Andrew Abdo, the former CEO of the NRL, has begun his new role as the CEO of Tennis Australia.

Adjusting to a new gig can be hard, but even so, Abdo hasn’t helped himself so far.

Last month, he suggested there could be a future where the men’s singles draw at the Australian Open isn’t best-of-five sets for every match. That prompted outrage from tennis traditionalists.

Then yesterday, at the launch of the 2027 Australian Open, he referred to five-time Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner as ‘Jacob Sinner’. That has prompted some to question his credibility as a tennis boss.

We all get a name wrong sometimes, don’t we?

Let’s test the theory below.

🏉 Papua New Guinea’s incoming NRL team has been warned its “Chiefs” name risks being confused with Super Rugby’s Chiefs as the matter heads to New Zealand’s High Court. In a statement, New Zealand Rugby (NZR) said it has “held trademark protection for the Chiefs logo in Australia” since 1998 and that “if the NRL uses ‘Chiefs’ as the name for its expansion team playing and trading in those same markets, it will cause significant confusion and damage”. In response to the legal action, the NRL’s executive chairman Peter V’landys said “the hypocrisy is mind-blowing”, referring to Super Rugby’s Auckland Blues team using the NSW Blues name with no “consultation or approval” in 1996. He added that “rugby union is obviously feeling threatened by rugby league in New Zealand”.

🏉 The coach of St Kilda’s AFLW team, Nick Dal Santo, is set to step down following this weekend’s match against Collingwood. St Kilda are winless after eight matches and recorded their lowest ever score last weekend against the Western Bulldogs, scoring a single point. Dal Santo has coached the club since 2022. In a letter to members on Friday, club president Andrew Bassat said: “The AFLW competition continues to move forward quickly, and we need to make sure we are doing the same. We are embracing this process as an opportunity to properly understand how we can set up our program for the future to be truly competitive.”

🏏 Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins has responded to concerns that former Test batter Usman Khawaja’s upcoming autobiography will bring to light new claims about the team’s 2018 ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town. ‘Sandpapergate’, as the incident is known, saw the Australian team caught cheating and resulted in three players, Steve Smith, Cam Bancroft, and David Warner, receiving bans. Talking to the media ahead of Australia’s first Test tour of South Africa since the scandal, Cummins said: “He [Khawaja] just basically gave me the heads-up that he’s doing a book. As always, ‘no worries, you tell your story, that’s fine.’”

🏀 A’ja Wilson has become the first WNBA player to win three consecutive league MVP awards. The WNBA is North America’s top professional women’s basketball league. The Las Vegas Aces star has now won a record five MVP awards. After receiving the award, she said: “I cried harder on this one, because 15-year-old A’ja wasn’t sitting up here dreaming about being a five-time MVP…she was dreaming about surviving this world.” The Aces will play the Golden State Valkyries in Game 3 of the playoff semifinals tomorrow (AEDT). The Valkyries lead the best-of-five series 2-0.

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi and George Finlayson.

Talking points: Both the Australian men’s Test and women’s One-Day International (ODI) teams will take the field today. The Australian women will begin a three-match ODI series against Bangladesh in Brisbane this afternoon (AEDT). Tahlia McGrath is set to captain the side with usual leader Sophie Molineux sidelined by a hip injury. Australia come into the series as heavy favourites, having won nine of their past 10 ODIs. Across the Indian Ocean in Durban, the Aussie men will begin a three-Test series against South Africa. It’s the first time that Australia have played a Test against the Proteas on South African soil since the infamous ‘sandpapergate’ incident in 2018, when the Australian team was caught illegally roughing up the ball with sandpaper. This Test is a rematch of last year’s World Test Championship final, which South Africa won, and pits the top two teams in the world against each other.

How to watch: The women’s ODI will begin at 2:50pm (AEDT) and be available to watch on Channel 7 and Kayo. The men’s Test starts later at 6:30pm (AEDT) and will be broadcast on Kayo and Foxtel.

Talking points: The Wallabies are looking to end a 23-year wait for the Bledisloe Cup as they face the All Blacks in Auckland on Saturday. Australia last won the trophy in 2002 and will need to break New Zealand’s 11-Test winning streak in the rivalry to boost their chances of reclaiming it. The first of two Tests kicks off at Eden Park, where the All Blacks have not been beaten by Australia since 1986 (or any team since 1994). New Zealand coach Dave Rennie, taking charge against his former team for the first time since his sacking as Wallabies coach in 2023, has named Codie Taylor as captain. Beauden Barrett will also play his 150th match for the All Blacks. Wallabies coach Les Kiss remains unbeaten after five matches since taking charge, with Australia coming off a 42-38 win over the world’s top-ranked side, South Africa. Kiss has made one change to his starting lineup, replacing the suspended Hunter Paisami with Isaac Henry at outside centre.

How to watch: You can watch it all on Stan Sport, with coverage starting at 4pm and kick-off at 5:10pm AEDT.

Talking points: AFLW Pride Round kicks off this weekend, with clubs celebrating LGBTQIA+ inclusion through player-designed guernseys and key matches that could shape the finals race. The Western Bulldogs host Essendon on Friday night to open the round, with the Bulldogs looking to strengthen their finals hopes after a 6-2 start. The Bombers are coming off their first win of the season after losing their opening seven games. Gold Coast face Melbourne in Mackay on Saturday in a major test of the Suns’ finals credentials against one of the competition’s premiership contenders. Meanwhile, North Melbourne take on Fremantle on Sunday, with the Dockers needing wins to keep their finals hopes alive. Across the round, clubs will wear Pride guernseys celebrating “identity”, “connection” and “belonging”, with designs shaped by players, fans and community artists.

How to watch: You can watch it all on Channel 7, Kayo and Foxtel. Scroll down to our sports schedule for more details.

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi and George Finlayson.

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