Ten things to know from last week. March 29-April 4, 2022: A new #1 in Women's Tennis, Cricket's great team, a first MotoGP win after 17 years...
  1. Another new #1. Iga Świątek (POL) is the new #1 female tennis player in the World Rankings, as she won the Miami Open against Naomi Osaka (JPN), and former #1, Ashleigh Barty (AUS), retired a few days earlier. On the Men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) beat Casper Ruud (NOR) to take the Masters 1000 Miami Open.
  2. A 17-year wait ends. Aleix Espargaró (ESP, Aprilia) had to wait 17 years since his MotoGP debut to take his maiden race win, which came in the 2022 Gran Premio de la República Argentina. This was also the first MotoGP win for Aprilia. It was a 1-2-3-4 for Spain, as he was followed by Jorge Martín (Ducati), Álex Rins (Suzuki), and Joan Mir (Suzuki). Espargaró is the Championship leader.
  3. Same result on the rematch. A WBC Minimumweight World Championship showdown between two Thai fighters ended with Panya Pradabsri repeating his win against Wanheng Menayothin, in 2020. A unification bout against WBA Super Champion Thammanoon Niyomtrong (THA) would arguably be the best fight to make now. In Female boxing, Savannah Marshall (ENG) defended her WBO Middleweight title with a spectacular third-round KO against Femke Hermans (BEL).
  4. Kupcho is a major winner. 24-year-old Jennifer Kupcho (USA) won her first LPGA tournament in a Major, as she won the Chevron Championship, six strokes ahead of Jessica Korda (USA). On the Men’s side, 31-year-old J.J. Spaun (USA) also won his first PGA Tour win, by taking the Valero Texas Open.
  5. A first Olympic cycle. Ski Mountaineering has been added to the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, meaning this is its first Olympic Cycle. One of the first big tournaments to start it off was the ISMF World Championship Long Distance Team event. Axelle Gachet-Mollaret and Emily Harrop (FRA) won the Women’s competition just as they did in the first edition in 2016, while the also French team of Samuel Equy and Mathéo Jacquemoud won the Men’s competition. 15 countries were represented.
  6. Para Swimming World Series. The Berlin leg utilized a combined-classes format, with swimmers from every category competing together under a points system. Local Tanja Scholz (DEU) won all freestyle events (50m, 100m, 200m, and 400m), as well as the 4x50m mixed medley relay. En route, she set three provisional World Records. Carlos Daniel Serrano Zárate (COL) won the gold medal in the men’s 100 breaststroke at the Berlin World Series, with a provisional SB7 World Record in the Final.Other swimmers to highlight include Rogier Dorsman (NED), who won five gold medals and set one World Record, and Verena Schott (DEU), who won four gold medals.
  7. The great cricket team. The Australian Women’s Cricket Team continues to establish itself as one of the best teams of all time. They defeated England by 71 runs to win the Women’s Cricket World Championship, which Australia has won more than any other. This team has. won 38 out of 39 One Day Internationals since 2018, including each of the nine games in this World Cup.
  8. Historic step in the right direction. The Cuban Boxing Federation announced its partnership with Mexican Boxing Promotion Golden Ring to allow some of their Amateur World Champion boxers to compete at the highest level in the professional organizations, and the amateur competitions at the same time. This marks a change in direction after 60 years of banning their own boxers from competing professionally.
  9. Champion 12 years later. Tetsuya Yamato (JPN) beat K-1 Super Lightweight Champion Hideaki Yamazaki (JPN) with a left hook after 50 seconds to regain a K-1 Kickboxing World Title for the first time in 12 years, in an upset. The K-1 World Grand Prix held an Openweight tournament, where Mahmoud Sattari (IRI) won the Final with a 3rd Round KO against Seiya Tanigawa (JPN).
  10. From last to first. The Los Ángeles Guerrillas were last in the 2020 Call of Duty League. Two years later, they won the second Major of the year, after beating Atlanta FaZe 5-2 in the Final. One of its players is Cuyler “Huke” Garland (USA), who was a World Champion with Dallas Empire before being sacked by the last year.