since reaching the 2022 U.S. Open quarterfinals because of serious knee and wrist injuries, but he has pencilled in a return to tennis at next month’s Brisbane International, one of the tune-up tournaments for the Australian Open. Kyrgios, 29, also intends to compete at his home Grand Slam in January.

“This is probably the best I’ve felt in two years,” Kyrgios said in an interview with Australian broadcaster 9News as he announced his comeback.

“It was a 15 percent chance that I was going to get back to playing at this level and here we are.

“To get back out there in front of the home fans is going to be sick.”

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Kyrgios, who also reached the Wimbledon final and won the men’s doubles at the Australian Open in 2022, may struggle to make a major impact straight away, but he could play a big part in Melbourne as a disruptor; no one will want to face him in front of his home fans in the early rounds.

Some of the wider tennis community will also have misgivings about his return. In early 2023, Kyrgios pleaded guilty to assaulting former girlfriend Chiara Passari in 2021, but was not convicted. In March this year, he suggested in a post on X that Sinner should be “gone for two years” following his two positive tests for clostebol, an anabolic steroid; in September 2024, Kyrgios was criticized for writing “second serve” under a picture of himself and Sinner’s girlfriend, top-20 WTA player Anna Kalinskaya.

Kyrgios, who has been praised for his analysis as a broadcaster for ESPN and the BBC at the Grand Slam tournaments during his lay-off — including interviewing WTA players on court in post-match interviews — was fined $10,000 in 2015 after on-court microphones picked up the Australian telling Stan Wawrinka that Thanasi Kokkinakis had “banged his girlfriend” during a Rogers Cup match in Montreal, Canada.

Kyrgios later apologized for the remark on Facebook, writing: “My comments were made in the heat of the moment and were unacceptable on many levels.”

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Charlie Eccleshare


Shot of the week

Viktoria Hruncakova slingshotting Slovakia into the last four in Malaga.


Recommended reading:


🏆 The winners of the week

🎾 ATP: 

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🏆 Jannik Sinner (1) def. Taylor Fritz (5) 6-4, 6-4 to win the ATP Tour Finals in Turin. It is the Italian’s eighth title of 2024.
🏆 Kevin Krawietz / Tim Puetz (8) def. Marcelo Arevalo / Mate Pavic (1) 7-6(5), 7-6(6) to win the ATP Tour Finals in Turin. It is the German pair’s third ATP title together.
🏆 Alexander Blockx def. Jurij Rodionov 6-3, 6-1 to win the Hyogo Noah Challenger (Challenger 100) in Kobe, Japan. It is the Belgian’s first ATP title.
🏆 Ethan Quinn def. Nishesh Basavareddy 6-3, 6-1 to win the Paine Schwartz Partners Challenger (Challenger 75) in Champaign, Il. It is the American’s first ATP title.


📈📉 On the rise / Down the line

📈 Fritz moves up one place to No. 4 in the world, a career-high ranking, while Casper Ruud moves up to No. 6 ahead of Novak Djokovic.
📈 Caroline Garcia benefits from compatriot Diane Parry dropping 56 ranking points, moving up one place and returning to the top 50.
📈 Blockx reaches a career-high of No. 204, up 45 places from No. 249.

📉 Daniil Medvedev falls one place from No. 4 to No. 5; Djokovic falls from No. 6 to No. 7.
📉 Harriet Dart drops out of the top 100, falling 13 places from No. 88 to No. 101.


📅 Coming up

🎾 ATP 

📍Malaga, Spain: Davis Cup featuring Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz.
📍Rovereto, Italy: Citta’ Di Rovereto (Challenger 100) featuring Borna Coric, Martin Landaluce, Luca Nardi, Dino Prizmic.
📍Montemar, Spain: Il Montemar (Challenger 75) featuring Fabio Fognini, Sumit Nagal, Pablo Carreno Busta, Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

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📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV, Challenger TV

🎾 WTA

📍Malaga, Spain: Billie Jean King Cup featuring Iga Swiatek, Emma Raducanu, Jasmine Paolini, Rebecca Sramkova.
📍Colina, Chile: LP Open (125) featuring Robin Montgomery, Mayar Sherif, Suzan Lamens, Chloe Paquet.
📍
Charleston, South Carolina: Fifth Third Charleston (125), featuring Renata Zarazua, Alycia Parks, Iva Jovic, Varvara Lepchenko.

💻 WTA Unlocked

Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men’s and women’s tours continue.

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(Top photo: Angel Martinez / Getty Images; Design: Eamonn Dalton)

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Giants valued at $10.8B as Tisch family seeks equity transfer with Epstein investigation looming: report

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Giants valued at .8B as Tisch family seeks equity transfer with Epstein investigation looming: report

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As New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and his siblings look to transfer an equity stake to a children’s trust, the overall value of the franchise has been revealed.

An NFL memo obtained by ESPN earlier this month found the Tisch family — Steve, Jonathan and Laurie — are seeking a transfer of their collective equity stake in the franchise to their children. The proposed stake was 23.1% of the team. 

The proposed transfer of equity values the team at $10.8 billion, according to Sports Business Journal, which would put a 23.1% stake at roughly $2.5 billion. 

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New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch arrives for NFL owners meetings in New York City, New York on Oct. 21, 2025.   (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)

For comparison, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross sold 1% of his team to billionaire entrepreneur Lin Bin with the valuation at a record $12.5 billion. 

Julia Koch, a board member with Koch Industries, also bought a 10% stake in the Giants with a valuation at $10.3 billion in October 2025. 

GIANTS CO-OWNER STEVE TISCH, SIBLINGS LOOK TO TRANSFER EQUITY STAKE TO CHILDREN’S TRUSTS, NFL MEMO SHOWS

It’s also worth noting that the NFL memo stated, “Following the transactions, the Sellers will no longer own any interest in the Club.” 

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It is unknown if the transfer requests have anything to do with Steve Tisch’s name appearing in the Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department in January. His name appeared more than 400 times in the files, and while he said at the time he knew of Epstein, he denied visiting Epstein’s infamous island. 

Steve Tisch executive vice president of the New York Giants looks on before pre-season football game against the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium on Aug. 18, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.  (Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

“We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments,” Steve Tisch said in a statement on Jan. 31. “I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”

The U.S. Justice Department released more than 3 million documents related to the Epstein investigation, which included email exchanges from April 2013 and June 2013 between Tisch and Epstein. Some of those exchanges appear to show conversations about women. 

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in February the league would look into Steve Tisch’s association with Epstein. 

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“Absolutely we will look at all the facts,” Goodell said at a news conference in San Jose, California, during Super Bowl week. “We’ll look at the context of those and try to understand that. We’ll look at how that falls under the (league personal conduct) policy. I think we’ll take one step at a time. Let’s get the facts first.”

New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch during warms up prior to the National Football League game between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants on Oct. 28, 2018 at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.  (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Tisch family has been involved in Giants ownership since 1991 alongside the Mara family, which founded the franchise in 1925. 

Fox News’ Chantz Martin and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ohtani. Yamamoto. Sasaki. A 12-story ‘cultural bridge’ between L.A. and Japan to debut in Torrance

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Ohtani. Yamamoto. Sasaki. A 12-story ‘cultural bridge’ between L.A. and Japan to debut in Torrance

Robert Vargas is in a bit of a time crunch.

The Los Angeles-based artist has embarked on one of his most ambitious murals. Titled “Samurai of the Diamond,” it features the Dodgers’ trio of Japanese stars — two-way player Shohei Ohtani and pitchers Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — in larger-than-life fashion on a 12-story wall of the DoubleTree Hotel in Torrance.

Artist Robert Vargas takes a break from painting Saturday to show his progress on his newest mural.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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As of early Saturday afternoon, Vargas still had a lot of painting to do in order to have the mural finished by the official unveiling at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Anyone familiar with Vargas and how he works, however, knows he will get it done.

“It may be finished at 9:59, but at 10 o’clock we will unveil this,” Vargas said

Koreatown resident Diego Guerrero is one of those who knows Vargas’ style. After witnessing the artist working on his massive Fernando Valenzuela mural in Boyle Heights during the fall of 2024, Guerrero said he had “full faith” Vargas would meet his deadline this time around.

“I know he’s got this,” Guerrero said while visiting the DoubleTree site Saturday. “Last time he was doing this, it was raining and even that time he pulled it off. So I have no doubt he’ll finish it.”

Vargas said the new piece was conceived as a follow-up to the massive mural of Ohtani he painted on the side of the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo soon after the former Angels pitcher signed with the Dodgers prior to the 2024 season. In two seasons with L.A., Ohtani has won two National League MVP awards and helped the Dodgers win two World Series championships.

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The Dodgers signed Yamamoto during the same offseason and Sasaki a year later. Both pitchers played key roles in the team’s 2025 postseason run. Yamamoto went 7-1 with two complete games and pitched for the final out in Game 7 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Sasaki moved to the bullpen for the playoffs and recorded three saves and two holds.

“If [the Ohtani] mural was about ushering in a new era and a new face here in Los Angeles, this mural is about building a cultural bridge from Los Angeles to Japan and really emphasizing the greatness that these foreign-born Japanese players are contributing not only to the team, but to this community’s identity,” Vargas said. “And also inspiring to kids who can look up and see heroes that look like them from this community.”

A man standing on a riser and painting a huge Shohei Ohtani face on a textured wall

Robert Vargas paints an image of Shohei Ohtani as part of the local artist’s ‘Samurai of the Diamond’ mural Saturday at the DoubleTree Hotel in Torrance.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Known for its large Japanese American population and concentration of Japanese businesses, Torrance signed friendship city agreements with Bizen (Yamamoto’s hometown) in August 2024 and Oshu (Ohtani’s hometown) in October 2024.

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Vargas, who has a home in Japan because of the frequent mural work he does there, came up with the idea of a Torrance mural honoring the Dodgers’ Japanese stars around that time.

“I feel that they are examples of how to do things right on and off the field,” Vargas said of the three players. “Their work ethic is really reflected in the culture. That’s why Ohtani is so respected out there on the field, not just for what he’s doing with the bat or with the baseball but just how he conducts himself. It’s refreshing.”

His idea received support from local leaders, such as Mayor George Chen and city council member Jon Kaji.

“Ever since the Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani in December, 2023, the community has rallied around Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki giving us all a sense of pride,” Kaji said in an email to The Times. “…’Samurai of the Diamond’ exemplifies the unifying power of sports that transcends borders and nationalities.”

Chen wrote in a separate email: “There are many Dodgers fans in the City of Torrance and the greatness of these 3 players have been great role models to young and old. They are performing at the highest levels in MLB, yet they have shown us that even great athletes and celebrities can maintain a certain level of maturity, respectful to others, picking up trash, not retaliating when attacked, and always showing great sportsmanship.”

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The wall will include an interactive feature: When visitors scan a QR code, they will see each player come to life and throw a strike, with animation provided by the AR Firm. Also, lights are being installed in the parking lot to illuminate the mural at night.

“It’s going to be a destination,” Vargas said.

DoubleTree general manager Linda Amato, who is also the executive chairperson of the Discover Torrance visitors bureau, said the hotel plans to create “opportunities for guests to gather outdoors, enjoying [Dodgers] games under the stars alongside the interactive mural.”

“The response from the community has been incredible,” Amato said in an email. “There’s a real sense of excitement — people are stopping by daily to watch the progress and engage with the project. It’s brought a new energy to the city. Robert Vargas has been amazing throughout the process, often speaking with visitors about his vision and techniques, which adds to the overall experience.”

A man looking to the side while wearing a straw sun hat and holding a paint brush in his mouth

Vargas hand-picked the DoubleTree Hotel in Torrance as the location for his latest mural, despite the wall’s deep ridges, which make it difficult to paint.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Vargas hand-picked the DoubleTree as the site, even though he said the hotel’s exterior “presents the most difficult surface challenge” he has faced. The wall is lined with thick, vertical grooves, described by Vargas as “almost like a lattice surface because the corrugation is so deep.”

Because of that, Vargas — who always works freehand and does not use spray paints — has to carefully paint each section with a brush, as even a roller will not work on that surface. He calls the process “very exciting.”

Actor Edward James Olmos, who was visiting Vargas at the site Thursday morning, thinks his longtime friend is nuts.

“That’s the worst f— texture I’ve seen in my life,” the 79-year-old “Stand and Deliver” actor said of the wall’s surface. “Not one artist I’ve ever known would even want to try to do this. He chose it. I told him he’s off his a—. Have you ever seen that texture before? Never.”

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Vargas he said he’s not thinking about that or any other challenges when he’s several stories in the air working on a project he knows will mean a lot to many people.

“When I’m up there and I think about the community that’s down here and how excited they are to see an image like this — not only because of what the content is, but that it’s happening here in Torrance and not just in Little Tokyo — they feel very, very proud,” Vargas said. “So the wind conditions, the heat conditions, the scaling, all of that becomes secondary when you think about why you’re creating it.”

On Saturday afternoon, East Los Angeles resident Edgar Reyes came out to see the super-sized artwork being created in real time.

“It’s just amazing to be able to witness it and see how people are coming together,” said Reyes, who described himself as a “big Robert Vargas fan.” “I think for Torrance this is a good thing because you see a lot of murals in the east side of L.A. because there’s a lot of graffiti artists and all that, compared to over here. So it’s something really huge for Torrance, I believe.”

Koreatown resident Diego Guerrero, who also visited the site on Saturday, said it is “mesmerizing” to watch Vargas work and called the mural “mind-blowing.”

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“It’s so huge,” Guerrero said. “You could see it from miles away. And it’s like, hey, I know them — they’re part of the Dodgers. But not just that. They’re part of the minority. They’re Japanese players, we’re Hispanics, but we’re the same. We want to feel like we’re represented and we’re here. The world will see us, you know?”

A man wearing shades, a hat and a paint-covered jacket stands in front of a massive mural featuring three Dodgers players.

Robert Vargas plans to finish his ‘Samurai of the Diamond’ mural in time for its official unveiling Tuesday at 10 a.m.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Around midday Saturday, Vargas faced another delay when high winds caused him to temporarily come down from the wall. He had already made arrangements to be able to work through the night on Saturday and said he was prepared to work nonstop, if necessary, to be finished in time for the unveiling two days before the Dodgers’ season opener Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“I’m going to get it done,” he said.

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“My time frames are pretty ambitious, but I also know what I’m capable of when it comes to my speed,” Vargas added. “And also I think that my process is really charged by my intention of why I’m creating these pieces, and that is what fuels me to completion.”

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World Cup teams finalize US base camps as host cities prepare for global crowds

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World Cup teams finalize US base camps as host cities prepare for global crowds

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With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just three months away, cities across the United States are racing to finalize training facilities that national teams will call home during the global tournament.

Among them is Kansas City, which will serve as the base camp for defending champion Argentina national football team, a major win for the region as it prepares to welcome both players and tens of thousands of international fans.

Base camps are critical to World Cup operations. They serve as home headquarters where teams live, train and recover while traveling between match sites throughout the competition.

WORLD CUP 2026: WHAT ARE THE HOST COUNTRIES, CITIES, STADIUMS?

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World Cup 2026 signage is displayed in Kansas City, one of the tournament’s host cities. (Olivianna Calmes)

“From private practice fields to player recovery rooms, these facilities are designed to support some of the biggest names in soccer,” said Alan Dietrich, who has worked closely with organizers.

Local leaders have spent more than a year pitching their cities to international teams, hoping to showcase not just athletic facilities but the broader community.

“We started actually over a year ago with countries beginning to visit,” Dietrich said.

WORLD CUP DEMAND SPARKS LODGING SCRAMBLE IN KANSAS CITY

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Tourism officials say the opportunity extends far beyond the sport itself. Hosting a base camp allows cities to introduce themselves to global audiences and build long-term international relationships.

To show support for Kansas City’s bid for the men’s 2026 FIFA World Cup, the KC2026 Bid Committee and Outfront media installed a 90×90-foot banner on Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“We knew that the World Cup was going to be kind of our first chance and probably our biggest chance to be engaging these international markets,” said Devin Aaron with Visit KC.

A locker room shows the “We are FIFA 2026 Kansas City” sign in Sporting KC training facility (Olivianna Calmes)

Early expectations had Argentina basing in Miami, but Kansas City ultimately stood out during the selection process.

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“When Argentina visited, they really loved it here,” Dietrich said. “They loved our facilities, they loved our people.”

The team will train at Sporting Kansas City’s Compass Minerals National Performance Center, a state-of-the-art facility in Kansas City, Kansas that will serve as Argentina’s training home base during the tournament.

THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP LESS THAN 100 DAYS OUT! HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW

The complex features multiple professional grade fields and elite level training amenities designed for international competition.

Inside, players will have access to private dining areas, meeting rooms and dedicated recovery spaces designed to help them rest between matches.

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A resting room for World Cup players (Olivianna Calmes)

“If they’ve traveled a lot and they’re tired, they can come in here, turn the lights out and get a nice nap,” Dietrich added.

Up to 100,000 Argentine fans are expected to travel to Kansas City during the tournament, a preview of the global crowds set to flood World Cup host cities across the U.S.

Across the U.S., cities selected as host sites and base camps are preparing for similar surges, as teams finalize training locations and fans follow their national squads.

Cities across the US which are hosting World Cup games (Fox News)

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The 2026 World Cup will be the largest in history, expanding from 32 to 48 teams and spanning host cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico, with each location competing for global visibility and long-term economic impact.

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