Iga Swiatek Rolls to Start Indian Wells Title Defense

Iga Swiatek of Poland waves to the crowd after her straight sets victory against Caroline Garcia of France in their second round match during the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 07, 2025 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

09:33-8 March 2025 AD ـ 09 Ramadan 1446 AH

Second-seeded Iga Swiatek, who has yet to win a tournament this year, got off to a strong start in her title defense at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday in Indian Wells, Calif.

The Polish star cruised past France's Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-0 in the second round. The tournament's 32 seeded players all received a first-round bye.

Swiatek, also the Indian Wells champion in 2022, dominated with her return game on Friday. She won 58 percent of the points on Garcia's first serve, 75 percent on Garcia's second serve.

"I (was) solid no matter what the score is, and I don't take (the) next games for granted," Swiatek said. "If I'm leading even 4-0, I know that I should keep playing the same way and keep the same attitude to just win the match."

Swiatek is looking to become the first three-time women's singles champion in Indian Wells. The others who won twice in the Southern California desert were Martina Navratilova, Mary Joe Fernandez, Steffi Graf, Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Daniela Hantuchova, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka.

The other highly seeded players in action on Friday also posted straight-set wins.

No. 4 Jessica Pegula of the United States downed Poland's Magda Linette 6-4, 6-2. No. 7 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan beat the Netherlands' Suzan Lamens 6-3, 6-3. No. 9 Mirra Andreeva of Russia edged France's Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 6-4. No. 15 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic ousted Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-4, 6-3, and No. 18 Marta Kostyuko of Ukraine trounced the United States' Robin Montgomery 6-1, 6-3.

The Czech Republic's Katerina Siniakova blitzed No. 21 Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-2. China's Xinyu Wang eliminated No. 26 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-4, 6-4. New Zealand's Lulu Sun got past No. 31 Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4, and Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska bested No. 32 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 6-3, 6-1.

Also advancing were No. 22 Clara Tauson of Denmark, No. 23 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, No. 25 Katie Boulter of Great Britain, Armenia's Elina Avanesyan and US players Caroline Dolehide, Alycia Parks and Iva Jovic.

In the last two matches of the night, Azarenka of Belarus opposed No. 8 Qinwen Zheng of China, and No. 14 Danielle Collins met Hailey Baptiste in an all-US contest.

Sabalenka Apologizes for Outburst During Loss to Svitolina

13 November 2026, US, Indian Wells: Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka in action against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina during their women's singles group stage match of the FAGE WTA Finals tennis tournament at Indian Wells. Photo: Charles Baus/CSM via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Asharq Al Awsat

05:38-15 November 2026 AD ـ 05 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1448 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

05:38-15 November 2026 AD ـ 05 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1448 AH

Sabalenka Apologizes for Outburst During Loss to Svitolina

Aryna Sabalenka apologized on Saturday for her angry outburst during her defeat by Ukraine's Elina Svitolina at the WTA Finals.

Television footage appeared to show the Belarusian swearing during Friday's round-robin match, with some social media users interpreting her remarks as being directed at Svitolina or Ukrainians. The loss eliminated Sabalenka from the season-ending tournament.

"My comment was not directed at Elina," Sabalenka said in a social ⁠media post.

"I was ⁠frustrated with a small group of spectators who were aggressively cheering my mistakes, and I reacted emotionally in the moment.

"That said, I should have handled my frustration differently, and I apologize to anyone I offended.

"Elina played a great match, ⁠and I wish her all the best for the rest of the tournament."

Svitolina did not shake hands with Sabalenka after the match, maintaining her policy of not doing so with Russian or Belarusian opponents following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow launched with Belarus as a staging ground.

Asked about her reaction to Sabalenka's apology, Svitolina called for mutual respect, acknowledging that fans' passions ⁠can ⁠sometimes run high.

"We've played many times with Aryna. She has her fans, I have my fans," she told reporters after her semi-final win over Linda Noskova on Saturday.

According to Reuters, she expressed hope that matches between the two of them would be respected, "because yes, sometimes in some matches that we've played, also been not great comments towards me in regards of the war."

Svitolina, the 2018 WTA Finals champion, faces Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in Sunday's final.

Sports

Portugal Changes How No. 7 Is Written to Honor Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring the 1-2 goal during the FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Hungary, in Budapest, Hungary, 09 September 2025. (EPA)

17:37-14 November 2026 AD ـ 04 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1448 AH

Portugal Changes How No. 7 Is Written to Honor Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring the 1-2 goal during the FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Hungary, in Budapest, Hungary, 09 September 2025. (EPA)

The Portugal football team is making a change to how the No. 7 is written to honor the recently-retired Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo, who wore the number and went on to make it his own as “CR7,” retired from international soccer last week, ending a remarkable career that spanned six World Cups, a European title, and the men’s all-time international scoring record.

“Time to debut a new 7. Because there’s one that will be eternal,” the Portuguese national team wrote on social media on Saturday. The post included a goat emoji to signify “Greatest Of All Time.”

It also included a video that showed a horizontal crossed line through the No. 7 as it’s commonly written in Europe, suggesting that Ronaldo’s successors will all have that cross to bear when they wear the number.

Portugal, already assured of reaching the quarterfinals, was hosting Denmark in the Nations League later Saturday.

The 41-year-old Ronaldo quit on Nov. 5 after falling out with coach Jorge Jesus. His last appearance with Portugal was Sept. 24 in a 1-0 home win over Wales in the Nations League.

Jesus kept him on the bench for the following match and said he didn’t plan to start him in the next one, so the superstar forward decided to leave the team’s training camp.

Jesus later said Ronaldo would be welcome back and the decision to return was up to him.

Sports

Ronaldinho Poised for Ravenna Start and, Perhaps, One Last Goal

Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho waves during Ravenna FC’s team presentation for the 2026-27 season in Marina di Ravenna, Italy, Aug. 20, 2026. (AFP)

09:59-14 November 2026 AD ـ 04 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1448 AH

Ronaldinho Poised for Ravenna Start and, Perhaps, One Last Goal

Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho waves during Ravenna FC’s team presentation for the 2026-27 season in Marina di Ravenna, Italy, Aug. 20, 2026. (AFP)

Ronaldinho will roll back the years this weekend when the 46-year-old Brazilian starts his first competitive match in over a decade, and in the unlikely setting of an Italian third-tier derby the World Cup winner may realize his dream of scoring one last time.

The Brazil great and Ballon d'Or winner signed for Ravenna in June, also taking a stake in the club, but because he had not played since his final appearance for Fluminense in 2015, doubts remained over whether fans would ever see him in action.

Ravenna revealed ‌three weeks ago ‌that the former Barcelona and AC Milan player ‌would ⁠make his return ⁠in Sunday's home clash with local rivals Forli, and on Friday, manager Andrea Mandorlini told reporters that Ronaldinho would start the match.

"He will play from the start, there's no doubt," Mandorlini said.

"Then together we will decide how long he plays. He is one of the greatest players of the modern era. And we have to get a ⁠result. We always play with three forwards. He will ‌be one of the three."

Ronaldinho was ‌welcomed by the Ravenna fans in August, without committing to a return ‌to the pitch. He returned to Italy on Friday afternoon and ‌will have just one training session with his teammates on Saturday before making his club debut.

A temporary stand has been erected at the Stadio Bruno Benelli to cater for the crowd, and if this does turn out ‌to be one last hurrah for Ronaldinho, he may well get the chance to score his 300th ⁠professional goal.

"I ⁠scored my first Italian goal in the derby," Ronaldinho told Corriere della Sera, referring to his first official goal for AC Milan, which came against Inter Milan.

"It was a special evening that will remain in the memory of all AC Milan fans. It was September 28, 2008. I scored with a header, which is not my specialty. Who knows if I'll be able to repeat that feat tomorrow."

"... Returning to the pitch at 46 is the best move of my career."

Simone Rabbi will play alongside the Brazilian up front for Ravenna, and in Friday's press conference he said that if his side are awarded a penalty on Sunday, Ronaldinho will take the spot kick.

Iga Swiatek Rolls to Start Indian Wells Title Defense

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Sabalenka Apologizes for Outburst During Loss to Svitolina

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