Adelaide "seems poised to snatch Brisbane's crown as the launching pad of the Test match summer with the Gabba set to be shunted to a January timeslot." The "likely scenario for Brisbane next summer" is that it will host one of two tests against Sri Lanka in January in a "candid sign the ground has slipped into the lower rungs of the Test match pecking order." Canberra is "certain to host the other" Sri Lankan test (Brisbane COURIER-MAIL, 12/19).
The Assen circuit "emerged as a viable alternative host for a future return" of the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix. Zandvoort was named as a potential host but TT Circuit Assen CEO Arjan Bos said that FIA issued a "positive report" about the suitability of Assen. Bos: "We are almost 100 percent ready for Formula 1" (GMM, 12/20).
Tennis is "set to continue its quest to attract new fans with a shorter-form version of the game" via the Australian debut of Tie Break Tens. The new format will be "shown off for the first time on Aussie soil" on Jan. 10 on Melbourne Park's Show Court 1 when Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios and six other yet-to-be-announced players "battle it out" for A$250,000 ($191,600) (FOX SPORTS, 12/19).
