Serena Williams has said she is "devastated and shocked" by the case of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, whose whereabouts have become a mystery sparking international concern.
Doubles grand slam winner Peng is said to have been missing since making sexual assault allegations against a former top Chinese government official.
She posted on Chinese social media site Weibo allegations against Zhang Gaoli – the ex-vice premier and member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee – claiming he had forced her to have sexual relations with him.
The head of the women's tour, WTA chairman and CEO Steve Simon, has questioned the veracity of an email purportedly written by the two-time major doubles champion saying that she is safe.
Now 23-time grand slam singles winner Williams has added her powerful voice, stating: "I am devastated and shocked to hear about the news of my peer, Peng Shuai. I hope she is safe and found as soon as possible. This must be investigated and we must not stay silent."
WTA boss Simon said he had "a hard time believing" the email in Peng's name had come from the 35-year-old player herself. The message stated the allegations of sexual assault were not true and that Peng was "resting at home".
Former world number one Williams said she was "sending love to her and her family during this incredibly difficult time", adding the hashtag "#whereispengshuai" to her Twitter message.
Williams and Peng have faced each other four times in their careers, with the American winning each of their singles matches, the most recent in 2014, while Peng and Sun Tiantian beat Williams and sister Venus Williams in doubles in Bangalore in 2008.
There has been concern throughout sport and beyond for the wellbeing of Peng, a French Open and Wimbledon doubles winner.
On Wednesday, Simon said it was important that there was "independent and verifiable proof that she is safe", saying the statement issued in her name "only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts".
He said he had made efforts to contact Peng "via numerous forms of communication, to no avail", saying she must be allowed to speak "freely, without coercion or intimidation from any source".
Peng's social media post containing her allegations, along with all of her other content, has been removed from Weibo.
Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka also spoke up this week, with the Japanese star stating: "Censorship is never ok at any cost, I hope Peng Shuai and her family are safe and ok. I'm in shock of the current situation and I'm sending love and light her way."
Max Verstappen did not appear concerned on Thursday by a looming decision over Mercedes' attempt to have an incident at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix reviewed.
Verstappen forced Formula One title rival Lewis Hamilton off the track in Brazil last week in defending his position at the front of the race.
That was initially deemed a fair move, and Hamilton eventually passed the championship leader anyway, cutting the gap at the top to 14 points with a precious win.
But Mercedes subsequently appealed for the incident to be reviewed again on the basis of "new evidence".
The FIA has said stewards will announce whether the clash will be fully re-examined on Friday ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, teeing up another nervous wait.
Both Verstappen and Hamilton were the subject of stewards' enquiries in Brazil, the latter handed his second penalty of the week due to a DRS issue.
But Dutchman Verstappen is not letting this latest controversy worry him ahead of a potentially pivotal grand prix.
"Listen, if it would have been the other way around in Brazil, it would have exactly played out like that," he told Sky Sports.
"It's hard racing. We are fighting for a championship; we are not here to be in a kindergarten."
Hamilton said: "I'm just putting all my energy to setting up the car and making sure I'm in the right headspace this weekend."
England captain Owen Farrell is a major doubt for the start of the Six Nations after it was revealed he must undergo ankle surgery.
Farrell limped off during England's 32-15 victory over Australia at Twickenham last Saturday.
Saracens on Thursday revealed the England skipper will be out for 10 to 12 weeks, with an operation required.
The versatile Farrell faces a battle to be fit for the Red Rose's opening game of the 2022 Six Nations against Scotland at Murrayfield on February 5.
Sarries also confirmed in a fitness bulletin that their England hooker Jamie George will be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks due to the knee damage he sustained in the win over the Wallabies.
The Premiership club were able to offer positive news of Elliot Daly, who is back in full training and available to return after recovering from a leg injury.
England head coach Eddie Jones has named Courtney Lawes as captain for the clash with South Africa on Saturday in the absence of Farrell.
Manu Tuilagi moves to inside centre to fill the void left by Farrell, with Joe Marchant starting on the right wing.
Rookie duo Bevan Rodd and Jamie Blamire will start in the front row, while hooker Nic Dolly could make his debut off the bench against the world champions.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has returned to Ibrox as the new manager of Rangers.
The former Netherlands international has been charged with replacing Steven Gerrard, who left the Scottish Premiership champions to take over as Aston Villa boss last week.
Van Bronckhorst won five trophies with the Glasgow giants in his playing days, including two league titles.
The 46-year-old masterminded Feyenoord's 2016-17 Eredivisie title triumph, while he also lifted the KNVB Cup twice and the Johan Cruyff Shield before taking charge of Chinese Super League club Guangzhou City last year.
Van Bronckhorst is relishing the challenge of winning more honours at Rangers.
The ex-Barcelona and Arsenal man will be fully in charge once he is granted a work permit.
"I am absolutely delighted to be returning to Rangers as the club's new manager," Van Bronckhorst told the Rangers official website.
"I feel so lucky to be going to work with a squad which is in a great position on all fronts and largely has that experience of being winners. I'm grateful for the chance to work again at this huge football club."
Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson revealed Van Bronckhorst had been earmarked as a potential replacement for Gerrard long before the Liverpool legend's departure.
He said: "I am delighted to welcome Gio back to Rangers. He was respected throughout Europe as a player and has already shown why he has that same respect as a coach.
"Gio has already shown himself to be a winner, he knows the club, he knows the quality of the squad and is absolutely aligned with our approach and mindset.
"Gio has been part of a long list of managers we have been tracking for a period of time to ensure we are always ready. When Steven intimated his decision last Wednesday, we immediately got to work on what was then a focused shortlist. We held initial talks within 48 hours and concluded our decision-making within six days of the role becoming available.
"We found agreement with Gio extremely quickly and we have enjoyed working with him on assembling the backroom team that will complement an already excellent support staff that we have built here at Rangers."
Azeem Rafiq has apologised and described himself as "ashamed" after anti-Semitic messages he sent in 2011 resurfaced.
The former Yorkshire cricketer, who this week made an emotional appearance in front of a parliamentary select committee amid claims of institutionalised racism in English cricket, posted an apology on Twitter on Thursday in the wake of his own offensive remarks circulating on social media.
The 30-year-old confirmed the messages, which were part of an exchange with another cricketer, were written by him but insisted "I am a different person today", having posted them at the age of 19.
"I was sent an image of this exchange from early 2011 today," said Rafiq. "I have gone back to check my account and it is me – I have absolutely no excuses.
"I am ashamed of this exchange and have deleted it so as not to cause further offence. I was 19 at the time and I hope and believe I am a different person today."
In the note, posted on his Twitter account, Rafiq added: "I am incredibly angry at myself and I apologise to the Jewish community and everyone who is rightly offended by this."
Rafiq was found to have suffered racial harassment and bullying while at Yorkshire.
Rookie duo Bevan Rodd and Jamie Blamire will start in the front row for England when they face world champions South Africa on Saturday.
Blamire, who has scored four tries in five games for his country, gets his chance from the start with Jamie George ruled out due to a knee injury and prop Rodd comes into the team alongside Kyle Sinckler.
Flanker Courtney Lawes captains the Red Rose for the second time in the absence of Owen Farrell, who suffered an ankle injury in the win over Australia last weekend.
Hooker Nic Dolly could make his debut off the bench as Eddie Jones' side go in search of revenge for the 2019 World Cup final defeat.
Joe Marchant gets the nod to start on the right wing, with Manu Tuilagi moving to inside centre.
Prop Joe Marler is among the replacements, having missed the defeat of the 32-16 of the Wallabies after testing positive for coronavirus.
England have not lost to the Springboks at Twickenham since 2014, when they were edged out 31-18.
England team: Freddie Steward, Joe Marchant, Henry Slade, Manu Tuilagi, Jonny May, Marcus Smith, Ben Youngs; Bevan Rodd, Jamie Blamire, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Jonny Hill, Courtney Lawes (captain), Sam Underhill, Tom Curry.
Replacements: Nic Dolly, Joe Marler, Will Stuart, Charlie Ewels, Sam Simmonds, Alex Dombrandt, Raffi Quirke, Max Malins.
Bayern Munich are waiting to discover if Joshua Kimmich will be available to face Augsburg on Friday after he was in close contact with someone who may have coronavirus.
Julian Nagelsmann confirmed Kimmich missed training on Thursday as a precautionary measure and the Bundesliga champions are awaiting the results of his PCR test.
Kimmich, who has publicly confirmed he has not yet received either dose of his vaccine, was recently forced into isolation along with Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala due to being in close contact with Niklas Sule.
Sule withdrew from the Germany squad to face Liechtenstein and Armenia after he tested positive for COVID-19.
Kicker reported that Kimmich, Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala – who are all unvaccinated – are being split up for the rest of the Bayern squad due a spike in coronavirus cases.
Josip Stanisic was the latest Bayern player to return a positive COVID-19 test this week, with the Bavarian giants stating on Wednesday that the fully-vaccinated Croatia defender is isolating at home but feels "fine".
Nagelsmann revealed Kingsley Coman will miss the clash with Augsburg due to a minor muscle problem, but Leon Goretzka is fully fit.
The Bayern head coach will make a late decision on whether Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Alphonso Davies feature on Friday after they only returned from international duty on the eve of the game.
Rory McIlroy leads the season-ending DP World Tour Championship after the opening round, but Race to Dubai frontrunner Collin Morikawa was Thursday's big winner.
A seven-under 65 gave McIlroy a two-stroke advantage at the top of the leaderboard at Jumeirah Golf Estates, with Tapio Pulkkanen, Joachim B. Hansen and Christiaan Bezuidenhout in a three-way tie behind him.
McIlroy, whose 14th and most recent European Tour win came at the WGC-HSBC Champions in 2019, made a flying birdie-eagle start and only dropped a single shot all day at the ninth.
After turning in 31, the Northern Irishman protected his day-one advantage over a steady back nine.
McIlroy, who beat Morikawa at the CJ Cup last month, believes he has "got [his] golf game back" since contributing only a single point to Europe's Ryder Cup defeat.
"I'm just excited for the road ahead, because I feel like I'm on the right path," he said.
But the main focus this week is on the Race to Dubai, in which McIlroy is 20th and out of the running.
First-placed Morikawa has competition chiefly from fellow American Billy Horschel this week following Jon Rahm's withdrawal, although four other players could also yet scoop the seasonal title with 2,000 points on the line in Dubai.
Of the six contenders, Morikawa is best placed heading into Friday after his four-under 68 secured a share of fifth.
Crucially, Horschel endured a difficult start as three bogeys across four holes on the back nine set him back and he carded a two-over 74 – a hugely damaging deficit given his need to outperform Morikawa.
Rounds of 70 for Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick and Paul Casey kept the English trio in the mix, although each need to win and see Morikawa struggle. Min Woo Lee, the sixth man in contention, has work to do from even par.
Josh Adams has been passed fit to start for Wales and Pete Samu replaces Michael Hooper in the Australia team for Saturday's Test at the at Principality Stadium.
Adams missed the 38-23 defeat of Fiji last weekend due to a calf injury, but the winger will face the Wallabies.
Uilisi Halaholo and Nick Tompkins are Wayne Pivac's centre pairing, while the fit-again Aaron Wainwright is back at number eight.
Wyn Jones and Tomas Francis return to the starting line-up for what will be the final Test of the year for both sides.
Samu comes into the Australia team in the absence of Hooper, who suffered a foot injury in the loss to England at Twickenham last Saturday.
Props Taniela Tupou and Allan Alaalatoa return after missing the defeat to the Red Rose due to concussion, while Tolu Latu starts at hooker and Filipo Daugunu gets the nod on the wing alongside Andrew Kellaway.
Centre Lalakai Foketi is set to make his debut off the bench, with James Slipper taking over as skipper.
Wales team: Liam Williams, Louis Rees-Zammit, Nick Tompkins, Uilisi Halaholo, Josh Adams, Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Adam Beard, Seb Davies, Ellis Jenkins (captain), Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright.
Replacements: Elliot Dee, Gareth Thomas, Dillon Lewis, Ben Carter, Christ Tshiunza, Gareth Davies, Rhys Priestland, Johnny McNicholl.
Australia team: Kurtley Beale, Andrew Kellaway, Len Ikitau, Hunter Paisami, Filipo Daugunu, James O'Connor, Nic White; James Slipper (captain), Tolu Latu, Taniela Tupou, Rory Arnold, Izack Rodda, Rob Leota, Pete Samu, Rob Valetini.
Replacements: Folau Fainga'a, Angus Bell, Allan Alaalatoa, Will Skelton, Lachlan Swinton, Tate McDermott, Lalakai Foketi, Tom Wright.
Former England international Jack Rodwell has joined A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers for the 2021-22 season.
The 30-year-old ex-Everton and Manchester City midfielder had been without a club since being released by Sheffield United in June.
Rodwell, who only made two appearances in his 18 months with the Blades, spent a fortnight training with Wanderers and on Thursday signed a one-season deal.
"This move is really exciting for me, I've been looking at the opportunity to play in Australia for a couple of months and with my wife being from Western Sydney, the Wanderers was the perfect destination," said Rodwell.
"Australia is like a second home to me, it's my favourite country on Earth, it's where my wife and her family are from; we love the place.
"I honestly can't wait to play. With the opening match being the Sydney Derby, everyone in my family will be there watching so it is a huge opportunity and something I am really looking forward to.
"I'd like to thank the club for this opportunity, and hope I can repay the faith they have shown in me."
Big things were expected of Rodwell after he made his Everton debut aged only 16, but he lost his way following a move to City in 2012.
Eden Hazard is suffering through a "sad moment" in his career, according to Belgium boss Roberto Martinez.
Form and fitness woes have dogged Hazard since his big-money move to Real Madrid from Chelsea in 2019.
The 30-year-old soared to global prominence during a glittering seven-year spell at Stamford Bridge during which he won the Premier League twice, but he has failed to recapture that brilliance at the Santiago Bernabeu.
With Hazard only on the fringes of Carlo Ancelotti's Madrid team this season, Martinez conceded the forward is not having the best of times.
"In the recent years, he has lived with it, but he has been concentrated on the national team," said Martinez, whose side secured their spot at the 2022 World Cup last week.
"We need him to arrive at the World Cup prepared. We have grown as a dressing room.
"Eden is in a sad moment, football-wise. He has left winners projects [but] he doesn't have the rhythm of competition."
Hazard has made just four starts in a total of 10 appearances in LaLiga this season, spending 350 minutes on the pitch.
That time has yielded only one assist, with Hazard yet to score this term.
In his 116 appearances for his country, Hazard has found the net 33 times, but has added only one to that tally during qualifying for Qatar 2022.
The MCG Ashes Test and the Australian Open will be watched by capacity crowds following the easing of coronavirus restrictions in Victoria.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has announced there will no longer be limits on gatherings in the state.
Andrews had revealed last month, when the latest lockdown ended, that he was hopeful at least 80,000 will be able to attend the Boxing Day Test.
Australia and England can now look forward to playing in front of a full house of 100,000 next month.
The first grand slam of the year, starting at Melbourne Park on January 17, is also set to be played without a cap on the number of spectators allowed in.
"Whether it's 100,000 people at the MCG on Boxing Day or a smaller group of people standing up at the … local pub, this is the COVID-normal that every Victorian has built," he said at a press conference.
Crowds for the 2021 Australian Open were limited to 30,000 people per day – around half capacity – prior to a snap lockdown being implemented during the tournament.
No more than 30,000 were permitted in the MCG for Australia's Boxing Day Test against India last year.
LeBron James hopes to return for the Los Angeles Lakers' clash with the Boston Celtics on Friday but is still rated as "day to day" by head coach Frank Vogel.
The Lakers were toppled 109-102 by defending NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday to fall to 8-8 for the season.
It also means they are 4-6 for games this season in which they have been without superstar James, who has missed eight in a row and 10 of 16 overall with an abdominal strain.
When leaving the Fiserv Forum after the loss to the Bucks, James was asked by ESPN if he would be back against the Celtics, to which he replied: "I hope, I hope."
Having James back would be a timely boost to a star-studded Lakers side that has yet to gel this season. In 54 regular-season games played in Boston, James averages 28.9 points. Only in Cleveland, where he has averaged 29.1 points in 17 games as an opposing player, does he have a better average.
James was put through his paces by Lakers assistant Phil Handy prior to Wednesday's game and was seen stretching out his abdomen on several occasions.
With James in the team, the Lakers are 4-2 even though his 24.8 points per game is his lowest return since averaging 20.9 as a rookie, while his 5.5 rebounds are the least since that same season and 7.0 assists his worst return since 2015-16.
When asked about James' potential return, Vogel said: "I was hoping he was going to play each of the last seven games or whatever it's been since he's been out.
"I always hope he's going to play. I'm always optimistic. He's still day to day. No decisions are made."
Vogel said any conditions that need to be met for James to come back will be left to the Lakers' medical team.
"I'll leave that to the medical team," he added. "I know he did some work today. I haven't gotten the reports on how that went yet.
"But I'll leave that between him and the medical team to make the decision of when he's ready to go."
James' team-mate Anthony Davis believes injuries have been a disrupting factor for the Lakers through the first part of the season.
"We put a team together and we haven't seen it yet," he said.
"Once we get everybody back, we can kind of see, to be honest. Until then, just got to fight with what we got."
Now, Muguruza – at the age of 28 – is the oldest year-end champion since Serena Williams seven years ago and is up to third in the rankings.
For Muguruza it was never a question of if she had the game to be back among the elite players, merely just the need to prove so.
"I'm just very happy I proved to myself once again I can be the best, I can be the 'maestra,' like how we say in Spanish," Muguruza said. "That puts me in a very good position for next year, a good ranking.
"The last couple of years, I didn't play the same way I played before. But I didn't play bad tennis, either.
"I was just here, there, not going into the deep rounds at grand slams that made the difference. I always felt I had the tennis. I was just not putting the battle together.
"I always believe I [could make] finals of a grand slam, [climb] the rankings, I'm like 'I have the tennis, I just have to show it'. It's hard, of course."
Now, Muguruza – at the age of 28 – is the oldest year-end champion since Serena Williams seven years ago and is up to third in the rankings.
For Muguruza it was never a question of if she had the game to be back among the elite players, merely just the need to prove so.
"I'm just very happy I proved to myself once again I can be the best, I can be the 'maestra,' like how we say in Spanish," Muguruza said. "That puts me in a very good position for next year, a good ranking.
"The last couple of years, I didn't play the same way I played before. But I didn't play bad tennis, either.
"I was just here, there, not going into the deep rounds at grand slams that made the difference. I always felt I had the tennis. I was just not putting the battle together.
"I always believe I [could make] finals of a grand slam, [climb] the rankings, I'm like 'I have the tennis, I just have to show it'. It's hard, of course."
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