The Morning Shot: September 9, 2026
The sports stories worth knowing before your coffee gets cold.
Good morning! If you went to bed at a reasonable hour last night, the U.S. Open has some explaining to do. Frances Tiafoe pulled off an absurd comeback, Ben Shelton sent the defending champion home at 3:33 in the morning, and we’re now guaranteed an American man in the U.S. Open final. Oh, and there were some pretty significant women’s matches too. Tennis ruled the day (and night…and morning hours) and it was a beautiful sight.
Here’s what you need to know.
01 | Frances Tiafoe Refused to Go Home
Frances Tiafoe was down two sets and a break to fellow American Alex Michelsen. Michelsen actually served for the match at 5–4 in the third set—and then everything changed. Momentum shifted and Tiafoe hit another gear.
Tiafoe broke back, won 17 of the final 22 points of the third set and forced a fourth which he won convincingly. Then things got dicey at the start of the fifth set: Michelsen jumped ahead 3–0 before Tiafoe clawed his way back again. Nearly five hours after they started, Tiafoe completed the comeback 5–7, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, 7–6(6).
Why it matters: Tiafoe is headed to his third U.S. Open semifinal, and he was literally a game away from going home in straight sets.
The takeaway: If you turned this match off when Michelsen was serving for it in the third, you made a perfectly rational decision—and missed one of the elite matches of the tournament. It was spectacular play.
And one more thing worth knowing: after winning, Tiafoe cut his celebration short to console an emotional Michelsen at the net. Michelsen later said Tiafoe’s words were what finally made him cry. Great tennis followed by a pretty great sports moment. Another reason to love sports.
02 | And Then Ben Shelton Did THAT
Apparently one five-set American thriller wasn’t enough.
Ben Shelton took out defending U.S. Open champion Carlos Alcaraz in another five-set marathon: 6–7(5), 6–1, 6–3, 1–6, 7–6(7). It took 4 hours, 28 minutes and didn’t end until 3:33 a.m. Wednesday, making it the latest-finishing match in U.S. Open history.
Alcaraz committed 53 unforced errors, while Shelton survived the deciding match tiebreak 10–7.
Why it matters: Shelton’s reward is an all-American semifinal against Frances Tiafoe. That means the United States is guaranteed to have a man in the U.S. Open final. And whoever wins will have a chance to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003. That would be awesome!
The takeaway: Tiafoe vs. Shelton on Arthur Ashe Stadium for a spot in the U.S. Open final. You won’t want to miss it.
03 | The Women Apparently Wanted Drama Too
Aryna Sabalenka hadn’t dropped a set in New York. Linda Noskova changed that—and nearly changed the trajectory of the tournament.
Sabalenka survived 7–6(1), 3–6, 7–6(7) to reach her sixth consecutive U.S. Open semifinal. Noskova pushed the defending champion all the way to a deciding match tiebreak before Sabalenka finally escaped.
Jessica Pegula also advanced, rallying past fellow American Emma Navarro 3–6, 6–4, 6–3. Pegula is still among the players with a chance to leave New York as the world’s No. 1 player, which she has named a childhood goal of hers. At 32 years old, she may not have many opportunities left at chasing No. 1 so she’s very easy to root for as a tennis fan.
Why it matters: The women’s tournament has already lost several huge names, but Sabalenka is still standing—and her path to defending the title is getting very compelling.
The takeaway: Men’s tennis may have stolen the overnight headlines, but the women’s bracket wasn’t lacking drama.
04 | Aaron Judge Returned. The Yankees Won Anyway.
Aaron Judge returned to the Yankees lineup Tuesday after missing 84 games with a fractured right rib. His personal return wasn’t particularly cinematic—Judge went 0-for-3—but New York beat Colorado 5–3, which matters considerably more with the Yankees chasing Tampa Bay in the AL East.
Cam Schlittler did most of the heavy lifting, striking out 10 over seven innings while allowing only one run.
Why it matters: Judge is back for the part of the season when the Yankees need him most. They’re four games behind Tampa Bay, so September isn’t going to provide much time for easing back into things.
The takeaway: Judge didn’t provide the fireworks on Night 1. The important part is that he’s back—and the Yankees won. Even if I personally would prefer for that not to be the case. 😈
05 | The NFL-to-College Experiment May Have Hit a Wall
Remember our whole “The NFL Should Be a One-Way Door” conversation? Well…
LSU has now filled all 105 spots on its football roster without former NFL training-camp players Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, despite a Louisiana court ruling that could have allowed them to play college football again.
The situation had escalated significantly: the SEC filed a federal lawsuit opposing the players’ eligibility and scheduled a Thursday meeting to consider whether LSU could actually be expelled from the conference over the dispute. LSU ultimately used its final two roster spots on Aidan Anding and Gabriel Reliford instead.
Why it matters: This became much bigger than two football players. It’s another fight over who actually controls eligibility rules in the new era of college sports—the NCAA and conferences, courts, schools, or some combination of all three.
The takeaway: For now, at least, LSU appears to have backed away from testing just how far the NFL-to-college eligibility argument could go. It seems like it just wasn’t worth the possible consequences when LSU can still be a national championship contender without those names on their roster.
And, as you can probably guess, I’m not even remotely disappointed about it.
RELATED: The NFL Should Be a One-Way Door
☕ THE ONE TO WATCH TODAY
Coco Gauff vs. Mirra Andreeva
Gauff enters today’s U.S. Open quarterfinal on a 10-match winning streak and a run of 20 consecutive sets won. She’s also 5–0 against Andreeva. But this isn’t a routine quarterfinal: Andreeva is the reigning French Open champion, while Gauff is trying to win her third Grand Slam title.
There’s plenty more tennis coming too. Elena Rybakina faces comeback machine Zheng Qinwen, while Alexander Zverev meets Botic van de Zandschulp tonight.
If yesterday taught us anything, you may need to be prepared to stay up late.
