The mother of Spain's suspended football chief Luis Rubiales, who is under fire for planting an unsolicited kiss on the lips of player Jenni Hermoso, went on hunger strike Monday in support of her son.

Angeles Bejar began her protest inside the Divina Pastora church in the southern seaside town of Motril, saying she would continue until Hermoso "tells the truth" about what happened, a family member told reporters outside of the church.

Prosecutors at Spain's top criminal court said Monday they had opened a preliminary investigation into Luis Rubiales' forcible kiss on the lips of a star of World Cup player Jenni Hermoso on grounds it could constitute a crime of "sexual assault."

"Prosecutors from the National Court have opened a preliminary investigation to look into the facts, which could constitute an offence of sexual assault," a court statement said, indicating it would offer Hermoso a chance to file suit to that end.

It was late in the first quarter of the U.S. team's opener at the FIBA World Cup. Austin Reaves was in transition and tossed a lob to Cam Johnson, who got sandwiched in midair by two New Zealand defenders and took a hard fall.

Steve Kerr expected such plays to happen.

Nicolas Batum has been part of France's national team for about 15 years now. He was part of a gold-medal game loss to the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics. Part of another gold-medal game loss at last year's EuroBasket. Part of a pair of semifinal-round losses at the last two FIBA World Cups.

Lebanon has been eliminated as Canada, Latvia, Montenegro, Lithuania and Germany all headed to the round of 16 of the Basketball World Cup.

Debutants Latvia beat Lebanon in their opening game and sent heavyweights France crashing to a shock Basketball World Cup first-round exit on Sunday, while Canada underlined their title credentials in a blowout win over Lebanon.

When Billie Jean King won the U.S. Open in 1972, she didn't make the usual remarks about hoping to win again. Instead, she threatened to not play at all the next year — and added that no other women would, either.

That's because she earned $10,000 for her championship, $15,000 less than what Ilie Năstase won for his.

Facing his possible removal from office, the president of the Spanish football federation refused to resign Friday despite an uproar for kissing a player on the lips without her consent after the Women's World Cup final.

Luis Rubiales defiantly told an emergency general assembly of the federation "I won't resign" four times in quick succession and claimed he was a victim of a witch hunt by "false feminists."

Saudi Arabia will host the men's tennis tour's Next Gen ATP Finals in Jedda through 2027 under an agreement announced Thursday, the latest foray into sports by the kingdom.

The end-of-season tournament for the ATP's leading 21-and-under players will be held this year at the King Abdullah Sports City on an indoor hard court from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2.

Latvia turned its first FIBA World Cup game into an easy 109-70 win over Lebanon on Friday despite a late-game surge by the Lebanese team.

Rolands Smits had 17 points for Latvia, which had a 10-point lead midway through the first quarter and kept pulling away.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has downplayed speculation that Mohamed Salah could move to Saudi Arabia.

Sections of the British media reported Thursday that Al-Ittihad wanted to buy the 31-year-old Salah, who has two years left on his deal at Liverpool.