The top sports news of May 16

Emmanuel LANGELLIER, Media365: published on Sunday, May 17, 2026 at 8:55 AM

Get the latest sports news highlights from May 16, 2026. Lyon and Paris FC have qualified for the final of the Arkéma Première League, Montpellier, Stade Français, and Racing 92 won in Top 14, while Elina Svitolina won the Rome tournament.

Football – A Lyon-Paris FC final On May 29, the final of the Arkéma Première League will feature the top two teams of the regular season. Lyon and Paris FC secured their spots in different ways on Saturday. OL Lyonnes thrashed Nantes 8-0 at the Groupama Stadium with Ada Hegerberg scoring a hattrick and Melchie Dumornay scoring a brace. Meanwhile, PFC struggled against Paris-SG but eventually won 1-0 with Hawa Sangaré scoring in the 88th minute.

Rugby – Montpellier and Stade Français close in on the finals In the 14th round of Top 14, Montpellier defeated Castres 36-33, and Stade Français crushed Montauban 73-25, solidifying their spots in the top 6 and nearing qualification for the finals. Union Bordeaux-Bègles overcame Perpignan 37-32, while Pau defeated Clermont 24-19. Clermont and UBB will need to watch out for Racing 92, who beat Toulon 43-28 and are now just 2 points behind the top 6.

Tennis – Svitolina triumphs in Rome Elina Svitolina won the WTA 1000 in Rome for the third time in her career after a grueling match against Coco Gauff that lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes. The Ukrainian player came out on top with a score of 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 and will now be ranked 7th in the world.

Cycling – Narvaez wins again in Giro Jhonatan Narvaez won the 8th stage of the Giro d’Italia between Chieti and Fermo. The Ecuadorian rider from UAE Emirates-XRG, who previously won the 4th stage, broke away from the pack with Mikkel Bjerg and Andreas Leknessund before dropping them just 10 kilometers from the finish line. Afonso Eulalio remains in the lead with a 3’15 advantage over Jonas Vingegaard.

Table Tennis – Lebrun brothers reach Champions League final Alliance Nîmes-Montpellier, the club of the Lebrun brothers, reached the final of the Champions League by defeating Düsseldorf 3-1 on Saturday afternoon. Alexis Lebrun beat Dang Qiu, while his brother Félix defeated Anton Kallberg. They will face FC Saarbrücken, where the triple Olympic champion Fan Zhendong plays, in the final on Sunday.