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Tennis great, Serena Williams, announces retirement in emotional statement

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Tennis star, Serena Williams, has announced that she will retire from the sport after the US Open at Flushing Meadows which begins later this month

The 40-year-old 23-time Grand Slam champion has been the face of tennis since winning her first U.S. Open in 1999, but in a statement published by Vogue Magazine on Tuesday, said she plans to hang up her racket and bring an end to her active romance with the sport after playing again in the tournament.

Williams who last won a Grand Slam tournament while she was pregnant during the Australian Open in 2017, has been struggling to cope with the pace of the game after the birth of her daughter, Olympia, with hopes of equaling or surpassing Margaret Court’s record 24 Grand Slam titles going up in flames.

In an emotional statement in Vogue Magazine in which she will appear on the front cover for September’s edition, Williams said:

“I’m turning 41 this month, and something’s got to give. I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me.

Serena Williams has plans to call it quits with tennis (Photo Credit:WTA)

Serena Williams has plans to call it quits with tennis (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

“I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution.

“But I’ve been reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I have to move on from playing tennis. Alexis, my husband, and I have hardly talked about it; it’s like a taboo topic.

“I can’t even have this conversation with my mom and dad. It’s like it’s not real until you say it out loud. It comes up, I get an uncomfortable lump in my throat, and I start to cry. The only person I’ve really gone there with is my therapist!”

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Cricket: Bangladesh defeats Zimbabwe by nine wickets to seal T20 series

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Bangladesh on Tuesday overcame Zimbabwe by nine wickets to take a 3-0 lead in the 5-match T20 series with star man, Towhid Hridoy, nicking a quick-fire half-century, while Mohammad Saifuddin picked up three wickets.

The Asian country, however, survived a late onslaught from Zimbabwe’s Faraz Akram to triumph in the third Twenty20 international and seal the five-match series 3-0 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

Playing his first match in the series, Faraz hit an unbeaten 34 off 19 balls, a record for any Zimbabwean batting at number 10, but the visitors still finished short at 156-9, with Wellington Masakadza putting on 54 for the ninth wicket to lift the side from 91–8.

The visitors needed 21 runs from the final over but Mohammad Saifuddin bowled Masakadza in the first ball to put Bangladesh back on top.

Reports of the match stated that unlike the first two games where the hosts eased past their opponents, the third game kept both teams at the edge of their seats before Najmul Hossain Shanto’s Tigers won by 9 runs.

After being asked to bat first, Bangladesh lost both their openers, Shanto and Litton Das, in quick succession.

Tanzid Hasan Tamim struggled his way to 21 off 22 before Faraz Akram accounted for his wicket. From there on, Towhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali Anik took charge, building a handy partnership of 87 runs off 9.3 overs.

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Chelsea offers Lukaku plus cash to Napoli for Osimhen

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English Premier League club, Chelsea, is said to be willing to offer Belgium striker, Romelu Lukaku, as well as fork out £77 million to Napoli in a bid to lure Nigerian forward, Victor Osimhen, to the club this summer.

Multiple reports in the Italian sporting media reveal that the Blues are willing to use forgotten man Lukaku and unnamed player to sweeten the deal to bring in Osimhen.

The Belgian striker who is on loan at Roma, is set to depart the Italian capital at the end of the season and make his return to Stamford Bridge where Chelsea are already planning ways to get rid of him on a permanent basis.

According to Gianluca Di Marzio of Sky Sport, the latest development in the Lukaku’s saga with the Blues is that Chelsea have gone as far as offering the 30-year-old attacker to Napoli.

“The Blues are aiming to sign Victor Osimhen this coming summer and are aiming to include Lukaku in a deal for the Nigerian international,” Marzio said.

“Newly appointed Napoli sporting director, Manna, is said to be very keen on Lukaku after having tried to bring him to Juventus and Napoli are currently considering the offer with Roma slipping away from the race for Big Rom.”

The 30-year-old Belgian rejoined the Blues in a disastrous £97.5m deal in 2021 and has spent the last two seasons out on loan, firstly at Inter Milan then this time around at Roma.

With two years still remaining on his deal, the Blues will look to get his salary off their wage bill for good this summer.

Osimhen on the other hand, helped Napoli to a historic Serie A title victory last season, scoring 26. This season, he has scored 14 goals in 22 appearances, having missed chunks of the campaign due to a hamstring injury and Afcon.

Lukaku, meanwhile, has netted 11 goals in 29 Serie A appearances for Roma, with 19 in all competitions.

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