CELEBRITY
SERENA WILLIAMS PULLS OUT OF FRENCH OPEN
Saying she is “struggling to walk,” Serena Williams ended her latest bid for a 24th Grand Slam title and withdrew from the French Open before her second-round match Wednesday because of an injured Achilles heel.
Williams hurt herself during her semifinal loss at the U.S. Open three weeks ago, which she called “bad timing” and “bad luck,” and went to lengths to make clear she didn’t think this was any sort of sign that she can’t continue to pursue trophies in the future.
More simply, Williams said, she hasn’t had “enough time to properly heal” and needs “four to six weeks of sitting, doing nothing.”
The sudden announcement came roughly an hour before the 39-year-old American was supposed to head out onto Court Philippe Chatrier to face Tsvetana Pironkova.
Williams said it is “more than likely” she will not play another tournament in 2020.
She said she tried warming up for the match but knew she wasn’t able to compete. She spoke to coach Patrick Mouratoglou and, she said, “We kind of both thought about it and we decided it wasn’t the best for me to try and play today.”
This is Williams’ earliest exit at any Grand Slam tournament since a second-round loss in Paris in 2014.
She also pulled out of the French Open in 2018 prior to what would have been a fourth-round match against Maria Sharapova, citing a pulled muscle in her chest.
That was Williams’ first major tournament back on tour after having a baby.
She would go on to reach the finals at four of the next six Slams, losing each time, as she tries to add to her professional-era record of 23 major singles trophies and equal Margaret Court’s all-era mark.
“I love playing tennis, obviously. I love competing. And I love being out here. It’s my job; been my job. And I’m pretty good at it still,” Williams said. “So until I feel like I’m not good at it — then I’ll be like, ‘Oh, OK.’ And I’m so close to some things, I just feel like I’m almost there, so I think that’s what keeps me going.”
Earlier this month in New York, Williams made it to the semifinals before bowing out 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 against Victoria Azarenka.
It was in the third set of that match that Williams stretched her Achilles during a point and then leaned over, clutched at her lower left leg and asked for a trainer. She took a medical timeout for a tape job and continued to play but was unable to pull off a win.
“I was able to get it somewhat better, but just looking long-term: In this tournament, will I be able to get through on enough matches? And so for me, I don’t think I could,” Williams said Wednesday. “And struggling to walk, so that’s kind of a tell-tale sign that I should try to recover.”
-AP
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion.
The 40-year-old striker’s financial ascent comes after he signed a new contract with Saudi side Al-Nassr in June reportedly worth more than $400 million.
Bloomberg said that Ronaldo earned more than $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023, supplemented by a decade-long Nike deal worth nearly $18 million annually, and lucrative endorsements with Armani, Castrol and others that added more than $175 million to his fortune.
Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2023 had already made him the highest-paid player in football history, with an annual salary of 177 million pounds ($237.52 million), plus bonuses and a reported 15% share in his Saudi Arabia club.
Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has earned more than $600 million in pre-tax salary during his career.
Ronaldo’s billionaire status places him among a rare group of athletes that includes basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer.
Ronaldo suggested he is not considering retirement any time soon.
“I still have a passion for this,” he said at the Portugal Football Globes gala on Tuesday. “My family says it’s time to quit and they ask me why I want to score 1000 goals if I’ve already scored 900-something. But I don’t think that way inside.
“I’m still producing good things, I’m helping my club and the national team. Why not continue? I am sure that when I finish I will leave full because I gave everything of myself. I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the few I have left, I have to enjoy them to the fullest.”
-Reuters
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Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles’ annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour.
Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups.
He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and Inter Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances.
His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits.
Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama “Darkest Hour”.
He also had roles in the “Dark Knight Trilogy” and the “Harry Potter” movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama “Slow Horses”.
Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater.
Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity.
More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said.
King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated with the annual “Trooping the Colour” military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14
-Reuters
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One of three judges in Diego Maradona’s closely scrutinized homicide trial in Argentina resigned on Tuesday amid a scandal triggered by the alleged filming of an unauthorised documentary, bringing uncertainty to the future of legal proceedings.
The high-profile trial over the death of soccer star Maradona began on March 11 in the South American country where the World Cup winner is still revered.
-Reuters
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