Serena Williams to team up with Carlos Alcaraz in US Open mixed doubles (Agency Images)

Serena Williams is set to make her return to the US Open in a blockbuster mixed doubles partnership with Carlos Alcaraz. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced on Saturday that Williams and Alcaraz have received a wild card into the US Open mixed doubles main draw, with the event set to begin on Tuesday.The partnership brings together two generations of Grand Slam champions and is expected to be one of the biggest attractions of this year’s tournament.

Serena returns to Flushing Meadows

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion will be back at the US Open for the first time since 2022. Williams returned to competitive tennis this summer after a break from the sport. She played singles at Wimbledon and later teamed up with her older sister Venus Williams in doubles at the Cincinnati Open.It remains unclear whether Serena will also compete in the women’s singles draw. The USTA still has one women’s singles wild card available, although Williams has not confirmed whether she intends to use it.

Alcaraz returns after injury

Alcaraz, meanwhile, is set to return to action after being sidelined since April with a right wrist injury. The Spaniard recently confirmed that he will defend his US Open singles title, making his mixed doubles partnership with Williams an additional attraction at Flushing Meadows.The 2026 mixed doubles event will feature a revamped format designed to bring some of tennis’ biggest stars into the competition. Matches will be played in a best-of-three format with sets decided at four games, no-ad scoring and a 10-point match tiebreak if required.The winning team will also share a $1 million prize.

Star-studded mixed doubles field

Williams and Alcaraz are part of an impressive field featuring several high-profile combinations. Former world No. 1s Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic will form another headline pairing, while Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud are also set to compete.American stars Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz will team up, while reigning champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori will return to defend their title.For Williams, the US Open holds a special place in her career. She has won the tournament multiple times and previously captured the US Open mixed doubles title in 1998 alongside Max Mirnyi.

Gilas Pilipinas women after beating Senegal in the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-qualifying Tournament. –FIBA PHOTO

The Gilas Pilipinas Women did not have the most colorful run in the recently concluded Fiba Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico.

That, though, doesn’t faze new coach BT Toews on his long-term goal with the Nationals.

“We want to move forward,” Toews said shortly after Gilas’ run in Mexico came to a halt. “Fighting is not enough at this level; your brain has to follow.”

“We’re still waiting for the execution to get better and [commit] fewer hiccups in a game.”

The Philippines only won one game in the pre-qualifiers when it downed Senegal on Friday, 79-75, to close out its campaign.

“One game does not give you an identity, but we’re definitely headed in the right direction,” Toews said.

With losses to Canada and Mexico, however, the Philippines lost its chance for an outright ticket to the Olympic qualifiers.

With the tourney being Toews’ first as head coach after replacing Pat Aquino, pressure was in the equation.

Instead, the veteran tactician chose to focus on the Nationals’ next big assignment, which is the upcoming Asian Games in Japan.

“That’s another chance for us to learn; that’s another chance for us to compete,” he said. “But we want to win more than anything else.” INQ

Having previously fought and lost to Manny Pacquiao, Adrien Broner has considered how his former foe would fare in a prime-for-prime battle with Terence Crawford.

The two all-time greats were in talks to collide in 2021, only for Pacquiao to schedule a clash with Errol Spence Jr before losing his WBA title to replacement opponent Yordenis Ugas.

But even if he had fought Crawford, the Filipino icon was hardly in his prime following back-to-back points victories over Broner and Keith Thurman.

Instead, many consider his peak to be around 2009, back when he scored vicious stoppages over Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto.

Crawford, meanwhile, was arguably in his prime when he fought Spence in 2023, becoming the undisputed welterweight king with a dominant ninth-round finish.

All eight of his 147lb outings, in fact, resulted in stoppages where ‘Bud’ utilised his freakish 75in reach and proved the superior technician.

Broner, therefore, has told FightHype that he believes Crawford would be too skilled for a remarkably fast and ferocious Pacquiao.

“Crawford [would win]. I just think he’s too technical. First of all he’s sharp, he don’t fade [in the later rounds], he’s long and he got power …  Timing beats speed any day.”

While Pacquiao famously became an eight-division world champion, five of them lineal, Crawford retired in December after having won all four belts in three weight classes.

He was also the consensus top dog at 135lbs and held a major super-welterweight belt, yet most would sooner applaud his undisputed title reigns.

In particular, his victories over Spence and Canelo Alvarez, who he unanimously outpointed in September, will almost certainly see him secure a place in the Hall of Fame.

Many trainers with a promising young horse often have the allure of a significant spring race firmly in their sights.

This sentiment is certainly shared by Cranbourne-based trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr.

With Golden Slipper winner Guest House already earmarked for ambitious targets, they are eager to see Buggsy follow a similar path towards spring success.

However, the immediate priority is to assess Buggsy’s condition in his first start back at Sandown on Saturday, competing in the Chef’s Hat Handicap (1000m).

Buggsy made a winning debut over the same course and distance in March and followed this with a third-place finish in the Listed Redoute’s Choice Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on April 11.

Kent Jnr has observed that Buggsy has ‘come of age’ this campaign.

“He won track and distance on debut, albeit very greenly, and he had probably come to the end of his prep when he ran third in a Listed race,” Kent Jnr explained.

“Whilst he only got beaten a length and ran third, I thought there was a bit more there and that he had come to the end of it by then, so we gave him a nice break, and have set him for the spring.

“He’s trialled up well and I think there’s improvement to come. His trackrider thinks the run will bring him on and it’s hard to disagree with him.

“He’s a strong colt but I think he’s forward enough for 1000 metres.”

Although Kent Jnr believes Buggsy is fit enough to race and potentially win over 1000m on Saturday, he highlighted the challenges involved in preparing the colt on tracks that have been affected by rain.

“It’s the same every spring,” Kent Jnr remarked.

“We’re ducking and diving, avoiding Polytrack trials and waiting for the grass, but we’ve had a pretty good run with him.

“He’s had two good grass trials, he went well in the second one when he went head and head with a Group 1 filly from New Zealand (Lara Antipova) and they cleared out from third.

“He’s a sprinting colt. We don’t think we’ll get him out to a mile this preparation.

“That’s our feel at the moment and the obvious races beckon if he goes well on Saturday.”

Craig Williams, who rode Buggsy to his inaugural victory, will be reunited with the colt for Saturday’s race.

Compare the latest racing odds from leading bookmakers for the Sandown meeting.

The Indian women’s cricket team are all set to take part in the upcoming Asian Games 2026, which will be held in Japan from September 19 to October 4. The Women in Blue won the gold medal in the women’s cricket competition in the 2023 edition held in Hangzhou. They beat Sri Lanka by 19 runs in a low-scoring final, defending a score of 116.

The selectors have named a strong India Women squad for Asian Games 2026. The team will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur, while Smriti Mandhana remains the vice-captain. India Women, however, have been dealt a big blow ahead of the competition as experienced batter Jemimah Rodrigues has been ruled out due to a right hamstring injury she picked up while playing in The Hundred in England.

India Women‘s Asian Games 2026 squad is dominated by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) players. In this feature, we look at five players from the squad who were part of RCB’s triumph in Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026.

#1 Smriti Mandhana

Mandhana led RCB to victory in WPL 2026. In nine matches, the 30-year-old opening batter scored 377 runs at an average of 53.85 and a strike rate of 153.25, with three half-centuries. The southpaw slammed 96 off 61 balls against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the DY Patil Stadium, hitting 13 fours and three sixes.

Mandhana hit 87 off 41 balls in the final of WPL 2026 against DC in Vadodara. Her knock featured 12 fours and three sixes as RCB chased down 204 in 19.4 overs. Overall, she has played 35 WPL games, scoring 1,023 runs at an average of 31 and a strike rate of 136.76, with seven half-centuries.

#2 Richa Ghosh

Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh will be a key member of India Women’s Asian Games 2026 squad. She has that X-factor in her batting to make a big difference. In nine matches for RCB in WPL 2026, she contributed 189 runs at an average of 31.50 and a strike rate of 151.20. Ghosh slammed 90 off 50 balls against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Vadodara, hitting 10 fours and six sixes in a losing cause.

Ghosh has featured in 35 WPL matches so far. In 33 matches, she has scored runs at an average of 33.91 and a strike rate of 151.02, with five half-centuries.

#3 Shreyanka Patil (subject to fitness)

Off-spinner Shreyanka Patil’s availability for Asian Games 2026 remains subject to fitness. She was stretchered off the field after twisting her right ankle during the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 match in Leeds on June 17.

Shreyanka played nine matches for RCB in WPL 2026, claiming 11 wickets at an average of 25 and an economy rate of 9.01. The 24-year-old registered figures of 5-23 from 3.5 overs against Gujarat Giants (GG) at DY Patil Stadium. Overall, she has played 24 matches and has claimed 30 wickets at an average of 20.80 and an economy rate of 8.72.

#4 Radha Yadav

Experienced leg-spinner Radha Yadav has also been picked in India Women’s Asian Games 2026 squad. She played nine matches for RCB in WPL 2026, but claimed only two wickets at an average of 74 and an economy rate of 7.78.

Radha, however, played a crucial role with the bat in hand, scoring 114 runs at a strike rate of 140.74. The 26-year-old slammed 66 off 47 balls against GG at DY Patil Stadium. She also hit the winning runs in the final, smashing 12* off five balls. Radha has played 29 WPL games in which she has claimed 16 wickets, with one four-fer. With the bat, she has scored 188 runs at a strike rate of 142.42.

#5 Arundhati Reddy

Pacer Arundhati Reddy has also been picked in India Women’s Asian Games 2026 squad. In seven matches for RCB in WPL 2026, the right-arm pacer claimed two wickets at an average of 96.50 and an economy rate of 8.77. Overall, the 29-year-old has played 27 WPL games, picking up 16 wickets at an average of 39.31 and an economy rate of 8.40.