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Tag: Venus Williams

  • Venus: Too ‘speechless’ being an aunt

    Venus: Too ‘speechless’ being an aunt

    Shortly after she won her third-round match against Greece’s Maria Sakkari at the US Open…Venus Williams was asked about how she felt being an aunt to Serena’s new born baby.

    Apparently thrilled by her victory in the match Venus only manage to say: “I’m super excited. Words can’t describe.”

    Serena welcomed her daughter – whom she has with her fiancé Alexis Ohanian – into the world on Friday, and her older sister and fellow tennis star Venus, 37, was more than a delight.

    Venus had claimed she wouldn’t be answering questions about her sister’s start to parenthood, but did admit the pair “always talk”.

    She said: “We always talk. We always talk, so she’s always encouraging me. Yeah, from every step of the way, every match, always.”

    Her sister reportedly gave birth to a baby girl weighing in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces, at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach.

    Meanwhile, she previously revealed she is “looking forward” to motherhood.

    She said: “I am looking forward to becoming a mother and coming back to the courts already. I’m always thinking about what’s next: the next victory, the next trophy … I intend to keep exercising for as long as possible while pregnant.

    “I want the baby to be healthy and for that, you need a healthy life. Also, when I come back to tennis it’ll be better if I’ve kept as fit as possible all the way through the pregnancy rather than having to lose a lot of weight afterwards in order to get fit again. Eating healthily is a must, but being healthy is a lifestyle.”

    The sportswomen also previously revealed she thinks having a baby will make her a “real woman”.

    She shared: “I have so much respect for so many women [for giving birth]. I am about to be a real woman now, you know? It’s going to be something incredibly impressive to go through … I don’t think watching birthing videos helps. I actually think it makes it worse. Having a baby, nothing is guaranteed.”

  • Venus Williams, Temple Management bring EleVen by Venus Williams to Africa

    Venus Williams, Temple Management bring EleVen by Venus Williams to Africa

    Venus Williams’ renowned active wear brand, EleVen By Venus Williams, is collaborating with leading West Africa-based creative talent agency, Temple Management Company to expand its retail business to the continent.

    Koye Sowemimo, Head of Sports for The Temple Management Company, said at a a press statement on Tuesday in Lagos, that the partnership was a natural fit.

    “We are delighted to bring a global quality brand such as EleVen by Venus Williams to Nigeria,” he says.

    “Venus needs very little introduction to the Nigerian market not only as a global icon in the sport of tennis, but from her last visit in 2012. We look forward to growing the brand in Nigeria and across Africa.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the body, founded in 2012 by the American-born global tennis icon, has grown to become one of the most widely accepted among female active wear fashion brands around the world.

    Now, the label looks to break new boundaries in its latest international brand expansion.

    Speaking about the brand in an email made available to NAN by Temple Management Company (TMC), Venus says, “The name EleVen represents how I strive to live every day.

    “That is, without limits. In our world, ‘10’ is just another number, but EleVen is a lifestyle – it’s about challenging your status quo, embracing positive change, and going beyond.”

    Meanwhile, TMC plans to announce further details of distribution as well as an official roll out date.

    Specific details on which collections will be available, price points, and where to buy will be shared at a later date.

    NAN reports that Venus Williams is an active wear line that ‘Fashions Healthier Lives’ with a mission to motivate and empower women to feel confident, strong and express their individuality.

    Bringing style to fitness, the emphasis of each collection is not only on how the clothes perform, but the design inspiration with the introduction of a new color pallet and prints.

    The high-quality pieces offer flattering feminine fits in beautiful fabrications. The collections of fitness and tennis are designed to allow women to strive each day without limits

    The TMC is a full-service creative talent and event management company incorporated in Nigeria and operating in the Entertainment, Sports, Media and Art sectors.

  • Don’t Cry for Venus Williams

    Don’t Cry for Venus Williams

    The post-match press conference was of the type in which Venus Williams has come to specialise. The questions were considerably longer than the answers as the five-times champion studiously avoided elaborating in any meaningful way on her stunning second set collapse against Garbine Muguruza.

    Her autoimmune disease Sjogren’s seemed the most obvious reason her energy levels sapped allowing Muguruza to inflict the first 6-0 scoreline on the 37-year-old in her 20-year Wimbledon history.

    By the end of the women’s final, as the second set screamed by in a 26-minute rush of errors, Venus Williams walked as if in a daze. The shots she had struck so firmly during an unforgettable fortnight had gone missing. Some strayed long. Some nestled into the middle of the net. Others scuttled quietly to the sides of the court, landing wide.

    But don’t cry for Venus. Do not feel too terribly bad. After the match, in her typically taciturn way, she vowed to march on. “I’ve been in a position this year to contend for big titles,” said Williams, who at 37, after going eight years without making it to the Wimbledon final has now been runner-up at the Australian Open and here in London. “It’s just about getting over the line. I believe I can.”

    • Garbiñe Muguruza became the first woman to beat both Williams sisters in a Slam final in a historic Wimbledon win over Venus

    Williams has long been one of the WTA’s leaders, rightly praised for leading the fight for equal pay. But she is also a closed book. Off court, her most revealing moment at this tournament came when she briefly broke down when asked about the recent Florida pile-up in which led to the death of an elderly man. Other than that, she gave not an inch.

    Once Wimbledon 2017 was over, as thoughtful as she is known to be in private, she could have offered sincere introspection, as many other top players have. She could have mused at length on the match — or her historic, 20 years playing Wimbledon. Maybe one day; not now.

    Now, the vibe she keeps giving, win or lose, is that nobody is going to get inside. She’s going to keep pursuing her goals in tennis, same as ever. And now, that means pursuing more big wins, more majors, no matter what happened Saturday on Centre Court.

    Perhaps Muguruza put it best in her own postmatch press conference. “I’m just very surprised that she’s hungry to keep winning,” she said of Venus. “She has won almost everything. She’s not young anymore. … She keeps winning, makes two finals Grand Slams this year. She just shows this toughness.”

    Well put. The grand dame of tennis will march on. Don’t for a moment cry for her or feel terribly bad.

  • Muguruza stuns Venus to clinch first Wimbledon title

    Muguruza stuns Venus to clinch first Wimbledon title

     

    Spain’s Garbine Muguruza won her first Wimbledon title and ended Venus Williams’ hopes of becoming the oldest Grand Slam champion in Saturday’s women’s final.

    Muguruza beat the in-form Williams in their first meeting on grass 7-5 6-0 as the Spanish 14th seed emulated her coach Conchita Martinez’s memorable triumph in 1994 and made up for her own pain of losing to Serena Williams two years ago to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish.

    Back in the All England Club final after an eight-year absence, Williams, 37, was hoping to become both the oldest Wimbledon and major winner since the Open era began in 1968, but was unable to claim a sixth Wimbledon title as Muguruza’s power proved too hot to handle.

    Williams created the first opening of what was turning into a slug-fest in the fifth game, but she netted a presentable opportunity on the forehand side.

    The 23-year-old held before driving her forehand long with her own break point chance in the next game.

    Under the Centre Court roof it was Williams who turned the screw with some juicy groundstrokes to earn two set points. But the Spaniard held steady following a tumultuous 19-shot rally to come through under immense pressure.

    And Muguruza made Williams pay with a break in the 11th game before delighting her temporary coach for Wimbledon, Conchita Martinez, by holding an intensely physical service game to take it 7-5 after 51 minutes of action.

    A double fault by veteran Williams handed Muguruza a break at the start of the second set as she began to make more unforced errors.

    Two more breaks of Williams’ serve followed as Muguruza took a stranglehold of the final and she closed out a bagel set to complete a remarkable turnaround.

    She will take home £2.2m in prize money, with runner-up Williams, in the Wimbledon final for the first time in eight years, netting £1.1m.

    Watching  from the Royal Box was  King Juan Carlos of Spain.

    Fittingly, it was Muguruza’s current coach Conchita Martinez who was the first woman to raise the Spanish flag at Wimbledon in 1994 when she defeated Martina Navratilova.

  • Venus Williams Powers In To 9th Wimbledon Final

    Venus Williams Powers In To 9th Wimbledon Final

    Venus Williams beat Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-2 to reach her first Wimbledon final since 2009, where she will face Garbine Muguruza

    Williams ignored the attentions of a friendly bee to begin with an easy hold; and, while it took Konta a few solid strikes to calm the nerves running through her racket, she quickly calculated the best way to test the 37-year-old American was wide and deep across the baseline.

    No active player can match Williams’s 20 Wimbledon appearances. This was her 101st singles match at the All England Club, her 10th semi-final – where she has won five times – and Konta’s 12th and her first semi-final.

    Those numbers represent a yawning gap in experience and achievement, which the sixth seed set about narrowing with her uncomplicated but increasingly potent game: hitting hard and flat behind a solid serve, and trusting legs that are 13 years younger than her opponent’s.

    Three aces to hold in the sixth game gave Konta not only parity on the scoreboard but confirmation that she could beat Williams with pace and placement. The American was simply not moving for those well-struck balls 10 feet and more away from her. The trick for Konta was to keep picking her spots.

    There was the small matter of the ball coming the other way and, when she lined up her groundstrokes, Williams was lethal. However, the worn court was tough to read some times on day 10, and she some times struggled to get low enough to cope with the uneven bounce.

    While blessed with better movement and a bigger serve, Konta did not bring as much variety, but she figured what was good enough to beat Donna Vekic and Simona Halep in two thrilling three-setters ought to do the job against Williams.

    Williams saved a break point for 5-4, paying no heed to the applause that greeted her double fault and a butchered drive volley. There could be no questioning the strength of commiseration for the British player, though, who lost her way serving to stay in the set, hitting her final backhand long.

    There had been little in the first frame, but Konta need to rediscover her early rhythm. Williams, meanwhile, was determined to keep the points short, robbing her opponent of rally time.

    Johanna Konta during a change of ends.
    Johanna Konta during a change of ends. Photograph: Julian Finney/Getty Images

    A cruel clip of the net and a double fault in the fourth game tipped Konta into a mini crisis, but she rescued one of three break points with a delightful stop volley, and scraped a forehand into empty space for 30-40. But, off balance, she dumped a forehand and Williams was three games away from her ninth Wimbledon final.

    Konta badly needed a stretch of points to get back in the fight, but she struggled to find the consistency of her earlier performances. Just before the hour, she was a set and 1-4 down with ball in hand. To get to the semi-finals, she had spent an average of two hours and four minutes on court, and now it looked like it might be over in half that time.

    The low bounce was discomforting her as Williams continued to hit with more certainty, but Konta held nervously in the sixth game.

    There was still hope, but not much. Konta saved two match points before handing Williams a third opportunity with her seventh double fault, and the American rifled him a forehand winner past Konta at the net.

  • Who is Venus Williams Dating? She says…

    Who is Venus Williams Dating? She says…

    Who is Venus Williams dating and how many children does Wimbledon six-time champ have? Golfing star and Cuban model among Serena’s older sister’s exes

    A golfing star and a Cuban model have previously dated Serena’s older sister Venus

    The 37-year-old takes on Britain’s Johanna Konta in a huge semi-final on Centre Court.

    Venus Williams faces Johanna Konta in the Wimbledon semi-final

    Venus Williams faces Johanna Konta in the Wimbledon semi-final
    But has Venus also found love? Here is all you need to know.

    Who is Venus Williams dating?

    Venus Williams is believed to currently be single.

    Cuban model Elio Pis is her most recent boyfriend, with the pair meeting in 2012 when he modelled for her EleVen fashion line.

    But since 2015, the pair have seldom been spotted together, leading to the conclusion that they have split up.

    Although Venus and Elio were spotted having dinner in each other’s company in March this year, fuelling speculation that they have rekindled their relationship.

    On the matter, the 37-year-old said she is simply focusing on her tennis career and sister Serena’s wedding to Alexis Ohanian.

    She told People: “I really can’t plan on who I might meet, date or wed. Now when I think about marriage, it’s about Serena’s”

    New video showing legal manoeuvre may clear Venus Williams of any wrong doing after her recent car crash

    Who has Venus Williams dated?

    Venus was in a serious relationship with golfer Hank Kuehne, who was spotted at her matches between 2007 and 2010.

    But the pair then broke up, before Kuehne met his second wife Andy, who he married in 2011.

    How many children does Venus Williams have?

    Venus Williams does not have any children.

  • Ostapenko keen to show her best against Williams

    Ostapenko keen to show her best against Williams

    Latvian Jelena Ostapenko believes she is getting better with every round and hopes to showcase the best of her abilities against five-time champion Venus Williams in the Wimbledon quarter-finals later on Tuesday.

    French Open winner Ostapenko struggled in her warm-up tournament in Eastbourne, but has progressed to the quarter-finals at SW19 without losing a set in her last two matches.

    This was after fighting for wins against Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Francoise Abanda in the first two rounds.

    “In the first couple of rounds, I wasn’t playing my best and I was fighting, but I feel like every match, I’m getting better and better,’’ Ostapenko, a junior Wimbledon champion in 2014, told the WTA website.

    The 20-year-old, who beat world number four Elina Svitolina on Monday, will play on Centre Court for the first time against Williams, who has seven grand slam titles to her name.

    The aggressive youngster is looking to enjoy the experience.

    “She’s a great player who has won many Grand Slams, and I’m just going to go on court, enjoy the match, and show my best,’’ Ostapenko added.

    A win for the Latvian could help her break into the Top 10 of the WTA rankings for the first time.

  • Maguruza sends Kerber packing in last 16

    Maguruza sends Kerber packing in last 16

     

    Angelique Kerber’s recent woes continued as she lost 4-6 6-4 6-4 to Garbine Muguruza to exit Wimbledon. The German has failed to reach the quarterfinals in her last three grand slams and will lose her number 1 ranking.

    Kerber started the match well against the Spaniard, who she beat on the way to the 2015 final in London. In a high-class first set that some felt made a mockery of the match’s placement on court 2, Kerber eventually got the upper hand.

    The 29-year-old was starting to look a little more like the woman that won the Australian and US Opens last year, rather than the one that tamely surrended in the first round in the French Open this year.

    Kerber’s improvement continued at the start of the second set but she missed a few chances to break and Muguruza spied an opportunity she was ruthless enough to take.

    As the third set took the match well past the two hour mark, both players showed signs of nerves, with four breaks of serve in the first six games, swinging the pendulum this way and that.

    Perhaps the key moment of a titanic battle came in the seventh game when Muguruza held on to her serve after an intense battle that involved a number of deuce points.

    Despite saving two match points at 4-5, Kerber couldn’t cling on to her serve moments later. The loss means that the German will lose her status as number one whatever happens in the rest of the tournament. Muguruza will next face Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova after the seventh seed beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2 6-4 in their last-16 clash.

    Elsewhere in the women’s draw, there were wins for Venus Williams and French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. The pair will face each other in the next round.

  • Venus breaks down in tears after win over Mertens

    Venus breaks down in tears after win over Mertens

    Venus Williams broke down in tears during her post-match news conference at Wimbledon on Monday, when asked about a recent motoring incident she was involved in, which led to the death of a 78 year old Florida man.

    Williams, who won her first-round match against Belgian Elise Mertens in straight sets, was asked about her feelings regarding the incident.

    “There are really no words to describe, like, how devastating and…yeah. I’m completely speechless.

    “It’s just – yeah, I mean, I’m just,” said the American before breaking down in tears and leaving the room.

    The five-time Wimbledon champion returned shortly afterwards to finish off the compulsory media briefing.

    News of the fatal incident near her home in Palm Beach Gardens surfaced on Thursday.

    Palm Beach Gardens police released a preliminary report saying she was the driver at fault in a June 9 accident that left Jerome Barson, a passenger in the other car, with fatal injuries.

    After the crash, Barson was taken to a Florida trauma centre where he died 13 days later, according to the Palm Beach county medical examiner.

    The police report estimated Williams was traveling at about 5 miles per hour (8 kph) at the time of impact and was not distracted or suspected of any drug or alcohol use.

    Before breaking down in the news conference, Williams had been asked several questions about her emotions in the past month, but had avoided directly addressing the matter.

    “Life, you can’t prepare for everything. I prepared for a lot of matches, tried to get ready for whatever my opponent will throw at you, but you can’t prepare for everything,” she said.

    “I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. That’s all I can say about it. That’s what I’ve learned,” she said to another question on how she was handling the situation.

    Last week Williams released a statement on Facebook saying that she was “heartbroken” and “devastated” by the death of Barson.

    Williams also said she was missing her sister Serena who is on a break from the game while she is pregnant.

    “I miss her a lot. I think she misses me,” she said.

    The 37-year-old American faced a tenacious opponent as she began her bid for a sixth Wimbledon singles title with a 7-6(7) 6-4 victory.

    While a nervous Mertens struggled early, going 3-0 down in the first set, the 21-year-old, ranked 54th in the world, battled back to force a tiebreak which Williams won 9-7.

    Williams, who last won Wimbledon in 2008, was unable to convert two match points in the second set before a rain break, but she returned to serve out for victory.

  • Venus heartbroken over crash that killed a man

    Venus heartbroken over crash that killed a man

     

    Venus Williams has spoken out for the first time after she was involved in a crash that left a 78-year-old man.

    The US tennis star said she is ‘devastated and heartbroken’ over the fatal car crash that Jerome Barson’s family says will prompt them to file a wrongful death suit against her.

    In a post on her Facebook page, the 37-year-old wrote: ‘I am devasted [sic] and heartbroken by this accident.

    ‘My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Jerome Barson and I continue to keep them in my thoughts and prayers.’

    Williams, 37, is a seven-time Grand Slam champion who won five Wimbledon titles from 2000 to 2008 plus the 2000 and 2001 US Opens.

    Seeded 10th in her 20th Wimbledon appearance, Williams is set to face Belgium’s Elise Mertens in a first-round match Monday on the England grass courts.

    Attorney Michael Steinger told ABC television Friday that Barson’s family will file a wrongful death suit over the incident in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

    Barson, who suffered head injuries in the accident, died two weeks later on June 22.

    A Palm Beach Gardens police report said Williams’ 2010 Toyota Sequoia SUV and a 2016 Hyundai Accent driven by Barson’s wife, Linda Barson, collided in an intersection

    The accident remains under investigation and Williams has not been charged.

    Williams’ attorney, Malcolm Cunningham, said police estimated Williams was traveling only 5 mph when struck by Barson’s car.

    ‘This is an unfortunate accident and Venus expresses her deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one,’ he said.

    Cunningham said Williams entered an intersection on a green light that turned red during her turn, but she was stuck in the intersection because of traffic.

    The police report said Williams was deemed at fault for blocking the right of way of the other vehicle.

    Police say there was no evidence Miss Williams was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or that she was distracted by a phone.