Gallery: Weekend In Sport
It was a jam-packed weekend in sport. Boxing, tennis, golf, rugby, darts and netball all filled up the headlines with a barrell of British success…
RORY ROARS TO VICTORY
Rory McIlroy held off Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard to win the season-ending DP World Tour Championship and clinch his sixth Race to Dubai title.
The Northern Irishman finished two strokes ahead of Hojgaard on 15 under at Jumeirah Golf Estates after a three-under-par 69 in his final round.
McIlroy, 35, was confirmed as the Race to Dubai winner midway through his round when nearest challenger Thriston Lawrence – who had needed to win the tournament to have any chance of clinching the overall title – finished at one under.
It is the third year in succession that McIlroy has topped the tour’s season rankings and his sixth title overall – matching Seve Ballesteros’ record.
Last week, the DP World Tour signed an extension to its partnership with Emirates.
FLYING THE FLAG
Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter combined once again to lead Great Britain into the Billie Jean King Cup semi-finals at the expense of defending champions Canada.
British number two Raducanu, playing for only the second time in almost two months following a foot injury, opened the quarter-final tie with a 6-0 7-5 win against Canada’s Rebecca Marino.
Boulter, the British number one, then sealed her nation’s place in the last four of the women’s team event by beating Leylah Fernandez – who Raducanu beat in her shock 2021 US Open triumph – 6-2 6-4 later on Sunday.
In October, the ITF confirmed a series of updates to the tournament structures for the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup, which are set to take effect in 2025.
LITTLER CONTINUES TO RISE
Teenager Luke Littler continued his sensational maiden professional year by winning the Grand Slam of Darts with a 16-3 thrashing of qualifier Martin Lukeman in Wolverhampton.
The win sees Littler move to fifth place in the PDC’s Order of Merit, having been ranked 164 a year ago.
ROSES WIN THRILLER
In netball, England sealed a comprehensive 55-47 victory over Jamaica in the second match of the Horizon series.
The Roses will take a 1-0 lead to Jamaica after the Sunshine Girls scored in the last second to snatch a thrilling 49-49 draw in Saturday’s opening match.
Earlier this year, World Netball appointed Fiona Harold as the organisation‘s new CEO.
TAYLOR OUTSHINES JAKE PAUL IN TEXAS
Ireland’s Katie Taylor was booed as she successfully retained her undisputed light-welterweight title with a contentious points win against Amanda Serrano at the AT&T Stadium in Texas.
Elsewhere in boxing, DAZN penned a multi-year, global broadcast rights partnership with Queensbury Promotions, taking effect from April 2025.
ENGLAND’S SLUMP CONTINUES
England lost their fifth consecutive game as back-to-back world champions South Africa kept the hosts at bay to win at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.
Sports technology firm Catapult recently struck a multi-year partnership with the RFU, Premiership Rugby, and Premiership Women’s Rugby.
CARLSEY’S REIGN COMES TO AN END
England returned to the top tier of the Nations League in emphatic fashion as the Republic of Ireland were thrashed at Wembley in Lee Carsley’s final game as interim manager.
After a poor first-half of football, a red card for Irish defender Liam Scales set the game alight with England going on to score five.
TOFFEES WIN DERBY AT GOODISON
Everton beat local rivals Liverpool 1-0 with a controversial penalty from Katja Snoeijs to mark their final Women’s Super League match at Goodison Park.
Referee Abigail Byrne awarded a penalty to Everton when Fuka Nagano clipped Honoka Hayashi in the first half but the foul appeared to be outside the area.
Snoeijs stepped up to take it with the 1,500 away supporters sitting nearby in the stands and she slotted it coolly past goalkeeper Teagan Micah.
For the first time, this weekend saw all WSL and Women’s Championship matches take place at the clubs’ main stadia.
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