The teams for baseball’s World Series are set.

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 today to win the best-of-seven series 4-2. It means the Rays will now face the Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0.

The first game of the World Series will be on Saturday (AEDT) and both teams are vying for their first championship. The World Series is the final playoff of Major League Baseball (MLB), North America’s top baseball league.

Meanwhile, it was a tough day for the Guardians and their fans as the team’s winning drought extended to 78 years.

See, St Kilda fans, 60 years isn’t too bad!

283,281
The record number of fans who have attended AFLW games so far this season, with two home-and-away rounds still left. According to the league, it makes the 2026 season the highest-attended season in the competition's 9-year history.

“I’m not looking for little changes that a lot of people get credit for, I want meaningful change, a lot of meaningful changes, and we’re just not there yet, not in sports, not in life, not in the courtroom, not in the classroom or in the legislature.”
American judge Rosemarie Aquilina made the comments while speaking in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, ahead of the gymnastics world championships. Aquilina sentenced former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar to up to 175 years in jail for sexually abusing over 250 girls and women. It has been a decade since Nassar’s crimes came to light. She is joining survivors and advocates from Gymnasts for Change International in Rotterdam to call for greater accountability in the sport.

South Africa’s Jody Scheckter won the Formula One Drivers’ World Championship with Ferrari in 1979 and remains the only African driver to have won the title.

Highlight reels can’t match the noise of a live crowd.

The A-Leagues, Australia and New Zealand’s professional football leagues, are back with matches near you all season. Limited adult tickets start from $25 , juniors from $5 through Football Starts Here make it easy to see one in person.

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🏀 Isaac Humphries, the first openly gay player in Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL), is retiring from the sport following a decorated international career. Humphries was a regular inclusion in Australia’s Boomers and played stints in the NBA, Europe, and Australia’s NBL. The 28-year-old also made history in 2022 when he came out as gay and became the only active openly gay men’s basketball player in any top-tier league worldwide. Humphries, who has been playing in the NBL with the Adelaide 36ers, is retiring because of a persistent knee injury. He said in an Instagram post: “Sometimes life deals you cards that tell your story for you, and due to my continued knee injury I’ve had to make the incredibly difficult decision to retire.”

⚽ Cristiano Ronaldo has been suspended for 30 days and fined €255 ($AU400) by the Portuguese Football Federation after leaving Portugal’s international camp in September. Earlier this month, Ronaldo said: “I believe the punishment should not be reduced…I have already apologised, but I know that actions have consequences.” He left after coach Jorge Jesus did not bring him onto the field in a match against Norway and then named him on the bench for the next match against Denmark. Ronaldo added that Jesus had committed an “absolute breach of trust” after promising him game time. According to Forbes, Ronaldo earns an estimated $US300m ($AU430m) per year.

🏏 Scott Boland took two more wickets for Australia on a rain-disrupted second day of the second Test between Australia and South Africa in Gqeberha. After just 43 overs of play across two days, South Africa are now on 5/97 in their first innings and will continue to bat when play resumes this evening at 6:30pm (AEDT). A typical Test match requires 90 overs of play per day.

🏀 The Atlanta Dream have tied the 2026 WNBA Finals 1-1, defeating the Golden State Valkyries 79-65 in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series. Canadian-American singer Alanis Morissette opened the evening with a rendition of the U.S. national anthem before the Dream handed the Valkyries their first defeat at home in this year’s playoffs. Angel Reese starred for Atlanta with 30 points and 16 rebounds. Game 3 will be played in Atlanta on Thursday (AEDT).

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi and George Finlayson.

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The International Tennis Hall of Fame nominations are out, and Australian tennis great Ash Barty headlines the nominees for the Class of 2027.

Barty joins 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martín del Potro and four-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. Serena Williams is among the notable names missing from the ballot.

Here’s what to know.

Barty has been nominated in the Player category, which recognises men’s and women’s players who have achieved “a distinguished record of competitive achievement at the highest international level”.

During her career, Barty won 15 singles titles, including three Grand Slams: the French Open in 2019, Wimbledon in 2021 and the Australian Open in 2022. She also won 12 doubles titles, including the 2018 U.S. Open doubles.

Barty first became the world’s top-ranked women’s player in 2019, holding the position for 121 weeks, including 114 consecutive weeks.

She retired as the world No. 1 in 2022, finishing her career with a singles record of 305 wins and 102 losses.

Serena Williams is among the notable names to miss out.

The Hall of Fame’s eligibility rules require players to have been no longer a “significant factor” on tour for five calendar years. Williams stepped away from professional tennis in 2022 but returned to the competition this year, playing five matches, including at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Her return could delay her eligibility until the Class of 2031. Tennis journalist Jon Wertheim said it is “fair to deduce this comeback isn’t done”.

You can vote here until 25 October. The winner will be announced later this year.

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.

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Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina has announced her separation from her husband and fellow tennis player Gaël Monfils, saying the emotional toll of the war in Ukraine has left her needing to rediscover herself.

Here’s what to know.

Svitolina is currently ranked sixth in the world and has reached four Grand Slam semi-finals. Monfils is a former world number six from France with 13 tour titles and two major semi-final appearances.

The pair have been publicly dating since 2019 and got married in July 2021. The couple, who share a four-year-old daughter, Skai, also played mixed doubles together at this year’s U.S. Open, where they reached the semi-finals.

Svitolina announced their separation in an Instagram post on Monday, reflecting on the impact of war in Ukraine on her mental and emotional wellbeing.

“Everyone knows how much Ukraine means to me. What I have rarely spoken about is what the war has done to me inside,” she wrote.

Svitolina said Monfils had supported her throughout the difficult period, but she had come to realise she needed to rediscover herself outside their marriage.

The 32-year-old stressed that neither was to blame for the separation and that they would continue to co-parent their child.

The announcement follows a break from professional tennis last year, when Svitolina said she was not in the right emotional space to compete.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Svitolina has been outspoken in her opposition to the war. She has also refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents after matches. That stance drew global attention at Wimbledon in 2023, when Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka was booed by spectators after losing to Svitolina.

Monfils had planned to end his career with two tournaments in France, beginning with a wildcard appearance in Lyon before finishing at the Paris Masters later this month.

However, last week, the International Tennis Integrity Authority, which oversees tennis anti-doping and anti-corruption rules, listed him as retired from 5 October. Players who retire must remain available for drug testing for six months before they can return to competition. Lyon tournament organisers have also confirmed Monfils will not play, citing personal reasons.

Following the U.S. Open in September, Monfils announced he planned to move into finance after retiring from professional tennis, taking a role with a Swiss wealth management firm.

Svitolina is next scheduled to compete at the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, California, starting on 8 November. She most recently lost to Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal in three sets in the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open.