Sports
ATP roundup: Jakub Mensik shocks Jannik Sinner in Doha
Sep 21, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Team Europe player Jakub Mensik returns a shot against Team World player Alex de Minaur during the Laver Cup at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images Czech rising star Jakub Mensik hit 11 aces and rode a dominant third set to a 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3 upset of No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open quarterfinals on Thursday in Doha.
The sixth-seeded Mensik won 14 of his 16 first-service points in the third set and 49 of 60 overall (81.7%) while saving 5 of 7 break points in the match. Sinner, who fell in the semifinals of the Australian Open, missed the final in back-to-back starts for the first time since the summer of 2024.
No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain now has a clearer path to the title at the ATP 500 event, though he survived a scare of his own in the quarterfinals when he rallied past Russian seventh seed Karen Khachanov 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-3. Alcaraz had a 41-14 edge in winners to overcome his 34 unforced errors.
Alcaraz’s semifinal opponent will be No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia, a 6-3, 7-6 (2) winner over Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas. Mensik will battle Frenchman Arthur Fils, who upset Czech eighth seed Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-3.
Delray Beach Open
No. 4 seed Learner Tien hit 20 aces among his 51 winners to fight past Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) in Delray Beach, Fla.
Kecmanovic saved four match points — one in the 12th game to force a tiebreaker, then three more after going down 6-2 — but he could not save a fifth. Tien’s quarterfinal opponent, No. 8 seed Frances Tiafoe, also needed three sets to turn back qualifier Zachary Svajda 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, saving 5 of 6 break points along the way.
The evening matches in Florida pit No. 5 seed Tommy Paul against Australian Adam Walton and No. 1 seed Taylor Fritz against Spain’s Rafael Jodar.
Rio Open
Portuguese lucky loser Jaime Faria kept his week going by beating Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur 7-6 (1), 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals in Rio de Janeiro.
Faria, who hit 26 winners and had to get past 29 unforced errors, is joined in the next round by No. 8 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, who defeated Lithuanian qualifier Vilius Gaubas by an identical 7-6 (1), 6-4 scoreline.
The late matches in Rio see third-seeded Joao Fonseca of Brazil take on Peru’s Ignacio Buse and Italian Matteo Berrettini oppose Serbian lucky loser Dusan Lajovic.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Poll: Winter Olympics draw interest from 40% of 'non-sports' fans
Feb 6, 2026; Milan, ITALY; Dancers perform during the Olympic rings segment during the Opening Ceremony for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images The Winter Games draw interest from 40% of people who consider themselves “non-sports” fans while also serving to create new sports fans overall, according to a poll conducted by Edison Research.
The SSRS Sports Poll has captured interest in the Olympics compared to other professional and collegiate sports leagues among United States audiences for the past 30 years. The results based on polling throughout 2025 show that the Winter Games generate interest from a wider range of people while also serving as an “important factor to becoming a sports fan in the first place.”
According to the poll, along with 40% of those who consider themselves non-sports fans, the Winter Olympics have drawn interest from more than 60% of “light” sports fans. That is well ahead of other sports including the NFL at around 50% and MLB at 40%, followed by the NBA, college football, college basketball and the NHL.
In 2021, the SSRS Opinion Panel found that 68% of Americans aged 12+ said the Olympics played an important role in them first becoming sports fans in general.
SSRS acquired Edison in October 2025.
–Field Level Media
Sports
US nets women's hockey gold with OT winner over Canada
[US, Mexico & Canada customers only] Feb 13, 2026; Milan, Italy; Megan Keller of United States celebrates scoring their first goal with Laila Edwards of United States against Italy in a women’s ice hockey quarterfinal during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: David W Cerny/Reuters via Imagn Images Defenseman Megan Keller took an outlet pass to the net and beat Canada goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens for the gold-medal winning goal at 4:07 into overtime to give Team USA a 2-1 victory on Thursday in Milan.
The 3-on-3 overtime ending capped a tense finish of another epic game for the in women’s hockey finale between the neighboring North American countries.
Captain Hilary Knight scored her 15th career Olympic goal to force overtime for the United States in the final, which featured overtime between the two countries for the third time in the past four Winter Games.
Knight knotted the score at 1 with 2:04 remaining on the goal that made her the USA women’s hockey leader in Olympic goals. Off of a face-off win, Knight caught a blue-line pass standing with her back to the goal just in front of the net and tipped it past Desbiens.
Canada took a 1-0 lead on Kristin O’Neill’s shorthanded goal in the second period with an assist from Laura Stacey.
–Field Level Media
Sports
China’s Eileen Gu bounces back to land into halfpipe final
Feb 16, 2026; Livigno, Italy; Silver medalist Ailing Eileen Gu of the People’s Republic of China looks on during the medal ceremony for the women’s big air final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Livigno Snow Park. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images LIVIGNO, Italy — China’s Eileen Gu bounced back from a mistake to qualify on Thursday for the Winter Olympics freestyle skiing halfpipe final, giving the defending champion a chance to pick up yet another medal.
Gu crashed on her first run, after clipping the edge of the U-shaped ramp that defines the halfpipe discipline, but more than made up for it with a well-executed second attempt.
“I’m glad I was able to reinforce my sense of self-belief at the moment when it counted,” she said.
With 12 out of 21 competitors going through to Saturday’s final, Gu came fifth with a score of 86.5, out of a maximum of 100. Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin, the 2025 world champion, led the pack on 91.5 points, followed by China’s Li Fanghui with 90.
Atkin prevailed despite pre-competition nerves.
“I’m really happy I was able to kind of manage that nervousness and put down a clean run,” she said. “It’s honestly a really big relief, so I’m super excited for Saturday.”
NASTY CRASH FOR CANADA’S SHARPE
Canada’s Cassie Sharpe, who won halfpipe gold in 2018 and silver in 2022, came in third with 88.25 points, but crashed badly on her second run, prompting a medical intervention.
Rescue operations took several tense minutes during which the crowd fell quiet, but spectators cheered in relief as Sharpe was fit enough to wave her arms while taken away on a stretcher.
In Milan Cortina, 22-year-old Gu has already picked up silver medals in slopestyle and big air, turning her into the most decorated woman in the history of her sport.
The American-born freeskier, who switched to compete for her mother’s native China in 2019, also won golds in big air and halfpipe, plus a silver in slopestyle, at the 2022 Beijing Games.
In halfpipe, riders slide across a U-shaped snow ramp and perform acrobatics in the air. They are awarded points based on height, difficulty, variety of tricks, and other factors.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Poll: Winter Olympics draw interest from 40% of 'non-sports' fans
US nets women's hockey gold with OT winner over Canada
