Tennis

Imagine you're playing some casual tennis with a friend ... and all of a sudden SERENA WILLIAMS shows up and asks if she can join in??

That's exactly what happened in San Francisco Sunday night ... when two guys lost their minds when the GOAT walked up to their court.

Williams was taking an evening stroll at Mission Dolores Park with her fiance, Alexis Ohanian, when she decided to make the pit stop ... just to see how the guys would react.

It was cool -- Serena came onto the court and posed for pics -- but she didn't play a full set with the guys because she didn't have the proper footwear.

Good news for Genie Bouchard ... the complete stranger she agreed to go on a date with after an online bet wasn't a complete weirdo -- in fact, she's down for a 2nd date!!

As we previously reported, the tennis superstar made a bet with the guy during the Super Bowl -- saying she'd go on a date with him when the Pats came back from that impossible 25 point deficit. They did.

The two met in NYC for the first time Wednesday night and went to the Brooklyn Nets game -- and judging by the video, things went about as well as they could've gone!

There's a HUGE difference between "gorilla" and "guerrilla" when referring to Venus Williams -- so says ex-ESPN tennis announcer, Doug Adler, who claims he was wrongly fired after people THOUGHT he was being racist.

Adler was calling a match between Venus and Stefanie Voegele at the Australian Open last month when he claims he commented on an exchange by saying, "You see Venus move in and put the guerrilla effect on ... charging."

Adler says Twitter freaked out and misunderstood what he was trying to say -- wrongly interpreting the comment as racist. Instead, Adler says the term is NOT racist, but rather a "frequently used" word in tennis to describe an aggressive style of play. In fact, Adler says Nike ran a tennis campaign back in the '90s called "Guerrilla Tennis."

Adler says ESPN understood what he meant but made him apologize anyway ... only to fire him a short time later.

Adler says he's screwed professionally because of the way his termination played out in the media -- saying, "No one will hire a 'racist.'"

For the record, Adler says he's "anything but a racist."

He's suing for unspecified damages.

What do you do when Maria Sharapova has no answers for your questions? ASK THE FONZ ... 'cause Henry Winkler just stepped in for the tennis star and played publicist for her in L.A.

It all started when we got Maria at LAX, and wanted to know some really hard-hitting questions about her training regimen during her suspension and her mindset when she comes back.

Maria was mum ... but lucky for us, Henry Winkler showed up outta nowhere (literally, guy just appeared) and answered every burning question our photog had.

Happy Thursday, butt lovers ... here's Serena Williams making the mid-week great again, frolicking around an empty dance studio in see-through tights with that trophy-winning body on full display.

The reason for the bountiful goodness is Berlei underwear ... a brand Serena's been endorsing for a couple of years and is wearing in the spot.

Apparently, the aim of the ad is to show that Serena sometimes just likes to have fun and cut loose, dancing it up while wearing Berlei undies.

Serena Williams just showed the world her new engagement ring ... and it's massive.

Williams posted the pic Thursday with new fiance and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and -- while it's not a super close-up of the rock -- you can tell she's sporting some serious bling.

The couple announced their engagement last week ... but somehow the diamond hasn't seen the light of day until now.

A Grand Slam for Ohanian.

Maria Sharapova might be in the middle of her 15 month suspension for doping but she's still dope.

Maria enjoyed a little R&R on the island of Lanai over the New Year and, judging by her rock hard body in that tiny black bikini, she's been keeping up with her tennis training.

Here's Caroline Wozniacki proving the life of a pro tennis player is super, super tough ... taking the time to go full vacay mode while on Richard Branson's private island.

Wozniacki and fellow tennis star Nicole Gibbs are hanging out on Necker Island for the Necker Cup ... a super exclusive Pro-Am tennis tournament.

(Fun Fact: Mike Tyson's tennis prodigy daughter is also there!)

We're not sure if it's work or play ... but judging by the video of Gibbs teeing off into a pristine ocean view (and almost hitting a boat!) it looks like a little bit of both.

It takes great sacrifice to be a great champion and Serena Williams is making the biggest sacrifice of all -- DONUTS!!!!

The tennis superstar was greeted at LAX by a fan who wanted to gift Serena with a dozen delicious treats from the legendary Randy's Donuts in L.A.

Problem is, Serena had to shoot down the offer explaining, "I'm not eating donuts right now. I'm trying to get fit."

We get it ... she's gearing up for her return to the court at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand in January.

But for the record, she looks pretty damn fit to us.

Turns out, Draymond Green's a big tennis fan -- but the NBA star says he was so upset when Serena Williams got bounced from the U.S. Open last night, he won't watch the rest of the tourney.

"I'm mad Serena lost. I hate to see Serena lose!"

FYI, Green and Odell Beckham were in the stands when Serena beat Simona Halep on Wednesday ... and thought she'd coast over 10th seed Karolina Pliskova on Thursday night.

But Pliskova shocked the world ... and Draymond ain't happy about it.

"Ain't your day every day," Green said ... "Can't win 'em all. She's still the greatest."

Serena Williams has absolutely NO DAMN SHOT to beat a top men's tennis pro ... that's according to tennis legend Billie Jean King ... who says Williams would go down hard to any of the elite guys.

Billie Jean King is a TITAN in women's sports -- most notably for pummeling Bobby Riggs (who was 55) in a co-ed tennis match dubbed the "Battle Of The Sexes" back in 1973.

We got King out in L.A. recently and wanted to know if the seemingly unbeatable Serena would fair as well against an active men's pro, as King did against Riggs.

Billie's short answer? HELL NO.

King leaves the door open for Serena to do work against guys at the bottom of the male tennis tour, but makes it clear the Federers, Nadals and Djokovics of the world would all smoke her.

A tennis star with a HUGE backhand directed at Taylor Swift -- says she's sick of the singer always portraying herself as the victim ... just like she's doing in the Kanye West feud.

Serena Williams can drop it like it's hot ... on the grass and in the ballroom.

Serena -- celebrating her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam -- wore her Sunday best at The Wimbledon Winners Ball at The Guildhall in London. Serena was in hot demand ... she also hit up Lewis Hamilton's British Grand Prix party.

#Legend

Maria Sharapova was just hit with a TWO YEAR BAN by the International Tennis Federation for doping ... but she claims it's "unfair" and vows to appeal.

The ITF just issued a statement saying Sharapova's urine tested positive for meldonium -- a metabolic modulator that's prohibited in the sport.

The ITF says it cut Sharapova a break when it comes to the punishment because she "promptly admitted" to the offense. Instead of starting the 2-year ban today, they will backdate the suspension to January 26 -- the date of the sample collection.

The ITF also ruled that her results at the 2016 Australian Open should be disqualified -- and she must forfeit her ranking points and prize money that she won at that event.

For her part, Sharapova says she did NOT intentionally use the substance -- and wants her fans to know she should not be considered a cheater.

"The ITF spent tremendous amounts of time and resources trying to prove I intentionally violated the anti-doping rules and the tribunal concluded I did not," Sharapova said in a statement.

"You need to know that the ITF asked the tribunal to suspend me for four years – the required suspension for an intentional violation -- and the tribunal rejected the ITF’s position."

Sharapova says she will fight the decision -- "I cannot accept an unfairly harsh two-year suspension ... I will immediately appeal the suspension."

"I intend to stand for what I believe is right and that’s why I will fight to be back on the tennis court as soon as possible."

Good news ... Serena Williams is finally recovered from that whole dog food mishap (R.I.P. toilet) -- and just showed off the inside of her HUUUUGE apartment in Paris -- and it's awesome.

First off, Paris is one of the most expensive cities in the world when it comes to real estate -- so when you see the size of this place, you know Serena dropped SERIOUS CASH to buy it.

You gotta see the video tour Serena gives ... showing off everything from her renovated kitchen to her bar area ... and her awesome closet -- straight out of 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.'

FYI, Serena reportedly made $25 million last year.

File Under: "When Tennis Goes Very VERY Wrong."

Here's the smashed face of Virgin billionaire Richard Branson ... moments after he bashed himself in the mouth with a tennis racket -- in a leisure activity gone bad.

Branson says he was playing a match on the tennis court at the insane Moskito Island resort in the British Virgin Islands -- when he took a swing and accidentally ate racket.

"I went for a lob…and somehow ended up smashing my two front teeth with my racquet! I’ve heard of tennis elbow, but this was tennis teeth. As you can see from the photo, it was not pretty."

Branson says he contacted a local dentist who fixed his grill -- and he was back out on the court the next day.

Meantime, check out the island resort where the accident went down ... it's good to be mega-rich.