It’s Origin Time.

One of the most-viewed nights of Rugby League (about three million people tuned in to watch Origin last year) - is here.

Whether you’re a proud New South Welshman, a pumped-up Queenslander, or someone who has picked a side based on which state you hate more, the first State of Origin game is always a great night.

If you want a quick read that will get you up to speed ahead of the game, click here to read our preview (it should take you about 2-3 minutes to read).

P.S. A big welcome to all the new teammates reading their first edition of TDA Sport - we’ll contact the winners of the Hoka runners tomorrow! If you have friends who are in the market for new runners, they have until midday tomorrow to sign up to the newsletter and go in the running! They can sign up here.

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Stat of the day

4
The number of Matildas who will play in their first Olympic games in Paris. Coach Tony Gustavsson named the 18 player squad yesterday. He has also selected eight players to go to their third Olympics.

Quote of the day

“With how much I love the game and just love playing, I never wanted to retire, but it is the right time and the right time for me.”

Australian netballer Chelsea Pitman announcing her retirement from the sport yesterday at the age of 35. During her 19-year career, Pitman represented nine clubs across three countries and was a national representative of both the Australian Diamonds and English Roses.

Random fact of the day

Pakistani squash player Jahangir Khan holds the record for the longest winning streak in any sport. Khan was undefeated for 555 consecutive games of squash between 1981 and 1986.

I’ve got 1 minute

The French Open continues to deliver big headlines as we near the pointy end of the tournament.

Men’s

Tennis fans around the country will be setting their alarm clocks to watch Australia’s top-ranked player Alex de Minaur play German Alexander Zverev tomorrow morning in the quarter-finals. The match will be played from 4:15am (AEST). As we mentioned yesterday, he is the first Australian man to reach a French Open quarter-final since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004.

Novak Djokovic announced this morning that he would be withdrawing from the tournament due to a knee injury. This means Djokovic’s quarter-final opponent, seventh-seed Norwegian Casper Ruud, advances straight to the semi-finals. Ruud will face the winner of de Minaur and Zverev.

Notably, Djokovic’s withdrawal means that Jannik Sinner now sits atop the ATP tour rankings as world number one for the first time. Sinner will play third seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals on Friday. If you want to know more about who Jannik Sinner is, you can watch our video on him here!

Women’s

Third seed Coco Gauff showed poise last night to defeat eighth seed Ons Jabeur in three sets. She will now play defending champion and number one seed Iga Świątek in the first semi-final on Thursday. 

Two quarter-finals will be played tonight to determine who will play in the other semi-final. 

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In case you missed it, the Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup started last weekend and will be played throughout this month, with the final taking place on 30 June.

T20 World Cup

It is the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup and a record 20 teams are competing.

The tournament is being split between the U.S. (three venues) and the Caribbean (six venues). The final will be played at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

All games will be streamed on Amazon Prime.

Australian outlook

The Australians, captained by all-rounder Mitch Marsh, are in Pool B with England, Scotland, Namibia, and Oman. The team will play their first match against Oman tomorrow at 10:30am (AEST).

It will be Oman’s second match of the tournament, having lost to Namibia in their first. So far, the only other match in Pool B between England and Scotland was abandoned and declared a draw due to rain.

Australia, currently ranked second in the world behind India, will play defending T20 World Cup champions England on Sunday in what is likely to be their toughest match-up of the pool stages. The game will begin at 3:00am (AEST) on Sunday.

As the current World Test Champions and One Day International World Champions, Australia are eyeing off a triple crown in the T20 format of the game.

Cricket in the U.S.

With 16 of the 55 matches at this year’s T20 World Cup set to be played on American soil and the scheduled addition of cricket at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, there has certainly been a push to grow the game in America.

That includes the development of America’s own T20 league, Major League Cricket (MLC), which will have its second season this year. The MLC is America’s answer to Australia's Big Bash league or the Indian Premier League.

Australia’s test and one-day captain Pat Cummins announced this morning that he would be joining the San Francisco Unicorns, one of six teams in the MLC, on a four-year deal beginning this year.

MLC has already attracted a number of Australian stars including Steve Smith, Travis Head, and Glenn Maxwell, who will all play for the Washington Freedom.

MLC will begin on 5 July, shortly after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup.

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In Conversation with Deakin University Elite Athlete: Jo Weston

Jo Weston is a professional netballer with Melbourne Vixens and the Australian Diamonds, with two premierships and two gold medals (from both the Commonwealth Games and Netball World Cup) under her belt. She is the President of the Australian Netball Players Association and is currently studying a Master of Communication at Deakin.

What’s your sporting schedule like?

We currently train about four times a week and play either in Melbourne or interstate on weekends. In preseason we train more, with 7/8 sessions a week.

What is one of the hardest aspects of studying and being an elite athlete?

Time management is very challenging especially with travel and some commitments being added last minute. I also find the physical nature of training draining which means concentrating in class can be more difficult.

What appealed to you most about the Deakin Elite Athlete program and how has it helped you?

The understanding and flexibility offered to me is what was most appealing… I have received help finishing assignments to the best of my ability with the flexibility offered through the program.

Looking back…

Looking forward…

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