Serena Williams met with U.S. women’s national team stars after watching their 3-0 win Saturday against China.

The retired tennis great cheered on the USWNT at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, alongside husband Alexis Ohanian and daughter Olympia. The family are investors in NWSL club Angel City FC.

After the match, the 23-time Grand Slam champion took the time to meet with USWNT players, including Trinity Rodman, who contributed a goal and two assists, as well as Midge Purce, Sophia Smith, Naomi Girma, Lynn Williams and Alyssa Thompson.

“She was very sweet, very humble, which is refreshing and amazing,” Rodman said. “And obviously we all look up to her, one of the greatest female athletes in the world. So to meet her in person and see how she was incredible.”

When Rodman met with reporters after the game, she explained her delay by noting that Williams wanted to meet with her. And Williams asked for her jersey from the match — but the 21-year-old forward already had gifted it to a fan. Rodman, though, found another jersey to give to the tennis legend.

“I gave one of my jerseys away to a fan, and then I walked across the field, and somebody said, ‘Serena wants to meet you,’” Rodman said. “I was like, ‘Serena who?’ They were like, ‘Serena Williams.’ I walked over there, and she’s like, ‘Can I have your jersey?’ I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ I dug in the dirty bag from the beginning of the half to find mine and gave it to her.”

The USWNT will close out the year with another friendly against China at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday in Frisco, Texas.

Olympia is a big fan 💙

👋 OH and hi, @alexisohanian & @serenawilliams pic.twitter.com/v2JI37WgOm

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) December 2, 2023

Alex Morgan is getting into golf.

The U.S. women’s national team and San Diego Wave star announced Friday that she is joining The Golf League as an investor in the Los Angeles team, alongside retired LPGA great Michelle Wie West, tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams, NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and more.

“It’s official, my husband and I are married to the game,” she wrote on social media. “I’m thrilled to announce my involvement as an investor with @WeAreLAGC, the inaugural team of @TGL!”

It’s official, my husband and I are married to the game😎

I’m thrilled to announce our involvement as investors with @WeAreLAGC , the inaugural team of @TGL! pic.twitter.com/fw8Bfa5tTs

— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) September 29, 2023

TGL is a new league set to begin play in January 2024, founded by golfers Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Some of the top players in the world will compete in three-on-three team competitions using golf simulator technology.

Initially, four teams were announced: Boston, New York, Atlanta and LA. Two more are expected to join the league, which has partnered with the PGA Tour.

“We’re providing a form of the game that looks more like other sports,” Mike McCarley — CEO of Tmrw Sports, the company behind TGL — told Fast Company. “This is going to be an NBA courtside experience, whether you’re there in person or watching on television.”

It’s unknown if or when pros from the LPGA will become involved in the new league. But other investors in the league, including Serena Williams’ husband and fellow TGL investor Alexis Ohanian, are committed to making that happen.

“My first question was, when can we get the LPGA involved? And it’s not just because my daughter is into golf,” Ohanian said. “It would be nice to help elevate the women’s game.”

Ohanian first connected with Morgan when he started tuning into the NWSL, and he later joined Angel City FC as an investor. Now, he’s helped the soccer star become part of TGL.

“Golf has become a family hobby,” Morgan told Fast Company. “So, [investing in LAGC] was a no brainer. It’s something I wanted to be a part of.”

From there, Morgan reached out to Wie West, who was on board almost immediately.

“It’s great to have the same mission: democratizing the dream, breaking down the stigmas of golf, and really showcasing how fun it is,” Wie West said. “We really want to use TGL, to use technology, to help bring this sport to people and communities that would have not otherwise been exposed to it.”

She’s also committed to bringing women golfers into the sport.

“I’ve had many conversations with LPGA Tour Commissioner Mollie [Marcoux Samaan],” she said. “Getting women involved is something that’s very important to me. We’re gonna make it happen. When? I hope soon.”

Simona Halep is set to appeal the four-year doping ban she received from the International Tennis Integrity Agency.

The ITIA announced the ban Tuesday, citing two anti-doping rule violations. The suspension runs until Oct. 6, 2026. Halep had been provisionally suspended since last October after testing positive for Roxadustat, a banned blood-booster, at last year’s US Open.

In a statement, Halep said that she “refused to accept” the decision, and that she would appeal to sport’s highest court.

“I am continuing to train and do everything in my power to clear my name of these false allegations and return to the court,” Halep said. “I intend to appeal this decision to The Court of Arbitration for Sport and pursue all legal remedies against the supplement company in question.”

A two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1, Halep famously bested Serena Williams in the 2019 Wimbledon final. With the win, she kept Williams from winning her eighth Wimbledon title and her 24th Grand Slam singles title.

Williams, who retired in 2022 with seven Wimbledon titles and 23 major singles titles to her name, seemingly responded to Halep’s suspension Tuesday on social media.

“8 is a better number,” she wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian also responded indirectly to the ITIA ruling.

“Some fashion is timeless,” he wrote, alongside a photo of himself in a “D.A.R.E.” anti-drug shirt at one of Williams’ matches.

“Seriously not out of style,” Williams replied.

Seriously not out of style.

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) September 12, 2023

An independent tribunal sat through two days of evidence from scientific experts and sifted through 8,000 pages of evidence and testimony from Halep. While the tribunal accepted Halep’s argument that she had taken a contaminated supplement, the volume ingested could not have resulted in the concentration of roxadustat found in her positive sample, the tribunal concluded.

“Today, a tribunal under the tennis anti-doping program announced a tentative decision in my case,” Halep wrote in response to the ban. “The last year has been the hardest match of my life, and unfortunately my fight continues.

“I have devoted my life to the beautiful game of tennis. I take the rules that govern our sport very seriously and take pride in the fact I have never knowingly or intentionally used any prohibited substance.”

Growing up, Coco Gauff idolized Serena and Venus Williams.

In a mostly white sport, Gauff saw herself in the Black sisters who dominated the sport during her childhood. And in the aftermath of her U.S. Open victory Saturday, Gauff credited the sisters.

“They’re the reason why I have this trophy today,” Gauff said. “They’ve allowed me to believe in this dream. Growing up, there weren’t too many Black tennis players dominating the sport. It was just them at the time that I can remember, and obviously more came because of their legacy. It made the dream more believable.”

Gauff defeated Aryna Sabalenka, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the tournament finals at Arthur Ashe Stadium, falling to the ground and crying when she won. Gauff, 19, became the first American teen to win the U.S. Open since Serena Williams in 1999.

Williams, of course, went on to win the tournament another five times, including in 2002, when she defeated her sister in the final. Gauff wasn’t born until 2004, but she grew up with the backdrop of both Williams sisters as icons of the sport.

And on Saturday, Gauff joined her heroes and etched her name as one of the titans of the sport.

“All the things they had to go through, they made it easier for someone like me to do this,” Gauff said. “You look back at the history of Indian Wells with Serena, and all she had to go through. Venus, fighting for equal pay. It’s crazy and it’s an honor to be in the same lineup as them.”

Coco Gauff has one regret that she may never be able to get over.

The 19-year-old made her first US Open final with a straight-sets win over Karolina Muchova, becoming the youngest American to reach the final at the Grand Slam since Serena Williams did it in 1999 at age 17. Williams went on to win the first of her 23 major singles titles.

So it seems a little bit like fate that, one year after Williams retired at the US Open, another American is following in her footsteps. Gauff became the first American teenager to reach the US Open semifinals since Williams in 2001.

And both Gauff and U.S. men’s player Ben Shelton, 20, have made more history. This year marked the first time multiple Americans aged 20 or younger have made it to the semifinals of the same Grand Slam since Venus and Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2000.

Yet while some might see Gauff as the face and the future of American tennis, she is in excellent company. At this year’s US Open, multiple Americans have made deep runs — including 28-year-old Madison Keys, who lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the other semifinal.

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A post shared by Coco Gauff (@cocogauff)

“I don’t think I’m carrying American tennis. I don’t think I will,” Gauff told ESPN. “We have so many compatriots who are doing well.

“Serena is Serena. She’s the GOAT. I’d hope to do half of what she did. But I’m not gonna compare myself to her. She’s someone I look up to. Being in the same stat line as her means a lot to me. She’s my idol.”

Still, Gauff – who never once played against Williams professionally – has just one regret.

“The only regret I’ll have for the rest of my life is not being able to play her,” she said. “There were so many tournaments where if we won an extra round and didn’t lose, I would’ve played her. I’m still happy to just be a product of her legacy.”

Venus Williams made a return to the court Tuesday at the Libéma Open for her first match in more than five months.

The 42-year-old had not competed since the second round of the ASB Classic in New Zealand. in January. While she defeated Katie Volynets in the match, she suffered a hamstring injury, forcing her to withdraw from that tournament and from the Australian Open.

Her comeback came via wild-card entry to the Libéma Open. The first-round match marked her first time playing in the Netherlands and her first singles tournament on grass since Wimbledon in 2021. (She participated in mixed doubles at Wimbledon last year.)

Competing against Celine Naef, Williams won her first set 6-3 but lost the second set in a tiebreak 7-6 (7-3). Naef, a 17-year-old who also received a wild-card entry to the tournament, took the third set 6-2 to win the match.

Among those in attendance to watch the match was Venus’ younger sister Serena Williams, who announced her retirement from tennis last year. In May, she announced that she is pregnant with her second child.

Venus' number 1 fan 🤩@serenawilliams | #LibemaOpen pic.twitter.com/RN8mednO7n

— wta (@WTA) June 13, 2023

Serena Williams stole the show Monday night at the Met Gala, as the tennis star announced that she is pregnant with her second child.

She and husband Alexis Ohanian are already parents to 5-year-old daughter Olympia.

Williams announced the news on Instagram ahead of the red carpet for the annual fashion event. She shared a photo carousel in which she is featured in one picture holding her baby bump. The post was captioned: “Was so excited when Anna Wintour invited the 3 of us to the Met Gala.”

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A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams)

The news comes after Williams announced her “evolution” away from tennis in Vogue last August. In that first-person essay, she also shared hopes of expanding their family with another baby.

She “never thought about having kids” early on in her career, she wrote in Vogue. And while she says she figured that she would “have people taking care of it 24/7” if she ever did have a baby, she’s been “an incredibly hands-on mother” with Olympia.

“In five years, Olympia has only spent one 24-hour period away from me,” she wrote. “This past year, while I was recovering from a hamstring injury, I got to pick her up from school four or five days a week, and I always looked forward to seeing her face light up when she walked out of the building and saw me waiting there for her. The fact is that nothing is a sacrifice for me when it comes to Olympia.”

Williams has also been vocal about her experience of giving birth to Olympia in 2017, as she dealt with life-threatening blood clots following an emergency cesarean section.

“It gives me a lot of reason beyond what I do, and so, it’s really important,” she told People in January 2021 of her husband and daughter. “I’ve been so focused on my career my whole life, but when I had a family and got married, I realized that there’s so much more to life. And that was great.”

Also in attendance were Eileen Gu and Brittney Griner. It was Griner’s first Met Gala, while Gu was making her second-straight appearance.