US women's curling has eyes on the prize, with Team USA surviving a four-team race for the final two Olympic semifinal spots by defeating Switzerland in a 7-6 thriller on Thursday.
Kicking off the matchup tied for third on a 5-3 round-robin record with Canada and South Korea — with defending champion Great Britain's semifinal hopes trailing just behind on a 4-4 tally — the USA's most direct path to this weekend's Olympic medal rounds required a win over the already-qualified Swiss squad.
Led by newly crowned mixed doubles silver medalist Cory Thiesse, the US entered Thursday's win-and-in game coming off a stinging 8-7 loss to Great Britain — a contest that would have clinched their semis spot had the USA claimed victory.
"That one hurt a little more," captain Tabitha Peterson said postgame. "I think maybe I just attacked wrong on my second-to-last shot, and then I just didn't make my last one either. That's unfortunate, but they made a fantastic shot, so not much you could do about that."
Peterson flipped the script on Thursday, however, coming in clutch after Switzerland forced an extra frame with a stunning 10th-end three-stone tally to tie the US 6-6.
The 36-year-old skipper then broke the deadlock with her final shot to secure both the win and the USA women's second-ever trip to the Olympic semifinals — the team's first medal round berth in 24 years.
The Stateside quartet will now take aim at a first-ever podium finish alongside Canada, who secured the final spot in the knockouts by defeating South Korea 10-7 on Thursday, Switzerland, and the top-seeded three-time champion Sweden.
How to watch US women's curling in the 2026 Olympic semifinals
At the same time that Canada faces Sweden — arguably the toughest team in the field — Team USA will look to hand Switzerland a second straight loss when the pair meet again less than 24 hours after Thursday's result.
Both semifinals begin at 8:05 AM ET on Friday, airing live on Peacock and USA Network.
Ski mountaineering made history on Thursday, as Switzerland's Marianne Fatton won the sport's first-ever Olympic gold after claiming the women's sprint title in Bormio, Italy.
Fatton finished with a time of 2:59.77 to beat favorite Emily Harrop of France. Harrop earned silver in 3:02.15, finishing 2.38 seconds behind, while Spain's Ana Alonso Rodriguez captured bronze with a time of 3:10.22.
Harrop had posted the fastest time heading into the final at 3:03.34 after winning both her heat and semifinal. But reigning world champion Fatton managed to capitalize on Harrop's slower transitions to win the final.
Ski mountaineering, often called "skimo," requires athletes to ascend mountains both on skis and on foot before a downhill race decides the winner. The women's sprint featured three ascent stages, with athletes starting with skis attached before removing them to tackle the course on foot. They subsequently reattach their skis for another ascent, later stripping off the skins for the final descent.
Snowy conditions at the Stelvio Ski Centre made conditions particularly challenging for athletes, as they showcased ski mountaineering to Olympic audiences for the first time. The International Ski Mountaineering Federation was founded in 2007 and gained IOC recognition in 2016.
"It's a magical day," the 30-year-old said after Thursday's win. "It's history for our sport, and for us as athletes, and it's wonderful."
Canada hockey captain Marie-Philip Poulin made Olympic history Monday, breaking the all-time women's goal-scoring record in Canada's 2-1 semifinal win over Switzerland.
The 34-year-old scored twice in the second period to push her career total to 20 goals, passing fellow Canadian and Hockey Hall of Famer Hayley Wickenheiser, who previously held the record with 18 goals.
Poulin netted the record-breaking goal 1:49 minutes into the second period. Sophie Jaques set her up with a pass from the blue line, with Poulin nearly whiffing on her one-timer before sending the puck skipping past Swiss goaltender Andrea Braendli to open the scoring.
A little over six minutes later, Poulin struck again. She drove to the front of the net and roofed the puck over Braendli after the goalie stopped Daryl Watts's initial shot, with Watts assisting on both goals.
The victory sent Canada hockey to its seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal game. The defending champions face arch-rival United States on Thursday, February 19 at 3:10 PM ET.
Poulin recently returned from a lower-body injury that forced her to miss two preliminary round games. She came back to tie Wickenheiser's record on Saturday with a goal in Canada's 5-1 quarterfinal win over Germany.
Playing in her fifth Winter Olympics, Poulin is known as "Captain Clutch" for her ability to deliver in crucial moments.
What's Next for Canada hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics
The defending champions next face arch-rival Team USA, as Canada hockey seeks its fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
The puck drops on the gold medal match this Thursday at 3:10 PM ET, live on Peacock.
USA hockey stayed perfect at the 2026 Winter Olympics, downing Switzerland 5-0 on Monday to enter Tuesday's heavyweight clash with defending champion Canada on a 3-0 group-stage record.
Current NCAA stars Caroline Harvey (Wisconsin) and Joy Dunne (Ohio State) posted a goal and two assists each in Monday's victory, while PWHL stars Alex Carpenter, Hannah Bilka, and Haley Winn rounded out the US scoresheet.
Team captain Hilary Knight also added two assists in the tilt to reach 31 career Olympic points — one shy of matching Jenny Potter's 2010 US record.
Despite the final scoreline, Switzerland goaltender Andrea Braendli put together a standout performance in net, with the former Ohio State standout saving 45 total shots — including stopping a barrage of 35 shots through the first two periods before the US hammered in three goals to open the third.
"Switzerland's goalie was awesome. She had some kind of force field going back there," US head coach John Wroblewski said. "We just needed to take a deep breath."
Up next for the USA is Tuesday's highly anticipated tilt against rival Canada — a matchup largely considered to be a gold-medal game preview between the only two nations to ever top the Olympic women's hockey podium.
Although Canada will bring their own spotless 2026 Olympics record to Tuesday's ice, the future is now uncertain for the reigning champs after team captain Marie-Philip Poulin suffered an apparent lower-body injury in their 5-1 win over Czechia on Monday — leaving the star center officially out of the group-stage rivalry clash.
How to watch USA vs Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics women's hockey tournament
Team USA will battle Canada in round-robin group play at 2:10 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on USA Network.
USA Hockey just keeps getting hotter, blanking Finland 5-0 on Saturday to open the 2026 Winter Olympics on a 2-0 group-stage run.
Five-time Olympian and team captain Hilary Knight tied the US Olympic women's goal record with her 14th career tally in Saturday's win, with Alex Carpenter, Taylor Heise, Abbey Murphy, and Megan Keller also adding to the scoresheet.
"I just love scoring and just the pure elation of finding the back of the net," the 36-year-old said postgame. "It's pure excitement and it's fun to celebrate."
As a team, the US overwhelmingly outshot Finland 49-11, bringing the Stateside squad to a total of 18 straight Olympic wins against non-Canada opponents — a streak dating back nearly 20 years.
Unbeaten Team USA will next take on one-loss Switzerland on Monday afternoon, with the US looking to stay perfect ahead of Tuesday's showdown with rival Canada.
The pair last faced off in April, when the US downed the Swiss 5-0 at the 2025 IIHF World Championship — with Knight claiming the all-time Worlds assist record in the process.
Switzerland enters Monday's matchup on a split record, opening with a 4-3 shootout win over Czechia on Friday before losing their second group-stage clash 4-0 to Canada.
How to watch USA Hockey vs Switzerland tonight
Team USA faces off against Switzerland at 2:40 PM ET on Monday, airing live on USA Network.
Tennis's biggest names have hit highs and lows down under over the weekend, with stars like Coco Gauff seeing mixed results at the 2026 United Cup as the annual Australian Open team tune-up tournament heads into its knockout rounds.
World No. 4 Coco Gauff and the reigning champion Team USA are through to the quarterfinals, joined by top WTA competitor and No. 11 Belinda Bencic of Team Switzerland.
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Czechia, and Greece also punched their tickets to the knockouts, with Tuesday night's final group-stage bout deciding whether No. 2 Iga Świątek and Team Poland or Team Germany will claim the final spot in the quarterfinals.
Thus far in the team competition, however, Gauff has experienced a particularly up-and-down tournament, suffering her first-ever United Cup singles defeat on Monday against No. 42 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain after causing a stir with her postmatch comments.
"I feel like we're definitely, in tennis, the worst," she told reporters before the singles showdown. "I've always said I wish our country in other places would show up throughout the world as we see smaller countries support."
After taking some heat, the 21-year-old later clarified her position on social media, writing "Trust me I understand the financial aspect of things and know tennis is not accessible for everyone, it was more of a comment for those who are already attending and how I wish they were as passionate as those from other countries."
How to watch Gauff and Team USA at the 2026 United Cup
Gauff will look to return to form against No. 51 Maria Sakkari when Team USA kicks off the 2026 United Cup quarterfinals against Team Greece at 9 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on the Tennis Channel.
The UEFA Women's Euro 2025 locked in the semifinals over the weekend, with world No. 2 Spain, No. 3 Germany, No. 5 England, and No. 13 Italy all advancing past fierce quarterfinals to secure a spot in the tournament's final four.
The only quarterfinal decided by more than one goal was Spain's 2-0 Friday victory over No. 23 Switzerland, while Italy's 2-1 thriller against No. 16 Norway narrowly avoided extra time last week.
Both England's Thursday battle with No. 6 Sweden and Germany's Saturday clash with No. 10 France needed seven rounds of penalties to determine a winner, with the prevailing nations mounting steep comebacks to punch their semifinal tickets.
"I really had a sense throughout the game, even when we were down, that it wasn't our time to go," England defender Esme Morgan said of her team's poise after falling behind 2-0 early in the match.
Penalty kicks have remained a hot topic throughout this year's tournament, with players converting just 24 of 41 attempts across the competition so far — a well below-average rate of 58.5%.
With a combined nine missed penalties on Thursday, England and Sweden's 36% conversion marked the worst rate in Women's Euro history.
Also making unflattering tournament history this weekend was Germany, who became the first Women's Euro team on record to register a comeback win after seeing a player sent off, following defender Kathrin Hendrich's 13th-minute straight red card offense.
How to watch the 2025 Euro semifinals
The 2025 Euro semifinals begin with England facing Italy on Tuesday before Germany takes on Spain on Wednesday.
Both matches kick off at 3 PM ET on their respective days, with live coverage on Fox.
The 2025 Euro quarterfinals kick off on Wednesday, with the eight remaining contenders sitting just three wins away from becoming champions of Europe.
While every win-or-go-home game promises excitement, a few of this week's matchups hold extra intrigue:
- No. 16 Norway vs. No. 13 Italy, Wednesday at 3 PM ET (FOX): After winning Group A last week, a wobbly yet talented Norway side will kick off the 2025 Euro quarterfinals against second-place Group B team Italy — a squad with a proven ability to hit a counterpunch should they go down early.
- No. 6 Sweden vs. No. 5 England, Thursday at 3 PM ET (FOX): Sweden looked utterly dominant in their 4-1 dismantling of Germany to win Group C on Saturday, and their reward is a date with the reigning champions, who bounced back from an early loss to France.
- No. 2 Spain vs. No. 23 Switzerland, Friday at 3 PM ET (FOX): The 2023 World Cup champs have looked like the favorites to win it all by cruising through Group B, while a stoppage-time goal last Thursday sent the tournament hosts to their first-ever Euro quarterfinal.
- No. 10 France vs. No. 3 Germany, Saturday at 3 PM ET (FOX): France emerged unscathed from the notorious "Group of Death," earning the Group D winners an advantage of momentum over a German side reeling from their 4-1 group-stage loss to Sweden.
Last weekend solidified the 2025 Euro quarterfinals, as eight of the region's top teams escaped a competitive group stage to sit just three wins away from becoming European Champions.
World No. 16 Norway emerged as the Group A winner with three straight wins, with host No. 23 Switzerland joining them by advancing from the Euro group stage for the first time in history.
The Swiss booked their quarterfinal spot thanks to a last-gasp goal by midfielder Riola Xhemaili in Thursday's 1-1 draw with No. 26 Finland, giving them a narrow goal differential to advance in Group A's second place.
Speaking of goal differential, No. 2 Spain cruised through by outscoring their opponents 14 to three in their trio of Group B wins.
Despite falling 3-1 to La Roja on Friday, No. 13 Italy secured their position in the 2025 Euro quarterfinals with four groups points — just ahead of No. 20 Belgium's three points.
Though Group C's frontrunners advanced before taking the pitch for their final first-round match, No. 6 Sweden handed second-place No. 3 Germany their largest defeat in tournament history on Saturday, dominating the Germans 4-1 and raising the stakes entering this week's knockouts.
Elsewhere, a dramatic opening round saw the Group D leaders more than survive the "Group of Death," as both stage-winners No. 10 France and No. 5 England emphatically booked their quarterfinal spots with massive victories on Sunday.
While the defending Euro champs staged a 6-1 goal-fest against UK rivals No. 30 Wales to advance, Les Bleues overcame a 2-1 halftime deficit to sink the No. 11 Netherlands 5-2 on Sunday, taking the lead with an astounding three goals in six minutes — including a brace from San Diego Wave attacker Delphine Cascarino.
How to watch the 2025 Euro quarterfinals
The eight quarterfinalists have a short break to celebrate and prepare, as their 2025 Euro slate is wiped clean before the knockouts begin on Wednesday.
Each 2025 Euro quarterfinal will take the pitch on consecutive days, with all matches kicking off at 3 PM ET:
- Wednesday: No. 16 Norway vs. No. 13 Italy
- Thursday: No. 6 Sweden vs. No. 5 England
- Friday: No. 2 Spain vs. No. 23 Switzerland
- Saturday: No. 10 France vs. No. 3 Germany
Live coverage will air across Fox Sports platforms.
The third and final round of 2025 Euro group-stage matches begins on Thursday, when some teams will battle for survival while other tournament frontrunners rest easy having already secured their spots in the knockouts.
Of the competition's 16 teams, four punched their tickets to the quarterfinals in their second matches, with four others conceding elimination.
World No. 16 Norway led the charge to the European Championship knockouts, becoming the first team to advance by topping Group A last Sunday.
No. 2 Spain followed suit with a dominant 6-2 Monday win over No. 20 Belgium to top Group B, while No. 3 Germany and No. 6 Sweden wrapped up Group C by notching their second Euro wins on Tuesday.
On the other hand, Belgium, No. 12 Denmark, No. 14 Iceland, and No. 27 Poland saw their 2025 Euro hopes end this week, as two losses plus other group results snuffed out any chance to advance.
The remaining third group-play matches will now decide the second Group A and B teams to make the quarterfinals, with host No. 23 Switzerland and surprise contender No. 26 Finland squaring off for the Group A spot on Thursday.
While No. 13 Italy can lock up a knockout berth with a win or a draw against Spain on Friday, No. 22 Portugal is not out of the Group B running just yet — though their path to advance is tough, requiring an Italy loss plus a high-scoring win over Belgium.
"Group of Death" comes down to final day of group play
The 2025 Euro's notorious "Group of Death" still has everything to play for, as all four teams in the hyper-competitive Group D could still technically advance — though some have wildly clearer paths than others.
No. 10 France sits in the lead with six points, while defending champions No. 5 England and the No. 11 Netherlands will go into Group D's third matchday on Sunday tied with three points apiece.
The Dutch have arguably the toughest task on Sunday, likely needing a goal-heavy win over Les Bleues to keep their Euro dream alive, while a draw would see France secure their quarterfinal spot.
After saving their back-to-back title campaign with a 4-0 thumping of the Netherlands on Wednesday, the Lionesses will face No. 30 Wales to close out the group stage, advancing with a defeat of their UK rivals plus either a goal differential lead over the Dutch or a Netherlands loss.
"We bounced back from the previous game and showed we were more than capable [of] showing the world what we can do," England goalscorer Lauren James told the BBC after Wednesday's win.
As for the Euro debutants, Wales saw Seattle Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock score their first major tournament goal in team history in their Wednesday loss to France, keeping spirits high despite trailing in Group D with two tournament losses.
That said, a massive Sunday win over England plus a French implosion against the Dutch could statistically, if improbably, see the Dragons sneak through.
All in all, the 2025 Euro group stage has presented mostly straightforward results in the early stages, but there's still room for a few more twists and turns before the knockouts.
How to watch the final 2025 Euro group-stage matches
Each group will take the 2025 Euro pitch for their final first-round matches on consecutive days.
All matches will kick off at 3 PM ET:
- Thursday, Group A: No. 26 Finland vs. No. 23 Switzerland, No. 16 Norway vs. No. 14 Iceland
- Friday, Group B: No. 22 Portugal vs. No. 20 Belgium, No. 13 Italy vs. No. 2 Spain
- Saturday, Group C: No. 27 Poland vs. No. 12 Denmark, No. 6 Sweden vs. No. 3 Germany
- Sunday, Group D: No. 5 England vs. No. 30 Wales, No. 11 Netherlands vs. No. 10 France
Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.