Former world No. 1 tennis player LLEYTON HEWITT, 36, announced he will play in the men's doubles event in Melbourne with fellow Aussie SAM GROTH. Hewitt retired as a player at the event in '16 but he has remained "heavily involved in tennis." As well as captaining the Australian Davis Cup team, Hewitt "picked up his racket to partner" JOHN PEERS against the BRYAN brothers in a Davis Cup doubles match in March and entered the Wimbledon doubles event three months later (London TELEGRAPH, 12/14). ... Jockey HAYLEY TURNER said that her three-month ban for breaching British Horseracing Authority betting rules is "harsh" and a "bitter pill to swallow." British flat racing's "most successful female jockey" staked 164 bets -- at a profit of £160 -- over 18 months. Turner, 34, retired in '15 but kept her license, so the bets "technically placed her in breach of the rules" (BBC, 12/14). ... Triathlon New Zealand appointed AMY TAYLOR to its newly-created role of talent development leader. The purpose of the talent development leader will be to ensure that New Zealand has a strong base of aspiring high-performance athletes to meet or exceed Olympic, Commonwealth and World Championship medal targets for '24 (Triathlon NZ).
