Sports
US, Canada group stage meeting promises intensity in Milan
Feb 7, 2026; Milan, Italy; Alex Carpenter (25) of the United States celebrates with Laila Edwards (10) of the United States after scoring a goal against Finland in women’s ice hockey group A play during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images MILAN — The U.S. and Canada will be “out for blood” as they renew their rivalry at the Milan Cortina Games, U.S. veteran Alex Carpenter told reporters on Monday, with an upcoming group stage game that has the feel of a championship contest.
The only teams to take the top of the podium since the women’s ice hockey tournament joined the Olympic program 28 years ago, the arch-rivals meet at Santagiulia arena on Tuesday in what is expected to be a preview of the gold medal game.
“As soon as we get on the ice here or any other international event, we’re all out for blood,” said the alternate captain Carpenter, who helped the United States past Switzerland 5-0 on Monday with one goal and one assist.
The prolific scorer has recorded a goal in all of the United States’ Group A games so far in Milan and is part of a team hungry for revenge after Canada denied them the gold in Beijing four years ago.
Buoyed by a group of young talent, including defensive standout Laila Edwards, the Americans have only had one goal scored on them since they arrived in Milan, as they previously beat Czech Republic and Finland in the tournament.
They expect a tougher fight against Canada, whose 5-1 win over Czech Republic on Monday was overshadowed by injury concerns for their “Captain Clutch” Marie-Philip Poulin.
The game against Canada will be the last for the United States in the group stage, while Canada are set to play Finland on Thursday.
All five teams from Group A will advance, with their seeding in the last eight depending on placings in the preliminary standings.
“The stakes are higher, the intensity is higher. But we’ve just got to remind ourselves it’s still hockey and we do pretty good at hockey,” said Edwards.
“I think when we just stick to our brand, we’re intimidating.”
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
Sports
Joy Dunne leads US women's hockey to rout of Switzerland
Joy Dunne of the United States celebrates with Tessa Janecke and Laila Edwards after scoring the team’s second goal of its game against Switzerland in the Milan Cortina Olympics Caroline Harvey and Joy Dunne each collected a goal and two assists and Gwyneth Philips made 20 saves, fueling the United States to a 5-0 victory over Switzerland on Monday at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Alex Carpenter scored for the third time in as many games and added an assist for the Americans (3-0-0), who have outscored the Group A competition by a 15-1 margin in the preliminary round.
The U.S. will look for revenge against Canada on Tuesday in a rematch of the gold-medal game from the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Haley Winn and Hannah Bilka each scored a goal and team captain Hilary Knight notched two assists to boost her Olympic total to 31 points, one shy of tying Jenny Potter as the all-time U.S. leader.
Ava McNaughton relieved Philips late in the third period and made one save.
Andrea Braendli turned aside 45 shots for Switzerland (1-2-0), which has dropped two straight following a 4-3 shootout win over Czechia on Friday.
Braendli denied Taylor Heise on a breakaway early in the first period before the Americans solved her at 6:04 of the session.
Harvey skated in from the left-wing wall and wired a centering feed that Winn directed home from the doorstep.
Dunne doubled the advantage with 5:52 remaining in the second period after a brilliant individual effort.
Dunne forechecked a Swiss defender off the puck in the corner before backhanding a shot that caromed off a skate and into the net for an unassisted goal.
Bilka accepted a feed from Heise in front of the net and swept the puck past Braendli to give the Americans a 3-0 lead at 1:17 of the third period.
Carpenter converted a breakaway before Harvey used a brilliant deke on Braendli to cap the scoring.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Defending champ Amanda Anisimova bows out of Qatar opener
Jan 28, 2026; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Amanda Anisimova of United States in action against Jessica Pegula of United States in the quarterfinals of the women’s singles at the Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images Amanda Anisimova, the No. 3 seed and reigning champion at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open 2026, was forced to retire due to illness in the third set of her opening match against Karolina Pliskova on Monday in Doha.
Anisimova fared well against her Czech opponent, splitting the first two sets 7-5, 6-7 (3), but trailed 4-1 in the third set when she packed it in.
“I was really happy to be back and excited to play,” Anisimova said in a statement afterward. “I got sick here, so I wasn’t feeling my best, but I thought it was a good match regardless. I feel we both played really well. Congrats to her, it’s good to see her back playing.”
Pliskova is also familiar with Qatar, winning there in 2017. She had seven aces and saved 6 of 10 break points on Monday.
“It feels great to be back,” Pliskova said in her on-court interview after missing a year with an ankle injury. “I missed (the fans) as well, last year. As you know, I won here, so I have great memories. Two years ago, I played the semifinals. So I just enjoy this place so much.”
Anisimova was not the only player to fall victim to illness in Qatar. Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu also retired in the third set of her opener Monday.
Raducanu was coming off a 6-0, 6-2 loss in the final of the Transylvania Open on Saturday, when she used a medical timeout and admitted afterward that she did not have her best effort. Her health was in question again Monday in her match against Colombia’s Camila Osorio; during a third-set timeout she saw a doctor who took her blood pressure, something that also occurred Saturday.
Osorio advanced out of the Round of 64, 2-6, 6-4, 2-0 (retired).
The Pliskova-Anisimova match was a Round of 32 affair, as was Russian No. 5 seed Mirra Andreeva’s 7-6 (0), 6-1 win over Poland’s Magda Linette. Andreeva saved 10 of 11 break points in the one-hour, 43-minute battle.
The rest of Monday’s matches were Round of 64 fixtures.
Czech ninth seed Linda Noskova breezed past Australian Maya Joint 6-4, 6-0 in 65 minutes. No. 12 Emma Navarro defeated Germany’s Tatjana Maria 7-5, 6-1, while Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic upset No. 11 Clara Tauson of Denmark, 6-4, 6-1.
Indonesia’s Janice Tjen stuffed Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-0, 6-1 in 69 minutes, while Russian Anna Kalinskaya prevailed 6-2, 6-1 over Span’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in 67 minutes. Other winners included China’s Xinyu Wang and Qinwen Zheng, Maria Sakkari of Greece, Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska and the Czech Republic’s Tereza Valentova.
–Field Level Media
Sports
New French duo Fournier Beaudry, Cizeron lead after short dance
Feb 6, 2026; Milan, Italy; Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry of France compete in ice dance rhythm dance during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images MILAN — Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France continued one of figure skating’s most compelling revivals on Monday night, winning the rhythm dance at the Milan Cortina Olympics in only their fifth international event.
The duo, who teamed up last March, kept up their breakneck speed to the top of the ice dance world by scoring 90.18 points — their best ever — for their sleek fashion-runway-meets-ice-dance take on Madonna’s “Vogue.”
In a showdown that felt like the sharpening of a rivalry, they edged triple world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States, who delivered a high-octane rhythm dance powered by rock and roll swagger for 89.72 points.
Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier were third with 86.18.
The free dance is on Wednesday.
Cizeron had said last week that his partnership with Fournier Beaudry is “bonus time” for both skaters after they had believed their respective careers were over.
Cizeron’s former partner Gabriella Papadakis retired after the Beijing Olympics, while Fournier Beaudry’s partner Nikolaj Sorensen received a six-year suspension in 2024 for sexual maltreatment, although the suspension has been overturned on jurisdictional grounds.
After teaming up last spring, Fournier Beaudry, a Canadian, received her French citizenship in November to pave her way to the Olympics. They made an immediate impact on international ice, winning both their Grand Prix assignments before being edged by Chock and Bates at the Final in December.
–Reuters, special to Field Level Media
