After three years, Serena Williams is a champion again. Sadly not everyone was too thrilled about a mother competing. When Serena Williams won the ASB Classic women’s title in Auckland on Sunday, the sold-out crowd stood and cheered. As the organisers rushed the court to prepare for the trophy presentation, Williams left. She strode off … Read more
One of New Zealand’s most successful tennis players has fallen through the cracks of sporting history. Madeleine Chapman tells the story of Ruia Morrison, Wimbledon quarter finalist. Ruia Morrison is standing on her back porch, whacking her neighbour’s overgrown hedge with a tennis racquet. She’s employing a forehand overhead volley technique and it’s working. Satisfied, … Read more
Introducing Scratched, an original web series that finds and celebrates the lost sporting legends of Aotearoa. There are many sportspeople whose names are uttered regularly by New Zealanders, and whose stories have been told over and over again. But what about the athletes whose lives and careers have faded from the national memory? New … Read more
You hate the breaks in play that come with video technology in sport. But what if we got rid of it altogether? Alex Braae ponders the possibility. I used to play a lot of park cricket, never at a remotely high standard. Club cricket organisations wouldn’t bother giving us umpires. Players on the batting team … Read more
The corruption allegations levelled at French club Racing 92 could be a sign of things to come in world rugby, says professional player-turned-journalist John Daniell. In 2012 I was tipped off about a story at Racing Metro, a French rugby club I used to play for, now renamed Racing 92 and home to half a … Read more
Why are so many women’s sports played in near-empty stadiums? Madeleine Chapman suggests some big changes to bring in more fans. Over the weekend I took a bus to Tauranga to watch the first of three tournaments aimed at deciding the best women’s basketball team in New Zealand. The event was held at ASB Baypark Arena, a huge sporting complex … Read more
Arguing With My Dad is an occasional column which features Greg Bruce in conversation with his father about sports. In this instalment, a disagreement over tennis becomes a discourse on the nature of debate itself. Dad and I have never argued about tennis in our lives, and in fact we’ve hardly ever talked about it, … Read more
In the wake of the Buzzfeed/BBC investigation into match-fixing in tennis, we spoke to two members of the international sports betting industry to understand how the matches get rigged. The identities of both the journalist and the employees have been withheld in return for their speaking candidly on this issue. Chris Kermode, head of the Association … Read more
Tennis is alone amongst professional sports in having its referee frequently yell at the crowd. Duncan Greive thinks that sucks. It had not stopped raining. Big great drops beating straight down on a windless, humid Auckland day. Not great conditions for tennis. But the rain ceased and cloud started to clear as the afternoon wore on, … Read more