Category Sports News

Six-time champion Michael van Gerwen was beaten by a fellow Dutchman in the first round of the World Grand Prix, but Luke Littler came through a high-quality opener.

Van Gerwen won a top-level tournament for the first time in two years by beating Littler in the World Series Finals in September, but on Tuesday he produced an error-strewn performance to lose 2-0 against Dirk van Duijvenbode.

Although world number three Van Gerwen threw a stunning 171 in the first leg, he otherwise struggled and suffered first-round elimination for the second year running.

Littler, however, stormed into the second round in Leicester with an 11-minute straight-set win against another Dutchman, Gian van Veen.

Both players averaged over 100 in a superb first set as Littler came from behind to take it 3-2.

Despite Van Veen finishing with a 106.47 average – the highest average in tournament history – and Littler 105.58, it was the Briton who won through to continue his quest for a first World Grand Prix title.

“I am very happy. I don’t think I could have done a lot better there. I certainly played better than last year,” Littler told Sky Sports.

“I said I would be fiery in my pre-match interview and I showed a bit of that. Hopefully this is my next major.”

Gerwyn Price defeated Ryan Searle 2-1, before Peter Wright lost to defending champion Mike de Decker by the same scoreline.

Tuesday’s World Grand Prix results:

Dirk van Duijvenbode 2-0 Michael van Gerwen

Luke Woodhouse 2-1 Damon Heta

Daryl Gurney 2-0 Ross Smith

Jonny Clayton 2-0 Andrew Gilding

Gerwyn Price 2-1 Ryan Searle

Luke Littler 2-0 Gian van Veen

Mike de Decker 2-1 Peter Wright

Josh Rock 2-1 Ryan Joyce

Wednesday’s matches:

Cameron Menzies v Rob Cross

Stephen Bunting v Danny Noppert

Luke Humphries v Krzysztof Ratajski

Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo want to leave Manchester United, Axel Disasi remains frozen out at Chelsea and Leeds want a winger.

Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee, 24, sees a January move away from the club as crucial if he is to be included in the Netherlands squad for next summer’s World Cup. (Mail Plus – subscription required)

West Ham are interested in Zirkzee with new manager Nuno Espirito Santo keen to bolster his attacking options. (Football Insider)

England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, 20, is also looking to leave Old Trafford in January with Napoli a possible destination. (Mirror)

Harry Maguire, 32, wants to continue at Manchester United but will have to take a pay cut to extend his stay beyond the end of the season. (Talksport)

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will not bring outcast France defender Axel Disasi, 27, back into his squad despite a defensive injury crisis. (Sun)

Leeds will look to sign a winger in January after their deadline-day move for Fulham and Wales’ Harry Wilson, 28, fell through. (Sky Sports)

Former Leeds winger Raphinha is on Manchester United’s radar after his fine form for Barcelona but the Brazil international, 28, could cost £120m. (Fichajes)

Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo want to leave Manchester United, Axel Disasi remains frozen out at Chelsea and Leeds want a winger.

Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee, 24, sees a January move away from the club as crucial if he is to be included in the Netherlands squad for next summer’s World Cup. (Mail Plus – subscription required)

West Ham are interested in Zirkzee with new manager Nuno Espirito Santo keen to bolster his attacking options. (Football Insider)

England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, 20, is also looking to leave Old Trafford in January with Napoli a possible destination. (Mirror)

Harry Maguire, 32, wants to continue at Manchester United but will have to take a pay cut to extend his stay beyond the end of the season. (Talksport)

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will not bring outcast France defender Axel Disasi, 27, back into his squad despite a defensive injury crisis. (Sun)

Leeds will look to sign a winger in January after their deadline-day move for Fulham and Wales’ Harry Wilson, 28, fell through. (Sky Sports)

Former Leeds winger Raphinha is on Manchester United’s radar after his fine form for Barcelona but the Brazil international, 28, could cost £120m. (Fichajes)

Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo want to leave Manchester United, Axel Disasi remains frozen out at Chelsea and Leeds want a winger.

Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee, 24, sees a January move away from the club as crucial if he is to be included in the Netherlands squad for next summer’s World Cup. (Mail Plus – subscription required)

West Ham are interested in Zirkzee with new manager Nuno Espirito Santo keen to bolster his attacking options. (Football Insider)

England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, 20, is also looking to leave Old Trafford in January with Napoli a possible destination. (Mirror)

Harry Maguire, 32, wants to continue at Manchester United but will have to take a pay cut to extend his stay beyond the end of the season. (Talksport)

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will not bring outcast France defender Axel Disasi, 27, back into his squad despite a defensive injury crisis. (Sun)

Leeds will look to sign a winger in January after their deadline-day move for Fulham and Wales’ Harry Wilson, 28, fell through. (Sky Sports)

Former Leeds winger Raphinha is on Manchester United’s radar after his fine form for Barcelona but the Brazil international, 28, could cost £120m. (Fichajes)

“Do you want a player to die on court?”

That was the question Holger Rune asked an official as he was treated by a doctor and physio in gruelling conditions at the Shanghai Masters.

With temperatures reaching as high as 34C and humidity at 80% in the daytime at the end of a long season, players are feeling the impact physically.

Conditions are similar 500 miles west at the Wuhan Open, where Emma Raducanu retired from her first-round match on Tuesday with dizziness. On Monday, matches on the outside courts were halted and the roof on the main court closed.

After retiring with illness from a match against Sorana Cirstea on Tuesday, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko revealed she had “suffered a heat stroke”.

Iga Swiatek enjoyed a 6-1 6-1 rout of Marie Bouzkova, but the world number two said afterwards she was grateful not to have played on Monday, when the heat was “too much for most of the players”.

“I hope the other matches will be scheduled at a time where girls can compete, rather than just die on the court,” Swiatek added.

Back in Shanghai, Rune had his blood pressure taken and an ice towel around his shoulders after feeling unwell in his third-round win over Ugo Humbert on Sunday.

Novak Djokovic said the conditions in his gruelling third-round win were “brutal”, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard said he felt like he was “dying on the court” because of the humidity, and Jannik Sinner could barely walk as he was hit by cramps in his Sunday night match.

Terence Atmane, who retired from his first-round match on Thursday, posted on Instagram that his on-court stress was heightened by the heat.

“After the first point of the match both of my hands were shaking,” the Frenchman wrote.

“After the second game and a comfortable 2-0 lead I immediately felt my entire body shaking and I was suffocating after every point.

“The heat stress I’ve faced today could have been worse than losing my consciousness for an hour and just rapid heartbeat…”

Rune, as he was being treated on Sunday, asked why men’s governing body the ATP has no heat rule in place.

“It’s a very good question,” was the reply.

Denmark’s Rune returned to the theme on Tuesday after a three-set win over Mpetshi Perricard in the fourth round.

The world number 11 said he thought “every player would agree” a rule should be introduced.

“We can handle a certain amount of heat, because we’re strong and mentally strong as well, but there is always a limit.

The strength of the sun, temperature, humidity and wind speed are all taken into account when tournament referees decide whether the heat rule should come into effect.

Play at the Australian Open is suspended when the Heat Stress Scale – a combination of these various measurements – reaches level five, its highest level, when the potential impact on players is at its most severe.

Level four triggers a 10-minute break after the second set of a women’s singles (as long as either player requests it) and after the third set of a men’s singles.

Those playing on show courts may also benefit from the partial closing of the roof during extreme heat.

The French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open have very similar policies, but there are currently differences between the WTA and ATP tours.

On the women’s tour, a 10-minute break is offered when the Heat Stress Index reaches a certain limit, and play is likely to be suspended when the index climbs to another pre-determined mark.

However, a decision to suspend play on the men’s tour is at the discretion of the on-site ATP supervisor in co-ordination with medical teams and local authorities.

And – as things stand – there is no allowance for a 10-minute break before a deciding set.

“This remains under active review and additional measures including the implementation of an official heat policy are currently being evaluated in consultation with players, tournaments, and medical experts,” the ATP said in a statement.

“Player safety remains a top priority for the ATP.”

Players have often considered the sport a ‘survival of the fittest’, which would be undermined by a break after just two sets.

A person’s average body temperature is 37C, but when athletes push themselves to the limit in high temperatures, heat exhaustion – when the body gets too hot – can occur.

Symptoms include increased breathlessness, cramp, light-headedness and nausea.

If not treated properly by cooling the body down, heatstroke can set in and lead to a possible medical emergency.

As the body gets hotter, blood vessels open up. This leads to lower blood pressure and makes the heart work harder to push blood around the body.

The tennis tour basically follows the sun. It would be risky to play outdoors in many parts of Europe and North America in October, because of the threat of wet weather, and so logically the tours head to China, Japan and South Korea at this time of year.

Many courts are required for all tournaments, and especially for the 1,000 events which may have a 96-player draw. Very few indoor venues could cope, and so this calendar allows tournaments to be staged outdoors almost all year round.

Conor McGregor has accepted an 18-month ban for violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy, the organisation says.

According to Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD), Irish fighter McGregor, 37, missed three attempted biological sample collections within a 12-month period in 2024.

UFC policy dictates that athletes must provide accurate whereabouts information at all times, so they can be contacted and submit to biological sample collections without warning.

McGregor, who has not competed professionally since suffering a broken leg in his last fight against Dustin Poirier in July 2021, missed tests last year on 13 June, 19 September and 20 September.

CSAD said it reduced McGregor’s ban from 24 months to 18 months in acknowledgment of his cooperation with their investigation and injury circumstances.

A statement on the UFC website said McGregor “accepted responsibility, and provided detailed information that CSAD determined contributed to the missed tests”.

His ban began on 20 September 2024 – the date of his third whereabouts failure – and will conclude on 20 March 2026, four months before he turns 39.

McGregor recently claimed that he has signed to fight on the UFC White House card on 14 June 2026 – the 80th birthday of US president Donald Trump.

On Saturday, UFC president Dana White denied those claims, saying: “I made it clear that Conor wants to fight on that card, and you can clearly see Conor is very fired-up to fight on that card, but nothing is done yet. No fights are being negotiated with the White House.”

On Monday, McGregor told his social media followers he is talking a break from the platforms.

In November 2024, McGregor was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus costs to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018.

Ms Hand announced in August her intention to sue McGregor and two other people for damages, alleging they engaged in malicious abuse of court processes.