defeats

World number one Aryna Sabalenka edges Coco Gauff in a tense three-set final to claim the ‘Sunshine Double’ in Florida.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka beat hometown favourite Coco Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the Miami Open final on Saturday to ⁠join an exclusive club by completing the coveted “Sunshine Double”.

Top-seeded Sabalenka, who reached the final without dropping a set, won 73 percent of her first-serve points and faced just two break points en ⁠route to victory in a rematch of the 2025 French Open final won by Gauff.

Sabalenka is only the fifth woman to win the Indian Wells and Miami titles back-to-back, a feat known as the “Sunshine Double”, given the tournaments’ respective locations in California and Florida.

“I want to start with [Coco]. You’re a fighter, and you also ‌push me so hard to be a better player, and I like our rivalry,” Sabalenka, who improved to 7-6 all-time versus Gauff, said during the trophy ceremony.

Sabalenka raced out to a 2-0 lead, but Gauff, from nearby Delray Beach and appearing in her first Miami final, got on the board with a love hold and then repelled three break points in her next service game to get within 3-2.

But Sabalenka did not lose focus and eventually went up a double break ⁠on the world number four before closing out a dominant opening on her ⁠serve.

There was very little to separate the two players in the middle set, which remained on serve until Gauff broke Sabalenka for the only time in the match to force a third set. Sabalenka broke Gauff to open the decider, held ⁠at love in two consecutive service games to go 5-3 up and then sealed the victory with her fourth break of the match when Gauff ⁠sent a backhand wide.

Sabalenka is the first player to win back-to-back ⁠Miami titles since Ash Barty in 2019 and 2021. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Belarusian joins Iga Swiatek (2022), Victoria Azarenka (2016), Kim Clijsters (2005) and Steffi Graf (1994, 1996) as the only women to complete the Sunshine Double.

She also improved to 23-1 on the ‌year, her only loss coming in the Australian Open final at the hands of Elena Rybakina, whom she went on to beat in the Indian Wells final and Miami semifinals.

“Aryna, congratulations. We’ve had many ‌battles, ‌many finals and, yeah, I think you push me to be a better player,” said Gauff. “You’re a great fighter, and hopefully we can play many more. I think we will.”

Sveindís Jónsdóttir scored two goals and Gisele Thompson also scored to lead Angel City to a 3-1 win on the road Saturday over rival Bay FC.

Kennedy Fuller’s long and pinpoint pass found Jónsdóttir who calmly finished on the breakaway for the 1-0 lead in the third minute. Jónsdóttir assisted on Thompson’s goal in the 32nd minute to double Angel City’s lead.

Jónsdóttir scored again in the 54th minute when she headed home Evelyn Shores’ corner kick to make it 3-0.

Taylor Huff scored Bay FC’s lone goal in the 55th minute. The midfielder was later sent off with two yellow cards, both in second-half stoppage time.

Angel City FC defender Savy King played 82 minutes in her first start since suffering a cardiac event during a game on May 9 that led to heart surgery.

The win snapped a nine-match road winless streak for Angel City. Their last win away from BMO Stadium came on May 2 versus Washington Spirit.

The CIF championship was not on the line, but it may as well have been Friday night in the annual boys’ volleyball showdown between Mira Costa and Loyola.

Showing why they entered their grudge match in Manhattan Beach ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the country, two of the Southland’s most storied programs battled for five scintillating sets as the host Mustangs rallied for a 18-25, 26-28, 25-22, 25-22, 15-11 win in an instant classic that lasted over two and a half hours.

Leading the comeback was junior outside hitter Mateo Fuerbringer, who finished with 37 kills, five blocks and three aces. Considered the top recruit in the nation, he committed to UCLA in December.

“They came out hot and we weren’t playing our best,” said Fuerbringer, whose sister Charlie was a setter for Mira Costa and just wrapped up her sophomore season at Wisconsin, leading the Badgers to the Final Four. “We knew if we just stayed with it and played out the game we could win it.”

The Mustangs, who won their ninth Southern Section crown last spring and subsequently captured the inaugural Division I state title in Fresno, notched their 15th consecutive victory and improved to 22-1.

Wyatt Davis, a senior headed to UC Santa Barbara, added 13 kills and seven blocks and senior opposite hitter Enzo Barker pounded nine kills for top-ranked Mira Costa, which leveled the match at two sets on a right-side kill from Fuerbringer.

“We knew they’re a great team,” Davis said of Loyola. “Between sets two and three we made adjustments, guys came off the bench to make key plays, Enzo moved to the outside and we made less errors in the last set. We wanted it more than them.”

Mira Costa’s lone setback came Feb. 21 against Corona del Mar in the Redondo Classic final — a loss the Mustangs avenged four days later. Corona del Mar edged Loyola in the Best of the West semifinals March 7, but Loyola turned the tables on the Sea Kings in nonleague action.

Senior outside hitter and USC signee Blake Fahlbusch led Loyola on Friday with 15 kills and four blocks, senior libero and Loyola Chicago commit Matt Kelly was a whirling dervish on defense, hitter JP Wardy contributed 10 kills and opposite Lucas Posell had nine for the No. 2 Cubs (12-2). Fahlbusch’s brother Thatcher played for Mira Costa and is now a freshman outside hitter at Hawaii.

Mira Costa swept last year’s nonleague meeting at Loyola to end a four-year losing streak to the Cubs, who had handed the Mustangs their first loss in the Best of the West finals. Mira Costa lost only one more match (to Chicago Marist at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions) to finish 37-2 last spring.

The Mustangs are on pace to surpass that win total even after the graduation of Grayson Bradford, now a freshman at UCLA.

“It’s nice having a middle like Wyatt [Davis],” said Mira Costa senior setter Jake Newman, who had 55 assists. “He and Charlie give me great options. It’s a pretty easy concept.”

Loyola holds the section record with 13 titles, the last in 2024 when it beat Mira Costa 25-21, 25-22, 25-21, in the finals behind 15 kills from Sean Kelly, now at UCLA. The teams met three previous times in the finals, Loyola winning in 2005 and 2010 and Mira Costa prevailing in 2012.

“We knew we could do it,” Newman added. “We knew at some point we’d get that spot where we’re playing our best. I started to key in on their blockers to see who was switching on Mateo.”

Coach Greg Snyder, in his third season at Mira Costa, wants to pilot his squad to a repeat but knows it will not be easy.

“The first two sets we were predictable, we were passing poorly, they got us out of system and got a lot of touches on our swings,” Snyder said. “Mateo played great but we were too Mateo-heavy tonight. We have to run that middle because we’re better than them there.”

Snyder fully expects to see Loyola again this season.

“The gym was packed — this got more buildup than when we played them in the finals,” he said. “I felt whoever won tonight should be the No. 1 team in the country and whoever lost should be No. 2.”

Caracas, March 18, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic after defeating the United States 3–2 on Tuesday at LoanDepot Park in Miami. 

The Caribbean nation’s first major international baseball title was secured thanks to a decisive double by Eugenio Suárez that broke a tie in the top of the ninth inning.

“I have no words. Seeing Javier (Sanoja) score on my double in the ninth was the greatest moment of my life. We knew we could do it. Nobody believed in Venezuela, but now we are the champions. This is a celebration for the whole country,” Suárez told Fox Sports after the game.

The United States had tied the score at 2-2 in the eighth inning when Bryce Harper launched a two-run home run against Venezuelan reliever Andrés Machado.

Earlier in the game, a sacrifice fly from Maikel García in the third inning and a home run by Wilyer Abreu in the fifth—off rookie pitcher Nolan McLean—had given Venezuela a 2–0 lead before a crowd of 36,490 people that was heavily in favor of the South American team.

Sports journalist Jason Mackey said he had never witnessed such passionate fan support at a sporting event—not even at the Super Bowl. Venezuela’s victory also sparked spontaneous celebrations in several cities across the country, including the capital, with fireworks displays and caravans blaring horns along the main avenues.

Venezuela finished the tournament with six wins and one loss, the latter coming against the Dominican Republic during the group stage. Before reaching the championship, the Venezuelan squad defeated three-time tournament champion Japan 8–5 in the quarterfinals and Italy 4–2 in the semifinals. 

The tournament’s Most Valuable Player, Maikel García, emphasized that the team’s motivation centered on representing the country. “We didn’t play the final to represent Dominicans or Latinos. We did it for Venezuela. Maybe some people didn’t like that, but the jersey said Venezuela, not Latin America,” he said.

Meanwhile, the US team fielded the most star-studded roster in its history but fell short in its second consecutive final to extend its winless draught to nine years. The Americans had previously lost the 2023 final 3–2 to Japan.

Following the victory, Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared Wednesday a National Day of Jubilation, encouraging people to celebrate in public squares, parks, and sports fields. She also invited the public to attend a large concert titled “Venezuela Triunfa Unida” (“Venezuela Triumphs United”).

For his part, US President Donald Trump used the moment to again suggest that Venezuela could become a US state. “Statehood,” he wrote on his Truth Social account.

In the run-up to the final, Trump had posted a similar message: “Good things have been happening to Venezuela lately. I wonder what this magic is… the 51st state?”

Tuesday’s final happened in the wake of the US’ January 3 military strikes against Caracas and nearby areas that also saw special forces kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. In the two months since, the two countries have fast-tracked a rapprochement and reestablished diplomatic ties. Despite the strong political overtones surrounding the matchup, players and coaches largely avoided commenting on the state of relations between the two nations.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

MIAMI — Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony homered and the United States limited the Dominican Republic’s electric offense to win a thrilling semifinal 2-1 on Sunday and move one win from capturing its second World Baseball Classic championship.

The loaded American roster, led by National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and featuring stars Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge, reached its third straight WBC title game after winning in 2017 and falling to Shohei Ohtani and Japan in 2023. The Americans will face the winner of Monday’s semifinal between Italy and Venezuela in Tuesday’s title game.

The Dominicans reached the semifinals for the first time since winning the WBC title in 2013, but missing the championship was not the goal for a roster that featured six players who finished among the top 10 in MVP voting last year and cruised through the early rounds of this WBC.

They faced their biggest test of the tournament against Skenes (2-0), who gave up one run on six hits through 4 ⅓ innings, and the U.S. bullpen, which held the Dominicans scoreless the rest of the way.

The Dominican Republic threatened in the ninth when Julio Rodríguez drew a walk and advanced to third against Mason Miller. With two outs, Miller struck out Geraldo Perdomo for his second save.

Junior Caminero hit a solo drive off Skenes in the second to give the Dominicans a record 15 homers in the tournament, surpassing the mark set by Mexico in 2009. He finished the tournament hitting .350.

The matchup between the two star-studded lineups didn’t fail to deliver big moments, especially on defense.

Judge got it started in the third with a 95.7-mph laser from right field to get Fernando Tatis Jr. at third. The Yankees’ All-Star then found himself on the other side of a huge defensive play in the fifth when Rodríguez — an inning after being hit on the wrist by a 98-mph fastball from Skenes — scaled the center-field wall to rob Judge of a home run.

Henderson, starting at third base over Alex Bregman, homered off Luis Severino to tie it in the fourth before Anthony hit the go-ahead homer, connecting on a 3-2 sinker from loser Gregory Soto.

INDIAN WELLS — World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka beat Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the Indian Wells final Sunday for her first title at the tournament.

Sabalenka, a runner-up in 2023 and ‘25, finished off the win at the BNP Paribas Open with a big serve that Rybakina hit long. It was a sweltering afternoon on the court as the temperatures soared into the 90s.

The 27-year-old Sabalenka had a chance to close out the third set but was broken at 5-4. Rybakina found herself with a championship point in the tiebreaker, only to have Sabalenka hit a backhand winner.

This marked the 16th time the two players have met, with Sabalenka now holding a 9-7 advantage. Rybakina of Kazakhstan beat Sabalenka at the 2025 WTA Finals championship and the Australian Open two months ago. She also edged Sabalenka in the finals at Indian Wells in 2023.

“What a day,” Sabalenka said after the match.

In the men’s final later Sunday, Daniil Medvedev faces Jannik Sinner, who has won eight of his last nine matches against Medvedev.

HOUSTON — Aaron Judge doubled and Pete Crow-Armstrong and Brice Turang each had two hits as the United States beat Canada 5-3 on Friday night to reach the World Baseball Classic semifinals.

The U.S. squad rebounded after an 8-6 loss to Italy in pool play left them needing help to advance to this round.

The Americans move on to face the Dominican Republic in a semifinal on Sunday in Miami. It will be the team’s third straight appearance in the semifinals and the fourth overall.

It’s another big win for the U.S. over its neighbors to the north, coming after the U.S. hockey team beat Canada 2-1 in overtime to win the gold medal at the Milan Olympics last month.

Bo Naylor hit a two-run homer in Canada’s three-run sixth that cut the deficit to two runs. But the U.S. bullpen closed it out, capped by Mason Miller striking out the side in the ninth for the save.

Canada, which was in the quarterfinals for the first time, fell to 1-5 against the U.S. in the WBC.

Canada trailed by five runs when Owen Caissie walked with one out in the sixth and moved to second on a groundout by Abraham Toro. Tyler Black’s RBI single off Brad Keller cut the lead to 5-1.

Naylor’s shot to the second deck in right field came on Gabe Speier’s fifth pitch and got Canada within 5-3. It was the 10th home run the U.S. has yielded in five games in the tournament.

Canada had a shot to close the gap in the seventh when it had runners on second and third with no outs. But David Bednar retired the next three batters, with two strikeouts, to escape the jam.

U.S. starter Logan Webb gave up four hits and walked one with five strikeouts in 4⅔ innings.

Bobby Witt Jr. was on with one out in the first when Judge doubled before Witt scored on a groundout by Kyle Schwarber to give the U.S. an early lead. The double by Judge was the only extra-base hit of the night for the U.S.

Canada had a runner on first with two outs in the second when Witt made a leaping catch on a ball hit by Edouard Julien to end the inning.

The bases were loaded with two outs in the third when Alex Bregman singled on a groundball to Toro. His throw to first sailed over Josh Naylor’s head and into the dugout and two runs scored to make it 3-0.

Roman Anthony singled with one out in the sixth before a walk by Cal Raleigh. Turang singled on a grounder to center field to score Anthony and push the lead to 4-0. Crow-Armstrong sent the next pitch into center field for an RBI single before Witt grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Two top City Section baseball teams, El Camino Real and San Fernando, faced off Friday in a pitcher’s duel that went eight innings.

Senior Ray Pelayo of San Fernando kept throwing strikes, keeping El Camino Real off balance for 7⅔ scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and one walk. But then came a balk that scored the winning run in El Camino Real’s 1-0 victory.

Hudson December threw six scoreless innings for El Camino Real and Andrew Katzman struck out three in two scoreless innings.

South Torrance 4, El Segundo 3: In a battle of unbeaten Pioneer League teams, South Torrance (6-0) received a walk-off single from Owen Rhodes in the bottom of the seventh. El Segundo tied it 3-3 in the top of the seventh on a two-out, three-run home run by Chase Mattoon. Issac Orozco struck out nine in five innings and also homered for the Spartans.

Crespi 3, Saugus 2: Justin Kim had two RBIs for the Celts.

Sylmar 7, Legacy 1: Rickee Luevano threw a two-hitter with nine strikeouts.

Sierra Canyon 12, West Ranch 1: Isaias Tirado hit a three-run home run and four pitchers combined to give up five hits.

Mater Dei 15, Rockwall-Heath (Texas) 1: Ezekiel Lara had three hits and five RBIs in Texas. Earlier, the Monarchs gave up seven runs in the third inning of an 8-1 loss to Rockwall-Heath.

St. John Bosco 1, Gahr 0: Star closer Jack Champlin got a strikeout to end the game, finishing two shutout innings of relief. Champlin drove in the game’s only run with an RBI double in the sixth inning. Julian Garcia struck out six with no walks in five innings for St. John Bosco.

San Juan Hills 11, Cypress 0: Garrett Gandolfo threw five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and Clay Riggs contributed three RBIs for San Juan Hills.

Santa Margarita 1, Damien 0: Warren Gravely IV had the only RBI in the Eagles’ win. Tyler Unter struck out six in five shutout innings.

Garfield 9, Cleveland 7: Omar Martinez had three hits and Victor Alvarez drove in three runs for Garfield. Joshua Pearlstein finished with three hits for Cleveland.

Palos Verdes 8, West Torrance 0: Kai Van Scoyoc struck out nine in five innings and Asher Friedman had a home run and a double for Palos Verdes.

Valencia 12, Chatsworth 0: An eight-run second inning helped lead the Vikings to a five-inning win.

Bishop Amat 13, Gardena Serra 2: Joaquin Ortiz finished with three hits and four RBIs.

Corona Centennial 19, Eastvale Roosevelt 3: Devin Bishop and Emiliano Castaneda each hit home runs for Centennial. Ethan Miller had a double and triple.

Servite 6, Anaheim Canyon 1: Mickey Cabral went three for four and Cole Grothues struck out three in 2⅓ innings of scoreless relief.

Corona Santiago 5, Crean Lutheran 4: Jonathan Thorton delivered three hits and two RBIs for the Sharks.

Fullerton 1, Chaparral 0: Garrett Wrightman threw four innings of scoreless relief and Caleb Brown had an RBI double in the third inning for Fullerton.

Edison 11, Tesoro 7: Ben Wilson hit a grand slam and finished with five RBIs for Edison.

El Dorado 10, Granada Hills 4: Lorenzo Favela hit a three-run home run to lead El Dorado.

Ayala 7, San Dimas 1: Caleb Trugman struck out nine with zero walks in a complete game.

Loyola 14, Venice 1: Wyatt Clougherty had three hits and Luca Marucci contributed three RBIs for Loyola.

Softball

JSerra 2, Norco 0: In Arizona, the Lions knocked off No. 1-ranked Norco behind Liliana Escobar, who struck out 13 in six innings.

Norco 5, Torrance 0: Coral Williams struck out 10 in six innings. Leighton Gray and Rae Logue hit home runs.

Garden Grove Pacifica 4, Anaheim Canyon 2: Natalia Amezquita had a two-run single for Pacifica, which later defeated Orange Lutheran 6-2.

Orange Lutheran 7, Perry 1: Mia Scott had four RBIs for the Lancers.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 15, Culver City 0: Ellayne Tellez-Perez had three hits and five RBIs.