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French Open: Three first-timers advance to the semifinals

Martina Trevisan celebrates a set point against Leylah Fernandez.(Antonio Borga/Getty Images)

The semifinals at the French Open are set following an exciting round of quarterfinal matchups. Three out of the four semifinalists will be playing in their first Grand Slam semifinals.

Coco Gauff celebrated graduating high school in May with a trip to her first Grand Slam semifinal. In her quarterfinal matchup against Sloane Stephens, the 18-year-old took control to win 7-5, 6-2.

The match provided redemption for Gauff, who lost to Stephens the last time the two matched up at the U.S. Open in September. Gauff won 40 service points to Stephens’ 25.

The experience from last year’s French Open quarterfinals, which Gauff lost to Barbora Krejcikova, has paid off as Gauff continues to elevate her game and become a more seasoned player.

“I think that was the biggest lesson I learned last year in my quarterfinal match,” Gauff said after her fourth-round win. “I had a couple set points and I think I freaked out when some of those points didn’t go my way.

“[Tuesday] I didn’t freak out when a couple of those important points didn’t go my way.”

Following her match against Stephens, Gauff said she’s focusing on playing more in the moment.

“I feel like last year I was looking at the finish line,” she said. “And now I’m not looking at anything really except that ball in front of me.”

Even if she falls in the semifinals, Gauff stands to return to the top 20 in the world on Monday.

Gauff has had a successful doubles run as well with partner Jessica Pegula. The two are ranked eighth in the draw and will play in Wednesday’s quarterfinals against Anna Bondár and Greet Minnen.

In singles, Gauff will face Martina Trevisan in the semifinals. Trevisan took down Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-7 (7-3), 6-3 for her first Grand Slam semifinal appearance. She’s also the first Italian woman to reach the Roland-Garros semifinals since Sara Errani in 2013.

It’ll be a Roland-Garros rematch for the two, as they faced each other in 2020 with Trevisan knocking out Gauff in the second round.

Iga Swiatek punctuated her 21st birthday Tuesday with a quarterfinal win Wednesday, advancing past No. 11 Jessica Pegula – the highest remaining player in the draw besides herself – 6-3, 6-2. It was a return to form for the No. 1 seed, who uncharacteristically dropped a set in her previous matchup.

With the win, Swiatek’s unbeaten run has extended to 33 straight matches. She is now in sole possession of the third-longest WTA winning streak this century.

In the first set, Pegula went up 3-2 on Swiatek before the 2020 champion responded, rattling off four straight games to win the set. She further controlled the match in the second set to extend her lead against Pegula in their head-to-head record, moving to 3-1. All three of those wins have come this year.

She’ll face off in the semifinals against Daria Kasatkina, who advanced past Veronika Kudermetova with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) win.

Like Gauff and Trevisan, Kasatkina will be playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal. Kudermetova, playing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, broke Kasatkina for a 3-1 lead in the first set before her Russian compatriot took over.

Kasatkina pulled even at 4-4 before taking the lead to win the first set. She went down 5-6 in the second set before battling back to win the tiebreak.

Players Criticize NWSL Officiating After Tense Portland-Louisville Draw

Portland's Jessie Fleming chases Louisville's Ary Borges during Sunday's NWSL game.
Portland's Jessie Fleming and Louisville's Ary Borges voiced frustration with officials after Sunday’s NWSL match. (Troy Wayrynen/Imagn Images)

Concerns over faulty NWSL officiating again took center stage this week, after Sunday's 3-3 draw between the Portland Thorns and Racing Louisville FC saw a league-record 41 fouls called — with only one card handed out in regulation.

In the chippy, physical showdown, Louisville took a 3-1 first-half lead only to see it shortened to 3-2 after referee Corbyn May awarded Portland a penalty kick just before halftime. Portland then drew level with another converted penalty, this one awarded late in second-half stoppage time.

Angered by May's controversial calls, Racing Louisville's Ary Borges garnered a post-match red card for dissent after confronting the officials on the field.

"I do think that match can't keep happening in this league. I think it's embarrassing — it alters the match, it alters the sport," said Portland's Jessie Fleming after the game, remarking on Louisville's aggressive play and the officials' lack of response.

"It's embarrassing for the league, and I think it's embarrassing for Louisville as a club, and very frustrating for us as players."

Following the match, Borges apologized for her outburst via social media, going on to note, "I'm not much of talking about referees because they are things that are beyond our control but what happened today in the match was a shame."

"For those who had two questionable penalties and spent the whole game throwing themselves in and around the penalty box, please take a moment to reflect and not talk about my team," she continued, accusing the Thorns of contributing to the issue by over-selling fouls.

PWHL Unveils Championship Rings for 2024 Walter Cup Winners Minnesota

A top and inside view of the Minnesota Frost's 2024 PWHL championship ring.
The Minnesota Frost won the first-ever Walter Cup in 2024. (PWHL)

With the puck dropping on the league's second postseason next week, the PWHL unveiled the Minnesota Frost's 2024 Walter Cup championship rings on Monday.

The reveal came as part of the league's multi-year partnership announcement with Paris Jewellers Canada, a family-owned jewelry brand that the PWHL has tapped to create its championship rings for years to come.

In order to personalize the championship jewelry, the design of the 2024 title-winning rings included input from inaugural victors Minnesota.

Fashioned from sterling silver, the rings feature an image of the Walter Cup. Surrounding the trophy are 74 diamonds, in honor of the goals scored by the team throughout their first season, as well as 18 purple amethyst stones representative of the squad's total 2023/24 wins.

The rings also bear inscriptions of the May 29th, 2024, championship game date and 3-0 winning score, the Frost's "Win One Game" motto, and each athlete's name and jersey number.

The champs received their rings in a private celebration on Sunday.

"This group will always carry the honor of being the first team in PWHL history to win the Walter Cup," said Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield.  "Now, we will forever have these special championship rings that encapsulate the journey to the top."

With the 2024/25 PWHL regular season closing on May 3rd, the Frost are locked in a battle with the Boston Fleet and Ottawa Charge for the two remaining playoff spots.

For a shot at defending their 2024 title, Minnesota must win their final two games by defeating both Ottawa and Boston this week.

US Tennis Stars Gauff, Keys Shine at 2025 Madrid Open Amid Blackouts

US star Coco Gauff returns the ball during her 2025 Madrid Open Round of 16 victory.
Major power outages impacted the 2025 Madrid Open this week. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Though rolling blackouts across the region suspended play at the 2025 Madrid Open on Monday, many top US talents are working their way through the clay court competition to great success.

World No. 4 Coco Gauff dispatched Switzerland's No. 42 Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-2 in Monday's Round of 16, exiting the court just before the arena lost power.

"I feel like, at this point, this is only a situation you can laugh at if I was on court," Gauff said after her post-match interview was cut short by a deadened mic. "Because it's probably not going to happen ever again, and we'll always remember the day the power went out at Madrid Open."

Gauff next faces No. 7 Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals, where a win could see her swap places with the now-ousted Jessica Pegula in the WTA rankings to reclaim No. 3 — and resume her title as the highest-ranked US player.

The rest of the Round of 16 resumed early Tuesday morning, with fellow US star and world No. 5 Madison Keys taking down Croatia's No. 21 Donna Vekić 6-2, 6-3 before No. 2 Iga Świątek eked out a win against No. 13 Diana Shnaider 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4.

Keys and Świątek will now square off in the quarterfinals — their first meeting since Keys upset the Polish star in January's Australian Open semifinal.

How to watch the 2025 Madrid Open quarterfinals

The 2025 Madrid Open quarterfinals kick off at 4 AM ET on Wednesday. Coverage of the tournament will continue to air live on the Tennis Channel.

NWSL Submits Division II League Proposal to US Soccer

An NWSL ball sits on the pitch before a 2025 regular-season game.
The NWSL is planning its own Division II player development system. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)

The NWSL has submitted a formal application to US Soccer to launch a Division II league in 2026, with CBS Sports first reporting the league's move to strengthen player development in a shifting domestic landscape early last Friday.

Similar to the academy system overseas, the lower league would serve as both a testing ground and feeder system for the top-flight NWSL, keeping talent in-house while also providing professional resources and competition.

Eight NWSL clubs — North Carolina, Kansas City, Louisville, Gotham, Orlando, Bay FC, Seattle, and Washington — will participate in the second-tier league's inaugural year. The NWSL intends for all clubs to join within Division II's first four years.

Rapid growth reflects increased demand for women's soccer

Pro sports in the US have long relied on the NCAA to prepare future prospects, but with more young players forgoing NCAA soccer to sign pro contracts directly — not to mention the abolishment of the NWSL draft last season — new leagues are emerging to meet the development demand across North America.

Division I operations like the USL Super League and Canada's Northern Super League offer fully professional opportunities, while the amateur-focused WPSL will launch its own second-tier league, WPSL Pro, in 2026.

That said, the NWSL's Division II league would be the only secondary system sharing ownership, infrastructure, and staffing with top NWSL sides.

According to The Athletic, the NWSL has yet to agree upon full details for the new venture, with the submission primarily intended to meet a sanctioning deadline.

Should the application prove successful, club soccer in the US will see a rapid expansion, growing from a single pro league in 2023 to two Division I and two Division II leagues by 2026.

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