Tennis

Rafael Nadal is going to be a father -- the tennis icon and his wife, Mery Perello, are expecting their first child together, according to reports.

Spanish publication Hola! confirmed the news this week ... after weeks of rumors surrounding the couple.

Mery was spotted wearing "loose-fitting" clothing as she cheered on 36-year-old Nadal ... who won his 14th French Open and 22nd Grand Slam at Roland Garros earlier this month.

Mery also showed off what appeared to be a baby bump while on vacation with Rafa.

The #4-ranked player in the world has been with Mery for a long time (nearly 17 years) ... and the two got married in 2019.

Nadal, who's currently ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for most Grand Slam titles ever, previously told Hola! of his plans to expand his family one day.

"Obviously, I intend and want to form a family," Nadal reportedly said in 2018. "I love children and I would like them to do what they want in life."

Well, it looks like Rafa is getting his wish.

Former tennis star Jelena Dokic just revealed she nearly took her own life in April ... saying she was about to jump off the balcony of a high-rise balcony -- but thankfully managed to get off and seek help.

"I almost jumped off my 26th-floor balcony and took my own life," Dokic said in an emotional Instagram post on Monday.

"Will never forget the day."

The Australian tennis player -- who won 6 WTA single titles -- says she's been struggling for the past six months so badly that she wanted to take her own life.

"It’s been constant crying everywhere," Dokic said, "From hiding in the bathroom when at work to wipe away my tears so that nobody sees it to the unstoppable crying at home within my four walls has been unbearable."

"Such a vicious cycle in my head. The result: almost jumping off my 26th-floor balcony on April 28th."

But, she managed to seek professional help ... and hopes this message will encourage others who are contemplating suicide to get help as well.

"Getting professional help saved my life," the 39-year-old said.

"I am writing this because I know I am not the only one struggling. Just know that you are not alone."

Dokic says she's in the process of getting better and "will be back stronger than ever."

FYI, Dokic's highest ranking in tennis was no. 4 in August 2002 -- and she had the biggest upset win in 1999 when she beat No. 1 ranked Martina Hingis when she was only 16.

To this day, it's the only match where the No.1 ranked player lost a qualifier at Wimbledon.

In an unexpected turn of events, play was temporarily halted during a French Open men's semi-final match on Friday after a protester ran onto the court and tied herself to the net.

The woman, who was wearing a shirt that had "We have 1028 days left" printed on the front, interrupted the match between Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud at Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris.

Unclear what exactly the woman's motive was for interfering during the contest, but security officials moved quickly to ensure she caused no harm to the players.

Ruud was astonished at the site of the woman on the court ... and he actually had to stop serving for several moments as guards worked to get her off the net.

Security ultimately carried the woman, whose identity remains a mystery at this time, off the clay so the match could finally resume.

Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen a demonstrator try to have their voice heard by causing a disruption at a live sporting event.

The epic French Open match between Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev came to an unfortunate halt on Friday ... after the German star was forced to retire due to a gruesome ankle injury.

The semifinal showdown had all the makings of being a classic -- Rafa won the first set in a tiebreaker ... and as Rafa positioned himself to force another tiebreaker, Sascha's ankle rolled and he fell to the clay.

Zverev screamed and writhed in pain ... as Nadal came to his side in support.

As it turns out, NBA star Kevin Love was in the stands at Roland Garros ... documenting the heartbreaking scene on his Instagram.

The 25-year-old was taken off in a wheelchair ... and eventually came back out on the court on crutches to officially retire from the match. The crowd cheered as he waved to the fans.

Nadal praised Zverev in a post-match interview ... and gave the #3-ranked pro a hug.

A little kid was reduced to tears while watching pro tennis on Thursday ... and it's all because one of the competitors on the court nearly hit him with her racquet during an outburst.

The scene played out during Irina-Camelia Begu's match against Ekaterina Alexandrova at the French Open ... when Begu was so pissed over her performance in the third set, she tossed her racquet into the ground in frustration.

The star's piece of equipment, though, bounced off the clay surprisingly, and made a beeline toward a child who was sitting in the first few rows of the stands.

Somehow, the racquet just missed the boy -- according to spectators -- but the close-call scared the kid, who began crying so loudly, the match was actually put on pause.

Pictures from the event show the kid was terrified ... needing to be consoled by his parents and other fans.

But, to her credit, Begu -- who was given a code violation for the outburst -- went on to win the match and then did all she could to cheer the kid up.

She hugged him, and posed for a picture with him -- and it seems everyone was happy again after that.

Peng Shuai is being recognized for courageously opening up on the alleged sexual assault she experienced at the hands of a powerful Chinese official -- the tennis star was named to Time's list of most influential people of 2022.

The former doubles champ disappeared from the public eye after claiming former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli forced her to have sex with him -- and while she later denied the allegations, many believe the retraction was forced by the Chinese government.

The WTA pulled events from China as a result of Shuai's allegations and disappearance ... and a worldwide call for Shuai's safety ensued.

Shuai was recognized by Lu Pin, a feminist activist and writer, in the outlet's spotlight ... who said, "With one lengthy post on Chinese social media site Weibo, tennis star Peng Shuai set off a chain reaction of events that profoundly changed global sports."

Denis Shapovalov just went scorched earth at the Italian Open -- the Canadian tennis star told fans in the stands to "shut the f*** up" in a fit of rage ... and the moment was captured on video.

The incident went down during Shapovalov's match against Lorenzo Sonego in the tourney's round of 64 ... when Denis got into an argument with the umpire on the sideline.

Denis was upset over a point penalty he received after crossing the net to show the ump a mark on the court ... and when he approached the guy on the sideline, fans in attendance at the Grand Stand Arena let him hear it with a loud chorus of boos.

In the short clip, Shapovalov turns to the crowd and yells, "Shut the f*** up," before going back to plead his case in front of the supervisor.

The 23-year-old later apologized for his outburst ... saying he understands the ump was just doing his job.

LeBron James came back Saturday night to where he started the weekend ... at CARBONE BEACH in Miami Beach, and he partied his ass off!!!

LeBron was having a great time, drinking, dancing and hanging with pals. It's all part of Grand Prix weekend, and it was wild.

There were other celebs on hand ... Meek Mill showed up with some friends and was chilling with the crowd. Patrick Mahomes was also there with his wife Brittany Matthews.

But that's just the beginning of the roster ... Serena and Venus Williams, Travis Kelce, Lindsey Vonn, Kevin Love and lots of others showed up for a night of great food and partying.

LeBron didn't stop at Carbone ... at a point -- late in the evening -- he bailed and went to another club and partied most of the night.

Tennis legend Boris Becker was just sentenced to 2.5 years in prison after being convicted last month on charges he moved a large sum of money after declaring bankruptcy ... in an effort to hide the funds.

As we previously reported, 54-year-old Becker -- a 6-time Grand Slam winner -- was convicted by a jury earlier this month on multiple charges under the Insolvency Act in Britain ... including charges he concealed assets and debts.

Becker was also found guilty of transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars (well, pounds) from his business account to other accounts after declaring bankruptcy in 2017.

The judge who handed down the sentence said the former #1 ranked tennis player will have to serve half of his sentence, according to CNN.

And, it could've been much worse for Becker ... who was facing up to 7 years behind bars after his conviction.

The judge didn't spare the 3-time Wimbledon champ from taking a verbal beating during sentencing ...  the judge ripped into Boris as a remorseless criminal.

"I take into account what has been described as your fall from grace. You have lost your career and reputation and all of your property as a result of your bankruptcy," the judge said, according to the Press Association.

"You have not shown remorse, acceptance of your guilt and have sought to distance yourself from your offending and your bankruptcy."

The judge continued ... "While I accept your humiliation as part of the proceedings, there has been no humility."

As for Becker ... he seemed somewhat remorseful at times, even saying during his trial that he was embarrassed over the bankruptcy scandal, and even offered to part ways with his wedding ring to help satisfy his debts.

Novak Djokovic is condemning the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian tennis players from competing at Wimbledon due to the war in Ukraine ... calling the move flat out "crazy."

The Serbian tennis star spoke out against Wimbledon's decision to prevent tennis athletes from Russia and Belarus (a strong ally of Russia) from playing in the high-profile tournament on Wednesday ... saying it was the wrong move.

"I will always condemn war," Djokovic said. "I will never support war, being myself a child of war. I know how much emotional trauma it leaves. In Serbia, we all know what happened in 1999. In the Balkans, we have had many wars in recent history."

"However, I cannot support the decision of Wimbledon. I think it is crazy," he added.

The world's #1-ranked tennis player went on to say, "When politics interfere with sport, the result is not good."

As we previously reported, the All England Club dropped the bombshell news saying it was their responsibility to play their part in limiting Russia's global influence ... electing to keep Russian and Belarusian players from competing.

"In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships," the official statement read.

"It is, therefore, our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to The Championships 2022."

It's been nearly two months since Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin, violently launched an aggressive war against Ukraine.

Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams could be Chelsea FC's next owners -- both sports icons have reportedly pledged MILLIONS in a bid to buy the club.

The F1 superstar and tennis legend have joined British business mogul Martin Broughton's group of rich and powerful investors hoping to purchase the team from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, according to Reuters.

There's a report Hamilton and Williams both paid $13 million each ... but the Mercedes driver's rep claims that is not an accurate number. In fact, we're told Lewis contributed tens of millions as part of the bid.

Josh Harris and David Blitzer -- who own the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils -- are also part of the bid.

Of course, Abramovich recently put the team up for sale amid the UK government's sanctions to seize the assets of those close to Vladimir Putin.

While RA has denied being tight with the Russian president, he still put the team on the market ... with a reported $3.93 billion price tag.

Williams made nearly $46 million alone in 2021 ... while Hamilton raked in $82 million.

Hall of Famer Pam Shriver claims she had an "inappropriate" relationship with her much older tennis coach, Don Candy, when she was just 17 years old ... calling it a "miserable" experience.

The 59-year-old tennis commentator made the shocking revelation on ESPN's "Outside The Lines" this week ... when she detailed how her underage relationship impacted her every day.

"It affected me in almost every way," Shriver said. "He [Candy] was 33 years older. He was married. He was married long before I took my first lesson from him. I felt a lot of shame and guilt and I felt also a lot of anger, jealousy when his wife would come to tournaments."

"So I was just basically, at times, really miserable," Shriver added, "and because I was living the life of trying to be the best tennis player I can be, I really didn't understand how difficult the whole secret and the juggling was. And so I just kept it to myself."

Shriver told OTL some of her close friends eventually learned about her then-relationship with Candy -- who passed away in 2020 at age 91 -- but says at the time, what she was doing wasn't an uncommon thing.

"We weren't the only boundary-crossing relationship on the tour."

As for why the tennis legend chose to divulge this information over 40 years later, Shriver said she never allowed herself to think about how damaging the relationship with Candy was to her life and to her career.

Shriver notes Candy was not a predator -- nor did he physically or emotionally abuse her -- but says what happened was his responsibility.

Shriver said after her mom died last August, she did some reflecting on her experience ... and one of her biggest regrets is not telling her parents what happened.

"It's a tough one to tell parents, but there's nobody who wants to keep you safe and healthy more than your parents."

"I just feel like it's time. For me, I feel like it's important for my healing and it's important that I can maybe feel that me coming forward and talking about my story in detail might just help a few young players. Maybe it'll help coaches to understand that they need to not cross that boundary."

As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to rage on, Russian tennis players will be banned from this year's Wimbledon tournament ... arguably the biggest, most important tennis tourney in the world.

The story was first reported by Sportico Tuesday morning ... and The All England Club -- who runs the club which hosts Wimbledon -- later released a statement explaining the move.

"Given the profile of The Championships in the United Kingdom and around the world, it is our responsibility to play our part in the widespread efforts of Government, industry, sporting and creative institutions to limit Russia's global influence through the strongest means possible," TAEC announced.

"In the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with The Championships. It is, therefore, our intention, with deep regret, to decline entries from Russian and Belarusian players to The Championships 2022."

Of course, Russia is in the midst of a brutal invasion of Ukraine ... and has routinely, without mercy, shelled civilian populations over the 50+ day war.

Belarus -- a strong ally of Russia -- is presumably banned because of the country's involvement in the war. They've acted as a jumping-off point for Russian forces ... as Belarus shares a border with Ukraine.

Many of the West's sanctions have also been aimed at Belarus.

Wimbledon kicks off on June 27 ... and goes through July 10.

The ban is bad news for tennis star Daniil Medvedev, the current No.2 ranked men's tennis player in the world, who won't be allowed to compete.

One of Medvedev's contemporaries, Andrey Rublev, who's also from Russia, will be banned from competing at Wimbledon as well.

You'll recall, Rublev famously wrote, "No More War Please," after advancing to the Final at the Dubai Championships in February.

Maria Sharapova got the best birthday gift ever this year -- the tennis superstar just announced she's pregnant!!

35-year-old Sharapova broke the news on Tuesday ... sharing a pic of her in a bikini top and sweats -- showing off her growing baby bump.

"Precious beginnings!!! 🤍👼🏻," Maria said on Instagram. "Eating birthday cake for two has always been my specialty ☺️🐣🎂"

The 5-time Grand Slam champ is welcoming the baby with her fiancé, businessman Alexander Gilkes. The couple has been together since 2018 ... and got engaged back in 2020.

Sharapova's celebrity friends shared their excitement for the couple ... including sports broadcaster Erin Andrews, Lily Collins and more.

Sharapova became the #1-ranked tennis player in the world back in 2005 ... racking up more than 600 singles wins in her career. She announced her retirement in 2020.

This is Sharapova's first child. She was previously linked to NBAer Sasha Vujačić and tennis player Grigor Dimitrov.

Kim Clijsters is putting down the racket for good -- again -- the tennis superstar just announced she's retiring from the sport for the third time to focus on her family.

The 38-year-old former #1 overall player in the world broke the news via Instagram on Tuesday ... saying, "I want to share with you that I have decided to no longer play official tournaments."

This will be the third time the Belgian player has retired -- in 2007, she left to marry former basketball player Brian Lynch. She later gave birth to their first child, Jada, in 2008.

Clijsters returned to the court in 2009, before retiring again in 2012. She gave birth to two boys, Jake and Blake, during her time away ... before making another comeback in February 2020.

Unfortunately, Clijsters' second return came right when the COVID-19 pandemic started ... putting a halt to all sporting events. She tested positive for the virus in January 2021.

Clijsters was also plagued with injuries recently ... and her last official match was Oct. 7, 2021.

"I can’t wait to see what new adventures will cross my path," Clijsters said.

"Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the past two years!"

Boris Becker has been convicted by a jury of his peers who believed he committed bankruptcy fraud, and he could spend years behind bars as a result.

The 54-year-old tennis great was convicted on multiple charges, including concealing assets and debts, and we're talking about more than a million bucks in debt.

It wasn't a total loss ... Becker was acquitted on 20 additional charges, including allegations he failed to turn over his Olympic gold medal and Wimbledon awards to the bankruptcy trustee.

Boris now faces 7 years in prison. He's free on bail pending sentencing, which is scheduled for later this month.

Becker was mum on the verdict. As you probably know ... he was an unstoppable force in tennis, winning 6 Grand Slams.

During the trial, Becker admitted he squandered his fortune -- $50 mil -- on his first divorce, child support and an extravagant lifestyle.