Injury denies Kurtley Beale chance at Lions redemption
Kurtley Beale will miss an opportunity for redemption against the Lions, 12 years after slipping and missing a crucial penalty in the first Test that would have given the Wallabies a 1-0 lead.
Ben Donaldson has been rushed to Perth from the Wallabies' camp in Sydney and will start at fullback for the Force against a Lions team smarting from their shock four-point defeat against Argentina in Dublin.
In an interview with this masthead earlier this year, Beale revealed he had still not watched the decisive moment from 2013 he described as one of his lowest points.
'I still haven't watched that clip, mate,' Beale said. 'I have tried to forget about it, but I'm always reminded somehow. It was probably one of the lowest points on the field for me, but it was also a valuable experience.'
Beale's hamstring injury is not considered serious and he is still in contention for another crack at the Lions, after being named as one of five players selected for the First Nations and Pasifika squad for the tour match in Melbourne on 22 July.
Beale will hope to play alongside Wallabies back-rowers Rob Leota and Seru Uru in that fixture.
The Force have named a strong side to take on the Lions, including Wallabies squad members Nic White, Darcy Swain and Nick Champion de Crespigny.
Tom Robertson will start at loosehead alongside Brandon Paenga-Amosa at hooker, with Perth-born loosehead Ollie Hoskins – who will play his final game of professional rugby on Saturday at tighthead – completing the front row.
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Sydney Morning Herald
37 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Maya Joint wins Eastbourne title in lead-up to Wimbledon 2025
History repeated for her with another pre-grand slam title, but the American-born teenager plans on hanging around a little longer at the All England Club. The draw did Joint no favours, with 19th-seeded Russian Liudmila Samsonova waiting for her. 'I think this time is a tiny bit different. I get one more day of rest, and I'll just detach myself a little bit more from the last match and just focus on that match coming up,' Joint said. Joint with her trophy. Credit: Getty Images 'I took a look at the draw, so I know who I'm playing, but I've never played her before, so I don't know much about her.' Joint's graduation from grasscourt novice was as swift as her rise into the world's top 50. She lost in the first round of Nottingham qualifying on grass last week to an opponent ranked outside the top 100, then reportedly struggled in practice with last year's winner Daria Kasatkina in Eastbourne before the tournament. 'She was a bit depressed on the practice,' Kasatkina said. Loading 'But everyone saw she also won the title in Rabat this year. She has great potential. She's also a very nice girl, a hard-working girl. She's got everything, and I'm happy for her having this success so early.' Joint, who switched allegiances to Australia two years ago, and Russian top-tenner Mirra Andreeva will be the only teenagers ranked in the WTA Tour's top 50 on Monday as she continues to set the standard for an emerging group of Australian women's players. Sixteen-year-old Emerson Jones is the world junior No.1 and lost in final-round qualifying for Wimbledon, while Talia Gibson, 21, went one better in booking her main draw debut at SW19. '[Maya]'s doing absolutely amazing right now, and I'm so incredibly happy for her, and it's so awesome to see the progress she's made, even in the last year,' Gibson said. 'I think it drives us all. We're such a close group of girls, and super supportive of each other – always having the chance to train with each other and push each other to the limit as well, so we're really lucky to have such an amazing group of girls. 'It's amazing to see how many of us are in the main draw, and I hope that continues for a long time to come still. It's really exciting for me to be here amongst it all for the first time.' Loading Meanwhile, No.20 seed Alexei Popyrin will headline eight Australians in action on the first day of Wimbledon on Monday, including Gibson, Olivia Gadecki, Chris O'Connell, Jordan Thompson, Ajla Tomljanovic, James Duckworth and Kim Birrell. After a slow start to the year and coaching change from Xavier Malisse to Wayne Ferreira, Popyrin is ready to build upon his career-best run to the round of 32 in London last year after making the last 16 at Roland-Garros. The 25-year-old brushed off a self-confessed case of 'impostor syndrome' to regain form. 'From the start of the claycourt season, I felt like I belonged [again],' Popyrin said. 'I know I've done the work. I know I've beaten players, and I deserve to be where I am right now … [but] it's easy to go down a little spiral when results aren't going your way, but from the claycourt season, it's been quite positive for myself.' Watch Wimbledon live & free on the 9Network & 9Now. Stan Sport is the only place to watch every match ad-free, live & on demand.
The Advertiser
7 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Sky's the limit: Joint inspires Aussie Wimbledon launch
Ajla Tomljanovic has declared the sky's the limit for Australia's new tennis shooting star Maya Joint. The 19-year-old US-born prodigy Joint, popular among her new-found Australian mates, gave them all a boost on the weekend before Wimbledon by winning her first grass-court title at the prestigious curtain-raiser at Eastbourne. The vastly experienced Tomljanovic, twice a Wimbledon quarter-finalist, and Talia Gibson, who has a high-profile shot at four-time grand slam champ Naomi Osaka, lead the opening-day Aussie challenge on a baking hot Monday at the All England Club. Joint won't make her Wimbledon bow until Tuesday against 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova, and Tomljanovic thinks the break will be key for her. After her first title win in Morocco on clay five weeks ago, Joint then had to jet straight from Rabat to Paris for the French Open and didn't look anywhere near her best as Tomljanovic defeated her. "I think it'll help her this time, because she'll have learned a bit from that quick turnaround in Paris. And you'd take a final or a title before a slam any day of the week, even if it's a quick turnaround," Tomljanovic said. "I think the sky's the limit for her. Tennis is in a place where you can't really put numbers on people, especially how well she's been doing at such a young age. "She seems not to be fazed by anything, she's such a cool person. She's different, which I like. When you spend time with her, she's quiet, then she'll come out with, like, a really funny joke out of nowhere. "On court she's quick, and there's not really many holes in her game." Tomljanovic faces former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who Joint defeated on the way to her Eastbourne crown, and reckoned she'd be picking the youngster's brains about how to play her on grass. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Gibson still can't quite believe she'll be making her own Wimbledon debut after saving a match point in her final round of qualifying as she gets ready to face Osaka, who's returning after a maternity break. It's potentially a golden opportunity for the Perth player because 27-year-old Osaka has had inconsistent results since coming back following the birth of her daughter Shai in July 2023. "It was very exciting to see that I'm coming up against her,'' Gibson said. "It would be very easy to get a bit nervous and get too caught up in the name of who's down the other end, but I think it's going to be an amazing experience. "It's been really great to watch Naomi play when I was growing up. She's definitely an inspiration." Leading the men's charge will be 20th seed Alexei Popyrin, looking forward to his first "tennis Ashes'' battle at Wimbledon against British wildcard Arthur Fery. "He's a good player, like all the Brits, they grow up on grass, know how to play on the surface, and I've heard his dad may be a member of this club, so he knows the place inside out," Popyrin said. "He'll have the home crowd on his side, so that will also be a little bit of a challenge, but I'm feeling good and I'm ready to go." AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON DAY ONE OF WIMBLEDON (Prefix number denotes seeding) (WC = wildcard) (Q = qualifier) MEN (20) Alexei Popyrin v (WC) Arthur Fery (GBR) Jordan Thompson v Vit Kopriva (CZE) Chris O'Connell v (Q) Adrian Mannarino (FRA) James Duckworth v (25) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) WOMEN Olivia Gadecki v Greet Minnen (BEL) Kim Birrell v (22) Donna Vekic (CRO) Ajla Tomljanovic v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) Talia Gibson (Q) v Naomi Osaka (JPN) Ajla Tomljanovic has declared the sky's the limit for Australia's new tennis shooting star Maya Joint. The 19-year-old US-born prodigy Joint, popular among her new-found Australian mates, gave them all a boost on the weekend before Wimbledon by winning her first grass-court title at the prestigious curtain-raiser at Eastbourne. The vastly experienced Tomljanovic, twice a Wimbledon quarter-finalist, and Talia Gibson, who has a high-profile shot at four-time grand slam champ Naomi Osaka, lead the opening-day Aussie challenge on a baking hot Monday at the All England Club. Joint won't make her Wimbledon bow until Tuesday against 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova, and Tomljanovic thinks the break will be key for her. After her first title win in Morocco on clay five weeks ago, Joint then had to jet straight from Rabat to Paris for the French Open and didn't look anywhere near her best as Tomljanovic defeated her. "I think it'll help her this time, because she'll have learned a bit from that quick turnaround in Paris. And you'd take a final or a title before a slam any day of the week, even if it's a quick turnaround," Tomljanovic said. "I think the sky's the limit for her. Tennis is in a place where you can't really put numbers on people, especially how well she's been doing at such a young age. "She seems not to be fazed by anything, she's such a cool person. She's different, which I like. When you spend time with her, she's quiet, then she'll come out with, like, a really funny joke out of nowhere. "On court she's quick, and there's not really many holes in her game." Tomljanovic faces former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who Joint defeated on the way to her Eastbourne crown, and reckoned she'd be picking the youngster's brains about how to play her on grass. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Gibson still can't quite believe she'll be making her own Wimbledon debut after saving a match point in her final round of qualifying as she gets ready to face Osaka, who's returning after a maternity break. It's potentially a golden opportunity for the Perth player because 27-year-old Osaka has had inconsistent results since coming back following the birth of her daughter Shai in July 2023. "It was very exciting to see that I'm coming up against her,'' Gibson said. "It would be very easy to get a bit nervous and get too caught up in the name of who's down the other end, but I think it's going to be an amazing experience. "It's been really great to watch Naomi play when I was growing up. She's definitely an inspiration." Leading the men's charge will be 20th seed Alexei Popyrin, looking forward to his first "tennis Ashes'' battle at Wimbledon against British wildcard Arthur Fery. "He's a good player, like all the Brits, they grow up on grass, know how to play on the surface, and I've heard his dad may be a member of this club, so he knows the place inside out," Popyrin said. "He'll have the home crowd on his side, so that will also be a little bit of a challenge, but I'm feeling good and I'm ready to go." AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON DAY ONE OF WIMBLEDON (Prefix number denotes seeding) (WC = wildcard) (Q = qualifier) MEN (20) Alexei Popyrin v (WC) Arthur Fery (GBR) Jordan Thompson v Vit Kopriva (CZE) Chris O'Connell v (Q) Adrian Mannarino (FRA) James Duckworth v (25) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) WOMEN Olivia Gadecki v Greet Minnen (BEL) Kim Birrell v (22) Donna Vekic (CRO) Ajla Tomljanovic v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) Talia Gibson (Q) v Naomi Osaka (JPN) Ajla Tomljanovic has declared the sky's the limit for Australia's new tennis shooting star Maya Joint. The 19-year-old US-born prodigy Joint, popular among her new-found Australian mates, gave them all a boost on the weekend before Wimbledon by winning her first grass-court title at the prestigious curtain-raiser at Eastbourne. The vastly experienced Tomljanovic, twice a Wimbledon quarter-finalist, and Talia Gibson, who has a high-profile shot at four-time grand slam champ Naomi Osaka, lead the opening-day Aussie challenge on a baking hot Monday at the All England Club. Joint won't make her Wimbledon bow until Tuesday against 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova, and Tomljanovic thinks the break will be key for her. After her first title win in Morocco on clay five weeks ago, Joint then had to jet straight from Rabat to Paris for the French Open and didn't look anywhere near her best as Tomljanovic defeated her. "I think it'll help her this time, because she'll have learned a bit from that quick turnaround in Paris. And you'd take a final or a title before a slam any day of the week, even if it's a quick turnaround," Tomljanovic said. "I think the sky's the limit for her. Tennis is in a place where you can't really put numbers on people, especially how well she's been doing at such a young age. "She seems not to be fazed by anything, she's such a cool person. She's different, which I like. When you spend time with her, she's quiet, then she'll come out with, like, a really funny joke out of nowhere. "On court she's quick, and there's not really many holes in her game." Tomljanovic faces former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who Joint defeated on the way to her Eastbourne crown, and reckoned she'd be picking the youngster's brains about how to play her on grass. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Gibson still can't quite believe she'll be making her own Wimbledon debut after saving a match point in her final round of qualifying as she gets ready to face Osaka, who's returning after a maternity break. It's potentially a golden opportunity for the Perth player because 27-year-old Osaka has had inconsistent results since coming back following the birth of her daughter Shai in July 2023. "It was very exciting to see that I'm coming up against her,'' Gibson said. "It would be very easy to get a bit nervous and get too caught up in the name of who's down the other end, but I think it's going to be an amazing experience. "It's been really great to watch Naomi play when I was growing up. She's definitely an inspiration." Leading the men's charge will be 20th seed Alexei Popyrin, looking forward to his first "tennis Ashes'' battle at Wimbledon against British wildcard Arthur Fery. "He's a good player, like all the Brits, they grow up on grass, know how to play on the surface, and I've heard his dad may be a member of this club, so he knows the place inside out," Popyrin said. "He'll have the home crowd on his side, so that will also be a little bit of a challenge, but I'm feeling good and I'm ready to go." AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON DAY ONE OF WIMBLEDON (Prefix number denotes seeding) (WC = wildcard) (Q = qualifier) MEN (20) Alexei Popyrin v (WC) Arthur Fery (GBR) Jordan Thompson v Vit Kopriva (CZE) Chris O'Connell v (Q) Adrian Mannarino (FRA) James Duckworth v (25) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) WOMEN Olivia Gadecki v Greet Minnen (BEL) Kim Birrell v (22) Donna Vekic (CRO) Ajla Tomljanovic v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) Talia Gibson (Q) v Naomi Osaka (JPN) Ajla Tomljanovic has declared the sky's the limit for Australia's new tennis shooting star Maya Joint. The 19-year-old US-born prodigy Joint, popular among her new-found Australian mates, gave them all a boost on the weekend before Wimbledon by winning her first grass-court title at the prestigious curtain-raiser at Eastbourne. The vastly experienced Tomljanovic, twice a Wimbledon quarter-finalist, and Talia Gibson, who has a high-profile shot at four-time grand slam champ Naomi Osaka, lead the opening-day Aussie challenge on a baking hot Monday at the All England Club. Joint won't make her Wimbledon bow until Tuesday against 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova, and Tomljanovic thinks the break will be key for her. After her first title win in Morocco on clay five weeks ago, Joint then had to jet straight from Rabat to Paris for the French Open and didn't look anywhere near her best as Tomljanovic defeated her. "I think it'll help her this time, because she'll have learned a bit from that quick turnaround in Paris. And you'd take a final or a title before a slam any day of the week, even if it's a quick turnaround," Tomljanovic said. "I think the sky's the limit for her. Tennis is in a place where you can't really put numbers on people, especially how well she's been doing at such a young age. "She seems not to be fazed by anything, she's such a cool person. She's different, which I like. When you spend time with her, she's quiet, then she'll come out with, like, a really funny joke out of nowhere. "On court she's quick, and there's not really many holes in her game." Tomljanovic faces former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who Joint defeated on the way to her Eastbourne crown, and reckoned she'd be picking the youngster's brains about how to play her on grass. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Gibson still can't quite believe she'll be making her own Wimbledon debut after saving a match point in her final round of qualifying as she gets ready to face Osaka, who's returning after a maternity break. It's potentially a golden opportunity for the Perth player because 27-year-old Osaka has had inconsistent results since coming back following the birth of her daughter Shai in July 2023. "It was very exciting to see that I'm coming up against her,'' Gibson said. "It would be very easy to get a bit nervous and get too caught up in the name of who's down the other end, but I think it's going to be an amazing experience. "It's been really great to watch Naomi play when I was growing up. She's definitely an inspiration." Leading the men's charge will be 20th seed Alexei Popyrin, looking forward to his first "tennis Ashes'' battle at Wimbledon against British wildcard Arthur Fery. "He's a good player, like all the Brits, they grow up on grass, know how to play on the surface, and I've heard his dad may be a member of this club, so he knows the place inside out," Popyrin said. "He'll have the home crowd on his side, so that will also be a little bit of a challenge, but I'm feeling good and I'm ready to go." AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON DAY ONE OF WIMBLEDON (Prefix number denotes seeding) (WC = wildcard) (Q = qualifier) MEN (20) Alexei Popyrin v (WC) Arthur Fery (GBR) Jordan Thompson v Vit Kopriva (CZE) Chris O'Connell v (Q) Adrian Mannarino (FRA) James Duckworth v (25) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) WOMEN Olivia Gadecki v Greet Minnen (BEL) Kim Birrell v (22) Donna Vekic (CRO) Ajla Tomljanovic v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) Talia Gibson (Q) v Naomi Osaka (JPN)
Perth Now
9 hours ago
- Perth Now
Sky's the limit: Joint inspires Aussie Wimbledon launch
Ajla Tomljanovic has declared the sky's the limit for Australia's new tennis shooting star Maya Joint. The 19-year-old US-born prodigy Joint, popular among her new-found Australian mates, gave them all a boost on the weekend before Wimbledon by winning her first grass-court title at the prestigious curtain-raiser at Eastbourne. The vastly experienced Tomljanovic, twice a Wimbledon quarter-finalist, and Talia Gibson, who has a high-profile shot at four-time grand slam champ Naomi Osaka, lead the opening-day Aussie challenge on a baking hot Monday at the All England Club. Joint won't make her Wimbledon bow until Tuesday against 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova, and Tomljanovic thinks the break will be key for her. After her first title win in Morocco on clay five weeks ago, Joint then had to jet straight from Rabat to Paris for the French Open and didn't look anywhere near her best as Tomljanovic defeated her. "I think it'll help her this time, because she'll have learned a bit from that quick turnaround in Paris. And you'd take a final or a title before a slam any day of the week, even if it's a quick turnaround," Tomljanovic said. "I think the sky's the limit for her. Tennis is in a place where you can't really put numbers on people, especially how well she's been doing at such a young age. "She seems not to be fazed by anything, she's such a cool person. She's different, which I like. When you spend time with her, she's quiet, then she'll come out with, like, a really funny joke out of nowhere. "On court she's quick, and there's not really many holes in her game." Tomljanovic faces former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who Joint defeated on the way to her Eastbourne crown, and reckoned she'd be picking the youngster's brains about how to play her on grass. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Gibson still can't quite believe she'll be making her own Wimbledon debut after saving a match point in her final round of qualifying as she gets ready to face Osaka, who's returning after a maternity break. It's potentially a golden opportunity for the Perth player because 27-year-old Osaka has had inconsistent results since coming back following the birth of her daughter Shai in July 2023. "It was very exciting to see that I'm coming up against her,'' Gibson said. "It would be very easy to get a bit nervous and get too caught up in the name of who's down the other end, but I think it's going to be an amazing experience. "It's been really great to watch Naomi play when I was growing up. She's definitely an inspiration." Leading the men's charge will be 20th seed Alexei Popyrin, looking forward to his first "tennis Ashes'' battle at Wimbledon against British wildcard Arthur Fery. "He's a good player, like all the Brits, they grow up on grass, know how to play on the surface, and I've heard his dad may be a member of this club, so he knows the place inside out," Popyrin said. "He'll have the home crowd on his side, so that will also be a little bit of a challenge, but I'm feeling good and I'm ready to go." AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON DAY ONE OF WIMBLEDON (Prefix number denotes seeding) (WC = wildcard) (Q = qualifier) MEN (20) Alexei Popyrin v (WC) Arthur Fery (GBR) Jordan Thompson v Vit Kopriva (CZE) Chris O'Connell v (Q) Adrian Mannarino (FRA) James Duckworth v (25) Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) WOMEN Olivia Gadecki v Greet Minnen (BEL) Kim Birrell v (22) Donna Vekic (CRO) Ajla Tomljanovic v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) Talia Gibson (Q) v Naomi Osaka (JPN)
