Tennis

Common is strongly siding with his ex-GF, Serena Williams -- telling TMZ Sports someone is trying to "take her down" by drug testing her more than usual ... and it's all because she's a black woman.

Hours before we spoke with Common, Serena went off about being drug tested more than any other female tennis player ... and accused officials of "discrimination."

Common clearly agrees -- saying, "As a black woman, do you think she's getting discriminated against? YES."

"If they're testing her more than anyone else, it's a reason for that. And there's conscious and subconscious and I would say conscious is the fact that she's a black woman and they're looking for some reason to be able to take her down and discredit her ... but she's the queen!"

Genie Bouchard injured her groin last weekend ... but she clearly didn't hurt her butt -- 'cause the tennis star was shakin' it all over the place in Morocco on Wednesday!!

The 24-year-old cruised over to Africa after an injury cut her run in the Swiss Open short ... and she looked no worse for wear gettin' some rehab work in by her luxury hotel's pool.

In a barely-there neon green and hot pink bikini ... Genie made sure to get a couple sets of champagne sippin' and booty poppin' to get right.

Yeah ... we think she'll make a full recovery.

BTW -- Genie's getting pretty good at this whole bikini thing ... she slayed the SI Swimsuit shoot this year.

Eat your heart out, Super Bowl bet guy.

Serena Williams is furious at the "random" drug tests in her sport -- claiming she's been singled out by officials and tested more than any other player ... and she's saying it's "discrimination."

The 36-year-old tennis superstar -- who just came in 2nd at Wimbledon -- went off Tuesday night on Twitter as she got ready to take another drug test.

"And it’s that time of the day to get 'randomly' drug tested and only test Serena. Out of all the players it’s been proven I’m the one getting tested the most."

"Discrimination? I think so. At least I’ll be keeping the sport clean #StayPositive."

She added, "But I’m ready to do whatever it takes to have a clean sport so bring it on. I’m excited."

Maria Sharapova's professional season might be winding down, but her boyfriend is kicking off ass-eatin' season ... in a big way!

The Russian tennis star was lounging in a bikini Sunday in Positano, alongside her millionaire bf, Alexander Gilkes, who decided to order lunch OFF-menu. For some reason, Alex got a face full of Maria's butt.

He was also pretty handsy with the booty -- so, there's little question to what he sees in Maria. Check out the pics, though ... she was stuck on her phone the whole time he was going to work back there.

Caroline Wozniacki's not sweating missing out on one of the biggest days in women's tennis ... she's staying cool in the pool instead.

The tennis star and her NBA fiance, David Lee, are still vacationing in Italy -- now they're in Portofino -- and were spotted Saturday getting wet and enjoying some delicious-looking drinks.

As we reported ... the couple jetted over to Italy early this week after Caroline got bounced from Wimbledon in the second round.

9:33 AM PT -- Serena was defeated by Angelique Kerber, 6-3 6-3, who won her first career Wimbledon title and third major. Serena was interviewed after the match, saying she was disappointed she couldn't get the win for all the moms out there ... but thanked everyone for their support and said she was happy to be back.

Meghan Markle has friends in high places, and not just at the Palace ... because she showed up to watch her good friend Serena Williams try to make some history.

Meghan brought sister-in-law Kate Middleton along for the ride to sit in the peanut gallery at Wimbledon, to watch Serena attempt a super-human feat ... bouncing back after a difficult post-pregnancy to tie the record for Grand Slam wins.

Caroline Wozniacki seems devastated after losing at Wimbledon, doesn't she?!

Just days after the tennis superstar got bounced from the tourney, she and her NBA fiance, David Lee, jetted over to Capri, Italy ... where they're yachting, relaxing and taking bikini pics.

Yeah, she's clearly heartbroken.

Also, Wednesday is Caroline's 28th birthday -- and, judging from her vacation pics, she seems WAY happier being in sunny Capri than cloudy England.

Plus, this way, Caro gets to show off her insane physique -- which she did in the 2016 and 2017 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition (awesome, btw).

As for the whole Wimbledon thing, Wozniacki lost in the 2nd round to Russian star Ekaterina Makarova ... after a swarm of flying ants invaded the court.

No flying ants in Capri ... just sayin'.

Drake is teaching the world a valuable lesson from a courtside seat at Serena Williams' Wimbledon match Tuesday ... exes don't have to hate each other!!

The "In My Feelings" rapper was all about cheering on his former flame during her tilt with Camila Giorgi in the Wimbledon quarterfinal.

He showed concern when she was down ... smiles when she was up ... and drink sippin' when she dominated.

Remember ... the two had a huge thing back in 2015 -- there were even engagement rumors!! -- but it fizzled.

Boris Becker -- who was recently caught flashing a fake diplomatic passport in order to evade a multi-million dollar debt -- is now at Wimbledon ... which begs the question, who's paying for this?!

Remember, 50-year-old Becker was declared bankrupt in the U.S. in 2017 after racking up a "historic debt."

Then, last month, officials say Becker was flashing a fake passport from the Central African Republic, which was so bad it didn't even have the signature or stamp of the foreign minister.

The theory is Becker essentially thought the document was a "get out of debt free" card -- but it wasn't.

Now, Becker is at Wimbledon ... where everything's expensive -- except the traditional strawberries and cream snack (which runs about $3.20).

Tennis star Nick Kyrgios was slapped with a hard fine of $17,500 for pretending his water bottle was a penis ... and masturbating it on the court.

It all went down Saturday during his Queen’s Club Championship semi-final match when cameras caught the tennis bad boy simulating a 5-knuckle shuffle on his water bottle ... complete with a finish.

The tournament's supervisor, Lars Graff, hit the 23-year-old with the fine ... but would only cite "inappropriate behavior" for the penalty.

Guess miming masturbation with a water bottle isn't quite in the written no-nos of tennis' rulebook just yet.

Boris Becker -- the broke ass former tennis star -- claims to have a diplomatic passport from the Central African Republic that gives him immunity in his bankruptcy case in the UK.

There's just one problem -- IT'S FAKE ... at least, according to the C.A.R.

Becker has been flaunting the document ... insisting it's essentially a magic document that protects him from having to pay back the "historic debt" he racked up in Britain.

As we previously reported, a UK court declared Becker bankrupt in 2017 -- and his reps begged the court for mercy claiming he's simply not a "sophisticated individual."

Which brings us to the fake passport ...

Officials say it's not just the serial numbers that gave it away -- it DOESN'T CARRY THE SIGNATURE OR STAMP OF THE FOREIGN MINISTER!!!!!

In fact, the serial numbers match up with a batch of passports that were stolen in 2014.

Bottom line -- Becker's an idiot, he's got a bogus passport and he's still gonna have to pay for that whole bankruptcy thing.

Serena Williams doesn't seem too bummed about pulling out of the French Open this week -- in fact, she's nursing her injury at Disneyland!!!

The tennis superstar rounded up her family -- Mom, hubby Alexis Ohanian and daughter Alexis Olympia -- and went to Disneyland Paris on Thursday ... home of rides like Indiana Jones et le Temple du Péril, Les Tapis Volants and Le Carrousel de Lancelot!

The family seemed to be having a blast despite the fact baby Alexis is only 9 months old ... and most people in our office agree it sucks to take a 9-month-old to Disneyland since they can't really do anything or appreciate anything and most likely won't even remember the trip.

NOOOOO!!!!!

Serena Williams' highly-anticipated showdown with Maria Sharapova at the French Open ain't happening on Monday ... after Serena pulled out of the match due to an injury.

It's a total bummer for the tennis world ... which has waited 2 years for the superstars to face off after Sharapova served a 15-month suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.

For the record -- Williams OWNS Sharapova on the court. She's won 18 straight against the cheating Russian and has a 19-2 record overall against her.

We were particularly stoked for this match to watch a post-pregnancy Serena deliver karmic tennis justice to a PED user.

As for the injury, Serena says she's got a nagging pectoral issue that wouldn't allow her to serve properly.

Tennis legend Chris Evert -- the former #1 ranked player in the world -- is selling her Boca Raton mansion (complete with its own tennis court) ... and it's all yours if you've got $5 MIL!

The place is massive -- 12,296 square feet sitting on a 5-acre lot.

We're talking 8 bedrooms, 8 baths, par 3 golf course, 9 car garage, 2 guest houses ... and, of course, a private tennis court on the grounds!!!

If John McEnroe reconsiders and accepts Donald Trump's million dollar offer to play Serena or Venus Williams ... one major celebrity has already picked the women to win.

"Man, Serena and Venus all the way," Common told us.

Of course, Common's a little biased ... he used to date Serena back in the day -- but maybe that's why he's confident Johnny Mac would take the "L" if they really throw down on the court.

As we previously reported, McEnroe says Trump made a real effort to make the $1 Mil Battle of the Sexes match a reality ... but John says he had no real desire to compete against a female.

John McEnroe says Donald Trump offered him $1,000,000 to play a tennis match against Serena or Venus Williams ... but he shot it down.

"I was calling a match and suddenly I get this envelope and it's from Donald Trump," McEnroe said on "In Depth with Graham Bensinger."

McEnroe didn't specify WHEN Trump sent the envelope -- only noting it was before he became President.

So, why'd John turn it down?

"It's never been something where I was like ... I wanna go play a woman in a match."

You gotta watch the clip ... John is pretty confident he'd win -- reminding everyone he was once the #1 player in the world.