Some mainland fans travelled 12 hours from Xinjiang to Hong Kong to see Messi, the Global Times wrote, with the disappointment of the government and fans "entirely understandable. The impact of this incident has far exceeded the realm of sports."
John Isner delved deep into his energy tank to outlast Germany's Alexander Zverev 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 and claim the biggest title of his career at the Miami Open.
IMAGES from the matches played at the Miami Open on Thursday
Images from the Copa America 2024 Group A matches between Argentina and Peru, Canada and Chile.
Messi played a key role in guiding Argentina to their first World Cup title in 36 years when they beat defending champions France in the final in December last year.
Retired soccer star David Beckham and Major League Soccer (MLS) took a step toward fielding a new Miami team as local officials on Tuesday unanimously approved on-going efforts to find a suitable stadium location.
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden were beaten by the Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the men's doubles semi-finals.
Yuki Bhambri crushed Argentina's Renzo Olivo in straight sets to move into the final round of the ATP Miami Masters qualifiers but Ramkumar Ramanathan was ousted in the opening round.
Daniil Medvedev said he was enjoying his growing rivalry with world number one Jannik Sinner despite coming out on the wrong end of the scoreline
Uruguay beat Canada on penalties in the Copa America third-place play-off match on Saturday after a 2-2 draw at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
American Sloane Stephens kept intact her streak of never having lost a final as she defeated Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko 7-6(5), 6-1 to claim the Miami Open title on Saturday.
Tara completes a landmark... Mallika's favourite colour... Ibrahim goes to Miami...
Former England soccer captain David Beckham and Major League Soccer will announce on Wednesday that he is exercising his option to become the owner of a team in Miami, sources close to the negotiations said.
Alcaraz returns to action at this week's Cincinnati Open, where he can gain ground on the Serb and Italian Jannik Sinner.
Kriti has a question for you... Urvashi's pretty eyes... Allu Arjun's family time...
At least eight cars were trapped when the 950-ton (tonne) bridge suddenly gave way.
Spectators chanted "refund" after Messi stayed on the bench during the match.
Serena and Venus Williams usually get top billing at the Miami Open but this year there is another sister act vying for thespotlight with world number one Naomi Osaka showing older sibling Mari the ropes.
Miami are set to take on Al-Hilal at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on January 29 before facing Al-Nassr at the same venue on February 1.
Paula Badosa spoiled Simona Halep's return from a doping ban.
Yuki Bhambri continued his rich vein of form as he swept aside Mirza Basic of Bosnia-Herzegovina in straight sets to storm into the second round of the Miami Open.
United States President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the nomination of popular Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth, 44, as his defence secretary.
Argentina's friendly against Ivory Coast, scheduled to be held in Beijing in March, has been cancelled, the Chinese city's football association said on Saturday, following a backlash against Lionel Messi's failure to play in a match in Hong Kong.
Defending champion Sloane Stephens was sent packing from the Miami Open on Sunday after a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Germany's Tatjana Maria in the third round.
Big-hitting American John Isner kept his title defence alive but needed all his experience to see off Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(3), 7-6(4) on Friday to return to the Miami Open final.
Messi hopes to play in Tokyo friendly after Hong Kong letdown
Naomi Osaka continued her stunning run of form with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the first round of the Miami Open on Wednesday, the latest big win for the 20-year-old Japanese player.
Djokovic missed the Masters series event with an elbow injury and, having recovered, is eager to face Spain in the Davis Cup quarter-finals in front of a boisterous home crowd next weekend.
Lionel Messi said he will not be part of Argentina's squad for the Paris Olympics.
Briton Andy Murray will make his comeback from injury at this month's Geneva Open after the former world number one was handed a wildcard by the organisers of the French Open tune-up event on Wednesday.
Indian tennis ace Yuki Bhambri continued his rich vein of form as he qualified for the main draw of the ATP Miami Masters after brushing aside Sweden's Elias Ymer in straight sets on Wednesday.
Babar Azam and five other players will prolong their stay in the United States
Serena Williams won her eighth Miami Open title with little trouble, enjoying a 6-2, 6-0 win over Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro in just 56 minutes on Saturday.
Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro came back from a dreadful first set to defeat Venus Williams.
World No 84, Gunneswaran, who reached the third round at the Indian Wells Masters after coming through qualifiers, beat the Spaniard 6-2, 6-4 in the opening round.
Cristiano Ronaldo topped Forbes magazine's list of highest-paid athletes for the fourth time in his career.
German fourth seed Alexander Zverev beat Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6(4) 6-2 on Friday to set up a Miami Open final showdown against big-serving American John Isner, who earlier overwhelmed Juan Martin del Potro.
Victoria Azarenka defeated Spain's Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-1, 6-3 to set up a second round meeting with Jelena Jankovic.
Eddie Jones registered 18 points as the Miami Heat overcame a sluggish start to defeat the New Jersey Nets 90-65.
