Raducanu Into Australian Open Main Draw After Davis Withdrawal 

Emma Raducanu of Britain hits a return during her singles match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (AP)
Emma Raducanu of Britain hits a return during her singles match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (AP)
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Raducanu Into Australian Open Main Draw After Davis Withdrawal 

Emma Raducanu of Britain hits a return during her singles match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (AP)
Emma Raducanu of Britain hits a return during her singles match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (AP)

Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu moved into the main draw of the Australian Open after American Lauren Davis pulled out of the year's first Grand Slam with a shoulder injury, organizers said on Wednesday.

Raducanu, who beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse at the Auckland Classic on Tuesday in her return to action following wrist and ankle surgeries, has slipped to number 301 in the world and her protected ranking was not good enough for direct entry to the Melbourne Park Grand Slam.

The 21-year-old Briton was also overlooked for a wildcard and was set to take a similar path as her 2021 Flushing Meadows run when she became the first player in the Open Era to win a major after starting out in the qualifying rounds.

However, the exit of Davis, which followed withdrawals by Karolina Muchova, Petra Kvitova, Irina-Camelia Begu and Caty McNally, opened up a spot for Raducanu in the main draw of the Jan. 14-28 major.



Liverpool Defender Alexander-Arnold to Return 'Soon'

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Aston Villa - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - November 9, 2024 Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold receives medical attention after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Molly Darlington
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Aston Villa - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - November 9, 2024 Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold receives medical attention after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Molly Darlington
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Liverpool Defender Alexander-Arnold to Return 'Soon'

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Aston Villa - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - November 9, 2024 Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold receives medical attention after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Molly Darlington
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Aston Villa - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - November 9, 2024 Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold receives medical attention after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Molly Darlington

Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold hasn't returned to team training yet after of a hamstring injury and could miss next week's Champions League game against Real Madrid, manager Arne Slot said Friday.
The England international was ruled out for Sunday's Premier League match at last-place Southampton. He was substituted off in the 25th minute of Liverpool's 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Nov. 9.
Liverpool, which sits atop the standings in both competitions, expects to be without goalkeeper Alisson Becker and forward Diogo Jota at least through the Madrid game Wednesday at Anfield.
At a news conference, Slot was asked about the trio's availability for both midweek and next Sunday's showdown with title rival Manchester City, The Associated Press reported.
“The last few days of recovery are always the ones that are the most tricky because then they have to go from isolated training sessions to where it's a group training session, and that is always the most difficult one,” Slot said. “It's difficult to judge now and to tell you now it's going to be one, two, three days or a bit longer. The only thing I can say is that with Alisson and with Jota, I don't expect them to be available for that game. With Trent, it's going to be in between.”
Alexander-Arnold will be training with the full team “soon,” the manager said.
Alisson has a hamstring injury. Liverpool hasn't specified Jota's problem but the Portugal forward hasn't played since Oct. 20 when he left in the 30th minute of a 2-1 win over Chelsea. That was after a collision with a Chelsea defender.
Slot confirmed that Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is “completely OK.” The center back returned from international duty with the Netherlands after playing in a 4-0 win over Hungary that clinched a Nations League quarterfinals spot. The Dutch played Bosnia and Herzegovina a few days later.