I Dig Sports
Since her 'fairytale of New York', Emma Raducanu has needed to show a great deal of patience.
Coping with the intense scrutiny that followed her stunning 2021 US Open triumph was tough, as was the physicality of going full-time on the WTA Tour.
There were signs of progress last year as she made her comeback from wrist and ankle surgeries in 2023.
Signing up a full-time fitness trainer has signalled Raducanu's intention to become the athlete she "knows she can be" but there was familiar blow when she pulled out of the season-opening WTA event in Auckland with a back injury.
The 22-year-old has been practising in Melbourne but will go into the major having not played competitively since November's Billie Jean King Cup.
Raducanu has drawn criticism for the way she has approached her career, either for not being robust enough, chopping and changing coaches or her lucrative sponsorship deals.
It does feel, however, that 2025 is the year where Raducanu needs to kick on. A strong run in Melbourne would be a fantastic platform to build from.
Zheng through despite 'stupid mistake' in wet Melbourne
Zheng Qinwen recovered from a "stupid mistake" to begin her Australian Open bid with a straight-set win on a rain-disrupted first day in Melbourne.
Chinese fifth seed Zheng, beaten by Aryna Sabalenka in last year's final, won 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 against Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni under the roof on Rod Laver Arena.
The Olympic gold medallist served for the opening set at 5-4 40-0, but could not take any of her three set points.
Todoni, 20, had never beaten a top-50 opponent and had the chance to move halfway to a shock win after creating three set points on Zheng's serve at 6-5.
But she could not convert and Zheng, 22, held before stepping up a gear in the tie-break.
The second set was more straightforward as Zheng, backed as usual by a huge number of Chinese fans, broke early before cruising through to victory.
"The first set is always not easy, especially because I was doing stupid mistakes - I don't know what happened there," she said.
"But I am happy to get through."
On expectations rising after winning the Olympic title, she added: "Of course there starts to be more pressure but [the fans] are pushing me to become a better person and better athlete.
"I like to play with pressure. Like what Billie Jean King says - pressure is a privilege. I love this sentence.
"Let's keep going and playing with pressure."
While Zheng was able to complete her match indoors, a heavy thunderstorm caused play on the outdoor courts to be suspended until 17:00 local time (06:00 GMT).
The first day of the Australian Open has been disrupted by heavy rain and thunderstorms in Melbourne.
Matches at the season-opening Grand Slam tournament started as scheduled at 11:00 local time (00:00 GMT) on Sunday.
But players on the outer courts were forced off about an hour later.
Play will not resume at Melbourne Park until at least 17:00 (06:00 GMT).
The wet weather meant only the matches scheduled on Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena - all of which have a roof - could be played.
Three matches had been completed by 15:00 (04:00 GMT).
Chinese fifth seed Zheng Qinwen, last year's beaten finalist, and teenage Russian 14th seed Mirra Andreeva won in the women's singles.
French 20th seed Arthur Fils secured victory in the men's first round.
Sonay Kartal, who is the only Briton in action on Sunday, was among the players whose matches were delayed.
The British number three was due to start her match against Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro at 14:00 (03:00).
Stormers: Gelant; Hartzenberg, Simelane, Roche, Loader; Libbok, Ungerer; Sithole, Kotze, Malherbe, Moerat (capt), Schickerling, Fourie, Ewers, Theunissen.
Replacements: Venter, Vermaak, Fouche, Van Heerden, Roos, De Villiers, De Wet, Du Plessis.
Sale Sharks: Carpenter; Roebuck, James, Bedlow, Reed; R du Preez (co-capt), Warr; Rodd, Cowan-Dickie, John, Van Rhyn, Andrews, JL du Preez, 7. T Curry (co-capt), 8. D du Preez.
Replacements: McElroy, McIntyre, Harper, Beaumont, Bamber, Thomas, Ma'asi-White, B Curry.
Referee: Ludovic Cayre (Fra)
Penaud hat-trick all but ends Exeter last-16 hopes
Exeter: Wyatt; Hammersley, Wimbush, Tua, Brown-Bampoe; Slade, Townsend, Sio, Frost, Iosefa-Scott, Jenkins (capt), Molina, E Roots, Vermeulen, Fisilau.
Replacements: Norey, Goodrick-Clarke, J Roots, Tuima, Tshiunza, Cairns, Haydon-Wood, Rigg.
Bordeaux: Buros; Penaud, Moefana, Van Rensburg, Uberti; Jalibert, Lucu (capt); Boniface, Lamothe, Sadie, Petti, Cazeaux, Swinton, Matiu, Tatafu.
Replacements: Latterrade, Poirot, Taufa, Ricard, Gazzotti, Vergnes-Taillefer, Bielle-Biarrey, Lesgourgues.
Red card: Taufa (69 mins)
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wal)
Munster move above Saracens with Thomond Park win
These sides have produced some classic encounters through the years, but Saturday's meeting - their first since 2019 - was for the most part a scrappy affair, with a raft of handling errors reflecting the tricky conditions.
The first half delivered just three penalties; two for Lozowski and one from Jack Crowley, who was in the thick of the action during the opening 40 minutes.
Having earlier spilled a high ball and had a kick charged down that brought Saracens close to the Munster try-line, the Ireland fly-half's handling cost him the chance to score a stunning try.
Spotting a gap in the visitors' defence, Crowley chipped the kick through a sea of Saracens bodies and another over Liam Williams' head before dropping the ball as he bore down on the line.
In the second half, Elliot Daly moved Saracens 9-3 in front, but after both sides failed to put more points on the board with missed kicks from Crowley and Fergus Burke, Munster pulled clear with a devastating one-two punch.
First, Bleuler dove over from close range on the hour mark after Gavin Coombes drove Munster to the Saracens line, with Crowley's conversion edging the hosts ahead for the first time.
Five minutes later, Thomond Park erupted when Hodnett broke through to finish off a fine move from injury-hit Munster, who were without Peter O'Mahony and Craig Casey among others.
Replacement back row Hodnett, who scored two tries in the loss at Castres, survived a last-ditch Williams tap-tackle to finish and open up a 17-9 lead.
Saracens were not done, though. After Lozowski's third penalty brought Saracens to within a score, the visitors pushed for a dramatic late try only for a promising move to break down when Wales international Williams spilled the ball metres short of the line.
The result leaves the battle for second spot - and the home knockout tie that goes with it - finely poised going into the pool round's climax next week.
Saints make last 16 despite losing 12-try thriller
Stade Francais: Jonas; Dakuwaqa, Ezeala, Delbouis, Etien; Henry, Foursans-Bourdette; Alo-Emile, Nicotera, Gomez Kodela, Gabrillagues (capt), Van der Mescht, Halaifonua, Briatte, Tanga.
Replacements: Garcia Albo, Koffi, N'Diaye, Macalou, Pesenti, Weber, Carbonel, Marchant.
Northampton: Ramm; Freeman, Litchfield, Savala, Seabrook; Hutchinson, Mitchell; Haffar, Walker, Davison, Prowse, Lockett, Kemeny (capt), Scott-Young, Pollock.
Replacements: Langdon, West, Green, Hunter-Hill, Brown, Pearson, McParland, Makepeace-Cubitt.
Sin-bin: Mitchell (47), Josh Kemeny (68)
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ire)
Bassett shines as Leicester beat Ulster to qualify
Leicester Tigers: Steward; Bassett; Perese, Kata; Hassell-Collins; Pollard, Van Poortvliet; Smith, Montoya (capt), Heyes; Henderson, Holloway; Carnduff, Reffell, Cracknell.
Replacements: Clare, Whitcombe, Cole, Wells, Ilione, Youngs, Shillcock, Woodward.
Ulster: McIlroy; Kok; Carson, Postlewaite; Ward; Morgan, Doak; Warwick, Andrew, Wilson; Henderson (capt), Izuchukwu; McNabney, Timoney, McCann.
Replacements: McCormick, O'Sullivan, Barrett, Treadwell, Sheridan, Cooney, Murphy, Telfer.
Referee: Craig Evans (Wal)
STAFFORD SPRINGS, Conn. After a banner 2024 season that saw him tie the single season SK Light record of 10 wins in a single season at Stafford Speedway, Ellington, Conn. native Tyler Chapman will make the move up the open wheel ladder to Staffords premier SK Modified division this year and challenge for NAPA Rookie of the Year honors.
Were definitely excited to be moving up, said Chapman. We saw on Facebook that Alexander Pearl was moving up with us this season so its cool to see someone moving up with me and we can fight it out on the track.
Weve always gotten along, hes always raced me clean, and weve been in the modifieds together since I got started, so it should be a lot of fun this season.
Since notching his first SK Light feature victory during the 2021 season, Chapman has gone on to win a total of 22 SK Light races, tying him with Chris Matthews for the most wins in the divisions history. But in making the move to the ultra-competitive SK Modified division at Stafford, Chapman knows he is in for a tough fight to reach the kinds of victory totals he has become accustomed to reaching.
Were not expecting to have anywhere close to 10 wins or even a couple of wins, said Chapman. Were going to try to go out there and hopefully win Rookie of the Year if we can and if a win comes along, then it comes our way. But when youre racing against good drivers and guys who build the cars, its going to be tough.
While chasing NAPA Rookie of the Year honors along with his first SK victory, Chapman is looking forward to once again sharing the track with his brother Steven, who is heading into his third full season of SK Modified competition.
Were hoping we can get one win this season and its going to be a lot of fun racing with Steven again, said Chapman. Its been a long time since we raced together. I remember once I took him out by accident and then he got me back like 3 years later racing at Thompson so itll be exciting to see what comes along as were racing SK Modifieds.
In preparation for his move into the SK Modified division, Chapman made three SK Modified starts last season, finishing 16th driving Tom Bolles No. 76 car, and Chapman scored his first top-10 behind the wheel of Keith Roccos No. 57 car at the NAPA Fall Final.
Last year was pretty good in the SKs, said Chapman. We finished second in our heat race driving Tommy Bolles car and our plan for that night was just to putt around. We missed the setup a little bit for the feature, but it was good to get a feel of the car and how different it was from an SK Light car. I also got to see how different the racing is between the two divisions. Its a little different from the SK Lights and you really have to depend on your spotter to help you out.
Chapmans three SK Modified starts last season came in cars that he hadnt raced before and was unfamiliar with so he is looking forward to seeing what he can do in his own car that he has been driving for the last four seasons at Stafford.
Im excited to drive my car since Ive been driving the same car for the last 4 years now and I really havent changed much in height or weight, said Chapman. Tommys [Bolles] car was setup to fit him in the car and Im pretty different in size compared to Tommy and we really didnt adjust anything when I drove Keiths car in the last 2 races, so 100% Ill be more comfortable in my own car.
Walker Continuing To Chase His Dream In Third Outlaws Season
CONCORD, N.C. Competing at the highest level of dirt Late Model racing has always been the goal for Polk, Mo.s Dustin Walker.
With his daughter and crew chief Lacey in tow, Walker is ready to continue battling against the best in his third full-time season with the World of Outlaws Late Models in 2025.
We enjoy doing it, Walker said. Thats the biggest thing. If my daughter gets tired of traveling, I guess I wont do it anymore. We enjoy doing it together.
Both father and daughter have been through a trial by fire over the past two years with The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet, but Walker said hes especially proud of Laceys growth as one of the youngest crew members on tour.
Its funny, when we pit next to people that dont know us and she tries to jump in and help, people try to move her out of the way, Walker said. And then Ryan [Gustin]s guys are like Hey, she probably knows more than all these other people put together, just let her work.
Traveling the country as a small family-run team is what makes racing enjoyable for Walker, but its also what makes it challenging. Increasing work obligations compared to the past two years will limit Walkers ability to focus on racing between events, an issue he hopes to resolve by bringing on additional team members this season.
Only reason we need more crew help is just because Im busy with work, Walker said. Were back to rock drilling for the power co-op down here. So, well probably have to find somebody who can drive my hauler, because theres going to be some of these weeks where Im going to have to fly back and forth.
If a lack of crew help didnt present enough of a challenge, Walker also had to spend much of last season learning the ins and outs of his new Longhorn Chassis machines after switching manufacturers early in the year. With an up-to-date notebook in hand at many of the tracks on the schedule, he feels prepared to make his third season his best one yet.
Since we switched chassis, weve felt better, Walker said. Some of the results arent there because we figured it out too late in the night. You need to unload and be better. We definitely feel better about it.
A prime example of Walkers newfound confidence is Volusia (Fla.) Speedway Park, where the season will commence at DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Jan. 22-25) and Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 13-15). As a product of bullring racing across the Midwest, the Worlds Fastest Half Mile was unlike anything Walker had ever competed on when he made his first appearance there in 2023. Since then, hes become a fan of the high speeds and looks forward to kicking the year off in strong form.
This is going to be the first time Im actually excited about going there, Walker said. The first year, we went there with all new stuff. Never been anywhere that big. Werent that great, updated that car and werent that great last year. But we got in a Longhorn and a different shock package and were just better at bigger places. We didnt really have any great results at Charlotte, but we had a couple of things that were just wrong. Went to a different bird cage and had the wrong arrangement of stuff.
Once we straightened that out for our [Last Chance Showdown] that night we were pretty good, started 16th and made it to fourth or fifth. So, for me that was pretty good. Were just hoping to keep making the baby steps.
The World of Outlaws Late Models season begins with six nights of racing at Volusia Speedway Park, beginning with DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Jan. 22-25) followed by Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Feb. 13-15).
Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: 
Email: 
