Belgiums World No.6 Tinne Gilis produced a fine performance on finals night in Toronto to claim the Canadian Womens Open 2024 title, downing defending champion Amanda Sobhy 3-0 in a high quality final.

Gilis took an early lead in game one of the Silver event final, catching Sobhy slightly flat footed in the opening exchanges and took a 6-2 lead. Back came the American, using her accuracy to find areas to pick Gilis off around the middle of the court. Sobhy ran through to lead 10-8 but a Gilis winner and Sobhy error sent us into a tiebreak. Sobhy had another two chances to seal the game but on Gilis second attempt she took the high quality opener 15-13.

The World No.6 looked the happier of the two to endure the longer rallies and backed her superb movement to cover whatever Sobhy could throw at her. Sobhy made several rare unforced errors due to the pressure being put on her by Gilis which proved critical. The Belgians accuracy was superb at the front of the court, forcing Sobhy to do a lot of work rally after rally. Gilis rattled off several winners to storm into a 2-0 lead, winning 11-4.

Gilis looking so free on the court after securing a 2-0 lead, expressing herself in both her shots and movement. Sobhy looked like she was struggling to find answers in all areas of the court, which only spurred Gilis on. The Belgian No.2 established a healthy lead in the game at 5-2 and never looked back. Gilis surrendered only three more points on her way to victory, sealing the win with a deft cross court drop which was too far for Sobhy to reach.

Im a little speechless at the moment. said Gilis afterwards.

Baptiste Masotti and Leonel Cardenas are in the Halloween Spirit here in Toronto before their final pic.twitter.com/KAcMWvBA75

PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) October 31, 2024

I set one goal for this season and it was to win a Silver event and im so glad it was here at this tournament in front of this amazing crowd.

I have to give Amanda [Sobhy] so much credit. The way she has come back has been so impressive and we all knew that she would but how quickly she has is so impressive.

Its been a really special week for me and Toronto will definitely have a special place in my heart after this week and I just cant wait to come back already.

In the Cambridge Group of Clubs Classic 2024, an accompanying mens Copper event, Mexicos No.2 seed Leonel Cardenas took the title after he defeated top seed Baptiste Masotti in straight games. 

Both players looked to be feeling each other out and finding their range on the court in opening rallies of the first game. Cardenas pulled away in the mid stages of the game to lead 10-4 and won 11-6. The Mexican was too steady and too accurate for the top seed and deservedly took the opener.

The World No.18 knew that his simple but quality approach was frustrating the Frenchman and saw no reason to change his winning formula. Masotti was clearly not at the races but take nothing away from the quality of his opponent who romped home in the final two gams, winning 11-7, 11-3 to claim his second PSA Squash Tour World events title.

Im so happy. Ive been in two finals recently of Copper tournaments and lost them both so third time is the charm for me guess.

I think my game is a lot more mature, Ive been training really hard to maintain my consistency on court and thats been paying off. Staying disciplined in matches is something that I was struggling with but Ive managed to improve that a lot and I think thats made a big difference.

Result: Canadian Womens Open 2024 Final:

[2] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt [3] Amanda Sobhy (USA) 3-0: 15-13, 11-4, 11-5 (41m)

Result: Cambridge Group of Clubs Classic 2024 Final: 

[2] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt [1] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 (41m)

England: Furbank; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Lawrence, Freeman; M Smith, Spencer; Genge, George (capt), Stuart; Itoje, Martin; Cunningham-South, T Curry, Earl.

Replacements: Dan, Baxter, Cole, Isiekwe, B Curry, Dombrandt, Randall, Ford.

New Zealand: Jordan; Tele'a, Ioane, J Barrett, Clarke; B Barrett, Ratima; Williams, Taylor, Lomax, S Barrett (capt), Vaa'i, Sititi, Cane, Savea.

Replacements: Aumua, Tu'ungafasi, Tosi, Tuipulotu, Finau, Roigard, Lienart-Brown, McKenzie

New York Islanders star Mathew Barzal has left the team's road trip because of an upper-body injury.

The team announced that Barzal, 27, has returned to Long Island to see team physicians and that a time frame for his recovery will be announced after that evaluation.

Barzal played 22:46 in the Islanders' 2-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night, registering two shots on goal. He has two goals and five points in 10 games this season, skating to a minus-3.

The Islanders (3-5-2) are in Buffalo on Friday night to take on the Sabres before finishing their road trip at Madison Square Garden on Sunday to face the New York Rangers.

The loss of Barzal comes as the Islanders have had the NHL's worst offense through the first month of the season. The Islanders have a 2.10 goals per game average, ranking 32nd in the league. That's despite ranking 11th in the NHL in expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick. Barzal has yet to tally a point in 5-on-5 play this season.

Barzal is the team's leader in power-play ice time (3:42) for a unit that ranks 28th in the NHL.

Bo Horvat, who is Barzal's linemate in the Islanders' top scoring unit, skated with captain Anders Lee and forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau in Friday morning's practice.

Inter Miami head coach Gerardo Martino has addressed the rumors linking Neymar to the club and insisted a deal would currently be impossible to negotiate given MLS roster and salary restrictions.

Neymar, who has a contract with Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal through the summer of 2025, has been linked with Miami ever since the club signed his former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets last year.

"With [Lionel Messi] and the boys already here, anything that can happen. What I can't imagine is if the league doesn't make the salary issue more flexible, how it would be carried out," Martino, who previously coached Neymar at Barcelona, told reporters Friday.

"After writing it or saying it in the media it's all good, nothing happens, it doesn't have any consequences, but what would the implementation be like? And the reality is that if there is something that the MLS has, it is that the rules are strict and can't be broken, unless the MLS decides to change."

Speculation heightened earlier this week after a report that Neymar had purchased a waterfront property in Miami, but Martino said it was ridiculous to link a player to a team because of real estate.

"Everyone that buys at home here is going to come to play? Ha! I arrived in Barcelona at the same time as [Neymar]. It was a good year and for me being able to coach such high-ranking players will always be a very special memory," he said.

"The truth is that one cannot talk so easily and freely about whether a player could come or not. It seems to me that when we talk about this, another type of support is needed. We cannot talk or mention a player because he bought a house here or has a girlfriend from Fort Lauderdale.

"It's nonsense, you have to speak with forceful things. First you have to analyze what the league offers and if this is really possible. Starting from that base, today this is impossible, so there is no more continuity in this conversation."

Martino instead shifted focus to the team's upcoming playoff match against Atlanta United on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Miami need to win to advance to the conference semifinals. A loss for Miami would send this round one best-of-three series to a third and deciding match on Nov. 9 at Chase Stadium.

Inter Miami may be without Busquets for tomorrow's match, after Martino confirmed he remains ill and is being assessed on a day-to-day basis. Though the midfielder played an integral part in the 2-1 victory over Atlanta on Friday, he has not trained leading up to the second match.

"No, he hasn't trained yet. He is still sick, and on a day-to-day basis. We will see today if he is available for the match tomorrow," Martino said.

Beyond Busquets, David Ruiz and recently injured Ian Fray, the rest of the team is healthy for Saturday's game.

The Indiana Fever have hired Stephanie White as their new head coach, the team announced Friday.

White, who spent the past two seasons as head coach of the Connecticut Sun, takes over a franchise led by WNBA star Caitlin Clark.

"As we enter this new era of Fever basketball, I am thrilled to welcome Stephanie back to the franchise," president of basketball operations Kelly Krauskopf said in a statement. "Stephanie is a part of the fabric of this franchise, both as a former player and as a member of our championship coaching staff, so I'm quite familiar with her elite basketball IQ and leadership style. I am confident there is no one who better understands our culture or is more equipped to lead our group of players to the next level."

Building around a promising young core in Clark and Aliyah Boston, the past two No. 1 draft picks, White will look to propel Indiana to the organization's first championship since 2012.

White -- an Indiana native and former star at Purdue -- is plenty familiar with the Fever, serving on their coaching staff from 2011 to 2016, including as head coach for the last two years of that span. She was a member of the franchise's inaugural roster in 2000 and played for the team for four seasons.

"I am incredibly proud and honored to return home to Indiana and lead the Fever during such a pivotal moment in this franchise's history, as well as during during such an important time throughout women's athletics," White added in the Fever's statement. "This franchise has and always will be committed to winning and I look forward to working every day to help deliver another WNBA title to the greatest basketball fans in the world."

White went 55-25 with consecutive semifinals appearances with the Sun, winning WNBA Coach of the Year in 2023. Prior to her return to the WNBA, she coached at Vanderbilt for five seasons, and she has worked for years as a basketball analyst.

She replaces Christie Sides, who led the Fever to a 20-20 record last season and their first playoff berth since 2016. The organization announced it was moving on from Sides, who had just ended her second season at the helm, on Sunday. The Sun announced Monday that White was out after two seasons with the team.

White's hiring is the latest major move for the Fever who tabbed Krauskopf as their new president in September and Amber Cox as their new COO and GM last month.

The arrival of Clark -- the 2024 rookie of the year and a first-team all-WNBA selection -- sent the Fever into another stratosphere of relevance: The franchise led the league in attendance this season, averaging over 17,000 fans per contest, and regularly garnered a million-plus viewers for games.

Not including the league's newest expansion team in Golden State, the WNBA is set to have seven new head coaches taking the helm for the 2025 season, which is a record according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Those who have been watching Tuipulotus barnstorming performances for club and country these past few years, and listened to his passionate, engaging and insightful interviews off the pitch, view his appointment as Scotland captain for the matches against Fiji, South Africa, Portugal and Australia as the most natural step in the world.

Yet the man himself was taken aback when Gregor Townsend pulled him to one side after a Glasgow training session to offer him the role - "I thought I was in trouble" - and share another bit of news, that his brother Mosese was receiving his first Scotland call-up.

In an effort to avoid tempting the fate of injury while playing on Warriors' recent double-header in South Africa, he kept the news close to his chest.

"When I found out, I only told my dad just because I could have got injured over in South Africa," Tuipulotu said.

"My dad's a man of few words and he just said it comes with great responsibility, captaining a country, but I would fit the job.

"Then when I found out the news about Mosese, it was probably just up there with finding out that I'm going to be captain because like myself, I know my own journey, but I know my brother's journey as well, not just in rugby, but in life.

"I'm so proud of him that he's come over here and he really enjoys himself at Edinburgh and I know he's enjoyed his first week at camp. So it's been massive for my family to see me and him back together."

WRU independent board members Alison Thorne and Claire Donovan, tasked with carrying out the review, said while there had been poor behaviour, sexism had not been apparent.

"I've reflected on all the conversations we had with all involved over more than 50 hours and that [sexism] didn't come out," said Donovan.

"I have a 15-year career in rugby at a time when sexism absolutely was very much a part of how teams were treated, but I honestly did not get a sense that was part of the grievance or decision-making process.

"It was potentially a lack of respect and a lack of understanding of the importance of peoples position of power over that of the employees.

"There's a real determination to make things better for the Wales team but we may have lost our way in some of the conversations going forward."

The WRU has announced it is increasing funding of girls and women's rugby by 6m, to a total of 26m over the next five years.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has said he does not want to pile pressure on Cole Palmer ahead of their Premier League clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Palmer has been one of the standout players in the league this season, with seven goals and five assists in nine games.

When asked if he thinks Palmer can carry that form into the game against United, Maresca said: "I hope so. He is going to play. Cole is doing very good all of the time.

"If we expect 20 goals and 20 assists again, it's probably wrong because we don't need to put the pressure on his shoulders."

Chelsea beat United 4-3 at home last season, courtesy of a Palmer hat trick, but have not won at Old Trafford since 2013.

"It shows how difficult that stadium is. Not only for us, but for everyone," Maresca said.

Alongside Palmer, Maresca said that the whole squad, apart from Jadon Sancho who is unwell, will be available for contention on Sunday.

After a disappointing loss to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, Maresca hinted at changes ahead of the clash at Old Trafford.

"We prepared the game to win, unfortunately we lost," Maresca said. "We prepare every game to try and win. The reason we make changes is because we are all one team, they deserve to play."

The Newcastle defeat raised issues surrounding the relationship between Maresca and Enzo Fernández but the rumours of animosity were swiftly surpressed by the Chelsea boss.

"I show frustration with Enzo? I show frustration will all of them," Maresca said. "Don't only look at Enzo. I still trust Enzo. There is not any reason I can lose confidence in him.

"The reason he is not playing in the Premier League is because I take another decision but I have 100% confidence in him."

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said he is willing to lean on the talent emerging from the club's academy with his squad hit by a number of injuries.

City suffered new health concerns in Wednesday's Carabao Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in London, with Savinho stretchered off in tears after defender Manuel Akanji pulled up lame in the pre-game warmup.

Ballon d'Or winner Rodri had already been ruled out for the season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the home draw with Arsenal on Sept. 22, while Kevin De Bruyne hasn't played since the Champions League clash with Inter Milan on Sept. 18.

Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, Jérémy Doku and Oscar Bobb were already on the injury list, while Guardiola said Rúben Dias has been playing through a problem. Guardiola said after the game on Wednesday that De Bruyne, Grealish and Walker wouldn't be back until after the next international break.

Asked about availability for the team's trip to Bournemouth in his news conference on Friday, Guardiola said: "Tomorrow you will see [who is available], I have many doubts, half and half.

"It happens in many clubs and we're not the only club in the world to be going through it. There are a lot [of injuries] in certain departments and positions but it is what it is."

"We are using them [the academy players] because we are in an emergency in certain positions but some of them, we trust them, like in the past," Guardiola said when asked about the utility of of the club's youth setup when bad injury luck striked.

"They help us, that's why the academy is there ... We don't have other options, sometimes."

Guardiola added that Savinho's injury from the Spurs loss was not as serious as first feared, as the Brazil international did not sustain an ankle fracture in the incident.

The Catalan coach would not be drawn on whether the growing list of absentees would force his hand in the January transfer window.

"Maybe in January we will have all the players back, except Rodri," Guardiola said. "When we are all together, the squad is enough, when completely focused and fit. For now we just have to try to recover players as quick as possible and then we will see."

City travel to Bournemouth on Saturday before heading to Lisbon to face new Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim's Sporting CP on Tuesday.

Amorim is to remain with Sporting until the international break, officially beginning his tenure with Guardiola's rivals on Nov. 11.