side a tennis court’s lines. And

since Russia invaded, the pur-

pose of her life, with the peak of

her playing career behind her,

has consumed her as well.

“My first idea was to go home

when it all started, and I had a

long conversation inside of me

[of] should I stay and play or

should I just go to Ukraine and

try to help there in some way,”

Tsurenko said. “I don’t know in

which way but just in some way.”

Tsurenko, a former top-25

player now ranked 119th, has

chosen to keep competing,

weathering the unlucky draws

and tough days — such as Mon-

day at the French Open, where

she lost to top-ranked Iga

SEE FRENCH OPEN ON D3

KLMNO

SPORTS

TUESDAY, MAY 24 , 2022. WASHINGTONPOST.COM/SPORTS M2 D

BY AVA WALLACE

It was early spring of 2021 when
Bradley Beal started noticing the
world coming back to life during
the pandemic. It was before sports
arenas welcomed fans again, be-
fore the NBA roared back in ear-
nest, but Beal could see a shift. He
knew because the public basket-
ball courts he drove past on his
way to work were filling up again.
Not long after, a D.C.-based
nonprofit called Hoop For All
Foundation approached Beal with
an idea.
The courts at Banneker Com-
munity Center in the Columbia
Heights neighborhood badly
needed a facelift — their lines
were faded, cracks splintered
across the blacktop like spider-
webs, and the playing surfaces
were uneven. Beal, unfamiliar
with the courts’ location, discov-
ered they were across from How-
ard University. He learned about
Hoop For All, which hosts basket-
ball tournaments and other sport-
ing events in D.C. while offering
on-site health-care resources for
people in the community. Beal
agreed to sponsor the court refur-
bishment nearly right away.
“It was a no-brainer. I loved
SEE WIZARDS ON D2

Beal rehabs

his wrist

and some

local courts

NBA PLAYOFFS

Jayson Tatum powers a Game 4 blowout of the Heat

as the Celtics even the Eastern Conference finals. D2

PRO FOOTBALL

Dwayne Haskins was legally drunk and had ketamine

in his system when he died last month in Florida. D3

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

The two-time defending champion Lightning sweeps

the Panthers to reach the Eastern Conference finals. D6

There are no two

transactions that

represent the rise

and fall of the

Washington

Nationals more

than the trade that

landed Trea Turner

and the trade that

sent Trea Turner out of town.

There’s a franchise life cycle in the

61 / 2 years between those dates —

Dec. 19, 2014, and July 30, 2021.

That Turner settles into town

this week with a hotel room, not a

house, and turns left from the

tunnel toward the visitors’

clubhouse rather than walking

straight into his old home digs is a

contributing factor in the

Nationals’ last-place standing.

That he pulled on the road grays

of the Los Angeles Dodgers and

came up as the third batter in the

top of the first inning — rather

than trotting to shortstop in the

home whites — is a striking

reminder of where this club was

and where it is now.

The trade that’s fresher in the

mind is the one that represents

the current state of the Nats,

which is woeful: the deal that sent

Turner and three-time Cy Young

Award winner Max Scherzer to the

Dodgers for four prospects. That

Scherzer departed was painful but

predictable, because the Nationals

were 47-55 and eight games out in

SEE SVRLUGA ON D5

In Turner’s return to D.C., a reminder

of this club’s past — and potential future

Barry

Svrluga

KATHERINE FREY/THE WASHINGTON POST

Right fielder Juan Soto can’t quite haul in Chris Taylor’s triple in the fourth inning Monday. The Nationals fell to 5-16 at home with the loss to the Dodgers.

Dodgers at Nationals Today, 7:05 p.m., MASN2 | Inside: First-round draft pick Brady House is thriving in Fredericksburg. D5

dallas — One by
one, the major
postseason foes
from Stephen
Curry’s past have
fallen by the
wayside.
Kawhi Leonard missed the
entire season with a knee injury.
LeBron James and Russell
Westbrook fell short of the play-
in tournament. Kevin Durant and
Kyrie Irving couldn’t muster a
single playoff win. Chris Paul and
James Harden faltered in the
second round.
Yet Curry is still going — a ball
of constant motion, running and
shooting and celebrating like in
the good old days. The Golden
State Warriors star hasn’t just
outlasted his peers; he’s dancing
all over the next generation, too.
Just two months after he suffered
a foot injury that sidelined him
for the final 12 games of the
regular season, Curry has
returned to full speed and guided
the Warriors to the cusp of their
sixth NBA Finals appearance in
the past eight years.
“Steph is the best-conditioned
athlete in this game,” Dallas
SEE ON THE NBA ON D2

Curry outlasts

his rivals with

ever-evolving

selflessness

On the
NBA

BEN
GOLLIVER

BY LIZ CLARKE

paris — For world-class athletes,
the ability to shut out everything
that doesn’t relate to the game at
hand is an invaluable asset. But
with her native Ukraine three
months into a war for its survival,
Lesia Tsurenko wants fellow
players and tournament officials
to understand that compartmen-
talizing is not easy for Ukrainians
on the pro tennis tour.
“Being Ukrainian and trying to
stay on tour and to continue
playing is a big, big issue now,”
Tsurenko said Monday at the
French Open. “We probably are
all working with psychologists
now; we are all thinking a lot
about the country and about our
families.”
For Tsurenko, 32, life matters
far more than what unfolds in-

Ukrainian player Tsurenko calls for compassion

French Open, first round

Today, 5 a.m., Tennis Channel

ADAM PRETTY/GETTY IMAGES

“Being Ukrainian and trying to... continue playing is a big, big

issue,” said Lesia Tsurenko, who lost M onday at the French Open.

Western Conference finals
Game 4: Warriors at Mavericks
Today, 9 p.m., TNT

BY NICKI JHABVALA

As Terry McLaurin awaits his

next big contract, he has turned

his limited holdout into a full

absence. The Washington Com-

manders’ star wide receiver did

not attend the first workout of

organized team activities Monday

and hasn’t attended any offseason

workouts since the conclusion of

the draft in late April because of

ongoing talks for a new deal, ac-

cording to multiple people with

knowledge of the situation.

When the first phase of the

Commanders’ offseason program

began April 18, McLaurin partici-

pated in strength and condition-

ing workouts but declined to take

part in any on-field work until his

contract situation was resolved.

(Per the collective bargaining

agreement, that phase prohibits

on-field work with the football

coaches and limits players to non-

padded, noncontact drills with-

out a defense.)

After the draft, McLaurin’s

holdout escalated, an indication

of the dissension in negotiations.

The team, unsurprisingly, add-

ed to its receiving corps by draft-

ing Penn State wideout Jahan

Dotson in the first round last

month. More significant was a

move made elsewhere in the NFC

East: The Philadelphia Eagles

SEE MCLAURIN ON D3

McLaurin misses start

of Commanders’ OTAs

BY ANDREW GOLDEN

After a six-game road swing that

took them to Miami and Milwau-

kee, the Washington Nationals

were back at Nationals Park on

Monday. Their 10-1 loss followed

the same script as most of their

home matchups this season.

The visitors, this time the Na-

tional League West-leading Los

Angeles Dodgers featuring old

friend Trea Turner, grab an early

lead against the Nationals’ starter

— in this instance, Joan Adon.

Then, Washington can’t catch up.

On this rainy night, the Nationals

(14-29) didn’t manage their first

base runner until César Hernán-

dez doubled with one out in the

sixth inning, and they scored their

lone run on a two-out single by

Josh Bell in the ninth.

“After the sixth inning, we were

down quite a bit,” Manager Dave

Martinez said. “But we made some

adjustments; we started hitting

the ball a lot better. But it was too

late.”

Monday’s loss to open a seven-

game homestand brought Wash-

ington’s record at Nationals Park

to an unsightly 5-16.

SEE NATIONALS ON D5

Nats fall behind early again and don’t

have a base runner until sixth inning

Still stuck at home

DODGERS 10, NATIONALS 1

A new home? Commanders eye

about 200 acres in Woodbridge. B1