Coco Gauff moved her head-to-head with Iga Swiatek one small step in the right direction with a 6-4, 6-4 win of at times outrageous quality in Sydney. Gauff’s victory gave Team USA a 1-0 lead in the United Cup final, before Taylor Fritz edged past Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(4) to clinch the title.

Swiatek now leads Gauff 11-3, but the American has won their last two meetings as she reworks the forehand and serve that hampered her for much of the 2024 season. Gauff, who added grip expert Matt Daly to her coaching team after splitting with Brad Gilbert, whipped Swiatek’s notoriously heavy forehand onto the lines time and again throughout, varying height and spin to keep the world No. 2 from establishing the baseline rhythm that so often sees her dominate players.

As at the WTA Tour Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Swiatek made more forehand unforced errors than Gauff — but her groundstroke performance in Riyadh was completely errant, while this was a much closer contest that the Pole led on multiple occasions.

Swiatek looked hampered by an issue with her left thigh in the last two games, a separate issue to the right-thigh injury that she has carried since beating Britain’s Katie Boulter. After a titanic eighth game of the second set in which Gauff broke for 4-4, it made for a disappointingly flat end to what had been an incredible encounter. Gauff will exit with renewed confidence in their thus-far slanted rivalry, while Swiatek will look at being a break up in both sets as both an opportunity missed and encouragement for the rest of the 2025 season.

“I have the belief now that I am one of the best players in the world,” Gauff said on the court.

Hurkacz earned a 2-0 lead at the start of the third-set tiebreak against Fritz, who reached his maiden Grand Slam final at last year’s U.S. Open and reached a career-high ranking of No. 4 in the world. But the Pole tightened when on the front foot in two baseline exchanges, moving forward at the wrong time and letting Fritz move out in front.

It is Team USA’s second United Cup title, after winning the inaugural 2022 edition against Italy. Poland has now reached the final twice, losing on both occasions.

(Top photo: Brendon Thorne / Getty Images)

The Chicago Bears weren’t necessarily playing spoiler on Sunday when they took on the Green Bay Packers, but there was still a ton to play for as they wanted to finish the season on a high note. 

That’s exactly what happened thanks to Cairo Santos drilling a 51-yard field goal to beat the Packers, 24-22, snapping Chicago’s 10-game losing streak to end the season with a 5-12 record. 

It was also a historic kick made by Santos as the Bears finally defeated their NFC North foe, snapping an 11-game losing streak to the Packers. 

The game-winning drive came after the Packers’ Brandon McManus drilled a 55-yard field goal to put Green Bay up 22-21 with 54 seconds left to play in the game. 

Caleb Williams and the Bears’ offense knew they had one timeout remaining and needed the right yardage to get in range for Santos to walk it off. The drive didn’t start off well as Williams was sacked, but a costly penalty changed everything. 

A horse collar tackle was called, leading to a 15-yard swing that put Chicago on the 35-yard line instead of back on their own 13. The very next play saw Williams connect with fellow rookie Rome Odunze to put the Bears at midfield with 40 seconds to play. 

BEARS SHOCK PACKERS WITH PUNT RETURN TRICKERY FOR TOUCHDOWN

Then on 3rd-and-6 from Green Bay’s 46-yard line, Williams found D.J. Moore for 12 yards, but an illegal shift was called to negate the gain that would’ve given the Bears enough yards for Santos. 

So on 3rd-and-11 with 15 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, Williams dropped back and found Moore in the middle of the field for an 18-yard pickup. Chicago rushed to the line of scrimmage and spiked the ball with two seconds left, giving Santos the chance to win it. 

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams throws a pass during the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. (Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images)

The kick was hit with enough distance and the right trajectory, and the celebrating ensued at Lambeau Field. 

And while the Packers were already in the playoffs, the loss, coupled with the Washington Commanders’ own game-winning drive, dropped Green Bay to the No. 7 seed in the NFC. They have to go to Philadelphia to face the No. 2 Eagles instead of going to Los Angeles to face the No. 3 Rams.

In the box score, Williams was 21-for-29 for 148 yards with a touchdown pass to Moore, who had nine catches for 86 yards. D’Andre Swift also found the end zone on one of his 20 rushes for 65 yards.

Chicago also had one of the league’s best trick plays of the season as Josh Blackwell ran back a 94-yard punt for the game’s first touchdown after going virtually untouched with the Packers thinking a second Bears punt returner was going to catch it.

Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos kicks a 51-yard game-winning field goal against the Green Bay Packers, Jan. 5, 2025 at Lambeau Field. (Dan Powers USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

For the Packers, Jordan Love initially started this game but was taken out as a precaution with what was called an elbow injury. Malik Willis took over and went 10-of-13 for 136 yards. Josh Jacobs found the end zone for Green Bay again this season as well.

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UCLA has an answer for one of its biggest problems taking up more space than anyone else on the bench.

He stands 7 feet 3, wears size-18 shoes and has a wingspan rivaling that of some regional jets.

His name is Aday Mara, and he’s probably going to have to play significantly more minutes for the Bruins to get where they want to go these next two months, let alone March.

During his 11 minutes against Nebraska on Saturday, the sophomore center made both of his shots, blocked two shots, snagged a steal and threw a perfect pass to Tyler Bilodeau for a dunk. Not shown in the box score were the shots that Mara altered or prevented from being taken, not to mention his supersized screens and the improved spacing for the offense whenever he was in the game.

Mara played nearly all of the game’s final eight and a half minutes. It was no coincidence that during that stretch the No. 15 Bruins nearly wiped out a 12-point deficit before falling to the Cornhuskers, 66-58, at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

UCLA coach Mick Cronin, who has acknowledged needing to play Mara more for at least a month, said the big man’s minutes were limited Saturday because of depth issues. Eric Dailey Jr. did not play because of an ongoing issue with a facial injury and William Kyle III was out after undergoing a recent undisclosed medical procedure.

Those absences left Mara and Bilodeau as the team’s only remaining big men. The Bruins were at their best when both were on the court together, a lineup that Cronin said he would like to have used more.

“It’s hard because you play them a lot together and they get tired at the same time, you’ve got nobody to put in,” Cronin said. “You’re playing Kobe [Johnson] at center, so Aday continues to improve. I’d love to play him a lot more and it’s coming.”

It can’t come soon enough given Mara’s potential to transform his team’s trajectory. Here are five takeaways from UCLA’s first loss in Big Ten play:

More Mara, please

Playing Mara additional minutes might not be optional in the Bruins’ next game.

Michigan features a pair of 7-foot starters in Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin, who will require UCLA to counter with size or risk getting mauled in the frontcourt.

Cronin has said he was hopeful that Dailey and Kyle could return for the game against the Wolverines, giving him the option to play Mara far more than his season average of 9.8 minutes per game. Their return will also allow Cronin to optimize his lineups.

Playing Mara alongside Bilodeau has the added benefit of allowing the latter to spend more time at his natural position, preventing the 6-foot-9 forward from wearing down because he has to exert so much energy defending bigger counterparts.

“I like playing with Aday,” Bilodeau said. “He’s a great passer, great inside, really long and can help a lot on defense around the rim, so it’s awesome.”

Who’s the point?

Dylan Andrews’ extended slump has left Cronin with another big decision.

Does he continue to let Andrews try to play his way back into form or let his point guard come off the bench to give another playmaker a larger role?

Skyy Clark has done a better job of running the offense in recent weeks but suffered several shots to the shoulder during the game against the Cornhuskers. If Clark is available against the Wolverines, he could be the primary point guard while Andrews plays fewer minutes as a defensive specialist who takes only a handful of shots while trying to rebuild his confidence.

Over his last three games, Andrews has more turnovers than assists while averaging 1.3 points.

“Dylan Andrews,” Cronin said, “got to play way better.”

Line them up

Moving Andrews to the bench would give Cronin some interesting options for his starting lineup, assuming everyone was available.

One idea would be to go with Clark, Johnson, Dailey, Bilodeau and Mara. That lineup leaves plenty of quality replacements while providing Cronin with the flexibility to play Bilodeau some at the five spot so that Mara and Kyle don’t need to combine for 40 minutes.

After assessing which lineups are working best, Cronin could go with a mix of reserves and starters to close games. The Bruins’ depth has kept every player reasonably fresh, no one averaging more than Bilodeau’s 27.3 minutes per game.

Boosters needed

Reserves Dominick Harris and Trent Perry couldn’t provide a needed boost to their shorthanded team Saturday, combining to go scoreless with three turnovers.

They can only hope their coach’s trust in them continues when the Bruins get back to full strength.

His five quality minutes against Gonzaga notwithstanding, Perry has struggled since the start of December. He’s looked rattled in spot minutes against quality teams while also routinely getting beaten on defense, though it’s important to remember he’s just a freshman going through all this for the first time.

Harris is a redshirt senior who has not been able to find any sort of rhythm. After ranking No. 3 in the nation last season by making 44.8% of his three-pointers at Loyola Marymount, Harris has made just two of 18 shots (11.1%) from long range in his first season with the Bruins.

Home cooking?

Many UCLA fans received a robocall from Cronin last week, imploring them to come to the Michigan game at Pauley Pavilion to support the team.

The Bruins need the attendance boost given they are averaging just 4,830 fans for home games. Only USC, averaging 4,163, has had smaller home crowds among Big Ten teams.

If UCLA wants to contend for a conference title during its first Big Ten season, it’s going to need to win nearly every home game after learning just how hard it is to win on the road.