Emma Raducanu says late-night opener ‘makes no sense’ in swipe at Australia Open
Emma Raducanu has criticised the Australian Open’s “very difficult” scheduling but remains focused on her game after being lined up to compete in a late-night slot on the opening day.Raducanu will play her first-round match against Mananchaya Sawangkaew on Sunday night, leaving the British No 1 with minimal time to adjust to the conditions at Melbourne Park after competing in Hobart.With the Sunday start, the Australian Open’s first round is now split across three days, so Raducanu’s first match could have been played on Monday.“It’s very difficult,” she said.“You would love to have more time in the environment, more time practising, but I guess I was pretty much handed the schedule to try and turn it around and make the most out of what is in front of me.
I think it’s easy to get down and complain about it, but it’s not going to help.So I’m just trying to focus and turn it around for tomorrow.”On Thursday, Raducanu lost to the world No 204, Taylah Preston, in the quarter-finals of the Hobart International.A delayed flight meant she only arrived in Melbourne late on Friday.She will have just one training session in Melbourne before her first round match.
Coming after a best-of five-sets men’s match, Alexander Bublik against Jenson Brooksby, Raducanu’s match is due to start at a late hour against Sawangkaew, a talented 23-year-old Thai who broke into the top 100 last June.Sawangkaew is ranked No 195 owing to a six-month injury layoff.“I think it’s very difficult to be scheduling women’s matches after a potential five-set match,” said Raducanu.“To me, it doesn’t really make as much sense, but I think after seeing it, the initial reaction is probably, like: ‘Oh, it’s a late one.’ Then you deal with it, and you try and shift your day and adjust.
“Today I’m going to practise and see what it’s like.I don’t think I have been in that situation.Only once before maybe when I played the semis of the US Open.I played second night match, but other than that, I haven’t played that late.So for me, it’s a new experience, something that I need to learn to do.
Hopefully if I’m playing this game for a long time, I’ll probably be in this situation again, so it’s a good learning step to try and adjust and deal with that day, as well,”Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic cited the Professional Tennis Players’ Association’s lawsuit against the governing bodies as a significant reason behind his surprise decision to sever ties with the organisation,Djokovic, who co-founded the PTPA alongside the former player Vasek Pospisil, announced at the beginning of the year that he would be stepping away,“It was a tough call for me to exit the PTPA, but I had to do that, because I felt like my name was overused in pretty much every single article or communication channel,” he said,“I felt like people, whenever they think about PTPA, they think it’s my organisation, which is a wrong idea from the very beginning.
So this was supposed to be everyone, every player’s organisation across the board, men and women,“And I also didn’t like the way the leadership was taking the direction of the PTPA, and so I decided to step out,Does that mean that I’m not supporting PTPA? No, I am,I am still wishing them all the best, because I think that there is room and there is a need for 100% players-only representation existing in our ecosystem,“Going back to the lawsuit, as well, back in Miami, March last year, it was partly I exited because of that, because I didn’t agree with everything that was in there, and I decided not to be one of the player plaintiffs.
So that was also one of the big reasons.”
UK supermarkets go all out for ‘Jab-uary’ with food for those on weight-loss drugs
Veganuary and dry January are among the new year health kicks enthusiastically endorsed by supermarkets, but this year the buzz is around “Jab-uary” as pricey diet foods aimed at people on weight-loss drugs hit the shelves.Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Asda, Ocado and the Co-op are among the big names targeting shoppers who use weight-loss injections, known as GLP-1 agonists, but better known by brand names such as Wegovy and Mounjaro.Ocado’s new virtual “weight management” aisle includes a “curated range of GLP-1-friendly products” that runs the gamut from tiny (100g) portions of steak costing £3.50 to a trendy “powdered greens” supplement, AG1, at £107 a pack.The online supermarket said it was seeing strong demand for protein-rich staples such as steak, chicken, cottage cheese, health drinks and vitamins and supplements
Shelling out? Easter eggs in the UK are smaller but pricier this year
Chocolate eggs are looking smaller than ever this year and it is not just because Easter is still so far away.Many of the Easter eggs already out on supermarket shelves this month not only cost more, but have been reduced in size or weight as the price of cocoa has driven a new wave of shrinkflation.Maltesers is living up to its “the lighter way to enjoy chocolate” slogan with its XL egg rather less large this year at 194g in many shops, down from 231g in 2025, while the price charged by Tesco has risen by £1 to £7.The weight loss is largely down to there being one fewer mini pack of Maltesers inside the box, according to trade journal the Grocer, meaning the price per gram is up 39% to 3.6p
China blocks Nvidia H200 AI chips that US government cleared for export – report
Suppliers of parts for Nvidia’s H200 have paused production after Chinese customs officials blocked shipments of the newly approved artificial intelligence processors from entering China, according to a report.Reuters could not immediately verify the report, which appeared in the Financial Times citing two people with knowledge of the matter. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment made outside regular business hours.Nvidia had expected more than one million orders from Chinese clients, the report said, adding that its suppliers had been operating around the clock to prepare for shipping as early as March.Chinese customs authorities this week told customs agents that Nvidia’s H200 chips were not permitted to enter the country, Reuters reported
ChatGPT to start showing ads in the US
ChatGPT will start including advertisements beside answers for US users as OpenAI seeks a new revenue stream.The ads will be tested first in ChatGPT for US users only, the company announced on Friday, after increasing speculation that the San Francisco firm would turn to a potential cashflow model on top of its current subscriptions.The ads will start in the coming weeks and will be included above or below, rather than within, answers. Mock-ups circulated by the company show the ads in a tinted box. They will be served to adult users “when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation”, according to OpenAI’s announcement
Easier start for Alex de Minaur as Matteo Berrettini withdraws from Australian Open
Alex de Minaur has received an early boost to his Australian Open chances after the withdrawal of his tough first-round opponent, former world No 6 Matteo Berrettini.Tens of thousands have filled Melbourne Park on a sunny Sunday marking the first day of the main draw, which has already seen Perth product Talia Gibson secure passage to the second round.Even before a ball had been hit, however, there was reason for Australian optimism. Berrettini announced he had suffered a recurrence of the abdomen problems which had plagued his 2025 season, forcing him to miss the French and US opens, and would not take the court against De Minaur.“Unfortunately I’ve felt discomfort in my obliques once again and I won’t be ready to perform at my best level for five sets,” the Italian posted on Instagram
JD Vance to lead US presidential delegation at Milano Cortina Winter Olympics
US vice-president JD Vance will head the American presidential delegation to the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, the White House confirmed Saturday.Vance is scheduled to attend the ceremony on 6 February, when the Milan-Cortina Games officially get underway. He will be accompanied by second lady Usha Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and US ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta.Also joining the delegation are several former Olympic champions, including twin sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando, members of the US women’s ice hockey team that won gold at the 2018 Games. The group will also include figure skater Evan Lysacek, the 2010 Olympic champion, and Apolo Ohno, a two-time gold medalist in short track speed skating
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