Why watch ASMR content on TikTok when you can just watch the French Open?

The thwack of the tennis ball coming off the racket, the grunts and groans of exertion as the players chase shots across the clay, the umpire’s monotone calling of the score with a backing track of fans politely clapping and whooping in delight. Does it get any better?

Three Aussies (Alexei Popyrin, Adam Walton, and Kimberly Birrell) are all in action from tonight, from 7pm onwards.

27
The number of years since the New York Knicks have played in the NBA Finals. The Knicks secured their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999 today (AEST), after they swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals with a 130-93 Game 4 victory. The Knicks, who are on an 11-match winning streak, last won the NBA championship in 1973. Their opponent in this year's Finals will be the winner of the Western Conference finals series between defending champions the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. The best-of-seven series is currently tied at 2-2, with Game 5 set to be played tomorrow.

"Yes, no problem. We have no issue with that."
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirming her government would host Iran's national soccer team during the upcoming FIFA World Cup after the U.S. refused to let the team stay overnight between matches on American soil. Iran’s three group-stage matches are scheduled to be played in the U.S., but the team will base itself in Tijuana, just across the Mexican border from San Diego. The arrangement follows U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that began in February. The World Cup begins on 11 June.

All Blacks winger Leicester Faingaʻanuku owes his unusual full name – Leicester Ofa Ki Wales Twickenham – to his father’s rugby career. Malakai Faingaʻanuku was a prop for Tonga at the 1999 Rugby World Cup and named his son, who was born during the tournament, after three of its venues: Leicester, where Tonga beat Italy the day before; Wales, the main host nation; and Twickenham, where Tonga were due to play next. 

⚽ Socceroos attacker Riley McGree has been ruled out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a hamstring injury. McGree, who plays for English club Middlesbrough, was injured in the club's Championship play-off final defeat at Wembley on Saturday, leaving the field in the 76th minute of a 1-0 loss to Hull City. The 27-year-old has previously played a crucial role for Australia at the World Cup, setting up Mathew Leckie's winning goal against Denmark at the 2022 World Cup. Coach Tony Popovic's final 26-player squad will be announced on Sunday 1 June.

🏉 Canberra Raiders player Ethan Strange will make his State of Origin debut for NSW on Wednesday night after Mitchell Moses was ruled out of Game I with a hamstring injury. The Parramatta Eels player has had a tough run with injuries, which have limited him to just six Origin appearances in five years. 21-year-old Strange is now one of six Blues debutants and will line up alongside Penrith Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary in Sydney. In Moses' absence, Matt Burton will now start the match on the bench. 

🎾 Three Australians progressed to the second round of the French Open on Day 2 after victories in 33-degree Paris heat. Thanasi Kokkinakis produced a four-and-a-quarter-hour comeback, recovering from two sets to one down to beat France’s Terence Atmane. World number seven Alex de Minaur eased past British qualifier Toby Samuel in straight sets, while Daria Kasatkina defeated Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez, also in straight sets. Rinky Hijikata, Aleksandar Vukic, Emerson Jones, Maya Joint, and Talia Gibson were all knocked out in their opening-round matches.

Fly now, get rewarded later

Footy finals, music festivals, interstate weekends – if you're flying anyway, you may as well get rewarded for it. Virgin Australia's Velocity program lets you earn Points and Status Credits on every eligible flight, working towards complimentary upgrades, free flights and Pilot Gold status faster than you'd think.

Flexible fare options mean you only pay for what you actually need. Fly smart this EOFY.

AFL club Essendon has sacked senior coach Brad Scott effective immediately, after an internal review found the Bombers needed “a fresh voice” to move forward. 

Here’s what to know.

Scott’s departure comes with Essendon sitting at the bottom of the AFL ladder. The Bombers have struggled across the past two seasons, winning just one of their last 24 matches. Their latest loss came against Richmond last weekend, 74-56.

Scott coached 80 games at Essendon, finishing with 29 wins, 50 losses and one draw.

It is not the first time the Bombers have attempted a reset. Scott was appointed at the end of the 2022 season after the club parted ways with Ben Rutten during a broader overhaul of Essendon’s football department under president Dave Barham. 

The Bombers showed early signs of improvement under Scott. In 2013, Essendon won eight of its first 13 games before fading late and missing finals. A similar pattern followed in 2024, with the club winning eight of its first 11 matches before another late-season collapse. 

Assistant coach and 2000 premiership player Dean Solomon will take over as interim coach for the remainder of the season. 

In a club statement, the Bombers said: “There is a lot to be gained from the second half of the season and we won’t waste the opportunity to develop and improve our performances.”

In a press conference today, Essendon president Andrew Welsh added: “This is an industry that demands high performance, continental improvement and a relentless drive to get better every day. We are not comfortable with where we currently sit.”

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Athletes openly using performance-enhancing drugs competed for million-dollar prizes in Las Vegas over the weekend at the first-ever “Enhanced Games” – a doping-friendly Olympic-style competition.

Despite promises of record-breaking performances, only one world record was beaten (and it will not count officially), while three athletes who said they competed clean still won events.

The company behind the Games is also using the spectacle to market testosterone, peptides and supplements directly to consumers.

Here’s what to know.

The Enhanced Games were founded in 2023 by Australian businessman Aron D’Souza. Australian swimmer James Magnussen – a triple Olympic medallist – was the first major athlete to sign on.

Promotional material for the Games focused heavily on Magnussen’s transformed physique after months on a supervised drug program. The 35-year-old finished last in both of his races on Sunday, reportedly earning $US140,000 ($AU196,000) for competing.

The only world record broken in Las Vegas belonged to another Australian. Cameron McEvoy set the men’s 50m freestyle world record of 20.88 seconds at the China Open in March, breaking a 17-year-old mark from the supersuit era.

At the Enhanced Games, Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev swam 20.81 – 0.07 seconds faster than McEvoy. The time will not be ratified by World Aquatics because it was set outside anti-doping rules.

McEvoy received no direct prize money for his official world record, though Australian athletes can receive private bonuses through funding programs backed by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart. Gkolomeev walked away with $US1 million ($A1.5 million) for breaking the mark.

42 athletes competed across swimming, athletics and weightlifting. 

Three winners said they were drug-free: American sprinter Fred Kerley in the men’s 100m (9.97 seconds), Barbadian athlete Tristan Evelyn in the women’s 100m (11.25), and American swimmer Hunter Armstrong in the men’s 50m backstroke.

Kerley had publicly vowed to break Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second world record. His winning time in Las Vegas was slower than the eighth-place finisher in the Paris 2024 Olympic final.

For athletes who did take performance-enhancing substances, Enhanced released data showing:
• 90.5% used testosterone
• 78.6% used human growth hormone
• 61.9% used stimulants
• 40.5% used EPO

Enhanced Group – the company behind the Games – listed on the New York Stock Exchange in May under the ticker ENHA. Investors include billionaire Peter Thiel and 1789 Capital, a fund linked to Donald Trump Jr.

The company sells testosterone, peptides and supplements through its “Live Enhanced” platform, alongside telehealth services.

Organisers offered $US7 million ($AU9.8 million) in prize money on Sunday from a total $US25 million ($AU35 million) prize pool. No public tickets were sold. The crowd of roughly 2,500 included athletes’ families, sponsors and invited influencers.

Enhanced said about 250,000 people watched the event live on YouTube.

CEO Max Martin said the Games will return in 2027, with plans to expand into triathlon, marathon and cycling events.

The World Anti-Doping Agency has labelled the competition “dangerous and irresponsible”.