Tennis

Billie Jean King says Maria Sharapova's tennis legacy isn't going to be harmed one iota by her doping scandal -- and it's all because of one simple thing she did ... tell the truth.

We got the tennis legend Saturday in NYC and asked for her thoughts on Maria announcing last week that she was stepping away from the sport, which she dominated for several years. According to BJK, MS is going down as an all-time great ... despite the ding for doping.

Check it out ... Billie says the fact Maria came out right away and addressed the situation head on back in 2016 took a lot of guts, and it's clear she owned up to it sincerely.

You'll recall ... Maria tested positive in 2016 for meldonium, which had very recently been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned substance list. She said she'd been taking it for years due to a medical condition, and didn't know it'd been deemed a doping agent.

After being suspended from playing for at least a year, she returned to tennis in the following years and found varying degrees of success before hanging it up. Her streak prior to that, however, is what Billie Jean seems certain Maria will forever be remembered for.

She also talks about what may lie ahead for Maria post-tennis, and wishes her all the best.

Will Smith's gotta share the spotlight now with Serena and Venus Williams -- or at least the young actors who are costarring with him as the tennis phenoms.

Will's been digging into the role of Richard Williams in "King Richard" all week in L.A., but on Thursday we got our first look at his onscreen daughters. Saniyya Sidney is playing Venus and Demi Singleton is Serena in the biopic.

Demi and Saniyya are playing young Serena and Venus -- in their teens, it seems -- but we still don't know who will be playing them as adults ... when they really dominated tennis.

The film, about how the Williams sisters' father raised and coached them to become superstar athletes, is slated to come out in November ... so, ya know the studio behind it is thinking it's gonna be Oscar worthy.

A tennis legend is calling it quits ... Maria Sharapova just announced she's done with the sport for good.

"Tennis -- I’m saying goodbye," Sharapova wrote Wednesday.

"Tennis showed me the world -- and it showed me what I was made of," the 32-year-old added. "It's how I tested myself and how I measured my growth."

"And so in whatever I might choose for my next chapter, my next mountain, I'll still be pushing. I’ll still be climbing. I'll still be growing."

Sharapova was a former No. 1 player in the world ... and won five career Grand Slams -- including Wimbledon in 2004 when she was just 17 years old.

Of course, Sharapova also gained a ton of fame from her rivalry with Serena Williams ... which was more of complete and utter dominance than actual competitiveness.

In 23 career matchups ... Serena won 20 of them, including 18 in a row at one point!!

Maria, though, still won the U.S. Open in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008 and the French Open twice in 2012 and 2014.

But, Maria's career didn't come without controversy ... she tested positive for a banned substance in 2016 and was ultimately suspended from the game for 15 MONTHS.

In fact, the test caused such a backlash in the tennis world ... Genie Bouchard straight-up called her a "cheater" who deserved a lifetime ban.

Sharapova -- who battled numerous shoulder injuries throughout her career -- said Thursday of all the ups and downs in her career, "I realize that tennis has been my mountain."

"My path has been filled with valleys and detours, but the views from its peak were incredible. After 28 years and five Grand Slam titles, though, I'm ready to scale another mountain -- to compete on a different type of terrain."

Some of the biggest tennis stars in the world showed love to Kobe Bryant at the Australian Open on Monday ... from Nick Kyrgios to Rafael Nadal and Coco Gauff.

24-year-old Kyrgios was particularly emotional before the 4th round matchup against Nadal -- wearing Bryant's #8 Lakers jersey and choking back tears as he warmed up at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

After the match, which Nadal won, Rafa put on a Lakers baseball cap and led the crowd in a round of applause for the 41-year-old NBA star.

"What can I say? I woke up this morning with this terrible news," Nadal said during the on-court post-game interview.

"It's super sad. He was one of the greatest sportsmen in history. He deserves a big round of applause. It's one of these days that you want to forget but of course, Kobe Bryant will be in our hearts and in our minds for the rest of our lives."

Scary moment for tennis superstar Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open ... he hit a return shot right off a ball girl's face ... but he made up for it by kissing her owie!!

Rafa was in the middle of his 2nd round match with Federico Delbonis on Thursday, when he ripped a vicious return shot that ended up missing his target and going wide.

The shot hit the ball girl that was standing near the umpire's chair ... and Nadal rushed over to make sure she was okay.

After exchanging a few words, Nadal gave her an apology kiss on the cheek before returning to the match.

Nadal went on to win and move on to the 3rd round ... but admitted he was shook by the incident.

"For her, it was probably not a good moment,” Nadal said after the win ... "She is a super-brave girl."

Nadal added, "It was one of my most scary moments that I had on the tennis court, as the ball went straight onto her head."

The brave ball girl didn't leave empty-handed ... 'cause Nadal gave her his headband after the win!!

Pro tip for all future Serena Williams interviewers ... whatever you do, do NOT ask about her friend Meghan Markle ... 'cause you WILL get shut down.

The tennis superstar faced the media after her Australian Open match on Monday ... and the first question wasn't about her win over Anastasia Potapova, it was about Megxit.

“Your good friend, Meghan Markle, who attended your last 2 slams, and Harry, have taken a move, a stance that many people think is extraordinary and historic," the reporter said.

"What are your feelings about that? Have you spoken to her?”

THIS IS AWESOME!!!

Some of the greatest tennis players EVER -- from Serena Williams to Roger Federer -- hit the court Wednesday ... and it was all to help raise nearly $5 MILLION for Australia fire relief!

With the Australian Open set to kick off next week ... legends like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic joined Serena and Federer at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne to get some pickup games in for charity.

The event was great ... the superstars hammed it up for the crowd, got in a little tennis action and, most importantly, raised roughly $4.8 mil to help victims of the raging wildfires.

As we previously reported, more than 2,500 homes have been destroyed since the blazes began ... with the fire killing at least 28 people.

The tennis world has been super active when it comes to helping relief efforts ... with stars like Nick Kyrgios famously pledging $200 per ace to the cause this season.

As for the Australian Open event, it's still going down as scheduled for now ... although players have already expressed concern over the poor air quality.

"I think there has to be some kind of line in the sand, you know, some kind of rule where you measure the air," Genie Bouchard told Gizmodo this week ... "And if it’s over a certain number, or however they measure it, then you just don’t play."

The Open matches are set to begin in Australia on Monday.

Slovenian tennis pro Dalila Jakupovic was forced to quit her qualifying match at the Australian Open on Tuesday ... after she coughed and collapsed to the court due to the air quality.

Of course, the air in Melbourne is currently considered "the worst in the world" as smoke from the wildfires has taken over the area.

Despite the chief health officer saying the air was very poor or hazardous, the qualifying round of the tournament kicked off on Tuesday ... and several players have complained about the conditions already.

Jakupovic was in the middle of the second set of her match against Stefanie Vogele when she started coughing uncontrollably and went to her knees.

“I was really scared that I would collapse," the 28-year-old said ... adding that it was unfair for players to have to play in the current conditions.

"I never had breathing problems. I actually like heat," Jakupovic added. "I just couldn't breathe anymore and I just fell on the floor."

Other tennis pros needed assistance during their matches ... including Genie Bouchard and Bernard Tomic.

15-year-old rising tennis star Coco Gauff might have to put her dad in a time-out -- he accidentally cursed while coaching her during a match ... and she called him out for it!!

The whole interaction was thankfully caught on camera because Coco and her dad/coach were mic'd up for her ASB Classic match in New Zealand ... and in between sets, he gave her a pep talk.

Her dad, Corey, is heard giving out compliments left and right ... but got a bit carried away when he said, "There's one thing you did the last 3 games, you ain't give up no free points on no damn serve. That serve is weak."

That's when Coco chastised pops for using a bad word while mic'd ... saying, "You can't curse."

Dad's reaction is priceless ... at first he can't believe he cussed on a hot mic, but then directly apologized into the microphone for the slip-up.

But then Corey, still in disbelief, asks Coco again if he really cussed ... and she tells him he did, in fact, say "the d word."

"Oh, well that don't even count," Dad responded.

Coco wasn't havin' it, though ... saying, "in some places, it does!!"

Dad apologized once again ... and Gauff went on to lose the match to Laura Siegemund.

It's time to start rooting for Nick Kyrgios ... because the Australian tennis star has pledged to donate $200 for every ACE he lands to help wildfire relief efforts in his home country.

"I’m kicking off the support for those affected by the fires," the 24-year-old announced ... "I’ll be donating $200 per ace that I hit across all the events I play this summer."

It's a big deal considering Kyrgios smashed 597 aces in 2019 ... so if he matches that total, we're talking around $120k.

At least 17 people (8 in the past week) have been killed in the Australia fires -- which have been burning since October -- with at least 17 more people missing.

More than 1,000 homes and buildings have been destroyed so far and officials are concerned things could get even WORSE in the coming days.

Several Aussie tennis stars have already been inspired by Nick's gesture -- and are following suit with ace-based donations.

Alex de Minaur said, "I like this I will go $250 per ace, just because I don’t think I’ll be hitting as many aces as you mate."

Here's Serena Williams getting boxing lessons from one of the fiercest fighters of all time ... and Mike Tyson's showing another champ how to throw a serious haymaker!!!

Check out this video of Iron Mike working with the tennis star in Florida ... coaching her through some punching combinations and then holding the heavy bag as Serena absolutely unloads.

Sounds like Mike is impressed with Serena's punching prowess ... Tyson says she "has some serious power." Talk about a ringing endorsement!!!

Here's tennis star Juan Martin del Potro showing us how he's recovering from that pesky knee injury ... a Miami beach romp with his model girlfriend!

Feelin' better already?!

Juan -- the former #3 ranked player in the world -- fractured his kneecap earlier this year after slipping on grass during a tourney and had to undergo surgery to repair it.

He's hoping for a big-time comeback when he's all healed up -- but in the meantime, the 31-year-old Argentinian stud is relaxing in Miami with actress/model Sofia Jujuy Jimenez.

They reportedly started dating earlier this year -- and it seems to be going REALLY well ... at least judging by the PDA in the pics!

From what we can tell on her IG page, Sofia is a pretty good model ... meaning, she looks damn incredible in a bikini.

That's a wrap for Caroline Wozniacki ... almost!

The 29-year-old tennis star says she's officially retiring from the sport -- right after the Australian Open in January -- to focus on other aspects of her life, including growing her family.

"I've played professionally since I was 15 years old," Wozniacki says.

"I've always told myself, when the time comes, that there are things away from tennis that I want to do more, then it's time to be done. In recent months, I've realized that there is a lot more in life that I'd like to accomplish off the court."

Caroline says getting married to NBA star David Lee "was one of those goals" -- along with "starting a family with him while continuing to travel the world."

She also wants to focus energy on raising awareness for rheumatoid arthritis -- a condition she suffers from.

"So with that, today I am announcing that I will be retiring from professional tennis after the Australian Open in January," Wozniacki says.

"This has nothing to do with my health and this isn't a goodbye, I look forward to sharing my exciting journey ahead with all of you."

As far as her tennis accomplishments, Caroline was pretty damn good.

"With 30 WTA singles titles, a world #1 ranking for 71 weeks, a WTA Finals victory, 3 Olympics, including carrying the flag for my native Denmark, and winning the 2018 Australian Open Grand slam championship, I've accomplished everything I could on the court."

Not bad, right?

Wozniacki and her hubby recently took classes at Harvard Business School as part of a program that helps athletes build a second career outside of sports ... so post-tennis life has been on her brain for a while.

Congrats!