Venus Williams loses in Auckland but shows she's still competitive at 45

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Venus Williams has lost her first singles match of 2026 to fifth-seeded Magda Linette at the WTA Tour tournament in Auckland, New Zealand.

The 45-year-old Williams put up a superb show before losing 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to the No. 52-ranked Linette, who was only two years old when Williams played her first professional singles match.

Tuesday's match was Williams' 1,101st in singles on the WTA Tour. But the competitiveness she showed against a player 12 years her junior will give her confidence as she heads to Australia for the Hobart International and the Australian Open.

The seven-time major champion received wild-card entries into the Auckland tournament and also in Hobart from Jan. 12 and at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year at Melbourne Park.

The Auckland match was Williams' first since she lost 6-3, 2-6, 5-1 to Karolina Muchova in the first round of the U.S. Open last August. She played only three tournaments in 2025, beating Peyton Stearns in July to become the second-oldest woman — behind Martina Navratilova — to win a match on the WTA Tour.

Williams appeared fit, moved freely, served seven aces and hit hard on both sides.

“Look at the level she brought. She moved really great,” Linette said in a courtside TV interview. "She was really hitting well, especially when she was running to the open space.

"It was really impressive and I really had to stay calm. She pushes you to a spot you don't want to be and that's where I was for a while, so I'm really glad I was able to refresh and come back with a little bit better game.”

Williams, ranked No. 582 this week, has been a regular visitor to Auckland in the latter part of her career. She beat Caroline Wozniacki in the 2015 final for the 41st of her 46 WTA Tour titles. This year, she told reporters, she felt under no pressure.

“The biggest pressure is the one we put on ourselves, right?” Williams said. “And then when you look back and you’re like, ‘it wasn’t such a big deal.’

“So hopefully I can look back with the 20/20 vision while I’m in the present, like just let it go, let it flow, enjoy it and be in the moment. That’s not easy to do and that’s why people love sports, right?”

Williams started strongly and had her first ace in her opening service game. She was broken by Linette in the fifth game and trailed 5-2 before breaking back. Linette took the first set in 51 minutes.

In the second set, Williams broke in the sixth and 10th games. She hit hard to the corners, then was able pull out sharp winners down the line. She also went to the net effectively.

Linette broke decisively in the fifth game of the third set.

Williams combined with Auckland top-seed Elina Svitolina to play doubles on Monday, losing 7-6 (7), 6-1 to Iva Jovic and Alexandra Eala. Svitolina was playing her first singles match later Tuesday.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Venus Williams of the U.S. hits a forehand to Magda Linette of Poland during her singles match at the ASB Classic Women's Tennis Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday Jan. 6, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

Venus Williams of the U.S. hits a forehand to Magda Linette of Poland during her singles match at the ASB Classic Women's Tennis Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday Jan. 6, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

Venus Williams of the U.S. hits a backhand to Magda Linette of Poland during her singles match of the ASB Classic Women's Tennis Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday Jan. 6, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

Venus Williams of the U.S. prepares to serve to Magda Linette of Poland during her singles match ASB Classic Women's Tennis Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday Jan. 6, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's army chief threatened preemptive military action Wednesday over the “rhetoric” targeting the Islamic Republic, likely referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's warning that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” America “will come to their rescue."

The comments by Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami come as Iran tries to respond to what it sees as a dual threat posed by Israel and the United States, as well as the protests sparked by its economic woes that have grown into a direct challenge to its theocracy.

Seeking to halt the anger, Iran's government began Wednesday paying the equivalent of $7 a month to subsidize rising costs for dinner-table essentials like rice, meat and pastas. Shopkeepers warn prices for items as basic as cooking oil likely will triple under pressure from the collapse of Iran's rial currency and the end of a preferential subsidized dollar-rial exchange rate for importers and manufacturers — likely fueling further popular anger.

“More than a week of protests in Iran reflects not only worsening economic conditions, but longstanding anger at government repression and regime policies that have led to Iran’s global isolation,” the New York-based Soufan Center think tank said.

Hatami spoke to military academy students. He took over as commander-in-chief of the Iran's army, known by the Farsi word "Artesh," after Israel killed a slew of the country's top military commanders in June's 12-day war. He is the first regular military officer in decades to hold a position long controlled by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

“The Islamic Republic considers the intensification of such rhetoric against the Iranian nation as a threat and will not leave its continuation without a response," Hatami said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

He added, “I can say with confidence that today the readiness of Iran’s armed forces is far greater than before the war. If the enemy commits an error, it will face a more decisive response, and we will cut off the hand of any aggressor.”

Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been responding to Trump's comments, which took on more significance after the U.S. military raid that seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of Tehran, over the weekend. But there's been no immediate public sign of Iran preparing for an attack in the region.

Iranian state television reported on the start of a new subsidy of the equivalent of $7, put into the bank accounts of heads of households across the country. More than 71 million people will receive the benefit, which is 10 million Iranian rials, it reported. The rial now trades at over 1.4 million to $1 and continues to depreciate.

The subsidy is more than double than the 4.5 million rial people previously received. But already, Iranian media report sharp rises in the cost of basic goods, including cooking oil, poultry and cheese, placing additional strain on households already burdened by international sanctions targeting the country and inflation.

Iran's vice president in charge of executive affairs, Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, told reporters Wednesday that the country was in a “full-fledged economic war.” He called for “economic surgery” to eliminate rentier policies and corruption within the country.

Iran has faced rounds of nationwide protests in recent years. As sanctions tightened and Iran struggled after the June war with Israel, its rial currency sharply fell in December. Protests began soon after on Dec. 28. They reached their 11th day on Wednesday and did not appear to be stopping.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency offered the latest death toll of 36 for the demonstrations. It said 30 protesters, four children and two members of Iran’s security forces have been killed. Demonstrations have reached over 280 locations in 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces.

The group, which relies on an activist network inside of Iran for its reporting, has been accurate in past unrest.

In this photograph released on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, by the official website of the Iranian Army, Iran's army chief Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami speaks to military academy students, in Tehran, Iran. (Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP)

In this photograph released on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, by the official website of the Iranian Army, Iran's army chief Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami speaks to military academy students, in Tehran, Iran. (Masoud Nazari Mehrabi/Iranian Army via AP)