Tournament

“I’m not stupid. I feel like they [the crowd] weren’t all there of their own accord, shall we say, and it was quite a small venue.

“Everything needs to start somewhere, but as long as people walk away from the week and are like, ‘You know what, we really enjoyed the darts’, and it gets good coverage.”

BBC Sport has contacted the PDC for comment.

Saudi Arabia has staged many major sports events in recent years, including Formula 1 and golf, and will host the men’s football World Cup in 2034. But the regime has been criticised for its record on human rights and environmental impact.

“It was a lot better than I thought. There were a lot more people than I expected,” said Aspinall.

Darts is known for its boisterous crowds but with the Saudi event being free of alcohol, Aspinall said the atmosphere “was different” before adding, “but you know what, I enjoyed it. Whenever I looked out into the crowd, you could actually tell they were watching it”.

Sixth seed Alex de Minaur believes he has the ability to be a serious contender for major honours and become the first Australian to win the men’s singles title at his home Grand Slam since Mark Edmondson in 1976.

The 26-year-old, who has reached the quarter-finals at each of the four majors, began his campaign with a dominant 6-2 6-2 6-2 win over lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald but insisted he has more to prove.

“I’ve got to the stage where I’m not just another number in the draw,” De Minaur said. “I’m playing to win it, to be one of the guys in contention. Ultimately, that’s the goal. It’s not about being satisfied [with this performance].”

Elsewhere, 13th seed Andrey Rublev beat Italian Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets while three-time Grand Slam finalist Casper Ruud, the 12th seed, lost just seven games en route to victory over Mattia Bellucci.

Spanish 14th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and American 19th seed Tommy Paul came through unscathed against Filip Misolic and Aleksandar Kovacevic respectively.

However, there was a surprise early exit for Czech 17th seed Jiri Lehecka, who fell to Arthur Gea in straight sets. The Frenchman, who came through qualifying, will face 40-year-old former champion Stan Wawrinka in round two.

England will be among the favourites for this year’s tournament but have underperformed at World Cups in recent years.

They have failed to reach the final of any of the past three T20 World Cups and lost to South Africa in the semi-finals of last year’s 50-over competition under new coach Charlotte Edwards.

Amid fervent support, hosts India beat the Proteas in the final and Edwards believes similar home backing this summer could help her side win the tournament for the first time since she captained England to victory in the inaugural World T20 in 2009.

“Having played in a home World Cup myself in 2009, I think it plays a massive part,” Edwards told BBC Sport.

“Being out in India and watching that all unfold out there, you really sense that home support and what that can do for the team and also what it can do for the game.

“That’s just as important to us, leaving a legacy for this tournament moving forward as we did in 2017 so it’s a really exciting time.”

England open the 12-team tournament against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston, with New Zealand, West Indies and two other qualifiers also in their group.

The final takes place on 5 July at Lord’s. Matches will also be played at Headingley, Old Trafford, The Oval, Bristol and Southampton.

Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt said: “It’s hugely exciting to have sold 100,000 tickets already for this summer’s World Cup, and amazing that we’ve already outsold the whole of the 2017 World Cup.

“That tournament really felt like a turning point for the women’s game in England and Wales.

“Our game’s audience grew so much basically overnight because of that tournament, and it’s unbelievable that more tickets have been sold six months out this time round than across that whole of 2017.”

The world No 1 expects to ‌skip events again this year and face likely sanctions rather than put her health at risk.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka has accused tennis authorities of “following their interests” and failing to put player welfare first over what she called an “insane” tennis season.

The Belarusian expects to ‌skip events this year rather than put her health at risk over ‍the course of ‍the season, even though she knows she is likely to be sanctioned by the WTA Tour for doing so, the world number one said on Thursday.

Top players are obliged to compete in all four Grand Slams, 10 WTA 1000 ⁠tournaments and six WTA 500 events under WTA rules, with the punishment for missing them ​ranging from rankings points deductions to fines.

In 2025, Sabalenka competed in ‍just three WTA 500 events – Brisbane, Stuttgart and Berlin – making her one of several high-ranked players, including world number two Iga Swiatek, to be docked ranking points.

Asked if she would change ‍her plans for ⁠2026, the four-time Grand Slam champion told reporters: “The season is definitely insane, and that’s not good for all of us, as you see so many players getting injured …

“The rules are quite tricky with mandatory events, but I’m still skipping a couple of events in order to protect my body, because I struggled a lot last season,” she said after beating Sorana Cirstea at the Brisbane ​International.

“Even though the results were really consistent, some of the ‌tournaments I had been playing completely sick or I’d been really exhausted from overplaying. This season, we will try to manage it a little bit better, even though they are going to fine me by ‌the end of the season.

“But it’s tricky to do that. You cannot skip 1000 events. It’s really tricky, and I ‌think that’s insane what they do. I think they ⁠just follow their interests, but they’re not focusing on protecting all of us.”

The number of events in the tennis calendar has been a frequent complaint in recent months among the sport’s biggest names.

Men’s world number one Carlos Alcaraz is another to have voiced concern about the amount of tennis he plays, although he has also signed up to feature in lucrative exhibition matches.

He faces great rival Jannik Sinner in one such event on Saturday in South Korea, barely a week before the Australian Open.

The men’s and women’s circuits have faced criticism due to their 11-month seasons, and both tours came under new scrutiny during the “Asian swing” towards ‌the end of last year, with injuries piling up.

Earlier, three-time Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev called for the tournament to bring forward its night session matches.

Matches begin at 19:00 local time, with two matches scheduled to take place on Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena.

Djokovic and Andy Murray have previously spoken about late finishes in Melbourne, with Murray describing his 04:05am finish in 2023 as a “farce”.

Medvedev, who was beaten by Learner Tien in a match that finished at 2:55am local time, said he was “happy” to play in the night sessions but scheduling changes would be “better for everyone”.

“I like soccer, but here [in Australia] I don’t watch the Premier League because it’s at two in the morning.

“It’s pretty much the same — people who really love tennis would like to see it at six because then they are almost sure to watch both matches.

“OK, if it goes ridiculously long, [instead of finishing] at three, it would finish at two. It’s better for everyone.”

Venus Williams is set to become the oldest female player to compete in the Australian Open main draw at the age of 45.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion has received the final women’s wildcard for the tournament, which begins on 18 January.

Williams last appeared at Melbourne Park in 2021 when she was beaten by Italy’s Sara Errani in the second round.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to a place that has meant so much to my career,” she said.

The American, twice a runner-up in the first Grand Slam event of the year, will surpass the record of Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she played at the event in 2015.