Another blockbuster year in sport has been flying by. A list of 15 notable and massive sporting events in Australia and around the world in 2023 are unfolding.
If you’re like the Only Sports team, you basically build your entire year’s calendar around which major sporting events are happening and where.
Rugby League? We’ll be at Suncorp Stadium for Magic Round.
Cricket? You better believe the crew will be cheering the baggy greens on from the stands.
We don’t mind a bit of travel either, so if we have to jump on a cheeky flight to say, oh we don’t know, South Africa, to watch the Women’s T20 World Cup, then it’s time to dust off the frequent flyer cards and book a trip.
It can be an absolute mission though trying to put together the perfect sports calendar 2023 style though, which is why we scoured every damn schedule we could find to bring you this ultimate guide.
The Top Major Sporting Events in Australia and Overseas for 2023
Call the boss and book some annual leave. Here’s our calendar for all the biggest sports events in 2023.
Best of sport in January
Australian Open
DONE
Where: Melbourne
When: January 16-29
As always, the Australian Open is the first major event on the 2023 Aussie sporting calendar. The world’s biggest tennis stars right in our backyard.
Novak Djokovic overcame injury and last year’s absence to claim yet another Melbourne crown, while Aryna Sabalenka took over Ash Barty’s status as Women’s Singles champion.
The WTA & ATP schedules have heated up in Europe and here’s a more thorough rundown of what’s happening on the 2023 tennis calendar. And here:
ALSO READ | The incredible race for the most Grand Slams is on high alert after the AO king regains his crown
Sport in February
Australia Men’s Tour of India
DONE
Where: India
When: February 9 – March 22
The Aussie Summer of Cricket was a bit one-sided, so it was good to see the Aussies tested in February and March. Unfortunately, the four-match series wasn’t exactly competitive. India soundly beat Australia in the subcontinent.
Australia hadn’t been on a Test tour of India since 2017 and the drought lengthens.
The tour could well decide Australia’s opponent in June’s World Test Championship final, setting up an even more enticing clash should India secure the series and the second spot in the final.
The action’s on Kayo.
Women’s T20 World Cup
Where: South Africa
When: February 11-27
While the Aussie men attempted to conquer India, the women’s side had the task of a World Cup in South Africa.
Their 2022 was incredible, kicking it off with an undefeated ODI World Cup campaign in New Zealand, then claiming the inaugural Women’s T20 Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games, before winning a T20 series in India 4-1.
The Aussies were incredible, claiming victory in the final against South Africa. Here are the highlights.
Embed from Getty ImagesMarch’s biggest sporting events
2023 NRL Season
When: Begins March 2
HAPPENING
Make note, NRL fans: Here’s every Pre-Season trial game and the five that matter most
The hype of a footy season beginning is always incredible, and it’ll be no different as the NRL kicks off in early March.
The league is bolstered by the addition of the Dolphins in 2023, and, as ever, there will be plenty of heat out on the field as rivalries reignite for a new season.
2023 AFL Season
When: Begins March 16
HAPPENING
Though a couple of weeks later than the NRL, the beginning of the AFL season will carry just as much hype.
Kicking off with the traditional Richmond-Carlton season opener, the always-entertaining matchup is just a curtain-raiser to a juicy Geelong-Collingwood clash the following night – 2023 will be big.
As usual, the action will be broadcast on radio like SEN’s AFL Nation, plus TV station Seven and Fox/Kayo.
Sport in April
Australian F1 Grand Prix
Where: Melbourne
When: March 30 – April 2
DONE
One of the biggest events on the Aussie sporting calendar, F1 returned to Australian soil.
Just the fourth F1 Grand Prix event of 2023, there was a huge crowd at Albert Park as the world’s best drivers take to the track in Melbourne.
Here is a recap and also the full Formula 1 events calendar for 2023:
May has Origin
State of Origin
Where: Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney
When: May 31, June 21, July 12
The biggest event on the NRL calendar will resume in May at the Adelaide Oval.
One of the most-watched sporting events Australia-wide, Origin action will be un-missable again in 2023, especially after the incredible end to the 2022 series which saw Queensland steal victory from New South Wales.
Here’s our full guide:
Game One will also be just the second at Adelaide Oval, with South Australia hosting its first Origin match in 2020 and hosting a healthy crowd of over 25,000.
Channel 9 / 9Now will broadcast the action exclusively.
Cricket in June?
World Test Championship Final
Where: Lord’s, London
When: TBD
Australia is almost certain to book a maiden berth in the second World Test Championship final, following a dominant home summer and productive 2022 in test cricket.
Australia’s opponents will also almost certainly be India, making the clash at The Oval an interesting continuation of February’s test series.
A World Test Championship win is something that has eluded Australia thus far, after narrowly missing qualification for the first-ever final, and looms as perhaps a competitive warm-up in English conditions ahead of The Ashes.
The Ashes
Where: England
When: June 16 – August 1
Just when you thought Australia’s men’s test schedule in 2022 couldn’t get any bigger, it does. First, a tour of India, and now The Ashes, cricket fans’ off-season viewing is sorted.
After Australia’s 2021-22 home domination of the Poms, the story will be vastly different, with the hosts boasting a new coach, a new gameplan, and somewhat of a different team from its 4-0 loss last Summer.
The theatre and drama of 2019’s Ashes series is certainly strong in the memory, and there’s no doubt that the five tests in 2023 will produce something similar.
Embed from Getty ImagesJuly launches World Cup season
FIFA Women’s World Cup
Where: Australia
When: July 20 – August 20
It was the Socceroos that captivated the nation in 2022, and in July 2023 it will be the Matildas’ turn – on home soil.
Aussie football fans will get the chance to see the world’s best women’s footballers right on our home turf, and there’s no doubt the Matildas will be followed just as closely as the Socceroos in 2022.
The Matildas will play group-stage matches in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, while the Final will take place at Sydney’s Stadium Australia on August 20.
Embed from Getty ImagesNetball World Cup
Where: Cape Town, South Africa
When: July 28 – August 6
While the FIFA Women’s World Cup is on, there’ll be another World Cup on at the same time – Netball.
The Aussie Diamonds will be in action against the world’s best in Cape Town, South Africa, aiming to return to World Cup glory after New Zealand won the most recent edition of the tournament in 2019.
They’ll also be among the world-class competition of England, Jamaica, and of course South Africa, and with Netball World Cups coming around once every four years, this one is certainly unmissable.
The Cups continue in August
FIBA World Cup
Where: Philippines, Japan and Indonesia
When: August 25 – September 10
The second half of 2023 will have a distinct World Cup flavour to it, and that’s continued by the Men’s FIBA World Cup in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
It will be a blockbuster tournament with 32 teams taking place, and the Aussie Boomers have already qualified, alongside the likes of France, Spain and Slovenia, who all featured heavily at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
With a star contingent of Aussie players looking ahead to the FIBA World Cup, the Boomers squad is set to be a strong one, and after winning bronze at Tokyo, there’s no doubt the squad will believe it can improve on a third-place finish.
September in France?
Rugby World Cup
Where: France
When: September 8 – October 28
Another huge event to look forward to in 2023, the Rugby World Cup in France will certainly be one not to miss.
With the Wallabies currently ranked sixth in the world, they’re the highest-ranked team in their pool, but face some tough competition in the form of Wales, Fiji, Georgia and Portugal.
Australia will be aiming to better its quarter-final exit from 2019’s tournament and return to the big stage of the final as it did in 2015, as it seeks its first Rugby World Cup title since 1999.
The Rugby World Cup is going to be so much fun. Here’s our full guide & Wallabies match-ups
Cricket comes ‘early’ in October
Cricket World Cup
Where: India
When: October (TBD) – November 26
Australia will return to India in October for the ODI World Cup, again aiming to return to the final after missing out in 2019.
The Aussie team will look a lot different to the last edition following Aaron Finch’s retirement, and the subcontinental setting of India will certainly be buzzing as it plays host to the tournament.
The Aussies are currently ranked third in the world behind England and New Zealand, 2019’s finalists, but both teams Australia has recently defeated, so the stage of the tournament will be grand as Australia competes for another piece of ODI silverware.
The Only Sports Show | OUR INAUGURAL END OF YEAR AWARDS PODCAST:
The biggest Tuesday in November
Melbourne Cup
Where: Melbourne
When: November 7
It’s the ‘race that stops a nation’, and the Melbourne Cup will be no different in 2023.
Those around the country will naturally tune in to the race at Flemington, and as ever, it will be one not to miss when November comes around.
Sport continues in December
Australia Women’s Tour of India
Where: India
When: December (TBD)
The Aussie women will face an exciting task in December, touring India for a multi-format series.
Featuring one test, three ODIs and three T20s, it’s a landmark series for Australia and India, marking Australia’s first test match in India since 1984.
The series also expands on the ever-developing rivalry between the two nations, and is an incredible development for women’s cricket as a whole.
