AAA<\/p>\n
It was the dream, and it was the nightmare, all at once, for it was the same thing.<\/p>\n
As Australia\u2019s Maya Joint would recount, the dream of playing on centre court at Wimbledon against the best there ever was, had been with her since she was a little girl.<\/p>\n
![\"Australia\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/73fc5b3e069e15d9870c64dc4d67283cdc276097.jpeg\")
Australia\u2019s Maya Joint (right) defeated tennis great Serena Williams in a round one match at Wimbledon this week.AP<\/p>\n
And now the reality: as a mere 20-year-old she is on centre court, up against the greatest woman champeen of all time, Serena Williams herself, who is sending down serves at just under 200 km\/h and cross-court backhanders so scorching they could kill grass.<\/p>\n
Joint had not won any of her past 11 matches, so what chance could she possibly be, particularly when just about the entire crowd \u2013 bar her mum and coaches, including Samantha Stosur \u2013 was against her?<\/p>\n
As they walked on to court together, the Australian looked to have the rough proportions of Williams\u2019 right leg. (And a great, athletic leg it is!) The difference in their size and obvious strength was extraordinary to behold.<\/p>\n
But here is the thing I think went under-exulted. Joint barely blinked in her three-set win<\/a>. As one who watched every ball of that match, I can confirm she was nothing less than extraordinary. Her poise! Her cross-court winners! Her refusal to take a single backward step when up against women\u2019s sport\u2019s answer to LeBron James, the GOAT! Our Maya \u2013 you heard me – simply took the game to Williams from the opening game, and made it clear that she was not intimidated.<\/p>\n In response, it has to be said, the American didn\u2019t crack it for a smile the entire game. To the fans roaring for her, Williams gave just about nothing, right from the moment she arrived wearing headphones to block them out, to when she stalked off in defeat, after a brief wave.<\/p>\n Perhaps, in her defence, she really was discombobulated. To most commentators, Joint would have looked like fresh meat for the lioness of tennis to gobble up, before getting to the more challenging players a few rounds in.<\/p>\n And yet, here Williams was, being no less than humiliated by a young woman who was still four years away from being born when she had won the first of her seven Wimbledon titles.<\/p>\n My overall point, however, is Williams didn\u2019t play badly. The American really was thumping down some tremendous serves, and unleashing amazing cross-court shots and drives down the line.<\/p>\n The problem was not her, it was that Joint was playing so fabulously, even John McEnroe was stunned.<\/p>\n She will go far, and is one to watch, even if she did go down in the second round to Alexandra Eala in three sets, after taking the first. Brava, Ms Joint.<\/p>\n Thommo slings back<\/p>\n Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, In the wake of the colossal success of last year\u2019s Chappell Foundation dinner, featuring the great Dennis Lillee, who else could you get to be this year\u2019s guest speaker, but … Jeff Thomson!<\/p>\n Dennis bowled \u2019em, Jeff bowled faster, You get the drift. Younger readers, of course \u2013 you whipper-snapper 50-year-olds and worse \u2013 might be forgiven for not knowing a lot more of Thomson than just the name.<\/p>\n But back in the 1970s, he was the fastest bowler the world had seen. And he had a refreshingly unaffected way about him.<\/p>\n At a time when bowling styles were being endlessly analysed, imitated and improved by sports scientists, Thomson\u2019s slingshot drew a lot of attention.<\/p>\n As one who had been a champion javelin thrower as a young\u2019un, Thommo\u2019s style never made the traditional coaching manual, even as a footnote. He\u2019d run in with the fluent high-stepping stride of a Melbourne Cup winner until, just an instant before delivery, one leg goes behind the other in a move ballet dancers call \u201cf—ing excruciating\u201d.<\/p>\n He\u2019d sway his torso back, hide the ball behind his right knee and then unleash the lot. It defied analysis and, in fact, even near defeated the great Fairfax cricket journalist Phil Derriman, who asked him to break it all down. \u201cTalk me through it, Thommo. I want to know the technicalities of your delivery stride, your wrist release, your finger positions! Tell all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHeck mate,\u201d Thommo legendarily replied. \u201cI just shuffle up and go whang.\u201d<\/p>\n The Chappell Foundation\u2019s ninth annual dinner will be held on Friday, July 31, at the SCG. Google and go.<\/p>\n Upsetting CTE cases<\/p>\n TFF has been carrying on for some time like a broken \u2013 world \u2013 record that football of all stripes is facing an epidemic of woe from footballers suffering from the degenerative brain disease CTE, and this week was a case in point.<\/p>\n The ABC\u2019s Four Corners revealed that no fewer than 33 Australian rules football players, of whom 19 were professional or semi-professional, have been proven sufferers.<\/p>\n The figures were compiled by the Australian Sports Brain Bank \u2013 for which I\u2019ve been an ambassador since inception \u2013 and are shattering. It blows away the notion that CTE was rare, and struck only those who\u2019d had repeated concussions.<\/p>\n To that point, there had been just five cases of confirmed CTE sufferers. And now 33. Bear in mind that as CTE can only be diagnosed after death, these 33 are very likely the tiniest tip of a tragically last iceberg.<\/p>\n One particularly upsetting case was 23-year-old player Nick Lowden, who\u2019d played since the juniors and had only one major concussion \u2013 albeit a bad one \u2013 before taking his life. His parents had never heard of CTE before their son was confirmed to have been a sufferer.<\/p>\n The response of the AFL to the ABC report was extraordinary, insisting they were doing enough to combat the condition, and it included the line from a spokesperson: \u201cOur job is not to communicate every single aspect of risk that exists in our game.\u201d<\/p>\n Pray tell, if it is not the AFL\u2019s responsibility to communicate the risks associated with playing AFL, just whose responsibility is it?<\/p>\n And yet even this news is not the epidemic to which I referred. It is a harbinger, thereof. And on the legal front, of former footballers taking collective action against what they claim was negligence by not protecting them to known risks, watch this space \u2013 there is big news to come shortly.<\/p>\n You Baa-Baa beauty<\/p>\n Thank yers all for your kind correspondence regarding my time last week with the British Barbarians in London.<\/p>\n Yes, I did indeed love it, and it was an honour and a privilege to be around players of such calibre for such an occasion. The match at Twickenham was a beauty with Wales narrowly shading the Baa-Baas 33-31 with riveting play that regularly brought the crowd to its feet.<\/p>\n Undoubtedly, the man of the match was Baa-Baas captain and mighty Springbok half Faf de Klerk \u2013 completely recovered from the fabulous team dinner three nights before, where 26 players from 11 countries sang themselves hoarse \u2013 but the most moving moment came at the end of the game.<\/p>\n Two of the Baa-Baas, the great Welsh and Lions winger George North, and the Wallabies own Andrew Kellaway, had this match marked down as the last of their mighty careers before retirement.<\/p>\n They walked from the field together, side-by-side through a guard of honour formed by both teams applauding and shaking their hands, Kellaway hobbling from a leg injury sustained in the game, but smiling broadly.<\/p>\n What a game to finish on, and what an occasion!<\/p>\n Bravo, both. Great digs.<\/p>\n What they said<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s Maya Joint on playing Serena Williams: \u201cI don\u2019t know what just happened. I didn\u2019t get much sleep last night. I was up to 2am thinking about it. I have been dreaming of this moment since I was a little kid, so this is pretty crazy.\u201d <\/p>\n Joint: \u201cI knew she would have big serves, but I had to punch back, and show her that I\u2019m not going to go away, and that I\u2019m not scared of her, even though I was.\u201d<\/p>\n France\u2019s superstar, Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 on what he was looking forward to after the World Cup knock out match against Sweden: \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to the changing room and the AC.\u201d<\/p>\n World tennis No.1 Aryna Sabalenka: \u201cWhen you see me for the first time, you\u2019re probably going to think that I\u2019m a bitch because of my Slavic face. It doesn\u2019t help with that. When I\u2019m walking with this flat face and no emotions, I can look very aggressive. So I understand why some people think I\u2019m a bitch. When you get to know me better you understand that it\u2019s just something I was born with.\u201d<\/p>\n Wallaby Tom Hooper: \u201cThat hand will be up until you drag me off the rugby field, really. My hand will always be up for Wallaby gold. Anytime I get the opportunity to pull on the threads, I\u2019d be very privileged to.\u201d RAH!<\/p>\n South Korean President, Lee Jae-myung, on the national side not getting out of the WC group stage: \u201cI am not \u2060just taken aback by this unexpected outcome, I am utterly baffled. When loyalty and factionalism are valued over competence, and incompetent people are appointed to leadership positions, the outcome is all but inevitable. I offer my deepest apologies to the public for the profound disappointment caused.\u201d<\/p>\n Paraguay\u2019s president Santiago Pena declared a national holiday after the national team defeated the once mighty Germany: \u201cIt celebrates the victory of a team that represents the deepest part of our identity: the grit, the faith, and the strength of people who never give up. The government cannot remain indifferent to this tremendous achievement. It is necessary to facilitate the gathering of \u2060all Paraguayans in celebration of this historic day.\u201d<\/p>\n Socceroo Lucas Herrington if being compared to a Rolls-Royce was the correct automotive metaphor: \u201cI\u2019m happy with Rolls-Royce.\u201d New Rollers have been electric for three years, incidentally, and will be all electric by 2030.<\/p>\n Ben Stokes on announcing his retirement<\/a> on the fourth day of a deciding Test against the Kiwis. \u201cIt might sound quite selfish but this decision is genuinely the best thing for me right now. I hope it\u2019s the best thing for the team going forward …\u201d Selfish doesn\u2019t even begin to describe it. And the team lost.<\/p>\n Naomi Osaka on coming out to play Wimbledon wearing a kimono: \u201cWhen I think about Wimbledon, it\u2019s obviously the all white. There\u2019s obviously the tradition of it all. In my head, when I think about that, I think about my cultures, my heritage, which is Japanese and Haitian.\u201d<\/p>\n Sam Kennedy president of the Boston Red Sox, after Scottish soccer supporters turned up en masse at a baseball match: \u201cWe knew the Tartan Army was coming. We did not fully understand what that meant until we saw it. Hundreds of Scotland supporters gathered at the foot of a statue of Robert Burns in the Back Bay and marched all the way to Landowne Street to the sound of bagpipes. Kilts and Scottish flags filled our ballpark with a spirit that has no equivalent in American sport.\u201d<\/p>\n Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey \u2013 whose career was stopped cold by accusations of sexual assault, none of which have been proven \u2013 to Bill Maher on the latter\u2019s podcast: \u201cIf I had been a sports figure I would have been benched for seven games. If you\u2019re hitting home runs, they want you on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n Team of the Week<\/p>\n Socceroos. Have just played Egypt in the Round of 32. Hopefully, you\u2019ll be having victory with your Vegemite toast.<\/p>\n Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth. On this, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, those four would be my choice as the worthies of sports Mount Rushmore. Tiger Woods on the reserves bench. Discuss.<\/p>\n Australian rowing team. Excelled in World Cup III in Lucerne that finished on Sunday. They won nine medals, including two gold, to finish third on the table.<\/p>\n Ethiopian women. At last week\u2019s Diamond League Track and Field Meet in Doha, Ethiopians finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th. Kenyans finished 6th, 8th and 14th. A Spaniard finished 11th.<\/p>\n Australia. In tomorrow\u2019s final of women\u2019s T20 World Cup against England.<\/p>\n Lionel Messi. Scored in his last seven World Cup matches.<\/p>\n Melbourne Vixens and Adelaide Thunderbirds. Meet in Saturday\u2019s Super Netball grand final.<\/p>\n Carlton. Still yet to lose under new coach, Josh Fraser!<\/p>\n Dan McKellar. Waratahs head coach fired<\/a>. Next! On a bad day Michael Cheika can be barking mad, but appointing him on a shorter leash would make sense to me. The best rugby the Waratahs have played was under him in 2014.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Maya](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e6e382a4229e1d441a64781b350fe18ec785469b.jpeg\")
Maya Joint did not take a backward step in her clash with Serena Williams.AP<\/p>\n
If Lillee don\u2019t get \u2019em, Thommo must.<\/p>\n![\"Legendary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/c265158477992e0ffe62f02db916a939fa796a54e6bb2f5f328580c172dd954a.jpeg\")
Legendary former Australia Test bowler Jeff Thomson.David Adkins<\/p>\n
Join us for tales from the speed king master.<\/p>\n![\"Jeff](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e4e093bf0b593215379df0ca7e944dfcca0727d8.jpeg\")
Jeff Thomson sends one down in a Test against England at Brisbane in 1982.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/8d0a3f8951bbf5ad118692a89b0b90fdf186a7df.jpeg\")
A donated brain for the Australian Sports Brain Bank.Wolter Peeters<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/93724ecf41557f6e710883782c3b7cea7da5d6b2.jpeg\")
The Barbarians celebrate the final match for George North and Andrew Kellaway.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"World](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/16750824e0a0429473b7243d2c369a486448d80a.jpeg\")
World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Scottish](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/153702dace9c92245edb77724e35007284fa13f9.jpeg\")
Scottish fans celebrate at a park in central Boston.AP Photo\/Martin Meissner<\/p>\n![\"Ellyse](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/95ba593093dfdfac533f5c22338770bf25a0ff77.jpeg\")
Ellyse Perry celebrates the wicket of Aliya Riaz of Pakistan with teammate Sophie Molineux during their T20 World Cup group match at Headingley.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Peter](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5007589ee5e35bf578da8cd4e47dc1b24b7f7930.png\")
Peter FitzSimons<\/a> is a journalist and columnist with The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"July 4, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":778429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":["post-778428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}