Sports
Marta Kostyuk bests Mirra Andreeva in Madrid for back-to-back titles
Aug 2, 2025; Montreal, QC, Canada; Marta Kostyuk (UKR) reacts after winning a point against Mccartney Kessler (USA) in fourth round play at IGA Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images Marta Kostyuk won her second consecutive clay court tournament and her first WTA 1000 event with a 6-3, 7-5 upset over ninth-seeded Mirra Andreeva at the Madrid Open on Saturday afternoon.
No. 26 Kostyuk, who hails from Ukraine, won the Rouen Open in France on April 19 and will rise to a career-high No. 15 in the WTA rankings.
Andreeva could not capture her third title of the season, with prior wins in Adelaide and Linz. The Russian, who just turned 19, became the youngest player to reach three WTA finals since the format’s inception in 2009.
Kostyuk broke her opponent in the sixth game of the first set and served at 5-3. After falling behind, 15-40, she used a magnificent backhand-slice volley to earn a set point and won the set on her next attempt.
The second set was topsy-turvy, with five service breaks. Andreeva bolted out to 3-1 lead via two breaks, but Kostyuk won eight consecutive points to get back on serve. Leading 5-4, the teenager earned two set points, but Kostyuk blasted home back-to-back aces to erase the second one and then leveled the set.
The often-emotional Kostyuk then broke for the 34th time in the tournament and won the title in 81 minutes on her third match point.
“I want to thank all my opponents that I played this week,” said Kostyuk on court after the match. “Girls pushed me to the limit. One of the most unbelievable matches for me these weeks… very special two weeks here.
“If you look at the stats up until last year, I think I was like 2-7 in Madrid. I never thought I’d be able to lift the title here. It was not my favorite tournament for sure but thank you to the crowd. It was unbelievable this week. You were supporting me so much every day. It wouldn’t be possible without you.”
Kostyuk has won 11 consecutive matches on clay this season and became the second Ukrainian woman to win a WTA 1000 title. Elina Svitolina has captured four, but her last championship occurred in 2018.
Kostyuk is now 2-0 against Andreeva all-time, with a previous 2026 victory on the hard courts in the quarterfinals at Brisbane. She saved all four break points against her in the Madrid finals, using a dominant inside-out forehand for several of her winners.
“It feels unbelievable to stand here right now,” said Kostyuk. “It took me many years to reach this point. One word I think about right now is consistency. It’s showing up every day, no matter how hard it is.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Struggling Mets look for rare series win against Angels
Apr 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Nolan McLean (26) walks off the field after getting taken out of the game in the sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Hours after David Stearns said there were no plans to fire Carlos Mendoza, the New York Mets went out Friday night and finally authored the kind of victory necessary to ensure the heat is turned down on their manager.
The Mets will look to earn a rare series win Saturday night when they visit the Los Angeles Angels in the middle game of a three-game interleague set in Anaheim, Calif.
Right-hander Nolan McLean (1-2, 2.55 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against Angels left-hander Reid Detmers (1-2, 4.28 ERA).
The Mets mounted their biggest comeback win of the season Friday night, when Ronny Mauricio hit the tie-breaking homer in the seventh inning and five pitchers combined to retire the final the 21 Angels batters in a 4-3 victory.
The win was just the fourth in the last 21 games for the Mets, who have the worst record in the major leagues at 11-21. The 32-game start is tied for the second-worst in franchise history behind only the 1981 team that opened 8-23-1.
The extended skid has made Mendoza’s job security a regular topic at his news conferences. Mendoza is in the final guaranteed year of his contract and surrounded by a spate of first-year coaches hired by Stearns after the president of baseball operations overhauled the staff and playing roster following last year’s second-half collapse cost the Mets a playoff berth.
But the Mets are off to their slow start in large part because many of Stearns’ off-season additions are hurt or ineffective. Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert Jr., the Mets’ Opening Day designated hitter and center fielder, are each on the injured list.
Relievers Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, expected to man the final two innings after the Mets were outbid for Edwin Diaz by the Los Angeles Dodgers, had a scoreless outing in the same game Friday for just the sixth time this season — and the first time in a win since April 7.
“We don’t view this as a manager problem and we don’t intend to make a change,” Stearns told MLB.com Friday.
The Mets looked more energized during their rally Friday, when Angels starter Walbert Urena limited them to one hit through the first five innings. He left after Bo Bichette lined a single off his right knee leading off the sixth. New York tied the game later in the inning by scoring three runs off relievers Brent Suter and Chase Silseth before Mauricio went deep off Jose Fermin with one out in the seventh.
“They fought back and they found a way,” Mendoza said. “That’s a good sign.”
Good signs have been hard to find for the Angels, who are tied for last in the AL West with the Houston Astros.
Los Angeles suffered its seventh straight loss Friday to fall to 1-11 since an 11-10 start. The Angels, whose 113 runs through Apr 17 were the second-most in baseball, have scored just 40 runs during their skid, the third-fewest in the majors ahead of only the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers.
The bullpen has been an even bigger problem for Los Angeles. Angels relievers haven’t combined on a scoreless effort since April 19, when Sam Bachman and Suter teamed up to throw three innings behind Urena in a 2-1 loss to the San Diego Padres.
“What we can’t do is fold the tent,” Suter said. “Can’t do it. This is too hard of a league to fold the tent. We’ve got to stay the course, keep fighting, keep wanting the ball and then it’ll turn around. But it’s heavy right now, for sure.”
McLean took the defeat in his most recent start last Sunday, when he allowed two runs (one earned) over five innings as the Mets fell to the Colorado Rockies, 3-1, in the first game of a doubleheader.
Detmers didn’t factor into the decision Sunday after giving up three runs over five innings in the Angels’ 11-9, 10-inning loss to the Kansas City Royals.
McLean has never opposed the Angels. Detmers gave up one run in one inning of relief in his lone appearance against the Mets last July 21, when Los Angeles suffered a 7-5 loss.
-Field Level Media
Sports
LeBron James Says He’s Kicking Father Time’s Ass – And He’s Right
When Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves were both ruled out ahead of Round 1’s Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets playoff matchup, many had written off the purple and gold.
But LeBron James pulled off another unthinkable playoff victory, defeating the Rockets in six games.
Of course, the Rockets only had superstar Kevin Durant for one game this series. But James only had Reaves for one game, and new reports indicate that Doncic isn’t anywhere near a return for the Lakers.
“I’m kicking (Father Time’s) ass,” James told the Prime Video studio crew following Game 6.
He’s not wrong.
James averaged 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds against the Rockets in the first round. Without Doncic and Reaves, James proved that he’s still capable of winning in the NBA Playoffs almost singlehandedly. The 41-year-old averaged 38.7 minutes per game in this series.
We’ve never seen longevity like this in the history of the NBA.
Until the end of time, basketball fans will debate if James was better than Michael Jordan, who won six championships and was undefeated in the NBA Finals. But one thing that’s not up for debate is that Jordan was not doing this. At 41, Jordan was retired. He took on a management position with the Washington Wizards and only served a few seasons as President of Basketball Operations.
At 41, James isn’t playing a Udonis Haslam role for the Lakers. This isn’t an old man at the end of his career holding onto the glory days. Sure, it might be an old man at the end of his career. But even though James isn’t the same player that dragged teams to eight consecutive NBA Finals, he’s playing some damn good basketball and looks to have a lot more in the tank.
His actual son is playing meaningful minutes in this series, as Bronny James has gotten some run due to Doncic’s absence. Around the NBA, “great” teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics are struggling against lower-seeded opponents. At 41, James is dragging an undermanned Lakers team through the first round somewhat easily.
After a reverse dunk earlier in the series, James said he “needed to sit down somewhere.” After handling business against the Rockets in six games, James thanked the Toronto Raptors for forcing a Game 7 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, buying the Lakers an extra day of rest.
There’s no denying that James is probably physically dealing with the taxes of playing elite basketball into his 40s. But hopefully he understands how much this greatness is being appreciated from basketball fans everywhere.
What’s next for LeBron?
The Oklahoma City Thunder, the No. 1 seed in the NBA, await James and the Lakers.
It’s a good thing Reaves is back, because the Thunder will pose more of a challenge than the Durant-less Rockets did.
Even if the Thunder take down the Lakers, LeBron’s future in the NBA will be under a microscope. Recent reports have indicated that he doesn’t want to deal with the pressure of a farewell tour. However, he just displayed that he’s capable of playing at a very high level. He has nothing left to prove, but walking away from the game now would somehow feel premature, even at age 41.
Prediction markets like Kalshi are giving the Thunder a 91% chance of winning this series. A contract on Los Angeles to upset this series would payout 10.4x the initial stake.
But if James has one more miracle in him, this could be a series for the ages. Literally.
Sports
The Puma scratched from Kentucky Derby with leg issue
2026 Kentucky Derby horse The Puma stands outside his barn with walker Brian Fitzgerald after morning training at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. April 24, 2026 Kentucky Derby hopeful The Puma, among the favorites at 7-1 odds, was scratched on Saturday morning due to a leg injury.
The chestnut colt developed swelling in his leg due to a skin infection, according to trainer Gustavo Delgado, and would not be able to make the 6:57 p.m. post time.
“It’s incredibly disappointing, but the swelling should go down within a day or two. It’s just really bad timing,” Delgado said.
Assistant trainer Gustavo Delgado Jr. said The Puma should be fine in “two or three days” after a round of antibiotics but likely will not enter the Preakness on May 16.
The Puma had been in the eighth post position for the race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., to be ridden by Hall of Fame member and 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Javier Castellano.
The Puma finished second in the Florida Derby on March 28 and is sixth in the Road to the Kentucky Derby standings with 106 points.
His absence means only 19 horses will compete in the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
–Field Level Media
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Struggling Mets look for rare series win against Angels
