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Tennis: World no.8 Madison Keys (picture) will miss next month’s Australian Open after undergoing wrist surgery, the American said yesterday. Keys, 21, who made the round of 16 at all four grand slam tournaments last year, had the procedure in early November and would not be ready for the season-opening grand slam that begins in Melbourne on Jan. 16. Keys, who plays right-handed, also revealed she was being coached again by former world no.1 Lindsay Davenport, having worked with Thomas Hogstedt this year.

Darts: Defending champion Gary Anderson eased into the last 16 of the World Darts Championship with a convincing 4-0 win over Andrew Gilding at Alexandra Palace. The 46-year-old second seed, who has won the competition for the past two years, never looked in danger of an early exit as he won each set 3-1 to secure a quick passage to the next round. Last year’s runner-up Adrian Lewis, champion in 2011 and 2012, joins Anderson in progressing after he saw off Joe Cullen 4-0.

Rugby Union: World Rugby will seek further information from the Rugby Football Union about an “apparent non-compliance” with its protocols over the handling of George North’s recent head injury. A joint RFU and Premiership Rugby investigation opted against charging Northampton or their medical staff with misconduct for allowing North to resume playing, despite the Saints winger appearing to have been knocked unconscious in a league match on December 3.

Athletics: Double Olympic champion Miruts Yifter, of Ethiopia, has died at the age of 72, the International Association of Athletics Federations said. Yifter, who had been suffering from respiratory problems, died in Toronto where he had lived since 1998. His 5,000 and 10,000 metres double at the 1980 Olympics inspired a generation of runners, most notably Haile Gebrselassie who turned Ethiopia into a distance-running powerhouse second only to Kenya. “You inspired many people all over the world,” former world cross country champion Lornah Kiplagat tweeted.

Cricket: New Zealand’s frontline seamers Trent Boult and Tim Southee will have their workloads managed through the limited-overs portion of their series against Bangladesh to ensure they are fresh for the rest of the international programme. New Zealand begin a three-match one-day series against Bangladesh in Christchurch tomorrow, before they play three Twenty20 internationals ahead of two tests. Boult will not play the final one-day match in Nelson on Dec. 31 and miss at least the first Twenty20 match in Napier on Jan. 3, while Southee will miss the entire Twenty20 series ahead of the first test in Wellington that starts on Jan. 12.