{
  "id": 5732552,
  "title": "Alcaraz, Sabalenka into US Open last 16 as Williams sisters lose on return",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/alcaraz-sabalenka-into-us-open-last-16-as-williams-sisters-lose-on-5732552",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-05T06:21:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/sports/racquet-sports/2026/09/1526180/alcaraz-sabalenka-us-open-last-16-williams-sisters-lose"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the last 16 of the US Open, while tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams suffered a heartbreaking loss in their doubles return. Alcaraz, who had been out for four months due to injury, defeated Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 and will face Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals. Sabalenka dominated a grueling 6-3, 6-4 victory over Kamilla Rakhimova and will next play Taylor Townsend. The Williams sisters, who hadn't competed together in Grand Slam doubles since 2022, were upset 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7) by Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joseph in a three-hour marathon. Jessica Pegula beat Leylah Fernandez, Marta Kostyuk topped Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Emma Navarro stunned Karolina Muchova. Frances Tiafoe, an 11th seed, cruised past Valentin Vacherot and will face Daniil Medvedev, while Stefanos Tsitsipas upset 18th seed Jiri Lehecka and will face Ben Shelton in the next round.",
  "summary": "NEW YORK: Defending singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka sailed into the last 16 of the US Open on Friday as tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams suffered an agonising defeat on their long-awaited return to Grand Slam doubles.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Feeling good in return from injury, Carlos Alcaraz plans to take more long breaks from tennis",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/feeling-good-in-return-from-injury-carlos-alcaraz-plans-to-take-more-5677593",
        "published": "2026-09-05T00:27:14.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Feeling good in return from injury, Carlos Alcaraz plans to take more long breaks from tennis",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/feeling-good-in-return-from-injury-carlos-alcaraz-plans-to-take-more",
        "published": "2026-09-05T00:27:47.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Alcaraz, Sabalenka into US Open last 16 as Williams sisters lose on return",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/alcaraz-sabalenka-into-us-open-last-16-as-williams-sisters-lose-on-5742034",
        "published": "2026-09-05T07:15:29.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "Alcaraz, Sabalenka into US Open last 16 as Williams sisters lose on return",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/alcaraz-sabalenka-into-us-open-last-16-as-williams-sisters-lose-on-5752551",
        "published": "2026-09-05T08:45:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Serena and Venus Williams crash out of US Open after dramatic tiebreaker",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/05/serena-and-venus-williams-crash-out-of-us-open-after-dramatic",
        "published": "2026-09-05T09:32:45.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}