Emma Raducanu hopes to rediscover ‘natural’ style that has been ‘coac… — and more

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Emma Raducanu says she is determined to wrest back control of her “natural” tennis style, with the British No 1 eager not to be bound by the diktats of a single coach or a style that does not feel right.

“I want to come back to my natural way of playing. That takes time to relearn because that’s something that has been coached out of me a little bit,” Raducanu told BBC Sport. “I have had a lot of people telling me what to do, how to play, and it hasn’t necessarily fit. I don’t necessarily want to have one coach in the role because anyone I bring in is straight away going to be scrutinised – even if it’s a trial.

MVPs and Cy Young Award winners are among the top players in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

The Iran women's football team sang and saluted their national anthem before their Women's Asian Cup match against Australia on Thursday, a marked shift from their silent protest ahead of their opening game.

This earlier silence, observed before Monday's loss to South Korea, had been widely interpreted as either an act of defiance against the regime or a gesture of mourning for those affected by ongoing conflicts.

The team, however, offered no official clarification for their initial stance.

In a poignant press conference preceding the Australia fixture, Iranian striker Sara Didar became visibly emotional.

She shared the profound concerns held by both players and management for the safety and well-being of their families and loved ones amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

The 21-year-old Didar was a substitute for Thursday's game, which was played in pouring rain on the Gold Coast, where Iran is scheduled to compete in all three of its Group A matches.

The Iranian squad had arrived in Australia well before the recent strikes by Israel and the United States on Iran last Saturday, adding another layer of tension to their presence.

This fluctuating approach to the national anthem mirrors a similar situation involving the Iranian men’s team during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The men's squad notably refrained from singing their anthem before their initial defeat against England, as significant domestic turmoil overshadowed the start of their campaign.

In a subsequent match against Wales, however, the men sang along to the anthem and celebrated their goals. Iran beat Wales 2-0 in that match, but failed to qualify from their group.

That World Cup appearance coincided with a brutal crackdown on a major women’s protest movement within Iran, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the country’s morality police.

The conflict in the Middle East is impacting Iraq's preparation for an upcoming World Cup play-off in Mexico as embassies and air spaces are closed in the region.

Iraq's FA said on Instagram on Wednesday that coach Graham Arnold is stranded in the United Arab Emirates.

The delegation also appears to have trouble obtaining visas for the March 31 match in Monterrey, Mexico, where Iraq face the winner of a tie between Bolivia and Suriname for a place at the June 11-July 19 finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Iraq are bidding to play at the World Cup for a second time, the first being in 1986.

“Because of airspace closures, our head coach, Graham Arnold, is unable to leave the United Arab Emirates. In addition, several embassies remain closed at the present time, preventing several professional players, technical and medical staff members from obtaining entry visas to Mexico,” the statement said.

Mexico has no embassy in Iraq but its foreign ministry said that its embassy in the UAE is dealing with the matter and has asked the Iraq FA to submit all names to speed up procedures. It said that visas could also be obtained at its embassies in Europe.

The Iraq statement said they are "in constant communication" with FIFA and that the world governing body as well as the Asian Confederation AFC "are fully aware of every development regarding our team's situation."