INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — From the moment Indianapolis quarterback Daniel Jones had his torn right Achilles tendon repaired, the goal never wavered.
He was going to start the Colts' season opener in the following season.
On Sunday, Jones' nearly nine-month journey back will end the way he envisioned — taking snaps on Week 1, his first game action since early December.
“I feel really good,” he said Wednesday. “It felt good to start (training) camp. I feel even better now. So, yeah, I'm happy with where I am physically. I'm definitely excited to be out there and grateful for all the people who have helped me get to this point."
Jones has been checking off boxes one by one ever since he fell to the turf in Jacksonville on Dec. 7.
Two days later, he had surgery. Then came the long grueling, rehab process. He contacted NBA star Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, who was still recovering from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered during the 2025 Finals, and watched Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum return in less than 12 months.
Each subsequent step made Jones hopeful he would fulfill his pledge, too.
By the spring, he was running again on the Colts practice field, and by June he was cleared to do position group work and 7-on-7 drills. When he arrived for training camp in July, the team doctors cleared him for 11-on-11 work without restrictions, and he took full advantage by not missing a practice snap. He even participated in the controlled joint practices with New England and Atlanta.
But coach Shane Steichen held him out of all three preseason games, forcing Jones to wait till Sunday's season opener against Baltimore to check the next box — getting hit in the game day environment. And he's eager to get started.
"I think I've completed every phase of this process and, yeah, I guess the last part is playing in a game,” he said. “But I feel like I've simulated all that stuff with the exception of the, you know, hits and stuff. But I feel good about being in live game action.”
So do the Colts, who re-signed Jones to a two-year contract extension worth $88 million in March. Incentives could increase the final value up to $100 million — if he returns to his pre-injury form.
Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard believe Jones can get there quickly.
“Tatum came back in, what, 8 1/2 months I want to say and so looking at that, obviously he (Tatum) is moving around a little more — Daniel's in the pocket, obviously, he's got to move, too,” Steichen said. “But just talking to the guy that did his surgery, talking to the trainers and doctors, they all said the same thing — it's all about the rehab process and the work you put into it. The more you work at the rehab, the harder you work, the fast you can recover and I had no doubt he (Jones) was going to put in the work, and he did.”
The final step, getting fully in sync with an offense that returns nine starters, could take some time, though.
While Steichen did play some starters briefly in the preseason finale against Detroit, Jones, Pro Bowl running back Jonathan Taylor and new No. 1 receiver Alec Pierce were not on the field.
Taylor's summer workload was being closely monitored because after logging more than 300 carries in 2024 and 2025, and Pierce returned to practice last week after being activated off the physically unable to perform list following ankle surgery in March.
Pierce signed a four-year, $114 million extension before the surgery, became the Colts No. 1 receiver when the team traded Michael Pittman Jr. to Pittsburgh. He also expects to play Sunday without any limitations. Pierce led all qualifiers in yards per catch in 2024 and 2025.
“Yeah, it felt good (to practice), just to get back into it. It's fun to be out there," Pierce said Wednesday. “I think we've just got to see how this week goes and continue to build up (the stamina) more in practice.”
Jones also is getting acquainted with his new No. 3 receiver, six-time Pro Bowler Keenan Allen, who joined the Colts in mid-August.
But the biggest question is what will Jones look like on opening day?
“I think when you get to (Week 1), it's about the game,” he said. “You want to be as focused as you can be on what you need to do to play at a high level and put the team in position to win the game. So I definitely have gratitude and appreciation for all the people that helped me throughout the process, but it'll be time to go (Sunday).”
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen on the sideline during the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Indianapolis, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
NEW YORK (AP) — Coco Gauff knows what she is up against in her U.S. Open semifinal against Elena Rybakina, whose firepower has vaulted her to the top of the tennis rankings.
“I know I’m going to have some aces hit on me and some winners hit on me, but I’m going to keep fighting and give it my all,” Gauff said. “That’s all I can do.”
That's how Gauff earned her first title in Flushing Meadows and why she's still in the running for another.
Gauff fought off a couple match points in a tiebreaker and beat Mirra Andreeva 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 on Wednesday to set up matchup against the new No. 1 in women's tennis.
Gauff overcame a horrible start to give herself a chance at a second U.S. Open trophy. She won the tournament in 2023, when she had to shake off a similar rough beginning against Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Andreeva, the French Open champion, won the first seven points and took the first set in 26 minutes before the No. 4-seeded Gauff regrouped. She said during the break after the first set she thought about fellow American Frances Tiafoe, who came from two sets down in his quarterfinal match a day earlier.
“So, honestly I was just trying to literally leave the court with no regrets,” Gauff said.
Rybakina edged Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 earlier Wednesday, guaranteeing she will become No. 1 in the WTA rankings after the tournament.
The top-ranked Sabalenka faces No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal Thursday. But no matter what happens in the remaining matches, Rybakina will end Sabalenka's 99-week stay at No. 1 when the new rankings are released Monday.
“It’s just a number right now and of course I’m in the semis so my goal is to win the tournament,” Rybakina said. “It’s an amazing achievement but you know how quick everything can change in tennis, ranking-wise, during the match, so I feel like I just need to focus on my game, try to recover and enjoy tomorrow.”
It's the first time since 1975 that all four of the women's top seeds reached the U.S. Open semifinals.
Gauff won a 39-shot rally to take a 5-3 lead in the tiebreaker, but Andreeva took the next three points to earn her first match point. Gauff erased that when the Russian sent a forehand long, then stopped Andreeva's second chance at 7-6.
Then it was mostly all Gauff in the third set en route to her seventh Grand Slam semifinal.
Rybakina and Zheng were scheduled to start about eight hours after Ben Shelton finished off his victory over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz at 3:33 a.m., the latest finish in U.S. Open history.
Rybakina said she struggled with the sun and shadows in Arthur Ashe Stadium early on after starting later in the day in her previous matches.
Zheng capitalized on Rybakina’s early struggles to get her only break of the match against one of the best servers in women’s tennis and take a 5-3 lead in the first set.
But Zheng, who had been playing from behind so much in Flushing Meadows, couldn’t hold onto the lead and Rybakina rolled through the second set in 38 minutes.
Zheng, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist from China, had to come through the qualifying tournament just to make the main draw after elbow surgery dropped her down the rankings to her current place of No. 121. Once ranked No. 4, she is guaranteed to move back into the top 60.
She made a dramatic run to the quarterfinals, erasing a 5-0 deficit in the third set against Madison Keys in the third round and then climbing out of another 5-0 hole in the first set in her fourth-round victory over No. 8-seed Iga Swiatek.
But a double-fault gave her opponent a 5-4 lead in the third set and Rybakina served it out to reach the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time.
“I think the wins that I had so far are great, but obviously today in the match I got a lot of chances in the third set, but I didn’t take it,” Zheng said. “That was a bit pity for me to lose this match, but obviously I could take positive things from U.S. Open this year.”
Rybakina came into the tournament needing only to reach the semifinals to ensure she would move past Sabalenka. Had the 27-year-old from Kazakhstan lost before the final four, Sabalenka, Pegula or Gauff could have been No. 1 next week by winning the tournament.
Karen Khachanov reached his third Grand Slam semifinal when No. 28 seed Alexander Blockx stopped playing midway through the third set after Khachanov had won the first two. Blockx had his upper left leg wrapped and received treatment on both his lower leg and back as well.
Khachanov, who reached the semis at the U.S. Open in 2022 and the 2023 Australian Open, will play top-seeded Alexander Zverev in one semifinal match Friday. Shelton and Tiafoe will square off in an all-American semifinal match.
See AP’s full tennis coverage here
Alexander Blockx, of Belgium, has his foot checked during a medical timeout during a match against Karen Khachanov, of Russia, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Alexander Blockx, of Belgium, has his back worked on during a medical timeout during a match against Karen Khachanov, of Russia, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Karen Khachanov, of Russia, celebrates on the court after winning a match against Alexander Blockx, of Belgium, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Coco Gauff, of the United States, reacts during a match against Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, reacts during a match against Coco Gauff, of the United States, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Coco Gauff, of the United States, celebrates winning a match against Mirra Andreeva, of Russia, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, follows through on a serve to Qinwen Zheng, of China, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Qinwen Zheng, of China, returns the ball to Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Qinwen Zheng, of China, returns the ball to Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
