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The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) season kicks off tomorrow, and we’ll finally get to see Caitlin Clark on the court for the Indiana Fever.

Clark is the 2024 number-one draft pick in the WNBA (the player picked first when teams select new players to join their squads).

Her side is facing the Connecticut Sun, who say it is their first sold-out game since 2003. We’ll bring you the result tomorrow.

I’ve got 10 seconds

Quote of the day

“I mean, the way I felt on the court today was just completely like a different player entered into my shoes. Just no rhythm, no tempo, no balance whatsoever on any shot. It’s a bit concerning.” 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic speaking after his third-round loss to 29th-seed Alejandro Tabilo at the Italian Open. It came a day after Djokovic was hit on the head by a water bottle that fell out of the bag of a spectator while he was signing autographs.

Stat of the day

18
The age of Western Bulldogs AFL squad member Aiden O’Driscoll, who has been forced to retire because of concussion. O’Driscoll is yet to play an AFL game after a “significant head injury” during pre-season training in January.

Random fact of the day

Tug of War was featured as an Olympic event at five Games from 1900 to 1920. Great Britain won the last gold medal, beating the Netherlands in the final. 

I’ve got 1 minute

Football Australia has banned a Western Sydney Wanderers fan from attending any professional football (soccer) matches in Australia for two years after he was caught on the broadcast of a Wanderers v Sydney FC game performing a Nazi salute. 

The A-League is the highest professional men’s football level in Australia and New Zealand. The Wanderers and Sydney FC are the two major teams in Sydney.

More information

In a statement, Football Australia said it is “committed to ensuring that football remains a sport that unites communities and offers a safe and respectful environment for all." 

NSW Police said it is also investigating the incident but has not made any arrests. Performing a Nazi salute is illegal in Australia and can attract a maximum jail sentence of 12 months in NSW.

It is not the first time an A-League fan has been banned for the Nazi salute - in the 2022 Australia Cup final (a football competition that sits in the tier below the A-League) between Sydney United 58 and Macarthur, three Sydney supporters were charged by police with performing the salute.

The three men all pleaded not guilty. Football Australia issued a lifetime ban to one of the men in that case. 

I’ve got 2 minutes

Two matches at the Italian Open, a major tennis tournament, were suspended after climate change protesters disrupted play on multiple courts.

The disrupted games included a women’s singles match between American Madison Keys and Romanian Sorana Cirstea.

What is the Italian Open?

The Italian Open is one of the most prestigious clay-court tournaments in the calendar. It is held in Rome. It is not a Grand Slam competition, which is the set of the four major championships in world tennis (the Australian Open, the U.S. Open, the French Open and Wimbledon). Outside of those four Slams, the circuit has many smaller tournaments, like the Italian Open.  

What happened

According to event organisers, two activists entered the court and threw confetti, while others glued themselves to grandstands.

Italian Open organisers said the protest was led by a group called Ultima Generazione - the ‘Last Generation’. The group is demanding the Italian government establish a ‘repair fund for climate disasters’ to “repair the damage of the climate disasters that are destroying our lives”.

After nearly an hour of delay, the players returned to court and Keys closed out the match, winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-1. 

Post-match reaction

After the match, Keys said: “Unfortunately, it's starting to become a little bit of a common thing that's happening, and it's something the tournaments are going need to figure out how to stop”. 

"It’s obviously not the greatest feeling when you're on court, and your first reaction is your own safety," Keys said. "I think maybe banning cement and glue from bags may be a start."

Protests at tennis

In the last 12 months, climate protesters have interrupted a number of major tournaments.

The U.S. Open semifinal between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova was paused for 50 minutes after a man glued his feet to the floor in the stands. At Wimbledon, “Just Stop Oil” protesters threw confetti onto the courts, delaying play. 

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Looking back…

Here are some scores we think you should know about from the last 24 hours. There’s always a lot of sport, so this is just a selection.

Looking forward…

Here are some things to watch in the next 24 hours. Again, there’s always a lot of sport - this is just a selection.

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