Swiatek and Rybakina Serve up Bagels en Route to Victories at Indian Wells 

Iga Swiatek of Poland plays a backhand in her match against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 09, 2025 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Iga Swiatek of Poland plays a backhand in her match against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 09, 2025 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Swiatek and Rybakina Serve up Bagels en Route to Victories at Indian Wells 

Iga Swiatek of Poland plays a backhand in her match against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 09, 2025 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Iga Swiatek of Poland plays a backhand in her match against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 09, 2025 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

Defending champion Iga Swiatek crushed Dayana Yastremska 6-0 6-2 and 2023 champion Elena Rybakina powered past Britain's Katie Boulter 6-0 7-5 to reach the fourth round of Indian Wells on Sunday with displays of dominance.

Swiatek, seeded second, is aiming to become the first woman to win the tournament three times and the Polish player looked eager to do so in as little time on court as possible, reeling off 10 games in a row and needing just 65 minutes to see off her Ukrainian opponent.

"At the end I got a bit tired, it's always hard to finish a match like that but I'm happy that I kept my intensity up in the last game to close it," she said.

"I had control from the beginning so I'm happy with the performance for sure."

It was Swiatek's second bagel set of the tournament after she overwhelmed Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-0 in her first match.

The five-times major champion has not won a title since her triumph at Roland Garros in 2024, her longest drought since winning her first major title in 2020.

She served a one-month suspension in October for a failed drug test and has seen Aryna Sabalenka take her world number one ranking but said the California desert is an ideal setting to get back to winning ways.

"It's amazing, I love coming here," she said.

"I already have my routine so it feels like home. It's for sure the place to be and a great place to play tennis."

Swiatek will face 15th seed Karolina Muchova in the round of 16 after the Czech player beat her compatriot Katerina Siniakova in the afternoon.

After cruising through the first set, Rybakina fell behind 5-3 in the second before regrouping.

She stretched to hit a sensational defensive shot in a game where she broke back for 5-5 and broke again on match point to seal the win.

Rybakina, who missed last year's tournament due to an illness, will play ninth-seeded teenager Mirra Andreeva in a rematch of their Dubai semi-final, which the Russian won in three sets en route to becoming the youngest player to win a WTA 1000 title.

Andreeva is coached by former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, who the 17-year-old said was keeping her focused.

"She already told me that she booked a court at 12 p.m," she told reporters after her night match. "I see not much time passed from the match... she's just like this, but it's not bad."

Ukrainian Elina Svitolina upset 14th seed Danielle Collins 6-2 6-4 and will face another American, fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the next round after she breezed past China's Wang Xinyu 6-2 6-1.

Svitolina's countrywoman Marta Kostyuk beat American wildcard Caroline Dolehide 6-3 6-3.

MEDVEDEV, TSITSIPAS ADVANCE

On the men's side, Stefanos Tsitsipas showed off his impressive athleticism and defense, leaping for overheads and speeding around the court to beat Italy's Matteo Berrettini 6-3 6-3.

"I'm approaching these matches with determination and willingness to just leave it all out there on the court," Tsitsipas said.

"I want to get out there on the court and be a gladiator, and that's how I approach every single match I get to play."

The Greek eighth seed will face battle-tested Holger Rune after the Danish player dug deep to outlast Frenchman Ugo Humbert 5-7 6-4 7-5 with the backing of the crowd on center court.

"I tried to be brave," Rune said of his play over the final two games of the match.

"The energy on this court was truly amazing."

Daniil Medvedev was on court for just 10 minutes before his American opponent Alex Michelsen was forced to retire due to illness after two games.

The Russian fifth seed has lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells final the past two years, and the Spaniard is once again on the opposite side of the draw.

Medvedev will next face popular American Tommy Paul, who notched his 50th win at a Masters 1000 tournament with a 6-3 7-5 victory over Britain's Cameron Norrie.

Unheralded Japanese player Yosuke Watanuki was all smiles while upsetting American Frances Tiafoe 6-4 7-6(6) to notch the biggest win of his career.

"I tried to enjoy today," said Watanuki, who is ranked world number 349. "Even though I missed a terrible backhand, it is Indian Wells, center court. So even though I missed, I was happy,"

Tallon Griekspoor toppled 29th-seeded Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Sunday after stunning top seed Alexander Zverev in the previous round.

Griekspoor pounded 10 aces and broke Mpetshi Perricard's mighty serve twice en route to the win.

Southern California native Marcos Giron came from behind to beat Alexei Popyrin 5-7 6-3 6-3 in a match where the struggling Australian converted just one of his 15 break point chances.

It is the 31-year-old Giron's first time reaching the fourth round of the tournament.



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
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
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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
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

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.


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)
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)
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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)
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.


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)
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)
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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)
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.