Emma Raducanu suddenly withdraws from Italian Open after press conference
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Italian Open because of her continued difficulties with post-viral illness, with the announcement coming less than 30 minutes after she conducted upbeat media interviews.Raducanu has spent the last few days competing at the Foro Italico, playing practice sets with other competitors and, having received a bye as a seeded player, she was scheduled to contest her second-round match against Solana Sierra or a qualifier.On Tuesday evening, Raducanu conducted her mandatory pre-tournament media obligations, speaking about her progress after a tricky spell.“Last two months, in the beginning, it was quite difficult,” she said.“Wasn’t feeling the best physically.
And I think it had just been lingering for a while,Whereas the last three weeks, I think I’ve really turned a corner and I feel so much better,“And that’s a really positive thing for me,I feel great on the court,I feel like every day I’m working towards something.
The break has helped me feel really motivated coming back, very hungry and happy to be out here training and putting out great sessions every day,”Less than half an hour later, the tournament supervisor confirmed at 7pm local time that Raducanu had withdrawn,Players on-site at tournaments on both the WTA and ATP tours are required to conduct at least one post-withdrawal activity, which includes media availability, in order to avoid a fine,Had she not spoken to the media, Raducanu would have received a $15,000 (£11,000) fine for not complying with the on-site withdrawal rules,It is not unusual for players to withdraw from tournaments a day or two after conducting their media duties.
However, in Raducanu’s situation, most players would have first withdrawn before explaining the withdrawal in their press conference.Raducanu’s withdrawal means her absence from the sport will extend to more than two months.The British No 1 had begun to struggle with a virus throughout the Middle East swing in February but the symptoms had not abated by early March.After a poor showing that month at Indian Wells, losing 6-1, 6-1 to Amanda Anisimova in the third round, she opted to spend an extended period on the sidelines.This has been another difficult year for Raducanu, who started the season with a foot injury before her illness.
She had appeared to turn a corner in recent weeks, briefly reuniting with her former coach Andrew Richardson to build up her match fitness at the Ferrer academy in Benidorm.Asked if these challenges were mentally draining, Raducanu responded with optimism.“Potentially [draining mentally],” she said.“When you have things going on, every day you’re working at it, it’s something you have in your head, but now in terms of body, injuries-wise, I feel very good.I don’t have anything that’s bothering me, and I’m just able to put out good days and I feel like I’m approaching each day, shot with great purpose.
I have a lot of energy and motivation inside of me.”
Ken Eason obituary
My friend and former colleague Ken Eason, who has died aged 83, was an eminent academic. He specialised in the study of how the introduction of computer technology affects managers and employees in organisations, often with unexpected consequences.Much of his work took place at Loughborough University, where he was involved in the formation in 1970 of the university’s Human Sciences and Advanced Technology (HUSAT) Institute, which carried out some of the earliest research on human-computer interaction.He was the institute’s deputy director until succeeding its founder, Brian Shackel, as its director in 1992, holding that position until Husat was disbanded in 1996. Thereafter he was professor of cognitive ergonomics at Loughborough until his retirement in 2002
Richard Dawkins concludes AI is conscious, even if it doesn’t know it
When Richard Dawkins met Claudia it was like a whirlwind romance. Over three days last week, a conversation bounced between the evolutionary biologist and the AI bot he called Claudia. “She” wrote poems for him in the manner of Keats and Betjeman and laughed at his “delightful” jokes. Dawkins gently admonished Claudia to avoid showing off. Together, they reflected on the sadness of the AI’s possible “death”
GameStop shares fall 10% after CEO skirts questions over eBay acquisition details
GameStop’s shares fell more than 10% on Monday as questions emerged about how the company would finance its surprise $55.5bn bid for eBay.In an interview with CNBC, Ryan Cohen, GameStop’s CEO, skirted repeated inquiries about how the video games retailer could afford the deal, saying he didn’t understand the questions.A letter published on GameStop’s website outlines a half-cash, half-stock proposal to acquire eBay at $125 a share, using about $9.4bn in “cash on hand”, and a $20bn in potential debt financing from TD Securities
AI platforms reference Nigel Farage more than other leaders when prompted on UK politics, study shows
AI platforms are more likely to reference Nigel Farage than any other UK leader when prompted about British politics, according to an AI search analytics firm.“We are confident in saying that Reform are showing up significantly more than you would expect,” said Malte Landwehr, an expert at Peec AI, the firm that did the research. “So they’re doing something right when it comes to LLM [large language model] visibility.”Peec’s research tested leading AI models – including ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overview – on their responses to 5,000 different structured prompts related to British politics, including the economy and jobs, immigration, healthcare and crime. These prompts were run repeatedly over the course of several weeks, generating over 280,000 data points
Vine video-sharing app is back – and battling AI slop
As a pioneer of the short-form video format, Vine has been credited as one of the most influential – if short-lived – social media platforms.The app, which allowed users to record a looping six seconds of video, boomed in popularity after its launch in 2013, spawning a plethora of viral comedy sketches and internet memes. It hit 100 million monthly active users at its peak and helped launch the careers of influencers such as Logan Paul.It was snapped up by Twitter – now X – soon after its creation, but closed in 2017 after the platform failed to make the sums add up.Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s co-founder, is now backing an attempt to bring back a revamped version of the much-loved platform with a new philosophy: to be the short-form video app offering “freedom from AI slop”
GameStop makes $55.5bn takeover offer for eBay
US video games retailer GameStop has offered to buy eBay for $55.5bn (£41bn) in an unsolicited bid that its boss warned could turn hostile if the proposal is rebuffed by eBay’s board.GameStop, which has quietly accumulated a 5% stake in eBay, said it was willing to pay $125 a share, split 50-50 between cash and stock.It is an ambitious move by the games company, which catapulted to fame during the meme-stock craze of 2021 but is worth far less than its takeover target. GameStop had a market valuation of roughly $12bn on Friday before its bid, while eBay – originally launched as a side hobby by its founder Pierre Omidyar in 1995 – is worth about $46bn
Reform and Plaid Cymru likely to benefit from polarisation of Welsh politics
Zack Polanski says he was wrong to call himself a Red Cross spokesperson
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Zack Polanski falsely claimed to be British Red Cross spokesperson, charity says