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• Spieth expecting to be tournament ready for 2025 PGA season

  Jordan Spieth is expecting to return to action for the 2025 PGA Tour season after undergoing successful wrist surgery last month. 

  Spieth, who last competed at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind, failed to find his best form during the recent campaign out on the course. 

  The former world number one started the season strong, finishing third in The Sentry and then, a few weeks later, tied for sixth in the WM Phoenix Open

  But the American missed the final two playoffs in the BMW Championship and Tour Championship, while also missing seven cuts, one of which included the Masters. 

  Spieth was seen sporting a cast on his first appearance since the surgery and was able to reveal the timeline for his return to action. 

  "I think that by 2025, by Jan. 1, it's my goal to be tournament-ready," Spieth told Golfweek in a Q&A published on Monday.

  "And for me, that would be not just going out and seeing how it feels, you know, but expecting to play at my ceiling."

  Spieth has three major wins and 13 overall victories on the PGA Tour but has not emerged victorious since the RBC Heritage in April 2022.

  The American did not earn entry into the 2025 season-opening tournament. However, he is able to play in the Sony Open in Hawaii at the start of January.

  While the 31-year-old's main reason for surgery was to see him return to form, he also detailed the personal reasons for his decision to go under the knife. 

  "I would say the number one reason why I ended up getting it done was because it affects my way of life at home," Spieth said.

  "Like when it would dislocate and I couldn't get it back in, it would happen when I'm getting my daughter out of the bath, I'm putting a sweatshirt on or it just so random that it was like, I didn't want it to continue, and it happened more and more.

  "And it wasn't going to heal itself based on a number of different docs and scans and whatever. So it's just inevitable."

• Hingst wants Ballon d'Or to move away from 'superstar' preference after Putellas nomination

  World Cup winner Ariane Hingst believes the Ballon d'Or Feminin must reconsider who merits the global award in order to do "justice to the great football players".

  Former Germany international Hingst, speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, could not fathom the reasoning behind including the likes of injury-hit Alexia Putellas as a nominee.

  The 30-player list was announced at the start of September, with the winner revealed later in October, as Aitana Bonmati heads to the award ceremony in Paris as the favourite.

  Spain's Nations League success saw five of their players nominated, including Bonmati, while the United States women's national team also had as many nominees after their Olympic success in the French capital.

  Hingst, winner of FIFA's top international competition in 2003 and 2007, believes the Ballon d'Or needs to look further than "superstars", however.

  "It's always interesting to see the nominees of these Ballon d'Ors," Hingst said to Stats Perform. "I think the problem is that you only have the big picture when you have a big tournament going on. 

  "We had the Olympics, but you see all kinds of sports, so you can't just follow the football, so it's hard to follow.

  "What frustrates me the most is, and don't get me wrong, the likes of Alexia Putellas, [she is] a great, great player, but she's been injured for such a long time and is on the list to be the best of this season.

  "This can't be right and I don't think that it does justice to the great football players we have out there if Putellas is on this list as well.

  "We need to get away from the superstars and just recognise the season that has been played."

  Though wanting to stray away from the "superstar" tag for Ballon d'Or selection, Hingst reserved special praise for Chelsea and Australia forward Sam Kerr.

  "The interesting part is, that I always had a problem with just this one big superstar because soccer is a team sport and it took me some time to realise that you need those superstars," Hingst added.

  "Definitely, Sam Kerr is one of them. It took some time for us in Germany to recognise her as much. She became really big when she was in America, an absolute superstar.

  "Now then going to England and it's just tremendous. You need those figures because they are idols. Girls are talking about, 'I want to be Sam Kerr', the boys are talking about her, so you need those big names.

  "For example, now you have Alex Morgan just retiring from the women's game. She was one of those superstars as well. [Megan] Rapinoe from America also retired. So who's the next?"

• Ackeem Blake targeted Diamond League glory to redeem Olympic setback: "I could hear my coach guiding me through every phase..."

  After a disappointing exit in the semi-finals of the 100m at the Paris Olympics in August, Jamaica's Ackeem Blake made it his mission to win the Diamond League title. The 22-year-old sprinter, who had entered the Olympics with high hopes, was left dejected after finishing fifth in his semi-final heat with a time of 10.06 seconds. However, Blake was determined not to let that setback define his season.

  With the guidance of his coach, Michael Frater, Blake refocused his efforts on the Diamond League Final in Brussels. "After a devastating exit in the semi-finals at the Paris Olympics, my team and I decided that we must put all our resources into making and taking the Diamond League Final," Blake revealed on Instagram after his victory.

  The Jamaican sprinter knew that he needed to prove himself on the international stage, and the Diamond League presented the perfect opportunity to do so.

  

  Blake's resolve to rebound from his Olympic disappointment was fueled by the belief that he had more to offer. Earlier in the year, he had shown glimpses of his potential by winning a bronze medal in the 60m dash at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. With a personal best of 9.89 seconds, Blake knew he had the speed to compete with the world's best. What he needed was the mental fortitude to bounce back after a major setback.

  Frater played a crucial role in this mental and physical preparation. Blake credited his coach for guiding him through every phase of his comeback. “In this moment, I was deeply focused,” Blake said. “I could hear my coach guiding me through every phase of the race.” The meticulous planning and intense focus that went into preparing for the Diamond League paid off as Blake stormed to victory in a time of 9.93 seconds, defeating a high-calibre field that included American sprinters Christian Coleman and Fred Kerley.

  Blake's triumph in the Diamond League was not just about the win itself but about redemption and resilience. It was a testament to his determination to overcome adversity and a reminder that setbacks can serve as stepping stones to success.