Blicavs is back and ready to light up John Cain Arena

After more than two and a half years, the WNBL is back at John Cain Arena and Olympian Sara Blicavs cannot wait to light up the court. 

In the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Sydney, Blicavas played in front of one of the biggest women’s basketball crowds in history and experienced the power of sport on the big stage first-hand. It was just a few months later where she was part of another milestone, as the WNBL staged its inaugural game at John Cain Arena, honouring the legacy of Lauren Jackson. 

But her journey has been anything but simple. Shortly after playing in both historic events, Blicavs underwent a spinal fusion in early 2024 – followed by a difficult 12-month recovery before signing with the UC Capitals and beginning a new chapter in her career. 

Now, healthy and hungry, Blicavs is ready for the next big moment, the WNBL26 season opener at John Cain Arena on Saturday, 18 October. 

“It was an amazing feeling to even get to play in that stadium and to have it as full as it was back then,” she said.

“The build-up, warm-ups, the intros and the music were different. Everything's a lot louder.”

Blicavs sees the WNBL26 season opener as a “fresh start”, after overcoming the back pain she experienced when she last played. For her, Canberra and the coming season will be the second phase in the 32-year-old's storied career. 

“Making the Australian team (2025 Trans-Tasman Series and 2025 Asia Cup) was huge for me, and I think all of my emotions went into that,” she said. 

“Since my back surgery and coming to Canberra, it's a fresh start for me. I haven't felt this happy towards basketball in a long time. Mentally, I feel so light as well when I play. I'm genuinely just enjoying myself."

Blicavs admitted the past few seasons pushed her to her limit, both physically and mentally. Battling the constant back pain and the mental load it carried, she found it hard to truly enjoy the game. Now, with her body finally free, she has rediscovered her love for basketball and can’t wait to hit the court this season

“The last few years have been a drag… I hadn’t really enjoyed basketball,” she said.

“To play fresh and light and happy, and you make a mistake, you don't really care. I feel like I'm playing basketball back when I was in my early 20s, and that's a really cool thing for me.”

Coming into her 16th WNBL season, Blicavs explained how far the league has come in the past few years – especially the past 12 months under new ownership. 

“How much it has been built in the last 15 years is insane. The future is so bright,” she said. 

“[The WNBL] is doing a great job of really lifting up the sport. Women's sports is a big movement at the moment, and I think women's basketball is an even bigger one right now.  We'll go on the back of that energy… Give it five years and this could be one of the best women's sports in the country.” 

Playing at John Cain Arena for the second time in WNBL history is a turning point for Blicavs, stating she hopes this becomes the norm with the momentum of women’s sports. 

“It's cool to know that the future of women's basketball can end up in stadiums like this. I hope that this is just the norm moving forward. The Flyers' home stadium is JCA, in Sydney, we play in Qudos Bank Arena, you know?," she said.

"We've got the AIS Arena here in Canberra and we're starting to pack that out, so I really hope to see more of that going ahead.”

Fresh from the Townsville Tip Off ‘25, where the Southside Melbourne Flyers finished second and the Capitals closely followed at fourth, the two teams look like true Championship contenders heading into WNBL26. With a raucous atmosphere at John Cain Arena, this is the game you cannot miss.

Greatness will be closer than you think on October 18th, get your tickets here.