On this day in 2001, the ACT Brumbies won their first Super Rugby title, beating the Durban Sharks 36-6 in the final.

Fast forward 24 years, and the makeup of the competition has changed dramatically. But the Brumbies are well in contention for a third title, sitting third on the ladder as the competition nears the pointy end of the season.

3
The number of points by which Oscar Piastri leads the Formula One drivers championship, ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Piastri came third in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix, behind home favourite Charles Leclerc in second and Norris in first. Norris was especially impressive in qualifying, recording the first-ever sub-70-second lap on the iconic Monaco street circuit. 

"Lachlan Galvin has expressed his desire to play with the Bulldogs, we still haven't closed off on a deal yet and there are still some things that have got to be worked out with the Wests Tigers about his release there."
General manager of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Phil Gould speaking on the rugby league talk show Channel Nine Sunday. Galvin, who is one of the most exciting prospects in rugby league, announced last month that he would not extend his contract with Wests Tigers after the 2026 season. At the time of the announcement, Gould played down the Bulldogs’ interest in Galvin.

In 2001, Croatian tennis player Goran Ivanišević became the lowest ranked player to win Wimbledon. Ranked 125 in the world, Ivanišević was given a wildcard entry into the tournament. He ultimately beat Australian Pat rafter in a five-set battle in the final. To this day, Ivanišević is the only men’s tennis player to win a grand slam as a wildcard. 

🏐 The NSW Swifts remain unbeaten in Super Netball after defeating the second-placed Sunshine Coast Lightning 70-62 on Saturday. The Swifts were once again led by New Zealander Grace Nweke who had 50 goals. The loss for the Lightning saw them drop to fourth on the ladder while the West Coast Fever’s win over the Giants moved them into second place. 

🏀 In the NBA Playoffs, the New York Knicks pulled off a remarkable comeback in Game 3 to beat the Indiana Pacers 106-100. New York’s Karl Anthony-Towns led the comeback with 20 points in the final quarter alone. The Pacers still lead the series 2-1 and have one more game at home before both teams head back to New York for Game 5. In the Western Conference Finals, the Minnesota Timberwolves dominated the Oklahoma City Thunder 143-101 yesterday to keep their NBA Finals hopes alive. The Thunder lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 to be played in Minnesota tomorrow morning (AEST). 

🏄‍♂️ The World Surf League’s Margaret River Pro is reaching its pointy end with three Australians still in contention in the women’s quarter finals in Western Australia. Bronte Macaulay and Molly Picklum will face off in an all-Australian quarter-final, while Isabella Nichols has continued her run of form after winning at Bells Beach and is set to take on American Lakey Peterson. There are no Aussies left in the men’s draw after Jacob Willcox lost to American Crosby Colapinto this afternoon.

🏉 The Canberra Raiders pulled off a gritty 16-10 win over the New Zealand Warriors to move into second on the NRL ladder on Sunday evening. Jamal Fogarty scored the matchwinner for the Raiders with 20 minutes to go but it was the side’s defence until the full time siren that earned them the victory. The Warriors are now third on the ladder.

⚽ In the A-League, Melbourne Victory pulled off a stunning upset to beat Auckland FC 2-0 in the second-leg of the semi-final. Needing two goals to overturn a one goal deficit from the opening leg, Victory beat Auckland for the first time this season and claimed a spot in the A-League Grand Final. They will take on Melbourne City in a derby between crosstown rivals next weekend. 

It was a big weekend for Australian women’s football, with three Aussies winning Europe’s Champions League and A-League Women’s club Melbourne City falling just short of a historic title in the AFC Women’s Champions League. 

The Matildas trio of Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, and Kyra Cooney-Cross were a part of the Arsenal team which beat Spanish giants Barcelona 1-0 in the Champions League final early Sunday morning (AEST). Catley played an especially impressive role in defence as Arsenal kept Barcelona scoreless. 

In the AFC Women’s Champions League, Melbourne City lost 5-4 on penalties to Chinese club Wuhan Jiaganda. In regular time, Melbourne seemed on track to seal victory after a superb goal from teenage hero Shelby McMahon in the 76th minute. 

However, Wuhan Jiaganda won a penalty in stoppage time and put it into the back of the net to send the match into extra time. 

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The French Open began last night, with the next two weeks at Roland Garros to determine the next players to etch their name into history. 

The men’s and women’s singles draws for this year’s French Open include 16 Australians (9 men, 7 women). That number has been reduced to 13 after Tristan Schoolkate, Rinky Hijikata, and Destanee Aiava all lost their first-round matches. 

Australia’s top-ranked player in the men’s draw is world number nine Alex de Minaur. The Demon is in a tough quarter of the draw where, if all goes according to the seeding, he will face world number five Jack Draper in the Round of 16. If he is to win that match, he is likely to face world number one Jannik Sinner in the quarter-final. 

Australia’s best hope in the women’s draw is 17th seed Daria Kasatkina, who previously played for Russia. Kasatkina became eligible to represent Australia through permanent residency in March this year. The French Open will be her first grand slam playing under an Australian flag. The 28-year-old’s best result at a Grand Slam was at the 2022 French Open when she made the semi-final. 

The standout favourites in the men’s draw are Sinner and world number two Carlos Alcaraz. After a three-month suspension, Sinner looked strong in his return to tennis at the Italian Open earlier this month. However, clay is not his strongest surface, and he was soundly beaten by Alcaraz in the final. 

Alcaraz is the defending champion and has long been touted as the heir apparent to Rafael Nadal as ‘The King of Clay’. Germany’s Alexander Zverev is another strong contender, having made it to at least the semi-final for the last four years. 

Aryna Sabalenka is the favourite in the women’s draw, even though Poland’s Iga Świątek is the three-time defending champion. In the lead-up to the tournament, Świątek has struggled to find the same form she has had in previous years, not making the final of any tournament since winning last year’s French Open.

Sabalenka is the world number one and has shown form on clay, winning the recent Madrid Open. Other contenders include Italian fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, who won the Italian Open earlier this month and American Coco Gauff, who finished runner-up in 2022 and lost to Świątek in the semi-finals last year. 

This year’s tournament is the first since Nadal retired. Nadal had an incredible record at Roland Garros, winning 14 of his 22  major titles there. Of the 116 matches he played at the French Open, he won 112. 

On Sunday evening, a ceremony was held to honour Nadal and his legacy at the tournament. A plaque has been placed on the court bearing his footprint. Also joining him on court were his three great rivals, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer. 

Djokovic is the last player of the ‘Big Four’ who is still on tour and will be hoping to win a record 25th slam in Paris. The Serbian won the Geneva Open over the weekend and became the third men’s player to win at least 100 ATP titles.