Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka beat No. 4 Coco Gauff in straight sets to win her record-tying third Madrid Open and 20th career title on Saturday.

Sabalenka powered through the first set and edged the American in a tiebreaker for 6-3, 7-6 (3) on the Caja Mágica clay court.

Sabalenka added to titles in Madrid in 2021 and 2023 and equaled Petra Kvitova’s tournament record. It was also Sabalenka’s tour-leading third title of the year after Brisbane and Miami. She also pulled level with Gauff on head-to-head with five wins apiece.

Gauff could have risen to No. 2 with a win. The 2023 U.S. Open champion lost only one set this week until the final. Gauff’s great record in finals slipped to nine wins in 11 finals.

Sabalenka battered Gauff early on, winning 17 consecutive points during one section for a 4-1 start. When Gauff found her weakness by spreading her shots around, the former champion dug in to force a second-set tiebreaker and crush any chance of a comeback.

Sabalenka missed a championship point on a break chance in the second set, recalling her failure to convert three championship points in a loss to Iga Swiatek in last year’s final. After yelling at herself for her missed opportunity, the three-time Grand Slam winner shook off her demons, settled down and finished off her tour-high 31st win of 2025.

“It was a really tough match,” Sabalenka said. “At the end of the second set it was really intense and I was very emotional. I am happy I was able to handle my emotions.”

OBITUARY

Jim Dent grew up in the caddie yards of Augusta, Georgia, eventually working at the Masters and honing his game at the municipal course known as “The Patch.” He went on to become one of the PGA Tour’s longest hitters and one of the top Black golfers of his generation.

Dent died on Friday at age 85, a week before his birthday, his grandson posted on Facebook. The PGA Tour said on its website that Dent suffered a stroke the day after Augusta National announced plans for Tiger Woods to design a par 3 course at The Patch.

“What I learned about playing golf has probably kept me all through life,” Dent told the USGA for a story in 2012. “You had to be honest. You had to work at it. You just couldn’t pick ’til next week. And if you broke a rule, you had to turn yourself in.”

Dent worked hard enough on his game that he entered a few United Golfers Association tournaments, a league devote to Black players, moved to California and took lessons from former U.S. Open champion Johnny Goodman.

He finally earned his PGA Tour card through qualifying school in 1970, and while he never won on tour, he kept a full schedule of at least 22 tournaments for the next 16 years. His best result was in the 1972 Walt Disney World Open Invitational, when he trailed Jack Nicklaus by two shots going into the final round. Nicklaus shot 64 and won by nine.

Dent won the Michelob-Chattanooga Gold Cup Classic in 1983, a Tournament Players Series event for players who were not fully exempt — the tour had gone to the all-exempt tour that year instead of the majority of the field going through Monday qualifying.

Dent never met any of the qualifying criteria to play in the Masters, but he made the cut in eight of the 11 majors he played — six at the PGA Championship, five at the U.S. Open.

He was best known for his prodigious length, and Dent won the inaugural World Long Drive Championship in 1974.

After turning 50, he won 12 times on the PGA Tour Champions. Al Geiberger said after Dent shot 64 to win his first Champions event, “Jim Dent ought to be outlawed (for) the way he can hit the ball.”

“A lot of people will remember Jim Dent for how far he hit the ball, and he really did,” said Miller Brady, president of the PGA Tour Champions. “Yet his long-term success, especially on our tour, proved Jim was more than just long off the tee.”

WNBA

Seattle Storm forward Katie Lou Samuelson is expected to miss the 2025 WNBA season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee, the team said.

Samuelson, 27, suffered the injury during practice on Thursday, the team said.

The UConn and Mater Dei High graduate has dealt with other injuries in her basketball career, including a broken foot, an ankle injury and a back injury.

Samuelson signed a one-year deal with the Storm in February, which marked her return to the franchise she played with during the 2021 season. The former No. 4 overall pick has averaged 5.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game during her WNBA career.

The Golden State Valkyries waived second-round pick Shyanne Sellers.

Sellers is the first player to be cut from the WNBA expansion team’s training camp roster.

“Sellers was a joy,” coach Natalie Nakase told reporters. “I told her thank you for your time. She picked up everything we asked her to. She did everything that we wanted her to. It’s just that I have to choose the best 12 that are going to fit. It doesn’t mean the most talented. It means the best 12. We had a very competitive camp. So I had to make a decision.”

Sellers, a 22-year-old guard from the University of Maryland, suffered a sprained right knee in a game against Texas in late January but didn’t miss much action. She was drafted in the second round, 17th overall. Despite her injury during the college season, Sellers was considered a steal for the Valkyries after she was projected to be a top-10 pick on most mock draft boards.

The move is surprising, given that Sellers appeared to be one of the most skilled players on the Valkyries roster. She has size and showed the ability to shoot 3-pointers at a high clip at Maryland.

Sellers, the daughter of former NBA player Brad Sellers, averaged 14.4 points and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 40.8% from the 3-point line at Maryland. She was the first player in program history to surpass 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.

TRACK AND FIELD

An Olympic track medalist is charged in Florida with punching a woman, a hurdler who also competed in the Olympics.

A Broward County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office arrest report says that Fred Kerley, 29, allegedly hit Alaysha Johnson with a closed fist at a hotel near Fort Lauderdale on Thursday. Kerley is charged with misdemeanor battery in the incident that left Johnson with a bloody nose.

Kerley won a silver medal in the 100-meter race at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and a bronze medal in the same event at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, where Johnson also competed. The arrest report says they previously had a relationship and got into a heated argument at the Florida hotel where they were staying before a track meet in the area.

It’s not Kerley’s first brush with the law. This comes just a few months after he was arrested for allegedly punching a Miami Beach police officer on Jan 2., an incident in which police used a Taser on him. He was also charged in May with domestic battery against his wife, according to court records.

COLLEGE football

The NCAA took disciplinary action against five current or former Iowa State football support staff members for combining to make more than 6,200 online bets totaling more than $100,000 on professional and college games, including men’s and women’s basketball games involving the Cyclones.

The five were identified during a state investigation into sports wagering activities in campus athletic facilities from 2021-23. They face no criminal charges.

In a negotiated resolution finalized last week, Jace Heacock, Chase Clark, Michael Dryer, Kyle Highland and Mason Williams acknowledged they knowingly violated NCAA sports wagering bylaws and all are subject to a one-year show-cause order through April 24, 2026.

Any of the five hired by another school’s athletic department will be required to attend the annual NCAA Regional Rules Seminar at his own expense and serve a two-week suspension during the show-cause period.