Sporting Highlights for 2023
Major events for this 2023 calendar were the Women's FIFA World Cup, Rugby World Cup, World Aquatics Championships and the World Athletics Championships.
Max Verstappen continued his remarkable run in Formula 1 The FIFA Women's World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, saw exciting performances and record-breaking viewership, bringing even more attention to women's soccer worldwide. Spain won their first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup, defeating England 1-0 in the final.
Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic claimed his 24th Grand Slam title at the US Open, tying Margaret Court’s all-time record and moving him clear of Serena Williams for Grand Slam wins in the Open era. Djokovic's remarkable year solidified his claim as one of tennis's greatest players. History was made at Wimbledon, the 2023 Wimbledon ladies' singles final was won by Marketa Vondrousova, defeating Ons Jabeur to become lowest ranked winner in history. There was a big gap at the French Open, with Nadal missing the tournament for the first time in 19 years.
At the ICC Cricket World Cup, Australia won their sixth title, defeating India in the final, despite India going through the tournament undefeated up to that point.
The NFL saw the Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl LVII. Led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. Mahomes also earned the MVP title, solidifying his status as one of the NFL's greatest ever players.
One of the biggest news in sport in recent years was the changes to world golf. There is talk of a merger between the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, the end the bitter rivalry that has divided the sport. News of this historic deal has sparked widespread debate, with financial implications and questions about the future structure of the sport.
Max Verstappen, driving for Red Bull Racing, continued his remarkable run in Formula 1, winning his third consecutive World Championship.
The Denver Nuggets secured their first-ever NBA Championship, defeating the Miami Heat in the Finals. Nikola Jokić, their star player, was named Finals MVP for his outstanding performances throughout the series.
South Africa won their fourth Rugby World Cup, defeating New Zealand in a thrilling final. The Springboks’ strong defense and tactical game helped them secure a thrilling 12-11 victory, making them the most successful team in Rugby World Cup history.
Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark won the 2023 Tour de France for the second consecutive year. His consistent performance through the mountain stages and time trials helped him secure victory in one of the world's toughest sporting events.
Awards: The 2023 Laureus World Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards went to footballer Lionel Messi and Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. The Laureus World Team of the Year was Argentina Men's Football Team, the 2022 FIFA World Cup winning team. The highest paid sports person in 2023 according to Forbes Magazine was Cristiano Ronaldo, overtaking last year's leader Lionel Messi.
Significant sports-related deaths:
- Jim Brown (American Football) - NFL legend Jim Brown, one of the greatest running backs of all time, was known for his unmatched power and athleticism, leaving a lasting legacy on and off the field as a civil rights advocate.
- Jim Hines (Track & Field) - Jim Hines, the first man to break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters, won two gold medals at the 1968 Olympics.
- Dick Fosbury (Athletics) - Dick Fosbury revolutionized the high jump with the "Fosbury Flop," winning Olympic gold in 1968 and forever changing the sport with his innovative technique.
- Sir Bobby Charlton (Football) - Sir Bobby Charlton, a Manchester United and England football legend, was a key figure in England’s 1966 World Cup victory, was admired for his remarkable skills, sportsmanship, and leadership in football.
What was your highlight? Take the poll of the Greatest Sporting Highlight of 2023.
Below is a timeline of some significant results in the world of sport for the year 2023.
| Date(s) | Sport | Event | Location | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 16-29 | Tennis | Australian Open | Melbourne, Australia | Novak Djokovic claimed his 10th Australian Open title. Aryna Sabalenka won the women's title, her first major singles title |
| Jan 12–29 | Handball | World Championships (men) | Poland and Sweden | Two-time defending champions Denmark defeated France 34–29 in the final |
| Jan 13-29 | Field Hockey | Men's Hockey World Cup | Bhubaneswar & Rourkela, India | Germany won their third title, defeating the defending champions Belgium in a shoot-out. |
| Jan 27-30 | Extreme Sports | Winter X Games 27 | Aspen, Colorado, USA | 16 skiing and snowboarding events. |
| Feb 1-11 | Football (Soccer) | 2022 FIFA Club World Cup | Morocco | Real Madrid won their 5th title. |
| Feb 4 - Mar 18 | Rugby | Six Nations | UK, Ireland, France & Italy | Ireland won the tournament for a 15th time |
| Feb 5-19 | Skiing | Alpine World Ski Championships | Courchevel-Méribel, France | Switzerland and Norway topped the medal table |
| Feb 10-26 | Cricket | ICC World T20 (women) | South Africa | In the final, defending champions Australia defeated host country South Africa |
| Feb 12 | Football (American) | Super Bowl | Glendale, Arizona | the KC Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. Mahomes earned the MVP title. |
| Mar 14 - Apr 3 | Basketball | NCAA finals (March Madness) | USA | No. 4 seed UConn collected its fifth national championship. |
| Mar 8 - Jul 2 | Water Polo | FINA Water Polo World Cup (Men) | LA, USA | Spain won their first title, defeating Italy in the final |
| Mar 15-26 | Boxing | IBA World Championships (women) | New Delhi, India | Indian boxers won four gold medals, though china won more overall (7) |
| Mar 8-21 | Baseball | World Baseball Classic | Japan, Taiwan, USA | Japan were undefeated, winning 3rd title after defeating defending champions USA 3–2 in the final game. |
| Apr 6-9 | Golf | Masters | Augusta, Georgia, USA | Jon Rahm became the 4th Spaniard to win the Masters, winning by four strokes ahead of Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. |
| Apr 11 - Jun 25 | Water Polo | FINA Water Polo World Cup (Women) | final Long Beach, California, USA | The US won their 4th straight title, defeating the Netherlands in the final. |
| Apr 15 - May 1 | Snooker | World Snooker Championship | Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England | Belgian Luca Brecel defeated Mark Selby 18–15 in the final, winning his first world title. He became the sport's first world champion from mainland Europe. |
| Apr 15 | Horse Racing | Grand National | Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool | won by Corach Rambler who was trained by Lucinda Russell in Scotland and ridden by Irish jockey Derek Fox |
| May 1-14 | Boxing | IBA World Championships (men) | Tashkent, Uzbekistan | Host country Uzbekistan topped the medal table with 5 golds, 9 medals overall. 19 countries boycotted because Russian athletes were allowed to compete. |
| May 5-17 | Multi-sports | South-East Asian Games | Phnom Penh, Cambodia | Vietnam and Thailand led the medal table |
| May 6 | Horse Racing | Kentucky Derby | Louisville, Kentucky, US | Won by 15-1 Mage, who had only one win before the Kentucky Derby |
| May 12-21 | Ice Hockey | IIHF World Championship | Canada won its 28th title, beating Germany 5–2 in the final. | |
| May 18–21 | Golf | US PGA | Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York | Brooks Koepka won with nine under. It was his third PGA Championship and fifth major. |
| May 22-28 | Table Tennis | World Championship | Durban, South Africa | Chinese players won all 5 gold medals. |
| May 28 | Auto Racing | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis, USA | Won by Josef Newgarden, who passed Marcus Ericsson in the final lap. |
| May 28 - Jun 11 | Tennis | French Open | Paris, France | Novak Djokovic beat Casper Ruud in the mens. Nadal missed the tournament for the first time in 19 years. Iga Świątek defeated Karolína Muchová in the women's event. |
| Jun 1-12 | Basketball | NBA Finals | USA/Canada | The Denver Nuggets secured their first-ever NBA Championship, defeating the Miami Heat in the Finals |
| Jun 3-13 | Ice Hockey | Stanley Cup finals | Las Vegas and Florida, USA | Vegas Golden Knights defeated Florida Panthers 4-1. |
| June 10 | Football (Soccer) | UEFA Champions League Final | Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul | Manchester City defeated Italian club Inter Milan 1-0. |
| Jun 14-18 | Football (Soccer) | UEFA Nations League | Netherlands | Spain won their first Nations League title, defeating Croatia 5–4 on penalties after a 0–0 draw. |
| Jun 15-18 | Golf | US Open | Los Angeles Country Club LA, California | Won by US player Wyndham Clark, his first major. |
| Jun 16 - Jul 16 | Football (Soccer) | AFC Asian Cup | China or South Korea | Hosts and defending champions Qatar defeated Jordan 3–1 in the final. |
| Jun 21 - Jul 1 | Lacrosse | World Lacrosse Championship (men) | San Diego, USA | Defending champions USA defeated Canadian the final |
| Jun 21 - Jul 2 | Multi-sports | European Games | Kraków, Poland | Italy topped the medal table, with Spain and Ukraine next. |
| Jul 1-23 | Cycling | Tour de France | France | Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Team Jumbo–Visma) won the general classification for the second year in a row |
| Jul 3-16 | Tennis | Wimbledon | London, England | ladies' singles final was won by Marketa Vondrousova, defeated Ons Jabeur to become lowest ranked winner in history |
| Jul 10 - Aug 20 | Football (Soccer) | Women's World Cup | Australia / New Zealand | Spain won their first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup, defeating England 1-0 in the final. |
| Jul 14-30 | Swimming | World Aquatics Championships | Fukuoka, Japan | The top three on the medal table were China, Australia and the USA, though the USA won the most medals overall. |
| Jul 20–23 | Golf | The Open Championship | Royal Liverpool Golf Club Hoylake Merseyside England | Brian Harman won his first major Championship by six shots. |
| Jul 21-23 | Extreme Sports | Summer X Games | California, USA | Includes Moto X, skateboarding and BMX freestyle events, plus others like Esports. |
| Jul 23-30 | Cycling | Tour de France Femmes | France | Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark won for the second consecutive year. |
| Jul 28 - Aug 6 | Netball | Netball World Cup | Cape Town, South Africa | Australia won their 12th title, defeating England 61–45 in the final. |
| Jul 28 - Aug 8 | Multi-sports | Summer World University Games | 6,500 student-athletes from around the world competed in 269 medal events | |
| Aug 3-13 | Cycling | UCI Cycling World Championships | Glasgow, Scotland, UK | This inaugural edition brought various disciplines of cycling together to be held as part of one event. Great Britain was the most successful nation overall. |
| Aug 10-20 | Sailing | World Championships | The Hague, Netherlands | About 1,400 sailors competed in this Olympic qualifying event. |
| Aug 19-27 | Athletics | IAAF World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | The USA led the medal table with 12 golds in the 50 events. |
| Aug 25 - Sept 10 | Basketball | FIBA Basketball World Cup (men) | Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines | Germany defeated Serbia in the first all-European final since 2006 |
| Aug 28 - Sep 10 | Tennis | US Open | New York, USA | Serbian Novak Djokovic claimed his 24th Grand Slam title |
| Sep 3-10 | Rowing | World Rowing Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | The Netherlands and Great Britain each won 6 gold medals. |
| Sep 8 - Oct 28 | Rugby | World Cup (men) | France | South Africa won their fourth Rugby World Cup, defeating New Zealand in a thrilling final |
| Sep 22-24 | Golf | Solheim Cup | Casares, Málaga, Andalusia, Spain | The competition resulted in a draw, with the European and US teams each scoring 14 points. Europe retained the title. |
| Sep 23 - Oct 8 | Multi-sports | Asian Games | Hangzhou, China | China was clearly the best performing nation |
| Sep 29 - Oct 1 | Golf | Ryder Cup | Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Rome, Italy | Won by Team Europe over the USA, 16.5 to 11.5. |
| Sept 30 | AFL | Grand Final | Melbourne, Australia | Collingwood defeated the Brisbane Lions by 4 points. |
| Sep 30 - Oct 8 | Gymnastics | World Championships (Artistic) | Antwerp, Belgium | The US, Japan and China made up the top three nations. |
| Oct 1 | Rugby League | NRL Grand Final | ACCOR Stadium, Sydney | Two-time defending champions Penrith defeated the Brisbane Broncos 26–24 to claim their fifth premiership. |
| Oct 5 - Nov 19 | Cricket | ODI World Cup | India | Australia won the final, upsetting India who had dominated the group games |
| Oct 20 - Nov 5 | Multi-sports | Pan American Games | Santiago, Chile | The USA led the medal table, as they have at all editions except 2. |
| Oct 21-30 | Multi-sports | World Combat Games | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Including 202 medal events in 16 sports. |
| Oct 27 - Nov 1 | Baseball | World Series | Texas & Phoenix, USA | The Texas Rangers won their first World Series title since their founding in 1961, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-1. |
| Nov 7 | Horse Racing | Melbourne Cup | Victoria, Australia | won by Without A Fight, ridden by Mark Zahra. |
| Nov 19 - Dec 1 | Multi-sports | Pacific Games | Honiara, Solomon Islands | New Caledonia and Tahiti were at the top of the medal table, |
| Nov 30 - Dec 17 | Handball | World Championships (women) | Denmark / Norway / Sweden | France won their third title defeating Norway in the final. |
If you have a correction or know of events that should be included here, please let me know.
Related Pages
- Top-10 Major Sporting Events of 2023
- Timeline (all years) in the world of sport
- Major Events Sport Calendar for 2023
- Highlights of Australian sport in 2023
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
Upcoming Events