In the first tour-level clay-court match of her career, Ukraine’s Daria Snigur came away with a thrilling 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (13) victory over Australia’s Daria Kasatkina in first-round action of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday.

Snigur, ranked 98th in the world, saved four match points before winning the marathon finish, which goes down as the longest first-to-seven, tour-level third-set tiebreaker in eight years and the sixth-longest in a WTA match this century.

Kasatkina, a 2022 French Open semifinalist, saved 17 of 24 break-point chances. Each competitor won 50% of both their service and return points. Snigur will next face No. 4 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland.

Seven Americans were in action during an extensive 22-match day of action in the Spanish capital. All 32 seeded competitors earned first-round byes in the 96-person event.

Alycia Parks won her opening-round match over Italy’s Elisabetta Coccioretto 6-3, 6-2, setting up a second-round clash with fellow American and No. 31 seed Ann Li.

Parks finished off her opening match in just 74 minutes. She hit just 52% of her first serves but won 71.4% of her service points, saving all three break points she faced while converting 3 of 7 on Coccioretto’s serve.

Two other Americans fell, with Taylor Townsend losing 6-4, 6-2 to Great Britain’s Katie Boulter while Elvina Kalieva took a 6-3, 6-4 defeat against Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.

Boulter will next face fifth-seeded American Jessica Pegula. No. 3 seed Coco Gauff will open against France’s Leolia Jeanjean, who blew past Russia’s Oksana Selekhmeteva for a 6-4, 6-1 victory.

There were also two battles between U.S. players on Thursday. Caty McNally bested Katie Volynets 6-1, 6-2 in 94 minutes and will face No. 10 Victoria Mboko of Canada in the second round. Sofia Kenin, who won the 2020 Australian Open, defeated Ashlyn Krueger 7-6 (2), 6-4 to book a matchup against No. 32 Qinwen Zheng of China.

Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania beat Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 and will face No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the Round of 64.

That was one of seven matches contested on the day which went to a third set. However, one of the more thrilling matches was Argentina’s Solana Sierra holding off Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 7-6 (10), 7-6 (8) in a match which lasted nearly 2 1/2 hours despite only going two sets.

In other two-set matches, Italy’s Tyra Caterina Grant defeated France’s Elsa Jacquemot 6-1, 6-2, Switzerland’s Simona Waltert beat Oleksandra Oliynikova of Ukraine 7-5, 6-0, Indonesia’s Janice Tjen swept Russia’s Alina Charaeva 6-4, 6-2, Colombia’s Emiliana Arango beat Australia’s Talia Gibson 6-3, 6-2, Alexandra Eala of the Philippines defeated Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-3, Hungary’s Dalma Galfi bested Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 7-6 (7), 6-4, Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez beat Spaniard Carlota Martinez Cirez 7-5, 6-2 and China’s Shuia Zhang overcame Germany’s Eva Lys for a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

In three-set territory, Czech Karolina Pliskova bested Austria’s Sinja Kraus 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan outlasted Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina beat Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine beat Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 and Hungary’s Panna Udvardy took care of Australia’s Kimberly Birrell in a 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 triumph.

–Field Level Media

Bryson DeChambeau addressed speculation that he could be leaving LIV Golf after this season by pledging, “As long as LIV is here, I would figure out a way for it to make sense.”

DeChambeau told Flushing It Golf, in an interview published on Wednesday, that he is still working on “a potential contract” as he plays out the final season of his original LIV Golf deal.

The circuit is facing questions about its future as rumors circulate that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund may be preparing to end its immense financial support of the league. However, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil said last week that the league would not fold. O’Neil later added that LIV Golf is financed through the 2026 season.

DeChambeau had spent part of his time while competing at the Masters Tournament earlier this month to discuss a possible return to the PGA Tour, according to a report by The Athletic.

In his interview published on Wednesday, DeChambeau said he is committed to LIV Golf as long as the league continues next year.

“We’re still working on a potential contract,” he said. “I haven’t given up on that and I think there will be a solution. But as of right now, my job is to help make the league work after this year. I just feel like I have a responsibility. I’ve put a lot of effort into it. So that’s what I’m going to do, we’re going to make this work.”

Adversity comes with the territory, DeChambeau said, as in any new venture.

“There’s a lot of moving parts like in any business,” he said. “It’s a startup, right? And so there’s going to be times where we’re squeezed and punched. This is one of those moments. But I’m going to do everything in my power to make it work and I really see the value in franchise golf.”

DeChambeau, 32, prevailed in a playoff in consecutive weeks in March by winning at both LIV Golf Singapore and LIV Golf South Africa. The two-time U.S. Open champion has won five individual LIV Golf titles.

When LIV Golf began in 2022, DeChambeau reportedly signed a $125 million contract for 4 1/2 years. According to The Daily Telegraph, he had been seeking as much as $500 million on a new contract to remain with the league.

DeChambeau did have the opportunity to return to the PGA Tour earlier this year through the Returning Member Program but reportedly declined. That program was developed as Brooks Koepka departed LIV for his return to the PGA Tour earlier this year.

Also declining the option to return were Jon Rahm and Cam Smith. DeChambeau, Rahm and Smith were the only three LIV stars who were offered a path to return amid new parameters that were restricted to players who had departed for at least two years and had won a major tournament or a Players Championship title between 2022 and 2025.

DeChambeau, as captain of the Crushers GC team, turned the focus beyond his own situation and fellow stars Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Spain’s Rahm to younger golfers committed to the league.

“And, you know, another reason why I’m doing this is not just for myself and the team aspect that I really believe in on the Crushers side,” he said. “It’s for Michael La Sasso. It’s for Caleb Surratt. It’s for Josele Ballester. It’s for David Puig.

“Jon, Phil, DJ, myself and the guys that have been here from the start, we’re OK. It’s now our responsibility to take care of these kids that believe in us. That’s why I’m really doing it. There’s so much value to squeeze out of this whole thing for golf in general.”

The league’s fourth season has eight tournaments remaining — five in the United States — after last week’s event in Mexico.

–Field Level Media

Time is shorter and the wait is longer when the 2026 NFL Draft takes the stage in Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

The vagabond event marks a return to the home of the Steelers for the first time since 1948. Across three days, seven rounds and 257 total picks at Point State Park and Acrisure Stadium, which opened in 2001 as Heinz Field, players anxiously await to hear their name and, when chosen, embark on their NFL careers.

Barring a trade, the home fans will be waiting awhile for the Steelers to be on the clock at pick No. 21. But not as long as years past. A change will be implemented to reduce the time between each first-round selection from 10 minutes to eight minutes. The NFL reduced the time from 15 minutes to 10 in 2008.

Speaking of trades, there has already been significant wheeling and dealing of draft picks. General managers are also planning to be nimble on the clock Thursday in the first round. 49ers GM John Lynch anticipates “there’ll be a lot of trade movement this year.” Chiefs GM Brett Veach, drafting in the top 10 for the first time, echoed the sentiment.

“There’ll probably be a lot of trades,” Veach said.

Nobody expects the Raiders to trade out of the top spot, where they appear determined to select Heisman Trophy-winning Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza No. 1 overall. It’s the first time the Raiders enter the draft with the No. 1 spot since selecting LSU’s JaMarcus Russell in 2007.

After months of waiting, at least three in-person meetings and additional conversations with Mendoza, Raiders general manager John Spytek still expects a little alone time with the telephone in the draft room Thursday.

“Unless you’re super convinced that you’re making the pick, you kind of just sit there and wait for a little bit and see if your phone will ring,” Spytek said. “Sometimes, you can get really good trade offers that maybe you didn’t expect and other times your phone doesn’t ring, so then you just pick.”

Veach comes armed with two first-round picks courtesy of a trade with the Rams, who acquired cornerback Trent McDuffie for the No. 29 pick in the first round.

The Jets, Browns, Cowboys, Giants and Dolphins also own multiple picks in the top 32.

Trades have been a prevailing storyline for the Jets, who follow the Raiders on the clock at No. 2 and possess No. 16 overall courtesy of their trade of cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts last year. New York has a second pick in Round 2 as well — No. 44 from the Dallas Cowboys, part of the deal for Quinnen Williams last year — and a total of five in the top 103 in this draft.

It’s enough of a stockpile that the Jets could move down or stay put and draft any number of blue-chip options — four of them products of Ohio State. Linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles, safety Caleb Downs and wide receiver Carnell Tate are premier players at their position in this draft class. Any of them could be fits for the Jets, whose list of positional needs runs deep.

But the top-ranked pass rusher in the draft is David Bailey out of Texas Tech. Bailey and head coach Aaron Glenn downplayed the Jets canceling his “top 30 visit” to team headquarters. Bailey said Wednesday in Pittsburgh he has spent a lot of time with the Jets’ brass and recently caught up again on FaceTime. As far as Bailey is concerned, he’s very much an option for the Jets with the No. 2 pick Thursday.

“It’s been good, man. I’ve had great interaction with them,” Bailey said.

At No. 3, the Arizona Cardinals have a new head coach and no set plan at quarterback. While the Jets reacquired Geno Smith, the Cardinals haven’t tipped their hand. Consensus opinion of the 2026 draft class implies the answer might not be in this draft.

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson is not a consensus first-round prospect but demand outweighs supply at the NFL’s most vital position, which could push the one-year Crimson Tide starter up draft boards.

With that in mind, Arizona has room on the roster for most of the brigade of Buckeyes, Bailey or could be a candidate to trade down.

The Titans are looking for a sidekick for 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward and might be antsy with the Cardinals on the clock. Tennessee has been closely connected to Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, who said Wednesday he’s open to any outcome that could transpire in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

“You draft me, I’m not doing too much of nothing other than football,” Love said of his mindset and what he shared with interested NFL teams the past several months. “I want to be a Hall of Famer, I want to be a Pro Bowler my very first year. I want to win offensive rookie of the year. I tell them all these goals that I have.”

Alabama (2021) and Miami (2004) hold the record for most first-round picks produced by one program in a draft. If projections for four Buckeyes to be selected in the top 12 picks hold up, Ohio State nose tackle Kayden McDonald, who accepted an invitation to attend the draft in Pittsburgh, could be the fifth.

Multiple teams join the Colts (Gardner) by starting Thursday on the sideline without a first-round pick.

The Denver Broncos traded the No. 29 pick to the Dolphins in the Jaylen Waddle deal last month. Cincinnati sent the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants for Dexter Lawrence last week and the Falcons and Jaguars parted with 2026 first-rounders during the 2025 draft.

The Packers acquired Micah Parsons from the Cowboys in the August deal that cost Green Bay its 2006 first-rounder (20th overall).

–Field Level Media