CELEBRITY
Reactions trail Serena Williams’ impending retirement
Following are reactions to Serena Williams announcing on Tuesday that she plans to retire from the sport following the U.S. Open:
FORMER WORLD NUMBER ONE BILLIE JEAN KING
“When Serena steps away from tennis, she will leave as the sport’s greatest player. After a career that has inspired a new generation of players and fans, she will forever be known as a champion who won on the court and raised the global profile of the sport off of it.”
FORMER WORLD NUMBER ONE JOHN MCENROE TO USA TODAY
“She should do whatever she wants. She’s an icon. Her place in American society has gone to a place where she deserves it after everything she’s accomplished, everything she’s done.
“I don’t know the answer whether she wants to play again, I don’t think she needs to play again. She’s in that level where Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tom Brady are.
“She’s like one of the all-time greatest athletes in the history of any sport — male or female. It seems to be a great place in her life. She’s added a lot.
“Anyone that saw the movie (King Richard) realises where they came from and where she is now is unbelievable so she can spend the rest of her life going ‘not bad huh’?”
FORMER WORLD NUMBER THREE PAM SHRIVER TO ESPN
“She has impacted tennis on the court and off the court. She’s taken tennis off the sports pages and into pop culture. She bridges people of all generations, diversity of background. She’s become a great spokesperson, a philanthropist and she’s matured before our eyes.
“Sure, she has had moments at the U.S. Open that were difficult for her and for us to watch but in the end she’s going to go down as one of the great athletes not just in tennis but in sports history.
“When you think about her longevity … winning majors as a teenager in the 90s and still competing in 2022, her record in the Olympics, in major doubles finals with Venus… I could go on and on.”
2021 U.S. OPEN CHAMPION EMMA RADUCANU
“She definitely changed the game. There’s not really been someone who has dominated like her in the women’s game. So I think she did change the game a lot in that respect.”
WORLD NUMBER 11 COCO GAUFF
“The legacy that she’s left through her tennis career is something that I don’t think any other player can probably touch. I think that the legacy that she will continue to leave throughout her life is something that can inspire many more generations.”
DENMARK’S 2018 AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPION CAROLINE WOZNIACKI
“I love you and so proud of you.”
AMERICAN TENNIS PLAYER TAYLOR TOWNSEND
“Love you Serena! Thank you for the road you and @venuswilliams have paved to allow me to be here and make a life for myself and my son! You will be missed, but so excited to see what comes next.”
PHOENIX SUNS GUARD CHRIS PAUL
“The ultimate competitor!!! Congratulations on an impactful career @SerenaWilliams.”
–Reuters
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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