Tennis: Top seed Venus Williams was dumped out in the first round of the Istanbul Cup as the seven-time grand slam champion lost 6-4 7-6 to Kateryna Bondarenko. The Ukrainian had to come through qualifying to reach the main draw but the world number 119 was too good for Williams, particularly in the first set, which she won after breaking serve three times. Williams looked on course for a comeback when the American won four games in a row to lead the second set 6-5 but Bondarenko dug deep to hold on and seal the match in a tie-break.

Golf: South Korean golfer Bae Sang-Moon, who has won twice on the PGA Tour, is to return home to complete his military service after losing a legal battle to defer his conscription yesterday. The 29-year-old, who was granted US residency in 2013, was charged in February with violating South Korea‘s military service regulations after failing to secure an extension to his overseas travel permit. Bae was allowed to stay in the United States while his lawsuit against that decision was pending but a court in his home city of Daegu yesterday backed the Military Manpower Administration, Yonhap news agency re-ported. Bae, who was contesting the MMA’s assertion that he had not spent enough time out of South Korea in 2014 to qualify as an overseas resident, said he would join the army soon.

Snooker: Former world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan won the Pink Ribbon tournament in Gloucester, beating amateur Darryn Walker 4-2 in the final earlier this week. Five-time World Champion O’Sullivan took the trophy at the tournament at the South West Snooker Academy. The event raised over £11,000 for Breast Cancer Now.