Williams sisters lose on doubles return

Serena and Venus Williams returned to doubles competition after Wimbledon, with Serena having played sporadically since the grass‑court major and Venus having contested three hard‑court events in recent weeks. The pair got off to a mediocre start against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk and American Peyton Stearns before shaking off what Serena described as “a small rust” in the second set. They quickly fell behind 6‑0 in the deciding 10‑point tie‑break but mounted an impressive comeback. Serena fired two service winners to force the tie‑break back on serve, yet Kostyuk and Stearns held firm and clinched the match after Venus committed a triple fault. “I thought it was fun, it was special, it was good,” Serena said. “We were starting to feel it. It was truly chill to be able to do this again.” The sisters will need wildcards to enter either singles or doubles at the US Open, which opens on Sunday, 30 August. Serena – who called her knee injury “a small traumatic experience, but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger” – has contested only one singles match since her comeback. Venus has lost her last 13 singles matches but has found more success in doubles, reaching the quarter‑finals of the women’s draw at New York last year. At their height, the Williams sisters captured 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together and three Olympic gold medals. In singles action, world‑number‑two Elena Rybakina defeated Magdalena Frech 6‑4 7‑6 (7‑2) after a lengthy rain delay to advance to the fourth round. The Australian Open champion could displace Aryna Sabalenka at the summit of the WTA rankings in Cincinnati. Rybakina must reach the final to have a chance of overtaking Sabalenka; if Sabalenka makes the quarter‑finals, Rybakina would need to win the title to claim the world‑number‑one spot. Canadian Open champion Iga Swiatek shook off a mediocre opening set to down Greece’s Maria Sakkari 4‑6 6‑1 6‑1, while third seed Jessica Pegula prevailed over fellow American Emma Navarro 7‑5 6‑2.