Paris Saint-Germain begin their quest for a fourth straight Ligue 1 title on Friday at Lille, who will be playing their first competitive match under new coach Herve Renard.

The capital club won every domestic trophy available last season and have already won silverware at the start of this campaign, beating Lyon 2-0 in last weekend's Champions Trophy in the Canadian city of Montreal.

Lionel Messi was at the center of a headbutting controversy on Wednesday as Barcelona cruised to a 3-0 victory over Serie A side Roma in a pre-season friendly at the Camp Nou.

The Argentinian superstar, renowned for rarely losing his cool despite regularly being the target of brutal tackling, reacted angrily during a confrontation with Roma's French international Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.

Samantha Stosur, the last woman to beat Serena Williams at the U.S. Open, likes her chances of disrupting the American star's calendar Grand Slam bid if she gets the chance.

"I've always actually quite enjoyed playing Serena. I've got a game that disrupts her," Stosur said Wednesday. "You have to have the game. My game matches up well against Serena. I've got the kind of weapons that can bother her."

Argentina winger Angel Di Maria said he is "delighted" to be joining French champions Paris-Saint Germain in an interview screened on BeIn Sports on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old has yet to officially sign for the Qatari-backed Parisians ahead of a move from Manchester United.

The designer of Tokyo's logo for the 2020 Olympics said Wednesday he was shocked at "completely baseless" plagiarism allegations, and supplied details of his work to prove his good faith.

The comments by Japanese artist Kenjiro Sano marked his first public appearance since the logo drew threats of possible legal action in Europe last week.

Australian Olympic champion Sally Pearson said Wednesday she fears the Rio Games next year will be tainted by drugs, as she lashed out at doping cheats in the crisis-hit sport.

The champion hurdler, who will miss this month's world championships in Beijing after wrist surgery, said she had no doubt some athletes in Rio will be doped.

Evergreen Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm came from behind to score an upset victory over Germany's Sabine Lisicki at the Stanford WTA tournament here Tuesday.

Date-Krumm, 44, who was forced to qualify for the main draw, looked to be heading to a rapid defeat after Lisicki whizzed through the first set, winning 6-1.

Details of how Tom Brady pressed his "Deflate-gate" suspension appeal to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell were made public Tuesday when the NFL Players Association released a hearing transcript.

The New England Patriots star quarterback denied any wrongdoing and explained destroying his cell phone was something he did routinely to avoid personal details becoming public.

From Ryan Giggs to Harry Kane via Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Premier League has proved a breeding ground for some of European football's biggest stars.

Ahead of the start of the 2015-16 season this weekend, AFP Sports selects five teenage players seeking to grab a share of the limelight.

From Hollywood to hamburgers, Ronda Rousey's cage-fighting exploits are propelling the ferocious former Olympic judoka further towards global superstardom.

The 28-year-old martial artist from California completed the latest in a series of devastating knockouts on Saturday, demolishing Brazilian opponent Bethe Correia in just 34 seconds in Rio de Janeiro.