THE EVE EDITION
Gauff Faces Andreeva as Rybakina Chases No. 1
The final two spots in the US Open semifinals will be decided Wednesday, with four players arriving from different directions but all looking capable of making a serious run at the title.
#4 Coco Gauff and #5 Mirra Andreeva meet in what may be the highest-quality matchup of the quarterfinal round. Gauff has been in excellent form and looked especially sharp in the fourth round, overwhelming #14 Iva Jovic 6-1, 6-4. She has followed a Wimbledon semifinal with a Cincinnati title and another deep run in New York, where she won her first major three years ago.
Andreeva has had a slightly more complicated path. The 19-year-old needed three sets to get past Anastasia Potapova in the fourth round, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, but responded well after dropping her first set of the tournament. The reigning French Open champion has already shown she can handle the biggest stages, although managing her emotions when a match begins to turn against her has occasionally remained part of the challenge.
There is one significant obstacle Andreeva has yet to solve: Gauff. The American is 5-0 against her, including a three-set victory earlier this season, although their matches have generally been more competitive than the record suggests.
EVE’s Edge: Gauff. She is coming off a Cincinnati title, has yet to drop a set in New York and owns a 5-0 record against Andreeva.
The other quarterfinal carries an additional prize for #2 Elena Rybakina. A victory over Qinwen Zheng would guarantee Rybakina the world No. 1 ranking for the first time.
That possibility looked far from certain before the tournament. Rybakina arrived in New York recovering from an ankle injury that forced her to retire from her Cincinnati quarterfinal, and she went seven days without playing. She has responded with four straight-set victories. Her fourth-round performance may have been her best yet, dismantling four-time major champion Naomi Osaka 6-1, 6-4 in 66 minutes.
Her fourth-round win over Iga Swiatek provided the clearest evidence that she is dangerous again. Zheng fell behind 5-0 in the opening set before winning seven consecutive games and taking the match 7-5, 6-3. Remarkably, she had also recovered from a 5-0 deficit against Madison Keys in the previous round.
EVE’s Edge: Rybakina. She has looked increasingly sharp throughout the tournament and has yet to drop a set. Zheng has been more uneven, but her ability to suddenly find another level makes her dangerous even when a match appears to be slipping away.
China, Australia Favored With Quarterfinal Spots on the Line
The final two quarterfinal spots will be decided Wednesday, with China facing Puerto Rico before Australia meets Italy.
China enters after finishing second in Group D behind the United States and closing pool play with consecutive wins over Czechia and Italy. The 71-51 victory over Italy was its most convincing performance of the tournament, and Han Xu has been at the center of everything, averaging 17.3 points and 11.3 rebounds.
Puerto Rico reached this round by beating Türkiye 75-71 in its final group game after both teams entered winless. Imani McGee-Stafford has given Puerto Rico a major interior presence, averaging 17.3 points and a tournament-best 13.0 rebounds, while Trinity San Antonio has averaged 5.0 steals.
Italy and Australia meet in the second game after both showed very different versions of themselves during pool play. Italy came within three points of upsetting the United States, losing 55-52, but followed it with a flat 71-51 loss to China. Cecilia Zandalasini has led Italy at 15.0 points per game.
Australia opened with two wins before falling 80-68 to Belgium and settling for second in Group C. Ezi Magbegor is averaging 15.7 points on nearly 60 percent shooting, while Steph Talbot has been one of Australia’s most consistent all-around players.
EVE’s Edge: Australia. The Opals have more depth and size and should be better equipped if Italy turns the game physical or forces it into the half-court.
FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup | Group Stage | Poland
The United States already faces some pressure in its second group match after opening the tournament with a 2-1 loss to Italy. The Americans created chances and hit the woodwork twice, but Italy was more efficient and capitalized on mistakes to erase an early U.S. lead. Micayla Johnson scored the lone American goal, becoming the first U.S. player to score at three consecutive FIFA youth World Cups.
Japan, meanwhile, opened with a 2-1 win over New Zealand and has finished no lower than fourth at each of the last five U-20 World Cups.
EVE’s Edge: United States. The Americans created enough in their opening loss to suggest the performance was better than the result, but Japan’s consistency at this level makes this a narrow call.
Italy tries to build on one of the biggest results of the opening round when it faces New Zealand. Playing in its first U-20 World Cup in 14 years, Italy came from behind to beat the United States 2-1, with Paola Fadda and Giada Pellegrino Cimò scoring the goals. New Zealand was competitive in a 2-1 loss to Japan but now faces another difficult matchup.
Ecuador enters its matchup with France after one of the strongest opening performances of the group stage, beating Ghana 3-0. France had a less convincing start, settling for a draw against South Korea.
Ghana and South Korea meet in the other early game after very different starts. Ghana was beaten 3-0 by Ecuador, while South Korea earned a point against France.
NCAA Volleyball
#9 Texas has barely had room to breathe through the opening weeks of the season. Wednesday’s trip to #8 SMU will be the Longhorns’ sixth match against a team currently ranked in the Top 18 through their first seven matches, and they are navigating that schedule without outside hitter Abby Vander Wal, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury.
Texas has been difficult to read. The Longhorns swept both TCU and USC but were swept themselves by #1 Nebraska and #5 Louisville, dropping to 3-3. SMU opened with ranked wins over Texas A&M and Penn State before suffering its first loss against TCU, a team Texas swept earlier this season.
EVE’s Edge: SMU. Texas has already shown it can beat elite competition, but its inconsistency and the loss of Vander Wal give the more settled Mustangs a slight advantage at home.
The rest of Wednesday’s slate brings several more ranked matchups. Unbeaten #18 North Carolina gets its biggest test yet at #3 Kentucky, which already owns an impressive four-set win over Penn State.
#2 Pittsburgh meets unbeaten #17 Tennessee in another notable matchup. Tennessee has started 5-0, while Pitt remains unbeaten and has established itself as one of the strongest teams in the country through the opening weeks.
#5 Louisville returns home against Missouri after strengthening its early résumé with a straight-set win over Texas, while #10 Florida hosts Miami in the Hurricanes’ first matchup against a ranked opponent this season.
The late slate also features #4 Stanford against #19 Texas A&M. Stanford has opened the season unbeaten, while the Aggies’ record has taken some damage from a difficult early schedule and may undersell the level of team Stanford will see Wednesday night.
ISA World Junior Surfing Championship | El Salvador
The World Junior Surfing Championship moves deeper into elimination rounds Wednesday at La Bocana and El Sunzal, with the Girls U16 and U18 fields continuing to narrow.
The ISA is using only one repechage round in each division this year, leaving considerably less margin for error. Australia has been one of the strongest teams through the opening days, while the girls’ fields also include several returning medalists and highly regarded junior prospects.
Competition is expected to run throughout the day across both breaks, with the exact Wednesday heat order dependent on Tuesday’s results.
WTT Champions Macao | Macao, China
The women’s singles draw continues with Round of 32 play Wednesday at WTT Champions Macao, one of the tour’s premier events. The field includes several of the world’s top players, with China again supplying much of the depth as the tournament begins to narrow toward the later rounds.
Wednesday remains primarily an opening-round day, with the more consequential matchups expected to emerge as the draw progresses.
Women’s Professional Baseball League | Semifinals | Springfield, Illinois
The inaugural WPBL season reaches the postseason Wednesday as the Boston Hunters and San Francisco Firebells open their semifinal series in Springfield.
San Francisco enters as the No. 1 seed, while Boston earned the fourth and final playoff spot. The best-of-three series will determine one half of the league’s first championship matchup.
AEW Dynamite | Rebel Heart | Athens, Georgia
AEW closes Wednesday with a special Rebel Heart edition of Dynamite honoring Tanea Brooks, better known as Rebel, who was diagnosed with ALS earlier this year.
Britt Baker, Persephone and Hikaru Shida will face Thunder Rosa, Maya World and Hyan in six-woman tag action, marking Baker’s first AEW match since November 2024. Baker will also reunite with Rebel for the return of The Waiting Room, with Persephone and Shida appearing as guests.
The event will also benefit I AM ALS and Team Gleason.
PINK HOUR
US Open · #2 Elena Rybakina vs Qinwen Zheng
11:30 AM · ESPN / ESPN Unlimited
US Open · #4 Coco Gauff vs #5 Mirra Andreeva
1:30 PM · ESPN / ESPN Unlimited
FIFA U-20 WC · Japan vs United States
12:00 PM · FS2
FIBA WWC · Italy vs Australia
2:45 PM · HBO Max
NCAA Volleyball · #9 Texas at #8 SMU
9:00 PM · ACC Network