MONDAY, January 24
Ash Barty goes into battle on Tuesday against billionaire heiress Jessica Pegula — the player constantly overlooked as the richest person in the sport, reports Tyson Otto for news.com.
The American is through to her second-consecutive quarter-final at the Australian Open after a big upset win over No. 5 seed Maria Sakkari on Sunday.
Barty is playing her fourth consecutive quarter-final at Melbourne Park as she chases a historic home grand slam victory. Australia has been waiting 44 years for a break through women’s singles champion with none of our female champions able to achieve the feat since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
Pegula made headlines at the 2021 Aussie Open when she reached a grand slam quarter-final for the first time, triggering profile pieces which reminded the world Pegula is stonkingly rich.
The 27-year-old’s parents are Terry and Kim Pegula, who have owned both the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres sports franchises since 2014, and have a net worth of more than $5 billion, according to Forbes.
Terry Pegula is reported to have made his fortune as a mining magnate before selling off the majority of his natural resources company.
The family famously outplayed Donald Trump as they tussled to take over the Bills before the American President slagged off the team when his bid wasn’t accepted.
The team was purchased for $1.4 billion seven years ago and is now estimated to be worth $2 billion.
The heiress’ fortune dwarfs the net worth of tennis superstars Roger Federer ($450 million), Serena Williams ($300m) and Maria Sharapova ($195m).
According to the WTA, Pegula has amassed career prize money of more than $2.8 million — the majority of that money has come from her break through 2021 campaign where her ranking climbed to reach No. 21 in the world heading into the Aussie Open.
With her financial future secure, Pegula has turned her attention to projects close to her heart, including tennis and a new range of beauty products launched in 2021 under the brand Ready 24.
However, Pegula remains focused entirely on tennis for now.
Her heavy-striking, risky style gives Barty a new challenge to unlock when they clash on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday night.
“Each and every player is different – there are some similarities, but certainly tactics and the way that I want to play is unique to each and every player,” Barty said after defeating Amanda Anisimova on Sunday.
“I try and adapt my game as best as I can to try and make my opponent uncomfortable, and that will be no different when Jess and I play in a couple days’ time.
“My job is to try and make her uncomfortable, and hopefully I can execute that, have some fun with it, and make life difficult for her.
“It’s going to be a challenge for me to try and push her off that baseline and make her uncomfortable and feel like she has to create.
“That’s the chess game that we play. You go out there and have fun with it, see who can execute better on the day, and that’s about all there is to it.”
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The federal government has defended its decision to urge Australians to leave Ukraine and begin making arrangements to get the families of diplomats out of the capital.
On Monday night, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade updated the travel advice for the country to “do not travel” because of the “increased risk of armed conflict”.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said there were around 1,400 Australians in Ukraine at the moment, who had been advised to leave while they still could.
“We are conscious that flight availability could be changed or stop at short notice,” she said.
“There are certainly still flights available and operating and that is why we have taken the prudent step of suggesting they make arrangements to leave now.
“This is a cautious and prudent step; it is because the security situation is unpredictable and is about protecting Australians on the ground.”
Australia’s decision to join other allies like the United States and the United Kingdom and withdraw the family members of diplomats and issue travel warnings has been criticised by Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko as
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NSW will extend the existing pandemic rules – such as indoor mask mandates and capacity limits at pubs – for another month.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the decision was made out of caution as the state’s third vaccine dose numbers slowly increase.
“We want to maintain that cautious approach as we continue to get our booster programme moving,” he said.
“So the restrictions that we put in place last year we will be rolling over for another month.”
The rules include capacity limits of one person per two square metres indoors at hospitality venues, and mandatory masks at all indoor spaces except homes.
They also include compulsory QR check-ins at certain venues, and a ban on singing and dancing at most public events.
The announcement came on the two-year-anniversary of Australia’s first confirmed coronavirus case, which was detected in NSW.
The state recorded 29 Covid-related deaths and 2943 infected people are in hospital.
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The Federal Government has secured the copyright license for the Aboriginal flag after negotiations with Harold Thomas, who designed the flag in 1971.
Under the $20 million deal, the flag can now be reproduced without a fee and follow the same protocols as the Australian flag, bringing an end to the ongoing saga over
“I hope that this arrangement provides comfort to all Aboriginal people and Australians to use the Flag, unaltered, proudly and without restriction,” Mr Thomas said, according to SBS. “The Flag represents the timeless history of our land and our people’s time on it. It is an introspection and appreciation of who we are.”
“It draws from the history of our ancestors, our land, and our identity and will honour these well into the future.”
Gunditjmara woman and clothing designer Laura Thompson started a campaign to “Free the Flag” in 2020 after discovering WAM Clothing held exclusive international rights to sell clothing with the Aboriginal flag.
Her campaign drew widespread support from all sections of the community.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt said it was important that all Australians could use the flag with dignity and respect.
“Over the last 50 years we made Harold Thomas’ artwork our own – we marched under the Aboriginal flag, stood behind it, and flew it high as a point of pride,” he said. “In reaching this agreement to resolve the copyright issues, all Australians can freely display and use the flag to celebrate Indigenous culture.
“Now that the Commonwealth holds the copyright, it belongs to everyone, and no one can take it away,” Mr Wyatt said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was a landmark agreement, struck just in time for Australia Day.
“We’ve freed the Aboriginal flag for Australians,” he said.
ENDS
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