Tennis

Team USA's starting Olympics flag bearer lineup is set ... two days after the Americans picked LeBron James to be the male one -- they announced Coco Gauff will be the female one.

The two will hold the Stars and Stripes high and proud at the Games' opening ceremony festivities on Friday in France ... and when the tennis star learned of the honor on Wednesday, she was pumped.

After some initial shock, she told TODAY she had "no words, honestly."

Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray just announced he's calling it a career after the 2024 Paris Olympics ... saying he's officially retiring from tennis tournaments following the Games.

Murray -- who will be repping Great Britain in a few days -- shared the news on social media on Tuesday ... setting the expiration date on his 19-year career.

Murray was most recently forced to withdraw from the singles competition at Wimbledon after his recovery from a spinal cyst procedure took longer than anticipated. He did participate in a doubles match with his brother, Jamie Murray, but the duo was eliminated in the first round.

Tennis great Nick Kyrgios is bent out of shape that certain people -- AKA the "Hawk Tuah" chick -- are not getting famous the old-fashioned way.

Kyrgios was exercised over Haliey Welch's appearance at Jake Paul's fight against Mike Perry.

Haliey got quite the reaction, and to that Nick said, "No correlation between fame and actually being decent at something anymore," punctuating his criticism with a laughing emoji.

A piece of tennis history is up for auction -- the shirt worn by Rafael Nadal en route to his first-ever Grand Slam title at the 2005 French Open ... and it's expected to fetch a pretty penny!!

TMZ Sports is told the match-worn shirt -- which Nadal wore during the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final at Roland Garros -- is being made available via Prestige Memorabilia.

We're told the legendary green sleeveless tee had a starting bid of $25,000 ... but is expected to sell for $100k -- and that's understandable given its history. Besides being the first time Nadal competed in the French Open, it marked the first showdown between the man who would become a longtime rival of his -- Roger Federer.

Kate Middleton's back in the public eye ... appearing at Wimbledon -- her second public appearance since announcing her cancer diagnosis -- and, the crowd gave her a welcome fit for a royal.

The Princess of Wales pulled up to the All England Club Sunday for the men's final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic ... and, check out the clip of her making her way to her seat -- thunderous applause follows.

Her Royal Highness waves to the audience for around 30 seconds while they clap and cheer her ... with many filming the awe-inspiring moment at the stadium.

Harrison Butker fired back at Serena Williams for her critical comments about him onstage while he was sitting in the audience at the ESPY Awards this week.

Butker took a shot at the tennis legend for dissing his views about women becoming homemakers during a commencement speech he gave at Benedictine College in May. He also made controversial statements about abortion and the LGBTQ community.

The Kansas City Chiefs kicker told NBC News, "I thought Mrs. Williams was a great host and applaud her for using her platform to express her beliefs on a variety of topics. Sports are supposed to be the great unifier."

Kate Middleton ain't letting cancer keep her down ... 'cause she's gonna attend Britain's most famous professional tennis tournament -- Wimbledon -- and she'll even be taking on a an important task!

Kensington Palace just issued a statement saying that the Princess of Wales will be a special guest at Sunday's men's singles final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. After the match, Kate will present the winner with the silver-gilt Wimbledon Cup trophy.

The event will mark Kate's second public outing since she announced her cancer diagnosis in March. Her first appearance came in June when she arrived at the Trooping the Colour for King Charles' birthday parade.

Margot Robbie's showing off her maternity fashion sense on the big stage -- making her first public appearance since revealing her pregnancy at Wimbledon.

The "Barbie" star dressed up her baby bump in a white and black polka dot maternity dress Friday at the All England Club in London.

Margot and husband Tom Ackerley were all smiles as they watched Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev battle on the Centre Court grass ... and the expectant parents even smooched in the stands during the semifinal match.

Novak Djokovic walked off Centre Court at Wimbledon with a win on Monday, but not before clapping back at the disrespectful fans in attendance, trolling spectators during his post-match interview!

Following 37-year-old Djokovic's straight sets win over 21-year-old, 15-seed Holger Rune, Novak used his on-court interview to call out fans in a rather creative way.

Some background for context ... fans of Rune tend to draw out his last name during tournaments, chanting "Runnnnnnneeeeeee." Just fans having a little bit of fun, right?!

Madison Keys' fiancé found himself in a pick-le ... 'cause ESPN jumped to him at the wrong time -- and, they caught him fingertip deep in his nostril.

The American tennis star was in the third set of her round of 16 match against Italian player Jasmine Paolini Sunday when ESPN's broadcast flashed over to her coach and fiancé, Bjorn Fratangelo.

Check out the clip ... Bjorn's hanging out and chatting with a woman to his right, when he brings his fingers up to his nose and decides to drag out a bothersome boogie.

Genie Bouchard is single for the summer ... TMZ Sports has learned the tennis star and her longtime boyfriend, Jack Brinkley-Cook, have broken up.

Our sources say the two officially headed to Splitsville in April ... calling off a relationship that had lasted somewhere around two years.

The couple was first spotted together getting cozy on a beach in 2022 -- just after her breakup with NFL quarterback Mason Rudolph -- and in September 2023, they went Instagram official.

Tennis star Andrey Rublev melted down during his Wimbledon match on Tuesday ... beating himself repeatedly with his racket -- and the wild outburst was all captured on video.

Rublev's temper tantrum happened in the middle of his face-off with Francisco Comesana ... after he failed to return one of his opponent's shots.

As the ball went sailing toward the crowd, Rublev saw red ... and slammed his racket into his knee over and over and over again.

Serena Williams took a moment for some self-care ... letting her fans in on a procedure targeting her birthing scars -- something that's been a hang-up for her since having kids.

The retired tennis legend shared an IG clip of herself getting a radio frequency skin-tightening treatment -- and as you can see ... she's lying on an exam table as a technician rubs an ultrasound-like wand over her stomach.

Serena explained the video was filmed during a Parisian getaway, where her thoughtful pal -- knowing full well she felt self-conscious about her tummy post-childbirth -- treated her to a day at Maison Lutétia spa.

For those hoping Roger Federer would have a change of heart about his retirement decision ... the 20-time Grand Slam champion tells TMZ Sports it's time to give up hope -- 'cause he's adamant he's really done playing for good.

We caught up with the 42-year-old tennis great out in NYC this week ... and despite hanging up the racket back in 2022, there were still a ton of fans waiting outside to greet him.

Federer spoke with our cameras for a bit as he signed autographs ... and when we asked about any urges to unretire -- he responded with an emphatic "NO!"

The last thing Novak Djokovic probably expected while signing autographs after his win at the Italian Open was to get hurt ... but that's exactly what happened -- as a flying water bottle from the stands nailed him in the head, leaving him crouching in pain.

Djokovic approached his supporters after a 6-3, 6-1 win over France's Corentin Moutet on Friday ... and decided to show some love by scribbling his Hancock on some memorabilia.

Videos on X show Djokovic falling to the ground and grabbing his head after the water bottle struck him in the head.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's new Netflix venture's already poppin' with star power ... 'cause early filming saw Serena Williams hangin' with the duo!

The Sussexes were down in Miami shooting their new show for Netflix all about the polo world ... attending the Royal Salute Polo Challenge Friday.

Check out the pics ... Harry's all decked out in his polo gear -- ready to hop on a horse and score a few points with cameras ready to cover it all.