2010 in sports

• 24–31 January Bandy World Championship in Moscow, Russia –  Sweden wins
• Bandy World Cup, October – Dynamo Kazan wins

• March 13 – Manny Pacquiao defeats Joshua Clottey by controlling the fight from start to finish, leading to Pacquiao winning by a unanimous decision. The fight was the first boxing match held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas in front of over 41,000 people. This was Pacquiao's first defense of his newly awarded WBO welterweight title.
• March 20 – Wladimir Klitschko knocks out Eddie Chambers with a fierce left that hits Chambers in the temple with only five seconds left in the fight. The punch knocked Chambers out nearly instantly, with him collapsing to the canvas and hanging off the last rope. This was Klitschko's first defense of his Ring magazine heavyweight title, his fourth defense of his WBO heavyweight title, and his eighth defense of his IBF and IBO heavyweight titles.
• March 27 – Pongsaklek Wonjongkam defeats Kōki Kameda by a majority decision to win the WBC flyweight title and vacant Ring magazine flyweight title. This is the second time Wonjongkam has become the WBC flyweight champion, after first winning the title in March 2001. Wonjongkam defended the title seventeen times, until he lost to Daisuke Naito in July 2007. This fight is later named the best flyweight fight of 2010 by Ring magazine.
• April 17 – Kelly Pavlik loses to Sergio Gabriel Martínez in a close fight for Pavlik's WBC, WBO, and Ring magazine middleweight titles. Martínez controlled the early rounds with quick in and out movements, refusing to heavily engage with Pavlik. Martínez managed to cut Pavlik's left eyebrow in the first round. Pavlik then started to mount a comeback in the middle rounds by blocking Martínez's punches more effectively. Pavlik spent most of his time headhunting trying to land a hard right, which did help Pavlik get a knockdown in the seventh round. In the late rounds Martínez came back and started to open up Pavlik's cuts more, making his face extremely blood. In the post fight interview Pavlik said he couldn't see due to the blood. Martínez ended up winning the fight with a unanimous decision.
• April 24 – Mikkel Kessler upsets Carl Froch by a unanimous decision to win Froch's WBC super middleweight title. The fight was part of the second-group stage of the Super Six World Boxing Classic. Following the fight, Froch complained about a judging bias, seeing how the fight was held in Kessler's country of origin, Denmark. This fight was later named the best super middleweight fight of 2010 by Ring magazine.
• April 30 – In a stunning upset, Fernando Montiel knocksout Hozumi Hasegawa ending his five-year, 10 title defense streak and taking his WBC bantamweight title. The knockout came as a surprise due to Hasegawa seeming to be clearly leading until the end of the fourth, when Montiel landed a left punch that stunned Hasegawa and pushed him back to the ropes, where he unloaded on him until the referee stopped the fight.
• May 1 – Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeats Shane Mosley to continue his undefeated career streak. Mosley came out strong for the first two rounds—at one point making Mayweather's knees buckle—but Mayweather went on to control the fight.
• May 8 – Making his comeback after roughly 15½ months of being suspended, Antonio Margarito defeated Roberto Garcia to win the vacant WBC international super welterweight title.
• May 15 – Amir Khan dominates Paul Malignaggi to win by TKO in the eleventh round to retain his WBA light welterweight title for the second time. This was Khan's debut in the United States.
• May 22 – In their fourth fight against each other Rafael Márquez evens the series to two wins for each man by stopping Israel Vázquez by TKO in the third round.
• June 5 – Miguel Cotto defeats Yuri Foreman by a ninth round stoppage due to a leg injury Foreman suffered during the fight. In an amazing display of will, Foreman refused to quit despite being in what he later called a "very sharp pain". A towel was thrown in the ring, but it was ruled to have come from an outside source, and the fight continued for another minute until being stopped officially. This was Cotto's debut at light middleweight. The fight was the first boxing match in the new Yankee stadium built in 2009, and the first match in either Yankee stadium since Ali/Norton 3 in 1976.
• July 31 – In a rematch of 2009's fight of the year, Juan Manuel Márquez defeats Juan Díaz for a second time to retain his WBO lightweight title and to win the WBA super world lightweight title.
• August 14 – Jean Pascal upsets Chad Dawson by a technical decision due to an accidental headbutt that caused a major cut over Dawson's right eye and the fight was stopped by the ringside doctor. However Pascal easily won the fight according to the judge's scorecards. Pascal defended his WBC light heavyweight title for the third time, won Dawson's IBO light heavyweight title, and filled the vacant Ring magazine light heavyweight title.
• August 28 – Giovanni Segura upsets Iván Calderón by a knockout in the eighth round to win the WBO and WBA super world light flyweight titles. Segura ends Calderón's undefeated 34-fight winning record. This fight would later be named both the best light flyweight and overall fight of the year of 2010 by Ring magazine.
• September 11 – Yuriorkis Gamboa defeats Orlando Salido to unified the WBA world and vacant IBF featherweight titles. Gamboa was knocked down in the eighth round and was docked two points in the twelfth round. While Salido was knocked down twice in the twelfth round.
• November 6 – Juan Manuel López defeats Rafael Márquez by TKO, in an exciting fight that was stopped early due to Márquez suffering a shoulder injury following the eighth round. López defends his WBO featherweight title and improves his record to 30–0. This fight is later named the best featherweight fight of 2010 by Ring magazine.
• November 13 – Manny Pacquiao destroys Antonio Margarito to the WBC super welterweight title, making Pacquiao the first and so far only boxer to win world titles in eight different weight classes. Following the fight, Margarito is sent to a hospital with a fractured orbital bone, which requires surgery. This was Margarito's first major fight in over 21 months, following a knockout loss to Shane Mosley in January 2009.
• November 20 – In a highly anticipated rematch, Sergio Gabriel Martínez knocks out Paul Williams in the second round to retain his WBC and Ring magazine middleweight titles. This fight was later named knockout of the year by Ring magazine.
• November 27 – Juan Manuel Márquez defeats Michael Katsidis by ninth-round TKO. Katsidis was competitive throughout the fight and even scored a knockdown on Márquez in the third round. While Márquez fought a more solid fight, landing many combinations. Márquez defends his WBO, WBA, and Ring magazine lightweight titles. This fight is later named the best lightweight fight of 2010 by Ring magazine.
• December 11 – Amir Khan defeats Marcos Maidana in a relatively close decision. Khan came out strong in the early part of the fight, by applying heavy pressure on Maidana and getting a knockdown late in the first round. However, in the later parts of the fight Khan spent much of his time avoiding Maidana trying to endure through rounds. At one point Maidana appeared to have almost finished Khan in the tenth round, when he landed a huge punch. However Khan absorbed the punishment and did enough in the early rounds to win by a unanimous decision. Khan defended his WBA world light welterweight title for the third time. This fight is later named the best light welterweight fight of 2010 by Ring magazine.
• December 11 – Abner Mares defeats Vic Darchinyan by a spit decision, to start Showtime's second boxing tournament based on the Super Six World Boxing Classic. However instead featured only four fighters, a single elimination format, and was focused on the bantamweight division at 118 lbs (54 kg) under the title, The Bantamweight Tournament: Winner Takes All. This fight was later named the best bantamweight fight of 2010 by Ring magazine.
• December 18 – After twelve rounds of boxing, Bernard Hopkins vs. Jean Pascal ends in a controversial majority draw.

• November 28 – 98th Grey Cup game at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

• January 15–30 — 2010 U-19 Cricket World Cup, New Zealand
• April 30, – May 16, — 2010 ICC World Twenty20, West Indies
• June 15–24 — 2010 Asia Cup, Sri Lanka
• September 10–26 — 2010 Champions League Twenty20, South Africa
• November 25, 2010 – January 7, 2011 — 2010–11 Ashes series, Australia

• March 20 Milan–San Remo Óscar Freire wins first monument of the year over Tom Boonen in predicted sprint finish.
• April 4 Tour of Flanders Fabian Cancellara defeats home favourite Tom Boonen as 1 million people line the streets of Northern Belgium for the Unesco heritage race, famous for its culture, beautiful forests and brutal cobbled hills. Cancellara attacked first on the Molenberg with 44 km to go and Boonen was the only one who could follow. With 15 km to go Cancellara launched a powerful attack on the Muur-Kapelmuur using the last metres of the hill and descent to create a big gap. Once the gap was created, the world tt champion was always favourite and had time to celebrate.
• April 11 Paris–Roubaix Fabian Cancellara launched a surprising attack with over 45 km to go while Boonen was taking a drink behind. The Swiss, nicknamed Spartacus, showed incredible strength to stretch out the gap to over 4 minutes over the rest, before relaxing in the final kilometres to celebrate becoming one of the few people to achieve the Flanders Roubaix double in the same week.
• April 24 Liège–Bastogne–Liège Alexander Vinokourov came out victorious over Alexander Kolobnev with whom he worked to set up a 2-man finish. Vino attacked with 15 km to go, with many teams hesitant to bring him back, as drag Vinos teammate Alberto Contador, would then attack. With 9 km to go an elite group behind formed and home favourite Philippe Gilbert launched an all or nothing attack. Gilbert halved the 40 second deficit, but Vino and Kolobnev used their 2-man advantage to tire him out and ultimately contested the finish among themselves with Vino riding away to celebrate a successful comeback at the age of 36.
• May 8–30 Giro d'Italia Ivan Basso won what was considered to be one of the greatest Grand Tours of all time. With surprisingly exciting stages in the first week, including crashes in the Netherlands a ttt and a tough stage through the mud of Strade Bianchi, the race was blown apart on stage 12 when a group of 30 riders, including climbers David Arroyo and Carlos Sastre got a 12-minute lead. This forced the other contenders to push hard in the very difficult mountains of the 3rd week. Cadel Evans Michelle Scarponi Vincenzo Nibali and Basso took minutes over the leaders on 3 mountain stages, one of which was a mountain finish on the Monte Zoncolan, the hardest mountain in Grand Tour history, lined by hundreds of thousands of fans. The race came down to a difficult stage over the extremely difficult Passo di Mortirolo with a finish in Aprica. Basso needed 3 minutes to take the jersey from Arroyo, and looked likely to get it after taking 2 minutes on the ascent of the climb. But Arroyo surprised the world of cycling with an amazing descent of the mountain in very dangerous conditions, taking back 1 minute 30. The final twist came with the final climb into Aprica, were Basso, helped by teammate Nibali, and stage winner Scarponi, was able to take 3 minutes on Arroyo, gaining the jersey and a 2nd Giro win.
• July 3–25 Tour de France Alberto Contador won his 3rd Tour de France and 5th Grand Tour after a close duel with young Luxembourger Andy Schleck. The two were always comfortable, and close to each other, but the onus was on Schleck who was considered to be a far weaker time trial cyclist. Going into the stage on the Col du Tourmalet Schleck needed to get a gap over Contador, but, although he won the stage, Contador finished just behind Schleck and won the Tour on the time trial two days later.
• August 1–7 Tour de Pologne Dan Martin
• August 28–19 Vuelta a España Vincenzo Nibali won his first Grand Tour after putting in a surprisingly strong performance on the decisive stage. The strong favourite at the halfway point had been Igor Antón but the Euskaltel–Euskadi rider had an unfortunate crash and was forced to abandon. This left the Italian to fight it out with Galician climber Ezequiel Mosquera. Mosquera got time in several mountain stages, and needed 40 seconds on the final stage over the very steep Bola del Mundo. Huge crowds cheered on Mosquera as he attacked with 3 km and he was able to initially get 20 seconds. But Nibali came back and caught Mosquera in the last few metres, and though he was unable to overtake the Spaniard for the stage win, he was the overall winner.
• October 29–3 UCI Road World Championships Women's Time trial – Emma Pooley. Men's Time Trial – Fabian Cancellara. Women's Road Race – Giorgia Bronzini. Men's Road Race – Thor Hushovd won an epic race which looked to finish in anything but a sprint finish, until the last few kilometres. Several groups kept forming in attacks that looked likely to succeed, but ultimately always got brought back. Favourite Philippe Gilbert expected attack finally came on the 1st climb of the last lap. But as he was caught by a 2nd group, the peloton surprisingly appeared just behind them with 3 k to go and a sprint finish it turned out to be.
• October 17 Giro di Lombardia – Philippe Gilbert made up for his failure at the worlds with a 2nd victory in the final monument of the season. The Belgian was simply too strong throughout and never looked like losing. After a crash took out Nibali, Gilbert was left on his own, and waited for Michele Scarponi for support. But the Italian, who is superior in Grand Tours, was out of his depth contesting a one-day race against the classic specialist, who waltzed away with ease in the last few kilometres.

• February 18 – February 28 – 2010 Arctic Equestrian Games, Norway
• September 25 – October 10 – 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games, Lexington, Kentucky

• UEFA Futsal Championship, Hungary – Spain
• 2010 Grand Prix de Futsal, Brazil – Brazil

• April 20 - Lorena Ochoa announced her retirement from professional golf, leaving her 4-year streak as world's number one ranked player.

Major championships

• The Masters winner: Phil Mickelson
• U.S. Open winner: Graeme McDowell
• The Open Championship winner: Louis Oosthuizen
• PGA Championship winner: Martin Kaymer

Women's major championships

• Kraft Nabisco Championship winner: Yani Tseng
• LPGA Championship winner: Cristie Kerr
• U.S. Women's Open winner: Paula Creamer
• Women's British Open winner: Yani Tseng

Senior major championships

• Senior PGA Championship winner: Tom Lehman
• Senior British Open winner: Bernhard Langer
• U.S. Senior Open winner: Bernhard Langer
• The Tradition winner: Fred Funk
• Senior Players Championship winner: Mark O'Meara

• 2010 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships
• 2010 European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships
• 2010 Rhythmic Gymnastics European Championships
• 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
• 2010 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships

• European Men's Handball Championship – France

Steeplechases

• Cheltenham Gold Cup – Imperial Commander
• Grand National – Don't Push It
• Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris – Polar Rochelais
• Nakayama Grand Jump –

Flat races

• Australia:
  • Cox Plate – So You Think
  • Melbourne Cup – Americain
• Canadian Triple Crown:
  1. Queen's Plate – Big Red Mike
  2. Prince of Wales Stakes – Golden Moka
  3. Breeders' Stakes – Miami Deco
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Dubai World Cup – Glória de Campeão
• France: Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe – Workforce
• Hong Kong: Hong Kong International Races
  • Hong Kong Vase – Mastery
  • Hong Kong Sprint – J J the Jet Plane
  • Hong Kong Mile – Beauty Flash
  • Hong Kong Cup – Snow Fairy
• Ireland: Irish Derby – Cape Blanco
• Japan: Japan Cup – Rose Kingdom
• English Triple Crown:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Makfi
  2. The Derby – Workforce
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Arctic Cosmos
• United States Triple Crown:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Super Saver
  2. Preakness Stakes – Lookin at Lucky
  3. Belmont Stakes – Drosselmeyer
• Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Churchill Downs, Louisville, Kentucky (both days arranged in race card order):
  • Day 1:
    1. Breeders' Cup Marathon – Eldaafer
    2. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf – More Than Real
    3. Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint – Dubai Majesty
    4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies – Awesome Feather
    5. Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf – Shared Account
    6. Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic – Unrivaled Belle
  • Day 2:
    1. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf – Pluck
    2. Breeders' Cup Sprint – Big Drama
    3. Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint – Chamberlain Bridge
    4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile – Uncle Mo
    5. Breeders' Cup Mile – Goldikova
    6. Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile – Dakota Phone
    7. Breeders' Cup Turf – Dangerous Midge
    8. Breeders' Cup Classic – Blame

Harness

• Prix d'Amérique – Oyonnax

• February 13–25:  Canada wins gold,  United States wins silver, and  Finland wins bronze at the women's tournament of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• February 16–28:  Canada wins gold,  United States wins silver, and  Finland wins bronze at the men's tournament of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
• May 7–23:  Czech Republic wins gold,  Russia wins silver, and  Sweden wins bronze at the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Cologne, Mannheim and Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
• June 9: The Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4–3 in overtime of game six of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final series to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 49 years.

• July 15–24 – 2010 World Lacrosse Championship, Manchester, England.[2]

The following is a list of major noteworthy MMA events by month.

January

1/2 – UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva

1/10 – WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson

1/11 – UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz

1/30 – Strikeforce: Miami

February

2/6 – UFC 109: Relentless

2/21 – UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez

2/26 – ShoMMA 6: Kaufman vs. Hashi

March

3/6 – WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz

3/21 – UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones

3/22 – Dream 13

3/26 – ShoMMA 7: Johnson vs. Mahe

3/27 – UFC 111: St. Pierre vs. Hardy

3/31 – UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi

April

4/8 – Bellator XIII (Start of Bellator Season 2)

4/10 – UFC 112: Invincible

4/15 – Bellator XIV

4/17 – Strikeforce: Nashville

4/22 – Bellator XV

4/24 – WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber

4/25 – ASTRA

4/29 – Bellator XVI

May

5/6 – Bellator XVII

5/8 – UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2

5/13 – Bellator XVIII

5/15 – Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery

5/20 – Bellator XIX

5/21 – ShoMMA 8: Lindland vs. Casey

5/27 – Bellator XX

5/29 – UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans

5/29 – Dream 14

June

6/10 – Bellator XXI

6/12 – UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin

6/16 – Strikeforce: Los Angeles

6/17 – Bellator XXII

6/19 – The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale

6/20 – WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus

6/24 – Bellator XXIII (End of Bellator Season 2)

6/26 – Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum

July

7/3 – UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin

7/10 – Dream 15

7/10 – Impact FC 1 – The Uprising: Brisbane

7/18 – Impact FC 2 – The Uprising: Sydney

7/23 – ShoMMA 9: Rosario vs. Mahe

August

8/1 – UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko

8/7 – UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen

8/12 – Bellator XXIV (Start of Bellator season 3)

8/13 – ShoMMA 10: Riggs vs. Taylor

8/18 – WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez 2

8/19 – Bellator XXV

8/21 – Strikeforce: Houston

8/26 – Bellator XXVI

8/28 – UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2

September

9/2 – Bellator XXVII

9/9 – Bellator XXVIII

9/11 – Shark Fights 13: Jardine vs. Prangley

9/15 – UFC Fight Night: Marquardt vs. Palhares

9/16 – Bellator XXIX

9/23 – Bellator XXX

9/25 – UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop

9/25 – Dream 16

9/30 – Bellator XXXI

9/30 – WEC 51: Aldo vs. Gamburyan

October

10/9 – Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II

10/14 – Bellator XXXII

10/16 – UFC 120: Bisping vs. Akiyama

10/21 – Bellator XXXIII

10/22 – ShoMMA 11: Bowling vs. Voelker

10/23 – UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez

10/28 – Bellator XXXIV (End of Bellator season 3)

November

11/9 – Israel FC: Genesis

11/11 – WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki

11/13 – UFC 122: Marquardt vs. Okami

11/19 – ShoMMA 12: Wilcox vs. Ribeiro

11/20 – UFC 123: Rampage vs. Machida

December

12/4 – The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale aka The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck Finale

12/4 – Strikeforce: St. Louis aka Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II

12/11 – UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck 2

12/16 – WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis (Last WEC event)

12/31 – Dynamite!! 2010

• January 25 – January 31 – 2010 World Winter Masters Games, Bled, Slovenia
• January 29 – February 8 – 2010 South Asian Games, Dhaka, Bangladesh
• February 12 – 28 – 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• March 6 – 13 – 2010 Arctic Winter Games in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
• March 12 – 21 – 2010 Winter Paralympics, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• March 19 – 30 – 2010 South American Games, in Medellin, Colombia
• July 17 – August 1 – 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
• July 31 to August 6, 2010 - 2010 Gay Games, Cologne, Germany
• August 14 – 26 – 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, Singapore, Singapore
• October 3 – 14 – 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi, India
• November 12 – 27 – 2010 Asian Games, Guangzhou, China
• December 12 – 19 – 2010 Asian Para Games, Guangzhou, China

• January 9 – January 15: 2010 Asian Roller Hockey Championship, Dalian, China
• July: 2010 Rink Hockey European Championship, Wuppertal, Germany
• September 25 – October 2: 2010 Rink Hockey Ladies World Championship, Alcobendas, Spain
• September 23 – October 30: 2010 Rink Hockey Men's B World Championship, Dornbirn, Austria
• 2010 Rink Hockey American Championship, Catalonia

• October 29 – November 7 – 2010 World Rowing Championships will be held at Lake Karapiro, Hamilton, New Zealand.

• January 29 – October 2 – Super League XV was held in England, Wales and France. Wigan Warriors defeated St. Helens 22–10 in the Grand Final for their second title. This was also St Helens' fourth consecutive Grand Final defeat.
• February 13– 2010 All Stars match is played on the Gold Coast, Australia.
• February 28– 2010 World Club Challenge is played in Leeds, England, with Australia's Melbourne Storm beating England's Leeds Rhinos.
• March 12 – October 3 – 2010 NRL season was held in Australia and New Zealand. The St. George Illawarra Dragons defeated Sydney Roosters 32–8 in the Grand Final for their first premiership since the 1999 merger that created the team.
• April 22 – The Melbourne Storm Storm are stripped of their 2007 and 2009 premierships and 2006–2008 minor premierships, fined $1.689 million, deducted all eight premiership points for the 2010 season and barred from receiving premiership points for the rest of the season by the National Rugby League after being found guilty of long-term gross salary cap breaches.
• October–November – 2010 Rugby League Four Nations will be held in Australia and New Zealand.
• October–November – 2010 European Cup will be held in Europe where Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France will compete for a spot in the 2011 four nations.

• 116th Six Nations Championship series is won by  France who complete the Grand Slam.
• March 8 – The Celtic League and Italian Rugby Federation confirm the entry of two Italian teams, Aironi and Benetton Treviso, into the previously Celtic competition in 2010–11.
• May 18–30 – The 2010 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy was held at several sites in Moscow, Russia and won by  Italy.
• May 22 – Toulouse win their fourth Heineken Cup, defeating fellow French side Biarritz 21–19 in the Heineken Cup Final at Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
• May 23 – Cardiff Blues win the Amlin Challenge Cup Final at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille 28–21 over nearby French club Toulon.
• May 29 – The last Super 14 Final before the competition expands to 15 teams is won by the Bulls, who defeat fellow South African side Stormers 25–17 at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
• May 30 –  Samoa win the Edinburgh Sevens and secure their first IRB Sevens World Series season crown.
• May 30, – June 26, – The 2010 Summer Tours start.
• June 5–21 – The 2010 IRB Junior World Championship was held at three sites in Argentina and won by  New Zealand.
• August 20, – September 5, – 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup was held at two sites in London, England and won by  New Zealand.
• October 23, – December 18, – The 2010 end-of-year series takes place. Notable events during this series include:
  • November 13: Victor Matfield earned his 103rd cap to become South Africa's most-capped player ever.
  • November 20: Richie McCaw and Mils Muliaina earned their 93rd caps, becoming New Zealand's most-capped players.
  • November 27: The 2011 Rugby World Cup qualification process concluded in Bucharest with Romania defeating Uruguay 39–12. Romania won the two-legged tie 60–33 on aggregate to claim the final spot in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
  • November 27: Dan Carter of New Zealand surpassed Jonny Wilkinson of England as the leading career point scorer in Test rugby.

Domestic competitions

• Guinness Premiership – Leicester Tigers
• Top 14 – Clermont win their first title in their nearly 100-year history after having lost in 10 previous championship finals.
• Celtic League – Ospreys
• LV= Cup (Anglo-Welsh Cup) – Northampton Saints
• ITM Cup (formerly Air New Zealand Cup) – Canterbury
• Currie Cup – Sharks

• March 1 – March 6 – 2010 World Championship of Ski Mountaineering in Gran Valira (Pyrenees), Andorra

• Australian Open
  • Men's final: Roger Federer defeats Andy Murray, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(11)
  • Women's final: Serena Williams defeats Justine Henin, 6–4, 3–6, 6–2
• French Open
  • Men's final: Rafael Nadal defeats Robin Söderling, 6–4, 6–2, 6–4
  • Women's final: Francesca Schiavone defeats Samantha Stosur, 6–4, 7–6(2)
  • Francesca Schiavone becomes the first Italian, male or female, to win a Grand Slam singles title.
• Wimbledon Championships
  • Men's final: Rafael Nadal defeats Tomáš Berdych, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4
  • Women's final: Serena Williams defeats Vera Zvonareva, 6–3, 6–2
  • The first round of the Gentlemen's Singles features the longest match in tennis history. In a match that lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes over three days, American John Isner defeats France's Nicolas Mahut 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(7), 7–6(3), 70–68. The final set alone was longer in both games and time than the previous longest match.
• US Open
  • Men's final: Rafael Nadal defeats Novak Djokovic, 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2
  • Women's final: Kim Clijsters defeats Vera Zvonareva, 6–2, 6–1
• Davis Cup
  •  Serbia defeats  France, 3–2
• Fed Cup
  •  Italy defeats  United States, 3–1

• Women's CEV Champions League 2009–10 December 1, 2009 – April 4, 2010. Final Four in Cannes, France
  • Champions Volley Bergamo, Fenerbahçe Acıbadem, RC Cannes. MVP:  Francesca Piccinini (ITA)
• Men's CEV Champions League 2009–10 December 1, 2009 – May 2, 2010. Final Four in Łódź, Poland.
  • Champions Trentino BetClic, Dynamo Moscow, PGE Skra Bełchatów. MVP:  Osmany Juantorena (CUB)
• 2010 Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino February 12 – May 12, in Puerto Rico
  • Champions Pinkin de Corozal, Season MVP:  Oneida González (VEN), Final Series MVP:  Destinee Hooker (USA)
• 2010 Men's Pan-American Volleyball Cup, May 20–31, in Puerto Rico
  •  United States,  Argentina and  Puerto Rico. MVP:  Jayson Jablonsky (USA)
• 2010 Montreux Volley Masters, June 8–13, in Montreux, Switzerland
  •  China,  United States and  Cuba. MVP:  Kenia Carcaces (CUB)
• 2010 Women's European Volleyball League, June 5 – July 25, Final Four in Ankara, Turkey
  •  Serbia,  Bulgaria and  Turkey. MVP:  Jelena Nikolić (SRB)
• 2010 Men's European Volleyball League, June 4 – July 17, Final Four in Guadalajara, Spain
  •  Portugal,  Spain and  Turkey. MVP:  Valdir Sequeira (POR)
• FIVB World League 2010, June 11 – July 25, 2010, in Córdoba, Argentina
  •  Brazil,  Russia and  Serbia. MVP:  Murilo Endres (BRA)
• 2010 Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup, June 16–27, in Rosarito and Tijuana, Mexico
  •  Dominican Republic,  Peru and  United States. MVP:  Prisilla Rivera (DOM)
• Men's Volleyball at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games, July 24–29, in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  •  Puerto Rico,  Venezuela and  Mexico. MVP:  Héctor Soto (PUR)
• Women's Volleyball at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games, July 18–23, in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  •  Dominican Republic,  Puerto Rico and  Costa Rica. MVP:  Deborah Seilhamer (PUR)
• FIVB World Grand Prix 2010 August 6–29, Final Round in Ningbo, China
  •  United States,  Brazil and  Italy. MVP:  Foluke Akinradewo (USA)
• 2010 Final Four Women's Volleyball Cup, September 19–26, Chiapas, Mexico
  •  Dominican Republic,  Peru and  Argentina. MVP:  Dahiana Burgos (DOM)
• 2010 FIVB Men's World Championship, September 24, 2010 to October 10, 2010
  •  Brazil,  Cuba and  Serbia. MVP:  Murilo Endres (BRA)
• 2010 FIVB Women's World Championship October 29, 2010 to November 14, 2010
  •  Russia,  Brazil and  Japan. MVP:  Yekaterina Gamova (RUS)
• Men's Volleyball at the 2010 Asian Games, November 18–27 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
  •  Japan,  Iran and  South Korea.
• Women's Volleyball at the 2010 Asian Games, November 13–27 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
  •  China,  South Korea and  Kazakhstan.
• 2010 FIVB Men's Club World Championship December 15–21, 2010 in Doha, Qatar.
  • Champions Trentino BetClic, PGE Skra Bełchatów, Paykan Tehran, MVP:  Osmany Juantorena (CUB)
• 2010 FIVB Women's Club World Championship December 15–21, 2010 in Doha, Qatar.
  • Champions Fenerbahçe Acıbadem, Sollys Osasco, Bergamo, MVP:  Katarzyna Skowrońska (POL)