Good evening!

What a weekend of sport. With the beginning of the Tour De France, the men’s T20 World Cup final and the Euros Round of 16 alongside so much more it was tough to keep track! Plus, we’re one week closer to the Olympics which is now only 25 days away.

Speaking of the Olympics, U.S. gymnast Simone Biles has secured a spot at her third Olympics. The 27-year-old and four-time Olympic gold medallist said, “I feel like we have a lot of weight on our shoulders to go out there and prove that we're better athletes, we're more mature, we're smarter, we're more consistent." She’s already the most decorated gymnast in history and it’s more than likely she’ll add to her medal tally in Paris.

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Stat of the day

603
The number of runs scored by the Indian women’s test cricket team in their first innings (one round of batting) against South Africa. The score marks the highest-ever run total in one innings for women’s first-class cricket. On the first day of the test alone, India scored 525 runs which is a record for the most runs scored in a single day across men’s and women’s cricket. Shafali Verma starred, scoring 205 runs herself.

Quote of the day

"What a ride! My Olympic journey has come to an end, and with it, my Australian rugby career…As for my time in Australian rugby, I’m grateful to my family and friends for their unwavering support throughout. We’ve shared an incredible journey, filled with unforgettable experiences, challenges, and memories. Thank you.”
Michael Hooper in a social media post announcing his retirement from rugby union. The 32-year-old made the post after missing out on selection for Australia’s rugby sevens squad at the Paris Olympics. Hooper debuted for the Wallabies when he was 20 and captained the side a record 69 times in 125 tests. 

Random fact of the day

Quadball is the real-life equivalent of Quidditch, the game played by Harry Potter and his fellow Hogwarts students. There have been five editions of the World Cup. Australia’s team, the Dropbears, won the 2016 World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany.

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In case you missed it…

🏏 India won the men’s T20 cricket World Cup, beating England by seven runs. India posted a record total of 176, the highest ever in a T20 World Cup final. Indian captain Virat Kohli starred, scoring 76 runs, while Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah was named player of the tournament.

⚽ England has narrowly escaped elimination at the Euros, beating Slovakia 2-1. The three lions trailed for most of the match before Jude Bellingham scored a miraculous equaliser after the 90th minute to send the game to extra time. They scored once more in extra time and averted a disappointing early exit. 

🏐 The Queensland Firebirds have won two straight games under new co-coaches Katie Walker and Roselee Jencke. The Firebirds beat the NSW Swifts 61-60 on Sunday. The Swifts now need to win their final two games by big margins and rely on other results if they are to make the finals.

🚴 Tadej Pogacar is in the yellow jersey (meaning he is the race leader) after two stages at the Tour de France. The Slovenian is tied with Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard and Belgian rider Remco Evenpoel atop the general classification but wears the yellow jersey because he placed higher than Vingegaard and Evenpoel in stage one.  

⛳ Australian golfer Cam Davis won the Rocket Mortgage Classic by one shot, marking his second PGA tour victory. Davis credited a part of his success to hypnotherapy. The 29-year-old’s victory follows six straight tournaments where he finished outside the top 35.

⛳ American golfer and world number one Nelly Korda has withdrawn from the Ladies European Tour tournament in London after she was bitten by a dog in Seattle, Washington. Korda has had a run of bad luck, missing the final round cut at the last three tournaments following a record start the year when she won five consecutive LPGA events.

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British driver George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday. The 26-year-old, who drives for Mercedes, took advantage of a collision between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris to capture the lead and earn his second Formula 1 victory. Australian Oscar Piastri finished second with Spaniard Carlos Sainz in third. 

Collision

Verstappen started in pole position and was leading the race until lap 64 (of 72) when Norris attempted to overtake him and the cars collided. Both cars had a punctured tyre and Norris was forced to withdraw from the race. Verstappen resumed racing and finished in fifth, even after incurring a 10-second penalty for the incident with Norris.

What they said:

Race winner George Russell said: “Incredible, I think it was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race just to hold onto that P3…You’ve got [to] be there at the end to pick up the pieces, and that’s where we were.”

What’s next

The Formula One season continues next weekend with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in England. Max Verstappen leads the Driver Standings on 237 points with Lando Norris in second on 251 points.

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Wimbledon, one of tennis’ four major tournaments, begins tonight in London, England. The tournament will be played over two weeks with the women’s singles final on Saturday 13 July and the men’s singles final on Sunday 14 July. 

Here are some of the storylines to look out for.

Women’s draw

The women’s singles at Wimbledon has been won by a first-time winner for the past six years. Estonian Elena Rybakina and Czech Markéta Vondroušová are the only two previous winners seeded for this year’s tournament.

Iga Swiatek is the number one seed and will look to improve on her record at Wimbledon. The five-time grand slam winner, who won the French Open last month, has only ever made it to the quarter-finals of the tournament. The second seed is American Coco Gauff.

Aussie women

Three Australian women are competing at Wimbledon, Ajla Tomljanovic, Daria Saville, and Olivia Gadecki. 

31-year-old Tomljanovic, who has made the quarter-finals in her past two Wimbledon appearances, is set to face world number 13 Jelena Ostapenko in the first round. Tomljanovic has won one of the four matches she has played against Ostapenko. Saville and Gadecki will play unseeded Americans Peyton Stearns and Robin Montogmery respectively.

Men’s draw

World number one Jannik Sinner enters the tournament hoping to win his first Wimbledon title. Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Sinner in the semi-finals of the French Open in June, is the reigning champion and another strong favourite to win the tournament. 

38-year-old and third-seed Novak Djokovic will play at Wimbledon after having surgery on his knee after he withdrew from the French Open quarter-finals. Another veteran, two-time champion Andy Murray is hoping to be fit for his first match on Tuesday after having surgery to remove a spinal cyst. If he does play, it is likely to be his last Wimbledon.

Aussie men

Eleven Australians are playing in the men’s singles tournament. Alex de Minaur is the ninth seed in the men’s draw and the highest-seeded Australian at Wimbledon. De Minaur will face fellow Australian James Duckworth in his first-round match tomorrow night. De Minaur and Duckworth’s meeting marks the fourth consecutive grand slam tournament where Australians have played against each other in the first round. 

31-year-old Alex Bolt, the only Aussie male to come through Wimbledon qualifiers, faces a tough draw for the first round where he will face eighth seed Casper Ruud. 

How to watch

You can watch Wimbledon on the Nine Network and Stan Sport.

A message from our sponsor

New Deakin Research, confirms benefit of increased representation of women on boards.

The Office for Women in Sport and Rec has recently released research by Deakin University which found that having gender diversity on boards of sporting organisations contributes to improved board performance, culture and decision making.

Introduced in 2019, Victoria’s Balance the Board policy requires sports boards to be made up of at least 40% women in order to be eligible for government funding. Deakin’s research shows it's working, too. Women on boards grew from 45% to 96% between 2017 and 2023.

But it’s not just about numbers – it’s making a real difference.

"Women directors brought crucial skills like governance, strategic planning, and risk management," said Research lead, Professor Pamm Phillips.

A key challenge to balancing boards is in attracting and keeping women in these roles, and research found that male leaders are key to driving this change.

“We are focused on breaking down barriers for women and girls in sport, ensuring that everyone in Victoria has the opportunity to take part in the sports they love,” said Minister for Community Sport, Ros Spence.

To read a summary of the research, click here.

Looking back…

Looking forward…(All times are AEST)

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