Raducanu suffered a listless second-round exit at January’s Australian Open and subsequently split with coach Francisco Roig.

However, she has shown real grit throughout her run in Romania to reach the final.

“I’m so proud of how I competed, how I came back in the third set and how I managed the match,” Raducanu said.

“I don’t think I could have done it without everyone’s support here so thank you so much.”

Raducanu’s father, Ion, is from Bucharest and an exhausted but thrilled Raducanu briefly addressed the crowd in Romanian after her victory.

Only home hope Sorana Cirstea now stands between Raducanu and her first piece of silverware in five years.

Raducanu failed to serve out the opening set at the first time of asking, allowing Oliynykova to break back before winning the next two games – wrapping it up after a gruelling hour and 15 minutes.

But the top seed’s momentum faltered further in the second set and she was broken three times as Oliynykova forced a decider, where Raducanu was forced to fight back from a break down.

And after missing her first two match points at 5-3, the Briton saved two break-back points and served out the win at the third time of asking.

The victory snapped a six-match losing streak in deciding sets for Raducanu, while it was her first three-set win since she beat Ann Li in the first round of Eastbourne in June.

Emanuel Steward once named who he deemed to be the best fighter that he ever worked with.

Steward is globally recognised as being one of the greatest trainers of all time, operating out of the famous Kronk Gym in Detroit.

A lot of his success came working with heavyweights, having helped Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko have long reigns as world heavyweight champions, while he also coached iconic names such as Oscar De La Hoya, Julio Cesar Chavez and Evander Holyfield.

Before sadly passing away in 2012, Steward told East End Boxing who he viewed as the number one boxer he trained, and it may come as no surprise to learn that it was Thomas ‘The Hitman’ Hearns.

“Not only was Tommy the best fighter I ever worked with, he was also the most exciting. For me, climbing in the ring whenever Tommy fought, it was just so exciting. Tommy was very special.

“He was probably the closest reflection to my own style of fighting. With Tommy, he had so many outstanding qualities it’s hard to list just one – but he was so dedicated.

“Tommy worked so hard in the gym. If I told him, ‘Tommy, today you spar 20 rounds.’ He’d say ‘Okay.’ That’s just the way he was – dedicated.”

Hearns enjoyed immense success during his career, becoming the first boxer in history to win world titles in five divisions after triumphing from welterweight up to light heavyweight.

His final record stood at 61 wins from 67 fights, and he was a member of the legendary ‘Four Kings’ alongside Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran.

One Manchester United player has been told why his move to Old Trafford was a ‘mistake’, as transfer speculation continues to surround him even after the January transfer window shut

Joshua Zirkzee has been told why leaving Manchester United may be the best move for his career.

Zirkzee’s future has been the subject of intense speculation since the start of the season, but the striker has remained at Old Trafford despite two transfer windows passing by.

United signed Zirkzee from Bologna in the summer of 2024 and was one of the final signings of Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Old Trafford.

The Netherlands international has scored two goals across 16 appearances across all competitions for United this season, and has just nine goals to his name since moving to Manchester 18 months ago.

Zirkzee found regular appearances difficult to come by during Ruben Amorim’s tenure as United head coach, and has yet to feature in any of the three matches since Michael Carrick was appointed on an interim basis until the end of the season.

READ MORE: Michael Carrick could add player to Manchester United squad vs TottenhamREAD MORE: Man United told to sign Cole Palmer as Chelsea transfer gets given seal of approval

United were without Zirkzee due to injury for the wins over Manchester City and Arsenal, but the striker did make a return for the victory over Fulham, where he was an unused substitute.

Even though Zirkzee did not feature in United’s dramatic 3-2 win over Fulham last weekend, the striker was the first player to congratulate winning goalscorer Benjamin Sesko after the final whistle, as his instant reaction showed his true character in how he was delighted for his team-mate.

Zirkzee’s last goal for United came in a draw over Wolves at the end of December, and the last few months have seen persistent links claiming that the 24-year-old could be heading for the exit door in the near future.

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Amid the speculation, former Chelsea and AC Milan star Ruud Gullit has urged Zirkzee to consider a United exit and return to Italy.

“Joshua Zirkzee made a mistake moving to Manchester United – he should have stayed in Italy,” Gullit told Gambling Insider.

“When he left Bologna, he should have gone to Juventus or AC Milan and stayed in Serie A. He arrived at United when there was a lot of bad energy around the club. It was the wrong time for him.

“There have been rumours that he could now leave United and go to Roma in the summer. I hope he makes that move, or at least join another club in Italy, because it is a much more suitable league for him.”

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Egyptian giants Pyramids FC are expected to arrive in Uyo on Friday night ahead of their CAF Champions League Group A match against Rivers United. The encounter is scheduled for Sunday, February 8, 2026, at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

Pyramids travel to Nigeria in strong form as they continue their push for a place in the quarter-finals of the competition. The Egyptian side currently tops Group A with 10 points from four matches and needs only one point from their remaining two games to secure qualification for the knockout stage.

The team moved closer to qualification after recording a convincing 3-0 victory over Morocco’s RS Berkane at the Air Defence Stadium. Mahmoud Abdel-Hafiz, popularly known as Zalaka, opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a header from Nasser Maher’s cross.

Despite attempts by Berkane to respond, Pyramids maintained defensive discipline and extended their lead in the 74th minute when Maher scored his first goal for the club since joining from Zamalek during the January transfer window. Ahmed Atef later sealed the victory with a third goal six minutes later.

In the group standings, Morocco’s RS Berkane occupies second place with seven points, while Zambia’s Power Dynamos sit third with four points following their 1-0 away win over Rivers United. The Nigerian side is currently bottom of the group with one point after four matches.

However, Pyramids head into the Uyo clash after suffering a setback in their domestic league, losing to Smouha in a midweek Egyptian Premier League fixture. Former Akwa United winger Samuel Amadi was among the scorers in that match.

For Rivers United, Sunday’s fixture presents an opportunity to restore pride and improve their standing after a difficult campaign in the group stage. 

Emma Raducanu is one win away from her maiden WTA Tour title after reaching the final of the Transylvania Open.

The British number one beat Oleksandra Oliynykova 7-5 3-6 6-3 in an epic semi-final to take her place in Saturday’s showpiece in Cluj.

She now has a shot at winning her first tournament since her incredible US Open success in 2021 and announcing herself as a real force on the WTA Tour.

It completed an impressive day for home tennis as Katie Boulter made it into the final of the Ostrava Open, meaning that two British women will compete in different WTA Tour finals on the same day for the first time.

What sort of physical or mental condition top seed Raducanu will be in for the final against either Sorana Cirstea or Daria Snigur remains to be seen after she made it through one of the toughest matches of her career.

It was a war of attrition for Raducanu against the eccentric Ukrainian, who, adorned in face tattoos, adopted some frustrating tactics, including heavy use of ‘moon balling’ and slices.

The teary Briton was left physically shattered after a near three-hour battle.

“What an incredible match,” she said during her on-court interview. “I think all props to my opponent today.

“She played incredible makes it so tricky to put any ball past her. You think it’s past her, and then the ball is on your baseline or on your sideline so it’s so difficult.

“I’m just most proud of how I competed, how I came back in the third set, how I managed the match.

“I honestly don’t know if I could have done it without everyone’s support.”

The world number 91 adopted her infuriating tactics especially well late in the first set after Raducanu had broken to go 5-4 up.

It paid off as she broke back, but Raducanu stayed strong to claim another break in a mammoth game at 5-5 and then served the set out with relative ease.

She then broke in the opening game of the second set to raise hopes of a more comfortable route to victory as the Briton opened up a 3-1 lead.

But her Ukrainian opponent would just not go away and turned the set on its head with a run of five successive games to level up as Raducanu had no answers to her unusual style.

Raducanu showed her fighting spirit after trailing 2-1 in the decider to took back control of the match, winning 16 straight points to move on the brink of victory.

She missed three match points on Oliynykova’s serve, but finally finished the job to wrap it up.

Earlier, British number four Boulter beat American Katie Volynets 6-1 6-3 to secure a place in the Ostrava Open final.

Boulter broke in the opening game and then the fifth to establish a 4-1 lead, before taking the set as Volynets’ serve faltered again.

World number 96 Volynets regrouped for the start of the second set, forcing an early break in the first game, but Boulter responded immediately to level at 1-1.

Boulter then went on the offensive with some power hitting across the court.

Another break in game eight left her serving for the match, which she closed out after recovering from 0-40 down to hold her nerve and progress to a fifth career WTA final.

Adidas has built a special suit for the Winter Olympics that warms up its athletes from the inside.

From the outside, the Climawarm System looks like a normal tracksuit. But on the inside are a series of heating pads, aimed specifically at important muscles, that are intended to ensure that athletes stay at the right temperature after they complete their warm-ups.

Adidas has been working on similar systems for years. At the London Olympics in 2012, it introduced similar tools for track cyclists to “achieve optimal muscle temperature for power expression”, says Margherita Raccuglia, director of athlete performance at Adidas.

But it has now built a new version of the suit specifically for the Winter Olympics, allowing its athletes to cope with the specific challenges posed by chasing world-best performance in sub-zero conditions. Those heat pads are specifically focused on the muscles that need to stay warm, and it comes with a range of additional features such as “boost” mode in times that it is particularly needed.

The system has been built in collaboration with those athletes, says Raccuglia. “We have data supporting what kind of temperature we need to provide from a physiological point of view, but it was important to also gather their perceptual feedback as well,” she says, in a process that took about a year and a half.

The conditions at the Winter Olympics are almost perfectly calibrated to make such technology difficult: batteries perform badly in the cold, and electronics struggle in the wet. Adidas also built a series of safety mechanisms, to ensure that it did not overheat, and a special charging bag to make sure that it is always ready to go.

But athletes were “never worried” about the safety of the suit, she said. Instead, their concerns were primarily about performance – whether they would be able to get out of it quickly and easily enough to undertake their discipline, for instance, and testing including coaches timing athletes taking it off to make sure.

At the moment, the suit is only available to those professional athletes at the Winter Olympics. But “this is a technology we want to further explore for more and more athletes and consumers,” says Raccuglia – “staying warm in cold environment is something that resonates with lots of our consumers”.

Adidas has also worked on similar technology for cooling. That has included building a jacket that has something like an in-built air conditioning system, including fans that eject air and create a cooler microclimate around its wearer, that has been used by athletes including the Mercedes Formula 1 team.

Away from that work, Raccuglia says that the other “pillar for performance” is movement, and the company is working on new technologies that support athletes as their muscles work. That might include clothing that is able to support the muscles and joints as they work, especially through fatigue – though that work, for now, is remaining largely secret.

Father-and-son trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman are well-versed in capturing Victoria’s flagship two-year-old prize.

They dominated the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes at Caulfield, first with Artorius in 2021 and then Daumier the year after.

This season, the pair looks to slot High Alert into the February 21 1200m spectacle, pinning hopes on a strong showing in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (1100m) at Caulfield on Saturday.

Making his second start, High Alert comes off a fourth in the Blue Diamond Preview (1000m) at Caulfield on January 24.

Barrier one proved troublesome that day, as High Alert was held up on the inside, checked in the straight, but rallied late for fourth position.

Rider Luke Currie and Sam Freedman weighed lodging a protest but passed, the main relief being High Alert’s flawless recovery.

Freedman disclosed the colt added five to six kilos post-race, but the co-trainer stresses the need for some breaks to crack the Blue Diamond field.

“He’s probably going to have to run first two to get into the race I would say,” Freedman said.

“He’s going to be a proper horse in time.

“He put on weight, so it didn’t hurt him at all. He pulled up super and really, he ended up with a dash home.

“Hopefully he gets a bit of even luck, and we can see where he sits, but I don’t know if that’s the ‘A’ grade form.

“We’re always wary of the unlucky horse in a bad race, but he does work like a nice horse, so hopefully he can show it.”

The debut showcased High Alert’s quickening ability, ideal for escaping binds, according to Freedman.

“It was still enough of a run leading to the Blue Diamond,” Freedman said.

“The horse went off next to him in the gates, but that’s why he will be a nice horse, because nothing really fazes him.”

Saturday sees High Alert in gate five of eight, with Craig Williams taking the mount.

Visit leading racing betting markets for the upcoming Blue Diamond Stakes.

The post High Alert to show Blue Diamond Stakes credentials first appeared on Just Horse Racing.

Nick Ball has insisted he is “most comfortable” against taller opponents, as he prepares to fight Brandon Figueroa on Saturday.

Ball will headline in front of a home crowd in Liverpool, defending the WBA featherweight title at M&S Bank Arena. And, not for the first time, the diminutive brawler will be the shorter boxer as he takes on his American challenger.

The pair tipped the scales on Friday, with Ball (23-0-1) weighing in at 125.1lb after Figueroa (26-2-1) came in at 124.1lb.

After their successful weigh-ins, 28-year-old Ball said: “One more sleep and then it’s go time. We’ll find out tomorrow, but it’s gonna be an exciting one, that’s for sure […] All action from the first bell.”

Addressing the height difference, which sees the 5ft 9in Figueroa loom somewhat over the 5ft 2in Ball, the latter said: “It’s nothing new to me, to be honest with you. It’s where I’m most comfortable, so I can’t wait for it.”

And on the fight being his third title defence in Liverpool, Ball said: “Yeah, it’s special times, and I wouldn’t be here today without everyone who’s been supporting me from day one, so it means everything to me. I appreciate it.”

Meanwhile, 29-year-old Figueroa addressed the pair’s long, intense face-off from moments before, saying: “I’m just ready, I’m just leting him know that I’m ready and that belt’s coming home with me.

open image in gallery

“This is the best version of Brandon you guys are gonna see. Of course [it will be a firefight], I’m coming with everything, and I plan to leave it all in the ring.

“I’ve got my family with me, my team. We’re ready, I’ve got the whole backing of the valley, 956. I’m just ready, man.”

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Figueroa was addressing his Texan upbringing, before he acknowledged his Mexican parentage by delivering a message in Spanish. But he signed off in English: “And the new.”

If Figueroa pulls off the victory on Saturday, he will become a three-time world champion, having previously held the WBA Regular and WBC super-bantamweight titles, as well as the WBC featherweight belt.