Good evening!

It’s Friday 20 December. We are officially in the midst of summer and the festive season. TDA Sport will be taking a short break over the holiday period and will be back in your inboxes on 6 January.

In the first year of the TDA Sport newsletter, the sporting world has delivered. We saw Australia’s highest gold medal haul (18) at an Olympics (shoutouts to Jess Fox and the Aussie swimming team!), the Penrith Panthers win a fourth consecutive NRL grand final, the North Melbourne Kangaroos go completely undefeated in the AFLW, the emergence of new men’s tennis stars (Sinner and Alcaraz) and Caitlin Clark change the entire landscape of women’s basketball. 

TDA Sport would not exist without our loyal subscribers. Thank you for opening up your emails every day and being the sports fans you are. Whether it’s extremely passionate or simply curious, we appreciate every one of you. Wishing you the best over the next couple of weeks and looking forward to 2025, which of course, is set to be a massive year in sports.

P.S. Scroll down to see what is on over the break.

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Stat of the day

11
How many women athletes made more than $US10 million ($AU16 million) in 2024, according to Forbes Magazine. Topping the list was U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff, who earned $US34.4 million this year in prize money and sponsorships.

Quote of the day

“Innovation is critical, we have to be open to new ideas… You have venues where some [summer] sports are indoors. You could in theory take them into another time of the year, maybe a winter Games… these are all the things that I would encourage debate to take place on.” 
World Athletics head Sebastian Coe, speaking to the BBC, on his pitch to move some indoor sports from the Summer Games to the Winter Games, if he were elected the next President of the International Olympic Committee. 

Random fact of the day

On Christmas Day 1914, troops on opposite sides of World War One’s western front held a temporary ceasefire and played a few football games (soccer, not rugby). When the BBC interviewed WW1 veterans in the 1960s, they heard that the Germans won at least one of the impromptu football matches — though they went on to lose the war.

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In case you missed it…

🎯 Australia and New Zealand will get their own darts Premier League. The UK-based Professional Darts Council announced an eight-leg competition will be held domestically between October and November 2025. The winner of the competition will be eligible for a place in the World Championships. Live darts is known for its party atmosphere and massive TV audiences. This year’s World Championships is currently underway in London. 

🥊 UK boxing star Tyson Fury and high-profile Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk maintained an 11-minute face-off at their pre-bout press conference in Saudi Arabia. The fight, scheduled for 9am AEDT on Saturday, will decide the world heavyweight boxing title holder. The pair boxed in May in a fight billed as the ‘Ring of Fire’, with Usyk winning in a split decision after twelve rounds. 

🏏 The Melbourne Renegades beat the Hobart Hurricanes by six wickets in the Big Bash League. Renegades wicketkeeper Tim Seifert provided the highlight of the match with an excellent diving catch. The Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Stars play tonight, with the Hobart Hurricanes back in action against the Perth Scorchers tomorrow. 

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Football Australia continues search for Matildas coach with fixtures looming

The Matildas are still without a full-time head coach as another international soccer window looms early next year. Tony Gustavsson left the role in August and Tom Sermanni has been appointed as the interim head coach while Football Australia continues its search.

Upcoming Fixtures

According to Football Australia CEO James Johnson, the Matildas are set to play six windows of international football next year. The first is in February when the Aussies will take on the U.S, Japan, and Colombia in the SheBelieves Cup –- an annual four-team competition hosted by the U.S. Football Australia is hoping to appoint a new head coach before then, or the following window in April.

The true deadline is the Asian Cup in 2026, which is being hosted by Australia. The Matildas will rely on results at the Asian Cup to qualify for the all-important 2027 World Cup. There is another major tournament soon after in the form of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

What they said

Johnson told AAP: "The hard deadline is as soon as possible, and as soon as possible means getting the right person… I would hope we at least have confirmed who our coach is by one of [the] two windows [next year], I hope.”

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What’s on over the next two weeks?

While the TDA Sport newsletter takes a break over the summer holidays, sport certainly doesn’t. Here’s what you can look out for in the next couple of weeks.

Cricket

After the first ODI between Australia and New Zealand’s women’s teams was washed out yesterday, two matches remain in the Rose Bowl series. Game two is tomorrow, followed by game three on Monday.

The summer of Test cricket will be in full swing with two Tests left to play between India and Australia for the Border-Gavaskar trophy. The fourth test is the traditional Boxing Day match at the MCG, and the fifth test will begin in Sydney on 3 January. After a draw at the Gabba in Brisbane earlier this week, the series remains tied at 1-1. India are the current holders of the trophy, so if the series ends up as a draw they will retain it.

Alongside international cricket, the Big Bash will continue with matches almost every night.

Tennis

In the lead-up to the Australian Open, which begins on 12 January, some of the world’s very best will be playing in warm-up tournaments to prepare for the grand slam. The Brisbane International will run from 29 December to 5 January and will feature the return of Nick Kyrgios playing doubles alongside Novak Djokovic.

The United Cup, an international mixed teams tournament, will be played between Sydney and Perth from 27 December to 5 January. 18 nations will compete in a format that includes one men’s singles match, one women’s singles match, and a mixed doubles match. Per Nine Network, set to play are seven of the world’s top 10 women and six of the world’s top 12 men.

Regular season sport

In terms of Australian basketball, the NBL and WNBL will continue through the holiday period. The NBL is currently in week 13 of 20 with the Illawarra Hawks leading the league. The WNBL is in round eight of 16, with the Bendigo Spirit on top of the table.

The A-League and A-League Women will also press on through the next two weeks. The A-League is in round 9 of 29 and Auckland FC is the current leader. Meanwhile, A-League Women is in its seventh of 23 rounds. Melbourne City has established itself as the team to beat with four wins from six matches.

American Sport

If you’re a fan of American sports, Netflix will stream its first-ever live NFL games on Christmas Day (Boxing Day AEDT) and both the NFL and NBA will continue during the break.

ICYMI: TDA Sport has a new game on Instagram called Blurdle. IYKYK.
Today’s answer: Venus Williams
Useless clue: 3rd rock minus one

A message from Deakin University

Women in Sport and the Increasing Use of Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids (AAS)

This study highlights the rising prevalence of AAS use among women in sport, particularly athletes, recreational gym-goers, and bodybuilders. While overall prevalence is 4%, bodybuilders show the highest rates (16.8%).

Motivations and health risks differ from men’s, requiring tailored harm reduction strategies for women, especially bodybuilders.

However, research on women’s AAS experiences is limited. This study calls for more women-specific, regionally diverse research, targeted education, and more training for non-judgmental support.

Read more about the study here.

Looking back…

Looking forward… (All times are AEDT)

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