Good evening!

It's been two months since we launched this sports newsletter

One of the ideas that has come up is a segment once a week that highlights a moment or personality from community sport.

Apart from being interesting/funny/heartwarming, the segment would act as an opportunity for us to connect with you - our audience - and hear about the role sport plays in the lives of everyday Australians.

What do you think? Let us know in the poll below.

(And if you have any great stories please reply to this email!)

I’ve got 10 seconds

Stat of the day

16
The age of Spanish football player Lamine Yamal. The striker became the youngest person to ever score in the Euros when he scored a sensational goal during Spain’s 2-1 defeat of France in this morning’s semi-final.

Quote of the day

“I don’t think [U.S. audiences] would have seen female sport played at the level of speed, stamina, skill and intensity of rugby league football played by our female players.”
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo to AAP after announcing the Australian Jillaroos (Australia’s women’s rugby league team) would be playing the England Lionesses as one of four NRL games scheduled to take place in Las Vegas in March next year.

Random fact of the day

At the age of 16 years and 8 months, Ellyse Perry became the youngest-ever cricketer to play for Australia. One month later, Perry made her representative football debut for the Matildas. She is the only Australian to play in cricket and football World Cups.

I’ve got 30 seconds

In case you missed it…

🏐 Kim Ravaillon, captain and two-time premiership winner with the Queensland Firebirds has announced her retirement from Super Netball. Ravaillon also played 60 games for Australia’s representative netball team, the Diamonds. The 30-year-old will play the remainder of the season.

🏉 The French rugby union team has faced multiple off-the-field issues while on tour in South America. Fullback Melvyn Jaminet was suspended and sent home for a racist remark he made in a social media video, and two players (Oscar Jégou and Hugo Auradou) have been arrested in Buenos Aires as part of an investigation for an alleged sexual assault. 

🚴🏽‍♂️ Jasper Philipsen won Stage 10 of the Tour de France overnight. It is the first stage win for Philipsen at this year’s tour. The Belgian sprinter won four stages and the green jersey in 2023. Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay, who has won two stages already this year, finished second and retained the green jersey.

I’ve got 1 minute

We’re at the semi-final stage of both the Euros and Copa América, with games being played this morning and two more scheduled for tomorrow.

Euros semi-finals

Spain upset France this morning 2-1 to secure a spot in the final, where they’ll vie for their fourth Euros title. Spain has demonstrated its attacking flair throughout the tournament, scoring 13 goals in six matches - the most of any team. Spain will be favourites for the final, having beaten strong teams (Italy, Croatia, Germany and now France) along the way. 

England will play the Netherlands tomorrow at 5:00am (AEST) for the remaining place in the final. It is the first Euro semi-final for the Netherlands since 2004, while the English are looking for redemption after they lost the 2020 final to Italy in a penalty shootout. 

Copa América semi-finals

Defending Copa América champions Argentina beat tournament debutants Canada 2-0 this morning. Lionel Messi scored Argentina’s second goal and his first of the tournament. 

Uruguay and Colombia will play tomorrow at 10:00am (AEST) to determine who will join Argentina in the final, and Canada in the third-place game. Colombia is unbeaten in its past 27 matches. The last time they faced Uruguay in October 2023, the match was a 2-2 draw.

How to watch

You can stream the Euros and Copa América on Optus Sport.

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I’ve got 2 minutes

The pool of potential 2024 Wimbledon winners continues to shrink with one semi-final in each of the men’s and women’s tournaments set, and quarter-finals to decide the remaining two happening tonight. 

Women’s singles

Jasmine Paolini (No.7) has continued her stunning run of form defeating American Emma Navarro (No.19) in two sets (6-2, 6-1) to become the first Italian woman to reach a semi-final at Wimbledon. Last month, she made her first-ever grand slam final at the French Open, finishing runner-up to world number one Iga Świątek. 

In Paolini’s three previous attempts at Wimbledon, she did not make it past the first round. Paolini will play unseeded Czech player Donna Vekić, who beat New Zealander Lulu Sun in the semi-finals on Thursday (time TBD).

Tonight’s women’s quarters

Two women’s quarter-finals remain. Jeļena Ostapenko (No.13) will play Barbora Krejčíková (No.31) tonight at 10:00pm (AEST) and Elena Rybakina (No.4) will play Elina Svitolina (No.21) tonight at 10:30pm (AEST). 

Rybakina is the only player left in the women’s draw who has won Wimbledon (2022). Ostapenko and Krejčíková are looking to add a second Grand Slam title to their resume having each won the French Open once.

Men’s singles

Daniil Medvedev (No.5) has secured a semi-final spot against Carlos Alcaraz (No.3) at Wimbledon for the second year in a row, defeating world number one Jannik Sinner in five sets ​​(6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3). Alcaraz, the defending champion, beat Tommy Paul (No.12) in four sets (5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2).  

Tonight men’s quarters

Australian star Alex de Minaur (No.9) will face seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic (No.2) tonight at 11:45pm (AEST). De Minaur will hope to take advantage of Djokovic’s mobility after the Serb had surgery on his knee last month. Despite wearing a knee brace for his injury, Djokovic, who has only lost three matches at Wimbledon since 2013, has looked strong. He beat Holger Rune (No.15) in three sets in his quarter-final. 

Italian Lorenzo Musetti (No.25) will play American Taylor Fritz (No.13) in the other quarter-final tonight. Fritz has been in impressive form on grass this year, winning the Eastbourne International late last month and defeating Alexander Zverev (No.4) in five sets to advance to the quarters at Wimbledon. 

A message from our sponsor

ACL injuries in footy? Should women and girls be playing? You’re asking the wrong question.

Dr Aaron Fox from Deakin’s School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences is working hard to shed light on the complex world of ACL injuries in sport, particularly the differences between male and female athletes. The findings are fascinating.

One of the core differences to have emerged from the research is that AFLW players sustain ACL injuries in non-contact situations (like reacting to an opponents' directional changes) more than their male counterparts. But Dr Fox emphasises these differences aren't due to inherent knee susceptibility, but potentially how young women and girls have grown up with sport, and the sports they would typically play differing from what they now play in adulthood.

The solution? Make sure young women and girls are not held back or limited in their athletic development and have exposure to a range of sports early in life, particularly adolescence.

As well as growing junior AFLW, there also needs to be advancements in technology. Dr Fox and his team are developing innovative ideas around ACL injury risk screening methods, which he hopes will revolutionise how athletes are assessed and trained. These cutting-edge approaches, combined with increased awareness and targeted training programs, are paving the way for reduced injury rates and safer participation in sport for all athletes - the brains hub of Deakin University is well and truly on the case.

Looking forward…(All times are AEST)

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