Tennis

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.

Serena Williams fell short at Wimbledon Saturday ... losing in straight sets.

Serena was looking for her 24th career Grand Slam win, and her 8th Wimbledon victory, but it was not to be. Romanian Simona Halep beat her handily ... 6-2 and 6-2.

This is Serena's 3rd Grand Slam loss in a row. What stings even more ... had she won she would have tied Margaret Court's all-time record which was set back in 1968.

As for Simona ... she's on a roll. She won the French Open last year. 

Meghan Markle has no time for commoners snapping pics of her at Wimbledon -- her security demanded people to turn their lenses away while she watched Serena Williams.   

British media consultant and former BBC reporter Sally Jones tell TMZ ... she was sitting in the members box, taking pics of Serena Williams when one of Meghan's bodyguards came up and said, "Would you not take photographs of the Duchess? She's here in a private capacity." 

Shocked at the request, Jones says she told the security guard she had no intention of photographing Meghan ... and wasn't even aware she was there before that moment. She says she was simply trying to take a shot of Serena. Jones tells us, she didn't take a single pic of Meghan, before or after she was approached by security.

Jones says it's apparent to her some people at the palace suffer from a feeling of "entitlement." She says the whole thing was ridiculous.

BTW, Jones wasn't the only one shooed away. Several other spectators with phones out were told to beat it. Although, it's certainly worth noting ... her security seemed fine with fans taking photos when Megan was signing an autograph for a little boy. Guess a photo op's still a photo op.  

Bizarre situation involving Serena Williams -- who damaged a Wimbledon tennis court during a pre-tourney practice session ... and now she's been ordered to cough up $10,000 in fines. 

Unclear exactly what Serena did to warrant the fine -- though some reports say she used her racket to inflict the damage during a Sunday workout. 

The All England Club -- the organization which hosts Wimbledon -- has meted out a $10,000 fine for Serena which is chump change for her considering she's already made $367,000 for making the quarterfinals. 

So far, Serena hasn't commented on the fine ... but she's never been shy to speak her mind if she feels she's been wronged. 

She's set to play Alison Riske on Tuesday -- and there's no doubt she'll be asked about the incident by the media either before or after the match.  

Common can't say enough about tennis phenom Coco Gauff, who he says is inspiring the world.

We got Common at Studio Be Gallery in New Orleans Friday and he went on and on about the 15-year-old, who just advanced to the 4th round at Wimbledon after beating Polona Hercog.

Common says he's blown away by Coco's passion and determination ... adding she's become an inspiration for young people.

It's pretty touching ... he says Coco looked to her heroes -- Venus and Serena -- and is now on the road to achieving their greatness.

Big weekend for tennis superstar Caroline Wozniacki ... who tied the knot with ex-NBA star David Lee in Italy -- in front of a TON of huge athletes ... including Serena Williams.

It all went down Saturday at the fancy Castiglion del Bosco Hotel in Tuscany -- the same place where Justin Verlander wifed up Kate Upton in 2017.

Caroline -- the #14 ranked singles player in the world -- wore a custom Oscar De La Renta wedding gown and custom Jimmy Choo heels. Her father walked her down the aisle.

The guest list for the Wozniacki/Lee bash was pretty amazing -- Serena was a bridesmaid and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, was there.

Other huge stars in attendance included NBA stars like Pau Gasol and Harrison Barnes, ex-NFL quarterback Jesse Palmer and tennis stars Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwańska and Urszula Radwańska.

The party looked pretty incredible ... with dancing, photo booths and fireworks.

The couple met around 3-and-a-half years ago -- after Caroline's breakup with golf superstar Rory McIlroy. Lee proposed about 2 years later ... with an 8.88 carat diamond ring because 8 is Caro's "lucky number."

From #1 to not even listed ... Floyd Mayweather is NOT one of Forbes' highest-paid athletes of 2019 ... after taking the top honors one year ago.

The business magazine released its list of the richest ballers of the year ... and surprisingly, the boxing superstar nicknamed "Money" ain't on it.

The top 3 spots belong to footballers Lionel Messi ($127 million), Cristiano Ronaldo ($109 million), and Neymar ($105 million) ... and Canelo Alvarez ($94 million) and Roger Federer ($93.4 million) round out the top 5.

Look, this ain't a shot at Floyd -- considering he made more than double what Messi made this year in 2018 (he raked in $285 million thanks to the Conor McGregor fight) ...but it's interesting to see him fall out of the top 100 altogether.

Other notable athletes in the top 10 include Russell Wilson ($89.5 million), Aaron Rodgers ($89.3 million) and LeBron James ($89 million).

McGregor made the list at #21 with $47 million earned (last year he was #4 with $99 million).

As for cash made straight off endorsements, King James ain't at the top -- it's Federer, with $86 million made off the tennis court.

Game recognize game ... which might be why Lindsey Vonn says Serena Williams bumping another player from a French Open interview podium is just the way it goes when you're the queen.

The G.O.A.T. of women's downhill skiing was leaving Craig's Friday night in WeHo when we asked if the women's tennis G.O.A.T. deserves the flak she got at the Open this week. If you missed it, Dominic Thiem was forced to move to a different post-match interview room, because Serena was in a hurry to do interviews and leave after Sofia Kenin upset her. Thiem was pissed.

But, Lindsey summed it up in 3 words ... "She's the queen."

We're pretty sure Dominic wouldn't see it that way ... he was pretty ticked after getting bumped.

Full disclosure: Lindsey and Serena are pals. LV was actually at the Open cheering on Serena at one of her earlier matches.

Genie Bouchard is now serving ... some INCREDIBLE angles on the beach, with the perfect mix of sporty and sexy.

The Canadian tennis star was down in Miami this weekend, where she was getting her boogie board on with a male companion in tow. She was wearing a two-piece red and yellow wetsuit for the ride, showing off her great figure in the process.

As if that itself wasn't hot enough, Genie went on to do a training sesh right there in the sand too ... using resistance bands to crouch, lunge and bend every which way.

Reports say Genie's been considering taking a break from tennis to recover from recent injuries. If her being on the mend continues to look like this ... we're all for it.

Call him Sir Andy Murray now ... 'cause the tennis superstar was at Buckingham Palace on Thursday -- receiving his knighthood from Prince Charles himself!!

The 32-year-old actually learned he'd be receiving the honor back in 2016 ... but he held off on having the ceremony until this week because of his tennis schedule.

What exactly does knighthood entail for Murray? Nothin' crazy ... the award is just a way for the Royal Fam to recognize the 3-time Grand Slam champion's achievements on and off the court.

It's kind of like when Donald Trump gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tiger Woods.

But, Murray was still stoked about the honor afterward, saying, "I'm very proud to receive it. It's a nice day to spend with my family."

It's also a good moment for Murray given what he's been through this past year. Remember, he underwent hip surgery just a few months ago to try to save his tennis career.

Murray seems to be recovering well, but unclear if he'll be ready for Wimbledon this summer.