Tennis

It wasn't just a perfect night for Serena Williams in the first round of the U.S. Open -- it was a match made in heaven for President Bill Clinton, too ... 'cause #42 had a seat right next to famous sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer!!

Wonder what they talked about.

There were a ton of celebs in Flushing to see the GOAT go up against Danka Kovinic at Arthur Ashe Stadium ... from Hugh Jackman to Offset to Mike Tyson.

But the sighting that gave most fans -- and even the commentators -- a chuckle was Billy C's interaction with Dr. Ruth ... and whatever was said, it made the former POTUS' face red.

As for the match ... Serena won easily, 6-3 6-3 ... extending her incredible career by at least one more round. As we previously reported, Williams is expected to retire after the tournament.

One of the most precious moments of the whole night was when Serena and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian's daughter, Olympia, was spotted wearing a matching outfit in the stands ... and using her own camera to capture the experience, just like King Richard used to do.

Speaking of Ohanian, TMZ Sports caught up with the proud hubby out in NYC on Monday ... and briefly talked to us about Serena's future off the court.

Serena Williams will be hitting the court in style on Monday -- 'cause the tennis legend had a custom outfit and diamond-encrusted shoes made for her last U.S. Open.

Serena -- who announced she was "evolving away" from tennis after the Grand Slam event -- designed a figure skater-style 'fit for her last on-court hoorah.

When Williams hits the court in Queens, she will wear a six-layer skirt ... paying homage to the number of U.S. Open championships she's won.

Serena, 40, will also be sporting a matching jacket and tote to accompany the dress and shoes .. compliments of the Swoosh.

The best part is the footwear Williams -- who's won 23 Grand Slam titles in her career -- will wear ... custom PE NikeCourt Flare 2 shoes featuring solid gold deubrés with 400 hand-set diamonds.

The stones are set in Black ceramic created in collaboration with the tennis icon's jewelry line, according to Nike's press release.

Nike said Serena provided the vision and details for her custom outfit and shoes ... and both designs will allow the tennis star to look good and feel comfortable while competing.

Williams is no stranger to fashion -- in February, she paid tribute to her late friend Virgil Abloh, who passed away unexpectedly, by modeling in the Off-White show at Paris Fashion Week.

Tennis star Nick Kyrgios is being sued by the woman he had booted from his Wimbledon match for allegedly getting wasted and distracting him ... with the fan instructing her attorney to file a defamation lawsuit in court!

Anna Palus, a fan who was ejected from Nick's July 10 finals match in London, released a statement Tuesday, saying she plans to take the 27-year-old Australian to court for what she claims was a damaging characterization.

As we previously reported, Kyrgios complained to the refs during his match against Novak Djokovic, saying Anna looked "drunk out of her mind" and kept talking to him while he was playing.

When asked by the chair umpire to identify the woman who was distracting him, Kyrgios famously said, "She's the one who looks like she's had 700 drinks."

Anna claims she and her family suffered "very substantial damage and distress" due to the incident ... and now, they're going after Kyrgios for the alleged harm he's caused.

"During the course of the final, Nick Kyrgios made a reckless and entirely baseless allegation against me," the statement read. "Not only did this cause considerable harm on the day, resulting in my temporary removal from the arena, but Mr. Kyrgios’s false allegation was broadcast to, and read by, millions around the world."

"The need to obtain vindication and to prevent [the] repetition of the allegation are the only reasons for taking legal action. Any damages recovered will be donated to charity," the statement continued.

Kyrgios lost the final to Djokovic in four sets.

Ultimately, Anna says she hopes Kyrgios will reflect on the harm he's caused her and her family and offer a "prompt resolution" to address the situation.

Rick Macci -- the iconic coach who helped Serena Williams become a household name -- says he's happy the tennis superstar is walking away from the sport on her own terms ... telling TMZ Sports he's not surprised by her decision.

Of course, the former player and coach played an important role in shaping both Serena and Venus' careers ... teaching the sisters in their youth as they became the best sister duo in the world.

We spoke with Macci about Serena's recent retirement announcement ... and he says he wasn't shocked by the news.

"It doesn't surprise me," Macci said. "Listen, she's doing this on her terms. She has a lot of things going on. I'm just happy for her because she's making the decision and she's doing it on her terms."

"It's not an injury, she's not hanging on too long or anything like that, but what I really like it's gonna end at the U.S. Open. That's where she won her first Grand Slam and people in New York love it. I think it's gonna be a must-see TV and knowing Serena, she's gonna go out with a bang.

Macci says he understands Serena's mindset -- and if she can't commit 100% to her craft on the court, then it's time to walk away.

The Williams sisters' coach sent a special message for Serena ... saying, "You're doing it on your terms. Most of all, you're happy and that's the most important thing."

Serena Williams is moving on from the sport she's dominated for decades -- the superstar just announced she's "evolving away" from tennis after the U.S. Open.

The 40-year-old shared the news in an essay with Vogue on Tuesday ... saying it's time to move on and focus on other challenges -- raising a family and business ventures off the court.

"I’m terrible at goodbyes, the world’s worst," Williams said. "But please know that I am more grateful for you than I can ever express in words. You have carried me to so many wins and so many trophies."

"I’m going to miss that version of me, that girl who played tennis. And I’m going to miss you."

Serena currently has 23 individual Grand Slams and 14 in doubles alongside her sister, Venus. She won her most recent singles title while two months pregnant in 2017.

Serena is by far one of the greatest to ever do it ... and has changed the sport of tennis forever since making her debut in 1995.

In fact, she is the highest-earning female athlete of all time ... and was ranked 31st on Forbes' list of top earnings among all pros in 2022 with $45.3 million.

Her off-court ventures have proven to be just as successful -- in 2009, Serena and Venus became minority owners of the Miami Dolphins, making them the first black women to hold any ownership of an NFL team.

Serena is also one of the owners of the Angel City FC soccer team ... and earlier this year, committed millions in hopes of helping a big do buy Chelsea FC in London.

Recently, Williams started Serena Ventures, which raised $111 million in outside funding this year.

A movie about the Williams sisters' upbringing, "King Richard," was released in 2021 to positive reviews ... and earned Will Smith an Oscar for his portrayal of their father, Richard. Both sisters were executive producers for the flick.

Serena -- who gave birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., in 2017 -- is married to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian ... and says she would like to have more children.

Serena wishes she had more time to say goodbye to the sport ... but given her goals of expanding her family, she's left with no choice.

"Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family," she added. "I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family. Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity."

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka and her rapper boyfriend, Cordae, are going stronger than ever and have NOT broken up ... despite reports claiming otherwise.

The rumors began to swirl on social media this week ... when one blog stated the two 24-year-olds had called it quits.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ Sports the Japanese pro and "Chronicles" MC are actually doing better than ever ... and they're most definitely still "happily in love."

In fact, we're told Cordae and NO have been spending even more time together recently ... which makes the initial report even more of a head-scratcher.

As we previously reported, the duo first started going public with their relationship in 2019 ... and have been each other's biggest supporters during album releases and tennis matches.

Speaking of, Cordae is fresh off a buzzing performance at Lollapalooza ... and Osaka just made her first return to the court since May, winning her first-round match of the Silicon Valley Classic.

Osaka said after the match she was "really happy" to be back on the court ... so it sounds like everything's going well for the superstar.

The COVID-19 drama isn't behind Novak Djokovic just yet ... tennis officials confirmed the legendary player will NOT compete in the upcoming Grand Slam, the U.S. Open, unless he gets vaccinated.

The 35-year-old Serbian tennis star -- who isn't vaxxed against the virus -- will not be on the court in Flushing Meadows, Queens ... because the United States doesn't currently allow unvaccinated, non-citizens to enter the country.

There was hope amongst tennis fans that something might be done to allow Novak to play ... but on Wednesday officials squashed that idea.

"The US Open does not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, but it will respect the US government’s position regarding travel into the country for unvaccinated non-US citizens,” the Open announced.

Djokovic, a three-time U.S. Open champ, was also banned from the Australian Open for the same reason.

That story became one of the biggest and most polarizing in the sports world.

Technically, Djokovic still has time to get the jab ... the tourney doesn't kick off until August 29.

But, in the immediate aftermath of his victory over Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon (his 7th win), Novak reiterated his vax stance for anyone wondering if he had a change of heart with the Open looming.

"I'm not vaccinated, and I'm not planning to get vaccinated," Djokovic said, according to ESPN.

Djokovic, however, remained optimistic that the policy in the USA on the COVID vaccine could change ahead of the tourney.

Unfortunately for ND, that doesn't seem like it's going to happen ... and it's a big blow for Novak because he's just one Grand Slam title behind Rafael Nadal for the all-time lead.

FYI, 36-year-old Rafa has 22. Novak 21. 40-year-old Roger Federer 20.

Nick Kyrgios came up short yesterday in his Wimbledon finals match against Novak Djokovic, but that didn't stop the tennis star from turning up ... hitting up a London nightclub to help him get over the tough loss.

The 27-year-old -- who had quite the run during the tournament -- partied at popular London hot spot Wyld Club with his girlfriend, Costeen Hatzi, and his sister, Halimah Kyrgios.

The club posted video of Kyrgios in the building on their social media ... and the Australian appears to be holding a bottle of Vodka, enjoying himself despite the heartbreaking loss.

At one point during the evening, Kyrgios' GF jokingly wrote on social media that Nick's sister, Halimah, was a bad influence while holding two bottles of alcohol.

Of course, the always fiery Kyrgios is known to speak his mind, and yesterday, he did just that, complaining to the chair umpire that a fan should be removed after nearly costing him a game.

"She's distracting me when I'm serving in a Wimbledon Final," a visibly ticked-off Kyrgios said. "There's no other bigger occasion ... She's drunk out of her mind in the first row speaking to me in the middle of the game."

When the chair umpire asked Kyrgios to identify the woman he was referring to, Kyrgios said, "She's the one who looks like she's had 700 drinks."

Kyrgios ended up losing in four sets to Djokovic, after taking the first set.

The dream Wimbledon final of Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic is no more ... Nadal just pulled out of the event due to an abdominal injury.

The Spanish tennis superstar just informed officials of his decision ... one day before he was set to take on Nick Kyrgios in a semifinals match.

Nadal had been battling the injury throughout this month's tournament in London ... but after testing it out in a practice session on Thursday, he couldn't push it any further.

Nadal, according to reports, could swing his forehand and backhand just fine while dealing with the tear in his abdominal wall -- but serving with velocity and accuracy was a different story.

Kyrgios will now advance to the final and play the winner of Friday's Djokovic vs. Cameron Norrie matchup.

Nadal is expected to discuss his decision with media members later Thursday afternoon.

Rafael Nadal took a well-deserved break after winning his 14th French Open ... hitting the Spanish seas with his pregnant wife and friends on an insane mega-yacht!

The No. 4 ranked tennis star was spotted on the 78-foot, multimillion-dollar catamaran yacht named "Great White" just days after beating Norwegian Casper Ruud in the major tourney -- setting a new record with 14 French Open title wins.

And, the champ was celebrating like someone who just made history ... diving into the water, and hanging out on the deck with his buddies.

His wife, Maria Perello, was also livin' the vacay life ... just days after the couple -- who married in 2019 -- announced they're expecting their first child.

But, the R&R won't last long, though. Nadal -- who's dealing with pain in his left foot -- has Wimbledon to win ... and his first match is Tuesday against Francisco Cerúndolo.

"I'm going to be in Wimbledon if my body is ready to be in Wimbledon," Nadal said after winning the French Open.

"That's it. Wimbledon is not a tournament that I want to miss. I think nobody wants to miss Wimbledon. I love Wimbledon."

Rafael Nadal is going to be a father -- the tennis icon and his wife, Mery Perello, are expecting their first child together, according to reports.

Spanish publication Hola! confirmed the news this week ... after weeks of rumors surrounding the couple.

Mery was spotted wearing "loose-fitting" clothing as she cheered on 36-year-old Nadal ... who won his 14th French Open and 22nd Grand Slam at Roland Garros earlier this month.

Mery also showed off what appeared to be a baby bump while on vacation with Rafa.

The #4-ranked player in the world has been with Mery for a long time (nearly 17 years) ... and the two got married in 2019.

Nadal, who's currently ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for most Grand Slam titles ever, previously told Hola! of his plans to expand his family one day.

"Obviously, I intend and want to form a family," Nadal reportedly said in 2018. "I love children and I would like them to do what they want in life."

Well, it looks like Rafa is getting his wish.

Former tennis star Jelena Dokic just revealed she nearly took her own life in April ... saying she was about to jump off the balcony of a high-rise balcony -- but thankfully managed to get off and seek help.

"I almost jumped off my 26th-floor balcony and took my own life," Dokic said in an emotional Instagram post on Monday.

"Will never forget the day."

The Australian tennis player -- who won 6 WTA single titles -- says she's been struggling for the past six months so badly that she wanted to take her own life.

"It’s been constant crying everywhere," Dokic said, "From hiding in the bathroom when at work to wipe away my tears so that nobody sees it to the unstoppable crying at home within my four walls has been unbearable."

"Such a vicious cycle in my head. The result: almost jumping off my 26th-floor balcony on April 28th."

But, she managed to seek professional help ... and hopes this message will encourage others who are contemplating suicide to get help as well.

"Getting professional help saved my life," the 39-year-old said.

"I am writing this because I know I am not the only one struggling. Just know that you are not alone."

Dokic says she's in the process of getting better and "will be back stronger than ever."

FYI, Dokic's highest ranking in tennis was no. 4 in August 2002 -- and she had the biggest upset win in 1999 when she beat No. 1 ranked Martina Hingis when she was only 16.

To this day, it's the only match where the No.1 ranked player lost a qualifier at Wimbledon.

In an unexpected turn of events, play was temporarily halted during a French Open men's semi-final match on Friday after a protester ran onto the court and tied herself to the net.

The woman, who was wearing a shirt that had "We have 1028 days left" printed on the front, interrupted the match between Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud at Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris.

Unclear what exactly the woman's motive was for interfering during the contest, but security officials moved quickly to ensure she caused no harm to the players.

Ruud was astonished at the site of the woman on the court ... and he actually had to stop serving for several moments as guards worked to get her off the net.

Security ultimately carried the woman, whose identity remains a mystery at this time, off the clay so the match could finally resume.

Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen a demonstrator try to have their voice heard by causing a disruption at a live sporting event.

The epic French Open match between Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev came to an unfortunate halt on Friday ... after the German star was forced to retire due to a gruesome ankle injury.

The semifinal showdown had all the makings of being a classic -- Rafa won the first set in a tiebreaker ... and as Rafa positioned himself to force another tiebreaker, Sascha's ankle rolled and he fell to the clay.

Zverev screamed and writhed in pain ... as Nadal came to his side in support.

As it turns out, NBA star Kevin Love was in the stands at Roland Garros ... documenting the heartbreaking scene on his Instagram.

The 25-year-old was taken off in a wheelchair ... and eventually came back out on the court on crutches to officially retire from the match. The crowd cheered as he waved to the fans.

Nadal praised Zverev in a post-match interview ... and gave the #3-ranked pro a hug.

A little kid was reduced to tears while watching pro tennis on Thursday ... and it's all because one of the competitors on the court nearly hit him with her racquet during an outburst.

The scene played out during Irina-Camelia Begu's match against Ekaterina Alexandrova at the French Open ... when Begu was so pissed over her performance in the third set, she tossed her racquet into the ground in frustration.

The star's piece of equipment, though, bounced off the clay surprisingly, and made a beeline toward a child who was sitting in the first few rows of the stands.

Somehow, the racquet just missed the boy -- according to spectators -- but the close-call scared the kid, who began crying so loudly, the match was actually put on pause.

Pictures from the event show the kid was terrified ... needing to be consoled by his parents and other fans.

But, to her credit, Begu -- who was given a code violation for the outburst -- went on to win the match and then did all she could to cheer the kid up.

She hugged him, and posed for a picture with him -- and it seems everyone was happy again after that.

Peng Shuai is being recognized for courageously opening up on the alleged sexual assault she experienced at the hands of a powerful Chinese official -- the tennis star was named to Time's list of most influential people of 2022.

The former doubles champ disappeared from the public eye after claiming former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli forced her to have sex with him -- and while she later denied the allegations, many believe the retraction was forced by the Chinese government.

The WTA pulled events from China as a result of Shuai's allegations and disappearance ... and a worldwide call for Shuai's safety ensued.

Shuai was recognized by Lu Pin, a feminist activist and writer, in the outlet's spotlight ... who said, "With one lengthy post on Chinese social media site Weibo, tennis star Peng Shuai set off a chain reaction of events that profoundly changed global sports."