Iva Jovic scored her 42nd WTA tour-level win of the season on Thursday, fighting back to beat Jasmine Paolini 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Ningbo Open 2026 quarterfinals. The young US breakout star needed just one hour and 22 minutes to beat the former world No. 4.

Jasmine Paolini Breaks Early Before Iva Jovic Storms Back

Still, early in the match, it looked like Paolini would be the one to advance. She jumped out to a 3-1 lead behind a quick break. Then, Jovic responded with back-to-back breaks to take the opener. That composure carried into the second set, where she opened a 4-1 cushion before Paolini trimmed the gap to 4-3. Jovic managed to hole serve, breaking once more to close it out in straight sets.

The win means Jovic has now beaten Paolini in back-to-back meetings after she topped the Italian standout in the third round of the 2026 Australian Open, evening their career head-to-head at 2-2.

Beyond that rivalry, Jovic's 2026 season keeps building. Ningbo is her seventh WTA quarterfinal, and she converted five of her last six into semifinal appearances. The win also marks the 20th time she's beaten a top 50 player.

Up next, Jovic faces No. 6 seed Diana Shnaider, who beat Alexandra Eala earlier in the day, for a semifinal spot.

Belinda Bencic's difficult stretch on the WTA tour continued Thursday at the 2026 Ningbo Open, where the Swiss No. 5 seed fell to qualifier Katarzyna Kawa in straight sets. The 7-5, 6-2 second-round loss marks another early exit for the world No. 14, who hasn't strung together consecutive wins since reaching the Toronto quarterfinals in early August.

Bencic Loses Early to Another Qualifier at Ningbo Open

For Kawa, though, the upset was a milestone.

The 33-year-old Polish qualifier, ranked outside the Top 125, picked up her first victory over a Top 20 opponent on the Ningbo hard courts. She also advanced to her first-ever WTA 500 quarterfinal with the win. After trading momentum through a tight opening set, she broke Bencic repeatedly in the second to pull away comfortably.

The timing stings for Bencic. She will likely lose the 500 ranking points she earned from her Tokyo title 12 months ago when the WTA scores update next week. With only 60 points gained in Ningbo, a big drop in the standings is on the way.

Meanwhile, Kawa will look to keep her breakout run going in the quarterfinals. Though she's set to face current world No. 1 Elena Rybakina in the final eight, so she'll need to be even sharper on Friday.

Alexandra Eala gave Diana Shnaider all she could handle before falling 7-5, 6-4 in the second round of the 2026 Ningbo Open on Thursday. The sixth-seeded Shnaider needed seven match points to seal her win over the Filipina breakout star in the pair's first WTA Tour-level head-to-head.

Alex Eala Fights Off Multiple Match Points Before Shnaider Finds Win

Even after Shnaider broke to take a 5-4 lead in the second set, Eala dug in. She saved six match points across the final game, one on a crafty drop-and-pass sequence that briefly extended the battle. Shnaider finally converted on her seventh opportunity to book her quarterfinal spot.

"The first few games you just get used to the spin, where are her strengths, what is her weakness," Shnaider said of her gameplan. "You just gotta give yourself a little more time to adjust, then it becomes a bit easier as the games go on."

That result continues Shnaider's strong run in Asia. The Russian standout was runner-up to Ons Jabeur at the 2023 Ningbo Open and made the semis last year. She now faces Iva Jovic for a place in the final four.

For Eala, the loss cuts short a week that started with a 6-3, 6-1 first-round win over Diane Parry. The world No. 20 has climbed steadily through the rankings this season, though, and should remain a factor as the Asian swing rolls on.

Elena Rybakina advanced to the 2026 Ningbo Open quarterfinals on Thursday after Polina Kudermetova was forced out by a shoulder injury just 30 minutes into their second-round match. The world No. 1 had already built a 5-0 lead when a visibly emotional Kudermetova stopped play.

"Definitely not the way I wanted to finish the match," Rybakina said of the win. She added that she hoped Kudermetova bounces back quickly.

Rybakina Records Milestone at Ningbo Open After Kudermetova's Retirement

Despite the unfortunate ending, the result still marked a milestone for Rybakina.

It was her 50th win of 2026. It was also the first she's picked up wearing the No. 1 ranking, putting her at 50-14 on the season. Only Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva have matched that number this year.

With Kudermetova behind her, Rybakina's focus has already shifted to the final eight in Ningbo. She'll face Poland's Katarzyna Kawa, ranked No. 128, who pulled off a 7-5, 6-2 upset over No. 5 seed Belinda Bencic earlier in the day.

Rybakina now carries a five-match winning streak on the hard courts in China. She remains the player to watch as WTA scores from Ningbo continue to roll in this week.

A dynasty’s grip has slipped, as China won the women’s team title at this week’s 2026 World Gymnastics Championships to snap a 15-year US reign spanning seven straight championships.

China posted 165.764 to USA Gymnastics’ 165.531, marking the closest team final since Russia edged the US in 2010.

The defending champion led at the halfway mark and won the uneven bars, but the balance beam proved decisive — Dulcy Caylor fell on her dismount while China’s Zhang Qingying anchored the rotation with a 15.066.

The US took silver to lock up its 2028 LA Olympics berth, as Skye Blakely — the team's only Worlds veteran — and Claire Pease shift focus to Friday’s all-around final before setting down the path to 2027 Worlds in China.

“We know where we want to be, and we know there’s still work to do,” said US team leader Chellsie Memmel. “We have the time, and I think it’s going to light a fire in them.”

The World Gymnastics Championships run through Sunday (Peacock).

No. 4 Atlanta took control at home, besting No. 2 Golden State 97-71 in Valkyries vs Dream Game 3 to grab a 2-1 2026 WNBA Finals lead in front of a sold-out State Farm Arena.

Angel Reese put up 21 points and 12 rebounds to become the youngest player with three straight double-doubles in a title series, backed by Rhyne Howard’s 16 points and five steals.

“We fought for this arena, so we have to protect it,” Howard said, after the Dream moved Games 3 and 4 from the 3,500-seat Gateway Center to 17,044-seat State Farm. “We went and stole one [at Golden State], but we couldn’t let them come in and do the same thing.”

The third quarter once again belonged to Atlanta, with the Dream outscoring the Valkyries a combined 63-35 during the period across three games.

Gabby Williams led Golden State with 15 points and Tiffany Hayes added 14, but the Valkyries shot just 34.8% from the field in their second Finals loss.

“We know how to come back — what’s good is that we usually come back even tighter,” coach Natalie Nakase told reporters. “This is where we lean on each other more rather than split.”

Game 4 tips off in Atlanta on Saturday at 1 PM ET (NBC).

Katie Boulter dispatched Viktorija Golubic in straight sets on Wednesday to reach the 2026 Japan Open quarterfinals. The eighth-seeded Brit needed fewer than 60 minutes on the WTA hard courts in Osaka, stringing together nine straight games after the first set leveled at 2-2.

Boulter Fights Weather to Advance in Japan

Strong winds disrupted rallies throughout the match, but Boulter stayed composed. She converted 89% of her first-serve points and saved the only break point she faced, while Golubic managed just one game after falling behind. It marked Boulter's second straight-sets win over the Swiss this year, after a 6-2, 6-2 result at the Ostrava Open.

"Staying patient in the wind was one of the biggest things for me," Boulter said after the match. "I sometimes get frustrated, but I didn't let it affect me today."

Beyond the draw in Japan, the result also reshapes England's No. 1 race.

Boulter, currently ranked 57th, dropped behind Sonay Kartal earlier this week after Kartal reached a WTA 1000 final in Wuhan. A semifinal run here would push Boulter past Kartal in the standings, allowing her to reclaim the top British spot.

She faces the winner of Antonia Ruzic and Kayla Day next in the final eight.

Marie Bouzková moved into the 2026 Ningbo Open quarterfinals on Wednesday, beating lucky loser Anastasia Zakharova 7-5, 6-2 in China. The world No. 26 from Czechia needed some time to find her footing against the 24-year-old Russian, though, eventually pulling clear in the second set after a tight opener.

Bouzková Fights Back in 1 Set Against Lucky Loser Zakharova

Zakharova held a 5-4 edge in that first frame, forcing Bouzková to reel off three straight games and save multiple set points to take it 7-5. From there, the Czech's serve took over. She held 70% of her service games and converted six of 13 break chances. Meanwhile Zakharova's 45% first-serve points won rate left too many doors open as the match wore on.

The result lifts Bouzková's 2026 record to 33-20 and sets up a quarterfinal meeting with Sara Bejlek at the WTA 500 event. It's the fifth time this year that she's traveled that deep in a tournament. Her last quarterfinal appearance came in Prague over the summer.

For Zakharova, ranked No. 111, the second-round exit is still something to be proud of. She entered the main draw for the first time after Iga Świątek withdrew due to injury.

Belinda Bencic scored a first-round win at the 2026 Ningbo Open on Tuesday when Jeļena Ostapenko was forced out of their WTA 500 opener. The 24th-ranked Latvian pulled out while trailing 6-3, 1-1, sending the 14th-ranked Swiss into the Round of 16.

Ostapenko Needs Medical Timeout Before Exiting in Ningbo

Bencic seized control of the opener, jumping out to 3-0 before Ostapenko clawed back to 3-2. Still, the Swiss star steadied with another decisive break to close out the set.

Ostapenko, who reached the Wuhan semifinals just a week earlier, showed signs of physical discomfort during the first set. At one point, she needed a medical timeout to have her vitals and blood pressure checked. After holding serve to start the second, the Latvian called things off.

Bencic Earns Needed Win in Asian Swing

The result snaps a rough stretch for Bencic, who dropped consecutive matches at WTA 1000 events in Beijing and Wuhan before arriving in Ningbo. It also gives her the lead in the series against Ostapenko, 3-1.

Despite the abrupt finish, the win positions her in a loaded section of the draw. She now has a potential quarterfinal with world No. 1 Elena Rybakina. First, however, she'll have to get past Poland's Katarzyna Kawa.

Jordin Canada put up 13 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds in the Atlanta Dream's 79-65 Game 2 win over the Golden State Valkyries on Monday. That near triple-double helped square the 2026 WNBA Finals series at one game apiece. Still, Canada wasn't satisfied with her performance on the court.

"I don't think I played well," the veteran guard said. "I was over-thinking a lot."

Canada's Playmaking Fuels Dream's Win at Golden State

Canada's playmaking suggested otherwise. In the second quarter alone, she dished five assists, two feeding Allisha Gray for threes on the break. Another pass found DeWanna Bonner on a 19-foot pull-up that gave the Dream a 39-37 halftime lead.

Then, with 3.1 seconds left in the third, she stole a Tiffany Hayes miscue near midcourt and uncorked a 32-foot three that fell as the horn sounded, stretching Atlanta's cushion to 60-46.

Teammate Angel Reese fueled the Atlanta Dream attack alongside her, going for 30 points and 16 boards while Gray added 18 off catch-and-shoot looks created by Canada's distribution. The guard shared she was happy the team came together to pull out the win, but revealed she expected more of herself next time.

"We were able to win. But next game, I'll definitely be better offensively and defensively."

The 2026 WNBA Finals head to Atlanta's State Farm Arena for Game 3 on Wednesday.