(Xinhua) Lando Norris underlined his status as favorite for the 2025 Formula One World Championship, securing pole position for Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park.

Norris' time of one minute 15.096 seconds on Saturday was almost one second faster than last year's pole position time, with teammate and local favorite Oscar Piastri lining up alongside him on the front row, as McLaren laid down a marker as the team to beat both in Australia and in 2025 more broadly.

The only serious threat to McLaren's dominance came from reigning world champion Max Verstappen, whose Red Bull looked quicker than it had on Friday, but the Dutchman had a poor start to his final flying lap and could only manage third, 0.385s shy of Norris.

(Xinhua) China's rising tennis star Shang Juncheng announced via social media on Wednesday that he has successfully undergone foot surgery and is determined to return to the court as soon as possible.

The 20-year-old revealed that the surgery aimed to address an injury sustained during this year's Australian Open. "After the Australian Open, my foot started causing issues.

(Xinhua) China's Zheng Qinwen bowed out of Indian Wells with a 6-3, 6-3 quarterfinal loss to second-ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland on Thursday.

World No. 9 Zheng struggled with unforced errors at key moments and converted just two of five break points as Swiatek prevailed in an hour and 35 minutes in a match that was interrupted by bad weather.

(Formula1) Hamilton has scored 104 pole positions in his record-breaking F1 career to date, but his excitement for a possible first front-of-the-grid start for Ferrari is evident. The seven-time champion ended Friday practice in fifth, 0.420s off the pace of his session-topping team mate, Charles Leclerc.

Asked if he could begin to dream of a first Ferrari pole, Hamilton conceded: “For me, I think it’s a little bit early as I just continue to get to learn the car, but never say never.

(China Daily) Carlos Alcaraz moved closer to a rare Indian Wells "three-peat" as he breezed past an exhausted Grigor Dimitrov 6-1 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals on Wednesday, while Madison Keys tallied a 15th straight victory by beating Donna Vekic 4-6 7-6(7) 6-3.

Alcaraz, who is bidding to become the third man to win the event three times in a row after Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, handled the blustery conditions far better than the Bulgarian 14th seed.

(China Daily) The 2025 Formula One season has all the makings of a white-knuckle 24-race celebration to mark 75 years since the inaugural seven-race championship back in 1950.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen appears to have his work cut out to seal a fifth straight title, with Lando Norris poised to knock the Dutchman off his perch.

(Xinhua) After what has seemed an interminable wait, the 2025 Formula 1 season finally gets underway with this weekend's Australian Grand Prix. No fewer than eight of the ten teams have changed their driver lineups from 2024, and with some vastly different technical regulations to come in next year, the teams face an awkward balancing act between developing their 2025 mounts and shifting focus to next year and beyond.

(China Daily) Indian Wells is known as the "Tennis Paradise" for a reason, and Zheng Qinwen has finally found the California tournament enjoyable on her third visit.

(China Daily) Williams could be the most improved team when the Formula One season starts in Melbourne next week but 2026 is still the focus for faded former champions determined to get back on top.

Next year will be the dawn of a new engine era, coupled with significant chassis regulation changes, in a major shake-up that could send tremors through the paddock pecking order.

(Xinhua) Eighth seed Zheng Qinwen of China secured a hard-fought 6-4, 7-5 victory over New Zealand's Sun Lulu in the third round of the WTA 1000 event at Indian Wells on Sunday, marking her first set of consecutive wins this season and a career-best showing at the tournament.

The match, a rematch of their 2024 Wimbledon first-round clash in which Sun stunned Zheng, saw the Chinese star control key moments despite a tense second-set battle.
Loading