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The video is a brief sports update on the most recent news in tennis,basketball,oztag,AFL and soccer. Our various correspondents throughout Sydney; Sarah(tennis), Patrick (basketball), Emily (Oztag), Brendan(AFL) and Zilun (Soccer) covered a particular sport that they were familiar with.

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Will Nick Kyrgios make it to Rio Olympics?

TennisAustralia's board has endorsed president Steve Healy's defence of Nick Kyrgios in the Rio Olympics selection debate, increasing the likelihood of a collision with the Australian Olympic Committee and its sceptical chef de mission, Kitty Chiller.

The revamped TA board, including new appointees Diane Grady, Elizabeth Minogue and Graham Bradley, met for the first time in Melbourne on Monday, with Kyrgios' suitability for Games selection among the issues discussed.

Healy, released the following statement: "The board fully supports the comments I made on Friday, and also sees no reason to change our existing selection process. The team selection panel is headed up by our performance director Pat Rafter, along with Fed Cup captain Alicia Molik and Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt."

The 21-year-old player used social media over the weekend to garner support from fans amid criticism of his behaviour by Australia’s Olympic chef de mission Kitty Chiller. Kyrgios declared his “fiery passion and intense competitiveness” are attributes “that represent the elite level of sport” when he stressed his desire to play in Rio. An earlier message directed at the chef de mission drew the ire of Chiller, who described it as “ill advised” and highlighted that “maybe he doesn’t understand what it means to be an Australian Olympian”.

Which appears to mean that, barring any poor behaviour between now and the nomination deadline of June 30, the governing body will be backing the controversial young star it believes has taken important steps to mature and mend his ways. Even if Chiller, it seems, is yet to be convinced. 

Healy also stated: "Since the disciplinary action taken against Nick last year he's made a concerted effort to improve his performance and behaviour, and full credit to him. It's unfortunate that he's been included unfairly in recent discussions on player behaviour that have not involved him.  His performances this year have been markedly improved and it's obvious he's showing more maturity ... Nick deserves the opportunity to concentrate on his tennis without any additional distractions."

Andy Murray apparently agrees. The world No. 2 said after defeating Novak Djokovic in the Rome Masters final that he "doesn't understand" why the Canberran's Olympic position is in jeopardy, given the recent improvement in his behavior.

Watch some of the match highlights here

Australian Tennis Legends

These are some of the most talented Australian tennis players to ever live who have not only achieved personal success in their professional careers, but have all played an important role in shaping the positive image of Australian tennis globally. Here’s a list of my favourite Australian tennis legends; 

John Newcombe

John David Newcombe, AO, OBE is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player who won seven Grand Slam singles titles, and an all-time record 17 doubles titles. He was one of many Australian players to dominate the field during the 1960s and 1970s and was considered one of the best amateur tennis players in the period preceding the Open Era.

In his first year out of the juniors, Newcombe was part of Australia’s Davis Cup winning side in 1964.Routinely rated as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Newcombe has not just been on the Davis Cup side, but captained Australia at the tournament from 1995 to 2004.

Newcombe had major majors success with compatriot Tony Roche, and together the pair won a mammoth 12 Grand Slam titles, which until 2013 was the record for the highest ever number of titles a doubles pair had won together.

Roy Emerson        

Roy Stanley Emerson is an Australian former number one tennis player who won 12 Major singles titles and 16 Grand Slam tournament men's doubles titles. He is the only male player to have completed a Career Grand Slam in both singles and doubles.. He had unparalleled success at the Australian Open, winning the singles 6 times – of which 5 titles were consecutive.

He won each of the other three Grand Slams two times apiece at the singles, and was even a World No. 1 pre-Open Era, but his doubles records were unprecedented. Emerson holds 16 Grand Slams doubles titles, six of which he won at Roland Garros.Winning 20 doubles titles in the Open Era, of which two were Grand Slams, Emerson was the first ever tennis player to win every Majors tournament at least twice.

Margaret Court

Margaret Court AO, MBE, also known as Margaret Smith Court, is a retired world No. 1 professional tennis player. She amassed more major titles than any other player in history. In 1970, Court became the first woman during the open era to win the singles Grand Slam.

 Court won a record 24 of those titles, a record that still stands. Unlike many players of her age and today, who tend to favour one surface,Court was immensely successful across surfaces. Although a number of players have since won a calendar slam, Court is the only player in all of tennis history to have won Calendar Slams in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles

Rod Laver
Rodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is a former tennis player widely regarded as one of the greatest in tennis history. He was the No. 1 ranked professional from 1964–70, spanning four years before and three years after the start of the Open Era.The name is synonymous with tennis as he is regarded as one of the most iconic players to have played the game.

Laver’s biggest singles success at Grand Slams came at Wimbledon, where he won 4 titles. He won 3 at his home Slam – the Australian Open, and two each at the US Open and Wimbledon, and has been most successful at the doubles on his home hard court, winning that title 4 times.

He is one of a number of players who had immense success both before and during the (current) Open Era of tennis. Making his debut in 1963, Laver was part of the winning Davis Cup side that year, and was considered the world’s no. 1 player by 1965, winning 17 titles that year.

Then, with the advent of the Open Era and professionals being permitted to play Grand Slams again, Laver won Wimbledon in 1968 to become the first Open Era champion at the tournament. That year, he was officially ranked World No. 1 – and the next year, took his second Calendar Slam.  

Melbourne Park's primary arena (Centre Court) was renamed Rod Laver Arena in 2000, in recognition of Rod Laver's remarkable tennis career.A near-unsurpassed success across surfaces, Laver has gone down in history as one of the legends of the game.

Watch some of the highlights of Laver's career 

             


Click here for a more comprehensive list
Stay tuned for my next post....

Interesting Facts about Tennis

Did you know that prior to the use of rackets in tennis, people used their palms to hit the ball back and forth? The palm method was replaced in the 1500s when rackets were introduced. The word tennis evolved from the French term ‘tenez'. The modern game became much more structured in the 1800s, and the first Wimbledon Championships were played in 1877 in London, England. These interesting records and facts about tennis are a definite must know for all tennis fans.

 

1.) Rectangular courts were created in 1875 for Wimbledon. Originally, the court was an hour-glass shape.

2.)The first patented version of tennis, lawn tennis, was given the name Sphairistike. It was created by Major Walter Clopton and patented in 1874.

3.) Before 1986, tennis balls used at Wimbledon were not yellow. The colour was added to allow people to see the ball better while in play.

4.) Women who played in the first Wimbledon tournaments had to wear full-length dresses.

5.)The longest match was 11 hours and five minutes long. It took place over a period of three days. It was between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. Isner finally won the battle.

6.) Though he hasn’t had much success on the ATP Tour, Aussie Samuel Groth set the serve speed record in 2012, registering at 163.4 mph.

7.) American Jimmy Connors won 109 singles titles in his incredible career, which included 8 Majors. For women, Martina Navratilova was the all-time champ with 167 singles titles!

8.) The strings of the tennis racket were made of cow and sheep guts in the past for the first one hundred years modern tennis was played.

9.) Boris Becker was the first unseeded player ever to win the Wimbledon in 1985. He was only 17 years old at the time. He also became the first German and the youngest player to win the title.

10.)The first winner at Wimbledon was Spencer Gore. He didn't think the game would catch on......

Hope you enjoyed reading some fun facts about tennis. Be sure to stay tuned for my next post !