Williams receives wild-card entry for Wimbledon singles
Serena Williams is going to play at Wimbledon, after all. The All England Club announced on Tuesday that Williams was awarded a wild-card entry for singles, marking her return to Grand Slam action after a year away.
The owner of a professional era-record 23 Grand Slam singles trophies, and as big a star as tennis ever has seen, is going to tune up by playing doubles at a smaller grass-court event first, teaming with Ons Jabeur at Eastbourne, England, next week.
Main-draw play at Wimbledon begins on June 27.
Williams has not competed anywhere since getting injured during the first set of her first-round match at the All England Club in 2021. And her name did not appear on the women's singles entry list released by the grass-court Grand Slam tournament earlier this month.
US OPEN LETS RUSSIAN TENNIS PLAYERS IN AFTER WIMBLEDON BAN » The U.S. Open will allow tennis players from Russia and Belarus to compete this year despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, which prompted Wimbledon to
ban those athletes.
U.S. Tennis Association CEO and Executive Director Lew Sherr, whose group runs the U.S. Open, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that the USTA Board decided to let Russians and Belarusians enter the tournament because of “concern about holding the individual athletes accountable for the actions and decisions of their governments.”
Sherr said athletes from Russia and Belarus will play at Flushing Meadows under a neutral flag — an arrangement that's been used at various tennis tournaments around the world, including
the French Open, which ended June 5.
The U.S. Open starts on Aug. 29 in New York.
WNBA
GRINER’S RUSSIA DETENTION EXTENDED FOR THIRD TIME »
WNBA star Brittney Griner will remain in Russian custody through at least July 2, Russian state-run news agency Tass reported.
The 31-year-old American basketball player has been held in Russia since February when she was detained at a Moscow airport after authorities there claimed she was carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. The U.S. Department of State last month reclassified her as wrongfully detained.
The Khimki district court of the Moscow region extended Griner's detention for a third time, according to the Tass report, which also cited a top Russian diplomat as saying that Moscow will not consider including Griner in a detainee swap “until a court investigation into her case is completed.”
NFL
WATSON AGAIN DENIES SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CLAIMS »
The new lawsuits — and potential for more — against Deshaun Watson may have further damaged his image and swayed opinion about him.
However, they've only deepened his resolve.
The Cleveland Browns quarterback reiterated that he never committed sexual misconduct alleged by two dozen women in Texas, adding he plans to keep fighting to clear his name.
Watson, who is facing civil lawsuits from 24 massage therapists accusing him of sexual assault and harassment during private sessions when he played for the Houston Texans, stood by previous comments proclaiming his innocence.