Sports
WTA Roundup: Leylah Fernandez, Liudmila Samsonova advance in Abu Dhabi
Jan 20, 2026; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Leylah Fernandez of Canada in action against Janice Tjen of Indonesia in the first round of the women’s singles at the Australian Open at ANZ Arena in Melbourne Park. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images Fifth-seeded Liudmila Samsonova and sixth-seeded Leylah Fernandez both advanced in straight sets in the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Open, played on the outdoor hard courts in the United Arab Emirates.
Samsonova, from Russia, defeated Sofia Kenin, 6-4, 6-0, while the Canadian native Fernandez knocked off Chloe Paquet of France, 6-0, 6-3.
The first four games of the Samsonova-Kenin match all featured breaks of serve, before both players steadied. Kenin had two break chances at 4-4, but could not convert, while Samsonova came through at 30-40 to win the first set. She cruised in 26 minutes, winning 26 of 35 points in the second set.
Fernandez captured her match in 65 minutes, winning 54 of 80 points (67.5%) contested.
Americans won in the two other main draw matches played on the first day of main draw competition. McCartney Kessler defeated Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-3, 6-3, while Hailey Baptiste rallied to edge Serbia’s Teodora Kostovic, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Transylvania Open
China’s Yue Yuan upset sixth-seeded Antonia Ruzic of Croatia 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on the first day of main draw competition on the indoor hard courts in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
The match took 2 hours, 35 minutes and featured 14 breaks of service. Yuan, ranked No. 130, raced out to a 5-0 lead in the deciding set, failed on two match points in the sixth game, but prevailed on her next service opportunity.
The other seeded player in action, No. 8 Anna Bondar of Hungary, won a three-setter over Germany’s Ella Seidel, 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0. Seidel took an early 3-1 lead in the second-set tie-breaker, but Bondar won four straight points to take control.
In the other two main draw matches, Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo upset Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova, 6-2, 7-5 and Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynuykova ousted Egypt’s Mayar Sherif, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4.
Ostrava Open
Sixth-seeded Caty McNally knocked off Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands, 6-3, 7-5, on the first day of main draw action in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
No. 8 Hungarian Panna Udvardy edged Darja Vidmanova of the Czech Republic, 7-5, 6-3, but seventh-seeded Moyuka Uchijima of Japan fell to Armenian Elina Avanesyan, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.
McNally trailed, 4-2, in the second set, but broke Lamens’ serve and eventually evened the set at 5-5. In an 11-point 11th game, the Cincinnati native broke for the sixth time in the match and held at love to triumph.
In the two other main draw matches, Katie Volynets routed Poland’s Linda Klimovicova, 6-2, 6-1, while the host nation’s Tereza Martincova stunned Hungary’s Dalma Galfi, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. Martincova is ranked No. 469, while Galfi is at 91.
–Field Level Media
Sports
David Coit takes over late as Maryland beats Minnesota
Feb 8, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Isaac Asuma (1) works around Maryland Terrapins guard George Turkson Jr. (11) during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images David Coit scored seven of his 29 points in the final 26 seconds as Maryland snapped a four-game losing streak, outlasting Minnesota 67-62 Sunday in Big Ten play at Minneapolis.
Andre Mills added 12 points and Darius Adams contributed 11 points as Maryland improved to 18-3 all-time against Minnesota.
Solomon Washington put up nine points and 10 rebounds for the Terrapins (9-14, 2-10 Big Ten), who had lost their previous four games by an average margin of 28 points.
After Cade Tyson hit two free throws with 53 seconds left to put Minnesota up 62-60, Coit scored the game’s final seven points.
The key play came with 26 seconds left when Coit drained a side-step 3-pointer to put the Terrapins up 63-62. Coit then added four free throws in the final 11 seconds.
“Coach got on me after the last game. He called me out. I was being selfish with my body language,” Coit said. “I had to respond.”
Coit made 9 of 13 shots from the floor, 4 of 7 from distance and hit all seven of his free throw attempts.
Isaac Asuma scored all 18 of his points from behind the arc to lead Minnesota (11-13, 4-9), which was coming off an upset of No. 10 Michigan State on Wednesday. The loss was the Golden Gophers’ eighth in their last nine games.
Tyson finished with 12 points and Langston Reynolds contributed 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Golden Gophers.
Midway through the first half, Mills made a 3-pointer which gave Maryland a 17-14 lead, before Asuma responded with consecutive triples to give Minnesota a lead that it held the rest of the period.
Two 3-pointers by Bobby Durkin pushed the Golden Gophers’ edge to 33-26. Coit answered with a 3-pointer and a driving three-point play to cut the deficit to 33-32 at the break.
Midway through the second half, two driving layups by Reynolds gave Minnesota the biggest lead of the second half, 53-47.
But Coit put the Terrapins on his back scoring 15 of his points in the final 8:41.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bam Adebayo, Heat rout Wizards to snap out of miniature skid
Feb 8, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) inks the ball against the Washington Wizards during the second quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images Bam Adebayo and Kasparas Jakucionis scored 22 points apiece to help the visiting Miami Heat breeze past the Washington Wizards for a 132-101 victory on Sunday afternoon.
Norman Powell added 21 points and Kel’el Ware had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, who had dropped three of their previous four. Simone Fontecchio scored 12 and Andrew Wiggins had 11 points and 10 boards.
Tristan Vukcevic paced Washington with 14 points, while Justin Champagnie, Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington scored 13 each. Alex Sarr collected 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Wizards, who fell to a game ahead of the Indiana Pacers for last place in the Eastern Conference.
After leading by 22 at halftime, Miami extended the margin to 31 as Wiggins and Powell bookended an 8-0 run to give the Heat a 92-61 edge with 6:54 remaining in the third.
Jamir Watkins’ floater and six straight points from Vukcevic cut the Washington deficit to 22, forcing a Miami timeout with 3:35 left in the third.
From there, the Heat scored 10 straight to open up a 105-73 edge. Ware finished the third with a layup to send the visitors into the final quarter with a 107-75 lead.
Washington won the fourth quarter 26-25 to end the lopsided game.
Washington jumped out to a 20-11 lead on Bilal Coulibaly’s layup at the 7:21 mark.
Miami finished the opening quarter on a 14-2 run, with Jakucionis drilling a pair of triples in the final minute to give the Heat a 37-33 edge entering the second quarter.
Miami built its lead to double figures as Fontecchio’s trey began a 12-0 run, which was stamped with Adebayo’s 3-pointer to give the visitors a 58-39 lead.
George hit a pair of free throws to pull the Wizards within 15, but Adebayo’s layup began a 7-0 spurt to end the half, giving the Heat a 74-52 halftime advantage.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Two-time champ Damian Lillard to participate in 3-point contest
Dec 29, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) warms up before a game against the Dallas Mavericks at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images Rehabbing Portland Trail Blazers icon Damian Lillard will be part of the eight-man field competing in Saturday’s 3-point contest as part of All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.
Lillard won the competitions in 2023 in Salt Lake City and 2024 in Indianapolis. He is sitting out this season after sustaining a torn Achilles tendon in a playoff game with the Milwaukee Bucks last April.
Hall of Famer Larry Bird (1986-88) and Craig Hodges (1990-92) are the only three-time winners of the event.
Lillard ranks fifth in NBA history with 2,804 treys over 13 NBA seasons.
The others in the competition are Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), rookie Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets), Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers), Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets), Bobby Portis Jr. (Milwaukee Bucks) and Norman Powell (Miami Heat).
Mitchell leads the NBA with 180 3-pointers, five ahead of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, who is not part of the festivities.
Knueppel ranks third with 174, Maxey stands fourth at 169 and Murray is ninth at 156. Knueppel can become the first rookie to capture the title.
Portis boasts the best 3-point accuracy (45.1%) of the group this season. He has converted 92 of 204 attempts.
–Field Level Media
Statement Skirts Are Having a Moment
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