The 2026 LPGA Tour officially teed off on Thursday, when 39 top-ranked golfers began competing for a piece of this year's $2.1 million HGV Tournament of Champions purse.
Following Thursday's first round, No. 17 Nasa Hataoka (Japan) led the field with a 6-under 66 performance, with world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand), No. 11 Lottie Woad (England), No. 24 Linn Grant (Sweden), and No. 53 Chanettee Wannasaen (Thailand) chasing her just one shot behind.
Defending Tournament of Champions winner No. 27 A Lim Kim (South Korea) enters Friday's second round three strokes back.
Leading a US contingent that includes No. 13 Angel Yin, No. 25 Lauren Coughlin, and No. 49 Lilia Vu is 2025 Tournament of Champions runner-up No. 2 Nelly Korda, who capped Thursday trailing Hataoka by two shots.
"Overall, I'm happy with my round. [It's only] Thursday, so hopefully, I can continue building momentum going into the next three days," said the 27-year-old US star. "But [I] can't complain."
Featuring 16 of the Top 25 golfers, including 2024 champion No. 6 Lydia Ko (New Zealand) and 2023 winner No. 23 Brooke Henderson (Canada), the 2026 LPGA season-opening tournament pairs pros with amateur celebrities including USWNT legend Brandi Chastain and golf icon Annika Sörenstam.
How to watch the 2026 HGV Tournament of Champions
Live coverage of the 2026 HGV Tournament of Champions airs at 11:30 AM ET on Friday and 3 PM ET on Saturday on the Golf Channel, before NBC broadcasts the LPGA season opener's final round at 2 PM ET on Sunday.
Aryna Sabalenka is one match away from her third Australian Open title after the world No. 1 tennis star took down Ukraine's No. 12 Elina Svitolina in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) in the 2026 tournament's semifinals on Thursday.
Entering her fourth straight Australian Open final, the 27-year-old Belarusian initially won the Melbourne Grand Slam in 2023 and 2024 before dropping the 2025 final to US star No. 9 Madison Keys.
"The job is not done yet," Sabalenka said following her Thursday semifinal win.
Now hunting a fifth career Grand Slam victory after claiming a second consecutive US Open title last September, Sabalenka will face Kazakhstan's No. 5 Elena Rybakina in Saturday's final, after the 2022 Wimbledon champ downed No. 6 Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-6(7) in Thursday's first match.
"It got very tight. I stayed there," the 26-year-old said after defeating the last-standing US star. "I was fighting for each point."
Notably, Saturday's final will also be a rematch of the 2023 Australian Open championship clash in which Sabalenka staged a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory.
Even more, though Sabalenka holds the all-time edge with an 8-6 career record against Rybakina, the Kazakhstani star has won six of the pair's last 10 meetings — including a dominant 6-3, 7-6(0) upset victory to take the 2025 WTA Finals title in November.
How to watch the 2026 Australian Open final
The 2026 Australian Open final between No. 1 Sabalenka and No. 5 Rybakina kicks off at 3:30 AM ET on Saturday, airing live on ESPN.
The hit Apple TV show Ted Lasso is switching sides, with the streamer announcing details about the upcoming Season 4 release — including the series' new focus on women's football — on Wednesday.
"In season four, Ted returns to Richmond, taking on his biggest challenge yet: coaching a second division women's football team," reads Apple TV's Wednesday statement. "Throughout the course of the season, Ted and the team learn to leap before they look, taking chances they never thought they would."
Currently in production, Ted Lasso stars Jason Sudeikis, who previously picked up a pair of Emmys for his role as the titular character, with the longtime women's sports fan also serving as executive producer of the series.
Fan favorites Juno Temple, Brendan Hunt, and Jeremy Swift also return to reprise their roles alongside the Emmy-winning Hannah Waddingham and two-time Emmy winner Brett Goldstein, who also executive produces and writes for the show.
Debuting in August 2020, the smash-hit shattered records, earning the most Emmy nominations for a comedy show in its first season. It later took home the award for Outstanding Comedy Series in both 2021 and 2022.
Season 4 of Ted Lasso will premiere this summer.
When is Ted Lasso Season 4 streaming on Apple TV?
Fans can catch up on Ted Lasso before the summer's Season 4 release by streaming the first three seasons on Apple TV+.
The NWSL is adding fan fashion to matchday this season, teaming up with Washington, DC-based design label Dead Dirt to launch an exclusive preseason collection of jerseys this week.
Dead Dirt dropped the colorful knit merch for all 16 NWSL franchises, with initial jersey inventories for multiple clubs — including incoming 2026 expansion teams Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC — selling out within hours of the Thursday night release.
Showcasing a collared, V-necked, rugby shirt aesthetic, each kit includes nods to the club's color and crest throughout the design.
Named the Spirit's first-ever creative director in March 2024, Dead Dirt founder Domo Wells dropped multiple collections with the Washington club over the last two seasons — from 2024's "New Growth" collection to 2025's "Cherry Blossom" and "Fast Track" capsules — before the NWSL tapped Wells to expand her design footprint league-wide.
"You have to truly understand the team's culture and region. That's why my first full season with the Washington Spirit mattered," Wells told The Cut last month. "That's when the conversation shifted from one team to the entire league."
Additionally, this week's launch is the first of many future NWSL collaborations, with Wells detailing a "layered" plan for cohesive league-wide drops "with the option for teams to go deeper if they want more."
As for what NWSL fans can expect from upcoming Dead Dirt collections, Wells sees her role as "reframing merch as storytelling."
"My goal [is] always to design pieces that live outside the stadium," she explained. "If it doesn't live in [a fan's] closet after game day, it's not worth the spend."
How to buy NWSL x Dead Dirt knit jerseys
The entire NWSL x Dead Dirt jersey collection is available online now at the NWSL Shop and the Dead Dirt store.
The upcoming Netflix feature film about the 1999 USWNT World Cup team has landed a lead, with Deadline confirming on Wednesday that the streaming giant is tapping actor Emily Bader to play star forward Mia Hamm in The 99'ers.
The 29-year-old most recently starred in People We Meet on Vacation, which made its debut at No. 1 on Netflix last week.
Bader previously enjoyed a breakout turn in the Prime historical drama My Lady Jane, which dropped in June 2024.
Calling her role in The 99'ers "a dream come true," Bader celebrated her Netflix casting in her Instagram Stories on Wednesday.
"Growing up playing soccer and being so inspired by @miahamm," she wrote.
Netflix first acquired the rights to The Girls of Summer: The US Women's Soccer Team and How It Changed the World — a 2000 book by Jeré Longman — back in 2020, with the project officially going into development in May 2025.
Known for her directorial prowess on Sirens on Netflix as well as her Emmy and Director's Guild Award-winning work on HBO's Watchmen, Nicole Kassell will direct The 99'ers.
Kassell will work off a script penned by Katie Lovejoy (Love at First Sight, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before 3), Dana Stevens (The Woman King, Fatherhood), and Peter Hedges (Ben Is Back).
Helmed by Liza Chasin from 3Dot Productions, The 99'ers boasts a production team that includes Hayley Stool, Ross Greenburg, Marla Messing, Jill Mazursky, and Krista Smith.
While no timeline for production or distribution are available, Netflix will likely aim to use the film to bolster its coverage of the the upcoming World Cups in light of the streamer recently snagging the exclusive US broadcast rights to both the 2027 and 2031 tournaments.
US skiing icon Lindsey Vonn is officially back, clinching her spot on Team USA's 2026 Winter Olympics roster this week behind stellar recent performances on the sport's World Cup tour.
The 41-year-old made headlines two weekends ago when she became the oldest Alpine Ski World Cup winner since the circuit's 1967 inception, taking first in the downhill race in St. Moritz, Switzerland on December 12th — her 83rd World Cup victory.
"Every single thing that I could do to be faster, I did," said Vonn after winning the downhill event. "And now, now this is what happens. You get the reward."
Vonn is continuing to rack up the rewards, claiming podium finishes in four of the five total races she's competed in so far this season, earning another second-place downhill finish in St. Moritz before taking third in both downhill and the Super G in Val-d'Isère, France, last weekend.
As for her fifth World Cup race, Vonn clocked in at a still-impressive fourth.
"Four podiums in five races, I couldn't really be any happier," the Olympic gold medalist said in response.
Those finishes have the US ski legend sitting at No. 1 in the World Cup downhill standings and No. 3 in the Super-G — with her downhill ranking putting her far enough ahead to guarantee Vonn one of the four Team USA roster spots at the 2026 Olympics.
"Lindsey qualifying for the 2026 Olympic team is a testament to her resilience and dedication," said US Ski & Snowboard president and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt, confirming Vonn's Team USA qualification in a Tuesday statement. "She's proven once again that elite performance isn't just about past success, it's about rising to the moment, race after race."
Success spurs Vonn to extend final competitive season
Returning to competitive skiing in November 2024 following her retirement in February 2019, Vonn spent part of her five-year hiatus undergoing and recovering from a titanium knee replacement that ultimately returned her to the slopes.
Though Vonn previously planned to retire immediately after February's Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, she's now setting her sights on completing the World Cup circuit in March — though that will officially be the end of the road for the US icon.
"I feel like I'm rolling the dice enough as it is, being 41 and putting myself through this," Vonn told The Athletic. "So this is a one-season, final season."
That said, she'll look to add to her trio of Olympic medals before hanging up her competitive skis.
"For Cortina, things are looking pretty f—ing awesome."
The No. 3 South Carolina Gamecocks are calling in roster reinforcements, announcing Monday that French forward Alicia Tournebize will join the NCAA basketball team after the holidays.
"Alicia has an incredible skill set and basketball IQ," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a news release. "She has great touch around the rim, can shoot it out to the 3-point line and is a shot blocker."
While they've only dropped one game so far this season, the Gamecocks' roster has been running thin due to injuries — including losing star forward Chloe Kitts to a season-ending ACL injury in October.
With the continued absence of forward Ashlyn Watkins, who is out this season as she continues to rehab a January ACL tear, South Carolina has suffered additional temporary roster losses this month as injuries forced forward Madina Okot and guard Agot Makeer into concussion protocol.
Though Okot, who is currently averaging a double-double, returned to play last Thursday, Makeer remains out, as the Gamecocks and their traditionally deep bench continue a 2025/26 campaign that's seen just three games played with a healthy 10-player roster.
The midseason signing of Tournebize will add both depth and height to bolster South Carolina, as the 6-foot-7 freshman rivals Chicago Sky forward Kamilla Cardoso as one of Staley's tallest-ever players.
The 18-year-old daughter of French basketball Hall of Famer Isabelle Fijalkowski — one of the inaugural WNBA players for the Cleveland Rockers — is already making a name for herself in Europe, leading the France's youth squad in both scoring and rebounding as they claimed bronze at last summer's 2025 FIBA U18 EuroBasket.
Tournebize also packs professional experience, coming to Columbia from French club Tango Bourges Basket.
The young star will likely make her NCAA debut as South Carolina kicks off SEC conference play in early 2026.
The 2025 NCAA volleyball championship game is officially on lock, as No. 3-seed Texas A&M and No. 1-seed Kentucky survived Thursday's semifinals to punch their tickets to Sunday's season finale.
After snapping overall top-seed Nebraska's undefeated season in last weekend's Elite Eight round, The Aggies kept their history-making hot streak alive, blowing past No. 1 Pitt as the first team to sweep the Panthers all year.
Leading the charge for A&M were sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers and senior opposite Logan Lednicky, who registered 16 and 14 kills, respectively, on the Final Four court in Kansas City.
As for the last No. 1 seed standing, Kentucky survived No. 3 Wisconsin in a five-set thriller on Thursday, following the example of senior outside hitter Eva Hudson, whose 29 kills trailed only the semifinals-leading 32 posted by Badger senior outside hitter — and fellow AVCA Player of the Year finalist — Mimi Colyer.
With Kentucky hoping to add to their 2020 Division I title — the only NCAA volleyball championship in SEC history — the conference already owns the 2025 trophy, as Thursday set up the sport's first-ever all-SEC national final.
Though the 2025 SEC champion Wildcats seemingly have the edge over the conference's runners-up — Kentucky took down Texas A&M 3-1 in October — A&M's current momentum is undeniable, with the Aggies riding into Sunday's clash having ousted two No. 1 seeds and one No. 2 seed en route to a program-first national final.
"We are considered the underdog in a lot of these moments just [because] we haven't been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces," said Lednicky. "So why not us?"
How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship
No. 3 Texas A&M will battle No. 1 Kentucky for the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship at 3:30 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ABC.
Led by undefeated overall No. 1-seed Nebraska, the college volleyball elite will begin their quest for the 2025 national championship on Thursday, when the first round of the 64-team NCAA Division I tournament hits courts nationwide.
The Huskers are still chasing a perfect season, entering the 2025 title hunt on a 30-0 run having dropped just six sets all season — including losing just one set since September 16th.
"I was expecting us to be great, but certainly not undefeated," said Nebraska alumna and first-year Cornhusker head coach Dani Busboom Kelly on a recent episode of the Welcome to the Party podcast. "They continue to exceed our expectations."
Busboom Kelly's roster is loaded with the kind of experienced connection that only comes when the core of players have competed together for three straight seasons — an increasing rarity in the transfer portal and NIL era.
That said, this core has unfinished business on the national stage, with the superstar junior trio of middle blocker Andi Jackson, outside hitter Harper Murray, and setter Bergen Reilly — all AVCA Player of the Year semifinalists — looking to bring the first NCAA trophy in eight years back to Lincoln.
"It's such a special row, because we just know that all of us have been through thick and thin together and our bond is so strong," Jackson told USA Today Sports earlier this week. "[And Busboom Kelly] gives us so much confidence and we know that with her as our coach, we just can play fearless."
Stacked tournament field looks to spoil Nebraska's season
Even with their "fearless" play, a host of stellar opponents await Nebraska in the NCAA tournament gauntlet, hoping to play spoiler — including Busboom Kelly's previous program, the Louisville Cardinals, who await the Cornhuskers as the No. 2-seed in their own regional quadrant.
Fellow No. 1 seeds Texas, Kentucky, and Pitt will also chase their eventual chance at the Huskers via their own regionals, where the Longhorns could see arguably the stiffest competition from both No. 2-seed Stanford — the winningest program in NCAA volleyball history — and defending champion and No. 8-seed Penn State.
With tickets to the 2025 Final Four in Kansas City on the line, the NCAA volleyball bracket's 64 squads will start serving at 16 campus sites on Thursday.
How to watch the first round of the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament
This year's NCAA volleyball finale begins when No. 5-seed Colorado takes on unseeded American University at 3 PM ET on Thursday, kicking off a two-day first round of 32 matches — with No. 1 Nebraska looking to handle Long Island University in their initial tournament tilt at 8 PM ET on Friday.
All games in the early rounds of the 2025 Division I tournament will air live on ESPN+.
The 2025 NWSL Championship claimed a major viewership milestone on Saturday, as Gotham FC's 1-0 title win over the Washington Spirit became the first-ever league match to record an average of more than one million viewers.
The CBS evening broadcast averaged an impressive 1.184 million fans and peaked at 1.55 million viewers, making it the most-watched NWSL match of all time.
The 2025 final marked a 22% viewership increase over the 967,900 fans who watched 2024's Orlando Pride victory — the previous NWSL viewership record-holder — and a 45% ratings gain over Gotham's 2023 championship win, which averaged 816,800 viewers.
Saturday's gains both matched the 22% viewership increase the NWSL regular season saw this year and also far exceeded the 2025 postseason's pre-final year-over-year increase of 5%.
Calling the one-million viewer mark "an extraordinary achievement" in Tuesday's league statement, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman also noted that the "record-setting audience demonstrates the deepening connection fans have with our players, our clubs, and the world-class competition on the field, and it underscores the growing demand for women's soccer on the biggest stages."
"We're incredibly proud of what this moment represents for the NWSL and for everyone who continues to invest in and believe in the future of our game," Berman added.