The Australian wildcard has reached the US Open third round and is set to break into the top 100 for the first timeAs an insight into the competitiveness of Rinky Hijikata, the fretful hours following his thrilling debut performance on Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York last August are illuminating. Pitted against four-time champion Rafael Nadal, the Australian started with an audacity that astounded the 24,000 fans expecting to see a legend waltz to a win against a wildcard.The 22-time major winner ultimately gained the upper hand, but as Hijikata contemplated the defeat over a pizza later that night, he was far from satisfied. It had been an experience to savour given his inexperience. But this did not temper his...
Not a total upheaval of the status quo, but enough of a shake-up to remind people women are here to stay, on and off the fieldSport has long been a masculine domain. Even when women began to make inroads – as things slowly improved on the field and media coverage crept into the back pages of newspapers – men still held the positions of power.The announcement this week that Laura Kane has been appointed the AFL’s executive general manager of football is a sign of the changing times. It is not a complete upheaval of the status quo, but it is enough of a disturbance to cause a ripple and remind people that women in sport are here to stay,...
Sharing advice in moments of self-doubt helped the Australians win their opening matches but they face formidable opponents nextAs Ajla Tomljanović slumped into her courtside chair in New York on Monday after a stirring victory in her comeback to tennis, parts of her were aching that she did not know existed. The Australian, who had not played since last November due to a knee injury, had a stunned expression on her face as she soaked in the applause ringing around the outside court. A star of last year’s US Open when ending the career of Serena Williams, and now a Netflix celebrity on Break Point as well, she looked towards her father, Ratko, before asking: “How?”How, indeed? Until two weeks...
For women’s sport to benefit after the World Cup, leagues have to show commitment to the product beyond symbolic gesturesWith a successful home Women’s World Cup in the rearview mirror there are hopes other women’s sports may ride the wave of momentum to increased viewership, attendances, funding and, importantly, respect. The nearly 2 million tickets sold across Australia and New Zealand for the tournament are a reminder the audience already exists.The AFLW stood ready to capitalise on this momentum, ramping up its marketing and officially launching the 2023 season as the World Cup ended. The decision to wait for clean air made sense given the Matildas fever that struck the nation saw an estimated 17 million Australians watch the semi-final...
Eddie Jones maintains loss to France doesn’t mean anything for Rugby World Cup but noble defeat is becoming a habit for this teamThey lost again. They improved again. They fired some shots but often into their own feet. They dominated possession but didn’t convert it to points. They created lots of chances but squandered plenty of opportunities. They were mostly brave and occasionally stupid. Again.Australia’s 41-17 loss to France piles more pressure on a side already labouring under a 0-5 start to the season. But the coach maintains this latest pummelling doesn’t mean much in the grander scheme of the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign starting on 10 September. Defeat, Eddie Jones says, isn’t another nail in the coffin, it’s another...