Emma Raducanu's stress fracture will force her to miss the US Open.
The British No 1 suffered the injury to her right lower leg during the grass-court season and made a late decision to pull out of Wimbledon.
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According to the Press Association, following consultation with her medical team, Raducanu has concluded she will be unable to play in New York later this month.
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While the news comes as no surprise given the nature of the injury and the fact Raducanu has only recently taken her first tentative steps back on court wearing a protective boot, it is another blow to the 23-year-old.
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Hours before withdrawing from Wimbledon, Emma Raducanu told the media that she intended to compete despite pushing beyond anything she normally would.
Having made positive progress last summer, including winning her first matches at Flushing Meadows since lifting the trophy five years ago, it has been a frustrating 12 months for Raducanu with more persistent physical issues.
After a foot injury severely hampered her pre-season training, Raducanu then spent two-and-a-half months off court with a post-viral illness after initially falling unwell in early February.
She finally returned for the end of the clay-court season having rehired Andrew Richardson, the coach who guided her to the US Open title, but the pair's time on court together has been limited.
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Raducanu enjoyed one of the best weeks of her career by reaching her biggest final since New York at Queen's Club in June, but it was that effort that triggered her latest setback.
She was not among the players named in Great Britain's team for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in late September and there must be question marks over whether Raducanu, who will slide from her current ranking of 49, will compete again in 2026.
Raducanu posted an upbeat message on Instagram on Sunday from a break in Switzerland, calling it the "best reset ever", although it did feature a video of her practicing serves with a protective boot on her right foot.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, with Draper set to return from at the National Bank Open in Montreal, starting August 3, and watch the US Open from August 30, live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.%!s()
"If you have a player like that who puts in so much defensive effort – not just tracking back but also pushing forward since he is the one who wins back the most balls high up the pitch in Ligue 1 – it means he is an atypical and modern player."
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Those were the words of Monaco coach Sebastien Pocognoli in March when speaking about Maghnes Akliouche. The player had scored the equaliser away to Lyon before winning the penalty that secured the three points. But Pocognoli praised his work rate.
It helps to explain why there has been such interest in Akliouche. The 24-year-old France international had been linked with a move to Liverpool but Paris Saint-Germain have won the race. Amid a market stacked with talented wingers, he brings something different.
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Dharmesh Sheth had reported that Liverpool made an approach for Maghnes Akliouche
There is the quality, of course. Akliouche has a highlights reel to rival the best of them. Be sure to check out his overhead kick against Rennes last year, a feat of acrobatics as well as technical proficiency. The variety of finishes in his repertoire is remarkable.
Some of them are blasted into the back of the net with surprising force, while there are others - such as his second in a win over Brest - that are dinked over the goalkeeper. Five out of the 18 goals in his Ligue 1 career have been scored with his weaker right foot.
But even rarer than the overhead kicks and the delicate finishes is for this sort of class to go hand in hand with such work ethic. Pocognoli was right to call it atypical. He was just as right to call it modern. Top coaches now demand it and Akliouche delivers.
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Maghnes Akliouche has impressive creativity stats but also works without the ball
"He is a really good pressing player," Abel Lorincz tells Sky Sports. He was Monaco's technical coach last season under Pocognoli having been in position under Adi Hutter before that. "He really shined in Adi's system. High energy, high pressing, lots of intensive actions."
Akliouche finished the season ranking third for possessions won in the final third of the pitch. "It is why I was not surprised that Liverpool were interested in him," says Lorincz. Andoni Iraola, like Luis Enrique, is a coach who demands that his players press high.
Image:
Maghnes Akliouche's minutes by position for Monaco in the Champions League
But Akliouche is much more than hustle and bustle. This is a composed player, one who has matured, having played almost 150 games for Monaco. "He has amazing technical ability but he also has really high game intelligence," says Lorincz.
He puts Akliouche among that elite group of players who do not just learn from their coaches but teach them too. "They come up with solutions in games that maybe you did not think of as a coach." After his World Cup summer, he will have only grown as a player.
"If you are in that France squad and Didier Deschamps takes you to the World Cup, it is for a reason." And while Akliouche was restricted to just a few minutes off the bench, this is a player ready for the next step. "One hundred per cent. He is a really big talent," says Lorincz.
Image:
Maghnes Akliouche's heat map and chances created for Monaco in the Champions League
"I think what impresses me a lot is that he is really good at taking in information. He is a really coachable player." Lorincz describes Akliouche as "really creative" and this can often come with a certain looseness. "For that type of player, he is very coachable."
Lorincz worked on set-pieces for Monaco last season and saw this ability up close when dealing with him. Despite his slender frame, Akliouche actually turned out to be a useful weapon in those situations - even if his role was not immediately obvious.
"He was one of the attacking players inside the box, mostly either closing down the second post or blocking. He actually blocked quite a lot for Eric Dier. That was his job for a lot of the time. And he was really good at it, to be honest," Lorincz explains.
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"Even though he is not a particularly big player, he was able to deal with some players who were bigger than him, and that is a testament to his intelligence. Also, sometimes we would change things around at half-time in terms of the attacking set-pieces.
"And sometimes, when you say something as a coach, you are not sure if the players will remember in the second half. That is just the nature of the game. But he always followed the instructions and did it. That is what I mean, that he is very coachable."
The man coaching him next will be Luis Enrique, the only three-time Champions League winner working in the club game right now. It is an opportunity for Akliouche to work with one of the best around. But this is an opportunity for Luis Enrique and PSG too.
They know all about Akliouche after he scored the opening goal of the game against them twice in consecutive weeks at the Parc des Princes earlier this year. A big-game player? What is certain is that for Maghnes Akliouche, there are many more of those to come. %!s()
Just a month out from their opening Women's Super League fixture, Manchester United find themselves without a head coach after Marc Skinner departed on Monday morning.
Sky Sports News understands the decision to part ways with Skinner was made after a series of talks over the summer regarding the future direction of the club.
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But the signs were there long before. Investment has been a contentious topic for the women's team ever since INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe took over the club in December 2023.
He made his position on the team fairly clear when, in June 2024, he told Bloomberg: "We haven't gone into that level of detail with the women's football team yet. We've been pretty much focused on how do we resolve the first-team issues, in that environment, and that's been pretty full time for the first six months."
Marc Skinner leaves Man Utd Women
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The comments drew ire at the time and, in the two years since, Ratcliffe has only further demonstrated how the women's team is not a priority.
Even as recently as April, Skinner - who had signed a new two-year deal last summer - was calling for more investment into the women's team if they were going to compete with the best.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe has previously indicated the women's team is not a priority for Man Utd
"I'm absolutely passionate about what we do. But we have to do some changes in the summer," he said. "We have to make some changes to make sure that we can compete with what's clearly a financial market at times.
"And we want to do it our own way, we've said that and we're clear on that. But we have to make sure we write those smart assignments to keep pushing this team forward."
But it appears that his demands would not have been met. That, alongside a host of other issues, has finally come to a head and caused the split between Skinner and Manchester United.
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Highlights of the Women's Super League match between Chelsea and Manchester United - Skinner's final match in charge
Man Utd's change of approach
The ethos of the women's team is changing. When Ratcliffe and INEOS came in, the target was to win the league by 2028.
Now, the focus is completely different, with the club deciding to concentrate on the academy and developing players from within to challenge for silverware.
Man Utd believe investing more significantly in their academy will lead to longer-term success rather than higher investment in the transfer market which they currently believe is unsustainable. They feel there has been a lack of return on investment in star players and big wages.
Of course, the men's academy has a history of winning trophies with academy products, but this is untested in the women's game.
Image:
Skinner won the Women's FA Cup with Man Utd in 2024
But this approach also takes something that is almost anonymous in football - time.
Skinner led Man Utd to four finals - three in the FA Cup and one in the League Cup - winning their first major trophy in the 2023/24 season, as well as competing in Europe for the first time.
They reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season and are the only team to have disrupted the WSL's 'big three'. But if youth is the approach, it may take some years before there are such consistent returns year on year.
And what message does this send to the big-name players already at the club? Ella Toone is out of contract at the end of the season. Will the club's new direction meet her ambitions to win trophies?
Man Utd a selling club as others continue to strengthen
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Melvine Malard - who scored 10 Man Utd goals in all competitions last season - has left the club this summer to join Chelsea
For many years now, Man Utd have been a selling club - even before Ratcliffe came in. Players have often been sold to direct rivals, the latest being Melvine Malard's move to Chelsea this summer for around £750,000.
Before that, there was Alessia Russo to Arsenal and Mary Earps to PSG. She returned to Man Utd last season in the Champions League and lined up against her former side. Now, she is set to do the same with London City Lionesses, who United face in their WSL opener on September 4, live on Sky Sports.
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Mary Earps shares why she has decided to join London City Lionesses and lifts the lid on her conversation with majority owner Michele Kang
In the last few months alone, two players who joined the club when it was reformed in 2018 - Millie Turner and Leah Galton - have also left. Only Toone remains from that squad.
And Man Utd's approach of utilising youth is already been felt, with just two incomings so far in defender Andrea Medina and goalkeeper Janina Leitzig. Whether there are any more remains to be seen.
Man Utd are concerned about the ever-increasing cost of trying to be a WSL title contender - but that is not the same for the teams around them.
The 'big three' - Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea - have all significantly strengthened. Tottenham - who finished in fifth behind Man Utd last season - and Everton have signed multiple players with WSL experience. Then there is London City Lionesses who are splashing the cash to try and win it all.
With so many squads in place, United are already playing catch up.
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Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas explains why she has decided to join London City Lionesses after leaving Barcelona
Lack of consistency cost Skinner
Some Man Utd fans will not be sorry to see the back of Skinner. He has not always been a popular figure in the dugout, despite his success at times.
Skinner is a great talker, a pleasure to chat to - but fans will say his words did not translate into actions.
Any time there seemed to be some sense of progress, it soon fell apart and consistency was an issue. Pace and intensity could often not be sustained over 90 minutes, allowing other teams back into games. There was often a marked difference to the approach from one half to another, or one game to another. You never knew which Man Utd would turn up.
That being said, in Skinner's five seasons at the club, Man Utd were fairly consistent with their attack. They often ranked fourth in the league for goals and other metrics.
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But defensively, Man Utd were inconsistent and have arguably been saved from further embarrassment by their goalkeepers Earps and Phallon Tullis-Joyce, both of whom won the Golden Glove under Skinner. While the goals conceded remained relatively low, the other defensive metrics varied wildly from season to season.
Defensive frailties often proved to be fatal and two key examples came this year. After the League Cup final against Chelsea, Skinner called the goals conceded "rubbish". A late slip in concentration against Bayern in the Champions League quarter-finals saw them score twice from set-pieces and win the tie, undoing much of the good work Man Utd had done up to that point.
There is a well-known saying that 'to be the best, you have to beat the best' - but Man Utd often did not.
In his five years at the club, Skinner never beat Chelsea in the WSL and only once in cup competitions on their way to the FA Cup title in 2024, perhaps illustrating the point even further.
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In the 2022/23 season, he was unbeaten against Arsenal (W2) and Man City (W1, D1). However, he only won one further game against Man City in January 2025 - thanks to a Toone hat-trick - although did play out goalless draws in both WSL meetings with the Gunners last term.
In their first four WSL fixtures, United face both Chelsea and Arsenal live on Sky Sports, giving any incoming coach an immediate test and that could set the tone for the remainder of the campaign.
Man Utd's opening WSL fixtures
September 4: London City Lionesses (A), kick-off 7pm - live on Sky Sports
September 13: Chelsea (H), kick-off 12pm, live on Sky Sports
September 19: Arsenal (A), kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports
September 27: West Ham (H), kick-off 1pm, live on Sky Sports
So what awaits the incoming head coach?
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Sky Sports' Anton Toloui explains why the WSL has decided to change some of its kick-off times this season
While fans were not always receptive to Skinner, they will also not be happy if Man Utd begin to slip down the pecking order.
Whichever team is wearing that famous red shirt, the expectation is to win - although it appears the WSL title is not one of those targets any more, at least not in the next two years as was the original aim of Project 2028.
Sky Sports News understands the club believe they are in a position to announce a new head coach quickly as background checks have already begun over potential candidates. A key quality the club are looking for in a new coach is one with a track record of improving and developing players.
Trying to reach finals and break into the top three must be achieved with youth rather than investment, which will be a tricky balance to strike. Man Utd have certainly over-achieved in recent years - do they have any more in them? %!s()
A drone hit a busy beach in southern Russia, killing seven people including three children, local authorities have said.
In social media footage verified by the BBC, a drone can be seen hurtling towards a cliffside before crashing into a fireball on the beach below as tourists look on from the shore and in the water.
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The total number of injured reached 40, with 17 people hospitalised, said the governor of the Krasnodar region Veniamin Kondratyev.
He accused Ukraine of "a deliberate strike on civilians". Ukraine has not commented. Both sides deny targeting civilians deliberately.
It is unclear what the drone was targeting. Some Ukrainian Telegram channels have claimed it crashed onto the beach as a result of electronic warfare which jammed the drone's signal. Several eyewitnesses were quoted by Russian media as saying gunfire preceded the explosion, indicating that air defences may have tried to shoot the drone down.
The crash occurred on a beach near the village of Arkhipo-Osipovka on the Black Sea. With its warm climate, long beaches and developed tourist infrastructure it is a popular holiday destination for Russians, in particular since sanctions have curtailed international travel for many.
Tourists and residents of Arkhipo-Osipovka told local media outlets that no sirens sounded ahead of the drone attack.
"We covered ourselves with sun loungers, and didn't see where it exploded," said one holidaymaker. Another person said that while they did not see the drone hit they could hear "gunfire, like a machine gun" followed by an explosion.
"This all happened in front of my children. My child is having a nervous breakdown," said a third.
Over the course of the last year Ukraine has had increasing success in carrying out long-range strikes deep into Russia, hitting energy infrastructure and commercial warehouses it says are used for military purposes.
On several occasions these strikes have caused civilian deaths, with eight people in different Russian cities killed at the weekend.
Russia meanwhile has launched attacks on residential areas and cities from the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, killing and injuring thousands of civilians.
On Saturday, at least nine people were killed and dozens injured in Russian ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The city's mayor said a residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district was partially destroyed, trapping people inside. Last week a strike on a building in Ukraine's Kryvyi Rih area killed a family of 10.
In recent weeks Ukrainian strikes have in particular targeted warehouses belonging to Wildberries – a large online retailer dubbed the "Russian Amazon".
The latest strike hit a warehouse in the Vladimir region, east of Moscow, overnight into Monday. Dozens of Wildberries warehouses dotted around Russia – many located thousands of kilometres from the Ukrainian border – have now been hit.
Kyiv says Wildberries depots are used to supply the Russian military, which Moscow denies. Yet the platform sold a variety of military-related goods such as body armour until recently, alongside items with both civilian and drone-production applications. %!s()
Find the links between the words to win today's game of Connections.
getty
Each day’s game of NYT Connections goes live at midnight local time. Before today’s NYT Connections hints, here’s what you missed on Monday:
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ForbesToday’s NYT Connections Hints And Answers: Monday, August 3By Kris HoltForbesToday’s NYT Connections Answers Explained: Monday, August 3By Kris Holt
Hey there, Connectors! I hope your week is off to a great start.
I have to admit, I haven’t been paying super close attention to Connections game numbers lately. This -50 edition snuck up on me. In the past, that’s meant some funkiness in the game, whether on a game number that ends in “50” or in the few following editions. So you might need to stay on your toes more than usual in the coming days (or today since I haven’t looked at today’s game yet). Good luck out there!
Before we start, we’ve got a lovely community on Discord, where we chat about Connections, the rest of the NYT games and all kinds of things. You’re more than welcome to join us!
Also, my weekend editions of this column are available over on my newsletter, Pastimes. I sometimes write about other things that are on my mind there as well.
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Today’s NYTConnections hints and answers for Tuesday, August 4 are coming right up. Let’s get rolling!
How To Play Connections
Connections is a free New York Times daily word game that you can play on the NYT’s website or Games app. If you have an NYT All Access or Games subscription, you can access the Connections archive, which includes every previous game.
Connections presents you with a grid of 16 words (sometimes phrases, symbols or numbers). The aim is to arrange them into four groups of four. You don’t know how they hit together or what the category for each group is: that’s what you have to figure out.
There’s only one correct solution and there are often red herrings. You can guess incorrectly three times. A fourth wrong guess, and it’s game over.
Each group is color coded. The yellow group is usually the easiest to deduce, followed by blue, green and purple. Often, the yellow and green groups have synonyms, the blues have cultural references and the purples have some kind of wordplay involved. But this is not a hard and fast rule. Be ready for curveballs – part of the fun of Connections is in how the NYT shakes things up to keep you on your toes.
As with Wordle and similar games, it’s easy to share results with your friends using an emoji-based grid. The game tracks your progress too.
Many players take pride in having long win streaks or getting a reverse rainbow – correctly guessing the purple, blue, green and yellow groups in that order with no mistakes. That adds an extra little challenge.
Today’s NYT Connections Word List
Scroll slowly!
After today’s Connections word list, I’ll give you a hint for each category. After that, I’ll reveal one word that goes into each group. Then I’ll reveal the categories, followed by the full answers.
Got it? Cool.
Today’s 16 words are...
A Hint For Today’s Connections Groups
The hints for today’s Connections categories are:
🟨 Yellow group — roll out the barrel (an extended one, in fact)
🟩 Green group — like a building with a spire that was originally used to tether blimps, a commercial area with many video billboards and a large green space in the middle
🟦 Blue group — put your best foot forward, then maybe the other one. Then perhaps the first one again
🟪 Purple group — like one of Lenny Kravitz's favored tools, the Grand Canyon and a plunging neckline
One Answer For Each Connections Group
Be warned: we’re starting to get into spoiler territory.
Let’s take a look at one answer for each group.
Here we go…
🟨 Yellow group — CIGARETTE
🟩 Green group — SUBWAY STATION
🟦 Blue group — SEWING MACHINE
🟪 Purple group — GOOSE FORMATION
Today’s Connections Categories
Today’s Connections groups are...
🟨 Yellow group — long cylindrical things
🟩 Green group — iconic NYC sights
🟦 Blue group — things with pedals
🟪 Purple group — V-shaped things
What Is Today’s Connections Answer?
Spoiler alert! Don’t scroll any further down the page until you’re ready to find out today’s Connections answers.
This is your last chance to look away.
This is your final warning!
Today’s Connections answers are...
🟨 Yellow group — long cylindrical things (CIGARETTE, FOAM ROLLER, POOL NOODLE, PRETZEL ROD)
🟩 Green group — iconic NYC sights (BODEGA, PIGEON, SUBWAY STATION, TAXI CAB)
🟦 Blue group — things with pedals (PIANO, SEWING MACHINE, SWAN BOAT, UNICYCLE)
🟪 Purple group — V-shaped things (ANGLE BRACKET, CHEVRON, GOOSE FORMATION, PEACE SIGN)
I held my breath while opening today’s game since it was a -50 edition, but I flew through this one. As soon as I saw GOOSE FORMATION, I had the purples figured out. For some reason, I thought of The Mighty Ducks and their flying-V attack formation, even though I’ve only ever seen the third movie in that series. As soon as I spotted three other things that fit, I had that group locked in. (In case you're wondering, a CHEVRON is a symbol shaped like this: ^)
The long rolly things were up next thanks to POOL NOODLE and FOAM ROLLER. Then BODEGA and SUBWAY STATION helped make the greens sort of clear. I guessed SWAN BOAT instead of PIGEON first, since I thought they were a thing you can go on in a Central Park pond. I swiftly realized my error and got the green group.
I'll be honest, I didn't even think about what the blue category might be. I just instantly submitted it when there were only four options remaining. That extended my streak to 520 wins.
How did you get on this time? Here's my grid:
🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦
I’m a little pressed for time, so no separate Answers Explained column today. Sorry. The category titles largely handle things for us anyway, I think, and I didn't see a glaring red herring.
Be sure to check my blog for hints and the answer for tomorrow’s game of Connections if you need them.
P.S. This popped up in my YouTube recommendations and I enjoyed it very much. Metallica played shows in Dublin last month, and of course they had to bust out their version of “Whiskey in the Jar.” I love how the crowd sings along, including with the riff:
Have a great day! Stay hydrated! Be kind to yourself and each other! Call someone you love!
Please follow my blog for more NYT Connections hints and help with other word games, and even some video game news, insights and analysis. I’d really appreciate that as it helps me out. If you share this column with others who play Connections, that would be lovely too. You can also read my weekend editions of this column and more of my writing at my newsletter, Pastimes.%!s()
