Goods worth $400K stolen from Venus Williams’ Florida home

Associated PressNov 16, 2017, 9:02 PM EST

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) Burglars hit tennis star Venus Williams’ Florida home, stealing $400,000 worth of goods while she was at the U.S. Open, police said Thursday.

The burglary happened between Sept. 1 and 5 at Williams’ 10,000-square-foot (1,000-square-meter) home, which is in a well-to-do gated community, Palm Beach Gardens police said in a statement. Police blacked out from their report what was stolen. No arrests have been made.

Palm Beach County property records show Williams and her sister Serena bought the home new in 2000. It is now valued at $2.3 million.

Venus Williams’ agent, Carlos Fleming, did not respond to an email seeking comment. The burglary was first reported by WPEC-TV.

This is the second time in five months Palm Beach Gardens police did not publicly release information about an incident involving Williams until it was reported by a news outlet.

In June, Williams was involved in a traffic accident near her home that killed a passenger in the other car. Police have said the accident investigation remains open, and she is being sued by the dead man’s estate. Palm Beach Gardens police did not issue a news release or the accident report until the website TMZ published a story three weeks after the crash.

Maj. Eduardo Guillen said it is not the department’s practice to issue news releases about major crimes and fatal traffic accidents involving its residents, something other departments in Florida and nationally do routinely.

“The department is not in the business of randomly releasing information on cases. Ms. Williams is a private citizen within our community and she will be extended the same privacy all our citizens expect,” Guillen said in an email to The Associated Press.

The suburb of about 54,000 residents is mostly middle class, but has wealthy enclaves.

Williams, 37, has had one of her best recent years on the court, finishing second at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open and reaching the semi-finals at the U.S. Open.

Williams has seven career Grand Slam titles and career on-court earnings of nearly $40 million. She has her own clothing line and endorsement deals with Ralph Lauren, Kraft foods, Tide detergent and Wilson sporting goods. She also owns a small percentage of the Miami Dolphins.

Gael Monfils withdraws from French Open with wrist injury

Associated PressJun 1, 2023, 11:34 AM EDT

Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

PARIS — A thrilling five-set victory took a toll on Gael Monfils, whose withdrawal from the French Open handed No. 6 Holger Rune a walkover to the third round.

The 36-year-old Frenchman said he has a strained left wrist and can’t continue.

He battled Sebastian Baez for nearly four hours on Court Philippe Chatrier before beating the Argentine 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 in a first-round match that ended at 12:18 a.m. local time.

The victory was Monfils’ first at tour level this year, as the veteran was coming back from heel surgery.

“Actually, physically, I’m quite fine. But I had the problem with my wrist that I cannot solve,” he said. “The doctor say was not good to play with that type of injury. Yesterday was actually very risky, and then today definitely say I should stop.”

Monfils reached the semifinals at the French Open in 2008 and made it to the quarterfinals on three other occasions.

Mikael Ymer fined about $40K after default for hitting umpire stand with racket

Associated PressMay 31, 2023, 3:55 PM EDT

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

PARIS — Swedish tennis player Mikael Ymer was docked about $40,000 after being disqualified for smashing his racket against the umpire’s chair at a tournament the week before he competed at the French Open.

An ATP Tour spokesman said Ymer forfeited about $10,500 in prize money and 20 rankings he earned for reaching the second round of the Lyon Open. Ymer also was handed an on-site fine of about $29,000.

The spokesman said the ATP Fines Committee will conduct a review of what happened to determine whether any additional penalties are warranted.

The 56th-ranked Ymer, who is 24 and owns a victory over current No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, was defaulted in Lyon for an outburst late in the first set against French teenager Arthur Fils last week.

Ymer was upset that the chair umpire would not check a ball mark after a shot by Fils landed near a line. As the players went to the sideline for the ensuing changeover, Ymer smacked the base of the umpire’s stand with his racket twice – destroying his equipment and damaging the chair.

That led to Ymer’s disqualification, making Fils the winner of the match.

After his 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 loss to 17th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the first round at Roland Garros, Ymer was asked whether he wanted to explain why he reacted the way he did in Lyon.

“With all due respect, I think it’s pretty clear from the video what caused it and why I reacted the way I reacted. Not justifying it at all, of course,” Ymer replied. “But for me to sit here and to explain? I think it’s pretty clear what led me to that place. I think that’s pretty clear in the video.”