1 . Australian Open Wheelchair Tennis Winners

Wheelchair tennis champ Kunieda won the men's Australian Open once more on Thursday, beating a player from the United Kingdom. Diede Groot won the women's wheelchair finals by defeating Aniek van Koot.

This is the 11th time winning the Australian Open for Japan's Kunieda. But the two hours and 12 minutes match wasn't an easy one. He won the first set, but the player from the United Kingdom took the second set. Kunieda came roaring back in the third set to take the prize, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. He seemed to surprise even himself. "I played the best tennis of my career," he said, "Especially in the final set. I don't know how I did it, but I pushed past my limit. "He staged a comeback after losing in the semi-finals of last year's Australian Open. But it's probably not surprising, for someone who has won several Paralympic Gold Medals and 26 Grand Slam（大满贯）singles victories.

In the women's wheelchair finals, it was a contest between two athletes from the Netherlands. From early on, Diede Groot seemed to be in control. Much of the difference in play came from Groot's strong and steady serve. She made her first serve count 74% of the time, In the second set, she got out to a 5-0 lead before giving up a game to Aniek van Koot. But it didn't take her long to get back on track, winning the match 6-1, 6-1. The entire match took less than an hour. "I'm super happy," said Diede Groot. "It's the beginning of the year. I think I've showed everyone that I'm ready for the rest of the year." It was her 13th Grand Slam singles title. Last year, she earned a "Golden Slam" by winning all four Grand Slam tournaments, as well as a Paralympic gold.

2 . In their letters to Santa Claus, most kids ask for toys, dolls or maybe a new Xbox. All Jonah Simons wanted was a coronavirus cure to save the world. That was last year. This holiday season, the 10-year-old Florida boy is back with a different request for Santa.

“Dear Santa, it’s Jonah. Do you remember me? I was the one who asked for a covid cure,” he wrote in a letter addressed to the North Pole and shared with CNN. “Thank you so much for the vaccine! You helped save lives. This year, can I please have a Santa costume to spread your joy around the world?”

With a relentless virus and threats of the Omicron variant still plaguing a weary nation, Jonah has big plans for the Santa suit. “I want to wear it and go around the neighborhood and spread Santa’s joy, asking people what they want for Christmas,” the fifth-grader said.

Jonah turned 10 in July, and instead of gifts he asked his family and friends to donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. His birthday effort raised $1,000 in donations from family and friends all over—even his favorite employees at the local Publix store, his mother says.

He also marked his birthday by donating his hair to Locks of Love, the charity that makes wigs for kids with cancer or other medical conditions. During a year of lockdown, he teamed up with some friends and grew out his hair to nine inches.

Jonah’s good deeds are not limited to birthdays. He works to help his community all year, including donating and sorting food for the homeless with the organization Feeding South Florida, and packing holiday gifts for children.