Caroline Garcia came from a set behind to beat Alison Van Uytvanck and progress to the quarter-finals of the Lyon Open on Thursday.

The French top seed looked to be in trouble as Belgian Van Uytvanck eased to the first set, before Garcia found her feet to come back and overwhelm her opponent 2-6 6-0 6-1.

She will face Jasmine Paolini in the last eight after the Italian took just over an hour to dispose of Erika Andreeva 6-2 6-3.

Second seed Zhang Shuai is out though after falling to another Belgian in Maryna Zanevska 6-2 6-0.

Fifth seed Anastasia Potapova will face Zanevska next after her 6-4 4-6 6-3 win over Clara Burel, while seventh seed Danka Kovinic is also through after beating Anna Bondar 4-6 6-2 6-3.

At the Thailand Open, top seed Bianca Andreescu had no problems against Anastasia Zakharova, easing through to the quarter-finals 6-2 7-5.

The Canadian will face Marta Kostyuk next after the Ukrainian fifth seed defeated Nao Hibino 6-3 7-6 (9-7).

Sixth seed Tatjana Maria also progressed 6-0 6-4 against Dayana Yastremska, as did Heather Watson as she fought hard to see off Han Na-lae 6-3 5-7 6-4.

It was a bad day for seeds at the Lyon Open, with Petra Martic and Mayar Sherif both crashing out in the round of 16 in France.

Fourth seed Martic made a good start against American opponent Alycia Parks on Wednesday, only to lose 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2.

Sixth seed Sherif was more convincingly beaten as she fell to Czech teenager Linda Noskova 6-3 6-2.

Noskova will face Camila Osorio in the quarter-finals after the Colombian came out on top in a tight clash with Jule Niemeier 7-6 (7-5) 7-5

In the two remaining first-round matches, Jasmine Paolini defeated Rebeka Masarova 6-3 6-2, while Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck will face top seed Caroline Garcia in the last 16 after beating Tamara Korpatsch 6-2 6-4.

At the Thailand Open, it was not much better for seeded players as Anna Kalinskaya and Linda Fruhvirtova both exited on Wednesday.

Fourth seed Kalinskaya was overwhelmed 6-0 in the opening set against Lesia Tsurenko, only to win a tie-break in the second.

The unseeded Ukrainian ultimately won out, though, sealing a 6-0 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 victory to reach the quarter-finals.

Eighth seed Fruhvirtova also managed to level after falling a set behind, and also could not find the win as the 17-year-old was beaten by Tamara Zidansek 6-3 4-6 6-4.

The Slovenian will face Zhu Lin in the last eight after her straight-sets win over Jang Su-jeong, but there was one win for a seed as Xinyu Wang (seventh seed) beat Mirjam Bjorklund 6-3 6-3.

Venus Williams says she is "focused" on her US Open women's doubles pairing with sister Serena following her first round exit to Alison Van Uytvanck on Tuesday, adding that she couldn't turn down "the boss" one more time.

The seven-time grand slam singles champion saw her solo stint at Flushing Meadows come to an early end following a 6-1 7-6 (7-5) straight sets loss to the Belgian at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Following younger sister Serena's announcement earlier this year that she intended to step back from top-level tennis following the conclusion of the final tennis major of the year, many had wondered if Venus would follow suit.

But speaking after her defeat, Williams eschewed questions on her future, simply stating: "Right now, I'm just focused on the doubles."

The return of the Williams sister pairing – the only duo to have won the Career Golden Slam in women's doubles – has added a further degree of excitement to Serena's farewell tour.

When asked how their on-court reunion came about, Venus stated it was her sibling who got the ball rolling, adding: "It was Serena's idea.

"She's the boss, so I do whatever she tells me to do! I don't think we have played since 2016, but I might be getting that wrong. We have had some great wins. It would be nice to add some more."

Former world number one Williams made her 91st grand slam main draw singles appearance with her match against Van Uytvanck, a record for both the men's and women's game.

It is a testament to her longevity that 58 players in the main draw had not been born when she made her grand slam debut at the 1996 French Open – including this year's Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who also suffered a first round loss to the unseeded Clara Burel.

Emma Raducanu was able to set aside her tricky sophomore season and enjoy a winning Centre Court debut at Wimbledon on Monday.

Raducanu is the reigning US Open champion but has struggled to recreate the success of her incredible Flushing Meadows run in 2021.

Playing in the spotlight, the 19-year-old was 8-11 for the year heading to the All England Club, where she enjoyed a breakout campaign last year.

Despite the support of a home British crowd, Raducanu might have hoped for a more straightforward opener, but she navigated a tough test against Alison Van Uytvanck to win 6-4 6-4.

"It's an incredibly special feeling to be coming back here at Wimbledon," Raducanu said on court.

"I could feel the support the minute I walked out of those doors and walking around the grounds.

"I wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been here supporting, through the tough times as well – it's all worth it to play on Centre Court and especially to come through with a win."

Raducanu, who had withdrawn from her previous appearance at the Nottingham Open earlier this month with a side injury, withstood early pressure as the first six games stayed on serve.

However, a streak of 10 consecutive points and three straight games going against the serve altered the pattern of the match completely – ultimately in Raducanu's favour, as she broke first then responded to a break to love with one of her own.

That was just enough to settle the opener, and Raducanu went in pursuit of a swift conclusion to the second, but Van Uytvanck instead made the breakthrough.

This time, however, it was Raducanu's turn to respond immediately, and she came on strong to win the match on Van Uytvanck's serve and jump for joy.

"I'm just so happy to stay another day," she added, with Caroline Garcia up next.

Emma Raducanu doubted whether she would recover from injury in time for Wimbledon, but says she is now "ready to go" after a week's training.

The 19-year-old has endured an injury-plagued season, with her first match of the grass-court campaign lasting just 36 minutes against Viktorija Golubic at the Nottingham Open.

Raducanu was forced to withdraw from the contest earlier this month due to a side strain and subsequently missed the Eastbourne International.

She previously stated she had "no idea" if she would be fit in time for Wimbledon, which begins for the reigning US Open champion with a first-round clash with Alison Van Uytvanck.

But after missing Friday's practice session with Garbine Muguruza, Raducanu took to the court on Saturday and later declared herself ready for the third grand slam of the year.

"I think that this week was a good build-up," she said at a news conference. "There were moments earlier on in the week we weren't really sure. 

"We were sort of going to see how the week goes. But it went pretty well. Now it's full steam ahead. Right now I'm fit. I'm ready to go. I'm looking forward to it. That's it.

"I've been managing it since Nottingham. I took two weeks off. Yesterday we just had to react to the situation. 

"I already practiced in the morning, so we all collectively thought it was the best decision to pass on the afternoon session as well and stay fresh and ready to go."

Raducanu made history in 2021 when becoming the first qualifier to win a grand slam with victory over Leylah Fernandez in the US Open final.

That success came two months after retiring from her fourth-round match with Ajla Tomljanovic at last year's Wimbledon with breathing difficulties.

The Briton enters this year's event as one of the biggest names, though, and she will make her Centre Court debut in Monday's showdown with Belgium's Van Uytvanck.

"I think it’s amazing," Raducanu said reflecting on the past 12 months. "This year I get such a special feeling walking around the grounds. 

"I definitely feel that people are behind me. Even from some of the people working on the tournament, they're like, 'you got this'. Just cheering me on. That's pretty special in itself.

"I feel like last year I came straight out of my exams, I was fresh, ready to play. I feel the same excitement this year because I think Wimbledon just brings that out of me.

"But I'm definitely looking forward to it. Just going to play like a kid who just loves playing tennis. 

"It's always my dream to step out on Centre Court. It's something I've always wanted to do and started playing tennis for."

Raducanu won her only previous match with Van Uytvanck last year, prior to her big breakthrough at Flushing Meadows, and is 35 places above the Belgian in the WTA rankings.

"I definitely feel game-wise I back myself pretty much against anyone," Raducanu added. "I feel if I really put my mind to it and commit, then I can be pretty good. 

"So I'm definitely looking forward to the match. But she's a real tricky opponent, especially on grass courts. 

"I think this surface definitely suits her well. She plays a pretty quick, high-tempo game. It's definitely going to take some getting used to, being prepared for that straightaway."

Dayana Yastremska maintained her emotional run at the Lyon Open by beating fifth seed Jasmine Paolini in straight sets to book a semi-final spot. 

The Ukrainian wildcard secured her place in the last four on Friday with a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory over the Italian amid the war with Russia in her home country. 

The 21-year-old fled Odessa with her sister last week, separating from her parents in the process, and has spoken about her desire to honour those back in Ukraine with a title. 

She will face second seed Sorana Cirstea after the Romanian made short work of Anna Bondar with a 6-3 6-3 victory. 

Elsewhere, Caroline Garcia toppled another seed after fighting back to beat Alison van Uytvanck 4-6 6-3 7-5. The home favourite knocked out top seed Camila Giorgi in the first round and has a semi-final clash against Zhang Shuai to look forward to. 

Zhang did not have to sweat to make her place after Vitalia Diatchenko was forced to retire at three games down in the first set through injury. 

Viktorija Golubic came from a set down to beat lucky loser Mai Hontama and move into the second round of the Lyon Open on Wednesday.

Third seed Golubic was given the run-around by Hontama in the first set before fighting back to win 1-6 6-4 6-4.

Golubic had to dig deep to secure a meeting with Vitalia Diatchenko, who beat Anna-Lena Friedsam, as Hontama's deft drop shots had given her a scent of pulling off an upset.

The Swiss broke six times and saved six break points, wrapping up a well-earned victory in two hours and 10 minutes.

Golubic's compatriot Stefanie Voegele bowed out at the second-round stage, losing 6-3 7-5 to second seed Sorana Cirstea.

Anna Bondar reached the quarter-finals when Katie Boulter retired due to injury after losing the first set 6-3.

Alison Van Uytvanck won the final match of the day, getting the better of Varvara Gracheva 6-2 6-4 to advance to the last eight.

Naomi Osaka was never preordained to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics but it had felt that way until she ran into Marketa Vondrousova.

The surprising 6-1 6-4 loss that a lacklustre Osaka suffered on Tuesday could be explained away by the fact the 23-year-old had not played any competitive tennis since pulling out of the French Open at the end of May.

All the same, it was a major upset as world number 42 Vondrousova took out the highest remaining seed in the draw – the Japanese star who lit the Olympic cauldron on Friday.

Osaka's exit, after previous shock defeats for top seed Ash Barty and number three Aryna Sabalenka, has raised the prospect of a shock champion, just as occurred five years ago at the Rio Games when Monica Puig of Puerto Rico caused a sensation.

Now at the quarter-final stage, there is one former grand slam champion left in the field and two finalists at that level, but it really looks like anyone's title.

VONDROUSOVA SENSES AN OPPORTUNITY

It was remarkably straightforward for Vondrousova at Ariake Tennis Park, as she cruised through the opening set and soon reeled in Osaka's early break in the second.

Osaka saved two match points when serving to stay in the contest, but not a third, planting a backhand wide.

Considering Vondrousova reached the French Open final two years ago, in front of packed grandstands rather than the empty seats in Tokyo, it was no surprise she hesitated when asked whether this win over Osaka was the biggest of her career. It probably doesn't have that cachet, good a win though it was.

"Of course it's one of the biggest," Vondrousova said.

"Naomi is a great player, she has so many grand slams, so I knew it would be a tough match. But I'm just very happy with my play. I played amazingly in the first set, and then the second set was really tough. I'm just happy to be through.

"I think she was struggling a bit with my serving. Also, I use drop-shots very well. I'm just very happy with my game today."

She faces Spain Paula Badosa next and said: "It's very open now. I think every girl is playing really well. Now it's the quarter-final, so we'll see."

HAS SVITOLINA'S TIME ARRIVED?

A fixture in the top 10 over recent seasons, Svitolina has been unable to transfer her regular tour form onto the major stage on a consistent basis.

Maybe the Olympics will be a platform towards success on that stage, with Svitolina now the highest seed remaining in the draw, at number four. The Ukrainian is also on a high on the personal front, having married French tennis star Gael Monfils shortly before heading to Tokyo.

Two semi-finals, at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019, have been her deepest runs in the majors, and this season has been one of diminishing returns, with a fourth-round run in Australia followed by a third-round Roland Garros exit and a round-two loss at Wimbledon.

Svitolina beat Maria Sakkari of Greece 5-7 6-3 6-4 on Tuesday, setting up a quarter-final against Italian Camila Giorgi who won 6-4 6-2 against Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova.

"I don't think I'm a favourite because there are lots of good players here and everyone is quite equal," Svitolina said.

A MUG SHOT?

Should Spain's Garbine Muguruza be considered the favourite from this point? With French Open and Wimbledon titles in her trophy room, Muguruza has shown she has what it takes to triumph on a big stage, and a clinical 6-4 6-1 win over Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck on Tuesday was just the job.

She goes on to face Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who edged past Croatian Donna Vekic.

Belinda Bencic of Switzerland caused a surprise by ousting the in-form reigning French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, springing a 1-6 6-2 6-3 win that means there will be no repeat of the Roland Garros final in the quarter-finals.

That had been on the cards, but Bencic will be the player who takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the final four.

Pavlyuchenkova scored an impressive 6-1 6-3 victory over Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain, the player who knocked out Barty in round one.

Russian Olympic Committee's Pavyluchenkova is looking to harness the form that took her to a maiden slam final, describing her Paris run as "a great experience to have".

"But every week is a new week and this is a new event," said the 30-year-old. "The Olympic Games is a very special event. It's different. It's nothing like the others."