Good evening!

Layne Riggs is the second professional sportsperson (that I can recall) to dislocate their shoulder during a celebration in 2024. Riggs is a driver in the NASCAR Truck Series, check out his shoulder pop here.

The other athlete, in case you missed it, was 18-year-old French swimmer Rafael Fente-Damers who couldn’t contain his excitement (or shoulder) after qualifying for the Olympics at the French national swimming trials.

Moving on, it was a big weekend in sport and it’s only going to get bigger with the return of tennis at the U.S. Open early tomorrow morning and the Paralympics begin on Thursday.

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

3 
The number of golfing majors New Zealand’s Lydia Ko has now won. Ko broke an eight-year drought between majors to win the Women’s Open at St Andrews in Scotland on Sunday. The 27-year-old has had a stunning return to form, having also won Olympic gold in Paris earlier this month.

Quote of the day

“I have been part of some incredible teams throughout my career, winning many titles and I have come to Sydney FC to win more.”
Brazilian football player Douglas Costa in a statement announcing he will be joining Sydney FC on a two-year contract. Costa has previously won championships with Italian club Juventus and German club Bayern Munich.

Random fact of the day

Japan’s Sara Takanashi is regarded as one of the greatest ski jumpers of all time. She holds the record (male or female) for most ski jumping World Cup wins and podiums. Takanashi has 63 World Cup wins and 116 podium finishes to her name, as well as an Olympic bronze medal.

I’ve got 30 seconds

In case you missed it…

⛳ Aussie golfer Adam Scott has booked a place in the Tour Championship this coming weekend after tying for second place in the BMW Championship. American Keegan Bradley won the tournament. The Tour Championship is the final PGA event of the year and sees the season’s top 30 players compete for golf’s largest winner’s prize purse — $US25 million ($AU37 million). 

🏏 The Australian squad for the Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup in October has been named. Opening batter Alyssa Healy will captain the side at a World Cup for the first time. Perhaps the biggest omission from the squad was Jess Jonassen, who debuted in 2012 and has been a part of five World Cup-winning teams. Australia are the defending champions after winning their sixth title in South Africa last year.

🏉 Eight teams will contest the AFL Finals beginning Thursday 5 September, following the conclusion of the regular season over the weekend. The Western Bulldogs and Carlton claimed the hotly contested final two spots, causing Collingwood and Fremantle to miss out. This year’s finals series is considered one of the most unpredictable in recent history.

🚴‍♂️ Ben O’Connor is still in the leader's jersey at La Vuelta a España after finishing third on Stage Nine. The Australian holds a three-minute and 53-second advantage over second-placed Primož Roglič. Monday is a rest day, with Stage Ten set to commence on Tuesday. 

🏄‍♀️ Jack Robinson, Ethan Ewing, and Molly Picklum will represent Australia in next month’s surfing World Title contest at Lower Trestles in California. All three surfers secured their places after making the semi-finals at the Fiji Pro on the weekend. Only the top five men’s and women’s surfers after the World Surf League’s season compete in the World Title contest.

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British driver Lando Norris won his second Formula One race this season at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday.

What happened

Norris started in pole position, but spun his wheels on the start line, letting Red Bull’s Max Verstappen overtake him immediately. However, Norris demonstrated the clear pace advantage of the McLaren car and reclaimed the lead on lap 18 of 72. 

Ultimately, Norris finished 22.9 seconds ahead of Verstappen — the largest winning margin of any race this season. It was also the first time Verstappen had lost a Formula One race in front of his home crowd at Zandvoort in the Netherlands.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc rounded out the podium in third place.

What they said

Norris said: “I wouldn’t say a perfect race because of lap one again. But afterwards, it was beautiful. The pace was very strong, the car was unbelievable today.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports: “We did everything we could. Max converted P2 into the lead, but you could see their pace was in a different league.”

What’s next?

With nine races left this year, the Formula One heads to Italy this week for the Italian GP. Verstappen still leads the Driver Standings 70 points ahead of Norris. The Constructors’ Championship, awarded to the overall best team, is becoming a tighter race with McLaren now just 30 points shy of Red Bull.  

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This year’s fourth and final tennis grand slam, the U.S. Open, begins overnight(AEST) at Flushing Meadows in New York City. Seven of the 20 Australians competing in Round 1 will compete on the first day.

Aussie Women Day One

Ajla Tomljanovic, a quarter-finalist in 2022, is the only Australian woman playing tonight who automatically qualified for the grand slam. The world no.118 will play American qualifier Ann Li.

Three Australian women who came through last week’s qualifying tournament will play on day one — Maya Joint, Kimberly Birrell, and Priscilla Hon. 18-year-old Joint will make her grand slam debut against 36-year-old German veteran Laura Siegemund. Birrell, also playing her first grand slam, and Hon face more daunting assignments in Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekic (no.24) and two-time slam winner Aryna Sabalenka (no.2) respectively.

Aussie Men Day One

In the men’s draw, Alexei Popyrin (no.28), Adam Walton, and Rinky Hijikata will begin their 2024 U.S. Open campaigns on day one. Popyrin is one of two seeded Australians in the draw (the other being Alex de Minaur) and will take on South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon. Meanwhile, debutant Walton will play France’s Alexandre Muller, and Rinky Hijikata will play former world no.21 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina from Spain.

Tournament favourites

In the women’s draw, Coco Gauff is the defending champion, but may not be in her best form, judging by her first-round exit at the Cincinnati Open. Second seed Aryna Sabalenka has won both of her grand slam titles on hard courts (at the Australian Open) and enters this draw fresh off a win at the Cincinnati Open. It’s also hard to discount world no.1 Iga Świątek. The five-time grand slam champion will be looking to add a second U.S. Open title to her trophy cabinet after winning at Flushing Meadows in 2022.

In the men’s draw, Novak Djokovic is the defending champion. The 37-year-old has won at least one major tournament title in 12 of the last 13 years and is seeking his first grand slam title of 2024 after winning Olympic gold in Paris. A 25th major title would also set Djokovic clear of the 24-slam record he shares with Margaret Court and make him the winningest player in history.

The men to stop him may well be either Carlos Alcaraz, who has won the last two grand slams, or world number one Jannik Sinner who won the Cincinnati Open earlier this month and the Australian Open, the only other hard court slam, in January.

How to watch

You can watch the U.S. Open on Channel 9, 9Now, and Stan.

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In Conversation with Deakin University Elite Athlete, Becky Webster:

Rebecca (Becky) Webster is a professional football player with the Geelong Cats in the AFLW. Becky is also studying a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science/Bachelor of Business (Sport Management) at Deakin University.

What’s your schedule like?

Alongside my training and study, I am also gaining some professional experience working at the club in the Media and Digital team. This involves setting up press conferences to give the media opportunities for insights into the team. I also produce (and star in) the ‘Yeah the Girls’ podcast which has entered its second season.

When does Season 9 start?

The 2024 AFLW season starts on the 30th of August so we are still in preseason. This means we have been working super hard in the gym and on the field on our strength and conditioning and skills. It has also been great to be amongst the group again.

What appealed to you most about the Deakin Elite Athlete Program and how has it helped you?

I love the balance of being able to be a professional athlete and pursue a career I’m passionate about. This couldn’t be done without the support of Deakin throughout my studies.

Watch more.

Think beyond the field. Study sport at Deakin.

Looking back…

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