THE EVE EDITION
FIRST BLUSH | FRI OCT 16
Ann Li has spent the week in Wuhan refusing to go away. She needed 10 match points to beat Aryna Sabalenka, came back the next day to reach her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal, and this morning she gets Iga Świątek, the player she beat in Madrid without ever finishing the match. A win would take the American into the last four of the season’s final WTA 1000. For Świątek, who has qualified for every WTA Finals since 2021, a loss would cost her ground in the race with the season nearly done.
Tonight belongs to rematches. England face Canada at BMO Field a month after the Canadians ended England’s 39-match winning streak, and the Toronto crowd is set to be a North American record for women’s rugby. The top-ranked Ohio State hockey team visits #3 Minnesota, Florida goes to Reed Arena to answer for last season’s sweep, and Paige finally gets Nikki Bella alone on SmackDown. Overnight, Wuhan begins its semifinals.
Ann Li vs. #7 Iga Świątek
Their only meeting, in Madrid this spring, ended with Świątek retiring ill while trailing 3-0 in the third set. Li comes in on the best week of her career. She beat top seed Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) on her 10th match point, then beat Janice Tjen in straight sets to reach her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal. Świątek has not dropped a set. Her 6-1, 6-4 win over Ashlyn Krueger was her 150th at WTA 1000 level, making her only the third player since 1990, after Martina Hingis and Serena Williams, to get there within her first 50 such tournaments. It is her seventh WTA 1000 quarterfinal of 2026, the most on tour, and every win here strengthens her push for the WTA Finals.
EVE’s Edge: Świątek to win in straight sets. Li’s serve has carried her all week, but Świątek’s return will take away the free points the American needs to stay close.
England at Canada
The Red Roses beat Canada in the 2025 Rugby World Cup final, but at Sandy Park in Exeter last month the Canadians held them 26-26 and ended England’s record 39-match winning streak. Lizzie Gibson scored in the fifth minute, DaLeaka Menin scored twice on her way to player of the match, scrum-half Olivia Apps finished a fine Canada attack for the tying try, and Canada held firm through a final quarter of England pressure on its own line. Almost 18,000 are expected at BMO Field, which will break the North American attendance record for a standalone women’s rugby match. The two meet again in Ottawa on October 23.
EVE’s Edge: England to win, 27-24. Canada will have the record crowd, but England’s maul should decide it late.
#1 Ohio State at #3 Minnesota
Ohio State is 6-0-0 and took #1 by sweeping Wisconsin. Hilda Svensson leads the Buckeyes with six goals and Mira Jungåker has 10 assists. Minnesota is 4-0-0 in Greg May’s first season, scores 4.50 goals per game, third in the country, and has Hannah Clark in goal at a .947 save percentage. Ohio State has won six of the last 10 meetings, including a 4-0 shutout in last season’s WCHA Final Faceoff semifinals on its way to the title, although Minnesota still leads the all-time series 85-34-7. Adrianna Milani leads the Gophers with four goals. The teams play again Saturday afternoon at Ridder Arena.
EVE’s Edge: Ohio State to win, 3-2. Minnesota’s power play, third in the country, will keep it close, but the Buckeyes have more ways to score.
#7 Florida at #19 Texas A&M
Florida is 13-2 and 4-1 in the SEC, and Alec Rothe leads the conference with a .445 hitting percentage, sixth in the country. The Gators have a sweep to answer for: Texas A&M won 3-0 in Gainesville last season, and since Jamie Morrison took over the Aggies the series is 2-2. The Aggies are 10-7 and have lost two straight, but they are 8-1 at Reed Arena, and Kyndal Stowers has 20 or more kills in three straight matches, leading the team at 4.36 kills per set. Taylor Parks runs Florida’s offense at 10.15 assists per set. The Gators’ road trip continues at #12 Texas after this.
EVE’s Edge: Florida to win, 3-1. Stowers can carry the Aggies for a set, but a Florida team that has lost only twice all season has too many answers at the net.
Nikki Bella vs. Paige
The feud began at SummerSlam in August, when the Bella Twins turned on Paige. Nikki beat her when they met on SmackDown on September 11, then interfered to cost Paige, Chelsea Green and Tiffany Stratton a six-woman tag match against Fatal Influence. With Brie out since fracturing her scapula at SummerSlam, it is one-on-one now, and Paige issued the challenge herself, giving Nikki two weeks to prepare. Nikki has also confronted interim WWE Women’s Champion Chelsea Green, so a win here could put her next in line. The rematch comes live from Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
EVE’s Edge: Paige to win. She picked the rematch and the date, and with Brie sidelined Nikki has nobody in her corner to tip it her way.
ELSEWHERE
Wuhan’s semifinals begin at 2:00 AM Saturday on Tennis Channel. In field hockey, #2 Northwestern visits #11 Indiana at 3:00 PM on B1G+ and #1 Maryland hosts Michigan State at 4:00 PM. In the NWSL, Racing Louisville visits Boston Legacy at Gillette Stadium at 8:00 PM on Prime Video.
In ACC volleyball, #2 Pitt and #3 Louisville are home at 7:00 PM on ACCNX, and #8 Texas Tech plays at #22 BYU in soccer at 9:00 PM on ESPN+. Overnight, the WXV Global Series moves to Sydney and Hamilton, the LPGA’s third round in Shanghai starts at 11:00 PM on Golf Channel, the A-League Women season opens at midnight on ESPN+ and the women’s rounds continue at Peniche at 2:30 AM.