Austin, TX
Texas A&M product Austin Krajicek gets silver medal in Olympic tennis
PARIS — Matt Ebden’s 2024 Olympics started with his first singles match in more than two years — a 6-0, 6-1 loss to Novak Djokovic as a fill-in after other players pulled out of that event. A week later, back in his element as a doubles player, Ebden will leave France as a gold medalist with partner John Peers.
Ebden and Peers won Australia’s second tennis gold medal in Summer Games history on Saturday, beating Texas A&M product and Allen resident Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram of the United States 6-7 (6), 7-6 (1), 10-8 in a match tiebreaker in the men’s doubles final. Olympics doubles uses a first-to-10, win-by-two tiebreaker in place of a traditional third set.
“I knew this would come up,” Ebden said when asked about the way his Summer Games began. “Last night, I did think of it. I was actually dreaming of an Instagram post, like: ‘How it started; how it’s going.’ … Swipe right, and there’s a gold-medal photo.”
Ebden and Peers trailed by a set and 4-2 in the second before breaking Ram’s serve to begin the comeback. Their tennis gold follows the one won for Australia by Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde in men’s doubles at Atlanta in 1996.
“It’s trippy. It’s more than a dream. I didn’t even dream of winning a gold medal growing up or whatever,” Ebden said. “The last few years, I had great success on the doubles court. It gave a lot of belief and confidence coming in here.”
He is a 36-year-old doubles specialist who has been ranked No. 1 in that event and has won two Slam trophies in men’s doubles and one in mixed. In singles? Until facing Djokovic — “My main goal in that match was just not to get injured,” Ebden joked Saturday — he hadn’t competed in a tour-level, main-draw singles match since June 2022.
Djokovic said he thinks the rules should be changed so someone like Ebden does not wind up on the court in singles at the Summer Games.
Ebden hasn’t even had a singles ranking since he was No. 970 the week of May 29, 2023. But he already was in Paris to compete in men’s doubles and so that made him available for the singles competition when 16th-ranked Holger Rune of Denmark pulled out because of a wrist injury.
When Saturday’s match ended, the children of Peers and Ebden climbed out of the stands to hug their fathers. Ebden draped a replica gold medal around the neck of his son, whom he then tossed in the air and caught.
Peers, who won a bronze in mixed doubles with Ash Barty at the Tokyo Games three years ago, said his oldest daughter has been saying she wanted a gold. Now she can bring it to school for show-and-tell.
“They’re going to be talking about this one,” Peers said, “until we’re 100.”
Peers has been No. 2 in doubles and owns one Grand Slam title each in men’s doubles — which came by beating twins Bob and Mike Bryan in the final of the 2017 Australian Open — and mixed doubles.
The 40-year-old Ram, who is based in Indiana, was trying to become the oldest player to win an Olympics tennis gold — for men or women, in singles or doubles — since the sport returned to the Summer Games in 1988.
He and Krajicek, a 34-year-old who lives in Florida, also were trying to become the third U.S. duo to win a men’s doubles gold. The most recent had been the Bryans at London in 2012. The brothers were in the stands Saturday — Bob is the country’s men’s tennis coach in Paris, and Mike has been serving as a hitting partner and helping coach doubles.
Instead, Ram and Krajicek — who eliminated Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals — will head home with silvers.
Later Saturday, another American duo, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul, won the bronze with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek of the Czech Republic. Machac and Katerina Siniakova won the gold in mixed doubles on Friday night.
Find more Olympics coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
The Texas Longhorns are less than two months away from starting their regular season slate of the 2026 schedule.
Just like last season, the Longhorns have been given unrealistic expectations by some, but will look to avoid the slow start that had everyone counting them out in September. On paper, the Longhorns should be a lot better than they were last season.
A national championship run should be on the table for head coach Steve Sarkisian and his team. One of the reasons that is a possibility is due to the Longhorns have something in common with previous national championship winners.
Legacy Year
Last season, the college football world was enamored by the Indiana Hoosiers. A program that no one saw ever winning the national championship, was hoisting the trophy at the end of the season.
Now, the Hoosiers had a talented roster from top to bottom. But the play of starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza was the leading factor in this team reaching the mountaintop.
Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning has the chance to make that same impression this season. After his first full season as the starting quarterback in Austin last year, there is a growing confidence that Manning is going to be on another level in 2026.
Last season, Manning threw for 3,163 yards and 26 touchdown passes. If you were to compare those numbers to Mendoza’s last season, the Hoosiers quarterback threw for 3,535 yards and an impressive 41 touchdown passes.
Those numbers make it clear that Manning will have to elevate his performance this season. With a revamped offensive line, the Longhorns quarterback may have the time to rival the numbers of Mendoza from this past season.
But another key piece to the Longhorns’ 2026 roster is a massive wide receiver addition.
It’s going to take the whole village, and Coach Sarkisian went out and got one of the most talented wide receivers in the transfer portal with Cam Coleman.
Coleman had two solid years with the Auburn Tigers and now will look to be the deep field threat for Manning and the Longhorns. The junior receiver’s addition to the roster could take this offensive unit to being one of the top units in the country.
All championship teams have a quarterback who could lead them to victory. Manning could very well be the next elite quarterback to hold a national championship trophy.
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Join several Austin labor unions and community members to honor Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s life and the countless immigrants who have been impacted by ICE.
The community vigil will take place at the Wildflower Church on Saturday, July 11th starting at 6 PM. All are welcome to bring flowers and candles as we honor the loss of life and grieve the separation of families.
Community Vigil Details
🗓️ July 11, 2026 | 6:00 – 8:00 PM
🗺️ 1314 E Oltorf St, Austin, TX 78704
🚗 Public transit and rideshare encouraged! Limited parking available and overflow parking may be available at Travis High School.
Please consider donating to the family’s GoFundMe if you are able: https://bit.ly/atx4lorenzo
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A report released by the think tank Texas 2036 claims that ten state laws implemented between 2019 and 2025 led to “one of the nation’s most comprehensive strategies for connecting education to careers.”
The report is titled “The Next Generation of the Texas Miracle.” It can be read below.
Mary Lynn Pruneda, Texas 2036’s director of education and workforce policy, said in an announcement accompanying the report that the reforms have been steps in the right direction.
“Texas has a bright economic future ahead of it, but we have to make sure that Texas students are equipped to share in this prosperity,” she said. “Texas needs to double down on improving and investing in high-quality career pathways so that all Texas students can take part in the Texas Miracle. Thankfully, due to the Legislature’s great work over the past four sessions, we are on our way to that critical goal.”
The report gives several data points, such as a 532% increase in high schoolers earning “post-secondary credentials” since 2018, or that community colleges awarded 140,000 “credentials of value” in 2024.
It paints a rosy picture of the future Texas economy, but doesn’t source its data or explain how it reached these conclusions. It’s apparent that the think tank wants further laws related to Texas’ workforce and education.
“Texas 2036 is actively engaged in that process, pushing for data modernization and interoperability reforms that would allow the state to track whether credentials are meeting real employer needs in communities across the state,” said the think tank in its announcement.
Grace Atkins, policy advisor of postsecondary education for Texas 2036, called the think tank’s report “encouraging.”
“The early results are encouraging: more students are earning credentials that can help them move into good jobs, and that is real progress,” she said. “For students and families, these pathways can be the difference between getting by and getting ahead. The next step is making sure more Texans can earn credentials that lead to strong wages, real career options and greater economic mobility.”
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