Sports
Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff sent packing in Madrid Round of 16
Linda Noskova hits back to Aryna Sabalenka during their semifinal match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Friday, March 13, 2026. Unseeded Austrian Anastasia Potapova surprised No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and won a 7-6 (8), 6-4 battle in the Round of 16 at the Madrid Open on Monday.
Two of the top three seeds were shown the exit door, as Czech 13th seed Linda Noskova defeated No. 3 seed Coco Gauff 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5). Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus survived a tough test from No. 14 Naomi Osaka of Japan but advanced in three sets.
Potapova’s victory took one hour and 53 minutes and finished just after midnight local time. In the field as a lucky loser, she is now set to play a WTA 1000 quarterfinal match for just the fourth time.
Rybakina turned a 2-0 deficit into a 5-3 lead in the first set, but Potapova rallied to tie it at 5-5 and 6-6. The pair traded one-point leads in a tightly contested tiebreaker before Potapova won it on her third set point.
Potapova then trailed Rybakina 4-2 in the second set before she ripped off the final four games in a row. She ended the match having saved 7 of 10 break points and having won 75.5% of her first-service points (37 of 49).
Gauff, meanwhile, squandered a 4-1 lead in the third set and let Noskova move in front 6-5 before forcing a tiebreaker. There, Gauff led a 4-2 lead slip away.
Noskova hit eight aces with seven double faults, while Gauff fired 13 aces and committed six double faults. Gauff also saved 7 of 10 break points, but it was not to be.
“I know the match is not over until it’s over,” Noskova told reporters. “I was kind of saying to myself that I’m still close … even though it’s 1-4. I just wanted to find my rhythm and my game all over again.”
Sabalenka found herself a set and a break down when Osaka broke her serve in the third game of the second. Osaka won a marathon sixth game to tie it 3-3, but from there Sabalenka took nine of the last 11 games of the match, prevailing 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-2.
“Oh my God, that was incredible level,” Sabalenka said after improving to 2-1 all-time against Osaka, the four-time major champ. “She played incredible tennis. I feel like I just got lucky in a couple shots in the third set, that’s why it went that fast.”
Sabalenka became the sixth woman to reach 150 match wins at WTA 1000 tournaments.
Her next opponent is 30th seed Hailey Baptiste, who reached her second WTA 1000 quarterfinal by enduring a second-set marathon to beat No. 11 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-1, 6-7 (14), 6-3. Baptiste double-faulted three times during the second-set tiebreaker, and Bencic was credited with six match points saved in all.
In other matches, No. 9 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia needed two hours and 53 minutes to get past Hungary’s Anna Bondar 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (5); Canadian 24th seed Leylah Fernandez beat 31st seed Ann Li 6-3, 6-2; No. 26 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine eliminated Caty McNally 6-2, 6-3; and Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic advanced past Solana Sierra of Argentina 6-4, 6-3.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Phoenix, Vegas potential options if Whitecaps relocate
Mar 23, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; The Vancouver Whitecaps FC logo displayed before their match against Real Salt Lake at BC Place. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images Las Vegas and Phoenix are the top contenders to become an MLS city if the Vancouver Whitecaps were to relocate, The Athletic reported on Monday.
MLS declined to comment on the report.
Per the report, a special committee of MLS owners met earlier this month to conduct talks on the future of the Whitecaps, which could include relocation. Indianapolis and Sacramento are also among the markets who have expressed interest in joining the league.
MLS has met with a group interested in bringing a club to Las Vegas, per the report, and a separate group of Las Vegas investors called Starr Vegas unveiled a $10 billion development plan on the Vegas Strip. That plan would include a 50,000-seat soccer stadium, though the group has reportedly not engaged with MLS as of yet.
With their lease at BC Place set to expire at the end of 2026, the Whitecaps are working to find a new stadium in Vancouver.
“Since December 2024, ownership has prioritized finding a buyer committed to keeping the team in Vancouver, and to date, no solution has been found,” the Whitecaps said in a club statement provided to The Athletic.
MLS owners would have to approve any relocation, which would include a purchase price and relocation fee. San Diego FC, which joined MLS last season, paid a $500 million expansion fee, and per the report, the overall package for a group entering the league would exceed that $500 million price tag.
With the city of Vancouver, the Whitecaps entered an exclusive negotiation period last December that extends through 2026 to explore a new stadium and entertainment district at Hastings Park. However, there have been no updates since the club signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the city.
The Whitecaps date back to 1974, when they played their inaugural season in the NASL, and remained in the league until it folded in 1984. The Whitecaps began playing in the Canadian Soccer League in 1986 and were also in the American Professional Soccer League, the United Soccer League and the USSF Division 2 Pro League until joining MLS in 2011.
Winners of the last four Canadian Championships and coming off their first-ever MLS Cup final appearance (a 3-1 loss to Inter Miami CF), Vancouver is off to a strong start in 2026, sitting three points back of the Supporters’ Shield through nine matches, and is 7-1-0 at BC Place.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: LIV Golf postpones New Orleans event in June
Jun 28, 2025; Carrollton, Texas, USA; The LIV Golf logo near the first tee during the second round of the LIV Golf Dallas golf tournament at Maridoe Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images So much for “full throttle.”
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil said earlier this month that LIV’s season would continue “exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle.” The Athletic and other outlets reported on Monday that the LIV Golf Louisiana event in June will be postponed.
Per the reports, O’Neil and Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development Susan Bourgeois spoke on Friday and agreed to postpone the June 25-28 tournament in the wake of news that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was preparing to pull funding from LIV.
The two sides hope to plan “a re-envisioned event in the fall,” per The Athletic. NOLA.com reported that LIV is exploring a “smaller, exposition-style tournament” in New Orleans in the fall. LIV Golf’s team championship in late August is the last event currently scheduled.
LIV Golf did not reply to The Athletic’s request for comment.
For the June event at New Orleans’ Bayou Oaks in City Park, Louisiana was to spend about $7 million, with $5 million to go to hosting fees and roughly $2 million to improve the course. The course improvements have gone as planned, but only about $3 million overall had been spent as of last week.
Per The Athletic, the parties agreed that LIV would return the $1.2 million it received from Louisiana, while the state would accept the $2 million spent on the course as an improvement to a state asset.
Meanwhile, O’Neil and LIV Golf are attempting to raise funds to help the league amid the possibility of losing PIF funding after 2026.
Part of the plan involves selling equity in the 13 LIV Golf teams, according to The Athletic. Partnering with national opens is also on the table as the league explores methods to improve the league.
As of Monday, the LIV Golf Virginia event at Trump National Golf Club is scheduled to begin May 7 outside Washington, D.C.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Prosecutors to introduce additional charges in Terry Rozier case
Mar 31, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier (2) and guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. (11) celebrates during the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images In court Monday to seek a dismissal of federal charges, former Miami Heat point guard Terry Rozier learned prosecutors are expanding the case against him with intentions to present new charges to a grand jury.
Federal prosecutors informed Rozier’s legal team two hours before a court appearance on Monday that they plan to bring new charges alleging Rozier committed crimes of bribery and fraud, depriving the Charlotte Hornets and NBA of “honest services” when he conspired to produce a specific ill-gotten result for the financial benefit of an alliance of acquaintances and bettors.
The new charges will not automatically expand the federal case against Rozier. A grand jury would weigh new evidence presented before deciding whether it merits being added to the case.
Rozier, 32, pleaded not guilty in December to conspiracy charges involving wire fraud and money laundering.
He successfully fought for his $26.6 million salary from the Miami Heat before his release became official earlier this month. The Heat placed Rozier on administrative leave and began depositing his paychecks into an interest-bearing escrow account shortly after his Oct. 23 arrest.
Rozier is accused of alerting gamblers that he would leave a game early while playing for the Charlotte Hornets in March 2023. The gamblers then bet large sums on the “under” for Rozier’s stats in that contest.
Rozier averaged 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 64 games (23 starts) for the Heat last season. His career averages through 10 NBA seasons for the Boston Celtics, Charlotte and Miami are 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
–Field Level Media
Report: Phoenix, Vegas potential options if Whitecaps relocate
Gay dating app Sniffies just got $100 million from Match Group
