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French Open to Stick with Line Judges for 2026 Edition 

In the 2025 edition of the major, 404 referees were present with 284 from France alone. (AFP)
In the 2025 edition of the major, 404 referees were present with 284 from France alone. (AFP)
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French Open to Stick with Line Judges for 2026 Edition 

In the 2025 edition of the major, 404 referees were present with 284 from France alone. (AFP)
In the 2025 edition of the major, 404 referees were present with 284 from France alone. (AFP)

The French Open will continue to use line judges for the 2026 edition despite the other three Grand Slams having already switched to an Electronic Line Calling (ELC) system, the French Tennis Federation said.

The ELC system was first deployed as an experiment at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan in 2017 before being more widely adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ATP Tour has implemented the system at all of its events from this season, and while the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon now rely on the technology Roland Garros is opting to retain the human element for at least another year.

The French federation (FFT) said its officials had delivered a high standard of refereeing at the tournament.

"For the next Roland Garros, the FFT will continue to highlight the excellence of French refereeing, recognized throughout the world, and which brings complete satisfaction to the organization of the tournament," it said on Monday.

In the 2025 edition of the major, 404 referees were present with 284 from France alone.

At Roland Garros, officials can inspect traces left by the ball on the red dust to help them make decisions, though there remains room for human error.

ELC, which has been developed to account for the differences in grass, hardcourt and claycourt surfaces, is now also available across a wider range of tournaments below the Grand Slams and elite tours.

While it is mostly popular, the system received mixed reviews at Wimbledon this year due to malfunctions, while some players were left baffled by ELC calls during claycourt events in Madrid and Stuttgart.

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Williams Sisters Granted US Open Doubles Wildcard

Serena Williams, left, and Venus Williams, right, both of the United States, wave to the crowd at the end of a women's doubles match against Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, and Peyton Stearns, also of the United States, at the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in Mason, Ohio. (AP)
Serena Williams, left, and Venus Williams, right, both of the United States, wave to the crowd at the end of a women's doubles match against Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, and Peyton Stearns, also of the United States, at the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in Mason, Ohio. (AP)
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Williams Sisters Granted US Open Doubles Wildcard

Serena Williams, left, and Venus Williams, right, both of the United States, wave to the crowd at the end of a women's doubles match against Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, and Peyton Stearns, also of the United States, at the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in Mason, Ohio. (AP)
Serena Williams, left, and Venus Williams, right, both of the United States, wave to the crowd at the end of a women's doubles match against Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, and Peyton Stearns, also of the United States, at the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in Mason, Ohio. (AP)

Venus and Serena Williams are slated to compete in women's doubles at the 2026 US Open after being granted a wildcard, tournament officials announced Wednesday.

The announcement by the US Tennis Association follows Serena Williams' dramatic return to Arthur Ashe stadium Tuesday when she and mixed double partner Carlos Alcaraz of Spain won their first match before losing in the quarterfinals.

Venus Williams had earlier been granted a USTA wildcard to compete in women's singles, an event Serena Williams is not participating in.

The sisters together have combined for 14 women's doubles Grand Slam titles, including two US Opens. They have also won three gold medals together at Olympics in women's doubles.

The sisters last competed together in New York in 2022 when they lost their opening match to the Czech team of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova.

They dropped their opening match at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month.

The pair had been entered in Wimbledon earlier this summer, but withdrew after Serena suffered an injury in an opening round singles loss.

Sports

English Soccer Star Raheem Sterling Charged with Dangerous Driving after Highway Collision

Raheem Sterling (Reuters)
Raheem Sterling (Reuters)
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English Soccer Star Raheem Sterling Charged with Dangerous Driving after Highway Collision

Raheem Sterling (Reuters)
Raheem Sterling (Reuters)

Former England forward Raheem Sterling has been charged with three offenses including dangerous driving after being involved in a collision on a highway, police said Wednesday.

The charges relate to an incident on May 28 when a Lamborghini was involved in a “single-vehicle collision” on the M3 in southern England, the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary said in a statement provided to The Associated Press.

The 31-year-old Sterling is accused of dangerous driving, possession of nitrous oxide — also known as laughing gas — for wrongful inhalation and failing to provide a sample for suspected alcohol or substance use, said the police force, which added that no other vehicles were involved in the collision and no injuries were reported.

Sterling is due to appear at a magistrates’ court on Sept. 15 for a hearing.

Sterling is currently without a club. He has played for a number of England's top teams — Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal — and was at Dutch club Feyenoord on a short-term deal last season.

 

 

 

 

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Bayern’s Dominance Overshadows Bundesliga on Klopp’s Return as Germany Coach

Bayern's Harry Kane holds the trophy after winning the Franz Beckenbauer German Supercup match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP)
Bayern's Harry Kane holds the trophy after winning the Franz Beckenbauer German Supercup match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP)
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Bayern’s Dominance Overshadows Bundesliga on Klopp’s Return as Germany Coach

Bayern's Harry Kane holds the trophy after winning the Franz Beckenbauer German Supercup match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP)
Bayern's Harry Kane holds the trophy after winning the Franz Beckenbauer German Supercup match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (AP)

When Jürgen Klopp surveys the Bundesliga upon his return as Germany coach, he could be forgiven for sneaking a look elsewhere for excitement.

A new season of Germany’s top division starts Friday, but little will have changed from before with Bayern Munich expected to saunter to another league title with minimal opposition. It would be Bayern’s third in a row and 14th in 15 seasons.

The Bavarian powerhouse’s dominance overshadows the league with Bayern treating the competition as a warmup for the Champions League.

“The battle for starting spots at FC Bayern is more exciting than the race for the German championship,” former West Germany great Lothar Matthäus wrote in a column for Sky, where he predicted Vincent Kompany’s team would again win the Bundesliga by more than 10 points.

Bayer Leverkusen’s league and cup double while remaining unbeaten in 2024 is the only blot on Bayern’s record since Klopp led Borussia Dortmund to back-to-back titles in 2012.

This season, Klopp’s former club is rebuilding after a summer of change, as is Leverkusen for the second year after its unprecedented success under Xabi Alonso.

Stuttgart is the most settled of Bayern’s rivals in what will be its fourth full season under coach Sebastian Hoeneß, but the gulf in class and resources between the sides is again likely to be too much.

Bayern routed Stuttgart 3-0 in the German Cup final in May with Harry Kane hitting a hat trick to take his season tally to 61 goals.

Kane will be keen to get off the mark again when Stuttgart visits Munich for the season opener on Friday.

Bayern’s improvements

Bayern is expected to be even stronger in Kompany’s third season as coach.

Morocco forward Ismael Saibari has arrived from PSV Eindhoven to boost an already fearsome attack including Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Díaz.

Germany defender Nathaniel Brown has arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt and has already filled in midfield with Saibari still nursing an injury from the World Cup.

Bayern also finalized the transfer of Senegal teenager Bara Sapoko Ndiaye from Gambia All Stars. The promising 18-year-old midfielder is expected to feature more following the departure of Leon Goretzka.

Jamal Musiala is back after missing much of last season with a broken leg, though it remains to be seen how he and the club deal with the neurological issue that caused him to collapse during two warmup games after a change in medication.

All change in Dortmund

Dortmund’s rebuilding started long before the summer with new sporting director Ole Book arriving from Elversberg in March to replace Sebastian Kehl, who departed after reported disputes with managing director Lars Ricken. Carsten Cramer took over from Hans-Joachim Watzke as CEO in October.

Book inherited a squad in drastic need of change and has had a busy summer, bringing in attack-minded midfielders Konstantinos Karetsas, Joey Vermaan and Giannis Konstantelias from Genk, PSV and PAOK, respectively, to replace Karim Adeyemi (Barcelona) and Julian Brandt (Ajax).

Young defenders Joane Gadou and Kaua Prates arrived from Salzburg and Cruzeiro, respectively, while Ecuadorian midfielder Justin Lerma and Japanese teenager Takato Yamamoto will also have opportunities to shine under coach Niko Kovač.

A proposed move for Said El Mala broke down over Cologne’s demands for the teenage star.

Brand was among several players including Salih Özcan and Niklas Süle whose contracts expired. Julien Duranville and Cole Campbell also departed, while Brazilian defender Yan Couto was allowed join Como on loan.

More transfers are expected before Sept. 1.

Leverkusen again looks to Spain

After enjoying so much success under Xabi Alonso in 2024, Leverkusen has turned to another Spanish coach, Carles Martínez, who led Toulouse to mid-table finishes over three seasons in the French league.

Leverkusen’s first season without Alonso was rocky and disappointing. Erik ten Hag had a brief and turbulent spell in charge, then Kasper Hjulmand could only lead the team to sixth.

Martínez will be charged with a top-four finish for Champions League qualification.

Scrapping for best of the rest

Eintracht Frankfurt, Leipzig and Stuttgart are also expected to challenge for the financially lucrative top-four places.

Adi Hütter is back as Frankfurt coach to calm the waters after Albert Riera’s volatile tenure last season. Riera fell out with players, team officials and fans, then blasted the club after he was fired and said he would not take any Frankfurt players for future projects. Riera led Frankfurt to eighth, just outside the European qualification places.

Leipzig fired its coach after finishing third last season, so the pressure is on Martin Demichelis to do better. He’ll have to do it without Yan Diomande, who joined Real Madrid in a big money move. Christopher Nkunku has returned to help fill in.

Ruhr derby returns Schalke is back in the Bundesliga after three seasons away, meaning more work for police around with the Ruhr derby back on against Dortmund.

Miron Muslić’s team will aim to last longer than the solitary season it managed upon promotion in 2022, though there are fears of an over-reliance on veteran forward Edin Džeko, who’s staying on for another year.

Paderborn and Elversberg are the other promoted sides. Both will be -- like Schalke -- fighting for survival in the 64th Bundesliga season. While Paderborn was promoted before, in 2014 and 2019, it’s the first time for Saarland-based Elversberg, which was playing at the fourth-tier level in 2021-22.

Even if the Bundesliga title race feels predictable, the battle for survival and European qualification will be anything but.