MASON − In his pre-tournament media availability, Cincinnati Open Tournament Director Bob Moran was asked about the event's goal for ticket sales.
"It's really helpful when you announce Novak (Djokovic) and Serena Williams on back-to-back days," Moran laughed. "Ticket sales are going really well."
Yes, this year's Cincinnati Open is highlighted by the old guard of tennis with Djokovic and the Williams sisters bringing their combined 86 Grand Slam ****** les to the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
More: Why you might see a Serena Williams GLP-1 ad fly over Cincinnati Open
Replay: ATP, WTA 2nd round results at the 2026 Cincinnati Open

#serena #tennis

MASON − In his pre-tournament media availability, Cincinnati Open Tournament Director Bob Moran was asked about the event's goal for ticket sales.
"It's really helpful when you announce Novak (Djokovic) and Serena Williams on back-to-back days," Moran laughed. "Ticket sales are going really well."
Yes, this year's Cincinnati Open is highlighted by the old guard of tennis with Djokovic and the Williams sisters bringing their combined 86 Grand Slam **** les to the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
More: Why you might see a Serena Williams GLP-1 ad fly over Cincinnati Open
Replay: ATP, WTA 2nd round results at the 2026 Cincinnati Open

#moran #serena #tennis

MASON − The often-overlooked doubles draw at the Cincinnati Open got plenty of attention when it was released on Friday, Aug. 14.
That's because the blockbuster duo of Serena and Venus Williams will team up for the first time since the 2022 U.S. Open in New York.
The Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam doubles ******* les and will face Cincinnati native Peyton Stearns and partner Marta Kostyuk in the first round at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Both doubles teams received wild cards to the event.
The doubles draw begins on Sunday, Aug. 16 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, though the order of play for doubles has yet to be announced.
More: How did tennis star Daniil Medvedev become a die-hard Reds fan?

#doubles #open #williams #family

MASON − The often-overlooked doubles draw at the Cincinnati Open got plenty of attention when it was released on Friday, Aug. 14.
That's because the blockbuster duo of Serena and Venus Williams will team up for the first time since the 2022 U.S. Open in New York.
The Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam doubles ******* les and will face Cincinnati native Peyton Stearns and partner Marta Kostyuk in the first round at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. Both doubles teams received wild cards to the event.
The doubles draw begins on Sunday, Aug. 16 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, though the order of play for doubles has yet to be announced.
More: How did tennis star Daniil Medvedev become a die-hard Reds fan?

#open #center #draw

When it comes to tennis journalists, Steve Flink is something of an immortal.
He's been covering the sport for more than 50 years. In 2017, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Flink, the author of "The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century" (1999) and "The Greatest Tennis Matches of All Time" (2012) has now turned to defining greatness on another plane: That of players, specifically in American tennis.
In "The Immortals of American Tennis", Flink has laid out his criteria for a lasting legacy in the sport, and documented the players who fit the bill. In an interview this summer, he discussed the evolution of the book, his definition of a tennis "immortal" and why he ranks Martina Navratilova ahead of Serena Williams.
"The immortals establish themselves as authentic by virtue of their far reaching impact and influence and not simply with their numerical successes," Flink said.

#flink #matches #sport

Antonio Banderas rang in his 66th birthday in style, under the sky of Marbella with an opera legend leading the chorus. That was the scene at the 17th annual Starlite Occident Gala, where Banderas rang in his 66th year with his partner, Nicole Kimpel. He was serenaded at midnight by Plácido Domingo himself.
Antonio Banderas is celebrating his 66th birthday (Getty Images)
The tenor rose before a crowd already on its feet and led the room through "Happy Birthday," turning a gala tradition into one of the night's most talked-about moments.
Banderas didn't just receive gifts that evening — he gave one away. Earlier in the night, during the gala's charity auction, the actor peeled off the shirt on his back, a piece he'd customized himself, and put it up for bidding to boost the fundraising total.
"This marks 17 galas completing our foundational efforts. We're gonna continue for another 17 years if life allows it," he said.

#gala #rang #marbella #nicole

MASON, Ohio (AP) — The Williams sisters are back on track to playing doubles tennis ahead of the U.S. Open.
Serena and Venus Williams are set to take part in the Cincinnati Open, which begins next week. Organizers announced Monday they had received a wild-card entry into the doubles field.
They last played a doubles match together at the 2022 U.S. Open. It is their first time teaming up in the hard-court tune-up tournament in Mason, Ohio.
The Williams sisters received a wild-card entry to play doubles at Wimbledon, but an injury to Serena prevented that from happening. They have won 14 major **** les and three Olympic gold medals in doubles play.
Venus Williams, 46, is set to play mixed doubles at the U.S. Open later this month in New York alongside Alexander Bublik. She and her younger sister playing at Cincinnati is the latest step in Serena's comeback at age 44 after losing at Wimbledon in her first singles match in nearly four years.

#ohio

Defending champions Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner top the 2026 U.S. Open entry list for tennis' final Grand Slam of the year.
Sabalenka is the two-time champion and is hoping to become the first woman to win three consecutive U.S. Open crowns since 2012-2014, when Serena Williams won the last of her six ******* les at Flushing Meadows.
Four other former women's U.S. Open champions are in the field, with 2024 winner Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek (2022), Naomi Osaka (2018, 2020) and Emma Raducanu (2021), looking to win their first Slam of the year.
There will be eight wild cards and 16 qualifiers among the 128 main-draw entries. It is not yet known whether Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam winner, will compete in New York after making a return appearance at Wimbledon earlier this summer. Williams lost in Wimbledon's first round to Australian Maya Joint.
The three women who won Grand Slams this year are also in the field, led by Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, Mirra Andreeva, who won at Roland Garros, and Wimbledon winner Linda Noskova.

#grand #wimbledon

NBC Sports Philadelphia is budgeting to add a courtside voice to its Sixers broadcasts ahead of LeBron James's arrival this season, network vice president of content Alexandra Matcham told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
"I think you need a voice on the court where Alaa [Abdelnaby] and Kate [Scott] can't be to give us insight, do pre- and postgame interviews, **** ysis, all of that," Matcham said. "It's a very hard job to do."
For years, NBC Sports Philadelphia and its predecessor, Comcast SportsNet, used reporters like Serena Winters and Taryn Hatcher to fill that kind of role for the Sixers. That stopped in 2020, when the network began eliminating in-arena and in-game reporting jobs across its properties as basketball and hockey seasons wrapped that year, according to Crossing Broad's Kevin Kinkead. Hatcher stayed on covering the Phillies for five more seasons after that before her contract lapsed at the end of 2025 and NBC Sports Philadelphia cut the position rather than renew it. Kinkead later reported that the network and Hatcher had discussed a freelance arrangement that would have let her take on other work at the same time, but the talks ended without an agreement over what Kinkead's sources described as a standard contract disagreement, not any real conflict between the two sides.
That left NBC Sports Philadelphia without anyone in that role for the entirety of the Sixers' 2025-26 season, and the roster now taking shape gives the network far less room to go another year without one.
"If you get a generational talent on your team, it could easily become a situation where the people that work for us are burnt out by December, and you don't want that," Matcham said. "You need extra help."

#sports #sixers #hatcher

David Gray has gone from being slated to serenaded by Hibernian fans in the ****** e of seven days.
Make no mistake, the head coach was under pressure after his side's torrid display in Kosovo last week.
Supporters who had travelled to eastern Europe made it abundantly clear what they thought of their team's 2-0 first-leg defeat by Malisheva with their Conference League hopes on the brink.
The head coach stressed the result - and the manner of it - were unacceptable, but the only way to answer doubters is on the park.
In the second half at Easter Road on Thursday, with Hibs four goals to the good on the night and on their way to an aggregate victory, Gray's name was sung to the rafters.

#coach #supporters #Europe

Alphabet reported earnings on July 22 and the stock dropped more than 7% in a single session. The numbers weren't bad. Cloud grew 82% year over year. Advertising held up. EPS beat. What rattled investors was the spending. Capital expenditure guidance for 2026 came in at $195 billion to $205 billion. Free cash flow went negative for the first time in the company's history. The market looked at that bill and sold first, asked questions later.
Five days later, Phillip Securities ****** yst Serena Lim Yi Qi published a note saying the market got it wrong. On July 27, she upgraded Alphabet to Buy from Accumulate, lowered her price target to $425 from $450, and explained why the combination of those two moves makes sense.
The upgrade from Accumulate to Buy is the meaningful part of the call. Phillip Securities is saying Alphabet's AI momentum has reached the point where sitting on the sidelines no longer makes sense, according to Investing.com.
Lim Yi Qi pointed to Alphabet's vertically integrated AI ecosystem as the core of the bull case. The company controls its own custom silicon through its Tensor Processing Units, runs optimized data centers, and deploys its Gemini models across Search, Cloud, and its broader product suite. That integration, in her view, gives Alphabet a structural advantage that is starting to show up in the numbers in a meaningful way.
The free cash flow picture is more complicated. Alphabet turned negative on free cash flow for the first time this quarter because of the scale of its AI investment. Lim Yi Qi views that as a temporary condition supporting stronger long-term growth rather than a structural problem. The company has also raised its 2026 capex guidance to a range of $195 billion to $205 billion, signaling the buildout is far from over.

#free #flow #first #cloud

Dua Lipa and Callum Turner surprised a diner by joining a birthday serenade at Corner Bistro in N.Y.C.
The couple, who married earlier this summer, are semi-regulars at the low-key West Village bar
Lipa posted photos on Instagram from their NYC trip, which included attending the World Cup final and getting pizza from a local hotspot
Dua Lipa and Callum Turner put their week in N.Y.C. to good use.
The singer, 30, and actor, 36, stopped at Corner Bistro, a restaurant in the West Village, on Sunday, July 19 and serenaded another customer for her birthday, the restaurant's bartender tells PEOPLE.

#callum #World

NEW YORK (AP) — Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Wimbledon winner Jannik Sinner lead the fields for the U.S. Open that begins next month.
The U.S. Tennis ****** ociation announced the direct entry lists Tuesday for the final Grand Slam tournament of the season. Based on the July 20 rankings on the WTA and ATP Tours, the cutoff was No. 102 for the women and No. 101 for the men.
Sabalenka tops the women's rankings and will arrive in Flushing Meadows trying to become the first woman to win three straight U.S. Open ****** les since Serena Williams from 2012-14.
Sinner will be trying to regain the ****** le that Carlos Alcaraz took from the 2024 champion when they met in last year's final. The top-ranked Italian is coming off his fifth major championship, when he beat French Open champion Alexander Zverev in the Wimbledon final.
Alcaraz, who has missed the last two majors because of a wrist injury but hopes to return during the North American hard-court swing, is ranked No. 3 and entered in the field.

#rankings

A venue fit for royalty served as the backdrop for Meghan Markle's 2019 baby shower. On a snowy February day, the year before she and Prince Harry stepped back as senior members of the royal family, the **** ss of Sussex was showered with love by friends at New York's luxurious The Mark Hotel.
The 16-story neo-Italian Renaissance, landmark building, located on the corner of 77th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan, was designed by architects Schwartz & Gross in 1926. The property offers 106 rooms, 44 suites and three penthouses.
The Mark Penthouse on the hotel's 16th floor is where Meghan's baby shower was held. The penthouse spanning 10,000 square feet is the largest in the country. It features four bedrooms, four fireplaces, five full bathrooms, two powder rooms, two wet bars, a Technogym fitness room and spa, in addition to a 2,500-square-foot rooftop terrace complete with a cold plunge. Described as the hotel's "ravishing grand penthouse," the residence comes with a crown-worthy bill, costing $100,000 per night, plus tax.
Amal Clooney, Serena Williams, Gayle King, Daniel Martin, Jessica Mulroney and Abigail Spencer were among the guests who gathered at the penthouse for the baby shower to celebrate the **** ss, who was pregnant with her and Harry's first child, son Prince Archie, at the time. The festivities that day included flower arranging, with the flowers later donated to charity.
"My girlfriends surprised me with a really beautiful baby shower in New York," the Suits alum recalled in her and Harry's 2022 Netflix docuseries. "They're like, 'We're going to shower her with love and shower her baby"...and boy did they in style!"

We have been on Tommy Paul and Paige Lorenze wedding watch since Wimbledon ended. A big hint that the wedding is imminent is a recent social media post featuring Paul and a few familiar faces, namely his tennis peers Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, and Reilly Opelka playing a game on grass.
Some of those same faces were just playing on the Wimbledon grass. Though we cannot recognize everyone in the video, it looks like a fun start to the festivities.
Paul did not share any wedding details when asked at Wimbledon. All he would say was that Lorenze was not traveling to England this year, regardless of how far he got in the tournament.
MORE: Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo blasts ESPN for overhyping Serena Williams at Wimbledon
It is a spirited game of bottle roulette played with tennis racquets, of course. Somehow Fritz lands on the ground. Paul hits left-handed. Everyone looks to be having a good time.

Isn’t it strange how the same song can sound so awful sung by a lone dude with a guitar beside a campfire serenading a lady, and yet so magnificent sung by 40,000 people around a pitch serenading a soccer club? That, my friends, is the wonder of “Wonderwall.”
Much like “Country Roads” ascended to become the unofficial theme of the United States Men’s National Team, this year’s World Cup has anointed the Oasis classic “Wonderwall” as the soundtrack to England’s magical run to the semis … and possibly beyond.
“Wonderwall”’s soccer resurgence is a perfect marriage of music and moment, a ‘90s classic repurposed for a squad on a mission, in a sport that thrives on the deep bonds between players and supporters. As England — a nation always veering from euphoria to melancholy and back, a nation always living in the shadow of its own history — tries to win its first World Cup since 1966, why not use a song from 30 years ago as its rallying cry?
You already know why “Wonderwall” is such a perfect song for a stadium singalong. It’s an easy, stately melody that proceeds at a pace ideal for singing. The first time you heard it, it sounded like something you’d been hearing all your life. No matter how many pints you’ve quaffed during the match, you can stumble your way in the direction of the right key during that “And aaaafter allll, you’re my wonderwaaaall…” chorus.
Plus, like all great singalongs, it sounds better in a group, swaying with your arms around your mates. Sure, **** ody quite knows what a “wonderwall” is, but who cares? The song evokes nostalgia, joy and camaraderie all at once. Those types of tunes don’t come along often.

Another Wimbledon is in the books, with Jannik Sinner successfully defending his men’s ****** le and Linda Noskova becoming the 10th different women’s champion in the last 10 years.
For the second year in a row, men’s No 1 Sinner bounced back from disappointment in Paris to secure a cathartic Wimbledon crown, as the Italian defeated second seed Alexander Zverev in a gruelling four-set battle.
The 21-year-old Noskova became the youngest women’s champion since Petra Kvitova in 2011 and added to Czechia’s illustrious Wimbledon history as she defeated compatriot Karolina Muchova in a rollercoaster final.
There was not a single drop of rain across the Wimbledon fortnight while the wildcard run of Britain’s Arthur Fery, who reached the semi-finals, and the return of Serena Williams to singles at the age of 44 were also highlights during the tournament.
Here are some of the best moments from Wimbledon 2026, as well as an early look ahead to the US Open.

Wimbledon 2026 is completed.
After weeks of tennis at arguably the most elite location in the world, it feels like a letdown that we have to wait over 340 days until next year's event.
Here are the surprising storylines from this year's Wimbledon Championships.
Serena Williams return to professional tennis did not turn out as she hoped, but that did not stop the world from watching her singles match against Maya Joint to see what her level was after four years away and at 44 years of age.
Maya Joint played the match of her life against Serena but subsequently lost in the next round.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — “Hey Jude” was the song of the night at Miami Stadium.
England midfielder Jude Bellingham, who England fans serenade with The Beatles’ 1968 hit, scored twice to send England to the World Cup semifinals with a 2-1, extra-time victory over upstart Norway.
Bellingham has four goals in England’s last two matches.
The victory sends England to the semifinals. It will play the winner of Argentina-Switzerland, which will be played late Saturday night. England advanced to the World Cup semifinals only three times before this year’s tournament.
Miami Stadium appeared full to capacity, as it has been for its previous World Cup matches. A majority of the people in attendance were England fans, who draped the interior walls of the stadium with flags that had the names of their club teams on them.

The Jude Bellingham Show.
A World Cup body of work that, even by the Real Madrid midfielder's lofty standards, has been as mesmerising as we've seen in an England shirt in recent major tournaments.
It seems ludicrous now to think there was even a debate as to whether Bellingham would be in England's World Cup team at all.
Bellingham has emerged as one of the stars of England's run to the World Cup semi-finals - and has arguably been one of the best players of the tournament.
Six goals, including a brilliant double against Norway in the quarter-finals, plus an excellent **** ist for Harry Kane's goal in the 2-0 win over Panama has had England's supporters serenading the 23-year-old here in the USA.

If you had on your Wimbledon bingo card a Serena comment on a Carlos Alcaraz social media post, congratulations.
Carlos Alcaraz, who the tennis world is missing as he continues to recover from his wrist injury, posted a photo of himself with a racquet in hand.
We do not know exactly when this photo was taken, or how long it will be until we see Alcaraz again on a tennis court. Crossing our fingers that it happens sometime in the next month, but no one knows. There is growing speculation that if he is not further advanced than these photos, he may miss the rest of the 2026 season.
MORE: Wimbledon 2026 WTA final: Red ruled the Royal Box while Noskova wins
Serena wrote: “They not ready”

The Jude Bellingham Show.
A World Cup body of work that, even by the Real Madrid midfielder's lofty standards, has been as mesmerising as we've seen in an England shirt in recent major tournaments.
It seems ludicrous now to think that there was even a debate as to whether Bellingham would be in England's World Cup team at all.
Bellingham has emerged as one of the stars of England's run to the World Cup quarter-finals - he's arguably been one of the best players of the tournament.
Four goals plus an excellent ******* ist for Harry Kane's goal in the 2-0 win over Panama has had England's supporters serenading the 23-year-old here in the USA.

July 8 (UPI) -- Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and longtime girlfriend Brooklyn Adams are engaged, they announced on social media.
St. Brown and Adams, who started to date in high school, made the announcement Tuesday night. He proposed while onboard a yacht decorated with white flowers.
The couple each wore white outfits while serenaded by a violinist at sunset.
"Hard launch," Adams wrote for a caption on an Instagram post, which featured several photos and videos from the proposal.
Actor and Lions fan Taylor Lautner, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, Atlanta Falcons star Drake London, Los Angeles Chargers veteran Keenan Allen and several of St. Brown's teammates, including Jared Goff, wrote congratulatory messages on the joint social media post.

Tennis fans are enjoying the peak of the season, but Carlos Alcaraz has been deeply missed on the ATP Tour at the French Open and Wimbledon.
We have barely seen Alcaraz in the past couple of months, and his last social media update was on May 19.
Nearly two months later, we are left to wonder when he will return. Will he try to pull a Djokovic or Serena move and make his return at the US Open? Or will he play a US Open warmup tournament?
MORE: Carlos Alcaraz’s 2026 Wimbledon withdrawal raises serious concern
We share the news that Alcaraz is on the Cincinnati Open players list with cautious optimism. The tournament starts August 8, and he could still withdraw.

Serena Williams hopes to play in a singles tournament before the US Open.
The 23-time grand slam champion returned to the singles court at Wimbledon last week after being given a wild card.
But Williams, 44, injured her knee during a narrow 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 first-round defeat by Maya Joint, a player 24 years her junior.
That injury ruled the former world number one out of the doubles event, which she was due to play with sister Venus, 46.
Williams only played doubles in the build-up to Wimbledon, with Victoria Mboko at Queen’s and Karolina Muchova in Berlin.

There will be a 10th different Wimbledon champion in as many years in the women's singles after a fourth-round defeat for Barbora Krejcikova.
The 2024 winner was the last remaining of the four previous champions that started the tournament following losses for Serena Williams, Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek.
But Krejcikova, who knocked out French Open champion Mirra Andreeva in the second round, was beaten 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 by fellow Czech Karolina Muchova.
Williams, who won her seventh singles ***** le at the All England Club in 2016, is the last player to have claimed multiple trophies.
Tenth seed Muchova looked to be cruising to a straight-sets victory only for Krejcikova to fight back from 5-2 down, but there was to be no repeat in the deciding set.

German football chief Bernd Neuendorf turns 65 on Monday but celebrations will give way to a hard week of work as he tries to wrap up a deal for Jürgen Klopp to take over the men's national team.
Any party will be slightly muted by Germany's early exit from a third straight World Cup and because he is due to fly back to the United States in the coming days to talk directly with Klopp about taking over from Julian Nagelsmann.
The previous coach resigned after the penalties defeat to Paraguay in the last 32 in Foxborough, Massachusetts last Monday.
Sources close to the federation said Neuendorf was looking forward to a birthday serenade at Germany's World Cup base in North Carolina but instead they went out a week earlier and he has been left with a crisis to manage.
Two years ago, on the eve of his 63rd birthday, Germany suffered a bitter 2-1 extra-time defeat to Spain in the quarter-finals of the home European Championship.

Serena Williams’ highly anticipated return to Wimbledon has ended in heartbreak. After her singles defeat, the 23-time Grand Slam champion was forced to abandon her doubles partnership with her sister, Venus Williams. She received heartfelt support from her husband, Alexis Ohanian, after announcing the crushing news, with Coco Gauff also sharing a touching message.
Williams recently took Wimbledon by storm by making her singles comeback against Maya Joint, who claimed a 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 victory in their first-round clash despite the American’s promising performance. The match not only ended in a loss but also left the former world No. 1 with a knee injury, which cast doubt on her much-awaited doubles campaign alongside her sister, Venus.
Although the 44-year-old initially remained optimistic about recovering in time for their opening match, she was ultimately forced to withdraw due to the injury.
“I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles. Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside venuswilliams once more meant the world to me. I did everything I could to be ready, but unfortunately my knee just isn’t ready to compete,” she posted on Instagram.
While expressing her heartfelt gratitude to fans, the 23-time Grand Slam champion also hinted at being back on tour soon.

Taylor Fritz has promised more eye-catching entrances during the second week of Wimbledon after he marked a mixed fourth of July for the United States with a four-set win over Lorenzo Sonego.
After hopefuls Tommy Paul, Jenson Brooksby and Michael Zheng exited the day before the public holiday, America’s 250th anniversary was marked by further blows with Serena Williams ruled out of women’s doubles action before more male players crashed out of the Championships.
Fritz made sure not to add any more woe to celebrations across the pond with a gritty 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) victory over Sonego on a boisterous Court Two to make the last 16 at the All England Club for the fourth time in five years.
Another string to Fritz’s bow in England in 2026 has been his emergence as a ‘fashionista’ after sponsor Hugo Boss produced a custom-made white suit for him to wear on to the grass before his tear-away trousers are ripped off in an eye-catching manner.
Quizzed on his new trademark arrival, Fritz smiled: “I mean, I am a little superstitious, so I don’t like to change a winning routine.

Serena Williams has pulled out of her planned Wimbledon doubles appearance with older sister Venus because of a knee injury.
The American pair, who are six-time doubles champions at the All England Club, were scheduled to reunite on a Grand Slam court for the first time since 2022 later on Saturday.
However, 44-year-old Serena Williams is not fit enough to play after picking up a knee problem during her defeat by Australia's Maya Joint on Tuesday.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion did not speak to the media following the match, with Wimbledon organisers saying she was "not able to undertake" her duties.
"I'm heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles," said Serena in a post on Instagram.