Venus Williams lost her first singles match of 2026 in Auckland but showed she is still competitive at 45 while Nick Kyrgios fell at first hurdle in Brisbane.
Williams was given a standing ovation after going down to fifth-seeded Magda Linette at the WTA Tour tournament in New Zealand.
The American put up a superb show before losing 6-4 4-6 6-2 to the No 52-ranked Linette, who was only two years old when Williams played her first professional singles match.
Tuesday’s match was Williams’ 1,101st in singles on the WTA Tour but the competitiveness she showed against a player 12 years her junior will give her confidence as she heads to Australia for the Hobart International and the Australian Open.
“Look at the level she brought. She moved really great,” Linette said in a courtside TV interview. “She was really hitting well, especially when she was running to the open space.
“It was really impressive and I really had to stay calm. She pushes you to a spot you don’t want to be and that’s where I was for a while, so I’m really glad I was able to refresh and come back with a little bit better game.”
Williams, ranked No 582, has been a regular visitor to Auckland in the latter part of her career.
This year, she told reporters, she felt under no pressure. “The biggest pressure is the one we put on ourselves, right?” Williams said. “And then when you look back and you’re like, ‘it wasn’t such a big deal.’
“So hopefully I can look back with the 20/20 vision while I’m in the present, like just let it go, let it flow, enjoy it and be in the moment. That’s not easy to do and that’s why people love sports, right?”
Katie Boulter made it through to the last 16 with a 6-3 6-3 win over Yulia Starodubtseva but faces a tough task against top seed Elina Svitolina next.
She joined fellow Brits Fran Jones and Sonay Kartal in the next round with world No 68 Kartal upsetting sixth seed Janice Tjen 6-1 6-7 (7-4) 6-3 to progress in New Zealand.
Jones claimed the biggest win of her career so far to defeat world No 15 Emma Navarro in the first round of the ASB Classic.
Sabalenka eases through Brisbane opener; Kyrgios falls at first hurdle
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World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka began her 2026 campaign with a thumping victory at the Brisbane International, while her “Battle of the Sexes” opponent Nick Kyrgios fell short on his return to singles action after nearly a year out.
Sabalenka, who was beaten in straight sets by Kyrgios a week ago in a Dubai exhibition, resumed her preparations for the Australian Open by turning on the style to beat Cristina Bucsa 6-0 6-1 in just 47 minutes to reach the third round.
“Definitely my serve worked really well,” she said after the quickest victory of her career.
“I did a couple of serve-and-volleys, which is like, ‘wow,’ so yeah, I’m super happy with the level. I’m happy to be back. I always enjoy playing in front of all you guys. That was a great performance from me.”
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The injury-plagued Kyrgios also had a short spell on court in his first singles match since March, the Australian losing 6-3 6-4 to Aleksandar Kovacevic in 65 minutes.
The 30-year-old is hoping for a wildcard at Melbourne Park and will try to build his match fitness when he teams up with Thanasi Kokkinakis for a doubles round of 16 match on Wednesday.
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The duo won their match against Matthew Ebden and Rajeev Ram on Sunday and will take on Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul next.
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