Tennis

Venus Williams broke down in tears Monday at a press conference when asked about the fatal car crash she's being blamed for ... and was left utterly speechless mid-sentence.

The tennis super star was doing a presser after her opening match win at Wimbledon, and when someone asked her about her car crash last month that left an elderly man dead ... she got very emotional and could not continue speaking.

We broke the story ... Venus is being sued for wrongful death after she was found at fault in a car accident that left 78-year-old Jerome Barson dead. Cops say she impeded oncoming traffic by trying to get past a street light.

1:40 PM PT -- Venus is now breaking her silence ... calling the incident an "unfortunate accident" and insisting she explain what happened from her point of view.

"Ms. Williams entered the intersection on a green light," her attorney Malcolm Cunningham said.

"The police report estimates that Ms. Williams was traveling at 5 mph when Mrs. Barson crashed into her. Authorities did not issue Ms. Williams with any citations or traffic violations."

"This is an unfortunate accident and Venus expresses her deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one."

Venus Williams caused a car accident that sent a 78-year-old man to ICU where he died 14 days later ... according to a police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

The driver of the other car -- the wife of the victim -- told cops she was approaching an intersection westbound in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on June 9 when Venus' northbound SUV suddenly darted into the intersection. The other driver says there was no time to stop and she T-boned Venus' vehicle.

Venus told cops she was trying to make it through the intersection but there was a traffic backup and she had to slow down to a crawl, with her car exposed in the intersection.

The driver's husband, Jerome Barson, suffered head trauma and was taken to a hospital and placed in ICU. He never recovered and died 2 weeks later. Barson's wife was also taken to the hospital with broken bones and other injuries, but survived ... according to her attorney Michael Steinger.

Cops say Venus caused the accident. According to the police report, "[Venus] is at fault for violating the right of way of [the other driver]."

Police say in the report there was no evidence Venus was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. They also say there's no evidence she was distracted by an electronic device.

We reached out to Williams for comment -- so far, no word back.

John McEnroe isn't the only one who thinks Serena Williams would get crushed on the men's circuit -- Billie Jean King told us the exact same thing last year ... and backed it up with science.

Of course, McEnroe's been getting killed over an interview this week in which he praised Serena as the best female player in the world but noted, "If she played the men's circuit she'd be like 700 in the world."

Williams shot back on Twitter saying, "Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based."

She added, "I've never played anyone ranked 'there' nor do I have time. Respect me and my privacy as I'm trying to have a baby. Good day sir."

But the Serena vs. Men debate has been going on for a while -- and back in August, Billie Jean King told us pretty matter of factly that Serena would have zero chance against the best men on the planet.

BJK is a TITAN in women's sports -- most notably for pummeling Bobby Riggs (who was 55) in a co-ed tennis match dubbed the "Battle Of The Sexes" back in 1973.

Game. Set. Match.

Serena Williams wins again -- in a big way -- stripping down to her pregnant birthday suit for the cover of Vanity Fair ... and she SLAYYYYYYED.

In the issue, the tennis superstar also details how she found out she was pregnant on the set of a lingerie shoot (she took 6 pregnancy tests!) and how she fell in love with her fiance, Alexis Ohanian.

Also, Serena revealed she knew she was pregnant when she decided to compete in the Australian Open back in January ... a tournament she dominated and won!

In fact, Serena says she expects to return to pro tennis as soon as January.

Until then ... that cover. Damn.

Here's tennis star Genie Bouchard in a butt-baring bikini on the beaches of Spain ... blessing all our senses while teaching the common man a lesson ... luck has its limits.

Eugenie just got bounced from the Mallorca Open -- so she hit the sand with her hockey player boyfriend, Jordan Caron.

You know who WASN'T invited? The lucky schmo Genie went on a date with after the infamous Super Bowl bet -- a bet in which Genie agreed to go out with the guy if the Pats came back from that 28-3 deficit.

They did and Genie let the guy (John) take her to a Nets game. Later that night, TMZ Sports got Bouchard saying that date #2 was in the cards -- but that clearly didn't pan out 'cause she's on the beach with Mr. Hardbody.

Boris Becker -- who reportedly made more than $25 MILLION during his tennis career -- was declared bankrupt in a British court hearing early Wednesday morning.

Serena Williams is such an insane athlete, she's playing tennis while 7 months pregnant -- and will still destroy all comers!!

SW is roughly 28 weeks with child (that's the 3rd trimester btw) -- but despite her growing baby bump, the tennis superstar busted out her racket and smashed some baseline forehands this morning.

To put it in perspective, Parents.com says her baby should be the size of an eggplant right now!

We already know she won the Australian Open while that human being was cooking inside her. Question is ... how many people could she take down now?

Richard Williams is divorcing his wife and accusing her of jacking social security checks and forging his signature to steal property right out from under him.

Venus and Serena's 75-year-old dad filed docs in Florida to split from 38-year-old Lakeisha Williams, but the divorce is almost overshadowed by what he claims she's doing, as first reported by Daily Mail.

In the docs, Richard says his wife of 7 years has forged his name on a deed to transfer one of his houses to herself ... as well as cars. He also believes she's taken his social security checks.

They have a 5-year-old son together, and Richard thinks Lakeisha's lifestyle endangers the child. According to the docs, she's now living with someone who has "serious criminal, felony charges pending." He also accuses her of taking his guns, and being an alcoholic.

Bella Hadid had the right sized uniform, but oversized equipment, as she took in some French Open action.

Bella rocked a miniskirt in her tight white Nike tennis outfit Saturday at Roland Garros Stadium while watching the Women's Singles Final. Jelena Ostapenko staged a huge comeback to beat Simona Halep.

Serena Williams didn't compete this year -- she's a little bit pregnant in case you haven't heard -- but was on hand to watch this week ... along with celebs like Lindsey Vonn, Hugh Grant, Alexander Skarsgard and Andre Agassi.

Bad news for every other female tennis player on the planet -- Serena Williams says she will be BACK to destroy all of you ... right after she gives birth!

Some have speculated the 35-year-old will hang it up after the baby is born -- since there's only 1 other player who's older than her in the Top 75 (it happens to be her sister, Venus).

But when we saw Serena in NYC, she shot down the retirement talk.

We also asked if she's having any pregnancy cravings -- and of course, it's healthy.

Serena Williams' ex-boyfriend, Common, has NO DOUBT she'll return to tennis and dominate again after her baby is born ... calling Serena the greatest tennis player of all time!

This one was SWEET for Genie Bouchard -- the tennis star beat up on her rival, Maria Sharapova, at the Madrid Open on Monday ... just weeks after publicly trashing her as a "cheater."

Remember, Bouchard said Sharapova should be banned from the sport for life after testing positive for a banned substance back in January 2016.

As fate would have it, they faced off in the round of 32 at Monday's tourney and won 2 sets to 1.

After the victory, Genie let out an emotional victory cry followed by an awkward hand shake.

Probably more awkward for Maria ...

Tennis pro Genie Bouchard is slamming Maria Sharapova as a "cheater" who should NEVER be allowed to play pro tennis ever again.

Sharapova returned to pro tennis Wednesday after serving a 15 month suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.

But Bouchard -- a 2014 Wimbledon finalist -- told TRT World that Sharapova got off wayyyy too easy.

"She's a cheater and so to me ... I don’t think a cheater in any sport should be allowed to play that sport again," Bouchard said.

"It’s so unfair to all the other players who do it the right way and are true. So, I think from the WTA it sends the wrong message to young kids -- cheat and we’ll welcome you back with open arms."

"I don’t think that’s right and ... [she's] definitely not someone I can say I look up to anymore because that's definitely ruined it for me a little bit.”

Serena Williams just confirmed her pregnancy announcement was made by accident ... but was only off by about 5 or 6 days.

The tennis star admitted to the social media flub Tuesday at a TED Talks conference in Vancouver with Gayle King -- where she said she had meant to take the pic in private ... but somehow blasted it out to the world.

Serena told Gayle ... "On social media, you press the wrong button and thirty minutes later I missed four calls and I’m like, ‘That’s weird.’"

Doesn't sound like she regrets the early announcement -- she said she was gonna publicly disclose it a few days later anyway. The news also came on the heels of her rising back to No. 1 in the women's tennis rankings ... which ain't bad for someone who hasn't played since January.

Unfortunately, it wasn't without controversy either. She had to deal with haters like former tennis pro Ilie Nastase, who made a racist comment about her future baby. Serena shut him down like a champ, though.

Serena Williams is opening up about her pregnancy -- with an emotional message to her unborn child describing how the experience is changing her life.

Serena Williams' baby will be one the most physically gifted super-athletes of ALL TIME ... so says Glen "Big Baby" Davis.

Here's the deal -- Serena is arguably the greatest female athlete who ever lived. Her fiance, Alexis Ohanian, is 6'5" and smart (he's one of the co-founders of Reddit).

And with their super-DNA combined, Davis says he's convinced the result will be an ultra-smart, ultra-talented, insanely gifted Bo Jackson-style baby.