WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's Elina Svitolina staged a remarkable comeback to defeat world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in three sets on Friday, securing a place in the semifinals of the WTA Finals, while Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva wrapped up the group stage with a perfect record.Sixth-ranked Svitolina recovered from an early break in the deciding set to overpower Sabalenka 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, claiming her second victory in eight career meetings with the Belarusian.I feel now I'm also a different player in a way because I'm playing more aggressive. I try to go a little bit more for my shots, Svitolina said.After dropping her serve in the opening game of the third set, Svitolina quickly turned the match around, reeling off six consecutive games to seal the win. Sabalenka saved three match points in the final game, but Svitolina held her nerve, producing two aces before finishing the contest with a powerful forehand winner.The defeat brought an underwhelming end to Sabalenka's WTA Finals campaign. Despite winning three titles during the season, including the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments in March, she ended the year without a Grand Slam crown after finishing runner-up at both the Australian Open and the US Open. She also surrendered her world No. 1 ranking to Elena Rybakina.Earlier on Friday, Andreeva produced a commanding performance to defeat compatriot Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-1, completing the group stage with three wins from three matches.The 19-year-old, who won the French Open earlier this year, dropped just 11 games across her three group matches to finish atop Group 2.Before the tournament started, I was stressed -- I was afraid that I wouldn't win a match in the group, and now you see how it turned out. It is very nice, said Andreeva.Shnaider, who entered the singles draw as a late replacement for the injured Karolina Muchova, made her WTA Finals singles debut.Andreeva will meet American Jessica Pegula while Svitolina takes on Wimbledon champion L...

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has confirmed that striker Mikel Oyarzabal and winger Lamine Yamal will join the squad ahead of Sunday's decisive UEFA Nations League group-stage match at home to England. Spain won 2-0 away to the Czech Republic on Thursday without the attacking duo. Yamal had

As the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games prepare to draw to a close on Friday, the organizing committee has announced that the closing ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. local time in the Athletes' Village, with strict limits on media access. The Youth Olympic Games closing ceremony is primarily a

Senegal football captain Kalidou Koulibaly has praised the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games as a landmark event for Africa, saying hosting the first Olympic sporting event on the continent was an important opportunity to showcase Senegal and Africa to the world. "It was very important to me. It's the

Ghana scored either side of halftime in a 2-0 home victory over Somalia in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nationsqualifiers on Thursday. Ghana was awarded a penalty in the 13th minute after Alidu Seidu was brought down inside the penalty area, but captain Jordan Ayew failed to convert it.The Black Stars

Greece's Evangelos Kyriazakos won the men's windsurfing gold medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Thursday, overcoming a lengthy weather-related delay on the final day of competition. The 15-year-old won 10 of the 14 races, never placing lower than fourth, to secure a commanding victory

India celebrated a double triumph as boxing awarded 10 gold medals at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Thursday, with Gunjan Gunjan and Ambekar Meetei Lairenlakpam winning the women's 48kg and men's 50kg titles respectively. Gunjan dominated Algeria's Bouthaina Bensalah 5-0 in the final, while

Zimbabwe's Ropafadzo Mzondo received a hero's welcome upon his return to Harare on Thursday, two days after winning the country's first-ever Youth Olympic Games gold medal in athletics at Dakar 2026. The 17-year-old made history by claiming the men's 200m title on Tuesday, becoming Zimbabwe's first

When Emanuel Otalvaro first picked up a table tennis racket at age 4, he could barely see over the edge of the table. His parents built him a wooden platform so he could stand high enough to play. Twelve years later, the Colombian teenager stood on the podium at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, a

Women's beach handballer Liu Congrui and men's breaking athlete Cui Shengyu will serve as flagbearers at the closing ceremony of the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games, the Chinese delegation announced on Friday.

Cote d'Ivoire consolidated its position at the top of Group C in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with a 2-1 home win over Gambia on Thursday. Malick Yalcouye opened the scoring for Cote d'Ivoire in the 17th minute and Elye Wahi doubled the lead seven minutes later. Musa Barrow pulled one

China's Wang Jia'en struggled to find a way past Egypt's Menatalla Ibrahim in their women's 60kg boxing quarterfinal at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games, repeatedly shifting her weight and searching for an opening.

Jessica Pegula saved a match point to beat Linda Noskova 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-5 on Thursday and reach the WTA Finals semifinals in Indian Wells, while fellow American Coco Gauff failed to survive the group despite a win over Marta Kostyuk.

DOHA, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) --The Dominican Republic will play the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar following the United States' withdrawal, FIFA announced on Thursday.Football's global governing body confirmed that the U.S. had withdrawn from the tournament due to security concerns in the Middle

China's Pan Qimiao claimed the women's individual sabre title with a 15-10 win over top seed Jeon Yuju of South Korea at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Thursday.