From the Australian Open to the Tokyo Olympics, 21 sporting moments to watch in 2021
The world’s best sportspeople are as hungry for competition as the spectators. Take your mark for these events.
1. Australian Open (February 8-21)
Ash Barty chasing glory
Barty at Melbourne Park: best show in town. She should have won the Australian Open last year. Played her worst match against American Sofia Kenin in the semi-finals. She nearly won that anyway, and then Kenin jagged a win in the final.
She’s as popular as it gets in Australian sport — even before finding a whole new army of supporters by grabbing a beer during the AFL finals, getting to her feet, yelling herself hoarse, gesticulating … and not spilling a drop. The atmosphere inside Rod Laver Arena is magical for her matches, and around the practice courts where young girls and old grannies and old grandpas and young boys and everyone in between are lined 10 deep. Even Laver gazes at her like he adores her.
She won the French Open and became the world No 1 after having a whack at cricket and getting on top of mental health complications. She plays a beautiful brand of tennis, carries herself wonderfully well and her get-that-up-ya fist pumps bring the house down. All because of the realisation that boils down to this: “Fear won’t get you anywhere, mate.”
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2. Australian Formula One Grand Prix (March 21)
Ricciardo’s annual tilt
Two cracking storylines here. There’s Daniel Ricciardo’s annual attempt to become the first Australian winner since Alan Jones in 1980. He’s been in a row with F1 broadcasters after they showed replays of Roman Grosjean’s terrifying accident at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Grosjean could’ve been killed when his car burst into flames. Ricciardo said it was ghoulish for replays to be shown. Jones criticised Ricciardo, saying such incidents were part of the game and that if Ricciardo didn’t like it, he should quit.
Ricciardo will get his share of headlines but big picture, the most incredible story is of Mick Schumacher. The 21-year-old son of Ferrari legend and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who hasn’t been seen in public since suffering life-threatening head injuries in a skiing accident in 2013. Mystery surrounds the precise condition of Schumacher Sr. He was in a coma for six months. He’s understood to have been bedridden ever since. In that time, Schumacher Jr has gone from young teenager to following his dad into F1. Incredible. “The prospect of being on the Formula One grid next year makes me incredibly happy and I’m simply speechless,” he says.
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3. Super Rugby ( Feb 19-May 8)
The Aussies tackle each other at home
2020 saw the transformation of Super Rugby from a five-nation, four-continent competition to a series of single-nation tournaments. The Brumbies became the first Super Rugby AU champions and they will get the chance to defend that title with an Australia-only tournament also featuring the NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds, Melbourne Rebels and Western Force again planned for 2021.
February 19 sees the start of 22 games across 12 weekends. New Zealand will do the same before an inaugural trans-Tasman competition kicks into gear. An additional 26 games over six weeks from May 14 will decide the best of Australia and New Zealand with the final taking place on June 19.
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4. NRL season (March 11-Oct 3)
Can Melbourne Storm defend its title?
Melbourne will start the 2021 season as the defending premier but there are so many questions lingering over last year’s grand final winner. For the first time in two decades, there will be no Cameron Smith. The expectation is that the greatest player of his generation will retire.
Coach Craig Bellamy has already announced plans to step down at the end of the year and enjoy life in his 60s. The club is in transition but this is the Storm and it would be folly to rule it out.
Intriguingly, the NRL season will begin in March with the Storm playing South Sydney and there is every chance that is how the season will end as well. Souths look cherry-ripe for a shot at the title. They will have a fit Latrell Mitchell back and there are few players as devastating on their day. They have strengthened their pack with the addition of Queensland star Jai Arrow. Wayne Bennett has seven premierships in his keeping and an eighth may be on the way.
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5. AFL season (March 18-Sept 25)
Will Richmond extend its dynasty?
After claiming a unique premiership in a season played primarily in Queensland, Richmond will launch a bid to join the great sides of all time when the AFL returns to normality in 2021.
Having successfully defended a premiership for the first time since the 1970s, the Tigers are seeking to join Brisbane and Hawthorn as sides to complete the hat-trick in the national league era. A fourth flag in five years would put them alongside the great Melbourne team of the 1950s.
But their challengers will be stronger again. The Cats have lost Gary Ablett to retirement. But they will be bolstered by their recruitment of Coleman Medallist Jeremy Cameron from the Giants and the Kangaroos’ dual-best and fairest Shaun Higgins. Port Adelaide was within a kick of the Tigers in the preliminary final. And West Coast will be determined to strike again before Josh Kennedy and other champions move on.
Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe is capable of joining the immortals by claiming a third Brownlow Medal, though 2020 winner Lachie Neale gets better and better.
All eyes will be on Gold Coast young gun Matt Rowell, who led the 2020 Brownlow Medal before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.
Expect Fremantle and North Melbourne, in particular, to be motivated when the AFLW season begins early next year after COVID-19 curtailed the 2020 season without a premiership being awarded.
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6. US Masters golf (April 8-11)
Can Cameron Smith go one better?
Like so many other events around the globe, the Masters was forced to shift from its traditional time and play before no spectators in 2020. It was bizarre to say the least. In unique circumstances, young Australian Cameron Smith showed once again why he is a force to be reckoned with.
Smith has some pedigree. He has won on the US PGA Tour. He is no dud. To top it off, he is a cracking bloke who celebrated his performance at this year’s Masters by sharing a few beers with his mates around the barbie. A major is the next box to tick and he showed it is within his reach with his performance at Augusta.
Smith became the first player in Masters history to shoot all four rounds in the 60s as he finished runner-up to big-hitting American Dustin Johnson. Smith was an outstanding amateur and has transitioned into a superb professional thanks to a short game that seems made to order for places like Augusta, where lateral thinking and a smooth putter are at a premium.
He has had two top-five finishes in the past three years and it seems only a matter of time before he becomes the second Australian after Adam Scott to slip on the world’s most prized green jacket.
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7. State of Origin (June 9, 27, July 14)
Can Wayne Bennett engineer another win?
State of Origin delivered as always in 2020 but something just didn’t feel right. The shift to the end of the season was forced on the NRL by COVID-19 and for a time, ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys toyed with the idea of moving the interstate series to the end of the rugby league year for good.
The Queensland side in particular was decimated by injury and withdrawals, the mastery of super-coach Wayne Bennett largely credited for the Maroons pulling off one of the most remarkable wins in their history. The series was engaging and enthralling, but once the ratings came in, the idea of leaving Origin to the end of the season was quickly scrapped. It didn’t work. Too many people switched off. So Origin will revert to mid-season again in 2021 and there is plenty to look forward to.
Most experts thought NSW was on the verge of a new dynasty after winning successive series but Bennett and the Maroons quickly put paid to that. There is every chance Bennett will return next season to preside over another series for Queensland. Brad Fittler will be looking to ensure the pendulum swings back to the Blues. It will be engrossing. It always is.
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8. Euro 2021 (June 11-July 11)
Can Ronaldo and Portugal defend their title?
UEFA could not have picked a worse time to turn their feature tournament into a continent-wide extravaganza played across 12 different nations.
The global pandemic has already pushed the 24-team tournament back a year and recent news stories suggested England could become the sole host. But organisers are pressing ahead as they celebrate the 60th anniversary of the tournament by hosting games in Amsterdam, Baku, Bilbao, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Glasgow, London, Munich, Rome and St Petersburg.
Rome’s Stadio Olimpico is scheduled to host the opening match on June 11 while Wembley will stage both semi-finals and the final. Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal to victory at Euro 2016 against host nation France. But whether Ronaldo can repeat the feat is a lesser question to whether the tournament can still proceed in the current format.
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9. Copa America (June 11-July 11)
Socceroos head to South America
The Socceroos seem to have been overtaken by the Matildas in our national consciousness but the men get their chance to take back some of the limelight when they take on the best of South America in the middle of the year. Australia accepted a special invitation to join the prestigious Copa America which is set to feature Argentinian megastar Lionel Messi, Brazilian Neymar Jr and Uruguayan Luis Suarez.
The Socceroos have been placed in the “South Zone” against Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay. In the “North Zone” it is Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and fellow invitees Qatar.
As they often say, if you’re looking around the room and can’t find the weak link, it’s probably you. To say the Socceroos are up against it is an understatement.
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10. Wimbledon (July 11-25)
Can Kyrgios crack a major?
If Nick Kyrgios is ever going to win a major, and that’s a rather big if, this is the one. When it wasn’t possible for Wimbledon to be held in the traditional June-July timeslot in 2020, The All England Club simply called it off.
A truly great event at a spectacular location with a 143-year history, was missed. Ash Barty, as ever, will be in the hunt for the women’s crown. London is where Kyrgios could do some serious damage. It’s a rather big could. He’s feuding with pretty much everyone on tour. He hasn’t played a tour match since February. Perhaps he will return in 2021 refreshed and ready to rip in. Perhaps he will be unfit and lacking motivation.
Wimbledon’s grass courts are tailor-made for his big serve and monster forehand. He beat Rafael Nadal on his Centre Court debut … but seven years will have passed when he returns in 2021. He hasn’t fulfilled the potential he showed back then.
He will be 26 at next year’s event, no longer a promising young player. As the tattoo on his forearm says, “Time Is Running Out.” The return of Wimbledon will be brilliant. The campaign of Kyrgios will be … intriguing.
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11. Tokyo Olympic Games (July 23-August 8)
Cate Campbell out to cement legacy
If there’s an Australian individual at the Rio Olympics that was more devastated than the Matildas and Boomers, it was Campbell. Her loss in the 100m freestyle final was a monumental shock. She’d recently set a world record of 52.06sec. She broke the Olympic record in the semi-finals. She’d anchored Australia to a world record and the 4x100m relay gold medal. She led at the first turn … but came sixth. She swam 53.24sec, not much slower than her world record to the naked eye, but everything in swimming.
She’s revealed she thought she had broken the start, and swam the race in a fluster, expecting to be disqualified. At the time she said: “That hurt. I have always said that I didn’t need a gold medal to have self worth. That’s being put to the test at the moment.”
She thought her wait to exact revenge would be four years. It’s been five. She was only 24 in Rio. She’ll be 29 in Tokyo. She has five Olympic medals, including two relay gold, but the 100m free is the one she covets. Her mental battle in Tokyo will be huge, let alone the physical exertion. Must-see.
12. Tokyo Olympic Games (July 23-August 8)
Titmus v Ledecky
There are any number of head-to-head battles that are shaping up as highlights of the Tokyo Olympics but it is doubtful if any of them will rival the clash of American swimming legend Katie Ledecky and rising Australian Ariarne Titmus in the 400m freestyle.
Ledecky had never been beaten in an international 400m race before Arnie Titmus – who predictably has been dubbed “The Terminator” — swam over the top of her at the world championships in Gwangju, South Korea, in 2019.
But even with a world title to her name, Titmus wasn’t able to fully savour the victory. Ledecky didn’t congratulate her after the win and then withdrew almost immediately from the 200m and 1500m to regroup for the 800m freestyle. There she restored the normal order by beating the 20-year-old Australian although Titmus did win a second gold at her expense when she led off the 4x200m freestyle relay team to a win over the Americans.
Ledecky is the most accomplished female swimmer at Olympics and world championships, having won 20 golds in all, but she can’t undo history. The last lap of the 400m freestyle, when Titmus proved she had the strength of will to take her, it cannot be unwritten or denied. Ledecky knows The Terminator is coming for her. But she is the greatest of all time, and she will fight.
13. Tokyo Olympic Games (July 23-August 8)
Boomers chase first Olympic medal
Australia’s male basketballers had their first Olympic medal at their fingertips when Spain snuck past them by a solitary point in the playoff for the bronze.
Matthew Dellavedova wept. Patty Mills was so shocked he was nearly speechless. Superstar Andrew Bogut was desperate to extend his career to the Tokyo Games but the postponement left him out of time.
The old firm of seasoned NBA players such as Mills, Dellavedova, Joe Ingles and Aron Baynes will hopefully be joined by Ben Simmons, the 24-year-old with the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s been plagued by injuries, however, and doubt surrounds his Olympic availability, but he’s an out-and-out world class player. With him, the Boomers are every chance of reaching the podium, and what a moment that would be. Without him, life gets tougher.
Then again, there might be no NBA players from any countries in Tokyo. America’s prestige league is going to finish later than normal next year, potentially clashing with the Tokyo Games. Most players will be contractually obliged to stay with their franchises.
14. Tokyo Olympic Games (July 23-August 8)
Matildas a medal shot
Australia’s female footballers had a winnable quarter-final against Brazil. The atmosphere inside the stadium was so electrifying that the writing desks were shaking. After a full two hours, it was 0-0. Penalty shootout. Brutal. Alanna Kennedy missed a shot that gave Brazil the win.
The Matildas were well and truly gutted. No one blamed Kennedy. “Better players than her have missed penalties,” said coach Alen Stajcic. “I’ve seen Maradona and Messi and everyone miss penalties. That happens in a shootout.”
The Matildas have never had a better team than now. The 27-year-old superstar Sam Kerr has gun youngsters like 20-year-old Ellie Carpenter coming through. Says Carpenter of Rio: “Bowing out like that, in penalties, is never fun. We’ve got to make sure that never happens again.”
The Matildas, like the Boomers, have never won an Olympic medal. They’re a white-hot chance in Tokyo. They may become Australia’s most popular sporting team in the next few years. In 2023, the Women’s World Cup will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
15. Tokyo Olympic Games (July 23-August 8)
Surfing’s Olympic debut
The Olympic debut of one of Australia’s strongest and most popular sports could be spectacular … or a stinker. We can’t think of any other sport that depends so heavily on Mother Nature.
Tsurigasaki Beach is the venue, and put it this way … it ain’t no Pipeline. Small and unremarkable waves seem certain after the dubious decision to not hold the contest in man-made waves like the gems seen in Kelly Slater’s California wave pool. A test event was a bummer, dude, despite the IOC website proclaiming: “World-class waves, astounding agility, weather delays and the intervention of a sea turtle all contributed to a highly eventful — and successful — surfing test event at Tsurigasaki Beach!”
Still, Olympic gold is Olympic gold. Australia will be represented by Steph Gilmore, Sally Fitzgibbons, Owen Wright and Julian Wilson. Gilmore is Gilmore. A seven-time world champion. A living legend of her craft. Fitzgibbons can’t believe her luck. She was a champion junior 800m runner before quitting athletics to concentrate on surfing. She thought that was the end of her Olympic dream. Aged 30, she will get an Australian tracksuit after all. “I never thought it would be possible,” she says. Medals for Australia are more than possible, they’re decidedly probable.
16. Tokyo Olympic Games (July 23-August 8)
Justis Huni — our heavyweight boxing champ takes on the world
There’s not much in sport that matches watching a heavyweight explode on the scene. Big bodies, big punches and devastating knockouts usually follow. Justis Huni hasn’t landed the eye-catching knockout just yet, but in two fights as a professional, the young Queenslander has shown that he could become one of the biggest sports stars in this country. Maybe even the world.
When the Tokyo Olympics were postponed, Huni was given the opportunity to fight a handful of times as a professional before sharpening his focus for Tokyo 2021. In his first fight, he won the Australian title. In his second, he toyed with Arsene Fosso.
His footwork and hand speed are a sight to behold. He is modest and well mannered, but has a fearsome work ethic and hunger to unify the world titles. Some big names lie in wait, the likes of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury among them. Climb that mountain and Huni will be a global star
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17. US Open (August 3-Sept 21)
Federer v Nadal’s race for greatness
Hours before the 2017 Australian Open final, when Melbourne Park had two players, their coaches, some officials and one journalist who had nothing better to do, we caught glimpses of the real Roger Federer and the real Rafael Nadal. In the player cafeteria, a relaxed Federer sat down and had an espresso. He looked like one of the beautiful people at a table in an Italian cafe. Rod Laver walked in and said a sheepish hello. Federer told him to sit down. They chatted away for a good portion of time before Federer checked his watch … and ordered another coffee.
We walked outside. In sweltering heat, Nadal was having a gruelling practice session. Sweating bullets. Grunting. Groaning. Running himself to a standstill. How fascinating it was: Nadal’s full-on intensity versus Federer’s unblemished cool. They start 2021 with 20 major tournament victories each. The race to be the greatest of all time is on like never before. Djokovic has 17 majors and time on his side. Federer is 39. Nadal is 34. Djokovic is 33. Note: Federer did have a practice session before the final. He hit a few forehands … with a mobile phone tucked under his ear.
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18. World T20 World Cup (October-November)
Can Steve Smith be a three-format master?
Steve Smith is already the best Test batsman in the world but during the brief one-day international series against India in December, he proved he can master limited-overs cricket as well. Smith cracked consecutive centuries — both remarkably off 62 deliveries — to prove that his super powers of concentration and innovative strokeplay are just as suited to colour clothes as creams.
Twenty20 cricket is a different story. Some would argue it is the toughest form of the game for a player to dominate — and Smith is certainly yet to prove he can do so. You could say the same for Australia. The T20 World Cup is the only major piece of silverware we’ve never won. We were supposed to host the tournament in October and November but COVID-19 put paid to those plans. The 2021 edition is scheduled a year later but this time in India.
The West Indies are the defending champions, but host India is surely favourite in a format colourful Indian crowds have come to embrace.
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19. Wallabies internationals — July (dates TBC)
Can Dave Rennie turn around the Wallabies’ spluttering fortunes?
After the Wallabies’ uninspired draw with Argentina at Parramatta in the final match of the 2020 Tri Nations Cup, it is probably too much to think of their next opponent — France.
But there is genuine cause to look forward to Les Bleus’ visit for three Tests next July. They would have been the team the Wallabies played in the quarter-final of last year’s World Cup had they not been out-thought by Wales in the pool round. In recent times, the Wallabies mostly have had their way against the unpredictable French, winning 18 of the last 23 encounters. Before that, however, only nine of the original 24 Tests went the way of Australia.
Yet what makes this contest so intriguing is that it brings together the two finalists of the Under 20 Junior World Cup in Argentina in 2019. Despite playing exceptionally, the Junior Wallabies — captained by Fraser McReight — were just pipped by a point by France in the final.
Since then, of course, the stars of the Under 20 Australian side have been drip-fed into the Wallabies, starting with No 8 Harry Wilson, who started in all six Tests this year. Five-eighth Noah Lolesio followed, along with flanker McReight, while prop Angus Bell made a good impression in the second half of the Test season.
France, meanwhile, is introducing its young stars as well. Lock Killian Geraci, loosehead Hassane Kalingar, centre Pierre-Louise Barassi and flyhalf Louis Carbonel all were the Junior World Cup-winning side before making it into Fabien Galthie’s Test squad to play England at Twickenham. And there are other youngsters still to come from both sides.
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20. Melbourne Cup (November 2)
Crowds to return in force
It still stopped the nation, but it wasn’t the same in 2020. The Cup needs people nearly as much as the horses. People dressed to the eyeballs. People getting stuck into the beer and Champagne until they fall into the flower beds and stumble home without their shoes. Yet again it will be Australia versus the world. Of course, the world wins more often than not.
The two most unsavoury words to a Cup purist: foreign raider. Internationals got the trifecta in 2020 through Twilight Payment, Tiger Moth and Prince Of Arran. It was eerily quiet. The 2021 Cup, with more two-legged creatures around, will hopefully be a return to what we saw, heard and felt in 2019 — the thunderous ovation for the locally trained and ridden Vow And Declare. His trainer, Danny O’Brien, says of the internationals: “I’ve got no problem with them. None at all. Every international comes a long way to compete... It’s a bit like the Australian Open tennis. When we haven’t won one for so long, when someone does get there, it means even more because you’ve beaten the best in the world. We understand the David-and-Goliath magnitude of the task.”
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21. The Ashes (November 2021-January 2022)
Young guns Pucovski and Green set to rise
Few things in Australian cricket are better than the emergence of a megatalented young buck. Not just a run-of-the-mill 20-something who looks like he might be all right, but the arrival of someone who just has it. The superstar aura about to bloom. The only thing better than having one of these young fellas turn up is … having two of them come through simultaneously.
Cameron Green and Will Pucovski fit the mould. If we get lucky as lovers and observers of this sport and national team, they’ll be in baggy green caps for the next 15 years.
Green is 21 years of age and built like a brick outhouse: 198cm and 90kg. He bowls fast, bats powerfully. Greg Chappell has called him the greatest talent in Australian cricket since Ricky Ponting. The big lug looks the goods. Pucovski is a prodigious 22-year-old batsman who’s openly dealing with mental health issues and concussion dramas. He bats (and bats and bats) like a dream. The Ashes always hold appeal; in 2021, doubly so.
Will Swanton, Wayne Smith, Brent Read, Simon McLoughlin and Courtney Walsh
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