beats

Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova dismantled Coco Gauff to become the first player to reach the last four of the WTA Finals.

Czech Noskova played with controlled aggression and served brilliantly to beat the American 6-3 6-3.

World number eight Noskova was composed throughout and broke Gauff’s serve four times in the first set alone.

She sent powerful winners to all corners to outmuscle her opponent, who is one of the best movers on the WTA Tour, and committed only one unforced error in a dominant second set.

The 21-year-old fittingly sealed victory with an ace to secure a place in the semi-finals on her tournament debut.

“Thank you guys for the cheers I’m getting now – but it was a little weaker in the match, guys, I’m not going to lie,” Noskova joked to the California crowd afterwards.

“I feel like I stayed in the match through every moment, from beginning to end.”

It is a sixth top-10 victory of the season for Noskova, who won her maiden Grand Slam at Wimbledon in July.

Gauff, who won a thriller against compatriot Jessica Pegula on Sunday, had a poor day on serve.

She hit the same amount of aces and double faults – eight apiece – and won only six of 24 points behind her second serve.

Fourth-ranked Gauff can still qualify for the last four, as can Pegula.

Earlier in group one, Pegula claimed her first win since September to eliminate alternate Marta Kostyuk.

American Pegula won 6-2 7-5 in a scrappy match that saw seven breaks of serve.

Ukraine’s Kostyuk, who has been dealing with a wrist injury since August, only found out she would be playing on Saturday after world number one Elena Rybakina withdrew.

She lost her opener to Noskova on Sunday and struggled for rhythm and consistency in a low-quality match against Pegula.

Pegula made only five unforced errors to Kostyuk’s 17 as she took the first set, and the home favourite quickly went up a break in the second.

However, four breaks of serve then ensued, with Pegula eventually sealing the decisive break at 5-5 before serving out victory.

Elsewhere, Britain’s Toby Samuel fell 6-1 6-4 to world number 25 Lorenzo Musetti in the Basel Open second round.

Sabalenka has had – by her high standards – a strange season.

For the first time since 2022 she has not won a Grand Slam singles title, having lost the Australian Open and US Open finals to Rybakina, and her last title came in Miami in March.

After winning just one of her three matches during the Asian swing, Sabalenka took a break before the season-ending finals.

She faced a tricky task against the crafty Muchova, who was the only player at the event to have a winning head-to-head against her.

The Czech also claimed the first break of the opening set – but, in a pattern that repeated throughout the match, Sabalenka broke straight back.

Muchova served for the first set but a string of errors forced her into a tie-break, and more mistakes gifted Sabalenka the opener.

A topsy-turvy second set featured five breaks of serve, with Sabalenka serving the match out on her second attempt.

Teenager Andreeva, who beat Sabalenka in the 2025 Indian Wells final, was ruthless against Svitolina.

The Russian reeled off seven games in a row against the wayward Svitolina, backed by her impressive backhand.

Andreeva saved all six break points she faced – four of which came in the final game – and hit nine winners to 12 unforced errors in a 77-minute victory.

Elsewhere, Britain’s Cameron Norrie beat Australian James Duckworth 7-5 6-0 to reach the Stockholm Open second round.

Norrie will face top seed Taylor Fritz next as he continues his preparations for this month’s Davis Cup Finals.

Fellow Briton Toby Samuel claimed a 6-3 6-2 win over Leo Borg – son of 11-time Grand Slam singles champion Bjorn – at the same event.

Upon hammering her 19th kill on a cross-court attack, Westley Matavao leaped into the arms of her teammates to celebrate Mater Dei’s 24-26, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23 triumph over Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 girls’ volleyball final Saturday night at Cerritos College.

Having avenged a loss in the section finals last season, the Monarchs’ next goal is to defend their state championship, and they will be the top seed when the Southern California Regional Open Division bracket is released Sunday.

Westley Matavao goes on the attack for Mater Dei against Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 girls’ volleyball championship match on Nov. 7, 2026.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“This season it’s important for us to win everything because I’ve been here all four years, this is my last one and I wasn’t going to take losing as an answer,” said Matavao, a senior outside hitter headed to UCLA.

The Monarchs (39-1) have dealt Sierra Canyon (32-2) its only losses this season and the top two programs in the nation could meet for a third time, but for now Mater Dei reigns supreme after earning its second section title in three years. It swept the Trailblazers in the finals two years ago.

Freshman Jimin Seung had 14 kills, Cal-bound middle blocker Emma Kingston had 11 kills and sophomore libero Sienna Cicero finished with a match-high 23 digs, diving all over the floor to keep points alive.

“It was definitely tougher this time around — over half of them are high Division I level players — so you can’t underestimate a team like that,” Cicero said. “Our blockers played great and funneled the ball perfectly for me. My mentality is we’re going to win no matter what.”

Mater Dei beat Sierra Canyon, 25-18, 25-17, in the gold division final at the Durango Fall Classic in September before suffering its only loss to Trinity League rival Santa Margarita 11 days later.

Katherine Nowak, center, celebrates a kill with Mater Dei teammates Jael Smith, left, and Riley Stringer against Sierra Canyon in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 final on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Sierra Canyon trailed by seven points midway through the first set but rallied to take an 18-17 lead on an ace by McKenna McIntosh, who blasted through a left-side block on the Trailblazers’ first set point. McIntosh, a hitter headed to USC, finished with 10 kills and 19 digs and Nebraska-bound middle blocker Kendall Omoruyi had a match-high 22 kills.

The Monarchs were clinging to a 21-20 lead in the second set when Matavao took control, hammering spikes for her team’s last four points. An ace by Kalea Lee gave Mater Dei a 21-19 lead in the third set and another by Matavao had the Trinity League champions one set away from victory.

Lee (22 assists) and fellow setter Riley Stringer (25 assists) ran the Monarchs’ offense with precision and Matavao, the cousin of Trailblazers setter Lucky Fasavalu, who is committed to Missouri, added 14 digs.

Sierra Canyon’s Kendall Omoruyi hits over Mater Dei blockers Emma Kingston, center, and Jimin Seung in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Concentrating on the task at hand, Matavao said the two did not talk before the match.

“I’m grateful to be part of this team,” Matavao said. “We did all this together.”

In the preceding Division 2 final, Long Beach Poly trailed 14-12 in the fifth set before reeling off the last four points to beat Redondo Union, 25-19, 20-25, 25-18, 23-25, 16-14. It marked the second section title in three seasons for the Jackrabbits, who won the Division 3 title in 2024.

Avery Milburn had 18 kills for second-seeded Poly (29-7) and blocked the Sea Hawks’ top hitter, Asofiafia So’oto, on match point.

“I could see her approach going angle and I knew I had to get my right hand on it and make it the best block ever,” said Milburn, who got a kill to thwart the first of the Sea Hawks’ two chances to end it.

Long Beach Poly’s Alison Wetteland plays a ball at the net in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 girls’ volleyball final against Redondo Union on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

McKennah Iamaleava had 29 kills, 15 digs and two aces and teamed with Alison Wetteland for a block to level the final set at 14-14. Mina Orbiso finished with 32 assists, Cedra Talaga had 20 digs and Aleeya Salima added 18 kills and seven digs for Poly.

So’oto had 17 kills, Abigail Hairrell had 11 kills and Leah Blair had nine kills and 14 digs and Addison Uphoff had five blocks, including one to end the fourth set for Redondo Union (22-12), which had upset No. 1-seeded Newport Harbor in the quarterfinals and No. 4 San Juan Hills in the semifinals.

In the Division 3 final, Corona del Mar outlasted Newbury Park 24-26, 25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 15-13 to capture its first section title in 22 years and the eighth in program history.

Corona del Mar’s Sofia Dajnowiec, right, tips the ball over two Newbury Park blockers in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 girls’ volleyball championship on Saturday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

“I’m glad I was able to score that final point,” said senior outside hitter Sofia Dajnowiec, who pounded her 36th kill to end the match. “To win this means everything, it’s the best thing that could happen. We really worked hard in practice and stuck together as a team.”

Isabella Spinella dished out 44 assists, Savannah Dennis had 14 kills and 18 digs, Olivia Rosowski had 25 digs and Dajnowiec added 17 digs for the Sea Kings (26-9), who served 13 aces.

Charley Knupp had 18 kills and 15 digs, Emmery Reynolds had 10 kills and 10 digs, Olena Harasymowycz added 29 digs and Keira Overbeck handed out 32 assists for the Panthers (34-10), who were making their second finals appearance in three seasons, having lost the Division 4 title match to Campbell Hall in 2024.

Taft takes City Section Open Division title

Making its fourth finals appearance in five seasons, Taft defeated West Valley League rival Cleveland in five thrilling sets at Birmingham High to claim the Open Division championship — its seventh City title under coach Arman Mercado since he took over the program in 2000.

The fourth-seeded Toreadors (34-7) avenged two league losses to the third-seeded Cavaliers (31-12), who were vying for their first section crown after going 10-0 in the West Valley League to capture their first outright league title since 2004.

Mercado piloted the Toreadors to the City championship in 2006, the Invitational title in 2008, Division II titles in 2009, 2013 and 2014 and their first Open Division championship in 2024.

Second-seeded Granada Hills Kennedy upset top-seeded Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in four sets in the Division I final.

Former cruiserweight world champion Chris Billam-Smith was knocked down and stopped for the first time in his career as Chev Clarke won their all-British non-title fight on Saturday.

Londoner Clarke landed a big right hand at the start of the seventh round and although Billam-Smith beat the count, he was down again moments later after a barrage of punches.

The contest was allowed to continue but the Bournemouth fighter looked unsteady on his legs and when Clarke connected with two more blows, the referee stepped in.

Billam-Smith immediately protested against the decision, while Clarke stood in the middle of the ring shrugging his shoulders.

Clarke moves to 13 wins with two defeats and inflicts the third professional defeat for Billam-Smith who also lost to Gilberto Ramirez in 2024 and Richard Riakporhe in 2019.

“I do what champions do,” said Clarke, who also beat Billam-Smith when they met in the amateur ranks a decade ago.

“I’m happy. Arsenal won and I won. My training camp was good and you saw that in the ring. I’ll take all-comers going forward.”

The likes of heavyweight Johnny Fisher, Traitors star King Kenny and strongman Eddie Hall were all spotted watching on from ringside in a Copper Box arena that was far from full, with just the lower tier of seats open for fans.

After a slow start to the contest with lots of holding, Clarke looked the sharper man as he landed some clean shots on the former world champion.

In the second round, the Londoner landed a big overhand right to the side of Billam-Smith’s head. Clarke also connected in the third round with a big uppercut and an overhand right that snapped back Billam-Smith’s head.

The former world champion, struggling to find his rhythm, was caught by another uppercut before Billam-Smith responded with a short right hook that made Clarke stumble back to his corner.

But in the seventh round Clarke broke Billam-Smith down, scoring two quick knockdowns before the referee intervened.

Fight promoter Dana White said after the fight that he felt the decision to stop the fight might have been a little premature.

Carlos Alcaraz powered to a straight-set win over Alex de Minaur to win the Vienna Open and maintain his perfect record in ATP 500 events this year.

The Spanish second seed triumphed 6-1 6-4 in 87 minutes for his 16th straight win at that level in 2026.

Alcaraz has won 26 straight matches at ATP 500 events – a run that goes back to the 2025 Barcelona Open, where he lost to Holger Rune.

The 23-year-old’s run this year includes titles in Doha and Tokyo.

“I tried to be aggressive and show him that if he wants to win, he has to play better, more aggressive, more solid, and be smarter than me,” said Alcaraz.

“I’m just really happy that at the end I found my way, played great, and obviously it has been a really emotional and amazing week for me.”

Scoring 44 points in a league championship decider is usually enough to secure victory — but not against Mission Viejo.

The Diablos beat San Juan Hills 54-44 in an epic Orange County shootout to secure its third consecutive Alpha League crown, buoyed by a bevy of explosive plays.

It started in the first quarter as senior running back Carson Vandermade, who returned after missing the last two games, scored two touchdowns. He finished the game with 121 yards, including a big 52-yard run down the sideline, and three touchdowns but did not return for the fourth quarter.

His counterpart, senior Jack Junker, gained 132 yards, including a 28-yarder, and two touchdowns as the Diablos’ rushing attack dominated. Every time Vandermade and Junker took handoffs, there was a gift waiting. The offensive line — which has four players either committed to or with offers to Division I colleges — opened up huge running lanes.

Junior center Max Davidson attributed the group’s success to a deep camaraderie and hard work.

“It comes down to all the time that we put in together,” he said. “It comes down to the chemistry that we have between the five of us up front. We work together really well and that shows in all our games.”

Mission Viejo High center Max Davidson is all smiles after the Diablos won the Alpha League title with a 54-44 victory over San Juan Hills on Friday night.

(Caleb Otte / For The Times)

Sophomore quarterback Brett Burnor also got in on the rushing action, with 30 yards and two touchdowns. He had a solid night through the air, connecting on nine of his 12 passes for 188 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Burnor had four passes that went for more than 30 yards and connected most often with senior wide receiver Luke Karby, a Duke commit who had 122 yards on five receptions and made multiple contested catches. Karby also threw a two-point conversion to Burnor, in a quick role reversal, in the second quarter.

Mission Viejo coach Chad Johnson said before kickoff that the game would be decided by explosive plays, and he wanted to limit the opponent’s electric moments.

“Every game, San Juan Hills has six to 10 explosive plays on offense that are 40- to 60-yard chunk plays,” he said.

The Diablos allowed San Juan Hills to stay within fighting distance via those big gains that Johnson warned against. While the home team never trailed, San Juan Hills cut the score to 47-44 midway through the fourth quarter after an improbable onside kick recovery. Senior kicker Trevor Koko continued an impressive season with a looping ball that Mission Viejo wasn’t able to field, breathing life into a potential comeback. A quick touchdown drive ensued that made the final minutes extra nervy for the Diablos.

Ultimately, the rushing attack killed the clock and clinched the win by grabbing one more touchdown on an 11-yarder by Junker with 40 seconds to play.

San Juan Hills backup quarterback Parker Armstrong was given the reins to let the ball loose by coach Robert Frith. He completed 27 of 37 passes for 343 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. His longest of the night came on a quick dump down to senior wide receiver commit Luke Frith, a Texas State commit who took it 80 yards for a touchdown. Another long score came on a slant route to senior wide receiver Cooper Chila who broke multiple tackles to take it 57-yards to the house.

Those plays summed up much of the game for the Stallions. Athletic players making big plays, and never giving up on the game. San Juan Hills lost, but it never gave up.

Frith’s constant messaging to the players clearly got through.

The Stallions’ coach said he always tells the team: “When that ball snaps, it is seven seconds of everything you’ve got.”

The game was a high octane battle, but there will be a lot to parse through in the film room, especially for Mission Viejo. In the midst of the barnstorming action, the victors had three bad snaps on extra points and 18 penalties, including six personal foul calls.

Johnson lamented what he called poor officiating after the game but also told his team that the errors needed to be cleaned up by next week’s playoff opener. Mission Viejo likely qualified for the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs with this the win, and will learn of its opponent on Sunday. San Juan Hills will finish the regular season with two losses and wait to see if it makes the Division 2 playoffs.

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For the 15th time in the last 16 years, Palisades and Granada Hills met for the City Section Open Division girls’ tennis championship Wednesday afternoon.

For the second year in a row, Palisades came out on top, winning eight of nine doubles sets (each worth one and a half points) in the round-robin format on its way to a 20-9.5 victory at Balboa Sports Center in Encino.

It was the 31st City title for the top-seeded Dolphins (21-5), who clinched the championship when their No. 1 doubles team of Remy Trepanier and Penelope Mihal beat the Highlanders’ No. 3 duo of Nicole Khachatourians and Sammi Cho 6-1 to earn Palisades’ 15th point

“We lost our top seven players from last year but these girls worked hard and improved,” Palisades coach Robert Silvers said. “I’m really proud of them.”

Palisades and Granada Hills have combined to win the last 25 upper division crowns (14 by Palisades and 11 by Granada Hills) and since the debut of the Open Division in 2017, Palisades has won the four-team bracket seven times and Granada Hills three.

Mihal and Trepanier dropped only five games in three sets, the Dolphins’ No. 2 pair of Brienne Dominguez and Nina Arasteh swept 7-5, 6-4, 6-1 and the third tandem of McKenna Adham and Sonia Shirley sandwiched a pair of 6-4 wins around a 6-3 defeat to the Highlanders’ No.1 team of Iris Huang and Christina Surmabukian.

Granada Hills High’s No. 2 singles player Ayah Vilien hits a forehand return Wednesday at Balboa Sports Center.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

The schools split the 16 singles sets (each worth one point). The Dolphins’ No. 1 player Aila Monahan and No. 2 player Charlie Roberts each won three sets before being subbed out for the last round with a second straight title already secure.

Palisades ended Granada Hills’ three-peat bid with a 25-4.5 finals win last fall.

“We expect to play Pali in the finals every year and it’s always a good match,” Granada Hills coach Troy Aiken said.