24th to 30th January
The controversy in the lead up to the Australian Open and with Novak Djokovic not being able to participate, meant we were going to have a new men's champion. Yesterday the women's defending champion, Naomi Osaka, bowed out losing to unseeded Amanda Anisimova in three sets. The tournament has now reached the last 16 stage and Anisimova has her work cut out facing the inform and local hero Ashleigh Barty next. There are a number of stars who could all go on to win the singles titles, but as we have seen in the U.S. Open, an outsider should not be ruled out either. At present Ashleigh Barty looks to be a slight favourite, while Russia's Daniil Medvedev appears to be in front for the men. The finals will be held next Saturday and Sunday.
Last weekend we mentioned Germany's Francesco Friedrich arguably being one of the most successful current bobsleigh athletes. St. Moritz hosted the European Championships last weekend where Friedrich completed his fifth overall World Cup victory for the year and his sixth European title in the 2-man bobsleigh. Innsbruck in Austria is currently showcasing the Junior and U20 World Championships. Yesterday we had skeleton and from the twelve podium places up for grabs, Russia claimed six medals. All of snow sports are in final preparations for the pinnacle of events, the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Curling start on the 2nd February, with the opening ceremony on the 4th February.
Estonia's capital city Tallinn recently hosted the European Figure Skating Championships where Russia simply dominated. Some of the outstanding performances were the Ice Dance pair of Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov successfully defending their title, rookie Mark Kondratiuk claiming gold, Kamila Valieva continuing the Russian success leading her nation to a podium sweep, and finally World Champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov completing a further podium sweep in Pair Skating. Over to netball where Australia beat local favourites England 58-46 in the final of the Quad Series held at the Copper Box Arena, London. Australia have now won six of the seven Quad Series along with 11 World Cups and three Commonwealth gold medals.
South Africa secured the one-day series against India yesterday at Boland Park in Paarl. In the West Indies the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup is approaching the the knockout stages from next Tuesday. The Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals start tomorrow with tournament favourites Nigeria facing Tunisia. Over to Draughts where the Netherland's Roel Boomstra is the new World Champion after defeating Russia's Alexander Schwarzman 3-0 in Eindhoven. Finally, UFC fans have been waiting in anticipation for the most intriguing heavyweight fight between current champion Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane at Anaheim, California, tomorrow evening. Ngannou, 35, has won his last five fights via knockout, while Gane, 31, holds a perfect 10-0 record winning his last seven fights in a row.
Until next time, have a great week in sport.
Aquatics
18 January to 8 March - FINA Men's Water Polo World League European Qualification 2022 - Various
25 January to 15 March - FINA Women's Water Polo World League European Qualification 2022 - Various
Athletics
28 January - World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold - INIT Indoor Meeting - Messhalle, Karlsruhe, Germany
January 29 - World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold - Millrose Games - Millrose Games - Armory Track, New York, USA
30 January - Osaka Women's Marathon - Osaka, Japan; World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold - 90th Cinque Mulini - San Vittore Olona, Italy
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
January 30 - Austin Winter International Open IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu and Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship 2022 - Round Rock, TX, USA
Canoe
28-30 January - 2022 Oceania Canoe Slalom Championships - Penrith, Australia
Cricket
14 January to 5 February - ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2022 - West Indies
25 January - Afghanistan v Netherlands (3rd ODI) - Doha, Qatar
26 January - West Indies v England (3rd T20I) - Bridgetown, Barbados
29 January - West Indies v England (4th T20I) - Bridgetown, Barbados
30 January - West Indies v England (5th T20I) - Bridgetown, Barbados
Cycling
January 29-30 - 2022 UCI Walmart Cyclo-Cross World Championships - Fayetteville, AR, USA
Draughts
22-29 January - FMJD World Cup Ouaga 2022 - Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
English Billiards
29-30 January - Scottish Open - Kirkcaldy, Scotland
Equestrian
29 January - Group One Racing - Harcourts Thorndon Mile - Trentham, New Zealand; Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes; Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes - Gulfstream Park, FL, USA
Eton Fives
30 January - Alan Barber Cup Semi-Finals - Windsor, England
Fencing
28-29 January - FIE Grand Prix du Qatar - Doha, Qatar
28-30 January - Mediterranean Fencing Championship U20, U17, U15 - Al Salk, Jordan; FIE Senior Individual and Team World Cup - Plovdiv, Bugaria
Flying Disc
17 January to 20 February - WFDF 2022 Sport World Team Disc Golf Championship - Virtual
Football
9 January to 6 February - TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2021 - Cameroon
20 January to 6 February - AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 - India
Futsal
19 January to 9 February - UEFA Futsal Euro 2022 - The Netherlands
Games
29 January to 6 February - 2022 Reykjavík International Games - Reykjavík, Iceland
Golf
26-29 January - Farmers Insurance Open - San Diego, CA, USA
27-30 January - Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic - Dubai, UAE; Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio - Baco Raton, FL, USA
Ice Cross
January 28 - ATSX Ice Cross World Championship - Mont du Lac, WI, USA
Judo
28-30 January - IJF Grand Prix Portugal 2022 - Almada, Portugal
Karate
28-30 January - 2022 Karate 1 Series A - Pamplona, Spain
Luge
28-30 January - FIL Luge World Cup on Natural Track - Deutschnofen, Italy
28-29 January - FIL Junior World Championships; Junior America-Pacific Championships - Winterberg, Germany
29-30 January - FIL Junior Luge World Cup on Natural Track - Umhausen, Austria
30 January - FIL Luge World Championships Women's Doubles - Winterberg, Germany
Mixed Martial Arts
24-29 January - 2021 IMMAF World Championships - Abu Dhabi, UAE
Motor Racing
28-29 January - FIA Formula E World Championship R1 & R2 - Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
Motorcycling
January 29 - AMA Supercross Championship Round 4 - Anaheim, CA, USA
Mountaineering
26-29 January - UIAA Ice Climbing World Championships 2022 - Saas-Fee, Switzerland
Orienteering
21-27 January - European Ski Orienteering Championships and U23 Ski Orienteering Championships 2022 - Chepelare, Bulgaria
23-26 January - World Masters Ski Orienteering Championships 2022 - Chepelare, Bulgaria
Pickleball
January 25-30 - PPA Tour - Carvana Desert Ridge Open - Phoenix, AZ, USA
Poker
January 21-26 - World Poker Tour - WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, FL, USA
Real Tennis
28-30 January - Leamington Open Handicap Singles 2022 - Leamington, England
Rodeo (Pro)
January 28-30 - Homestead Championship Rodeo - Homestead, FL, USA
January 28-29 - Rocky Mountain Extreme - Kalispell, MT, USA; Cinch World's Toughest Rodeo - St. Paul, MN, USA
(Prize money of $20k and higher)
Rowing
29 January to 2 February - 2022 European Rowing Indoor Championships - Jönköping, Sweden
Rugby Union
28-30 January - HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series - Seville, Spain
Skating
28-30 January - ISU World Junior Speed Skating Championships - Innsbruck, Austria
Ski & Snowboarding
24-25 January - FIS Telemark World Cup - St. Gervais, France
25 January - FIS Men's Slalom World Cup - Schladming, Austria; FIS Women's Giant Slalom World Cup - Kronplatz, Italy
27-30 January - FIS Nordic Combined World Cup - Seefeld, Austria; FIS Men's Downhill and Super G World Cup - Garmisch-Partenkitchen, Germany
28-30 January - FIS Ski Jumping World Cup (M&W) - Willingen, Germany; FIS Telemark World Cup - Melchsee-Frutt, Switzerland
28 January to 3 February - FIS Speed Skiing World Cup; FIS World Ski Championships - Vars, France
29 January - FIS Snowboard Cross World Cup - Contina d'Ampezzo, Italy
Ski Marathon
30 January - Wordloppet - Marcialonga - Predazzo, Italy
Ski Mountaineering
27-29 January - ISMF Ski Mountaineering World Cup - Region Dents du Midi World Cup - Morgins, Switzerland
Skibob
28-30 January - FISB Skibob World Cup - Kühtai, Austria
Snooker
26-30 January - World Snooker Tour German Masters - Berlin, Germany
Surfing
January 29 to February 10 - World Surf League Championship Tour Stop 1 - Banzai Pipeline, Oahu, Hawaii
Tennis
17-30 January - Australian Open - Melbourne, Australia
Wheelchair Basketball
23-29 January - 2022 IWBF Afro Championships - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Wheelchair Rugby
23-30 January - 2022 Americas Championships - Medellin, Columbia
* We have listed the above events based on the best information we can obtain. The current circumstances mean some of these may be postponed or cancelled at the last moment.