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Katie Boulter heads for career-high ranking after reaching Hong Kong final

  • British No 1 battled to 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Yuan Yue
  • She will rise to at least 23rd in world rankings on Monday

Katie Boulter had many reasons to be apprehensive about her form in the final stretch of an arduous first full season at tennis’s highest levels. However, even as she travelled from city to city struggling to re-establish herself, the British No 1 continued to work hard each day, remaining optimistic and giving herself opportunities to find her best level again.

In her last individual tournament of the season, Boulter has been rewarded for her resilience and grit. She pieced together another brilliant performance on Saturday in a quality tussle against Yuan Yue of China, eventually closing out a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win to reach the Hong Kong Open final.

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Nathan McSweeney steals march on rivals in Australia’s Test opener audition

  • South Australia captain closes on half century against India A
  • Sam Konstas, Marcus Harris and Cam Bancroft all out cheaply

Nathan McSweeney has the chance to assert himself as the favourite for the Test vacancy after closing in on a half-century in Australia A’s second innings against India A.

On day three in Mackay, Australia A captain McSweeney (47 not out from 98 balls) was by far the most impressive of the four leading candidates to open the batting for Australia alongside Usman Khawaja this summer.

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Alex Horne: ‘When Liverpool score I nod. With Chesham, I punch the air’

Taskmaster star and Chesham director shares his passion for non-league football as his club prepare for Lincoln

Ticket-holders to Alex Horne’s gig in Edinburgh on Monday evening be warned – there may be a very long interval. The comedian, and frontman of the Horne Section, did not know when he scheduled the tour that his football team would be playing a first-round FA Cup match on ITV.

With Chesham United kicking off against League One Lincoln half an hour before his own show begins, he is pondering how to keep up with the score. “Elton John apparently watched Watford’s FA Cup final on an iPad on his piano during a gig in Copenhagen,” he says. “But it’s mainly about the occasion, so it’s gutting I’m not there.”

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It’s time for England to fully unveil the house Steve Borthwick has built | Ugo Monye

After potential shown on summer tour, England start four-Test home series with every reason for excitement

England stand on the verge of a thrilling month of Test rugby. The traditional big three from the southern hemisphere are due at Twickenham as well as a Japan side who are always entertaining. It’s an exciting time for Steve Borthwick’s side and what they get out of four fixtures against New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Japan is going to be a genuine representation of where they truly are.

We’ve seen highs and lows in the last year. It was a difficult period going into the Six Nations with the defeat by Scotland and then a huge bounce with a victory over Ireland and promise in defeats by France and New Zealand. Borthwick was given a grace period in the first year or so of his tenure – something that wouldn’t be afforded to his opposite number on Saturday, Scott Robertson – but this November series feels definitive for the England head coach’s tenure.

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Max Verstappen’s five-place grid penalty in Brazil GP is chance for Lando Norris

  • F1 championship leader breached engine rules
  • Norris can cut 47-point lead if he takes advantage

Confrontation on the track has dominated the world championship fight between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris for the previous two races but now closing out what has been a tempestuous and gruelling triple-header, Norris has the opportunity to take advantage in a manner that will make the most impact on the Dutchman without so much as a backward glance.

Verstappen will start on the back foot in Brazil with a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race after changing his engine, leaving him in a starting position of at best sixth, and potentially even lower if the Red Bull has not closed the gap to Norris, McLaren and the recently resurgent Ferrari who have dominated the last two races. These are places that matter in an increasingly tight fight. Norris trails Verstappen by 47 points with four meetings remaining. This weekend and Qatar next month both include sprint races, taking the points still available to 120.

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Tamworth stun Huddersfield in FA Cup upset after Tom Tonks causes chaos

  • National League side knock out League One Terriers
  • Tonks’ long throw leads to own goal for non-league side

Tom Tonks’ long throw-in helped non-league Tamworth secure a famous FA Cup upset against the League One promotion hopefuls Huddersfield.

A Premier League side as recently as 2019, the West Yorkshire club suffered a humiliating first-round loss at the Lamb Ground on Friday evening in front of the TV cameras.

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Borthwick’s England face All Blacks test in fixture that still stirs the soul | Robert Kitson

The visit of New Zealand to Twickenham is always special regardless of changes to stadium names or rules

For those who, for some strange reason, only watch international rugby much has changed since England last took the field in mid-July. Technically speaking, for starters, the home team no longer play at a ground called Twickenham and will instead run out at somewhere called Allianz Stadium. The era of the “Ally Pally” has arrived, which may or may not impress the old-school clientele in the posher parts of the West Car Park.

If there is a sense of the Rugby Football Union selling off the family silver and jettisoning a significant slice of the English game’s global identity it is reinforced by the fact the All Blacks are due to visit a second Allianz Stadium in three weeks’ time when they play Italy in Turin. The only consolation for staunch traditionalists is that fresh monikers can take decades to catch on; some people still refer to the “Manchester Guardian” a mere 65 years on.

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NRL and Super League can look and learn from NFL’s global expansion | Gavin Willacy

Rugby league can mirror Jacksonville’s London annex as they push to make Las Vegas move make financial sense

By Gavin Willacy for No Helmets Required

Wigan Warriors will not get to defend their world title in a rematch with Penrith Panthers because they are both going to Las Vegas. Yes, the World Club Challenge (WCC) is off because the two teams in it will be in Sin City together … playing against other teams. Very rugby league. But the NRL’s increased interest in the British game should see the WCC soon given a suitable stage.

While it is unfortunate two teams heading to Vegas went and won the NRL and Super League titles (again), it brought an elephant to the room. The WCC has been axed in 2025 because Vegas is a vastly bigger proposition. And it is the club and leagues’ own fault.

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Worthing owner George Dowell: ‘I’ve been able to build a career and save my club at the same time’

Former player on taking inspiration from a hospital visitor after being paralysed, and his hopes for his National League South club in their FA Cup tie with Morecambe

Three days before the National League South side Worthing face Morecambe of League Two in the first round of the FA Cup, builders are putting the finishing touches to the main entrance of the club’s Woodside Road stadium. Nestled in a suburban neighbourhood of the west Sussex seaside town, the Rebels have enjoyed a rapid rise up the non-league pyramid and on Saturday will officially open their new North Stand that takes the capacity to 4,000.

For the owner, George Dowell, who was paralysed from the chest down in a car crash when he was 17, days after being named on the bench for Worthing’s first team, it will be a particularly proud moment. “It’s going to be amazing to see it,” he says. “We’re starting to get that ‘North Stand, give us a wave’ chant so the atmosphere is going all around the ground these days.”

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