On this day in 1975, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) debuted its world ranking system, and American Chris Evert became the first official world No.1 in women’s singles.

Since then, a total of 30 players have held the number one spot. Two of them are Australian.

Can you name them?

Answers are at the bottom of today’s 2-minute.

17
The consecutive number of singles matches that Venus Williams has now lost on the WTA tour after losing 6-2, 6-3 to American qualifier Mary Stoiana in the first round of the Hong Kong Open. The seven-time Grand Slam champion, who last won a tour-level singles match in July last year, is now ranked 597 at age 46.

“Since the beginning of the season, we have witnessed repeated issues surrounding the treatment of our supporters. The events of this weekend have brought those frustrations to a tipping point. The treatment of our Members and fans has been totally unacceptable. Enough is enough.”
Western Sydney Wanderers chairman Paul Lederer in an open letter after up to 20 riot squad officers stood behind the club’s supporter bays during Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Macarthur FC in Campbelltown. The police presence prompted a silent protest from the team’s fanbase, known as the Red and Black Bloc, in the opening 20 minutes of the match. Lederer also referenced hundreds of fans being held back for up to 30 minutes at a recent derby against Sydney FC, adding that fans want equal treatment, not special treatment. He vowed to keep pressing police and the A-Leagues.

Japan’s Takayuki Koike holds the record for the fastest 100 miles (160 kilometres) on a unicycle. In 1987, he completed the distance in six hours, 44 minutes, and 21.84 seconds, averaging almost 24 kilometres per hour.

🏉 Sydney Swans players Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Riley Bice, Nick Blakey and retired teammate Taylor Adams have all been sent legal letters over the alleged incident at Melbourne’s Pullman Hotel in August, according to The Age. Lawyers for two of the three women involved argue the club is liable for the players’ actions as their employer. No charges have been laid, and all five deny wrongdoing. Bice and Adams are being treated as police witnesses but remain part of the civil claim, while James Jordon, suspended alongside the other four in August, has escaped it entirely. Blakey has also since left the Swans and joined North Melbourne.

🏏 In the Women’s Big Bash League on Monday night, the Perth Scorchers defeated the Melbourne Stars by 15 runs at Junction Oval. The Scorchers batted first and posted a total of 124 under new captain Beth Mooney, who scored 17 runs. All-rounder Sophie Devine led the Scorchers’ bowling attack, taking four wickets for 19 runs to limit the Stars’ run chase. Alana King chipped in with three wickets. Meg Lanning top-scored for the Stars with 41, but they were bowled out for 109 runs with 11 balls remaining.

🏈 Adelaide Crows player Josh Worrell has been convicted and fined $2,400 after running a red light and hitting a pedestrian in Adelaide in July. The pedestrian sustained a head laceration and other minor injuries. Worrell reportedly spent three hours with the man following the incident and drove him to hospital. The 25-year-old pleaded guilty to an aggravated charge of driving without due care. Magistrate Rodney Oates called Worrell’s response “exemplary” and did not suspend his licence.

👞 Karl Bushby has returned home after 28 years traversing much of the world by foot. Bushby started his journey in Chile at the age of 28, with the goal of crossing four continents on foot and arriving home to Hull in 10 years. After a series of setbacks, Bushby, now 57, told media it was a “truly an emotional moment” seeing his family again at his childhood house. His journey took him from the tip of South America to the top of North America, across the Bering Strait to Russia, across part of Russia into Central Asia, then to Europe and finally across the English Channel to the UK. He was greeted by his mother and his son, who was a small child when Bushby left.

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Glenn Maxwell has retired from Twenty20 international cricket and Victorian state cricket, having already stepped away from One Day International (ODI) cricket last year.

Maxwell is a three-time World Cup winner, winning ODI World Cups with Australia in 2015 and 2023, and the 2021 T20 World Cup.

Perhaps his most memorable innings came at the 2023 World Cup in Mumbai, where he scored 201 runs from 128 balls against Afghanistan while battling cramps, dragging Australia to victory from seven wickets down while chasing 292.

The 38-year-old finishes his international career with 149 ODIs, 130 T20Is and seven Tests for Australia, scoring more than 7,200 runs and taking 136 wickets. He also retires third on Australia’s all-time T20 scoring list with 2,897 runs, and is one of only two men’s players in the world to score five centuries (100 runs) in T20 internationals. India’s Rohit Sharma is the other player with that achievement.

Maxwell remains contracted to the Big Bash League’s Melbourne Stars through the end of next season and will continue playing there.

“If you had offered me that career when I first walked into the Vic change rooms in 2009-ish, I would have bitten your hand off,” Maxwell said.

“I’m extremely grateful to have played that much for my country and to hopefully inspire some kids who want to take the game up, to want to play differently and to be open and vulnerable and to not shy away and be themselves.”

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Parramatta Eels winger Josh Addo-Carr is waiting to learn his fate at the club after a second drug test cleared him of a roadside cocaine allegation.

Here is how it unfolded.

Police stopped Addo-Carr for a random roadside check in Sydney on 11 September, with a preliminary drug test allegedly returning a positive result for cocaine. The Parramatta Eels subsequently issued him with a breach notice. After the news of the alleged positive test broke, Addo-Carr spent about a month in a rehabilitation facility. His lawyer said the stay was for his mental health.

A second forensic sample provided by Addo-Carr was taken and has since returned a negative result, with NSW Police confirming no further action will be taken.

Addo-Carr appeared before Parramatta’s board at the club’s Kellyville headquarters on Monday afternoon.

The club said in a statement: “Josh and his legal team were given the opportunity to respond to the notice. The club will consider their submission and make a decision in due course.”

As he arrived, with media waiting outside, Addo-Carr held up a copy of a book titled ‘God’s Word, Your Journey to Freedom’. The bible-based book is aimed at readers facing incarceration, addiction, or other major life transitions.

In a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald, he said: “I turned up today with a book that has changed my life and this is a chance to put into practice what I’ve learnt. I feel like I’ve still got so much to give this club and community.”

Addo-Carr’s lawyer, Elias Tabchouri, said the forensic test had “returned a result of nil drugs detected” and that Addo-Carr remains “committed to the Parramatta club.”

This is Addo-Carr’s second alleged drug-related infringement in three years.

The 31-year-old was sacked by the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs in 2024 after a roadside drug test allegedly returned a positive result for cocaine. Parramatta signed him for the 2025 season regardless.

The veteran winger has represented Australia at Test level and NSW in State of Origin. Since joining the Eels, he has scored 27 tries.

Trivia answer: The two Australian women’s tennis players to be ranked No.1 in the world in singles are Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1976) and Ash Barty (2019).