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I faced Emma Raducanu as a teenager at Wimbledon – but driving test was more stressful

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I faced Emma Raducanu as a teenager at Wimbledon – but driving test was more stressful

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British tennis prodigy Mimi Xu insists her driving test was a more stressful experience than her Wimbledon debut against Emma Raducanu.

Xu was one of eight women’s singles wildcards for this year’s tournament, aged just 17.

Xu was drawn against British no.1 Raducanu in the first round at the All England Club on No.1 Court this year.

Raducanu’s experience paid off as she won 6-3 6-3, despite a bizarre occurrence of a champagne cork flying onto the court.

Her opponent offered a strong showing in front of a home crowd, but appears to have found things tougher behind the wheel.

Speaking to the BBC at the Wrexham Open, 18-year-old Xu said her driving test was more stressful than her appearance at Wimbledon.

“Leading up to the moment I passed, I was so tense, there was no way I could have driven back afterwards.

“My mum doesn’t trust me enough yet to drive on the big roads!”

Impressive rise from Xu

Xu began playing tennis in her home town of Swansea at the age of three before joining the National Tennis Academy.

She then moved to the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton and was coached by Raducanu’s former tutor Matthew James.

In 2022, Xu won the U16 British title, as well as the LTA National Tennis Championship Junior Girls title.

Victory in the former earned her a Wimbledon qualifying wildcard, although she was beaten in the first round.

However, she reached the last 16 in both the 2022 and 2023 junior girls’ singles events, and 2024 Australian Open girls’ singles last eight.

Xu has also been successful in doubles as she and Mika Stojsavljevic reached the girls’ doubles final at Wimbledon in 2024.

Fast forward to 2025, and the teenage prospect’s preparations for her first Grand Slam outing were far from usual.

Xu revealed that she sat an A-level biology exam during the Nottingham Open, around two weeks before Wimbledon started.

She wore her tennis kit during the exam, before returning to court once she finished.

Speaking on balancing her studies and tennis, Xu said: “I think I’ve been able to fit it all in quite well.

“I did my maths last year and I have economics to sit next year. I have limited tournaments because of my age, which has helped with fitting everything in.

“If I have tournaments and get behind it’s not the end of the world because I’ve been able to catch up.

“In all fairness I enjoy studying. It might sound a bit weird but I feel like studying is a bit of a hobby of mine. I really enjoy learning new things.

“I think a part of me after these exams is going to be thinking, ‘What shall I do with my free time?’”

Xu has been coached by LTA women’s national coach Katie O’Brien and Nigel Sears, Andy Murray’s father-in-law and ex-Raducanu coach.

She is currently 381 in the world WTA rankings and faces Justina Mikulskyte in the first round of the Wrexham Open.

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Paige Spiranac’s surprising NFL fandom confession triggers heated debate over loyalty, authenticity, and fan culture

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The 2026 NFL Draft starts Thursday night in Pittsburgh, and the spotlight isn’t only on prospects and front offices. Golf influencer Paige Spiranac has again found herself pulled into NFL conversation, this time for her open support of multiple teams.

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With the Steelers hosting the first round, her long-standing connection to Pittsburgh has resurfaced. But it’s not just about hometown ties. Her broader fandom, which stretches beyond one franchise, continues to draw mixed reactions at a time when fan loyalty is often treated as non-negotiable.

Paige Spiranac roots for 2 NFL teams: Who are they?

Paige Spiranac has never hidden where her loyalties lie, even if they don’t fit the usual mold. She has consistently pointed to her roots while leaving space for other allegiances.

“Both my parents are from Pittsburgh so I’ve been a Steelers ..fan since the day I was born. I also love the Bills. It’s a complicated relationship…Who’s your team?” she previously asked her followers. It’s a candid admission, one that reflects personal history more than calculated fandom.

Still, the reaction has been sharp. NFL culture tends to rew ..

 

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Quiet moments on the course can say a lot about what’s coming next.

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Sometimes the most important work happens when nobody is really watching.
Lexi Thompson was out on the 18th green, working through her putting during a practice round ahead of the Chevron Championship in Houston.

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It’s a simple scene, but it shows the kind of quiet preparation that goes into these big tournaments—getting the feel of the greens, adjusting to conditions, and building trust in every stroke.

These are the small details that can shape how a player starts when the pressure kicks in.

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Predicting what will happen to Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson if LIV Golf collapses

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It looks like LIV Golf is over.

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The Saudi Public Investment Fund has reportedly decided that this league simply isn’t worth the hole it’s burning in their pocket, and they’re pulling funds at the end of 2026.

That gives them less than a year to seek new investment. While CEO Scott O’Neil seems confident, it’s going to be extremely difficult to secure funding for a league that is operating at such eye-watering losses.

So this probably pulls the curtain closed on one of the most turbulent, frustrating, confusing, and ridiculous eras in golfing history. Hopefully, we can all return to some reality after the year is over.

But there is still so much uncertainty surrounding golf’s future thanks to this. Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed saw the signs early and jumped ship, but they did that with some leverage. So what on earth is going to happen to the rest of these players who didn’t take the olive branch when it was offered to them?

Feelings will be hurt, and careers will be ended. Let’s take a look.

Jon Rahm rejoins the PGA Tour

Koepka returned to the PGA Tour under the returning member program, which saw him pay $5 million to charity, accept that he’ll receive no FedEx Cup bonus money, and agree he cannot be a sponsor exemption for the 2026 signature events.

 

That same deal was offered to Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. They didn’t accept it, but a similar offer will likely be handed out to them again.

 

If LIV Golf folds, Rahm will not hold the same leverage as Koepka did, but he is a bigger star at this stage of his career. Make no mistake, the PGA Tour will want him back immediately.

But Rahm does risk leaving himself without any options at all. Reed didn’t come straight back to the PGA Tour, so he’s spending a year on the DP World Tour first. You’d imagine Rahm would consider doing the same, but it might not be so easy for him.

Rahm is in a feud with the DP World Tour, as the only one of eight players to reject a deal which would have seen him retain his full-time membership. If Rahm agreed to play in six DP World Tour events this year, then he could have played on both LIV Golf and the tour. He did not agree.

For now, his membership is at risk. So, will it be possible for him to spend a season on the DP World Tour like Reed? Maybe not. That makes it all the more likely that Rahm will be back on the PGA Tour the moment LIV folds.

Bryson DeChambeau does YouTube full-time

With DeChambeau, I don’t think it’s as much of a done deal that he returns to the PGA Tour. Not immediately anyway.

He’s been negotiating his contract with LIV, which expires at the end of this season. During these negotiations, he’s made it very clear that he is completely willing to step away from full-time competition and be a full-time YouTuber.

DeChambeau’s channel has over two million subscribers, so he could feasibly do that with all of the money he’s making there.

He was annoyed to see LIV move to a four-day format, so he could commit himself fully to being the content king. It would be a wild thing to do, but it’s also exactly the kind of move you could see the two-time major winner making.

He could qualify for The Open Championship and the US Open, and earn enough points there to play The Masters and the PGA Championship. It’s possible.

He does seem to live for competition, so maybe YouTube won’t quite scratch the itch, but it is on the table for DeChambeau. At least for a year until his suspension expires. Out of Rahm and DeChambeau, the American is absolutely the least likely to take a deal.

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