Bright future for Australian women’s tennis adds colour to Open hopes

One is giving tennis a last shot before a potential pivot to fashion design. Two veterans, desperate to prove they still belong. Then there is a pair of the most promising young female Australian players in recent memory.The local contingent contesting the Australian Open women’s singles are full of colour, rich in stories. The same could be said of the cupboard of qualifier Destanee Aiava, who only booked her place in the main draw with a three-set victory over German Eva Lys on Thursday

RFU rebels vow to fight on after attempt to remove Bill Sweeney is blocked

A grassroots rebellion has accused the Rugby Football Union of ­“postponing the inevitable” after the governing body rejected an attempt to force the removal of the chief executive, Bill Sweeney, amid the pay and bonuses scandal.On another remarkable day at the RFU, a group of 141 members from across the country called for a special general meeting and a vote of no confidence in Sweeney, only for the union to declare the motion invalid on bureaucratic grounds.In a further twist, the rebels then claimed the RFU’s basis for rejecting the motion was incorrect and they expect the union to comply with the call for an SGM in the coming days. The rebels – who later said their support had grown to 152 members – have demanded an SGM no later than 28 February and have said they are calling on the board of directors to “terminate [Sweeney’s] employment … as soon as practicably possible”.The threshold to call for an SGM is 100 clubs, so the rebels were confident they would succeed in forcing a vote

Stuart Hogg was a world class Scottish rugby player who now has to relocate his moral compass | Robert Kitson

Scotland has not always been blessed with rugby players of genuine world class but prime-time Stuart Hogg was a rare exception. At the height of his powers he was the Six Nations Player of the Year in successive seasons in 2016 and 2017, mixing acceleration and attacking intent with a just-try-and-stop-me attitude that set him apart from the average workaday pro.The talented lad from Hawick was a big fish in a series of smallish pools – the Borders, Scottish rugby, Exeter – and grew accustomed to being hailed as king of his local oval-ball castle. While, behind closed doors, not being entirely the man his many fans thought him to be.When he pleaded guilty to a domestic abuse charge in early November – for which he has now been sentenced and spared jail – the court reports painted a grim picture of a controlling husband who was frequently a nightmare when drunk

‘Phenomenal’ Zoe Aldcroft named England women’s rugby union captain

Zoe Aldcroft has been installed as England women’s captain for 2025, taking over from Marlie Packer, and is set to lead John Mitchell’s side into the World Cup this year.Aldcroft, who was named World Rugby’s women’s player of the year in 2021, has undertaken the role on a number of previous occasions including the emphatic victories over Scotland and Wales in the 2024 Six Nations but has been appointed on a permanent basis. The Gloucester-Hartpury forward will be supported by Packer and Megan Jones, who have been named as vice-captains.“Zoe is a phenomenal rugby player who consistently performs to a high standard in the [Premiership] and at international level,” said Mitchell. “She leads by example through her world-class actions, on and off the field, and is an integral member of our leadership group

Money or the starter’s gun? AFL and NRL riches remain a lure for Olympic hopefuls | Nicole Jeffery

The teenage sprint prodigy Gout Gout has taken the headlines but Australia had an equally promising and even younger prospect at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima last year. A Sydney schoolboy was the youngest medallist at the event, just 15 when he leaped a personal best of 7.80m to win the bronze medal in the long jump, beating boys up to three years older than him.But there is no guarantee Mason McGroder will still be competing in athletics when Brisbane 2032 rolls around. The talented youngster is also in the Sydney Swans Academy and could pursue a career in the AFL

The wrong trousers: how sporting dress codes can create an image problem | Emma John

Wallace and Gromit is a festive TV staple in many a household – but it wasn’t their wrong trousers that scooped the post-Christmas headlines. That honour belonged to Magnus Carlsen, disqualified from a chess tournament in New York for wearing jeans.The world No 1 – who also happens to be the only current chess player most people can name – had balked when he was told to change his attire before his ninth-round match at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships. Walking out of the event, Carlsen shrugged that he would “probably head off to somewhere where the weather is a bit nicer”. Instead, he returned three days later after the governing body, Fide, had agreed a more “flexible approach” to its dress code