On days when the Victorian Health Department issued Heat Health Alerts warning the extreme hot weather substantially increased the risk of heat-related illness and mortality, and outside work on Victorian…
Shifting hemispheres? A good training plan must include time to acclimatise.
Vox Efx
Two of Australia’s biggest international sporting events kicked off last week – the Australian Open in Melbourne and the Tour Down Under in Adelaide – coinciding with a heatwave over southeast Australia…
A different type of Grand Slam: Carlos Moya of Spain loses his cool at the Australian Open in 2005.
AAP/Joe Castro
Over the next two weeks, Melbourne Park will host the world’s best tennis players for the Australian Open. We expect the best to perform under the watchful gaze of millions of fans around the world, so…
Old is the new young, in tennis anyway: at 35 years old, Germany’s Tommy Haas is still winning tournaments.
EPA/Marc Mueller
Lleyton Hewitt won the Brisbane International last weekend at the age of 32. Roger Federer and David Ferrer, two of the world’s top ten players, are over 30. And 35-year-old crowd favourite Tommy Haas…
Hawk-Eye is a device used to reconstruct the track of the ball for LBW decisions in cricket and for line calls in tennis. It will be much in evidence during the remaining Ashes tests and is now being used…
Andy Murray ponders the heteronormativity of Centre Court.
Not enough megapixels
On a weekend like this, tennis stars like Andy Murray are the nation’s biggest stars. In many ways, sportspeople are no different from any other celebrities - be they reality TV stars, rock stars or film…
Noise seems to be a bit of a problem in major sports tournaments. For many, vuvuzelas were the scourge of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. So much so that the BBC looked into ways of muting them on…
Jimmy Connors: even better than Tim Henman.
Carine06
The whole purpose of professional sport is to find out one thing. Football leagues, cup competitions and all sports tournaments around the globe are set up to answer the question that motivates the entire…
Questions have arisen over the cause of Victoria Azarenka’s extended break during her semi-final match.
AAP/Joe Castro
A controversial extended medical break taken by tennis world number one Victoria Azarenka after losing five match points in her match against Sloane Stephens has raised the issue of “choking” in sport…
Elite tennis players put their bodies through a lot, so what does it take to recover properly?
AAP Image/Joe Castro
Will an extra day’s rest and recovery give Novak Djokovic an advantage over Federer or Murray in Sunday’s Australian Open final? In case you missed it, Djokovic, the defending Australian Open champion…
To give young players the best chance of success, we need to scale the game down for them.
AAP Image/Dan Peled.
Whether you’re a tennis fan or not, it’s impossible not to admire the sublime skills on display at the Australian Open. From Roger Federer’s brilliant backhand to Serena William’s sensational serve, we…
Andy Murray’s coach Ivan Lendl (left) has led the Scot to great success … so what makes a great coach?
EPA/Barbara Walton
Every January the Australian Open attracts the world’s best tennis players to Melbourne in a bid to become champion of the Asia-Pacific Grand Slam. While the players are undoubtedly the main draw card…
If Serena Williams didn’t play tennis, would her sheer athleticism ensure an elite career in another sport?
AAP
Ever wondered how elite tennis players compare to their contemporaries in other sports? Does Rafael Nadal have the same leg power as world 100m sprint champion Usain Bolt? Would Australian Sam Groth’s…
There are many links between training on clay and hard courts success.
EPA/Yoan Valat
Every year Melbourne plays host to the first major hard court tennis championship of the year – the Australian Open. The blue court surfaces of Melbourne Park are now a familiar part of the Australian…
Serena Williams unveils her 2012 Australian Open outfit at Melbourne’s Federation Square.
AAP/Julian Smith
Serena Williams creates a stir in the crowd. There is a buzz in the stadium as she is expected to emerge from the rooms out to the net. The excitement is not related to her skill, talent or professionalism…
Last year’s Australian Open women’s runner-up Li Na in action at the Sydney International this week.
Australia’s summer of tennis is a great opportunity to see the world’s best players up close, hitting hard and serving big. Many elite players hit first serves at over 200km/h with great precision and…