This week TDA Sport was offered an exciting opportunity to ask Formula One Driver Liam Lawson some questions. So, if you’ve got any burning questions for him please reply to this email (or in the review section at the bottom), I’d love to hear them.

P.S. There was a typo in yesterday’s newsletter. Max Jorgensen scored the Wallabies match-winner in the 84th minute not the 74th. I still can’t get over how good that game was!

15
The consecutive number of games the Kansas City Chiefs have won. The 2023 Superbowl Champions, led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, have not lost since 25 December 2023. Their victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday was their ninth win of this season.

“This is not about me. This is a representation of how women's football has grown, and the trajectory it's on."
England goalkeeper Mary Earps after it was announced that she would be the first female football player to have a wax figure of themselves at Madame Tussauds. The 31-year-old won a public vote asking which Lionesses player should be honoured at the museum. 

On 8 June 1975, American Jackie Tonawanda became the first female boxer to fight at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tonawanda, who was referred to as ‘The Female Ali’, beat kickboxer Larry Rodaina in a mixed martial arts contest, knocking him out in the second round.

🏀 The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls to extend their unbeaten start to the season to 12 games. The Cavaliers, led by five-time NBA All-Star Donovan Mitchell, will have the chance to tie the franchise’s consecutive wins record of 13 against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. The record for the best start to a season by any team is 24 straight wins, set by the Golden State Warriors in the 2015/16 season.

⚽ David Coote, an English Premier League referee since 2018, has been suspended effective immediately. It comes after a video emerged which seemingly shows the 42-year-old making derogatory remarks about former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. The governing body for football referees has launched an investigation into the alleged comments.

🏉 The AFL has announced that the 2025 season will begin on 6 March with an Opening Round before Round 1. The Opening Round will see four games played in New South Wales and Queensland. The first game of the season will be a Preliminary Final rematch between the Brisbane Lions and the Geelong Cats. AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said: “After a successful start to the 2024 season, we look forward to continuing the momentum in 2025 before we head into a blockbuster round of matches in Round 1”.

🪵 Australia won a fifth consecutive Timbersports Team World Championship in France over the weekend. The Chopperoos set a world record against Canada in the semi-final, before beating it in the final against the U.S. The Timbersports World Championship sees 19 countries battle it out across various Timbersport disciplines. The four included in the final were stock saw, underhand chop, single buck, and standing block chop.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami were bundled out of the U.S. Major League Soccer playoffs (MLS) in a shock round 1 upset to Atlanta United (3-2). The loss brought Inter Miami’s historic season, led by the Argentinian soccer star, to an abrupt end.

Inter Miami were heavy favourites to win the 2024 MLS Championship, after setting the league record for the most points in a single season, and finishing the regular season on top of the table. Their performance also saw the club awarded a place in the 2025 Club World Cup. In 19 games, Messi recorded 20 goals and 16 assists.

In a post to Instagram, Messi said: "A season ended in which we continued to grow as a club and, although we achieved some goals, we wanted more. Thanks to all the people who joined and supported us. Now let's get ready to come back stronger next year."

Enjoying the newsletter?

If you are, why not share the love with your friends? We’d love your help in getting the word out there.

Send them this link to sign up.

The ATP Finals is in full swing in Turin, Italy.

The ATP Finals is an annual end-of-year tournament where the top eight men’s singles players and doubles pairings compete for a trophy and a cash prize.

Novak Djokovic, who withdrew from this year’s ATP Finals due to injury, holds the record for most tournament wins with seven.

The eight players in the singles tournament are split into two groups of four based on their seeding. The players then play three matches in a round-robin format before the top two in each group advance to the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals then play a final to decide the winner.

The equivalent for women is the WTA Finals, won this year by Coco Gauff.

In the singles draw, Alex de Minaur is the first Australian to qualify for the ATP Finals since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004. De Minaur lost his first match to world number one Jannik Sinner and will play Daniil Medvedev overnight. The fourth player in de Minaur’s group is American Taylor Fritz.

On the doubles side, U.S. Open champions Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson have paired up again while fellow Aussie Matt Ebden is competing alongside India’s Rohan Bopanna. Purcell and Thompson are among the favourites and won their first match in straight sets.

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz was upset in his first match by Norwegian Casper Ruud in straight sets (6-1, 7-5). The world number two, who won two grand slams this year, said he was struggling with stomach issues. Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev beat Andrey Rublev, also in straight sets (6-4, 6-4). Australia’s Alex de Minaur will play world number four Daniil Medvedev tonight in both players’ second matchup of the group stage.

You can watch the ATP Finals on beINsports.

ICYMI: TDA Sport has a new game on Instagram called Blurdle. IYKYK.
Today’s answer: Max Verstappen
Useless clue: XXVII (Get it? Email me if you do.)

AFLW - 8 years and counting

The AFLW has grown significantly since 2017, expanding from eight teams to 18, with seasons increasing from seven to 11 rounds. Player minimum salaries have jumped from $8,500 to $56,077. However, despite the encouraging growth, North Melbourne captain Emma Kearney highlights ongoing challenges, noting that players face higher injury risks due to a condensed schedule of 11 rounds in ten weeks, and that some coaches and athletes only work part-time which limits the development of the game.

Pamm Phillips, a sports management professor at Deakin University who helped develop the AFLW rulebook, stresses the importance of recognizing differences between men's and women's football. For example, one difference Kearney points out is that the AFLW uses a lighter ball, which she suggests affects kicking accuracy and leads to lower-scoring games.

A recent study also revealed that 90% of elite female athletes experience online harassment, showing there's still room for improvement in women's sport. In a recent interview on ABC Listen, Phillips emphasised the importance of listening to the athletes in making changes to improve the game.

Think beyond the field. Study sport at Deakin.