I Dig Sports
'His body is letting him down' - why Draper had to retire again
Draper enjoyed the finest year of his career in 2024 - winning his first ATP titles, becoming British number one and reaching the US Open semi-finals - and was looking forward to further improving his physical robustness before the start of the 2025 season.
But his hip injury, which Draper says flared up after a "week of pre-season" in December, ended those plans.
"Essentially I had tendinitis in my hip, which I had to get an MRI to look at," he said.
"I have had a history of problems in that area and it hasn't gone away. I'm still dealing with that.
"In pre-season, it went into my back and I couldn't walk. It was really difficult."
Draper said he was unable to play for "about two to three weeks" before flying to Australia between Christmas and New Year.
He began hitting again at Melbourne Park before playing practice sets against Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner in the days leading up to his opening match.
"You have to feel so sorry for him," former British number one Annabel Croft said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.
"Each time he comes back there's a setback and you lose that momentum and training time.
"A lot of players put their year into blocks, of competition, rest and training, and he's being compromised all the time because his body is letting him down."
SAN DIEGO In a race that took the battle down to the final lap, Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racings Eli Tomac earned his 53rd career Monster Energy AMA Supercross victory Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium.
Significantly for the crowd favorite, Tomac takes over the points lead for the first time since suffering what was potentially a career-ending injury in 2023.
It has been a long time since Ive won one of these 20-minute main events, Tomac said. So it feels so good to rebound from last weekend; it was a heartbreak there in Anaheim I had to work for this. I made a lot of passes and was able to keep it on two wheels. This feels so good.
Team Honda HRC Progressives Jett Lawrence was on Tomacs rear fender until the very end but never mounted an attack for the top spot. Lawrences second place finish marked a strong improvement from his 12th-place finish at the Anaheim opener.
That [race with Eli] was awesome, Lawrence noted. He got me at the start and I was trying so hard just to get close enough to make a pass, but he was ripping Im just happy that Im ten positions better than last weekend, for sure, so Im happy to be on the box We tested hard this week to try and get the bike to a better spot, and it was much better.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racings Cooper Webb led early but was overtaken by Tomac and Lawrence nearly simultaneously at the races mid-point.
Webb, under the weather, held off a late race charge from Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzukis Ken Roczen to keep his podium spot.
Last weekends winner, Red Bull KTM Factory Racings Chase Sexton recovered from a first lap crash; he reached sixth place by the time the checkered flag flew.
The Western Regional 250SX Class produced a new first-time winner when Red Bull KTM Factory Racings Julien Beaumer earned his first Supercross win and took over the divisions points lead.
Beaumer, 18, followed up his career-first podium with his first career win. Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racings Cole Davies, in only his second pro race, led early with Beaumer making several moves for the lead before working his way past six and a half minutes into the race.
Triumph Racings Jordon Smith was steady in third until taking over the second-place position at the races midpoint. Defending 250SMX World Champion Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racings Haiden Deegan fought forward from a mid-pack start.
With just under four minutes left on the clock Deegan reached third, capitalizing on a mistake in the rhythm section from Rockstar Energy GASGAS Factory Racings Ryder DiFrancesco.
Larson Leads Them All For Third Chili Bowl Triumph
TULSA, Okla. Kyle Larson held off a late charge from USAC midget champion Daison Pursley to win Saturdays 39th running of the Chili Bowl Nationals powered by NOS Energy Drink at Tulsa Expo Raceway.
Larson led all 40 laps from the pole to win the prestigious event for the third time and pocket the $20,000 top prize. Larson previously conquered the indoor quarter-mile track in 2020 and 2021.
It was just a very difficult race track to run the line that I was running, said the driver of the Silva Motorsports No. 1k. It comes with a lot of reward with the risk that youre taking. I messed up on the straightaway a couple times. Im glad I kept going there, because that caution really, really saved me, and allowed it to be a little bit easier run to the finish. I think if we stayed in traffic, Daison would have had a lot of opportunities to throw stuff at me.
Larson led every lap, but still survived a close call when Justin Grant and Brenham Crouch tangled in front of him.
When Grant ran over Crouch, I had nowhere to go. I ran over him and stalled, Larson explained. When I landed, Im like, Please refire, and it did, so we got a couple lucky breaks there.
Pursley finished second in a Chad Boat Industries entry.
I tried to pace Kyle for 40 laps. It was a very technical track where youd make room in one corner, then give it back the next, Pursley said. Its unfortunate. I have a lot of mixed emotions right now. I really wanted to win this one, but theres nothing to hang your head out when youre racing against the likes of Kyle Larson. Ive been coming here since I was little, so this really means a lot to me.
Ive been fortunate enough to run in a lot of great cars here and again tonight in our CB Industries Toyota. I thought we might have had the chance when the yellow came out due to the banner, but theres so many woulda, coulda, shouldas that happen in this building, thats what makes it so tough to win here.
The Matt Wood Racing entries of Shane Golobic, who started eighth, Ryan Bernal (ninth) and Landon Brooks completed the top five finishers.
Logan Seavey, who had won two consecutive Chili Bowls, started fourth and came home seventh.
Christopher Bell finished 10th in his return to the Chili Bowl.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 1K-Kyle Larson[1]; 2. 86-Daison Pursley[3]; 3. 17W-Shane Golobic[8]; 4. 87W-Ryan Bernal[9]; 5. 57W-Landon Brooks[2]; 6. 71-Michael Kofoid[14]; 7. 39-Logan Seavey[4]; 8. 97-Gavin Miller[7]; 9. 68K-Emerson Axsom[6]; 10. 71W-Christopher Bell[12]; 11. 41-Corey Day[15]; 12. 29S-Hank Davis[16]; 13. 29-Tim Buckwalter[22]; 14. 71K-Cannon McIntosh[21]; 15. 23C-Tyler Courtney[17]; 16. 81F-Frank Flud[23]; 17. 67W-Jacob Denney[18]; 18. 87-Justin Grant[19]; 19. 1C-Brenham Crouch[10]; 20. 26-Corbin Rueschenberg[11]; 21. 56E-Tyler Edwards[24]; 22. (DNF) 97K-Kale Drake[13]; 23. (DNF) 88-Tanner Thorson[5]; 24. (DNF) 8J-Jonathan Beason[20]
United States men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino believes that Matko Miljevic and Jack McGlynn showed character when arguing over the penalty opportunity in the first minutes of the 3-1 victory over Venezuela.
Daniel Pereira's foul on forward Patrick Agyemang inside the box awarded the USMNT the first opportunity of the night with a penalty, leaving Miljevic and McGlynn to fight for the chance to take the shot. Ultimately, Miljevic stepped up to the spot and had his effort saved by the goalkeeper to keep the score at 0-0.
"We were talking at half-time, we tried to manage a tricky situation," Pochettino said. "We didn't say anything about who would take the penalty in the case we had one. But it was good, because I think [the argument] showed the character."
"Matko took the ball first and then Jack wanted to shoot. I think it was a nice situation, but we clarified it at half-time. They apologized, Marco apologized and Jack because there was a situation, but it's a situation because I think it's part of the way we need to grow, it's part of our great mentality. Fight.
"They wanted to show that I can help the team score it ... But it was nice. It was good. It's a part of that work in a psychological way or how we create the mentality. That is all the small things that maybe you cannot see since we used to create things that can help for the future."
Pochettino sorted the confusion at half-time by asking players about their desire to take future penalties before creating a list of designated takers. Defender Shaq Moore later added that the team's new manager also instructed every player to be supportive when a teammate steps up to the spot, regardless of the outcome.
"He just said whoever takes the penalty just go and support him," Moore said. "Unfortunately Matko missed, but that's football you moved on. I'm sure the next one someone else would take it or he would take it and they'll score.
"You've got to be positive and wrap around the team. He just didn't want us to bicker or fight about it, whoever takes it you got to support him and whatever happens, happens."
Goals from Miljevic, McGlynn and Patrick Agyemang secured the USMNT's first victory of 2025. Though Pochettino insists the coaching staff will never be fully satisfied when it comes to the team's intensity, he walks away from the friendly content by the performance.
"I think as a coaching staff we're never satisfied with intensity," Pochettino added. "We always want more. I think we could have been a little more intense today, but I think I'm very, very happy. We are very happy for the performance they have shown on the pitch and above all the naturalness they faced in the match."
The team will now travel to Orlando, Florida to face Costa Rica in the final friendly of January.
'Very worried' - Saliba injury adds to Arsenal woes
Mikel Arteta has admitted he is "very worried" about William Saliba's injury after the Arsenal defender missed Saturday's 2-2 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Arsenal's squandering of two Premier League points was compounded by concerns about Saliba, who was not even in the squad after suffering a hamstring injury in the 2-1 victory over Tottenham in midweek.
The France international is integral to Arsenal's defence and his absence with a back injury in the second half of the 2022-23 campaign undermined their chances of staying with Manchester City in the title race.
"I think tomorrow we will have more information, we will have more tests on him and we will be more clear about it," Arteta said.
"For sure [we are worried], especially with the numbers we have in the squad and looking at our bench. Very worried."
Arteta was forced to re-shuffle his defence with Jurriën Timber switching to the centre alongside Gabriel and midfielder Thomas Partey filling in as a makeshift right-back.
Arsenal led 2-0 with goals by Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz but Villa hit back and Ollie Watkins equalised after Youri Tielemans headed his side back into contention.
Arteta was full of praise for his side's display but criticised the defending for the second goal as Matty Cash flighted over a cross that Watkins converted with a sumptuous volley.
"We can fault ourselves as well because defending the way we did especially with one of the goals, it cannot be part of our game if we want to be at the highest level in this country," Arteta said. "The rest, what else can I ask the team to do against a really good side?"
Arteta will hope the scans on Saliba show no serious injury as the statistics suggest he is vital to Arsenal.
With Saliba in the team Arsenal have a 72% win rate while in the games he has missed since joining that dips to 38%.
Second-placed Arsenal's draw left them six points behind Liverpool who also have a game in hand and Arteta hinted at movement in the January transfer window.
"You look at the performances, I don't know how many teams are playing at this level in the league," he said. "When you look at the bench, probably you say I think we are very short."
Real Betis are closing in on a loan deal for Manchester United winger Antony, a source has told ESPN.
A number of clubs have expressed an interest in signing the Brazil international in January. Real Betis are leading the race and although an agreement has not yet been reached, the LaLiga side are growing increasingly confident.
The deal, should it be agreed, is likely to be a loan until the end of the season with United paying at least a portion of the 24-year-old's wages.
Antony has struggled to justify United's decision to spend more than 80 million ($97.3m) to sign him from Ajax in 2022. He remains the second most expensive incoming transfer in the club's history behind Paul Pogba.
He's made 95 appearances -- most of them under former manager Erik ten Hag who he also worked with at Ajax -- and has scored 12 goals. Antony hasn't started a Premier League game since May and has started just three games in all competitions this season.
He's under contract at Old Trafford until 2027 with the option to extend by an additional year until 2028.
Head coach Ruben Amorim was non-committal about Antony's future following the 3-1 win over Southampton on Thursday, saying only that "we'll see" when asked whether he could leave this month.
Meanwhile, United are still looking for a club to take Marcus Rashford in January.
Borussia Dortmund have moved ahead of AC Milan in the hunt for his signature after the Italian side decided to explore the possibility of signing Kyle Walker from Manchester City.
Serie A rules mean Milan can only sign one English player in January and will have to choose between Rashford and Walker.
Melbourne Stars 219 for 5 (Maxwell 76*, Webster 51, Stoinis 32, Chaudhary 1-37) beat Hobart Hurricanes 179 (Ellis 40, Owen 38, Steketee 4-24, Usama 2-31) by 40 runs
Stars needed a win to leapfrog Perth Scorchers into fourth place and qualify for the finals. They took care of business against a Hurricanes team with little to play for.
After a woeful start to the season with five straight defeats, Stars have gained significant momentum with five straight wins to book a knockout final against Sydney Thunder at the Showgrounds.
The match was essentially a tune-up for Hurricanes, who had already locked up top spot and a home final in the Qualifier against Sydney Sixers.
Maxwell ignites again after Webster's half-century
All eyes were on Maxwell. But the big crowd at the MCG had to wait for their hero as openers Sam Harper and Thomas Rogers laid a solid platform.
Stars have badly struggled at the top of the order with Harper particularly out of form. But they peeled off 19 runs in the first two overs in the best opening stand of the season for Stars.
Having ended a run of five straight single digit scores, Harper could not go on with it after he was trapped lbw by the spin of Nikhil Chaudhary.
Maxwell, fresh off his extraordinary 90 against Renegades, started fast and smashed Chaudhary down the ground for six on his fourth delivery. His presence had a profound effect on Webster, who shook from his slumber to put the foot down.
Webster hogged the strike, but didn't cop the wrath of Maxwell's legion of fans as he powered to his half-century with a six down the ground.
Maxwell took over after Webster's dismissal and had the crowd in the palm of his hands when he got under a slower short delivery from left-arm quick Marcus Bean and with a flick of the wrists whacked it over fine leg.
He was unstoppable at the death, clubbing a six off quick Cameron Gannon to reach his half-century and then smashing two more into the crowd as Stars powered past 200.
Hurricanes experiment with their attack
With little to play for, Hurricanes decided to play it safe. Spearhead Riley Meredith did not play while Nathan Ellis only bowled one over with Ben McDermott on the Fox Sports broadcast saying he was managing a sore groin.
Ellis used the match to experiment and seven bowlers were used. Tim David's handy offspin opened the bowling, while Chris Jordan bowled in the backend in his return from a back injury but struggled amid Maxwell's onslaught.
With injured quick Billy Stanlake to miss the finals, his position is up for grabs and seemingly a race between Bean and Gannon, freshly signed as Stanlake's replacement.
Bean, plucked out of Tasmanian club cricket, impressed in his professional debut against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba. Sporting a change of hair colour, from gold to silver, Bean enjoyed the wicket of Stoinis with an awkward delivery that climbed and hurried the batter.
But he suffered in the backend and so too did Gannon, who was playing in the BBL for the first time in three years. He's been in outstanding Sheffield Shield form, but Gannon struggled with his lengths to finish with 0 for 48 off 4 overs. Bean took 1 for 45 off his 4.
Hurricanes were also extremely sloppy in the field to cap a forgettable performance.
Steketee continues strong form
Steketee struck again two balls alter when Charlie Wakim drove straight to backward point. He trapped McDermott lbw in his next over before claiming Ellis at the end to finish with 4 for 24 off 3.3 overs.
Owen unleashes early but in vain
He also took a liking to veteran quick Peter Siddle with several mighty blows, unleashing his considerable power, to motor to 34 off 10 balls. But he slowed down slightly before holing out on 38 as Hurricanes' slim chances effectively ended.
Ellis top-scored with a rapid 40 at the end until he holed out to - quite fittingly - Maxwell, who pumped his fist to the jubilant fans knowing Stars' season will continue.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
'RIP TikTok': Gauff hopes app ban is short-lived
MELBOURNE, Australia -- American tennis star Coco Gauff mourned the loss of TikTok's app back home, writing on a TV camera lens "RIP TikTok USA" and drawing a broken heart right after winning a match at the Australian Open to reach the quarterfinals.
Gauff's 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Belinda Bencic in the Grand Slam tournament's main stadium finished on Sunday afternoon local time in Melbourne -- about an hour after TikTok could no longer be found on prominent app stores on Saturday in the United States.
The TikTok website told users that the short-form social media video platform was no longer available. The blackout began just hours before a federal ban on TikTok took effect.
Gauff, who has more than 750,000 followers on TikTok, said Sunday that she would probably have more time to pursue other interests with the app inaccessible on her phone in Melbourne.
"I could not access it after my match. I honestly thought I would be able to get away with it because I was in Australia," Gauff said at her news conference. "Hopefully it comes back. ... It's really sad. I've been on the app since it was called Musical.ly. I love TikTok. It's like an escape. I honestly do that before matches. I guess it will force me to read books more -- be more of a productive human, probably. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise."
Tennis players at many tournaments often are handed a pen after a win so they can deliver whatever thoughts they want via the lens of a courtside camera. In this case, Gauff paused a bit to think and said, "I think I'm going to go with this one," before offering her TikTok message in blue ink.
At the French Open in June 2022, after reaching her first Grand Slam final as a teenager, Gauff referred to a recent spate of mass shootings in the U.S. at the time and wrote in marker: "Peace. End gun violence."
Now 20, Gauff is one of the top players in her sport. She won the 2023 US Open and is currently ranked No. 3.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he would "most likely" give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban after taking office Monday.
Users opening the TikTok app on Saturday encountered a pop-up message preventing them from scrolling videos that read, "Sorry, TikTok isn't available right now."
"A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.," the message said. "Unfortunately that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office."
TikTok also told its users to stay tuned. Gauff added Sunday that she had a feeling TikTok would somehow come back.
Defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, who lives in Miami and is a huge TikTok fan, said she also is hoping for a quick resolution.
The Belarusian has over 500,000 followers on TikTok and recreated one of her viral dance videos with fans on Rod Laver Arena after her opening-round victory a week ago.
"This isn't something we can control and I hope they're going to figure it out, because I love TikTok," she said.
Gauff frequently has posted on TikTok, often mimicking popular trends.
"I feel this is the third or fourth time this has happened. This time it's just like, 'Whatever.' If I wake up and it doesn't work, fine. I'm done wasting my time figuring it out," Gauff said earlier during the Australian Open. "I see there's a new app called RedNote that a lot of people are migrating over to. So I feel, regardless, people are going to be fine because people are always going to migrate to another app."
She added that she hoped TikTok would survive, calling it "a great thing for a lot of small businesses in our country, and a lot of creators make money on it and have the chance to spread stories. Personally, me, a lot of great stories I've heard are from TikTok and connecting with people has been (through) TikTok. I hope it will stay, (but) obviously I don't know all the security issues and things like that."
In Washington, lawmakers and administration officials have long raised concerns about the app, which they see as a national security threat due to its Chinese ownership. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a technology company based in Beijing that operates the well-known video editing app CapCut and Lemon8, both of which were also unavailable for service Saturday evening.
The federal law required ByteDance to cut ties with TikTok by Sunday or face a nationwide ban. The statute was passed by Congress in April after it was included as part of a high-priority $95 billion package that provided foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel. President Joe Biden quickly signed it, and then TikTok and ByteDance quickly sued on First Amendment grounds.
While defending the law in court, the Biden administration argued it was concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of U.S. user data that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion.
Officials have also warned the algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that's difficult to detect. But to date, the U.S. has not publicly provided evidence of TikTok handing user data to Chinese authorities or tinkering with its algorithm to benefit Chinese interests.
The Supreme Court unanimously decided on Friday the risk to national security posed by TikTok's ties to China overcomes concerns about limiting speech by the app or its 170 million users in the United States.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Medvedev heavily fined for Australian Open behaviour
Daniil Medvedev has been fined over 60,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct following his behaviour at the Australian Open.
The Russian fifth seed destroyed a net camera by furiously smashing his racquet into it during a five-set first-round win against world number 418 Kasidit Samrej.
He then incurred a point penalty during his second-round defeat by American teenager Learner Tien after throwing his racquet, before failing to attend a mandatory post-match news conference.
Medvedev collected 200,000 Australian dollars (102,000) for reaching the second round at Melbourne Park.
However, he will be required to pay fines totalling 76,000 US dollars (62,400) after overstepping the mark with his behaviour.
The 28-year-old reached the final in Australia last year but the surprising defeat this time by Tien, 19, marked his earliest exit at a Grand Slam since a first-round loss at the 2023 French Open.
Britain's Jack Draper has also been fined 4,000 US dollars (3,287) for smashing his racquet during his third-round win over Aleksandar Vukic.
Coco Gauff fought from a set down to beat Belinda Bencic and join defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
The American third seed was not at her best but outlasted Switzerland's Bencic 5-7 6-2 6-1.
Earlier, Sabalenka breezed past Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in a 6-1 6-2 victory.
Gauff's victory in 34 degree heat - the hottest day of the tournament so far - extended the 20-year-old's winning run to 11 matches.
"Maybe a couple of years ago, if I lost the first set I might lose the match, and I remember my dad said 'we've got to toughen you up'," said Gauff.
"I was just trying to put myself in the position where I could leave the court and feel proud of myself."
Belarusian top seed Sabalenka, 26, meanwhile, remains on course for a third straight Australian Open title after wrapping up her win over Andreeva in just 62 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
It was the two-time champion's 18th win in a row at Melbourne Park, and sets up a quarter-final against another Russian, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Pavlyuchenkova beat Croatia's Donna Vekic 7-6 (7-0) 6-0 in the fourth round earlier on Sunday.
Gauff will play 11th seed Paula Badosa in the last eight after the Spaniard defeated Serbia's Olga Danilovic 6-1 7-6 (7-2).
Should they both win their quarter-finals, Sabalenka and Gauff will meet in the semi-finals.
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