Polish player Iga Świątek has gained the world number 1 women’s ranking after Ash Barty’s retirement from tennis. Behind Świątek are Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic), Paula Badosa (Spain) and Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus).
Despite inconsistent form since being deported from Australia in January, Novak Djokovic (Serbia) still leads the men’s rankings from Daniil Medvedev (Russia), Rafael Nadal (Spain) and Dominic Thiem (Austria).
It was recently announced by the Wimbledon committee that players from Russia and Belarus are banned from playing in the tournament due to the war in Ukraine. This means that Medvedev and Sabalenka will have to sit out this major tournament.
Commonweath Games news
It has been announced that the 2026 Commonwealth Games will be held in Victoria. The Opening Ceremony will be held at the MCG and sporting competition will mainly be shared across regional hubs. Hubs so far announced are Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland, with each hub expected to have its own Athletes’ Village. Premier Daniel Andrews will soon announce the other regional centres that will be hosting events.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games were originally awarded to Birmingham in the United Kingdom. After the original host city Durban was unable to fulfil their obligations, Birmingham stepped up to host the 2022 edition. This shift left the 2026 Games without a host.
Victoria has a long history of hosting international sporting events, including the Australian Open Tennis, the Melbourne F1 Grand Prix and the 1956 Olympic Games. Melbourne hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2006.
Birmingham’s edition of the Commonwealth Games will be bookmarked by the opening and closing ceremonies, beginning July 28 for two weeks. Based in the West Midlands region of England, the city will host the Games for the first time ever.
Aussie stars from the recent Olympic Games in Tokyo are expected to compete, including Ariarne Titmus (swimming), Nicola McDermott (high jump), Rohan Browning (athletics) and Peter Bol (athletics). The Australian contingent will join a pool of approximately 4,500 athletes in Birmingham, stemming from 72 nations.
