Russian Daria Kasatkina will switch allegiance to Australia after her application for permanent residency was accepted.

The 27-year-old, who has criticised Russia's LGBTQ+ rules and opposed the war in Ukraine, has been living in Dubai and has not returned to Russia in two and a half years.

Last month she denied suggestions she had switched to Spanish nationality after a mix-up with the flag used next to her name at a WTA Tour draw ceremony.

The world number 12, who has won eight singles titles, wrote on social media: "Australia is a place I love, is incredibly welcoming and a place where I feel totally at home.

"I love being in Melbourne and look forward to making my home there.

"As part of this, I am proud to announce that I will be representing my new homeland, Australia, in my professional tennis career from this point onwards.

"Obviously, there are parts of this decision that have not been easy. I want to express my thanks and gratitude to my family, coaches and everyone who has supported me throughout my tennis journey to date."

Kasatkina revealed she is gay in a video interview in 2022 and left Russia, which has strict laws on LGBTQ+ rights.

After also criticising the war in Ukraine in the interview, a Russian politician unsuccessfully called for her to be listed as a 'foreign agent' - someone acting against Russian interests.

Last year, she said she was expecting "consequences" following her actions.

Her statement on Friday added: "I will always have respect and fond appreciation for my roots, but I am thrilled to start this new chapter in my career and my life under the Australian flag. Thank you all for your understanding and continued support."

Sale: Carpenter, Roebuck, R du Preez (c), Bedlow, O'Flaherty; Ford, Warr; Rodd, Cowan-Dickie, Opoku-Fordjour, Bamber, Hill, Van Rhyn, T Curry, JL du Preez.

Sin-bin: Ford (36).

Replacements: McElroy, McIntyre, John, Andrews, Dugdale, Thomas, Addison, Reed.

Northampton: Ramm, Freeman, Odendaal, Dingwall (c), Hendy; James, Mitchell; Iyogun, Langdon, Davison, Munga, Coles, Kemeny, Scott-Young, Pollock.

Sin-bin: James (9), Freeman (13).

Replacements: Walker, Haffar, Green, Mayanavnaua, Augustus, Pearson, Weimann, Litchfield.

Referee: Hamish Smales

MEXICO CITY -- León captain James Rodríguez and coach Eduardo Berizzo urged FIFA on Friday to reconsider booting the Mexican team from the Club World Cup.

León was axed last week for failing to comply with regulations regarding multi-club ownership.

León and fellow Mexican club Pachuca both qualified but have the same owner, Grupo Pachuca.

"It's a big injustice," Rodríguez said in a news conference. "If they leave us out it is not going to be fair and it will be a stain on soccer. There are fans that have bought tickets and are in debt to pay for them. How do you tell them now that they are not going to go?"

Rodríguez, the Golden Boot winner at the 2014 World Cup, signed a one-year deal to play for León and one of the reasons was to play in the Club World Cup staged in the United States this summer.

"I'm happy to be here," Rodriguez said. "Whether or not we play in the Club World Cup does not change the fact that I want to stay here. This is something new for me. I never qualified for a Club World Cup, and weeks before they tell you that you are out. I hope FIFA can do something."

León's owner Grupo Pachuca has announced it will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport next month.

"The CAS should rule in our favor," Berizzo said. "We have the right to compete, we did not break any law. The decision is unfair, there is time to fix this."

FIFA has yet to announce a replacement team but Costa Rican club Liga Deportiva Alajuelense has put its hand up. Alajuelense asked FIFA last November to enforce its multi-ownership rules.

"The teams raising their hands for the right to compete in our place should be ashamed of themselves," León midfielder Andrés Guardado said.

"It is a brutal injustice. If anyone has done things wrong it is FIFA. Multi-club ownership in Mexico has existed for many years and FIFA still allow us to compete."

In Mexico, beside León and Pachuca, three more companies own two or more clubs in the first division. Grupo Caliente owns Tijuana and Queretaro, while Grupo Orlegi controls Atlas and Santos. TV Azteca owns Mazatlan and has partial ownership of Puebla.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 23 points, including a go-ahead layup with 2:22 left, and Chloe Kitts added 15 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 1 seed South Carolina beat fourth-seeded Maryland 71-67 on Friday in the Sweet 16 of the women's NCAA tournament.

The defending national champion Gamecocks went back and forth with the Terrapins all game before putting it away in the final few minutes.

South Carolina will face Duke in the Elite Eight on Sunday. The Blue Devils beat Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina 47-38 earlier Friday.

Dawn Staley's team trailed 60-59 with 3:25 left before holding Maryland without a point over the next three minutes. Fulwiley's layup began the 7-0 run that gave the Gamecocks (33-3) just enough cushion.

Kitts added three free throws during the spurt and Fulwiley scored on a coast-to-coast drive.

The Gamecocks were up 66-60 with 25 seconds left when Saylor Poffenbarger ended Maryland's scoring drought with a 3-pointer.

But the Terps couldn't get closer as the Gamecocks made five of six free throws down the stretch, including two by Fulwiley with 10.9 seconds left that made it 71-65.

Kaylene Smikle scored 17 points to lead Maryland (25-8) before fouling out.

Neither team got into an offensive flow in the first three quarters. South Carolina trailed 43-39 late in the third before closing out the period with a 13-7 run that was capped by a spectacular transition basket by Fulwiley, who went behind her back and then hit a pull-up shot.

The two teams had met once in the NCAA tournament, an 86-75 win for South Carolina in the Elite Eight in 2023.

South Carolina avoided becoming the first defending champion to lose this early in the tournament since Louisville knocked off Brittney Griner and Baylor in 2013 in the Sweet 16.

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens reached a three-year contract extension with coach John Harbaugh on Friday, which maintains continuity for one of the most stable franchises in the NFL.

The new deal keeps Harbaugh under contract with the team through the 2028 season.

Harbaugh, 62, was entering the final year of a contract that he signed in March 2022. The Ravens have never let him start a regular season on the final year of his contract since he was hired in 2008.

He is the team's all-time winningest head coach with a 185-115 record over 17 seasons. Harbaugh guided the Ravens to a Super Bowl title in 2012, and his 12 playoff berths are the second most in the league behind Andy Reid (14) since he arrived in Baltimore.

Harbaugh is the second-longest tenured NFL coach behind the Steelers' Mike Tomlin, who completed his 18th season in Pittsburgh. No other coach has been with his current team for more than 12 years.

An extension between Harbaugh and the Ravens had been expected. Shortly after Baltimore's season ended with a 27-25 divisional round loss in Buffalo in late January, Harbaugh said he wasn't worried about his contract status.

This past season, Harbaugh led Baltimore to its second straight AFC North title despite an 0-2 start, which included a home loss to the 4-13 Las Vegas Raiders. He also helped first-year defensive coordinator Zach Orr bounce back from some early-season struggles by adding Dean Pees as a senior adviser.

Harbaugh's strength of keeping his team even keel came into play at the end of last season, when Baltimore fell to 8-5 heading into the bye and trailed first-place Pittsburgh by two games with four weeks remaining. The Ravens then rebounded to win their last four games of the regular season by a combined score of 135-43.

But playoff success has been a challenge lately, even with one of the top players in the NFL in quarterback Lamar Jackson. Under Harbaugh, the Ravens have advanced past the divisional round only once since winning the Super Bowl 12 seasons ago.

The Ravens have become one of the most sound franchises since relocating from Cleveland in 1996. Over the past 29 years, the Ravens have had three head coaches (Ted Marchibroda, Brian Billick and Harbaugh), two general managers (Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta) and two owners (Art Modell and Steve Bisciotti).

When the Ravens hired Harbaugh in 2008, he was considered an outside-the-box hire because his expertise had been on special teams. In replacing Billick, Harbaugh changed the culture and turned the Ravens into a perennial Super Bowl contender.

Using bold decisions and a team-first mentality, Harbaugh has led Baltimore to a .617 win percentage -- including the playoffs -- and has guided the Ravens to six AFC North titles, two No. 1 seeds and four trips to the AFC Championship Game. The Ravens have had just two losing seasons under Harbaugh, when his starting quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Jackson suffered season-ending injuries in 2015 and 2021.

With Harbaugh's new deal, the Ravens removed one of the bigger question marks surrounding the championship-caliber team. By returning 19 starters, the Ravens have the third-best odds to win the Super Bowl this season (+650), according to ESPN BET.

SPOKANE, Wash. -- USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb made it clear Friday that she did not think the play that resulted in JuJu Watkins' season-ending ACL tear was dirty.

Gottlieb also condemned the online bullying against Mississippi State player Chandler Prater, who was guarding Watkins when she was injured in the first quarter of the Trojans' second-round win Monday.

"There was nothing to me that looked like it had any intent to hurt her. ... I mean, that's not a USC view at all," Gottlieb said. "It was a physical game. ... No one deserves online bullying in any realm, but certainly not a young woman in Chandler, who was trying to make a play, and unfortunately our player got hurt."

As Watkins sprinted down the floor, Prater came to guard her and the two made contact as Watkins started to drive toward the basket. Watkins' right knee buckled, and she crumbled to the court, eventually needing assistance to get back to the locker room. It was later revealed that she tore an ACL in the knee and was done for the year.

For the rest of the game, boos rained down on Mississippi State, especially any time Prater touched the ball.

Bulldogs head coach Sam Purcell said after the game that he was praying for Watkins, adding that his team doesn't "play to hurt, we play to compete." He also expressed his hope that the situation wouldn't stir up further unrest or ill will between the two teams.

But Prater still became the subject of hateful comments online. Some fans called her a "dirty" player and said "it's war" against her. Others told her to "learn to play basketball without fouling and injuring players."

Prater has disabled the ability for users to comment on her most recent social media posts, but fans went to older posts to send their messages.

"We have really passionate fans, and there's a lot of love for JuJu, and I understand people being sad and hurt that she's hurt, but nobody in our camp feels like there was any type of attack on her and would not support any type of online bullying or things of that nature," Gottlieb said. "She's a young person that was playing basketball, too, and I'm sure did not want any part of a negative situation that it turned out to be."

USC continues its season Saturday in a Sweet 16 matchup against Kansas State.

PHOENIX -- Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt agreed to a five-year, $45 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday as the team continues its push to secure its young standouts on long-term contracts.

Pfaadt's deal begins in 2026 and includes a club option for 2031 and a mutual option in 2032.

Pfaadt, 26, was one of the team's most consistent pitchers last season, finishing with an 11-10 record and a 4.71 ERA while setting career highs in wins, starts (32), innings pitched (181) and strikeouts (185).

Pfaadt also gave the team an unexpected boost during its postseason run to the World Series in 2023, going 3-1 with a 3.27 ERA over five starts.

He'll make $799,400 this year before the new contract kicks in next season.

Pfaadt's deal is the latest example of the D-backs signing young players to long-term extensions, joining shortstop Geraldo Perdomo (four years, $45 million) and reliever Justin Martinez (five years, $18 million).

Pfaadt was a fifth-round pick out of Bellarmine in 2020.

MILWAUKEE -- Brewer Hicklen is no longer a Brewer.

The outfielder was traded by the Brewers to the Detroit Tigers on Friday for cash. The move comes a day after he was designated for assignment.

The 29-year-old Hicklen scored a run but went hitless in four plate appearances for Milwaukee last season while appearing in six games. He also hit .246 with 22 homers, 72 RBI and 44 steals in 115 games with Triple-A Nashville.

When Milwaukee called him up last September, it marked the first time in franchise history that the Brewers' roster had a player named Brewer.

Hicklen also appeared in six games with the Kansas City Royals in 2022.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Rookie Kameron Misner led off the ninth inning with his first major league home run, giving Tampa Bay a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday as the Rays began their season of home games at Steinbrenner Field.

Miser, a 27-year-old who debuted last August, entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth. He drove a first-pitch fastball from Victor Vodnik (0-1) over the right-field wall for his second big league hit.

He became the first player in major league history to have his first home run be a walk-off home run on Opening Day.

"I'm actually still trying to feel it," he said on the field after the win. "It all happened so fast. Best-case scenario."

Pete Fairbanks (1-0) worked around two walks in the ninth for the win.

Tampa Bay is playing at the New York Yankees' spring training home after Hurricane Milton destroyed the Tropicana Field roof Oct. 9.

Kyle Freeland struck out seven in six scoreless innings for the Rockies, coming off their sixth straight losing season. Freeland threw 53 of 67 pitches for strikes, starting his first eight batters with strikes and 15 of 20 overall.

Tampa Bay tied the score in the seventh on Jonathan Aranda's sacrifice fly and José Caballero's RBI single against Tyler Kinley.

Tampa Bay last year ended a streak of five straight postseason appearances.

Colorado's Ezequiel Tovar hit an RBI double in the third and Kyle Farmer a sacrifice fly in the fourth against Ryan Pepiot, who gave up two runs -- one earned -- and six hits in six innings with eight strikeouts and a walk.

Mickey Moniak made his Rockies debut as a pinch runner in the ninth and was caught stealing.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.