Qualifier sends Venus packing
Ninth-seeded Venus Williams was knocked out of the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio, by qualifier Ashleigh Barty in a secondround match.
Barty, ranked No. 48 on the WTA Tour, bounced back from dropping the second set to pull out a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 upset of the 37-year-old Wimbledon finalist, who is ranked No. 9.
Also being upset was No. 3 Angelique Kerber, who lost to Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (11). Americans Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens advanced.
On the men’s side, wild card Frances Tiafoe broke through with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory against No. 4 Alexander Zverev, who was coming off his second ATP Masters title in Montreal. Adrian Mannarino downed Sam Querrey 6-2, 7-6 (4).
Kei Nishikori is the latest top player to pull out of the U.S. Open with an injury. The agent for the 2014 runner-up and 2016 semifinalist at Flushing Meadows said Nishikori will miss the rest of the season because of a torn tendon in his right wrist.
Golf: Stanford’s Maverick McNealy, the second seed, lost 2 and 1 to Scotland’s Connor Syme in the opening round of match play in the U.S. Amateur at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
World No. 1-ranked Joaquin Niemann of Chile was eliminated by NCAA champion Braden Thornberry of Mississippi 2 up, and San Jose’s Justin Suh, a USC junior, fell to Garrett Barber 2 and 1.
NBA: The Denver Nuggets hired veteran NBA coach Bob Weiss as an assistant on Michael Malone’s staff.
Boxing: Nevada boxing regulators gave Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor an exemption to a rule requiring 10-ounce gloves for fights at 154 pounds, approving 8-ounce gloves for the Aug. 26 bout.
Under Nevada regulations, 10-ounce gloves are required in fights above 147 pounds, and the bout is set for 154 pounds. But Mayweather has worn 8-ounce gloves most of his career, and McGregor has worn 4-ounce gloves in his UFC fights.
College basketball: South Carolina guard Rakym Felder has been suspended indefinitely and won’t attend classes this fall, another blow to the thinning backcourt of a team that reached the Final Four in April. Felder had been suspended since June 30 for his involvement in a fight outside a bar. He was arrested July 13 and charged with assault and battery.
WNBA: Candace Parker scored 21 points and the visiting Los Angeles Sparks eased by the Washington Mystics 95-62 . ... Jewell Loyd scored 16 points and Crystal Langhorne made a go-ahead basket with 11.1 seconds left, helping the host Seattle Storm beat the Minnesota Lynx 62-61.
Obituary: Tommy Hawkins, the first black athlete to earn All-America honors in basketball at Notre Dame and who played for the Los Angeles Lakers in a 10-year NBA career, died in Malibu. He was 80.