Alexandra Eala of the Philippines celebrates winning the second round women’s singles match against Maya Joint of Australia at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Thursday, July 2, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

MANILA, Philippines–Alex Eala had no shortage of motivation coming into her second-round match at Wimbledon.

She was determined to continue her breakthrough run on the grass after never getting past the second round of a Grand Slam since breaking through on the WTA Tour.

And standing across from Eala was a familiar foe in Maya Joint, who handed her an unforgettable heartbreak in the lead-up to her Wimbledon debut a year earlier.

Eala carried the memories of breaking down in tears after receiving her runner-up trophy at the 2025 Eastbourne Open when she defeated Joint, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0, in the 2026 Wimbledon Championships on Thursday night to advance to the third round.

“It’s funny. We had an insane match here at Eastbourne, and I lost, and it hit me quite hard. I cried a lot, and I don’t think I was able to watch those highlights for a couple of months,” Eala said.

She had every reason to be haunted by that 4-6, 6-1, 6(10)-7 loss after holding four championship points, only to lose what would have been her first WTA Tour title as Joint completed the dramatic comeback.

FILE–Alexandra Eala of the Philippines with the runners up trophy after the Women’s singles Final during day six of the Eastbourne Open at Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, England, Saturday June 28, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

This time, it was Eala’s turn to rally. After dropping the opening set, she finished with a flourish—handing Joint a bagel in the decider to become the first-ever Filipino in the Open Era to reach the third round of a Grand Slam.

The victory is a testament to Eala’s massive improvement over the past year since her dream Miami Open run. She has continued to turn heads by beating Top 10 opponents and has climbed to a career-high No. 29 in the WTA rankings.

“I think I improved a lot in this past year, and I’m happy that I’m able to look back at that loss, and I’m able to smile. Extra motivation to win for sure,” Eala said.

“I’ve been working extremely hard; my team works extremely hard. I really feel like it’s paying off. So this win means a lot.”

Eala still congratulated Joint for her big victory over comeback tennis legend Serena Williams, which came after the Australian battled back injuries and slipped out of the Top 80 this year.

“She obviously is coming off an amazing win. I watched it, and I think she played really well and handled herself really well in that situation. So, congratulations to Maya. Knowing that, I really had to dig deep.”

The Filipino tennis ace also continued to enjoy the backing of fans wherever she played, and it was the same scene at Court 3 of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, where she celebrated her victory to a standing ovation.

“It’s absolutely incredible…I think the atmosphere today was amazing. It was electric, respectful, and all that I could have hoped for,” she said of the crowd.

Now, more history awaits Eala as she faces defending champion Iga Swiatek in the third round.

Lincoln Riley is yet to make the Playoff as he enters Year 5 at USC.

Is that the threshold for him to keep his job beyond 2026?

Plus, three coaches whose jobs are not safe entering this season.

On today’s episode of Locked On College Football, I discuss the big recruiting win for Texas A&M.

Mike Elko has the chance to exorcise the demons of the Aggies’ past.

West Virginia enters Year 2 in Round 2 for head coach Rich Rodriguez in a Big 12 that is more wide open than it seemed before the Brendan Sorsby saga.

Can the Mountaineers climb towards the top of the league?

00:00 Discussing USC’s future under Lincoln Riley
04:42 Coaching futures and hot seats
09:05 Discussing future impact players
16:24 Texas A&M’s historic recruiting class
18:38 Recruiting battle for Texas A&M
23:03 Evaluating West Virginia’s quarterback options
25:07 Discussing the Backyard Brawl rivalry
29:18 Discussing WVU vs. Virginia rivalry

/ @lockedoncollegefootball  

Timothy Bradley has weighed in on a potential clash between Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr, believing that one man has the fighting instincts to “cook” the other.

The two Americans have been on a collision course since their early professional days, back when they had just emerged as talented welterweight prospects.

Since then, they have both moved up to 154lbs where Ennis, after unifying the 147lb division, is now the reigning WBO and WBA world champion.

The 29-year-old accomplished this by dethroning Xander Zayas last weekend, when arguably a career-best performance saw him score three knockdowns and secure a seventh-round finish.

As an intensely reactive fighter, ‘Boots’ was made to overcome several prickly moments, particularly in round three, but ultimately backed his quicker hands and more potent attacks.

Based largely on his victory over Zayas, many are now regarding Ennis as the top dog at 154lbs, while Ortiz is yet to even become a world champion.

The 28-year-old boasts notable wins over Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk but has not fought since last November, when he scored a second-round finish over Erickson Lubin.

Even with Ortiz at his best, though, Hall of Famer Bradley has told Ring Magazine that he still sees Ennis winning in one-sided fashion.

“He gonna cook Ortiz just like he [did against] Zayas. ‘Boots’ is willing to take [punches] to [land his own shots].

“It’s not always a good thing, but it works for him. I think he fights off of feeling. If he don’t feel like you’ve got any punch, he’s willing to stand and exchange with you.”

Ortiz’s legal dispute with Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy has kept him on the shelf, but the Texan is now expected to return later this year.

Things in Italy are worse than we thought.

That was one of the less expected but nonetheless obvious takeaways from the United States’ eminently comfortable 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night in the round of 32 at the World Cup.

Because somehow, this very pedestrian Bosnian team got into the World Cup at Italy’s expense.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side deserve credit for not making the match harder than it had to be, even with Folarin Balogun’s unfortunate red card.

That’s far from a given at a World Cup, even for the big boys. Just ask Spain, which settled for a draw in its opening match against Cape Verde, or England, which had to fight from 1-0 down against DR Congo for their round of 32 win.

And it was particularly impressive that the Americans didn’t appear rattled by Balogun’s 65th-minute dismissal, even if it meant they would have a bit less of the ball in the late going.

But if you were going to describe Bosnia’s attacking desire after going behind, you might liken it to their attitude toward possessing Adriatic coastline. Sure, they have a little. Other countries have a lot more.

That Italy lost a World Cup qualifying playoff to this pedestrian outfit — even on penalties — is truly a damning indictment of the part of the physical and intellectual soccer world that calls it Calcio.

Yet maybe that’s fitting in a tournament where it feels like the whole Italian way of playing (read: aggressively conservative) is going by the wayside.

Bosnia may have out-Catenaccioed the Azzurri to reach their second World Cup, with the help of penalties and a first-half red card to Alessandro Bastoni in their playoff pathway final. But their progression to the knockout phase came primarily because of an exceptionally friendly group draw that featured zero opponents in the top 15 of the FIFA World Rankings, and only one in the top 25.

Ecuador entered as a popular dark-horse pick among pundits after their 19-match unbeaten run, despite scoring only once in their last five qualifying matches. They left as a fully exposed fraud that had leaned far too long on the 36-year-old Enner Valencia as a primary attacking threat.

And for all the pleasantness of their fans, Scotland were punished for their particularly dour tactics under now-former manager Steve Clarke, when they boasted a squad that should’ve been capable of more imagination.

Conversely, the game’s attacking stars are seemingly all enjoying banner tournaments, led by Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, who have an astonishing 22 goals between them.

The Americans don’t have anyone on that level. But they do have enough talent collectively that, under the right guidance, they can express a vision of the game that collectively mirrors the artistry and optimism conjured by those individuals.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino has provided the necessary combination of structure and freedom, and they’ve responded so far, albeit against relatively limited opposition.

Other sides have also been rewarded for similar adventurousness. Even the upstart surprises that have exceeded expectations — like Cape Verde and DR Congo — have done so by offering more in the way of attacking endeavor than many expected.

For the Americans, the challenges will quickly ramp up in difficulty. Belgium looms next in the round of 16, and heavily fancied Spain could be after that in a potential quarterfinal. And win or lose, it will begin to feel more like the World Cups of recent past vintage that we’re more familiar with.

Just without Italy in the picture. And based on the evidence available, that’s probably for the best.

CommBank Stadium will play host to Friday’s
Round 18 NRL game between Penrith Panthers and
South Sydney Rabbitohs. The game kicks off at 8:00 pm with Penrith Panthers heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Penrith Panthers vs.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
game and give you our free tips and bets.

When: Friday July 3, 2026 at 8:00 pm

Where: CommBank Stadium

Bet 💰: Bet On This Match HERE

Penrith Panthers vs South Sydney Rabbitohs Odds

Penrith Panthers vs South Sydney Rabbitohs Preview

Penrith returns from the State of Origin period looking to strengthen its push towards the top four when it meets South Sydney at CommBank Stadium on Friday night. The Panthers have welcomed several representative stars back into the side, while the Rabbitohs continue to battle through an injury-interrupted campaign despite gradually regaining key personnel. Cody Walker remains the focal point of South Sydney’s attack and will again carry much of the creative burden, but Penrith’s defensive system is well equipped to limit his influence. Brian To’o also looms as a major threat out wide after missing Origin selection, with the powerful winger likely eager to make a statement. With both sides chasing valuable competition points ahead of the run home, a physical contest is expected.

Jonathan Gresham is one of the best professional wrestlers on the independents right now, but there was a moment in time when his career could have been finished.

Gresham revealed in August 2025 he suffered two strokes that could have been a complication from a “bad case of COVID.” He vowed to return to the ring and he did. On Jan. 23, 2026, Gresham was at the Beyond Wildest Dreams event and defeated Ryan Clancy.

COMPLETE PRO WRESTLING COVERAGE ON FOX NEWS DIGITAL

Jonathan Gresham, right, appears in a Ring of Honor match. (Provided to Fox News Digital)

He talked to Fox News Digital about what keeps him going after the sudden medical issue.

“I am, how do you say it? I hope I’m using this term correctly, but I am an empath. I feel for people. I realized this after I came back from my strokes,” Gresham said. “Before my strokes, and I talk about this a lot actually, before my strokes, I was a very introverted person but I cared very deeply for people but my connections with people wasn’t as I had hoped and I would always kind of be bummed out to myself about these things. After my stroke, I remember sitting there on the bed and my whole left side was paralyzed and I couldn’t move and I prayed and I prayed and I prayed and the next day, God gave me the ability to walk around. So, I looked at that as a second opportunity to live life a different way.”

Gresham said, since then, he’s found the ability to open up to people more. He wanted to focus on helping fellow pro wrestlers on the independent scene try to find their footing in the industry.

“So, since then, I’ve grown closer to people that I’ve known for years in the business. That’s because I’ve opened up more to them. Random people, that I meet on the street and on planes, at malls, at the movies, I talk to people, I get to know people, I go out of my way to talk to people and get to know people,” he said. “And because of this, I’ve created relationships that I would have never had before.

Jonathan Gresham and Tiger Mask compete in a bout during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling ‘Best Of Super Jr.’ at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on May 23, 2019. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

PRO WRESTLER VINNIE MASSARO FOUND HIS ‘WRESTLEMANIA MOMENT’ IN JAPAN, SHARES LOVE FOR BUILDING SPORT’S FUTURE

“So, I’m looking at life a lot differently now. And that kind of makes me feel more for my comrades in the wrestling business. When I see them aimless wandering the independents and not knowing where to go and when they talk to me, I can feel their frustrations. I can feel how scared some of these young people are and I desperately want to create a space to explore what pro wrestling can be. I want them to explore the pro wrestling they have in their mind.”

Partly, Gresham suggested, is that the increased access to pro wrestling gives emboldened fans to critique everything a wrestler does.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

He doesn’t want to have young people, trying to kick down a door in the business, be subjected to constant criticism.

“So, prime example: when I started wrestling, I was head over heels in love with Rey Mysterio and Bam Bam Bigelow. So, I had the time to perform and do what I loved about pro wrestling and from that, I grew into who I am today. Today, I started around 2005, YouTube was around but it wasn’t to the point where every show that takes place was being streamed or shown on YouTube. So, I can go around and suck and enjoy myself without that,” he explained.

Jonathan Gresham and Tiger Mask compete in a bout during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling ‘Best Of Super Jr.’ at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on May 23, 2019. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

“But now, all the kids growing up in pro wrestling, whatever show they do is going straight to YouTube or some streaming platform. So, the problem is now they’re gonna get critiqued, not just by their coaches, they’re gonna get critiqued by fans who don’t know their story or care about their story and they’re saying the most mean things to them or about them and in a space where they can get it instantly. So, they’re on their phones and they’re getting nothing but negative things about them online and it kinda spoils the pro wrestling journey early on. And I want to help create a space where they don’t have to worry about that or go through that anymore.”

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Gresham recently went up against Fuminori Abe in PRODUCE by Orange Crush’s first event on Monday. He was a co-producer for the show.

The second event is set to take place on July 16 at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey.