Tennis - Barty creates history at Wimbledon

Ash Barty registered an historic victory in the Wimbledon Ladies’ Final on Saturday night, defeating opponent Karolína Plíšková 6-3, 6(4)-7, 6-3 at the All-England Tennis Club. 

Barty’s victory in 2021 marks exactly 50 years since Wiradjuri woman Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon for the first time. Goolagong Cawley was also the last Australian woman to take top honours at Wimbledon in 1980. 

Barty asserted control of the match early, and quickly ran out a 6-3 victor in the first set. In the second, swayed momentum between Plíšková and Barty took the two to a crucial tiebreak, where the Czech took ascendancy through a string of mini-breaks before eventually winning the tiebreak 7-4. In the third, Barty regained her control from the first set, and after a string of nervous moments, eventually took out the final set 6-3. 

The win marks Barty’s first Wimbledon title, with the world number-one having taken out the French Open two years ago.

Basketball - Boomers start pre-Olympic tournament with a win

The Australian Men’s Olympic side began their Olympic warm-up matches in Las Vegas on a positive note on Sunday afternoon with a 87-84 victory against Argentina. 

With scores locked with 2.5 seconds left in the final period, Tokyo 2020 Flag Bearer Patty Mills sunk a three-pointer as time expired to hand his side victory.

The win came as the Australians trailed by 11 points in the second quarter, and the Argentines - led by 41-year-old Luis Scola - were looking to impose their will on their counterparts. 

The Boomers - behind the exploits of Mills and Olympic debutant Matisse Thybulle - were able to remain within reach of their opponents, and set the stage for a memorable finish to the Australians’ first match of their Las Vegas showcase campaign.

Athletics - Day sets PB in pre-Olympic hit out

The Cairns invitational meet on Sunday saw a personal best set with athletes continuing to ramp up preparations for Tokyo. 

Tokyo 2020 Olympian Riley Day displayed her rich vein of form in both the 100m and 200m, with a three-year personal best bettered in the former (11.31) while clocking 22.83 in the latter. Day ran her 200m race earlier in the day in an effort to best replicate the conditions of Tokyo. 

Linden Hall delivered a strong performance in the 800m event ahead of her second Olympic Games, with Hall registering a time of 2:00.83 as she continues to prepare for her 1500m event in Tokyo. 

Liz Parnova put in one of her strongest showings of the season when clearing 4.51m in the women’s pole vault to near her season’s best of 4.55m. Whilst her personal best stands at 4.60m, the Western Australian will receive a significant confidence boost from her performance in Cairns – returning to the heights that she knows she is capable of clearing consistently.

Parnova was joined over the bar at 4.51m by Australian record holder Nina Kennedy who jumped off a shortened run-up in her return to competition, before the pair were unsuccessful in clearing 4.61m.

Australian Boxing and Canoe Slalom Teams begin preparations in Japan 

The Australian Boxing and Canoe Slalom Olympic teams have continued their training camps in Japan over the weekend. 

Both squads are entering Tokyo with aspirations to deliver strong performances for their country, and have arrived in Japan excited to ramp up training and preparation ahead of facing Olympic competition. 

They join the Australian Softball Team who have been in Japan since June.

The Aussie Spirit Softball Team will kick off the entire Olympic competition when they take on Japan two days prior to the Opening Ceremony on 21 July.

The canoe slalom Olympic competition will run from 25-30 July, while boxing will begin from the 24th of July and conclude on the 8th of August.