Poland’s Iga Swiatek plays a backhand return to US Caty McNally during their women’s singles match of the WTA Rome Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome on May 8, 2026. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

Three-time champion Iga Swiatek battled into the third round of the Italian Open on Friday with a 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 win over Caty McNally.

Swiatek dropped serve in the opening game at the Foro Italico but rattled off the next six to seize control against the 63rd-ranked American.

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The Pole seemed on course for a routine victory when she pulled 4-2 in front in the second set, but McNally twice broke Swiatek as the Pole served for the match and then snatched the tie-break.

Swiatek again nudged ahead with a break for a 3-1 lead in the decider. McNally clawed herself level at 3-all before Swiatek took the final three games to book her place in the next round, to her visible relief.

“It was a tough match, Caty really played great,” said Swiatek.

“I had to be patient. For sure, some mistakes happened. It was not an easy match. I’m really happy I was solid at the end and in the important moments. I kept it together.”

Swiatek will play US 28th seed Emma Navarro or Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto this weekend for a place in the last 16.

The Pole suffered her earliest exit in five appearances in Madrid last month when she retired in third round due to a viral illness. She was knocked out at the same stage in Rome last year as defending champion.

Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, has not won a clay tournament since capturing the last of her four French Open titles in 2024.

Alexandra Eala reacts during a match in the 2026 Italian Open vs Wang Xinyu in the Round of 64. –WTA PHOTO

Alexandra Eala of the Philippines advanced with a straight-sets win over Chinese 31st seed Wang Xinyu.

Canadian 10th seed Victoria Mboko withdrew from the event on Friday due to illness. She will be replaced in the draw by Czech lucky loser Nikola Bartunkova.

Novak Djokovic is set for his first appearance on clay this season when he plays 20-year-old Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic.

The 38-year-old Djokovic has not played since losing in the last 16 at Indian Wells in March. He pulled out of tournaments in Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid while recovering from a shoulder injury.

Axar Patel admitted that both the batting and bowling units let Delhi Capitals down after their eight-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2026 on Friday. The defeat left DC’s playoff hopes hanging by a thread, with the captain also hinting that the team had already started thinking about next season.Delhi Capitals managed only 142/8 at home before KKR chased down the target in 14.2 overs. Finn Allen scored an unbeaten 100, while Cameron Green remained not out on 33 as KKR completed an easy chase.DC are currently eighth on the table with eight points from 11 matches. KKR moved to seventh with nine points from 10 matches after registering their fourth straight win.Speaking after the match, Axar said, “For now, we’ll go back and think about the mistakes we made. After that, obviously there’s still a long journey ahead and next year will come too. So we’ll think about what plans we can make for next year and what approach we should take.”“Based on that, we can also look at the players sitting on the bench and decide who can be given opportunities and what changes we can make,” he added.Axar said the total of 142 was not enough and also pointed out mistakes made by the bowlers during the defence.“I think the runs were definitely below par and at the same time the spinners made quite a few mistakes. Looking at the way the pitch behaved, I feel the spinners did make errors.”“At the same time, we lost five wickets in two-three overs, and I think that’s where the momentum slipped away from us. That’s probably something we need to think about because the same thing happened against CSK…we started well, and then suddenly wickets kept falling,” he added.The DC skipper said the team needed to handle pressure better when wickets fall quickly.“See, you can’t solve it in a complicated way. So, I think it’s more about applying the right mindset. Even if you lose one or two wickets, you can still spend time at the crease and play through it. I think that’s what needs to be applied, when wickets are falling in clusters, you need to absorb the pressure for an over or two,” Axar said.

Outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard no longer works for the Minnesota Vikings, traded to the Philadelphia Eagles last month, along with a 7th-Round draft pick, for a 3rd-Rounder in 2026 (safety Jakobe Thomas), and a 2027 3rd-Rounder. On his way out, Greenard was sure to spill the beans: his Vikings teammate, Dallas Turner, will cook as his replacement.

Minnesota needs Turner’s Year 3 leap to become real after trading Greenard.

Greenard spoke with Chris Long this week and didn’t hold back when speaking glowingly of Turner.

Greenard’s Comments Add Fuel to Turner’s Breakout Case

The 2026 campaign could indeed be Turner’s almighty breakout.

Greenard on Turner

Greenard knows a little something about EDGE rushers, so when he pounded the table for Turner, folks listened.

He told Long, “The next person up now is Dallas. I’m gonna say it now, Dallas Turner. When he’s on and he’s dialed in on the game plan, the kid is a bottle of explosion. The guy is literally a 4.4 guy (in the 40), and he’s only just breaking the surface of how he’s gonna be in this league.”

“That’s who I’m taking care of next. I’m watching him real close, I’m still gonna be talking to him the same way, like ‘Listen, XYZ has to happen’ or this is not gonna happen. Just the little small things you gotta have when you’re dealing with a young guy like that, because they don’t know.”

The Greenard trade to Philadelphia completely and utterly paved the way for Turner to emerge as the Vikings’ keynote pass rusher in 2026.

Greenard added, “As much as they are mature when you talk to them, they talk a good game, they still don’t know what they don’t know yet. He’s gonna take this big, big step. You saw him kind of do it a little bit towards the (end of) last season.”

“And now this point, shoot, I said ‘It’s time now. This is your time, this is your team, you need to go ahead and make that happen.’ So I’ll be looking real close for him and I know it’s gonna get done because that boy a dog, too.”

Turner’s Career to Date

As a rookie in 2024, Turner saw limited playing time, participating in only 28% of Minnesota’s defensive snaps. Despite the small workload, he offered glimpses of his 1st-Round potential, recording 3 sacks, 5 quarterback hits, 3 tackles for loss, and an interception.

His second year, however, marked a dramatic change. Turner’s playing time surged to 66% of defensive snaps, benefiting particularly from Greenard’s injury absence, and his production exploded. He became one of Minnesota’s most disruptive players, especially late in the season, recording 8 sacks, 15 quarterback hits, 11 tackles for loss, and 4 forced fumbles.

By the final months of the season (November through January), Turner appeared completely comfortable within Brian Flores’ defense, consistently delivering big plays that silenced early criticism.

He concluded his second season with a 65.5 Pro Football Focus grade, including a 70.2 as a pass rusher.

Always Stashed at OLB3

Ironically, the Greenard trade was “good” news for Turner. It gets him playing time. Until Greenard vamoosed, fans wondered when Turner might become a full-timer, as his aforementioned performance late in 2025 merited an extended trial.

Had Greenard stayed put — a contract extension as many Vikings faithful wanted and expected — Turner would be in the same spot, waiting until Greenard or Andrew Van Ginkel got injured to showcase his skills.

On the whole, it was a nice problem to have — too many productive outside linebackers. Now, the Vikings arguably need an OLB3 with Greenard subtracted from the depth chart, perhaps a player like Jadeveon Clowney or Leonard Floyd.

The Expensive Trade to Get Him

The Vikings have ample time with Turner, who has three years remaining on his rookie deal. At just 23, he is currently the fourth-youngest non-rookie on Minnesota’s roster.

While this affords them some flexibility, it doesn’t diminish the significant investment made to acquire him. To secure Turner in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Vikings executed a substantial trade, surrendering two 2nd-Rounders, a 3rd-Rounder, a 4th-Rounder, a 5th-Rounder, and a 6th-Rounder.

Such an investment naturally sets a high bar. While Turner isn’t expected to be an immediate superstar, the expectations are undeniably real and entirely justifiable. So, when fans anticipate significant contributions from him, their expectation is well-founded.

Thankfully for his sake, it’s go-time for Turner. In fact, this may have been the Vikings’ plan along when drafting Turner — keep Greenard until he demanded more money and roll with Turner when he left.

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Group of cyclists in action during the 2026 Tour of Luzon. –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CANDON, Ilocos Sur—Ronnilen Quita entered the conversation as a potential threat to overall leader Nikita Shulchenko after his fourth place finish in Stage 9 of the MPTC Tour of Luzon that ended here.

The 7-Eleven Roadbike Philippines rider and national champion climbed from sixth to fourth in the general classification, but still four minutes and 19 seconds back of Shulchenko, who will keep the symbolic yellow jersey for a seventh straight lap.

Shulchenko has an accumulated time of 26 hours, one minute and 59 seconds, keeping a gap of 1:38 over LCW UAE Cycle teammate Ibrahiem Alrefai and 4:15 over Quita’s fellow 7-Eleven pedalist Mervin Corpuz.

It was the only significant change after nine laps of the summer cycling spectacle with those in the top 10 each falling one position while maintaining similar gaps over the Russian pedalist.

Excellent Noodles’ British rider Tyler Hannay is fifth (+4:34), followed by MPT DriveHub’s Nash Lim (+4:42), 7-Eleven’s French cyclist Antoine Huby (+4:50), MPT’s Rustom Lim (+5:32), Seoul Cycling Team’s Jung Woo Ho (+5:36) and Malaysian national team’s Muhammad Maulidan (+5:43).

Quita was part of a seven-man breakaway in the ninth lap that started in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, even going on a solo breakaway during the middle part of the race.

He eventually joined the same group of riders before making a wrong turn with less than a kilometer to go, resulting in CCN Factory Racing’s Daniel Guld beating two riders of Team Pangasinan to the finish.

Meanwhile, Go for Gold Philippines is still on top of the team classification with a total time of 103:15:35, ahead of Standard Insurance Philippines by 1:40.

The confusion over the Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao rematch appears to have finally been resolved.

It was revealed earlier this year that Mayweather and Pacquiao were scheduled to fight again, over a decade on from their first meeting, which the American won by unanimous decision.

In recent weeks the showdown has been thrown into doubt though, with Mayweather claiming it would be an exhibition rather than a professional bout, which was to the contrary of what was originally announced.

After a long period of uncertainty, the fight finally looks to have been salvaged, after Mike Coppinger reported it will be a fully sanctioned contest with a new date and venue.

“Breaking: Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have agreed to terms on an amended deal for a professional fight on Netflix being planned for Sept. 25 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao Promotions CEO Jas Mathur tells @ringmagazine.

“This means another Friday fight on Netflix once finalized. Netflix has gone on Friday a few times now. The bout was originally announced for Sept. 19 at The Sphere.

“Mathur: ‘We never wanted this at The Sphere. It didn’t make economic sense for this event to be at The Sphere. Ultimately the parties putting the fight together were insistent. Floyd was able to get it out of The Sphere. Bottom line, we’re making more money.’”

It means that two of the biggest names in boxing history do now look set to meet for the second time, with Pacquiao looking to gain revenge after his defeat back in May 2015.

Former South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia is currently battling for his life after being diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer.

The diagnosis came after noticing certain abnormalities, but the hard-nosed former athlete thought he could figure out the issues on his own without a visit to the doctors. His wife wasn’t comfortable with that plan from the quarterback, who used to take snaps for a Steve Spurrier-led offense led offense in Columbia.

Reluctantly, Garcia went in for a colonoscopy where doctors discovered the cancer, and that it had been growing for a number of years.

Unfortunately, Stephen wasn’t fully grasping the news when first given, due to him still being somewhat groggy from sedation.

Coaches push for 24-Team CFP, as college football heads towards participation trophy territory

Stephen Garcia of the South Carolina Gamecocks looks to pass against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Sept. 10, 2011. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

But, when it was finally explained to him how serious this situation was, reality set in pretty quickly.

Obviously, there’s nothing simple about hearing the word ‘cancer,’ no matter which stage or form you are dealing with. It will humble you quickly, with the grim outlook overtaking the mind.

And while this process to fight the disease will be tough, filled with many obstacles, Garcia was most worried about his family.

While his older son understands the magnitude, he has yet to fully inform his youngest daughter, which led to the former Gamecock shedding a few tears while discussing the situation with OutKick on Friday morning.

Former Gamecock has changed his tune amid battle with cancer

In the past, Stephen Garcia was not one to jump aboard the mental health awareness train, looking at it as someone who was not strong enough to handle the circumstances surrounding whatever battle they were facing.

But, that’s the football side of Garcia, and he was the first to admit that his mindset had changed because of the stigma surrounding people, most importantly men, not feeling comfortable enough to discuss their struggles.

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This problem has led to many downfalls, or problems that arise by not talking to others about what they are going through in the moments of trials and tribulations.

For Stephen, that has all changed.

“In years past, I thought mental health was an absolute joke, just to be completely frank with you,” Garcia told OutKick. “I was like, if you gotta have some mental toughness, I played for Coach Spurrier so I had to have some mental toughness to deal with him. But, I was also extremely hard headed. It is huge. There’s gonna be days when you’re not gonna walk to talk with anybody, days you wanna give up, you gotta stay mentally tough. This whole process has opened my eyes to a whole different deal.

“People can change. I was against the whole mental health thing, I thought it was stupid. But, it’s changed my opinion, my outlook on life in general, and I encourage everyone to speak it up. I’ve had so many people reach out to say if you need to talk, reach out to me. Everyone said the same thing that you have to be mentally in it. If you are positive mentally, you’re going to get through it. If you’re feeling down in the dumps, figure out a way to get positive. It’s no joke, you are where your minds at.”

South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia throws a pass against Kentucky in the third quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C., on Oct. 3, 2009. South Carolina defeated Kentucky 28-26. (Dale Zanine/USA TODAY Sports)

Outreach has been overwhelming, with a long battle ahead

After going through his first round of chemotherapy this week, Garcia is coming to terms with the battle he faces, though he’s keeping a positive outlook for the sake of himself and his family. He will continue training athletes, when his body allows, and using his platform to encourage others to take their health seriously.

If it weren’t for his wife pushing him into getting examined, who knows how long this could’ve gone before his cancer was noticed. In the meantime, the support system has been overwhelming, as Garcia described while choking back tears.

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Stephen Garcia of the South Carolina Gamecocks drops back to pass against the East Carolina Pirates at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., on Sept. 3, 2011. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Whether it’s the Clemson football team, or Dabo Swinney himself, and the thousands of people who have reached out over the past few days, it’s not lost on the former quarterback how much the support has meant for his own sanity during uncertain times.

For now, Stephen Garcia is taking his battle with cancer one day at a time. But, he’s also got college football fans rooting for him to beat this terrible disease.

The prized filly closed out the premium section, but Chayan delivered big by rewriting history at Inglis’s Chairman’s Sale in Sydney on Thursday night.

Daughter of I Am Invincible and two-year-old standout, having triumphed in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes this year and favoured in the Golden Slipper, she realised $5.6 million to Coolmore’s Tom Magnier.

[champbred]

This sale established the highest figure for a two-year-old filly at public auction Down Under, overtaking the $4.2m Chairman’s Sale record from The Everest winner Bella Nipotina last year.

In the Southern Hemisphere, Chayan stands as the second most costly filly or mare at public auction, after Imperatriz’s $6.6m from the 2024 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

A $250,000 buy at Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Chayan was resold by owner Eric Koh, who expressed a range of emotions post-sale.

“Unbelievable, I came here thinking maybe $3.6 million would be tops, at best, but to go beyond four (million), beyond 5 (to) 5.6 is unbelievable,” Koh said.

“This is obviously the biggest result and achievement for myself, so I’m very happy, very satisfied but heavy-hearted to lose her.

“I’m happy for Coolmore, for Tom (Magnier) and I think she’s got huge potential ahead.”

Chayan’s ongoing racing talent was central to her allure, with Annabel and Rob Archibald handling her career up to now.

Debuting with second to Streisand in the Group 2 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m), she underperformed in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m), then excelled in the Sydney-based Reisling Stakes.

Her Reisling win brought a Timeform rating of 111, topping all two-year-old fillies in Australia this season.

As $5.50 favourite in the Golden Slipper, Chayan finished fifth, beaten by slightly more than four lengths courtesy of Guest House.

Magnier verified that Rob and Annabel Archibald would retain training duties for Chayan, a filly he had to battle for.

“When you have a filly as highly-rated and thought of as she is you expect to have all the top people on her,” he said.

“We’re delighted to get her, we’ll need a bit of luck but it’s over to Rob and Annabel now.”

The sale saw nine lots hit $1m-plus, with Benedetta, daughter of Hellbent and Group 1 winner, the top mare at $1.9m.

Yulong acquired her and snapped up Provence (three-time Kiwi Group 1 winner) for $1.8m, Snow In May and Hazlebrook at $1,050,000, Moldova $1m.

Japan’s Katsumi Yoshida invested $1.4m in Philia, Stefan Pardi $1.2m on Kiki Express, Arrowfield Stud and Hermitage $1m for Arabian Summer.

Totalling just over $39m from 115 lots, mares averaged $494,747 with $300,000 median.

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