Venus announces return to San Jose tennis tournament
Now 39, Venus Williams is coming to San Jose as the most seasoned player in the world’s oldest women’s-only tennis tournament later this month.
And she’ll be back where it began for her ages ago. Nearly 25 years after making her professional debut as a 14-year-old in the Bay Area, Williams was announced Tuesday as a wild card into the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, which will be held at San Jose State for the second straight year from July 29Aug. 4.
Williams, a two-time champion at the 48-yearold event previously known as the Stanford Classic, will play her first match in the featured evening session on Tuesday, July 30 at 7 p.m. Her opponent will be determined at a later draw.
Venus, whose sister Serena is a three-time winner in the tournament but not entered this year, was a quarterfinalist in last year’s event. Venus will be making her 14th appearance here since beginning her career in Oakland on Halloween night in 1994.
To win her 50th WTA tournament title, Williams will have to deal with a field that includes fellow Grand Slam winners Garbine Muguruza, Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Ostapenko. Others in the tournament include defending champion Mihaela Buzarnescu, last year’s finalist Maria Sakkari, 17-yearold French Open semifinalist Amanda Anisimova, and Wimbledon semifinalists Elina Svitolina, currently the world’s seventhranked women’s player.
NFL
GOULD CAN BRING FAMILY TO BAY AREA >> Robbie Gould didn’t get his wish to play closer to his family in Chicago, but the 49ers were still able to satisfy their kicker in the form of a guaranteed contract Gould, who league sources said signed a twoyear, $10.5 fully guaranteed deal that may turn out to be a four-year, $19 million contract months after demanding a trade, said he’s relieved to have the drama behind him.
“The big thing for me is that I wanted to be close to my family, and in the beginning in the entire conversation with the 49ers they knew it would have to take at least two years to fully guaranteed in a contract to get me to come back and they were able to make that happen,” Gould said on Adam Schefter’s ESPN podcast.
NFLPA FILING GRIEVANCE ON CLOWNEY’S BEHALF >> Jadeveon Clowney is a defensive end based on snap counts from the 2018 season, but the Houston Texans used the franchise tag designation for an outside linebacker — a savings to the team of about $1.7 million in 2019 salary.
That’s why the NFLPA plans to file a grievance on Clowney’s behalf, according to multiple reports. Clowney, 26, was given the franchise tag to keep him from free agency before the March deadline. The team entered an outside linebacker designation, which carries a oneyear tender value of $15.43 million. Clowney will play at a rate of $15.9 million for next season based on the required increase over his 2018 salary. A franchised defensive end carries a $17.128 million tag.
Golf
SOUTH BAY GOLFERS ADVANCE AT U.S. JUNIOR AMATEUR >> Mitty High’s Brian Ma and Saratoga High’s Kevin Sze made it through two rounds of qualifying and will compete in the match play portion of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. The top 64 qualifiers start the elimination rounds of match play today at The Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
WNBA
LEAGUE SUSPENDS PLAYER OVER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INCIDENT >> Los Angeles Sparks guard Riquna Williams was suspended without pay by the WNBA on Tuesday for 10 games — nearly a third of the season — for a domestic violence incident. Williams was arrested on April 29 and charged with two felony counts, one involving the assault of an individual with whom she was in a relationship and the other involving a threat to another person with a firearm. Her criminal case is ongoing.
College football
GEORGIA QB MATHIS BACK WITH TEAM AFTER BRAIN SURGERY >> Georgia freshman quarterback D’Wan Mathis is on the mend from May brain surgery to remove a cyst, coach Kirby Smart said at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama.
“D’Wan is back in classes, he’s back in workouts, he’s doing a really good job for us,” Smart said.
Mathis took part in spring drills and in the GDay spring game but then told team medical staff he was experiencing headaches. Georgia medical director Ron Courson recognized the symptoms and got Mathis to the hospital, where an MRI showed fluid around his brain. He had surgery hours later on May 23.
Doctors have given Mathis the go-ahead to run and lift weights, but he hasn’t been cleared for contact.
NBA
SIMMONS, 76ERS AGREE TO $170 MILLION, 5-YEAR DEAL >> The Philadelphia 76ers and All-Star guard Ben Simmons have agreed to a $170 million, five-year contract extension. Simmons was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2016. He made his NBA debut in the 2017-18 season and was the Rookie of the Year. He has averaged 16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists in his two seasons and was an All-Star last season.