Sports
U.S. Open mixed doubles final sees Karolína Muchová and Jakub Menšík take $1M prize
NEW YORK — The 2026 U.S. Open has its first champions.
Karolína Muchová and Jakub Menšík, the maroon-clad Czech team that got a last-minute wild-card entry into the mixed doubles competition, walked away with the title late Wednesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Czechs overpowered Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Flavio Cobolli in a match tiebreak to win the $1 million first prize as the clock ticked toward midnight — when most of the capacity crowd of 24,000 had gone home. With a 6-3, 1-6, 10-6 win, the Czechs took home their maiden Grand Slam titles, the status the U.S. Open’s reimagined mixed doubles retains despite its divergence from just about every norm of tennis from start to finish.
“Our outfits made a difference tonight,” Muchová said when it was over.
For a second consecutive year, the new event delivered a mix of successes and shortcomings.
The crowds that flooded the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center the past two days lapped it up, especially Day 1. So many of the biggest stars in the sport were in the field then, led by Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka.
They were joined by some of the best doubles players in the world, setting up the compelling matchups that fans wanted to see.
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The USTA even got its overriding wish for the event this year. All four teams that made the semifinals Wednesday featured top singles players, after Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the Italian doubles stars who won the title in its original form in 2024, last year took down singles pair after singles pair to retain their title.
This year, the Italians went out in the first round. That said, the singles A-listers were gone after the quarterfinals this time round.
The sentimental favorites, the husband-and-wife duo of Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils, fell in the semifinals Wednesday evening, losing a match-deciding tiebreak to Cobolli and Bencic, who came back from a set down.
Muchová and Menšík saved 2 match points in their own semifinal-deciding tiebreak to topple Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev, whose vigor and vibes won the crowd but not the match.
Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli could not complete a comeback from a set down. (Caleb Bowlin / Getty Images)
Menšík, the 20-year-old serving machine, used his size and wingspan to take over the court down the stretch. He and Muchová, the 30-year-old who reached the Wimbledon final last month, did the same early against Bencic and Cobolli.
But just as he did in the semifinal against Monfils and Svitolina, Cobolli sloughed off some early errors and came alive, roping forehands across the court like the player who plowed into the French Open singles final in June.
As Cobolli lifted his game, Bencic lifted hers. She ripped a forehand return on a deciding point to get her team back into the match. They reeled off the next three games, and all of a sudden the evening had its third match-deciding tiebreak in as many matches.
Just like last year, the two semis and the final lasted five hours. Most of the packed crowd that had created so much of the buzz early in the evening had decided more than an hour before they had seen enough.
There seems to be a flaw in a schedule that has the fewest people watching the most important match. When it’s done, there are another 10 minutes spent on setting up a stage in the middle of the court to prepare for an awards ceremony. By then, all but a few hundred of the fans were gone or heading for the exits.
Don’t tell that to Muchová and Menšík, though. This setup suited them just as well as their singles games suit doubles, Menšík with his ripped serve and Muchová with her control at the net. With a blasted ace from Menšík on championship point, the trophy was just a short wait away after a long night.
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British heavyweight Moses Itauma fights Filip Hrgovic on Saturday for the vacant IBF world heavyweight title. If he wins the fight, Itauma will become the youngest heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson, and says the “expectations” are there for him to carry the flag for British boxing.
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Sports
Tottenham 5-1 Charlton: Jamie Redknapp praises Savio after goalscoring debut as Roberto De Zerbi challenges new signing | Football News
Jamie Redknapp says Savio “lit up the place” on his Tottenham debut, but Roberto De Zerbi has challenged his latest signing to reach new heights after his stunning start to life at the club.
Savio, who joined the club on Tuesday in an £85m move from Manchester City, instantly made himself a fan favourite just over 24 hours after his arrival by scoring and grabbing an assist during a 20-minute cameo in Spurs’ 5-1 Carabao Cup win over Charlton.
The Brazilian brought excitement and flair with every touch, and despite only scoring once in the Premier League last season, showed some much-needed end product for a Tottenham team who netted just 48 times themselves.
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Highlights of the Carabao Cup match between Tottenham Hotspur and Charlton Athletic.
His brilliant introduction earned praise from former Tottenham midfielder Redknapp, who claimed the 22-year-old was exactly the type of spark fans want at the club.
“He lit the place up,” Redknapp said post-match.
“This is what Tottenham want. Players like that who can get you off your seat. Who can cut inside and hit a ferocious left footed shot. He was excellent.”
However, despite making an immediate impression, Spurs boss De Zerbi challenged his new man to take the next step.
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Roberto De Zerbi outlines what he wants to see from new signing Savio in order to become one of the best wingers in the world.
Prior to his debut, De Zerbi detailed what Savio needed to do to become one of the best wingers in the world, and doubled down on that after the game.
“Yes, it is a perfect day for him,” De Zerbi said of Savio.
“I think his biggest step and biggest improvement is to increase the number of goals because as qualities, I think he is one of the best wingers, but the best wingers score many goals.
“I spoke with him and we put the goal on 10 or 12 goals (target) because we need 10 or 12 goals from the wingers.
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Savio scores 11 minutes into his Spurs debut against Charlton.
“Last season we suffered too much because also the number of goals were not enough to compete for nothing more than that (17th) position.”
Savio gives Spurs the hope their front line needs
Analysis from Sky Sports’ Callum Bishop:
“A lot can happen in just one minute of football. Even more can happen in 20. As we have just seen, that’s enough time to make yourself a cult hero.
“Savio’s arrival at Tottenham was shrouded in question marks. Why were Spurs willing to part with so much money for a player who managed just three goal contributions in the Premier League last season?
“Yet, the moment he stepped out onto the pitch in a white shirt, he was a livewire. Spurs fans value entertainment, and they were off their feet any time he got on the ball.
“The fact there was some end product that came with the excitement is even more important, especially for a Spurs side that have often been lacklustre in attack.
“The opponents will get tougher, and Savio will need to rise to that. However, as first outings go, having joined barely 24 hours ago, you can’t ask for much more.”
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Chelsea are in talks to sign Atalanta defender Honest Ahanor.
The Blues expressed an interest in the 18-year-old Italian when they signed right-back Marco Palestra from the Serie A side in July.
BBC Sport has been told Atalanta are willing to sell Ahanor if their 40m euro (£34.3m) valuation is met.
Ahanor, who mainly plays at left-back, joined Atalanta from Genoa on a three-year deal last summer for a reported fee of 16m euros, plus 4m euros in add-ons.
He made 28 appearances in Serie A for Atalanta last season, establishing himself as a regular starter for the Italian club. He also made his Champions League debut in a 2-1 win against Club Brugge in September.
In May, he was called up by Italy for friendly matches against Luxembourg and Greece.
Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has been building his squad since taking over at Stamford Bridge in July, signing England midfielder Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for a club record £117m, and adding experienced Premier League players Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson.
Chelsea face Brighton at home in the Premier league on Sunday after beating Fulham 3-2 in their opening match of the season on Monday.
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Tottenham 5-1 Charlton: Jamie Redknapp praises Savio after goalscoring debut as Roberto De Zerbi challenges new signing | Football News
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