In New York four years ago, Raducanu won three matches in qualifying and seven in the main draw without dropping a set to become the first qualifier in history to win a Grand Slam title.

The stunning nature of that achievement led to many wildcard invitations into tournaments, but there have been times when her ranking was lower that entering qualifying seemed a strong option.

"I think playing qualies is not something that I am against," Raducanu told BBC Sport last August.

"If you get through those two rounds you feel you're adjusted to the court. If you're playing a seed, you have a better eye for the ball, a better feel - it's not that I am against it at all."

World number five Elena Rybakina, Australian Open semi-finalist Paula Badosa and British number one Katie Boulter are among players with main draw entry in Abu Dhabi.

Raducanu will first be in action on Saturday, when qualifying for the WTA 500 event begins.

Great Britain's Davis Cup qualifying tie against Japan is a "great opportunity" for others in the absence of Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie, says captain Leon Smith.

World number 77 Jacob Fearnley is the highest-ranked Briton in the squad in his first call-up to the team.

Scotland's Fearnley, who had a meteoric rise in 2024, is joined by Billy Harris and doubles specialists Joe Salisbury and Neil Skupski.

British number one Draper has opted to miss the tie to continue his rehabilitation from a hip injury, while Norrie withdrew with illness.

Norrie's replacement, Jan Choinski, is also ill and has been replaced by world number 388 Giles Hussey.

Henry Patten, who won the Australian Open men's doubles title with Harri Heliovaara, is also absent.

Englishman Harris will face Japan's world number 63 Yoshihito Nishioka in the first match at 04:00 GMT on Friday, before Fearnley faces 2014 US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori.

"We would have loved to have had [Cam] here, but I think it's a great opportunity for the others," Smith said.

"I have seen it before in the past in the ties when we haven't had our top players there - it's time for others to take that opportunity, win or lose, and learn from it."

Victory in Miki would see Smith's team advance to the second round of qualifying in September, where they would face either Germany or Israel for a place in November's eight-team Finals.

Billed as the worlds first digital sports court, interactiveSquash has added another string to its bow after revealing successful testing of augmented reality (AR) squash training game PSA Ghosting.

Squash players from all over the world and of all levels will soon be able to train against the worlds top players through the game after testing in New York this week.

Established in 2016, interactiveSQUASH is now fully embedded in the world of squash and used by players of all ages and abilities, associations and court operators across the world.

PSA Ghosting, an upgrade to interactiveSQUASHs popular Ghosting game, allows users to learn from the best professionals by chasing ghost targets projected onto the front wall, simulating the movement patterns used in real squash matches that have been captured during TOC. 

These targets light up on different areas of the court, prompting players to move to the designated spot and simulate a shot. The game bases the patterns on real-world rallies from TOC and challenges players to react quickly and maintain proper footwork, encouraging efficient movement and technique.

Imagine playing against the worlds best in your home club!

Amazing to see the new PSA Ghosting AR game unveiled by interactiveSQUASH during this weeks J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions in New York

Find out more https://t.co/YC2BgkQMf9 pic.twitter.com/oyba55OmUh

PSA Squash Tour (@PSASquashTour) January 30, 2025

To demonstrate the new game, rallies from Grand Central Terminals stunning all-glass court were projected onto the courts at MSQUASHs Port Chester, New York, facility, where local players tried out PSA Ghosting for the first time.

Among the players to test PSA Ghosting at MSQUASH were siblings Maddox and Savannah Moxham, aged 17 and ranked No.4 in the US in the boys U19 category and aged 15 and ranked No.6 in the US in the girls U19 category, respectively. 

Maddox and Savannah, who trained using rallies from last weeks match between former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad and former France No.1 Gregoire Marche, explained that they had loved using the system and that training against the worlds best by using the PSA Ghosting game could help them realise their dreams of playing squash in the Olympics.

It was super easy to use for those drills and its fun for all ages. It incorporates a video game aspect to my training, which is super fun and really helpful to my game, Maddox added.

Markos Kern, founder and CEO of interactiveSQUASH, said: The release of PSA Ghosting is an important milestone for us and we are very happy to have an established partner like the PSA on our side to bring this project to life.

Regardless of discipline, everybody wonders how they would keep up with their idols. With our advanced technology, squash players can now compare themselves with the world elite in real-life situations. A truly immersive experience that blends the digital and the physical world and makes sport even more engaging.

Katline Moxham-Cauwels, Co-Founder and CEO of MSQUASH said: We use interactiveSQUASH daily with players of all levels. It enhances the training experience for the youngest players by making it more enjoyable, while also making sessions more focused and intense for advanced players. The technology allows us to transform rigorous training into an engaging game. Players become competitive and forget about the strenuous effort they are putting in.

England centre Ollie Lawrence has signed a new "long-term" contract with Premiership leaders Bath.

The 25-year-old joined the club in October 2022 following the demise of former club Worcester and at the Recreation Ground under under director of rugby Johann van Graan, Lawrence has developed into one of their most consistent performers.

He has made 44 appearances for the club, scoring 16 tries, and has become a mainstay of Steve Borthwick's England's midfield having initially struggled for form under previous head coach Eddie Jones.

Lawrence is due to win his 32nd cap for his country in England's Six Nations opener against Ireland on Saturday.

He said his time at Bath has helped him "grow as a player on and off the field".

"I believe we have so much potential within this group and I'm excited for what we can achieve over the next few seasons," Lawrence said.

BBC Radio Leicester's Adam Whitty

Leicester fans feared this may be the case as time progressed, and with a one-year deal this was always a possibility.

Cheika signed on last minute after Dan McKellar's dramatic exit last year, almost to help the club out, if anything. With his family back home in Australia, he couldn't be a family man there, and a professional sports coach in Leicester.

Tigers did well to get a coach of such pedigree at short notice, and Leicester have made improvements, particularly in their attack, but instability still reigns at Tigers.

Cheika's replacement will be their ninth head coach in nine years - they cannot succeed with churn like that.

The former Wallabies and Argentina head coach had started to expand Leicester's attack and style of play. With a new man in charge, with a new philosophy and style, Tigers can perhaps expect another transition season next year.

Despite giving England a good chance to win their first title for five years, Care has France down as favourites to claim the trophy in March.

The return of star scrum-half Antoine Dupont is key to that prediction.

The 28-year-old is back as captain after representing France at their home Olympics last year, helping them win the gold medal in the men's rugby sevens, scoring two tries in the final.

"I think people forget he didn't play [in the Six Nations] last year," said Care, who won the tournament with England in 2011, 2016 and 2017.

"Having him back this year, I have France down as my favourites for the tournament for that reason. He's that good, he's consistently brilliant.

"[Ireland] are right up there, they really are. It's remarkable to be going for your third in a row, never been done before.

"I know how hard it is to win one, we managed to back it up [with a second] one year, but to do three in a row [would be] unbelievable.

"In England and Scotland you've got two teams who feel like if they get things right they could win it. And then you've got Wales and Italy who will go, 'well, we think we can probably beat anyone on our day'.

"That's why I think the tournament is so unbelievably special. For me it's the most special tournament in the world."

Prendergast was seen with a heavily strapped leg in training earlier this week but attack coach Andrew Goodman played down any injury concerns on Tuesday.

After being preferred to Crowley for the win over Australia in November, Prendergast started all four of Leinster's Investec Champions Cup pool games, scoring two tries against Bristol at Ashton Gate.

However, Saturday will be by far the biggest game of the Kildare native's career as he will be expected to orchestrate Ireland's attack against an England side who won last year's encounter at Twickenham.

"We've enjoyed some competitive [training] sessions and it wasn't easy selecting a squad for this week's game given the quality of those who haven't made the final 23," said Easterby.

"Credit to those who missed out on selection for this game, there was obvious disappointment but they all stepped up brilliantly to help prepare the team this week.

"England are a talented squad with quality across their panel and we know that we will need to hit the ground running to deliver a winning performance."

Ringrose's inclusion is the only change to Ireland's backline from the Australia game.

Hugo Keenan remains at full-back while Mack Hansen starts on the right wing after serving his three-game ban for criticising the officials in Connacht's defeat by Leinster in December.

James Lowe, who returned from injury in Leinster's win over Stormers last week, starts on the left wing with Jamison Gibson-Park at scrum-half as expected.

Backs: Blair Kinghorn (Toulouse), Darcy Graham (Edinburgh), Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors), Stafford McDowall (Glasgow Warriors), Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh), Finn Russell (Bath Rugby), Ben White (Toulon).

Forwards: Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh), Dave Cherry (Edinburgh), Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors), Jonny Gray (Bordeaux Bègles), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh), Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh), Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors).