Serena ousted in straight sets
Serena Williams lost her first match since telling the world she is ready to leave professional tennis.
No one knows exactly how many more matches Williams will play before walking away, and the 23-time Grand Slam champion exited the National Bank Open in Toronto on Wednesday night with a 6-2, 6-4 loss to Belinda Bencic.
“A lot of emotions, obviously,” Williams said, her voice shaking during an on-court interview. “I wish I could have played better. Belinda played so well today.”
The second-round match at the hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open came a day after the 40-year-old Williams announced “the countdown has begun” on her playing career, saying she wants to have another child and pursue business interests.
She did not state precisely what her last event will be, but did make it sound as if her final farewell could come at the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 29 in New York.
Bencic will face two-time major champ Garbiñe Muguruza, who beat Kaia Kanepi 6-4, 6-4.
Seeded players who left the draw included No. 2 Anett Kontaveit, No. 4 Paula Badosa, No. 5 Ons Jabeur, No. 13 Leylah Fernandez and No. 16 Jelena Ostapenko.
• Nick Kyrgios beat top-ranked defending champion Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2 in the National Bank Open.
Tommy Paul beat secondseeded Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (4), 7-6 (7), 6-3, and other winners included No. 4 Casper Ruud, No. 7 Jannik Sinner, No. 8 Hubert Hurkacz, No. 9 Cameron Norrie and No. 10 Taylor Fritz
• Naomi Osaka was forced to withdraw from her opening match of the Canadian Open due to a back injury, hampering her preparations for the U.S. Open.
in North Carolina.
Chesterfield scored two runs in the top of the first and added three in the fourth inning to take a 6-0 lead against La Verne pitcher Katie Coldiron, who struck out 11 batters.
The West champs were held to three hits — singles from Laila Washington, Zoey Colburn and Sofia Ayaberrano — by Kaylee Hodges, who also struck out 11.
La Verne faces Northwest at 7 a.m. today on ESPN+.
• J.J. Silva had four hits, and Troy Tewers struck out 12 as Arizona defeated Northern California 8-1 in the West Region semifinal in San Bernardino.
Silva went 4 for 4 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI as Peoria, Ariz.'s Sidewinder LL defeated Rocklin's Tri-City LL four days after losing to the NorCal champions 5-0 on Saturday.
Arizona, which rebounded from the opening day loss, now has won consecutive games and will play Hawaii in the West Region championship game at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Busch to miss another NASCAR Cup race
Kurt Busch said he pushed himself too hard trying to return to NASCAR competition and will miss his fourth consecutive Cup Series race because of concussion-like symptoms.
Busch has been out since crashing in qualifying on July 23 at Pocono Raceway. He had hoped to be back in the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing on Sunday at Richmond Raceway.
Ty Gibbs will again replace Busch.
• Noah Gragson finally earned a promotion to NASCAR's top level and will drive for Petty GMS next season.
Gragson will replace Ty Dillon in the No. 42 Chevrolet beginning with next season's exhibition race at L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
He will be teammates with Erik Jones, who recently signed an extension to continue with the team that launched this year when GMS Racing moved up to the Cup Series by merging with Richard Petty Motorsports.
Former football coach Rolovich suing WSU
Former Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich filed a claim against the university seeking $25 million for wrongful termination after he was fired last year for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Rolovich's attorney, Brian Fahling, previously indicated Rolovich would take legal action, claiming religious discrimination. Rolovich, who is Catholic, was denied a religious exemption from Gov. Jay Inslee's mandate requiring state employees to get the vaccine.
He was fired in October after he had coached just 11 games with the Cougars over two seasons, going 5-6.
Fahling filed a 34-page letter with the university appealing Rolovich's firing in November. That appeal was denied.
At the time of his firing, Rolovich was working under a five-year contract, on which three seasons remained. He was paid $3.2 million per year, the highest public salary in the state.
• LAFC's Carlos Vela scored in the third minute and Seattle's Raúl Ruidíaz's converted a penalty kick in the 73rd minute as the Major League Soccer All-Stars beat Mexico's Liga MX 2-1. The MLS beat Liga MX on PKs last year.
• Connor Bedard had a goal and an assist as Canada opened play in the postponed IIHF World Junior Championships with a 5-2 victory over Latvia. In other games Wednesday, Sweden beat Switzerland 3-2 and Germany defeated Austria 4-2.
The U.S. opened with a 5-1 win over Germany on Tuesday.
• Cleveland Browns Pro Bowl return specialist Jakeem Grant will miss the upcoming season after tests confirmed he tore his left Achilles tendon at practice.
• Hideki Matsuyama withdrew from the FedEx St. Jude Championship because of a neck injury, saying he is hopeful he can return in the postseason. Matsuyama, the first Japanese man to win a major championship, is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this season and goes into the FedEx Cup playoffs as the No. 11 seed.