Tennis: World number two Simona Halep has become the third player to book her place at the WTA Tour’s season ending Finals tournament in Singapore next month. The Romanian joins world number one and US Open champion Serena Williams and Russian Maria Sharapova in booking places at the $6.5 million event for the top eight women over the season.

Cricket: Australia has built an artificial pitch at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane to help its batsmen deal with spin-bowling on the slow tracks of the subcontinent, where they have so often struggled in the past. The surface, which is intended to mimic the conditions in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, has a concrete base with artificial grass, clay and turf rolled into a compact layer on top.

Swimming: World 100 metres freestyle champion swimmer James Magnussen is gambling on a new coach taking him to Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 after parting ways with his long-time mentor Brant Best. The 23-year-old Australian successfully defended his title at the world championships in Barcelona last year but missed out on gold in the blue riband sprint at the 2012 Olympics in London by a fingertip. “Brant has been such an important part of my journey as a professional swimmer, and in shaping me as person,” Magnussen said in a statement. “Those things combined have made this decision incredibly difficult.”