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Pegula Outlasts Svitolina at US Open, to Face Fellow American Keys in Fourth Round

USA's Jessica Pegula waves after defeating Ukraine's Elina Svitolina during the US Open tennis tournament women's singles third round match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on September 2, 2023. (AFP)
USA's Jessica Pegula waves after defeating Ukraine's Elina Svitolina during the US Open tennis tournament women's singles third round match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on September 2, 2023. (AFP)
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Pegula Outlasts Svitolina at US Open, to Face Fellow American Keys in Fourth Round

USA's Jessica Pegula waves after defeating Ukraine's Elina Svitolina during the US Open tennis tournament women's singles third round match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on September 2, 2023. (AFP)
USA's Jessica Pegula waves after defeating Ukraine's Elina Svitolina during the US Open tennis tournament women's singles third round match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on September 2, 2023. (AFP)

Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys kept noticing their names near each other in tournament draws this summer.

“We were like, ‘I think the world just wants us to play,’” Pegula said.

At the US Open, they finally will.

Pegula beat Elina Svitolina 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on Saturday, setting up a fourth-round matchup against the No. 17-seeded Keys.

Pegula, the No. 3 seed, is still trying to advance beyond the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament. First, she'll have to get by the 2017 runner-up in Flushing Meadows who also needed three sets to move on.

Keys came back to eliminate No. 14 Liudmila Samsonova 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

Ons Jabeur, the No. 5 seed who lost in the finals last year, also reached the fourth round by outlasting No. 31 Marie Bouzkova 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in a match that took 2 hours, 56 minutes. Jabeur will face No. 23 Zheng Qinwen of China, who edged Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Pegula and Keys could have met early in both Montreal and Cincinnati, but Keys had to withdraw with a hip injury in Canada — where Pegula won the title — and lost her opening match in Ohio. So they've still played only once, a victory for Pegula last year in San Diego, though do hit together sometimes.

“Every time I practice with her, she just has the ability to just hit aces and rip forehands and backhands, play a really big power game,” Pegula said. “It will be interesting to see how smart I can play and what I can do to combat that.”

Other winners on the women's side Saturday included No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who routed Clara Burel 6-1, 6-1, and No. 13 Daria Kasatkina, who topped Greet Minnen 6-3, 6-4 and will face the Australian Open champion Monday. Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, the No. 9 seed, routed No. 22 Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 6-1 and will face unseeded American Peyton Stearns.

Pegula found herself in a tough test with Svitolina, the No. 26 seed from Ukraine who reached the US Open semifinals in 2019. It was tied 2-2 in the third set before the 29-year-old from Florida broke serve to start a run of four straight games to win the match.

That put her in the fourth round of the US Open for the second time. Pegula had her best result at the tournament in 2022, falling to eventual champion Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals. She's gone that far in each Grand Slam tournament but is still seeking to reach the final four.

“She’s been showing great results,” Svitolina said. “I think she’s ready to do an extra step forward.”

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Sports

Arteta Dismisses ‘Bottlers’ Talk Amid Title Wobble

Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta applauds the fans following the English Premier League football match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England on February 18, 2026. (AFP)
Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta applauds the fans following the English Premier League football match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England on February 18, 2026. (AFP)
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Arteta Dismisses ‘Bottlers’ Talk Amid Title Wobble

Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta applauds the fans following the English Premier League football match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England on February 18, 2026. (AFP)
Arsenal's Spanish manager Mikel Arteta applauds the fans following the English Premier League football match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England on February 18, 2026. (AFP)

Arsenal manager Mikel ‌Arteta rejected the term 'bottlers' ahead of Sunday's Premier League visit to Tottenham Hotspur, as the title race heats up after their lead was cut short by successive Premier League draws at Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Arsenal have won just two of their last seven league games, with second-placed Manchester City now five points behind with a game in hand.

Under ‌Arteta, the ‌North London club has finished as ‌the ⁠runners-up in their ⁠last three campaigns.

"It’s not part of my vocabulary and I don’t see it like this because I don’t think anybody wants to do that as an intention," Arteta told reporters on Friday, when asked about ⁠the term being used regarding their ‌latest wobble in ‌the title race.

"That’s individual opinion, perspective. You have to ‌respect that. That’s what I said after ‌in the press conference. You lose two points against Wolves in the manner that the game played out, you have to take it on ‌the chin. It's part of our role."

"What I’m very interested in ⁠is ⁠the next one, what we are made of, what we love about this and how we write our own destiny from here."

Arsenal have also reached the League Cup final and the round of 16 in the Champions League and the FA Cup.

Meanwhile, Tottenham, who are 16th in the Premier League, will enter into Sunday's game under newly appointed manager Igor Tudor, who replaced Thomas Frank last week.

Sports

IOC Boss Coventry Hails Milano Cortina Games a Success

20 February 2026, Italy, Milan: President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry holds a press conference. (dpa)
20 February 2026, Italy, Milan: President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry holds a press conference. (dpa)
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IOC Boss Coventry Hails Milano Cortina Games a Success

20 February 2026, Italy, Milan: President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry holds a press conference. (dpa)
20 February 2026, Italy, Milan: President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry holds a press conference. (dpa)

The Milano Cortina Olympics exceeded expectations despite a shaky build-up, IOC President Kirsty Coventry said on Friday, hailing the first spread-out Winter Games a success.

"These Games are truly ... successful in a new way of doing things, in a sustainable way of doing things, in a way that I think many people thought maybe we couldn't do, or couldn't be done well, and it's been done extremely well, and it's surpassed everyone's expectations," Coventry told a press conference.

It was the International Olympic Committee chief's clearest endorsement yet of a format that split events across several Alpine clusters rather than concentrating them in one host city.

Her assessment came after two weeks in which organizers sought to prove that a geographically dispersed Games could still deliver a consistent athlete experience.

The smooth delivery ‌comes after years ‌of logistical and political challenges, including construction delays at Milan’s Santagiulia Arena ‌and ⁠controversy over building ⁠a new sliding center in Cortina against IOC advice.

Organizers have also faced isolated disruptions during the Games, such as suspected sabotage on rail lines and protests in Milan over housing and environmental issues.

Transport concerns across the dispersed venues have been mitigated by limited cross-regional travel among spectators, though some competitors had to walk to the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in heavy snowfall that stopped traffic.

Central to the success of the Games, Coventry argued, was the effort to standardize conditions across multiple athlete villages despite the distances separating venues from Cortina d’Ampezzo to ⁠Livigno and Bormio.

Italian athletes’ performances also helped ticket sales, which amounted to ‌about 1.4 million.

"And the athletes are extremely happy. And they're happy ‌because the experiences that the MiCo (Milano Cortina) team and my team delivered to them have been the same," she ‌said.

Mixed relay silver medalist Tommaso Giacomel did, however, lament the fact there was no Olympic village near ‌the Antholz-Anterselva Biathlon Arena and that competitors were dotted around different hotels near the venue instead of in one place.

TWO OPENING CEREMONIES

Two opening ceremonies were held - the main one at Milan’s San Siro stadium and a more low-key parade on Cortina d’Ampezzo's Corso Italia, where athletes and spectators were within touching distance.

Feedback from competitors suggested the more intimate ‌settings had in some cases enhanced the Olympic atmosphere, Coventry said, taking the Cortina opening ceremony as an example.

The Zimbabwean, presiding over her first Games ⁠as IOC chief after elections in ⁠2025, framed Milano Cortina as proof of concept for future hosts grappling with rising costs and climate constraints, while acknowledging adjustments would follow.

"It allows us to really look at ourselves and look at the things that we have in place and how we're then going to make certain adjustments for the future," she said.

Beyond logistics, Coventry pointed to the broader impact of the Games, highlighting gender balance - with women making up 47% of competitors - and global engagement as marks of progress.

"But it's been an incredible experience and we're all very proud to have gender equity playing a big role in the delivery of the Games," she said, describing a "tremendous Games" in which athletes have "come together and shared in their passion".

With the closing ceremony in Verona approaching, Coventry said the focus would soon shift to a formal evaluation process, but insisted the headline conclusion was already clear.

"So we look forward to doing that and to learning from all the incredible experiences that I think all of the stakeholders have had across these Games, across these past two weeks," she said.

Sports

‘A Huge Mistake.’ Kompany Hits Out at Mourinho for Vinícius Júnior Comments

14 February 2026, Bremen: Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich at Weserstation. (dpa)
14 February 2026, Bremen: Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich at Weserstation. (dpa)
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‘A Huge Mistake.’ Kompany Hits Out at Mourinho for Vinícius Júnior Comments

14 February 2026, Bremen: Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich at Weserstation. (dpa)
14 February 2026, Bremen: Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich at Weserstation. (dpa)

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany has criticized José Mourinho for attacking the character of Vinícius Júnior after the Real Madrid star accused an opponent of racially insulting him during a Champions League match.

Benfica coach Mourinho suggested that Brazil forward Vinícius had incited Benfica's players with his celebrations after scoring the only goal in Tuesday's playoff match.

Vinícius accused Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni of calling him "monkey" during a confrontation after his goal.

Mourinho also questioned why Vinícius, who is Black and has been subjected to repeated racist insults in Spain, was so frequently targeted.

"There is something wrong because it happens in every stadium," Mourinho said. "The stadium where Vinícius played something happened. Always."

Speaking on Friday, Kompany condemned Mourinho's comments.

"So after the game you have the leader of an organization, José Mourinho, who attacks the character of Vinícius Júnior by bringing in the type of celebration to discredit what Vinícius is doing in this moment," Kompany said. "And for me in terms of leadership, it’s a huge mistake and it’s something that we should not accept."

Mourinho’s celebrations

UEFA appointed a special investigator on Wednesday to gather evidence about what happened in Lisbon in Madrid’s 1-0 win in the first leg of the Champions League playoffs. Madrid said it had sent "all available evidence" of the alleged incident to European soccer's governing body.

Referring to Vinícius' celebrations after curling a shot into the top corner, Mourinho said he should "celebrate in a respectful way."

Kompany pointed out Mourinho's own history of exuberant celebrations — such as when he ran down the sideline to cheer when his Porto team beat Manchester United in the Champions League.

Kompany said Mourinho's former players "love him" and added "I know he’s a good person."

"I don’t need to judge him as a person, but I know what I’ve heard. I understand maybe what he’s done, but he’s made a mistake and it’s something that hopefully in the future won’t happen like this again," he said.

Prestianni denied racially insulting Vinícius. Benfica said the Argentine player was the victim of a "defamation campaign."

‘Right thing to do’

Kompany said Vinícius' reaction "cannot be faked."

"You can see it — his reaction is an emotional reaction. I don’t see any benefit for him to go to the referee and put all this misery on his shoulders," he said. "There is absolutely no reason for Vini Junior to go and do this.

"I think in his mind he’s doing it more because it’s the right thing to do in that moment."

Kompany added: "You have a player who’s complaining. You have a player who says he didn’t do it. And I think unless the player himself comes forward, it’s difficult. It’s a difficult case."