Tennis

Less is more when it comes to training gear for Novak Djokovic ... 'cause dude went for a run on the beach in Spain wearing sneakers and a Speedo.

Djok was hangin' out in Marbella when he decided to get in a workout while taking in some sun -- so, he hit one of the public beach gym places and started grindin'!

... in his budgy smuggler.

He ran. He did pull-ups. Leg press. All while leaving little to the imagination.

Look, he's from Europe (Serbia) and was in Europe (Spain) ... and everyone knows they love their man panties across the pond.

Plus, Novak's got a killer bod.

Of course, Novak is now in New York for the U.S. Open ... so, it's all business from here on out.

Roger Federer vs. Serena Williams. Who wins?

We got Fed outside UNIQLO in NYC on Wednesday and asked him straight-up.

Obviously, Federer told us he's betting on himself ... but it begs the question, could Serena -- the greatest female tennis player of all time -- REALLY compete with Fed in a serious tennis showdown?

Remember ... Serena's been engulfed in this Battle of the Sexes subject for years. John McEnroe says he was once offered $1 MILLION by Donald Trump to do battle with her. Billie Jean King also threw herself into the conversation by saying there's no way in hell Serena would win a match with a man.

As for Serena's side on all of this ... her most recent comment on the issue came in the form of a tweet to McEnroe after he said "she'd be like 700 in the world" on the men's circuit.

"Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based," Serena said.

"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."

As for UNIQLO and why Fed was there rehashing the whole issue among so many wild fans -- the Swiss star just broke up with Nike to ink a $300 MILLION deal with the Japanese apparel giant -- and he was there to promote his new gear with the people.

A dance battle broke out on the streets of Queens on Tuesday -- Good Vs. Evil -- and the winner gets Serena Williams!!

There was definitely a Luke Skywalker-type vibe with Serena -- a bunch of "dark side" lookin' dancers tried to dance-pull Serena down some stairs ... while some "light side" dancers resisted and yanked her the other direction.

So ... what the hell was going on?!!?

BEATS, BABY!

It was all for a Beats By Dre headphones commercial -- but since the production didn't bump the music out loud, we don't really know what song they're all dancing to.

Still, everyone slaaaaaayed ... and Serena got paaaaaaaaid.

Well, this is interesting ...

Serena Williams -- who owns a minority stake in the Miami Dolphins -- says she's convinced, if a team hired Colin Kaepernick, he would win the Super Bowl.

However, she's also convinced no one will ever hire Colin Kaepernick.

It's all part of her new interview with Time -- where Serena says she supports the rights of NFL players to protest during the national anthem.

When asked specifically about Colin -- whom she's only met twice -- Williams said she doubts an NFL team will hire him, especially after he filed his collusion grievance against the league.

But, as the Time article states, "She’s convinced Kaepernick would win a Super Bowl."

"He’d have so much to prove," Williams said ... "I would. I can’t imagine he would be any different. 'Man, I’m about to show out. Y’all gonna see stuff you’ve never seen before.'"

Interesting, since some think the Dolphins could use a QB right now ...

Williams also says she doesn't believe Kaepernick is a broken man because of the alleged blackballing -- she thinks it's the opposite because he's focusing on raising money for nonprofits.

"Colin is happy with what he’s doing ... Some people are different. He’s just different."

Serena Williams says she was in a "funk" during her historic loss at the Silicon Valley Classic last week -- all because postpartum emotions made her feel like a bad mom.

Williams suffered the worst loss of her pro career to 43rd ranked Johanna Konta -- going down in straight sets ... 6-1, 6-0.

Now, Serena -- who gave birth to her daughter back in August 2017 -- says postpartum emotions definitely played a role.

"Last week was not easy for me. Not only was I accepting some tough personal stuff, but I just was in a funk. Mostly, I felt like I was not a good mom," Williams wrote on Instagram.

"I read several articles that said postpartum emotions can last up to 3 years if not dealt with. I like communication best. Talking things through with my mom, my sisters, my friends let me know that my feelings are totally normal. It’s totally normal to feel like I’m not doing enough for my baby."

She added ... "Although I have been with her every day of her life, I’m not around as much as I would like to be. Most of you moms deal with the same thing. Whether stay-at-home or working, finding that balance with kids is a true art. You are the true heroes."

The gang member who murdered Yetunde Price -- the half-sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams -- is now a free man after serving 12 years in prison.

Robert Maxfield was convicted of killing Price in 2003 in a drive-by shooting in Compton, and was sentenced to 15 years behind bars for voluntary manslaughter in 2006. According to Daily Mail, he's been released on parole 3 years early for good behavior.

The Williams sisters were close to their older sister, who served as their part-time personal assistant as their careers were taking off.

Yetunde was in the passenger seat of her boyfriend's car when she was hit by a bullet from Maxfield, and she died instantly. Cops said her BF was the intended target.

Common is strongly siding with his ex-GF, Serena Williams -- telling TMZ Sports someone is trying to "take her down" by drug testing her more than usual ... and it's all because she's a black woman.

Hours before we spoke with Common, Serena went off about being drug tested more than any other female tennis player ... and accused officials of "discrimination."

Common clearly agrees -- saying, "As a black woman, do you think she's getting discriminated against? YES."

"If they're testing her more than anyone else, it's a reason for that. And there's conscious and subconscious and I would say conscious is the fact that she's a black woman and they're looking for some reason to be able to take her down and discredit her ... but she's the queen!"

Genie Bouchard injured her groin last weekend ... but she clearly didn't hurt her butt -- 'cause the tennis star was shakin' it all over the place in Morocco on Wednesday!!

The 24-year-old cruised over to Africa after an injury cut her run in the Swiss Open short ... and she looked no worse for wear gettin' some rehab work in by her luxury hotel's pool.

In a barely-there neon green and hot pink bikini ... Genie made sure to get a couple sets of champagne sippin' and booty poppin' to get right.

Yeah ... we think she'll make a full recovery.

BTW -- Genie's getting pretty good at this whole bikini thing ... she slayed the SI Swimsuit shoot this year.

Eat your heart out, Super Bowl bet guy.

Serena Williams is furious at the "random" drug tests in her sport -- claiming she's been singled out by officials and tested more than any other player ... and she's saying it's "discrimination."

The 36-year-old tennis superstar -- who just came in 2nd at Wimbledon -- went off Tuesday night on Twitter as she got ready to take another drug test.

"And it’s that time of the day to get 'randomly' drug tested and only test Serena. Out of all the players it’s been proven I’m the one getting tested the most."

"Discrimination? I think so. At least I’ll be keeping the sport clean #StayPositive."

She added, "But I’m ready to do whatever it takes to have a clean sport so bring it on. I’m excited."

Maria Sharapova's professional season might be winding down, but her boyfriend is kicking off ass-eatin' season ... in a big way!

The Russian tennis star was lounging in a bikini Sunday in Positano, alongside her millionaire bf, Alexander Gilkes, who decided to order lunch OFF-menu. For some reason, Alex got a face full of Maria's butt.

He was also pretty handsy with the booty -- so, there's little question to what he sees in Maria. Check out the pics, though ... she was stuck on her phone the whole time he was going to work back there.

Caroline Wozniacki's not sweating missing out on one of the biggest days in women's tennis ... she's staying cool in the pool instead.

The tennis star and her NBA fiance, David Lee, are still vacationing in Italy -- now they're in Portofino -- and were spotted Saturday getting wet and enjoying some delicious-looking drinks.

As we reported ... the couple jetted over to Italy early this week after Caroline got bounced from Wimbledon in the second round.

9:33 AM PT -- Serena was defeated by Angelique Kerber, 6-3 6-3, who won her first career Wimbledon title and third major. Serena was interviewed after the match, saying she was disappointed she couldn't get the win for all the moms out there ... but thanked everyone for their support and said she was happy to be back.

Meghan Markle has friends in high places, and not just at the Palace ... because she showed up to watch her good friend Serena Williams try to make some history.

Meghan brought sister-in-law Kate Middleton along for the ride to sit in the peanut gallery at Wimbledon, to watch Serena attempt a super-human feat ... bouncing back after a difficult post-pregnancy to tie the record for Grand Slam wins.

Caroline Wozniacki seems devastated after losing at Wimbledon, doesn't she?!

Just days after the tennis superstar got bounced from the tourney, she and her NBA fiance, David Lee, jetted over to Capri, Italy ... where they're yachting, relaxing and taking bikini pics.

Yeah, she's clearly heartbroken.

Also, Wednesday is Caroline's 28th birthday -- and, judging from her vacation pics, she seems WAY happier being in sunny Capri than cloudy England.

Plus, this way, Caro gets to show off her insane physique -- which she did in the 2016 and 2017 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition (awesome, btw).

As for the whole Wimbledon thing, Wozniacki lost in the 2nd round to Russian star Ekaterina Makarova ... after a swarm of flying ants invaded the court.

No flying ants in Capri ... just sayin'.

Drake is teaching the world a valuable lesson from a courtside seat at Serena Williams' Wimbledon match Tuesday ... exes don't have to hate each other!!

The "In My Feelings" rapper was all about cheering on his former flame during her tilt with Camila Giorgi in the Wimbledon quarterfinal.

He showed concern when she was down ... smiles when she was up ... and drink sippin' when she dominated.

Remember ... the two had a huge thing back in 2015 -- there were even engagement rumors!! -- but it fizzled.

Boris Becker -- who was recently caught flashing a fake diplomatic passport in order to evade a multi-million dollar debt -- is now at Wimbledon ... which begs the question, who's paying for this?!

Remember, 50-year-old Becker was declared bankrupt in the U.S. in 2017 after racking up a "historic debt."

Then, last month, officials say Becker was flashing a fake passport from the Central African Republic, which was so bad it didn't even have the signature or stamp of the foreign minister.

The theory is Becker essentially thought the document was a "get out of debt free" card -- but it wasn't.

Now, Becker is at Wimbledon ... where everything's expensive -- except the traditional strawberries and cream snack (which runs about $3.20).

Tennis star Nick Kyrgios was slapped with a hard fine of $17,500 for pretending his water bottle was a penis ... and masturbating it on the court.

It all went down Saturday during his Queen’s Club Championship semi-final match when cameras caught the tennis bad boy simulating a 5-knuckle shuffle on his water bottle ... complete with a finish.

The tournament's supervisor, Lars Graff, hit the 23-year-old with the fine ... but would only cite "inappropriate behavior" for the penalty.

Guess miming masturbation with a water bottle isn't quite in the written no-nos of tennis' rulebook just yet.