loses

While she improved to beat 197th-ranked Mananchaya Sawangkaew in the Melbourne first round, she looked undercooked against Potapova.

Russian-born Potapova also made a huge amount of errors in a poor-quality first set which started with five breaks of serve before Raducanu pulled away.

Raducanu served for the first set at 5-4 but was broken back by Potapova, who promptly pulled away with the tie-break.

After Potapova took a lengthy break at the end of the set, she made a fast start to the second and broke twice for a 3-0 lead.

The pair exchanged breaks before Potapova asserted her authority and cruised to victory, with a subdued Raducanu making a hasty exit.

Eyes had inevitably drawn towards the potential meeting with Sabalenka – but this loss was a sharp reminder of where Raducanu’s level remains.

Meanwhile, British qualifier Arthur Fery was also knocked out after a 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 6-3 loss to Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the men’s second round.

Electoral commission says two parties aligned with President Patrice Talon win all 109 seats in the assembly.

President Patrice Talon’s ruling alliance has won full control of Benin’s National Assembly in legislative elections, according to provisional results.

The electoral commission said on Saturday night that of the five parties running in the January 11 vote, only the Progressive Union for Renewal and the Republican Bloc – both aligned with Talon – won seats in the assembly.

The Progressive Union for Renewal will have 60 MPs while the Republican Bloc will have 49.

According to a new electoral code, a party must obtain 20 percent of the national vote and 20 percent in each of the 24 electoral districts to be eligible for seat allocation.

The main opposition party, The Democrats, won about 16 percent of the vote and failed to reach the threshold.

The results strengthen the presidential bloc’s hand going into the presidential election in April, in which 67-year-old Talon, who has ruled the country for a decade, is barred from standing again by term limits.

His handpicked successor, Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni, is expected to succeed him. The Democrats, meanwhile, are barred from standing in the presidential polls after failing to gather enough signatures to register.

The same rule sidelined them from local elections that were held alongside last week’s legislative polls.

“These results confirm the struggle that [The Democrats] party has been waging for about two years,” Guy Mitokpe, spokesperson for The Democrats, said, according to The Associated Press news agency.

“We denounced this electoral code, saying that it heavily favoured parties aligned with the president. It’s an exclusionary electoral code. As proof, we won’t have a candidate in the presidential election, and we were excluded from the municipal elections.”

Turnout in last weekend’s elections was 36.7 percent, officials said, roughly on par with the 37 percent in the last legislative polls in 2023.

The legislative vote took place weeks after a deadly military coup attempt to overthrow Talon, which lasted a few hours on December 7 before authorities announced it had been foiled.

Under a November constitutional reform, the presidential term was extended to seven years with a two-term limit.

Reigning Masters champion Shaun Murphy was eliminated on day one of the 2026 event, losing 6-2 to China’s Wu Yize in the first round.

Murphy, who beat Kyren Wilson to win the Triple Crown event for a second time a year ago, lost the opening three frames and, despite taking frame four, then lost the fifth on a black-ball finish.

Wu, 22, is ranked 13th in the world and picked up his first ranking title in November when he won the International Championship in Yanjing in his home country, beating world champions Judd Trump, Zhao Xintong and John Higgins along the way.

On his Alexandra Palace debut, Wu made a superb clearance of 137 in frame two and a break of 56 in frame seven.

He will play either current UK champion Mark Selby or China’s Xiao Guodong in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

“I felt a bit of pressure when I entered the stadium because it was the first time I’ve played in such a big stadium and the fans were so enthusiastic,” said Wu.

“After the first frame, I felt a bit more relaxed and I totally enjoyed the atmosphere. It’s definitely a great achievement for myself – my first time playing at the Masters and the first time beating Shaun Murphy.”

For 43-year-old Murphy, who reached the semi-final of the UK Championship last month, it was a disappointing afternoon with him failing to register a single break of 50.

“I’ve been looking forward to today for a year, walking out as champion, but I enjoyed the first 10 minutes,” said Murphy. “I didn’t play well, certainly the worst performance of my season, maybe the worst in the Masters.

“I’m very disappointed. None of it was there. I felt everything I touched was not there. I’ve been working very hard, practising hard, playing a lot of snooker, so I didn’t expect to play like that and I’m as shocked as anyone.

“Wu looked calm, looked at ease and fully deserved his win. He will be a handful for anyone he plays.”

Jan. 9 (UPI) — A shark attacked and killed a Minnesota woman while she swam in waters along Dorsch Beach in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, on Thursday afternoon.

The Virgin Islands Police Department received an emergency call reporting the shark attack at 4:28 p.m. local time, and marine units and fire and emergency medical services personnel responded.

They found a woman who lost an arm in the attack and searched for a possible second victim, but found no one else.

The woman later was identified as Arlene Lillis, 56, of Minnesota, and she eventually died from her injuries.

“Our hearts are with the family and loved ones of the victim, and with everyone who witnessed this tragedy,” Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said in a statement.

“We have been briefed on the information known at this time,” Bryan said. “We are grateful to the bystanders who acted immediately to render aid and to the first responders who worked urgently and bravely in an effort to save her life.”

The type of shark was not identified, and the attack remains under investigation.

It is the second fatal shark attack that was confirmed in the United States and its territories in recent weeks.

Erica Fox, 55, died when a shark attacked her in California’s Monterey Bay in December.

She initially was reported missing, but her body eventually was found.

A coroner said Fox died from “sharp and blunt-force injuries and submersion in water due to a shark attack.”

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Coen Carr scored 18 points and Jaxon Kohler added 16 on perfect shooting to lead No. 12 Michigan State to an 80-51 blowout against USC on Monday night.

Jeremy Fears Jr. had 15 points and seven assists for the Spartans (13-2, 3-1 Big Ten), who took control with a 27-6 run early in the game and led by at least 20 for much of the second half.

Kohler made all six of his field-goal attempts, including a trio of three-pointers, and sank his only free throw. He also grabbed eight rebounds, two short of becoming the first Spartans player since at least 1996-97 to have six straight double-doubles in a season, according to Sportradar.

Ezra Ausar scored 16 points and Jerry Easter added 12 for the Trojans (12-3, 1-3), who lost consecutive games for the first time this season.

Michigan State was ahead 33-17 at halftime with Kohler leading the way offensively, scoring eight points while seven teammates contributed at least two.

Carr and Fears picked up their scoring in the second half to build a bigger cushion, combining to score 25 points after halftime.

Michigan State held Chad Baker-Mazara to four points after he entered the game averaging a team-high 20.4 for USC.

The Spartans bounced back from a 58-56 loss to No. 10 Nebraska to win for the fifth time in six games.

The Trojans, coming off a 30-point loss to No. 2 Michigan, are probably ready to go home after getting routed twice in the state of Michigan, but they’ll be in the Midwest for four more days because they play at Minnesota before flying back to California.

Michigan State made half its shots and held USC to 33% shooting.

The Spartans enjoyed a 25-5 advantage in fast-break points and a 21-9 edge in points off the bench.

Up next for USC: at Minnesota on Friday.

Jake Paul’s defeat by Anthony Joshua in their heavyweight bout in December has seen American boxer lose his WBA ranking.

Jake Paul has slipped out of the WBA cruiserweight rankings after the YouTuber-turned-boxer was soundly beaten by former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua last month.

Paul’s jaw was broken in two places and the American needed surgery to repair the damage after Joshua’s sixth-round knockout victory in a heavyweight bout in Miami.

The event had drawn criticism ahead of the bout due to the disparity in the sheer size and experience of the boxers, while Paul spent much of the fight dancing around the ring rather than engaging Joshua.

Paul (12-2, 7 KOs) had entered the WBA’s cruiserweight rankings at No 14 in July shortly after he beat 39-year-old Julio Cesar Chavez Jr by unanimous decision in Anaheim, California.

He was at No 15 entering the bout against Joshua. Bosnia’s Edin Puhalo has taken Paul’s place in the top 15, having recorded his 29th career win in December.

The WBA ranking announcement and changes were for the period ending December 31.

Decline in sales comes amid outrage of Elon Musk’s political forays, end in US electric vehicle tax breaks.

Tesla has lost its place as the top global seller of electric vehicles to Chinese company BYD, capping a year defined by outrage over CEO Elon Musk’s political manoeuvring and the end of United States tax breaks for customers.

The company revealed on Friday that it had sold 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, compared with BYD’s 2.26 million vehicles. The sales represented a 9 percent decline for Tesla from a year earlier.

Tesla, founded in 2003, had for years far outpaced traditional automakers in its development and sale of electric vehicles. However, the market has become increasingly crowded with competitors, with China’s electric vehicle market bounding ahead.

Musk’s embrace of US President Donald Trump in 2024 and subsequent spearheading of a controversial “government efficiency” panel (DOGE) behind widespread layoffs of federal workers has also proved polarising. The political foray prompted protests at Tesla facilities and slumps in sales.

The company’s fourth quarter sales totaled 418,227, falling short of the much-reduced 440,000 target that analysts recently polled by FactSet, an investment research firm, had expected.

Musk left DOGE in May, in what was largely viewed as an effort to reassure investors.

Tesla was also hard hit by the expiration of a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases that was phased out by the Trump administration at the end of September. Trump’s opposition to electric vehicles has contributed to a strained relationship with Musk.

Despite the downward trends in sales, investors have generally remained optimistic about Tesla and Musk’s ambitious plans to make the company a leader in driverless robotaxi services and humanoid robots for homes.

Reflecting that optimism, Tesla stock finished 2025 up about 11 percent.

Tesla has also recently introduced two less expensive electric vehicle models, the Model Y and Model 3, meant to compete with cheaper Chinese models for sale in Europe and Asia.

Musk entered 2026 as the wealthiest person in the world.

It is widely believed that the public offering of his rocket company, SpaceX, set for later this year, could make the 54-year-old the world’s first trillionaire.

In November, Tesla’s directors awarded Musk a potentially historic pay package of nearly $1 trillion if ambitious performance targets were met.

Musk scored another huge win in December,when the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s ruling, awarding him a $55bn pay package that had been paused since 2018.

Conversely, Tesla is at risk of temporarily losing its licence to sell cars in California after a judge there ruled it had misled customers about the safety of its driverless taxis.