CELEBRITY
Serena Williams makes winning return after year out in Eastbourne doubles
Serena Williams made a winning return to action at the Eastbourne International on Tuesday as she and partner Ons Jabeur came from a set down to beat Sara Sorribes Tormo and Marie Bouzkova 2-6 6-3 (13-11) in the women’s doubles.
The former world number one had not played competitive tennis since limping out of last year’s first-round match at Wimbledon — where she has won seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles — in tears due to a leg injury.
Back on court and on the grass again, Williams stepped up preparations for Wimbledon, where the main draw starts next Monday, having been granted a wildcard to enter, alongside Tunisian Jabeur in the opening round at Eastbourne.
Looking rusty with some loose early shots, 40-year-old Williams, who has slipped to 1204th in the singles rankings, saw her serve broken in the fourth game and there was no way back as Spaniard Sorribes Tormo and her Czech partner took the opening set.
Williams, who was sporting black tape on her face to help with a sinus problem, had no answer as Sorribes and Bouzkova made three successive breaks at the start of the second to help put them in a commanding position.
However, a ferocious volley from Williams helped her and Jabeur hold serve to make it 4-3, before the American showed further signs she was starting to find her rhythm with a booming forehand down the line to break their opponents’ serve.
Williams served out the next game to take the match to a final set tiebreak, which swung this way and that, with both pairings having match points before Sorribes Tormo missed a volley at the net to gift her opponents victory.
“It was so fun to play with Ons,” Williams said. “We had fun.
“I caught some fire behind me! I needed that. It was good. We’re just taking it one day at a time.”
Earlier at Eastbourne, British number four Katie Boulter stormed to one of the biggest wins of her career with a 1-6 6-4 6-4 win over 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova, while Jodie Burrage completed a day to remember for Britain by beating world number four Paula Badosa 6-4 6-3.
-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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