Kim Clijsters' first appearance at the Indian Wells Open in a decade did not last long, the two-time champion eliminated in the opening round.
Clijsters remains winless since coming out of retirement on the WTA Tour, falling 6-1 2-6 6-2 to Katerina Siniakova on Thursday.
A four-time grand slam champion, the 38-year-old Clijsters has lost all five of her singles matches since her return last year.
"I think overall, there's definitely moments where I'm feeling really good out there, and there's moments where I feel too inconsistent," Clijsters – a winner at Indian Wells in 2003 and 2005 – told reporters.
"That's part of this process in general, it's not going to be a smooth ride, and that's what I'm going to try to improve every time I'm out there."
World number 53 Siniakova converted six of nine break points on Clijsters' serve and moved on to face 10th seed Angelique Kerber at the WTA Premier 1000 event.
GOLUBIC HOLDS OFF VONDROUSOVA
The day's only duel between top-50 players saw world number 46 Viktorija Golubic outlast 37th-ranked Marketa Vondrousova 6-1 4-6 6-3.
Both players struggled with their own service games, combining for three aces and 17 double faults, but it was the Swiss who managed to convert on eight of 14 break-point chances and come out on top.
It was Golubic's first win against a player in the top 50 since joining those ranks herself in July; she had been 0-3 against them since then.
GARCIA RALLIES PAST FLIPKENS, RISKE GETS RARE INDIAN WELLS WIN
Caroline Garcia fought back to defeat Kirsten Flipkens 5-7 6-4 6-0 in a match that took two hours, nine minutes to complete, firing seven aces and winning 71.2 per cent of points on her first serve.
The Frenchwoman, who had been upset by qualifiers at her two previous tournaments in Ostrava and Chicago, meets 15th seed Coco Gauff in the second round.
Alison Riske celebrated a victory for just the second time in seven trips to Indian Wells, cruising past qualifier Liang En-shuo 6-2 6-2 to set up a second-round matchup against 16th seed and former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu.
'Not my goal at all' - Djokovic not committing to ATP Finals appearance
Novak Djokovic "can't say" if he will compete in the upcoming ATP Finals in November as he becomes more selective about which tournaments he participates in.
The Serbian has struggled with injuries and a lack of form in 2024, and he will finish a calendar year without a grand slam title for the first time since 2017.
His last major triumph came at the US Open last year, but he failed to defend his crown, suffering a shock early exit to Alexei Popyrin in the third round at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic is just one grand slam trophy away from becoming the outright record holder, currently sitting level with Margaret Court on 24 titles.
He reached the Wimbledon final in July, only to lose out to Carlos Alcaraz, though he did win his first Olympic gold in Paris by beating the Spaniard the following month.
The 37-year-old is currently representing Serbia at the Davis Cup and stressed that he will be prioritising certain tournaments over others.
"Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings etc," he told Serbian reporters after beating Greece's Ioannis Xilas on Saturday.
"As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play other tournaments this year or in the future, I can't say right now.
"My main priorities are playing for the national team and slams, everything else is less important.
"Weeks like these represent another motivation, they inspire me to keep going, they awake those butterflies in my belly.
"I thought that I would never have to seek motivation anywhere, it all used to come naturally – automatically – but that has not been the case in the last few years.
"In order to prolong my career, I need to enjoy, I need to choose wisely tournaments I am going to play."
Following the Davis Cup, Djokovic will play in an exhibition tournament in Sofia and in the ATP 1000 event in Shanghai at the start of October.
"After that [Shanghai], I am going to see what I am going to do," Djokovic added.
"Usually in my career I used to have my schedule ready six months in advance, but nowadays, that's not the case. Now it's more spontaneous.
"Firstly, I need to physically, emotionally and mentally rest in order to even start thinking what I want to do next, in what way, how much and where."
Real Sociedad 0-2 Real Madrid: Vinicius, Mbappe penalties close gap on Barca
Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe both scored penalties as Real Madrid saw off Real Sociedad 2-0 at the Reale Arena.
Carlo Ancelotti's side moved to within a point of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who visit fifth-place Girona on Sunday.
Already without the likes of Jude Bellingham, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni, Madrid suffered another injury blow in the 24th minute when Brahim Diaz was forced off with a muscular issue.
After a goalless first half, the visitors broke through 13 minutes after the restart with Vinicius slotting home from 12 yards after Sergio Gomez handled Arda Guler's shot.
Vinicus was then felled for Madrid's second penalty, which was awarded following a VAR review, with Mbappe making no mistake in sealing all three points.
Data Debrief: Madrid extend unbeaten streak
Extending their unbeaten LaLiga streak to 37 matches, Madrid have now won four successive away league games against Basque opposition for the first time since a run of four such victories between 2011 and 2013.
By contrast, Sociedad have now suffered four straight home defeats in the Spanish top flight for the first time since 2007.
Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea: Late Nkunku strike snatches victory for Blues
Christopher Nkunku proved Chelsea's hero as his late strike secured a narrow 1-0 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League.
The forward climbed off the bench to strike the winner five minutes from time at the Vitality Stadium, where Robert Sanchez kept out Evanilson's first-half penalty.
Bournemouth looked the more likely to take all three points in the contest, with Marcus Tavernier's long-range thunderbolt rattling the crossbar early on.
Sanchez then came to rescue on 38 minutes by denying Evanilson from 12 yards, albeit after he had conceded the spot-kick for a foul on the Brazilian.
The woodwork denied the Cherries again after the break, with Ryan Christie seeing his precise low effort hit the outside of Sanchez's right post.
However, it was Chelsea who snatched the points with five minutes remaining. Receiving the ball from Jadon Sancho, Nkunku cleverly skipped away from a couple of challenges before slotting past Mark Travers in the Bournemouth net.
Data Debrief: More happy travels for super sub Nkunku
Nkunku's piece of individual brilliance settled the contest. All four of his Premier League goals for Chelsea have come away from home as a substitute.
The Blues held out at the other end to claim their first away league clean sheet in 18 attempts, while winning four straight matches on the road for the first time since 2022.
Meanwhile, history was made at the Vitality Stadium with the referee showing a total of 14 yellow cards; the highest amount issued in a single Premier League game.
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