The comparisons are inevitable.

In November 2003, 14-year-old Freddy Adu signed his first professional contract with MLS and D.C. United. In the years since, Adu's career has been held up as a cautionary tale of too much too soon, showing how being the face of a league set the stage for a career that never lived up to the hype. Now another 14-year-old is slated to turn pro and is doing so a few months younger than Adu was when he became a professional.

Late last month, Francis Jacobs signed a professional contract with USL Championship side Orange County SC, and it raises the usual questions. What's the rush? And what efforts are being made to make sure that Jacobs stays on track and doesn't end up going down the route of Adu and other talented teenagers before him?

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Much has changed in the U.S. soccer landscape since Adu made his debut with D.C. United during the 2004 season. The Development Academy was formed in 2007, resulting in academies sprouting up all over the U.S. and Canada, not just in MLS. The entire soccer ecosystem in the U.S. and Canada has considerably more experience in bringing along young pros. Alphonso Davies was 15 when he signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps and now finds himself on the books of Bayern Munich. Earlier this year, the Chicago Fire signed a 14-year-old in goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina.

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Orange County has some experience in this area as well. Last year, the club signed a 15-year-old goalkeeper, Aaron Cervantes. After nine league appearances with the club, Cervantes finds himself in the running to be named to the U.S. roster for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup this October. Given that experience, OCSC's President of Soccer Operations & General Manager, Oliver Wyss, is confident that Orange County will provide the right platform for Jacobs to grow.

"We have a very talented player that is now in a professional environment, that is allowed to go and develop," Wyss said of Jacobs. "He's allowed to make mistakes. He's allowed to be a teenager. But clearly there's a very talented player that we feel, in the structure that we've provided for him, will make a significant difference in the USL and beyond."

OCSC didn't arrive at the decision to sign Jacobs lightly. Manager Braeden Cloutier has been watching Jacobs for years and, in conjunction with Wyss and technical director Frans Hoek, the decision was made to invite Jacobs to train with the team in May. To their surprise, he wowed the OCSC staff with his ability on the ball. At 5-foot-11, he had the physical tools to compete.

"When he came into our environment, not only for the coaching staff but the players as well, to gain the respect of a lot of older players, it's not easy," said Cloutier. "For him to keep the ball, keep the ball moving, make the right decisions, don't turn the ball over, it caught all the players' eyes really quick. It caught our eyes too.

"I've known him for a long time, but I think we were all like, 'Wow, he's well ahead of definitely a lot of kids.'"

Jacobs estimated that it took him two weeks to adapt to the speed of play.

"I was pretty nervous, but once the practice started, it was just a regular practice," Jacobs said of his first sessions with the team. "I was pretty excited to get started and play with them. The pace of play is way faster because these guys are pros, and it's a lot of movement off the ball, which is way faster too."

After Jacobs proved himself over the course of a few months, he accepted an offer -- a "standard professional contract," according to Wyss -- from the club. The teenager has had training stints with FC Koln in 2016 and Bayer Leverkusen in 2017 but the chance to stay near his home in Laguna Beach, Calif. carried the day. There are safety nets in place so Jacobs will be able to play for his youth club, Irvine Strikers, should he need more minutes.

"Taking him out of his nest was not the right move at this point," said Jacobs' father, Jeff, an attorney. "What OCSC has offered couldn't be any better. We live very close by. Francis' life will stay intact in terms of friends and normalcy."

It helped that Jacobs' mother, Cindy, has a Ph.D. in education and has been home-schooling Francis for the past year. For the upcoming school year, Jacobs will be training with his team in the mornings and attending classes in the afternoon at a local private school, with extra training and video sessions with Crettenand at the club four days a week.

"I think after he was out there for two weeks and he had adjusted to the movement and the play of the ball with it pinging all over the place, it was as though from my vantage point, 'Wow, this is what he should be doing regularly," Jeff Jacobs said. "But that's my own thought. It was also, 'What does he want?' and it seems like a natural fit."

The entire OCSC staff doesn't want to throw Jacobs into the deep end. OCSC's Under-23 coach, Didier Crettenand, has been assigned to act as Jacobs' "big brother," breaking down video with the player and helping him navigate his first months as a pro. Former U.S. international Michael Orozco has taken it upon himself to give Jacobs advice during training, too.

"When you watch [Orozco] in practice you notice how good he really is," said Jacobs. "He points out little details that not a lot of people would see in a game. It's really helpful. He's a defender too so from a defensive standpoint, he's showing me how to use your body and not your hands."

Cloutier is also mindful of the age difference between Jacobs and his teammates and how that can manifest itself in the locker room and not just on the field.

"Jacobs is still 14 years old, and there are things said and done in locker rooms that a 14-year-old doesn't need to hear," Cloutier said. "So we're protecting him when it comes to that kind of stuff. He has his kit, so he comes to practice already changed. He comes down when we do video sessions with the team. He's only a little bit involved with the locker room [atmosphere]."

You can already sense some conflicting impulses when it comes to deciding when Jacobs should make his professional debut. Wyss said Jacobs is available for selection and could see the field as soon as this weekend against the Las Vegas Lights (Saturday, Aug. 17, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN+).

Cloutier is more hesitant. OCSC is in 14th place in the 18-team Western Conference but three points out of a playoff spot, so he has to think of the bigger picture. He's also mindful of giving Jacobs his debut at the right time. He noted that the defensive side of the ball is where Jacobs has the most room to grow.

"The last thing I want to do is put him in a situation where if this backfires and doesn't go well, then it's like taking two or three steps backwards," Cloutier said. "I just want to make sure we're doing this at the right pace and the right time."

Jacobs, who also holds a British passport thanks to his mother, whose family moved to England from South Africa in the 1980s, is eager to take that next step but like a grizzled veteran, he knows it's not his call.

Wyss said, "It was clear that Jacobs has all the tools, that if developed correctly, he can be a great professional -- not only for us but to go beyond."

Even though Jacobs has surpassed Adu in terms of his long-held age record in American soccer, he's still got a long way to go before he and OCSC can say he's passed the pitfalls that claimed Freddy all those years ago.

MASON, Ohio -- Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Western & Southern Open, citing a lingering back injury.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion retired because of the same injury during Sunday's Rogers Cup final in Toronto against Bianca Andreescu but had been expected to open play in Cincinnati on Tuesday.

She made the announcement shortly before the start of her scheduled first-round match against Zarina Diyas on Tuesday night.

Williams, a two-time winner at the event, will be replaced by lucky loser Jessica Pegula.

"I am so sad to withdraw from the Western & Southern Open as it is truly one of the tournaments I most love to play," she said in a statement provided by the tournament. "I came to Mason on Sunday and have tried everything to be ready to play tonight, and was still hopeful after my practice this morning. But unfortunately my back is still not right and I know I should not take to the court.

"I really want to thank tournament director Andre Silva and the WTA for giving me every chance to play, and I also want to thank all the amazing fans here in the Cincinnati area for their support -- it means so much. I promise I'll do my best to be back here next year."

Williams is next expected to play in New York at the US Open, which begins Aug. 26 and where she is a six-time champion and the 2018 runner-up.

Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard said quarterback Andrew Luck's calf strain has become a high-ankle issue.

Ballard isn't ready to say what Luck's status will be for the Week 1 game at the Chargers.

"We're 3 and a half weeks away from regular season, so I'm not ready to say (Luck's regular season is in jeopardy)," Ballard told reporters on a confereence call Tuesday night.

Ballard says "most likely" Luck will not play in the preseason.

Team owner Jim Irsay told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Monday that Luck's ongoing absence from Colts training camp was related to a bone issue in his lower left leg.

The quarterback has been ruled out of practices through Thursday, including a pair of joint sessions with the Cleveland Browns that begin Thursday, according to coach Frank Reich. He has been a participant in walk-throughs and has worked with throwing coach Tom House.

Philadelphia Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said Tuesday that no decision has been made on Jake Arrieta's status in the rotation the rest of the season.

Arrieta was scheduled to meet with the Phillies brass this week to talk about whether he should shut it down for the rest of the season or continue to gut it out.

Arrieta has pitched with a bone spur in his right elbow this summer, with sporadic effectiveness. On Sunday in San Francisco, the right-hander had his worst outing of the season: seven hits, a walk and five runs allowed in three innings on just 66 pitches.

At some point, he needs to have arthroscopic surgery.

Over his past 13 starts, Arrieta has a 5.76 ERA, with 84 hits and 25 walks allowed in 65⅔ innings. He has not pitched well, but the Phillies' rotation has been thin, and Arrieta at least offers the hope of some decent starts.

The Phillies are 60-58 and two games out in the NL wild-card race. If Arrieta's spur treatment and rehab are typical, he could have the procedure at the end of the season and still have time to be ready for the start of next season.

But if he has the surgery now, he would have more time to prepare for 2020 -- a year that might serve as a platform for his next round of free agency.

Kyle Edmund lost to Daniil Medvedev for the second time in six days as the British number one was knocked out of the Cincinnati Masters.

Edmund, 24, suffered a 6-2 7-5 loss on Tuesday after a straight-set defeat at last week's Rogers Cup in Montreal.

World number 30 Edmund, who had won their two matches before last week, led the Russian 5-3 in the second set.

World number eight Medvedev, 23, will now face Benoit Paire of France in the second round.

BRAINERD, Minn. – Austin Prock is still savoring every part of picking up his first career NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series victory in Top Fuel.

However, one aspect of enjoying the victory for the Top Fuel rookie is how much it has motivated him to try to get more and more wins.

Prock will get that chance this weekend, as he makes his Top Fuel debut at Brainerd Int’l Raceway for the 38th annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in his 11,000-horsepower Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist dragster.

The victory in Seattle was a major milestone for Prock, who is now firmly inside the top 10 in the class, but it’s only pushed him to try to do more, especially with the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship approaching.

“I’d like to say I’m hungrier than ever,” Prock said. “Getting that taste of victory, which I wanted to get all year, now that I’ve had it I want them all now. We just have to keep our heads down. I’ve dreamed of this my whole life, but we can’t get too excited. We really didn’t have the greatest car in Seattle, but we all came together and worked well together.

“I picked up the car when I needed to and they picked me up when I needed it. That’s how you win races – a total team effort.”

The festive weekend in Brainerd is one of the most unique and memorable atmospheres on the NHRA circuit. It includes the huge on-site campground known as “The Zoo,” jet cars and a special primetime nitro qualifying session at 6 p.m. on Friday, and Prock can’t wait to experience it all for the first time as a professional driver.

It’s also the 17th of 24 races during the 2019 season, making it the penultimate race of the NHRA regular season. The good thing for Prock, who is now tied for eighth in points, is the team seems to be coming together at the perfect time.

The team shuffled through people early in the season, but that has since been solidified, with crew chiefs Mike Green and Ronnie Thompson leading the way.

As Prock continues to progress as a driver, the overall improvement has been impressive.

“We’re all learning together,” Prock said. “It’s been a long, hard journey, but nothing is built overnight. We’ve had a lot of tough breaks this year, but everything came together at once (in Seattle). It’s natural to get down on yourself during some of those tough moments, but I told them to stay positive.

“We’ve got a good group of guys and we’re all gelling together. I just need to have the right mindset, and I’ve been lucky enough to put some valuable lessons in my pocket.”

Prock hopes to apply those in Brainerd, after defeating the likes of points leader and defending world champion Steve Torrence, Leah Pritchett, Clay Millican and Mike Salinas en route to the win in Seattle.

He’ll have to deal with that trio in Brainerd, as well as the likes of Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta and Richie Crampton to keep his recent hot streak going.

But racing in Brainerd has a certain way of drawing energy out of the drivers.

“We just have to keep our heads down and keep picking at it without making mistakes,” Prock said. “Everyone has to stay focused because attention to detail is huge in this deal. My guys are doing a fine job and our goal is to run like a well-oiled machine. It gives me confidence to go drill that tree.

“I’ve had my fair share of fun in Brainerd the last three years, and it’s fun to see all the rowdy fans and pay our respects to them. It should be exciting.”