CELEBRITY
Serena’s farewell tour gets top billing on Day One at U.S. Open
Serena Williams will kick off what is likely to be the last event of her farewell tour on Monday at the U.S. Open where she will headline opening night in a first-round clash with Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic.
Williams, who three weeks ago announced her forthcoming retirement from tennis, will play the 7 p.m. ET (2300 GMT) match in front of more than 23,000 hollering fans on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where she has won six of her 23 Grand Slam titles.
Aug 28 (Reuters) – Serena Williams will kick off what is likely to be the last event of her farewell tour on Monday at the U.S. Open where she will headline opening night in a first-round clash with Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic.
Williams, who three weeks ago announced her forthcoming retirement from tennis, will play the 7 p.m. ET (2300 GMT) match in front of more than 23,000 hollering fans on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where she has won six of her 23 Grand Slam titles.
While far from the form she enjoyed at the height of her illustrious career, the 40-year-old Williams will look to overwhelm Kovinic in their first career match-up with her trademark mix of powerful serves and groundstrokes.
For Williams, who missed last year’s U.S. Open with a leg injury and only returned to singles action at Wimbledon in June, emotions will be running high at the final Grand Slam of 2022.
“I definitely will be very emotional,” Williams, who is also playing in the doubles competition with older sister Venus, said on the debut episode of Meghan Markle’s ‘Archetypes’ podcast that was released last week. “How am I not gonna cry?
“Maybe if I hopefully can get through a couple of matches, then maybe I’ll feel better but I think initially it’s going to be hard because every time I step out there, it’s literally my last time.”
While facing Williams in the first round of a Grand Slam may once have been one of the more daunting tasks in tennis, Kovinic may like her chances given the recent form of her opponent.
Since announcing her pending retirement, Williams has lost every match she has played, the first in straight sets to Belinda Bencic at Toronto and then at Cincinnati where she was trounced 6-4 6-0 by U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu.
Kovinic, 27, has lost her last five matches but the aggressive baseliner will take plenty of confidence into her showdown with Williams given she has enjoyed her best career results in the two Grand Slam events she played this year.
The Montenegrin advanced to the third round at both the Australian Open, where she beat Britain’s Raducanu in the second round, and French Open where she delivered a valiant performance in a losing effort against world number one Iga Swiatek.
Currently at 80th in the rankings, Kovinic reached a career-best of No. 46 six years ago and is making her fifth main draw appearance at a U.S. Open where she reached the second round in 2015 and 2020.
-Reuters
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo crossed one billion followers across his social media accounts, aided by his newly-launched YouTube channel that has attracted more than 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks.
Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal last week to help Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League, is the first human being to reach a billion followers on social media, global media reports said.
“We’ve made history, one billion followers! This is more than just a number, it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” Ronaldo posted on X.
“You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey… thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life.”
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player reached the milestone with over 639 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook and 113 million on X.
The 39-year-old topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes this year, with off-field earnings of $60 million, boosted by his large social media following.
Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr will host Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
-Reuters
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel on Wednesday and hundreds of thousands of subscribers signed up within a couple of hours.
The 39-year-old five-times Ballon D’Or winner plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
“The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey,” Ronaldo posted on his social media accounts.
A couple of hours after posting his first video, 1.69M subscribers had joined he channel.
Ronaldo has 112.5 million followers on the X platform, 170 million on Facebook and 636 million on Instagram.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player is preparing for his team’s Saudi Pro League opener against Al-Raed on Thursday.
-Reuters
Inter Miami will be the last club Argentina captain Lionel Messi plays for, the 36-year-old forward said on Wednesday, adding he feels “a little bit scared” at the thought of the day he decides to retire.
Messi, a World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, has a contract with the Major League Soccer side until 2025 following his arrival last summer after a spell with French champions Paris St Germain.
“Inter Miami will be my last club. I love playing football. I enjoy everything even more because I am aware that there is less and less left,” Messi told ESPN.
“I’m not ready to leave football. I’ve done this all my life, I love playing football, I enjoy training, the day-to-day, the matches… And yes, there’s always a little bit of fear that it’s all over.”
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is preparing with his national team to defend their Copa America title, with the tournament kicking off on June 20 in the United States.
Argentina will take on Canada in the opening match before facing Group A rivals Chile on June 25 and Peru four days later.
-Reuters
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