Tennis

Serena Williams absolutely destroyed her opponent at the U.S. Open on Tuesday ... and NO ONE was happier for her than Tiger Woods ... who was losing his mind in the stands!!

The golf legend has been a spectator at the major tournament with his GF, Erica Herman, and his 10-year-old son, Charlie, this week ... even geeking out over meeting Rafael Nadal after his match on Monday.

Serena's 44-minute-long quarterfinal match against Wang Qiang was no different ... with Woods front and center for Williams' 6-1, 6-0 dominant performance ... and giving his classic fist pump celebration during the match!!

There were other huge names in the crowd to watch Serena ball out ... from her bestie, Priyanka Chopra, to NBA commish Adam Silver to Martha Stewart and singer James Blake.

As for Serena, next up is #5 ranked Elina Svitolina in the semifinals ... and if it's anything like what we saw on Tuesday, that woman's in trouble.

We spoke briefly with Serena in NYC on Wednesday morning -- and she told us if she wins the event this year, racking up her 24th grand slam ... she'll be back next year to try and claim #25!

Our guy also wished Serena's daughter a belated happy birthday -- and Serena politely reminded us that she's a Jehovah's Witness and therefore, they don't celebrate birthdays.

Serena Williams and her husband are worth nearly $200 million, but they still opt for the simplest form of mass transit in NYC -- a dude on a bicycle.

Serena spent part of Saturday, her off-day from the U.S. Open, cruising in a pedicab with hubby Alexis Ohanian and their daughter, Alexis. Talk about pressure on the pedicab rider -- just weaving through crazy city traffic with the G.O.A.T. of tennis hitched to you!

The fam was most likely having an early celebration their little girl's birthday ... she turns 2 on Sunday, but Mom's gonna be busy playing Petra Martic for a spot in the quarterfinals.

We're used to seeing Serena's killer instincts on the tennis court, but it's cool to see her maternal side here. Serena cradled her little girl -- while rocking matching tennis skirts, BTW -- while Dad settled up with the cab rider. Pretty freakin' cute.

YBN Cordae says there isn't much he can do to help his girlfriend, Naomi Osaka, prepare for a big tennis tournament ... other than be a supportive BF, that is.

We got the Maryland-based rapper leaving a Puma Store Friday night in NYC, where he's in town for the U.S. Open -- in which Naomi is competing and defending her championship. She's got a huge match Saturday night against up-and-comer Coco Gauff. Should be good.

Seeing how Naomi's got a lot on the table ... we asked Cordae if he does anything in particular to help her get ready for these high-stakes moments. Turns out, he says he mostly gets out of the way and let's her do her thing ... 'cause she knows what she's doing.

One thing he is in charge of though ... getting her to bed on time. Yep, that's good boyfriendin' 101, especially if your girl is an international superstar athlete.

Our camera guy also asks if he was able to glean any knowledge off off Kobe Bryant and Colin Kaepernick this week, as they were both sitting near YBN in the stands on Thursday.

Huge moment at the U.S. Open in New York ... where Colin Kaepernick and Kobe Bryant were spotted together in the stands to watch Naomi Osaka do her thing!

Kobe spotted Colin in the stands at Louis Armstrong Stadium and went over to say hi ... and when CK realized what was happening, he sprung up from his seat with a huge smile on his face!!

The guys did the ol' bro hug and talked for a bit before going back to watching the match.

And, get this ... Naomi's rap star boyfriend, YBN Cordae, was sitting right by the guys when the whole thing went down.

We also noticed Kap and Kobe were surrounded by security -- for obvious reasons.

Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, move over ... Rafael Nadal says he's down for an even more epic battle of the sexes match -- telling TMZ Sports he'd take on Naomi Osaka!!!

"Why not?!" Rafa says.

Of course, 33-year-old Nadal is one of the best men's tennis players ever ... and 21-year-old Naomi is currently the women's No. 1 ranked player -- so when we got Nadal leaving Milos in NYC on Thursday, we had to ask if they'd ever battle on the court.

Ya gotta see Nadal's answer ... the guy seems all kinds of down for it!!!

If the two somehow make it happen ... it'd be the second time tennis titans of the opposite sex go at it this year -- remember, Roger Federer beat Serena Williams in a doubles match in January.

As for why Nadal thinks he, Roger and Novak Djokovic have been dominating the sport for so long, he tells us, "We love what we do, my friend!"

Roger Federer caused insane pandemonium out in the Big Apple on Tuesday ... when a crush of passionate fans crowded together to try to get a brief glimpse of the tennis superstar.

TMZ Sports got video of the insane scene outside Uniqlo on Fifth Avenue in NYC ... where Federer was doing a Q&A for the clothing brand.

Of course ... Federer -- currently the #3 ranked male tennis player -- famously left Nike for the Japanese company last year for $300 MILLION.

Just by looking at the scene outside the store, it's clear 38-year-old Federer is still one of the biggest sports superstars on the planet.

Of course, it's something that tends to happen when international ballers hit up NYC ... remember how bonkers it got when Manchester United superstar Paul Pogba hit up the Adidas store last month?

Gigi Hadid and Tyler Cameron are going strong after his one-and-done date with 'Bachelorette' Hannah B. -- and now, he's rubbing shoulders with Serena Williams!!!

Talk about riding the fame wave, huh? Tyler and Gigi were spotted out with the tennis legend Tuesday night at La Esquina in NYC, where they were hugging it out with a friend on the way out. Serena was on the move, but they all seemed to be together.

No sign of Serena's hubby, Alexis Ohanian, here -- but Serena was with another tennis great, Caroline Wozniacki ... who's hitched to ex-NBA star David Lee (he was absent too). Point is ... Tyler's racing up the Hollywood ladder since his time on TV.

Granted, the dude had a legit modeling career prior to making it on primetime television -- which is as strong as ever now post-Hannah's season -- but Tyler is the perfect example of having your cake and eating it too. He appears to have banged Hannah, and then quickly moved on to Gigi a few days later. Hannah's not trippin' by the way -- she says she's single.

Meanwhile, Tyler and Gigi have been going out together a lot more -- seems like they're the new "It" couple on the streets of Manhattan these days. A helluva come up for Tyler, if we do say so ourselves.

At the rate he's going, we wouldn't be surprised to see TC out and about with Obama and Beyonce next. That's how much he's level jumping in his celeb status right now.

But, it's all good -- keep on keeping on, bro.

A guy cops say claimed to be Genie Bouchard's brother charged more than $40,000 to the tennis star's personal account at a fancy Miami Beach hotel ... only problem is, HE'S NOT HER BRO!

The Miami Beach PD arrested 24-year-old Solomon Shlomo Azari at the 1 Hotel South Beach on Sunday -- where the tennis star lives when she's in Miami.

Cops say Azari went to the hotel regularly over a 2 month period and would run up tabs at the restaurant and bar ... and charge it all to Bouchard's account.

In total, cops say Azari made nearly $42,000 in charges, according to WSVN's Sheldon Fox.

Oh, and when cops arrested Azari ... they claim he had cocaine in his pocket!

Officials say Azari is now facing charges of coke possession, organized scheme to defraud, identity fraud and grand theft.

Serena Williams was weeping from the sidelines after having to back out of a big match Sunday -- but her opponent proved to a good sport ... and her biggest fan.

The tennis icon was facing 19-year-old Canadian phenom Bianca Andreescu in Toronto for the 2019 Rogers Cup Final -- and after playing four rounds ... Serena was forced to pull the plug and remove herself from contention due to back spasms she was experiencing.

According to reports, she had started to feel the spasms as late as Saturday night during her semifinal victory over Marie Bouzkova.

Looks like it all came to a head Sunday, because Serena became incredibly emotional as she took a seat near the side netting and made her decision to withdraw final. Pretty amazingly, Bianca ran over to console her ... and shared some pretty inspiring words too.

Andreescu and Serena were both mic'd up, and you can hear the former ask if Serena was okay as she embraced her in a hug. After Serena breaks the news to her -- that she was pulling out -- Bianca lets her know there's no shame in her game ... 'cause she's the best.

She says, "I've watched you your whole career, you're a f***ing beast with injuries," adding that she's been through several herself, and knows a bad break when she sees one.

Serena also makes mention of a tattoo she has, and Bianca quickly points out where it is ... saying, "I know everything about you." The two then hugged again on camera.

Serena later explained to the Rogers Cup crowd that she simply couldn't tough it out that day, noting that she had tried. She ended on an optimistic tone, saying that despite it being a rough year professionally, she was going to keep going and competing.

The bummer ending comes almost a year after her controversial U.S. Open finals match with Naomi Osaka, who won amid a sea of boos after Serena's outburst, and eventual loss. She faced Naomi again on Friday and beat her ... but health was her Achilles heel this time.

Novak Djokovic doesn't need a racket to whoop you on the court .... he doesn't even need hands, 'cause the 32-year-old tennis superstar will beat you with his noggin and his feet!!!

The Joker showed off his insane coordination with an intense game of soccer tennis on Friday ... and the 45-second rally is really impressive.

In case you couldn't figure it out, "Soccer Tennis" is tennis where you can't use your hands. It's super hard and VERY impressive to watch.

The #1 ranked player in the world kills it with his skills ... trappin' and juggling the ball like he's Lionel Messi.

Rapper YBN Cordae is livin' the dream right now -- he's got a tennis superstar girlfriend, he made XXL's prestigious "Freshman Class" list, and he just dropped a debut album that's getting great reviews.

Yeah ... that's probably why the dude was so chipper when we saw him out in NYC!!!

As we previously reported ... the 21-year-old and Naomi Osaka -- #2-ranked tennis player in the world -- were getting close back in April and spending a lot of time together.

The young couple is officially official now (our source is pretty rock solid) ... but Cordae makes it clear he has to earn every dub ... at least on the tennis court.

Cordae says his tennis skills are improving ... but tells us Naomi doesn't take it easy on him.

FYI -- the YBN rapper just dropped his first project, "The Lost Boy." We gotta say, it's really dope ... and it's got features from huge names like Pusha T, Meek Mill, Anderson .Paak and Chance the Rapper.

Dude's winning on all levels.

You're looking at the BIGGEST TENNIS PLAYER EVER!!!

... seriously, here's Reilly Opelka -- he's 6'11" tall and he just upset John Isner (the highest ranked American male in tennis) at the Atlanta Open!!!

So, what's the best part of being a GIANT on the court?

The 21-year-old stopped to talk to TMZ Sports about the pros and cons of being Shaq-sized ... and it's super interesting.

There's definitely one big advantage on the court ... and he put it on display during the Isner match.

Opelka was the 57th ranked player in the world going into the Isner match. Isner was #14.

Still, Reilly came out on the winning side of a tie-breaker in the final set and now, he's set to play Dan Evans in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Besides the tennis talk, we HAD to ask about the height! What's it like finding tennis clothes when you're a 7-footer? And, since he's got crazy athletic skills, was he recruited over to the basketball court?

We ran through it all with Reilly -- and the dude couldn't have been nicer.

Rafael Nadal just bought a fully decked-out custom yacht ... and it's AWESOME!!!

The 33-year-old tennis superstar (he's only 33!) is a huge fan of luxury floaty boats -- he's in the middle of selling his OTHER yacht, Beethoven, for $3 million ... but he just couldn't wait to get the ball rolling on his new toy.

The yacht -- an 80 Sunreef Power catamaran -- isn't finished being built yet ... but it should be good to go by 2020. Hey, something to look forward to!!!

Nadal's got great taste .... the yacht comes with an awesome bar, multiple sun decks, huge garage and can fit up to 12 of his closest friends.

The Wimbledon L clearly ain't affecting Serena Williams ... the tennis legend was out partying in Hollywood on Thursday -- and she looked GREAT!!!!

The 37-year-old superstar hit up Sunset Room for the Sports Illustrated Fashionable 50 party -- you know, the one where they honor the 50 hottest athletes in the world -- and Serena killed it.

Obviously, some thought a rough loss to Simona Halep on Saturday might hamper her style ... but, clearly, there ain't no hangover here!!

Other celebs crushed it too ... Michelle Wie, Errol Spence Jr., Ben Simmons, DeAndre Jordan and Chloe Kim all rocked fancy duds.

Also, NBA stud Kelly Oubre Jr. showed up in this.

Lindsey Vonn and her hockey-playing BF, P.K. Subban, were also there -- and they've sure been getting close lately.

Genie Bouchard met her biggest fan on Wednesday ... and if you had any doubts about that, check out the massive Genie Bouchard tattoo on the dude's forearm!!

The tennis superstar came face-to-face with a man named Michael in Switzerland recently ... and he showed off his permanent tribute to his favorite athlete.

"This is insane," Genie says. "How did I get to a point to deserve such a dedicated fan that they would get a tattoo of me on their body?"

"If you told 8-year-old me playing my first tournament that I would one day affect someone so much that they would permanently alter their body in my honour... I would not have believed it."

The fan explains that Genie is his biggest inspiration to get out of bed and grind it out everyday ... so he decided to give her a spot on his body!!

"Hearing this makes my heart the happiest it could ever be. Part of me also thinks you’re completely psycho Michael"

"I hope you don’t regret this! And now, you are forced to be a fan for life lmao," Bouchard joked.

Jeff Bezos and girlfriend Lauren Sanchez were among a throng of celebs to watch the men's finals Sunday at Wimbledon.

It's the second time we've seen them together since the ink on his divorce docs dried.  

They weren't the only famous ones to witness Roger Federer take on Novak Djokovic. Kate Middleton, Prince William, Pippa Middleton, Benedict Cumberbatch, James Middleton, Sir Cliff Richard, Stanley Tucci, Tom Hiddleston, Kendall Jenner, Fai Khadra, Vera Wang, and Woody Harrelson were also glued to their seats.

Federer will attempt to win his ninth Wimbledon title, and Djokovic could become a five-time champ in SW19.

BTW ... this is Kate's 3rd visit to Wimbledon this month. She's obviously a fan.