Jake Michaels, lead writerJanuary 20, 2025, 7:02 p.m. ET Close Jake Michaels is a sports writer based in Melbourne. He has worked for ESPN since 2013, covering everything from AFL to Formula 1, basketball to boxing and tennis, in Australia and around the world. MELBOURNE, Australia — Carlos Alcaraz couldn’t have said it better when … Read more
MELBOURNE, Australia — A bitterly cold December afternoon in midtown Manhattan, in the lobby of a hotel near Central Park. A 23-year-old woman looks up from a club chair near an elevator. She wears a baseball cap and plays with her phone a little. “Hey,” she said. Take another look. Oh, it’s true, it’s Emma … Read more
MELBOURNE, Australia — Here on the island that was once the center of the men’s tennis world — the land of Laver and Rosewall, Emerson and Newcombe and other gods of the game — the strangest dynamic has emerged. The rest of the world is obsessed with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Here, it’s all … Read more
In a rare case of introspection, Dylan (Ben Hunter), a brash brother in his 20s, beams at the possibility that there might be someone else out there who might actually offer him the kind of friendship he longs for. A sheepish smile spreads across his face, but the spell is immediately broken, leaving him feeling … Read more
Welcome to the Monday tennis briefing, where Athletics will explain the stories behind last week’s stories on the ground. This week, the first tournaments of 2025 reached their conclusion across Australia and New Zealand. Aryna Sabalenka continued a remarkable record and too many matches ended in retirements. If you would like to follow our fantastic … Read more
Wellington, New Zealand — A surfer reported missing in Australia is believed to have died in a shark attackauthorities said Friday, as they searched the waters where the man had disappeared. The 28-year-old was in the sea at a popular surfing beach in South Australia where another man was killed by a white shark in … Read more
An Australian warship tested a American Tomahawk cruise missileofficials said Tuesday, hailing a “major step” in the country’s decade-long plan to strengthen its fleet in the face of an Asia-Pacific arms race. HMAS Brisbane fired the Tomahawk on December 3 off the west coast of the United States, the Australian government said in a statement. … Read more
Melbourne, Australia — The only emperor penguin known to have swum from Antarctica to Australia was released into the sea 20 days after waddling onto a popular tourist beach, officials said Friday. The adult male was found on November 1 on the sand dunes of Ocean Beach in the town of Denmark in temperate southwest … Read more