It’s just the second week of 2026, and the year’s sporting schedule is waiting for no one.

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The number of years since an English football club not in the country’s top two leagues has beaten the defending champions of the FA Cup. Over the weekend, sixth-tier club Macclesfield defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 in the third round of the FA Cup,  England’s oldest national football competition, which is open to clubs from all levels of the game.

“I haven’t won anything since 2019. I started to forget what it was like to win a bike race, this is what I fell in love with. It’s good to be back, it means everything.”
Australian cyclist Patrick Eddy after winning the elite men’s road race at the Australian national championships over the weekend. The 23-year-old beat multiple-time national champion Luke Plapp in a sprint finish to claim victory in the 176-kilometre race in Perth. Meanwhile, in the women’s race, 20-year-old Mackenzie Coupland became national champion, also winning the under-23 women’s road race in the process. The Tour Down Under begins in South Australia later this month.

The late actor Carl Weathers is best known for his roles as Apollo Creed in the ‘Rocky’ films and as Derick "Chubbs" Peterson in ‘Happy Gilmore’. Before becoming an actor, though, Weathers played professional gridiron in the NFL for the Oakland Raiders, and in the CFL (Canada’s professional league) for the B.C Lions. 

🏏 In the Big Bash League on Sunday, the Perth Scorchers (2nd) beat the Adelaide Strikers (6th) by 32 runs at Adelaide Oval. The Scorchers batted first and set an impressive total of 232 runs after Mitch Marsh scored 88 from 51 balls. On his return to the Strikers from the Ashes Test side, Alex Carey scored 71 runs, but it was not enough to prevent another blow to Adelaide’s finals hopes. The other match on Sunday, between the Sydney Sixers (4th) and Hobart Hurricanes (1st), ended without a result due to rain in Sydney. 

🏅 Australia has claimed gold in the mixed relay at the World Cross Country Championships, with Jessica Hull anchoring the team to victory in Tallahassee. Hull combined with Oliver Hoare, Linden Hall, and Jack Anstey to finish three seconds clear of France. It marks Australia’s fifth medal in the history of the event.

🛷 Australia’s Bree Walker has won a World Cup monobob race in Switzerland, becoming the first Australian to triumph at the St Moritz-Celerina track. Monobob is a one-person bobsleigh event (think ‘Cool Runnings’) where athletes race solo in identical sleds. The 33-year-old’s third win of the season boosts her chances ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics in Italy.

If you’re the kind of person who checks team lists, debates tactics, or plans weekends around sport…this one’s for you

Deakin University has once again been ranked #1 in the world for Sport Science in the Shanghai Ranking's Global Rankings for 2025. That’s seven times on top, and five years in a row ahead of 300+ universities worldwide.

As a graduate of the Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science you can look forward to a career in in athlete performance, strength and conditioning, rehabilitation, coaching, community health and more.

If turning a passion for sport into a real career sounds good, this is your sign.

The San Francisco 49ers have knocked out defending Super Bowl champions the Philadelphia Eagles, winning 23-19 in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.

Here is what to know.

San Francisco sealed the upset with a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, when quarterback Brock Purdy found wide receiver Christian McCaffrey to regain the lead. Earlier, the 49ers stunned Philadelphia with a trick play, as wide receiver Jauan Jennings threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey. 

The victory came at a cost for the 49ers, whose injury woes were compounded with tight end George Kittle being taken off the field in the first half with a torn Achilles. 

The 49ers now advance to the Divisional Round (second round of NFL playoffs), where they will take on the NFC’s top seed, the Seattle Seahawks. 

The NFL is split between two conferences, the NFC and the AFC. The winners of each conference advance to the Super Bowl. 

In other NFC results over the weekend, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Carolina Panthers 34-31, and the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers 31-27. The Bears and Rams will play each other in the Divisional Round next week. 

In the AFC, the Buffalo Bills defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-24, and the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Chargers 16-3.

There is one game remaining in the AFC Wild Card round, with the Pittsburgh Steelers set to take on the Houston Texans at 12:15pm tomorrow (AEDT). 

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Aryna Sabalenka and Daniil Medvedev have got their seasons off to winning starts in Brisbane, while Poland secured a breakthrough victory in the United Cup. 

Here’s what you need to know as the tennis action continues to heat up in the lead-up to the Australian Open.

Belarusian world number one Sabalenka won her second consecutive Brisbane International title, beating Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in straight sets (6-4, 6-3) to claim her first trophy of the year. The win marks the 27-year-old’s 22nd career title and her fifth in Australia, moving her clear of Victoria Azarenka for the third-most titles among active players. 

Sabalenka did not drop a set all week and will be the top seed for the Australian Open, which she has won twice before (2023, 2024). She will head to Melbourne looking to improve on last year’s loss in the final to American Madison Keys. 

In the men’s tournament, Daniil Medvedev started 2026 by winning his 22nd tour-level title. The 29-year-old defeated American Brandon Nakashima in straight sets (6-2, 7-6) to secure his first title in Brisbane after losing the 2019 final to Japan’s Kei Nishikori. 

In the second set, Medvedev let two championship points slip before regaining control in the tiebreak. The win extends a rare record for the former world number one, with every trophy he has won coming at a different tournament. 

After two consecutive years finishing as runners-up, Poland has finally won its first United Cup, defeating Switzerland 2-1 in the final at Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday. 

Poland got off to a shaky start, with world number two Iga Świątek losing to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in three sets (3-6, 6-0, 6-3). Hubert Hurkacz then defeated Stan Wawrinka in three sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-3) to level the tie before Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski sealed the title with a straight-sets victory (6-4, 6-3) in the mixed doubles. 

Bencic was named the player of the tournament after a superb run of form, which saw her win all five singles matches and four of five mixed doubles matches. 

The United Cup is a mixed-team international tennis event in which ties are decided by men’s singles, women’s singles, and mixed doubles matches.

The warm-up tournaments for the Australian Open continue this week, with twelve Aussies playing in the singles draws at the Hobart and Adelaide Internationals from today. The Hobart International is a women-only tournament, while Adelaide features men’s and women’s draws. 

The main draw of the Australian Open will begin on Sunday, 18 January.