Iga Swiatek to tumble from World No. 2 after loss to Danielle Collins in Rome

Iga Swiatek to tumble from World No. 2 after loss to Danielle Collins in Rome

The spring of Iga Swiatek's discontent continued Saturday when was she was ousted by Danielle Collins in the third round of the Italian Open in Rome. Collins' 6-1, 7-5 upset win over the World No. 2 player seemed improbable on paper. Collins had lost to Swiatek in seven of their past eight matches. And Swiatek, of Poland, had won 21 of her past 22 matches on the clay court in Rome, taking home the title in three of the past four years. But this isn't the same Swiatek. She hasn't won a tournament since she triumphed at the French Open in Roland Garros last June, winning her fourth Paris grand slam. When the new rankings come out Monday, she will tumble from No. 2 to No. 4 at the highest. Swiatek has held the No. 1 or No. 2 ranking since March 20, 2022. Her nine losses this season equal the number she had in all of the 2024 season, when she finished 64-9. After the match, Collins said she drew on her experience gained in many matches with Swiatek. "Obviously, I played against Iga so many times," Collins said. "When you play that many close matches and also play your best tennis and lose -- you learn a lot." Collins' previous win over Swiatek was highly memorable. She dominated Swiatek in straight sets to reach the 2022 Australian Open final. Collins finished with 32 winners and 15 unforced errors, compared with 15 and 22, respectively, for Swiatek. Collins also cashed in on six of her eight break chances, while Swiatek took advantage of only two of 10. "It hasn't been easy," Swiatek told reporters of her funk. "For sure, I'm doing something wrong. So I need to just regroup and change some stuff." It was the first Top 10 win for Collins in more than a year and her third victory in 16 attempts against a World No. 2 (Angelique Kerber, 2019, and Ashleigh Barty, 2021). In the fourth round, Collins will meet No. 16 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 winner over Hailey Baptiste. No. 3 Jessica Pegula also went down to defeat as No. 25 Elise Mertens of Belgium rolled to a 7-5, 6-1 upset. Mertens had a 19-11 edge in winners, saved 7 of 8 break points and converted all four break opportunities while improving to 4-1 all-time against Pegula. Mertens will face No. 13 seed Diana Shnaider of Russia. Shnaider defeated Jaqueline Cristian of Romania 6-3, 6-3. Peyton Stearns came from behind and emerged from a tiebreaker to upset fellow American Madison Keys, the No. 5 seed, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3). The difference in the tiebreaker was on serve, with Keys losing serve twice and Stearns holding serve. Stearns will face unseeded Naomi Osaka of Japan. Osaka rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Czech Marie Bouzkova. No. 6 Jasmine Paolini of Italy moved past No. 27 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 6-4, 6-3 and next will play No. 17 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia. She advanced on a walkover over Laura Siegemund of Germany. --Field Level Media

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Iga Swiatek to tumble from World No. 2 after loss to Danielle Collins in Rome

Iga Swiatek to tumble from World No. 2 after loss to Danielle Collins in Rome The spring of Iga Swiatek's discontent continued Saturday ...

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Jannik Sinner's much-anticipated return goes smoothly at Italian Open

Jannik Sinner's much-anticipated return goes smoothly at Italian Open

ATP No. 1 and top overall seed Jannik Sinner kept things simple in his first match back from a doping ban by dispatching Argentina's Mariano Navone in straight sets in Rome on Saturday, winning 6-3, 6-4 to advance in his home country's Italian Open. "It's an amazing feeling, no? I've waited quite a long time for this moment, and I'm very happy to be back," Sinner said. Sinner took 1:39 to polish off the win on the clay surface, building a commanding 4-1 lead in the first set before finishing things off from there. The second set proved a little more troublesome, with Navone grabbing early 2-1 and 3-2 leads before rallying for a 4-4 tie until Sinner took the final two games. The Italian, who had not competed since winning the Australian Open in January due to the suspension, was clutch on break points, converting three of six opportunities, compared to 0-for-2 for his opponent. He also held a commanding advantage in return points won (27 against 18). "I'm very happy about the win today," Sinner added. "It's been very difficult. "He's such a great player, especially on this surface. I tried to move the ball around. At times it went very well, at times it could be better, but in any case, it's been a remarkable day for me." Sinner advances to face the Netherlands' Jesper De Jong, a 2-0 winner over Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Matteo Berrettini also thrilled the home-country crowd, coming from behind to top Jacob Fearnley 6-4, 7-6 (0) and move to the third round. Berrettini, the No. 29 seed, is appearing in the Rome tournament for the first time since 2021 because of injury and illnesses. He had to pull out of the Madrid Open last week because of an abdominal injury. Down 5-3 in the second set, Berrettini won a tough ninth game to break Fearnley's serve and get the match back on track. He then shut out the Brit in the tiebreaker to pull off the win in one hour, 55 minutes. He has a tough draw awaiting him in No. 6 Casper Ruud, a clay-court specialist from Norway who won the Madrid Open last week. Ruud had to contend with 15 aces and a series of winning drop volleys from Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan en route to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory. Ruud is a three-time semifinalist in Rome. "He always hits spectacular shots, and sometimes it's a little frustrating for us opponents," Ruud said of Bublik. "But all in all, happy to be through a tough three-setter. It's never easy against (Bublik). We had a tough match here in Rome a couple of years ago, so happy to get another today." Not happy was Taylor Fritz, the No. 4 seed, who was upset by fellow American Marcos Giron 7-6(4), 7-6(3). Giron was down 4-0 in the second set but regained his two lost break points to get back in the match and win in one hour, 45 minutes. Giron set up a third-round match with Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, who eliminated Spain's Pedro Martinez 6-1, 7-5. No. 11 seed Tommy Paul made quick work of Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut and next will play against No. 19 Tomas Machac, a Czech, who beat Learner Tien in straight sets. Spain's Jaume Munar defeated No. 12 Ben Shelton in dominating fashion, winning 6-2, 6-1. Munar will oppose No. 22 Sebastian Korda. Another American, No. 15 Frances Tiafoe, was eliminated with his three-set loss to Sebastian Ofner of Austria. Ofner will square off against No. 17 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina. Other players to advance were Fabian Marozsan of Hugary, who took a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win against No. 16 Andrey Rublev of Russia. In the third round, he will meet Czech Jakub Mensik. --Field Level Media

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Jannik Sinner's much-anticipated return goes smoothly at Italian Open

Jannik Sinner's much-anticipated return goes smoothly at Italian Open ATP No. 1 and top overall seed Jannik Sinner kept things simple in...

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They Survived the Boston Marathon Bombing. This Year, Father and Daughter Faced Their Fears and Ran Together (Exclusive)

They Survived the Boston Marathon Bombing. This Year, Father and Daughter Faced Their Fears and Ran Together (Exclusive)

Isabella Zito The Zito family returned to the Boston Marathon after 12 years Isabella Zito ran the 2025 marathon with her father, Jamie Zito Jamie was running in the 2013 marathon when the bombs went off Isabella Zito was nine years old when she watched the unimaginable happen. Zito and her family were waiting for her dad, Jamie Zito, to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, as horror struck. They were tracking Jamie's running pace and expected him to cross the finish line any minute when the first bomb went off. Isabella thought it was fireworks at the time, but when the second explosion went off, her mom knew something was wrong. She took Isabella and her five-year-old sister under her arms and brought them into the Boston Public Library. They heard screaming, and in the chaos, someone suggested there may be even more explosives in the library, so they broke down the door to get out. They tried to contact Jamie, who was being held in Kenmore Square, one mile from the finish line. He feared the worst for his family the second he heard news of the attack and ran to find them in the chaos once things cleared. Three people were killed in the Boston Marathon bombing: Krystle Marie Campbell, Lingzi Lu, andMartin Richard, who was 8 years old at the time of his death. In addition to the fatalities, over260 people were injuredin the explosions, and at least 17 people lost limbs. No one in the Zito family was seriously injured. After Jamie found his wife and kids, they all piled into the car to get home to Rhode Island. Once there, Isabella's dad said, "One day we're going to run this together. We're not going to let this take us down." On April 21, 2025, after fundraising for the Special Olympics, the father-daughter duo did just that. Isabella Zito Isabella, now 21, is a senior at Northeastern University. She spoke with PEOPLE exclusively about finding the strength and courage to return to the Boston Marathon and cross the finish line with her father. "I wanted to run it to show you can do the hard thing. These things can't take you down. We can't allow these things to overpower and scare us," she shares. "We need to stand up to them." Isabella ran the whole course with Jamie. At first, she was worried about keeping up with him and was, admittedly, a little "scared." However, she said that running with her dad was "helpful." "It was emotional. Before we got to the start line, we both started crying," she shares. "We made this promise to each other 12 years ago, and we were finally doing it. I cried the whole last three miles because it was both hard and really emotional." "For a long time, I couldn't go back to Boylston Street because it was a traumatic place to go. When I came to college here in Boston, my whole first year, I went home that year for the marathon. I couldn't stay in the city. Now, fast forward three years, and I ran the marathon." Isabella Zito Crossing the finish line brought Isabella back to that moment 12 years ago, but she didn't let it break her. "I blacked out for the last five minutes, but after I crossed the finish line, I was super emotional because running a marathon is hard and emotional," she says. "I have a connection to it and thought, 'This broke me down, but I didn't let it break me forever.' I was able to come back and overcome it, which was emotional for me. I cried for 30 minutes after." The father-daughter duo finished at the same time, down to the same second. Read the original article onPeople

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They Survived the Boston Marathon Bombing. This Year, Father and Daughter Faced Their Fears and Ran Together (Exclusive)

They Survived the Boston Marathon Bombing. This Year, Father and Daughter Faced Their Fears and Ran Together (Exclusive) Isabella Zito The ...

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Judge halts drastic cuts to agencies being done under Trump executive order

Judge halts drastic cuts to agencies being done under Trump executive order

A federal judge is halting the Trump administration from carrying out, under aFebruary executive order, mass firings or major reorganizations of multiple agencies going forward. Senior District Judge Susan Illston on Friday evening granted atemporary restraining ordersought by federal employee unions, local governments and outside organizations that rely on federal services, who argued the administration was acting outside the bounds of the law. The judge's order, which lasts two weeks, blocks the administration's approval or implementation of plans –- known as Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans, or ARRPs – for conducting mass layoffs and for shrinking or eliminating entire components of an agency. She is also pausing any orders from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, cutting programs or staff in accordance with Trump's executive order and the related directives. Illston, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton who sits in San Francisco, said at a hearing earlier in the day that presidents have authority to make changes to the government, but when it comes to large scale reorganizations, presidents "must do so with the cooperation of Congress. The unions targeted specifically the role that DOGE was playing in the process, writing in court filings that the Elon Musk-led initiative was acting "largely in secret" to force cuts to agency spending and personnel by "refusing to reveal" the plans "to employees, their labor representatives, the public, or Congress." The Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management – two agencies that have been central to DOGE's mission – issued a joint directive that agencies submit the reduction and reorganization plans in two stages, due in mid-March and mid-April, with OMB giving final approval of the layoff plans, according to court filings. Illston's order is among the most sweeping legal setbacks Trump and DOGE have faced in their efforts to drastically winnow down the federal bureaucracy. Across the federal government, the administration has been in the process of carrying out RIFS – or reductions in force – that would terminate tens of thousands of employees and shutter entire agency offices, with little regard for how the layoffs would impact an agency's ability to meet its statutory obligations. The case before Illston could soon head to the Supreme Court, as the Justice Department indicated that it would like to appeal it quickly – though the judge denied a DOJ attorney's request for a procedural maneuver that would make it easier for the administration to appeal her order immediately. In a 42-page opinion Friday night, Illston said, "No statute gives OPM, OMB, or DOGE the authority to direct other federal agencies to engage in large-scale terminations, restructuring, or elimination of itself." While she will take a closer look at the merits of the lawsuit in the coming weeks, she found "it necessary to temporarily enjoin further implementation of those plans because they flow from likely illegal directives." The order covers major reductions at more than a dozen agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Labor, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs and the Environmental Protection Agency. It additionally requires the administration to turn over by Tuesday the reduction plans, and to inform the judge by Tuesday about its efforts to carry out her order. In a statement, the challengers said they were "gratified by the court's decision today to pause these harmful actions while our case proceeds." "With every move this President is making, we are holding him accountable in court, and seeing judges of all stripes recognize and defend the rule of law," said Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is representing the challengers. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. DOJ attorney Eric Hamilton argued Friday that the unions' case suffered from a number of procedural defects, including a delay in bringing it, given that the executive order in question was signed on February 11. He argued that courts did not have the power to oversee challenges to the reduction plans because they were part of deliberative process and not a final agency action. Danielle Leonard, an attorney for plaintiffs, countered that any delay was the administration's fault for refusing to be forthcoming with its plans and argued that that the administration was "trying to insulate from judicial review" a "pretty profoundly unlawful set of instructions." The judge raised that some senators had asked the administration to produce its layoff plans. She asked the Justice Department if the administration had responded to that request. Hamilton refused to answer, arguing it was irrelevant to the case. This story has been updated with additional details. CNN's Tami Luhby contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

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Judge halts drastic cuts to agencies being done under Trump executive order

Judge halts drastic cuts to agencies being done under Trump executive order A federal judge is halting the Trump administration from carryin...

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Greene passes on Senate run against Ossoff in Georgia

Greene passes on Senate run against Ossoff in Georgia

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced Friday that she will not jump into Georgia's 2026 Senate race and challenge incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.). The Georgia Republican firebrand, who was elected to Congress in 2020, slammed the Senate, arguing that not much gets done in the upper chamber and that donors hold too much sway in decision-making. "Even with a few good Republicans in the Senate, nothing changes. So no, Jon Ossoff isn't the real problem. He's just a vote. A pawn. No different than the Uniparty Republicans who skip key votes to attend fundraisers and let our agenda fail," Greene said in a lengthyposton the social media platform X. "Someone once said, 'The Senate is where good ideas go to die.' They were right. That's why I'm not running. I won't fight for a team that refuses to win, that protects its weakest players, and that undermines the very people it's supposed to serve," the Republican lawmaker wrote. Greene has looked at either running for Senate or the governor's seat. She expressed confidence that she could win the GOP Senate primary and ultimately prevail in the general election in the Friday post. "Yes, I'm competitive. Yes, I love to win. And yes, I know I would win both the primary and the general. I'd enjoy proving the elites wrong every single day. But that's not what motivates me. It's not about crushing the establishment again or flipping a seat just to help the Republican Party," Greene wrote. "It's about the job itself." Greene's decision to pass on a run came less than a week after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), whom GOP senators privately lobbied to jump in the race, also announced that he willforgo a bidto potentially unseat Ossoff. Georgia was one of the seven toss-up states that President Trump won in the 2024 presidential election. Former President Biden narrowly won the Peach State in 2020. Ossoff is a top target for Senate Republicans in 2026. The first-term senator won his seat by a slim margin, and the general election next year is expected to be one of the most expensive in the country. So far, Republicans have one candidate in the primary, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), while several other officeholders have expressed interest in jumping in. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

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Greene passes on Senate run against Ossoff in Georgia

Greene passes on Senate run against Ossoff in Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced Friday that she will not jump into Georg...

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