ROME — Jasmine Paolini took advantage of the crowd’s support and beat Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 to become the first home player to win the Italian Open in 40 years on Saturday. With top-ranked Jannik Sinner to play Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s final on Sunday, Italy could earn its first sweep of the Rome singles titles. The last Italian woman to win the open was Raffaella Reggi in 1985 in Taranto. The last local man to raise the trophy was Adriano Panatta in 1976. When Paolini hit a big serve down the T on her second championship point and Gauff couldn’t get it back, Paolini celebrated with a big smile and raised her arms as she spun around in joy. “It doesn’t seem real to me,” Paolini said. “I came here as a kid to see this tournament but winning it and holding up this trophy wasn’t even in my dreams.” Before the trophy ceremony, the crowd chanted “Ole, ole, ole, Jas-mine, Jas-mine,” and Paolini responded by forming her hands into a heart shape. “The crowd has been incredible,” Paolini said. Paolini and partner Sara Errani are also in the women’s doubles final and will play Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens for that trophy on Sunday. “It’s been two incredible weeks and it’s not finished yet,” Paolini said. With the country’s tennis boom in full force, Italy President Sergio Mattarella attended the woman’s final at the Foro Italico. Numerous fans held aloft Italian flags and they constantly shouted “Vai Jasmine” (“Go Jasmine”). The fifth-ranked Paolini was the runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon and led Italy to the Billie Jean King Cup title last year. She and Errani also won gold in doubles at the Paris Olympics. Paolini will move up to No. 4 in the rankings on Monday, which will improve her position in the draw for the French Open starting next weekend. Despite her success last year, Paolini recently made a coaching change and replaced Renzo Furlan with Marc Lopez. Errani is also almost always with her, too, and acts as an unofficial coach. Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion who was ranked No. 3, struggled with unforced errors and double faults. Gauff made a whopping 55 unforced errors to Paolini’s 20 and hit seven double faults to her opponent’s none. The final lasted just under 1 ½ hours. It’s the second time in two clay-court tournaments that Gauff has finished runner-up. She lost the Madrid Open final two weeks ago to Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff was coming off the longest match of her career, a 3 1/2-hour victory over Zheng Qinwen in the semifinals that ended in the early Friday morning. Paolini also beat Gauff at a clay-court event in Stuttgart, Germany, in April. Monica Seles in 1990 was the last woman to sweep Rome’s singles and doubles titles in the same year.

CASTELRAIMONDO, Italy — Luke Plapp soloed to victory in the eighth stage of the Giro d’Italia for the biggest win of his career while Italian veteran Diego Ulissi moved into the overall lead on Saturday. “Crazy, crazy,” Plapp said with a smile immediately after his first victory in a Grand Tour. Plapp attacked from a breakaway with about 45 kilometers (28 miles) remaining and had about a minute’s advantage on the final climb. The Australian rider then used his time trialling skills to hold off his chasers. “I knew I couldn’t beat any of them in a sprint, so I knew I had to go at some stage pretty early,” Plapp said. “I just thought I’d give it a crack and, to be honest, just wanted a bit of a head start on the descent as well. “So, to stay away all the way to the finish is definitely not what I expected.” Plapp had plenty of time to celebrate, sitting up and lifting his arms out as he crossed the line 38 seconds ahead of Wilco Kelderman and Ulissi at the end of the tricky 97-kilometer (122-mile) route from Giulianova to Castelraimondo. “I feel like it’s been a long time coming,” Plapp said. “Last year I got so close at the Giro so many times, and for today to happen is so, so special. “We marked it as a stage (to win) for a few weeks now and then this morning on the bus we were really really excited. So to make it happen is a dream come true.” Ulissi faced an anxious wait to see whether he’d done enough to take the pink jersey from pre-race favorite Primoz Roglic and become the first Italian to lead the race since 2021. He let out a loud yell of joy when it was confirmed, after Roglic and most of the rest of the peleton finished nearly five minutes off the pace. Ulissi, who had never previously led the Giro, has a 12-second advantage over compatriot Lorenzo Fortunato and was 17 seconds ahead of Roglic. “Just before putting it on (the leader’s jersey), I was really thinking about the afternoons I spent with my grandparents when I was a kid and watching the Giro and dreaming,” Ulissi said. “I had already realized the dream of winning stages, I came very close to wearing the pink jersey. Now, living this dream at the end of my career — because I’m not getting any younger — is everything, truly a great joy.” Even more special is that Ulissi will be in pink as his home race heads into his home region of Tuscany. “I’m thinking of sleeping with the maglia rosa on tonight,” Ulissi said with a laugh. “But the thought of going through my Tuscany with the maglia rosa is truly a great emotion.” Sunday’s ninth stage includes a mini Strade Bianche on the white, gravel roads on the 181-kilometer route from Gubbio to Siena. The Giro ends in Rome on June 1.

NEW YORK — The first championship banner in New York Liberty history slowly rose from the ground to its permanent home in the rafters of Barclays Center. The final piece of last year’s title run was celebrated Saturday before the team tipped off its 2025 season against the Las Vegas Aces. The green banner found its place high above the court with the players looking on in amazement. Minutes before members of the team were given their championship rings. Breanna Stewart walked up to receive her ring with 3-year-old daughter Ruby holding her hand and 1-year-old son Theo in her arms. This was the third title for Stewart, who won two with Seattle, but the first her kids were around for. Sabrina Ionescu, who was the No. 1 draft pick in 2020 was the last player to be introduced and received a long ovation from the sold out crowd. “We’re so thankful, thank you guys for being part of this championship journey for us,” Ionescu said to the crowd. “We got to run it back. We need the energy the love and support.” New York was the last of the original franchises still playing to win a championship. The Liberty did it in dramatic fashion, beating the Minnesota Lynx in overtime of a decisive Game 5 last year. Liberty co-owner Clara Wu Tsai said during the ceremony that the Liberty “represents the best of New York City. Creativity, grit, hustle and resilience.” She then went on to say that this was “our first championship, but will not be our last.” The Aces stayed inside their locker room during the ceremony. Coach Becky Hammon, who played for the Liberty in her early years in the league, said at practice Friday she had mixed emotions. “I have a lot of respect for this organization,” she said. “A lot of respect for Joe (Tsai) and Clara. I thought last year they were the best team and the best team gets rings.” Chelsea Gray, who has been a part of three championship teams, has been in this spot before while playing for Los Angeles. The Sparks opened the 2018 season in Minnesota after losing to the Lynx in a decisive Game 5 of the WNBA Finals the year before. She hit a buzzer-beater to win the opener and spoil the night for Minnesota that year. She hopes to do the same on Saturday. “It’s more incentive, the away team always tries to ruin the ring night,” Gray said.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A PGA Championship missing star power got the best in golf Saturday when Scottie Scheffler delivered a clinic over the closing stretch at Quail Hollow for a 6-under 65 and a three-shot lead going into the final round. Scheffler started his big run with a 3-wood to just inside 3 feet on the reachable par-4 14th for an eagle, causing so much hysteria that Bryson DeChambeau had to back off his putt across the lake at the 17th. It ended with an 8-iron from the seam of a divot to just inside 10 feet for birdie on the 18th, creating even more space between Scheffler and Alex Noren, who had a 66 and gets his first shot in a final group along the No. 1 player in the world. DeChambeau, the U.S. Open champion who has been a major force at golf’s biggest events, briefly took the lead with a birdie on the par-5 15th. And then it all came undone. He missed a 4-foot par putt on the 16th. He found the water on the par-3 17th — the cheer for Scheffler made him back off a 25-foot bogey putt that he eventually missed — and he had to scramble for par to salvage 69 that felt much better. DeChambeau was three behind when he finished, six behind when Scheffler got done with his masterful performance by playing the final five holes in 5 under par. The third round was delayed by morning storms, forcing a change in tee times to threesomes off both tees that didn’t start until shortly before noon. And then it became a game of musical chairs for the lead. Nine players had at least a share of the lead at one point. One of them was two-time major champion Jon Rahm, who has not seriously contended in the four majors he has played since joining LIV Golf. “Hard to express how hungry I may be for a major, about as hungry as anybody can be in this situation,” Rahm said. “Very happy to be in this position.” He finished nearly two hours before Scheffler and figured he would be at least one shot behind going into the final round. “This golf course is tricky and one shot is nothing on 18 holes,” Rahm said. He now faces a five-shot deficit, but armed with growing confidence in his game. Scheffler, remarkably, posted the low score of any round in a major with his 65, which moved him to 11-under 202 as he goes for a third major. The 3-wood on the 14th was what got it started. The up-and-down for birdie on the par-5 15th gave him the lead for the first time in the championship. Scheffler was equally pleased with the finish, wanting the proper conclusion to such an important round. He holed an 18-foot birdie putt for one of only six birdies on the day at the 17th, and then finished it off with a closing birdie, each with a slight show of emotion. “Big emotion for me,” Scheffler said with a smile. “It was an important time in the round. I wanted to finish off the round the right way. I hit some good shots down the stretch.” Masters champion Rory McIlroy and defending PGA champion Xander Schauffele had a long day, nothing to do with each posting a 72. They were supposed to tee off at 8:25 a.m. and likely would be finished in time for lunch. With the change to threesomes of both tees, they didn’t start until 1:38 p.m. and were on the other side of Quail Hollow as all the action was on the closing stretch. Davis Riley, whose game has been rounding into form since he battled a two-way miss at the start of the year, made three straight birdies around the turn and two more on the scorable 14th and 15th holes for a 67. He was at 7 under 206 along with North Carolina native J.T. Poston, who birdied his last hole for a 68. Rahm was tied for fifth with Si Woo Kim and Jhonattan Vegas, who had two-shot leads after 18 holes and 36 holes and began Saturday with two straight bogeys. But he steadied himself and was still in the mix until driving into the water on the 15th for bogey and finishing out his 73 with a three-putt going on the 18th. DeChambeau played in the final group at the Masters with McIlroy, and he played bogey-free through 15 holes until a finish that did more damage than he realized. “It cost me three shots and that’s what happens here at Quail Hollow,” he said. It left DeChambeau, Rahm and everyone else in a tough spot trying to make up ground on Scheffler, whose last tournament was an eight-shot victory in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

It’s been a major championship devoid of much star power. Scottie Scheffler can change that. Scheffler carded a 3-under 68 Friday at Quail Hollow Club to move into a tie for fifth at 5 under, just three shots back of leader Jhonattan Vegas at the midway point of the 107th PGA Championship. Unsettled with his golf swing for much of the day, Scheffler missed four of his first five greens in regulation, yet he still played that stretch without a bogey. Scheffler reckoned that he didn’t make many good swings until the drivable par-4 14th hole, where he drove it into the right greenside bunker and converted an easy up-and-down birdie. He birdied the next, a par-5, for his fourth of the round and nearly had a fifth after throwing a dart to 3 feet at the par-3 17th hole. He missed the shortie, otherwise Scheffler would be joint-second entering the weekend. “I think most of me is just glad to be close to the lead,” Scheffler said. “If you’re going to play a 72-hole golf tournament, there’s going to be days and stretches of golf where you’re not swinging it your best. Over the course of a tournament this long and on a major championship setup, there’s going to be, like I said, some bumps in the road. It’s all about how you respond to those. “I did a good job of responding to those mistakes today and keeping myself in the tournament.” Vegas, Las not Johnny, would argue that Scheffler isn’t just in this championship; Scheffler is the current favorite, at +220, ahead of Bryson DeChambeau (+875 and five shots back) and the player Vegas (+1200). Perhaps that’s a testament to Scheffler’s ability. That the first page of the leaderboard looks more like the 3M Open doesn’t hurt Scheffler’s chances either. Out of the 26 players at 3 under or better, just three rank inside the top 25 of the Official World Golf Ranking – No. 1 Scheffler, No. 15 DeChambeau and No. 22 Robert MacIntyre. Even worse for the championship is that six top-10 players missed the weekend, and Nos. 2 and 3, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, made the cut on the number at 1 over while playing alongside Scheffler. McIlroy bogeyed each of his final two holes, lipping out a short par save at the par-3 17th and then hooking his drive into the chalets on the par-4 18th, his ball ricocheting back into a thick lie on the bank of the creek that runs along the left side of the treacherous hole, which played over a half-shot over par. Through two rounds, McIlroy has hit just 10 fairways. McIlroy didn’t speak to reporters on Friday evening, but SiriusXM PGA Tour reported earlier in the day that McIlroy’s driver was deemed non-conforming by the USGA, which conducts the testing, on Tuesday, so he’s been using a replacement. Si Woo Kim cut some lumber into the fourth green, playing 252 yards from the tee, and watched his ball track all the way into the hole for the improbable ace. That spurred him to a 7-under 64, tied for the round of the day, as Kim is tied for second at 6 under with Matthieu Pavon (65) and Matt Fitzpatrick (68). Max Homa (64) is level with Scheffler at 5 under. Fitzpatrick, a recent U.S. Open champion, and Homa, a recent Ryder Cupper, Homa has plummeted to 78th in the world, missing five straight cuts earlier this year and having still not posted a top-10 finish anywhere since his T-8 finish at last year’s Wells Fargo, played at Quail Hollow. But he’s been showing glimpses of a rally, including a few weeks ago at the Masters, where he tied for 12th. Homa’s 64 Friday was his best major round by three shots. “I’ve hit a lot of golf balls in the last seven months, like an absurd amount of golf ball,” Homa said. “So, you get these stretches that you might just groove it well. … It felt more like my old golf swing.” Fitzpatrick’s struggled have arguably been worse, as he’s dropped to 85th in the world. “It’s not just putting, it was my whole game,” said Fitzpatrick, who doesn’t own a top-20 showing since last year’s FedExCup playoff opener in Memphis. Fitzpatrick has done a bit of everything this week, a big reason why he’s carded only four bogeys, two each day. “If I can just keep doing that and not get myself in trouble, I can give myself a chance,” Fitzpatrick said. They’re all chasing Vegas, the world No. 70, who admitted he got what felt like only three hours of sleep on Thursday night, following an adrenaline-pumping, five-birdies-in-six-holes finish to his first round. Vegas’ sleepy start included just one birdie on his opening nine but also just one bogey. He strung together three birdies in five holes to kick off his back nine to find double digits at 10 under and stretch his lead to four shots. He left his tee shot at No. 17 well off to the right, only for his ball to take a fortuitous bounce off a bunker rake and kick to 30 feet, setting up an easy par. Vegas closed in double bogey, his third shot from the right greenside bunker coming out heavy and riding the false front down off the green, followed two strokes later by a shocking short miss for bogey. But afterward, Vegas’ glass was half full; he was still leading a major championship. Majors, after all, haven’t been kind to the 40-year-old, four-time PGA Tour winner from Venezuela. In 16 previous major starts, Vegas registered no top-20s and 10 missed cuts. He completed the season trunk slam in 2017, posting MCs at each of the four majors. “You put all those hours to give yourself chances like this,” Vegas said. “Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to do it throughout my career, but you never know. You got to keep the pedal down, keep your head down, and keep working hard. You never know when things are going to turn your way. I’m enjoying the process.” With Vegas listed at a generous 6 feet, 3 inches, and 230 pounds, Scheffler, a former basketball player in high school, is probably glad that he doesn’t have to play defense on Vegas this weekend. All Scheffler need worry about is locking down this mammoth of a golf course. There aren’t many guys left at the top of the leaderboard who can keep Quail, at a wet and muddy 7,600 yards and change, in check for four quarters. Scheffler is unquestionably the best among them.

For just the second time in its 95-year history, soccer’s most watched event and sought after trophy will be contested on American soil; the FIFA World Cup. Over the course of 39 days, the United States, Canada, and Mexico will host 45 other countries, all competing for the biggest prize in soccer. Anticipation is high, so much so that President Donald Trump is establishing a dedicated task force. “This important event, taking place during the momentous occasion of the 250th anniversary of our country, presents an opportunity to showcase the nation’s pride and hospitality, while promoting economic growth and tourism through sport,” said Trump via a White House notice published on March 7. “My Administration will support preparations through a coordinated government effort.” Where and when is the 2026 World Cup taking place? From June 11 to July 19 2026, an estimated 104 matches will be played across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. There will be 16 host cities, 11 of which are in the U.S. Every match from the quarter-final stage and onwards will be played in the States, with the grand final set to be played at the MetLife stadium in New Jersey. Other U.S. host cities include Dallas, Kansas City, Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle, Miami, and Santa Clara in the Bay Area. How to watch the 2026 World Cup For U.S. viewers, the 2026 World Cup will be broadcast on Fox Sports, with Spanish-language coverage also available on Telemundo. It has yet to be confirmed if there will be alternative viewing options for 2026 World Cup matches. However, for the 2022 World Cup, those with subscriptions to streaming services such as Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV could watch matches on those platforms. Fox Sports also provided full match replays on its free streaming service, Tubi. What teams will be at the 2026 World Cup? This edition of the World Cup will be the first to include 48 countries, an increase from 32 which have played at each tournament since 1998. As hosts, the United States, Canada, and Mexico have automatically qualified for the tournament. Other countries must compete in qualifiers against nations from the same continent, followed by some inter-continental play-offs for certain countries. Iran, Japan, New Zealand and reigning champions Argentina have all secured their place at the tournament. The full line-up will be finalized once qualifying finishes in March next year. How does the tournament work? As mentioned, this is the first time that 48 countries will be competing at the World Cup, so the format has slightly changed from previous editions. The tournament begins with a group stage, with teams divided into 12 groups of four. Teams will play every other nation in their group once, with the top two automatically going through. Out of the teams that finish 3rd in each group, the best eight teams based on their points total will also go through. Advertisement This leaves 32 teams in the competition, who go into the knockout stage of the tournament, all the way to the final on July 19. Who are the favourites to win the 2026 World Cup? The odds may well change over the next 12 months or so, but there are already some frontrunners to lift the trophy in New Jersey. Current champions Argentina, with their star man Lionel Messi, will be looking to retain their world champion status by winning back-to-back tournaments, something last accomplished by Brazil in 1962. Brazil themselves are also contenders for the 2026 World Cup, last winning the competition in 2002. Despite disappointment in recent tournaments, Brazil is still the most successful nation in World Cup history with five titles. Meanwhile, last year’s European Championship saw Spain beat England 2-1 in the final, with Spanish teenage superstar Lamine Yamal shining throughout the tournament. Both nations will back themselves in 2026 to reach similar heights. Advertisement France has a star-studded squad with strong depth and exciting young players. Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé will hope to lead the line for France, this time without a mask. And 2026 will likely prove to be the last opportunity for Cristiano Ronaldo to get his hands on the only major trophy that has eluded him. The Portuguese forward is considered one of soccer’s best ever, but he will be 41 by the time the World Cup kicks off next June. The U.S. men’s soccer team will also look to use home advantage to improve on their performance at the 2022 World Cup, in which they reached the first round of the knockout stage. What exactly is President Trump’s 2026 World Cup task force? The President has described next year’s World Cup as the “largest sporting event in history,” and as such has designated a specific task force for the tournament. This is not the first time that a President has organised a federal task force to help coordinate an international sporting event. Bill Clinton put together similar agencies for both the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and Salt Lake City’s 2002 Winter Olympics. The 2026 World Cup task force will support host cities with logistical efforts, as each location expects to receive 450,000 visitors and an influx of an estimated $480 million from tourism trade. During the first meeting of the task force on Tuesday, May 6, Trump said the team will ensure that “those traveling to America to watch the competition have a seamless experience during every part of their visit.” He also confirmed that Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York Mayor Rudy, will lead the task force. Advertisement While taking questions from reporters, Trump was asked about the fact Russia is currently banned from competing in FIFA matches and tournaments, on account of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Trump admitted he had been previously unaware of this, but then went on to say that the tournament—and the prospect of rejoining it one day—could be “a good incentive" for Russia to end the war. Concerns about transport and visa matters The transport infrastructure has come under criticism ahead of the world’s biggest soccer event. A report published in February raised concerns about burdens on U.S. air travel and how the high influx of visitors will be managed. The U.S. is also expected to struggle, if not at least be at full capacity, with public transport demands. This brings into question the issue of fans travelling between cities to watch games during the World Cup tournament. Meanwhile, there are concerns regarding visa waiting times for fans expected to attend from certain countries. The wait times for a visa interview at the U.S. embassies in Colombia and Turkey are high, and could extend beyond the start date of the World Cup. Advertisement At the task force meeting, Vice President J.D. Vance addressed the expected arrival of foreign visitors who will be travelling to watch the World Cup. He said: “I know we'll have visitors, probably from close to 100 countries. We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game. But when the time is up, they'll have to go home.” What else is there to know? If you want to get a feel for tournament soccer a year early, the U.S. will be hosting the FIFA Club World Cup this summer. The 32-team tournament will feature clubs from across the globe, playing at 10 different venues across the country with the final also being played at the MetLife Stadium. Trump’s task force will also “assist in the planning, organization, and execution of the events” surrounding the 2025 tournament. Some of the world’s best players set to feature at next summer’s World Cup will play in the States this year including Argentina’s Messi, who is the captain of Inter Miami. And if you're holding out for a Super Bowl-style spectacle come the World Cup final on July 19, 2026, then you’re in luck. FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced that a half-time show will be performed during the final with Coldplay confirmed to lead the way by selecting the acts.

Coventry University introduces innovative six-week teaching blocks, offering unprecedented flexibility for international students seeking quality UK education. Coventry University is transforming the traditional academic calendar with a groundbreaking approach to higher education that allows students to begin their studies at six different times throughout the year. This revolutionary model breaks from the conventional term and semester system, putting students' needs at the center of the university experience. A new era of flexible learning Coventry University Group covers all its entities and campuses and from September 2025, postgraduate courses taught will transition to six start dates per year, with undergraduate courses following in September 2026. This innovative approach means students no longer need to wait for the traditional September or January start dates but can begin their academic journey at a time that best suits their personal circumstances. The six-week teaching block method has already proven successful at CU Coventry, CU Scarborough and CU London campuses, which offer more vocationally focused courses, with flexible learning options and no end-of-year exams. They aim to provide a high-quality learning experience while allowing students to better balance their life and their studies. They also aim to offer lower tuition fees than other comparable institutions, helping to make higher education more affordable. "Our key focus is preparing our students for fulfilling and productive careers in their chosen fields." explains Professor John Latham CBE, Vice-Chancellor of Coventry University and Group CEO. "These changes help us achieve that while offering tremendous flexibility for those exploring the incredible life-transforming opportunities higher education can offer." How the six-week block system works Under this innovative model, each academic subject is taught in focused six-week blocks, allowing students to immerse themselves in one module at a time. Assessment takes place in the seventh week, creating a clear structure that helps students manage their workload effectively. The modules operate on a carousel model, enabling learners to begin their studies at any of the six annual start points. This approach particularly benefits international students who may face visa timing challenges or have different academic calendars in their home countries. Gold-standard education with global recognition Coventry University's commitment to innovation extends beyond its teaching structure. The university has earned a Gold rating for Student Experience in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and boasts 5 QS Stars for Inclusiveness in the prestigious QS Stars University Ratings. International students will find Coventry particularly welcoming as it ranks No. 1 in the UK for International Student Diversity according to QS Europe University Rankings 2024. The city itself is among the top 10 student cities in England for affordability (QS Best Student Cities Index Ranking Indicators 2025), making it an ideal destination for students seeking quality education without breaking the bank. Preserving course diversity While some universities are cutting specialised courses due to economic pressures, Coventry's innovative approach ensures students can pursue their specific academic interests rather than being forced into broader, less specialised degrees. The flexibility extends to degree pacing as well, with opportunities for accelerated degrees that allow motivated students to complete their qualifications in less time than traditional courses require. A proven approach to student success This teaching model isn't experimental – it's a proven approach already delivering results across the CU campuses. The university has observed higher progression rates and increased student satisfaction among those studying in this format. "While our CU locations have long offered six-week teaching blocks, we are now rolling out this model across all of our campuses, having seen how popular and effective this approach has proved," notes Professor Latham. The carousel structure also means that if a student needs to take a break from studies due to personal circumstances, they can rejoin at the next available point without losing an entire academic year – a feature particularly valuable for international students who may need to return home temporarily. The future of higher education Coventry University's bold approach reflects its commitment to innovation and student-centred learning. By breaking with tradition, the university is creating a more accessible, flexible and responsive education system that better serves the needs of a diverse global student population. For international students considering UK education, Coventry's six start dates model offers unprecedented flexibility and opportunity. To explore how this innovative approach could support your educational journey, visit www.coventry.ac.uk/international.

After you’ve competed in gymnastics for nearly every year of your life, and earned more world and Olympic medals than any other gymnast in history, what do you do? “My life is easy, it’s chill, and I’m not mad about it,” says Simone Biles, who competed in her third Olympic Games, bringing home four medals—three gold and a silver—from Paris. All eyes were certainly on Biles at the Games, and she delivered, performing a spectacularly difficult vault that no other female gymnast uses in competition. “It is wild now that I think about it,” she says, reflecting on the difficulty, and danger, of that vault. “I was 27 years old doing a Yurchenko double pike—maybe I’m crazy!” But even as the world’s attention was on her, her own focus was decidedly inward. At the Tokyo Games in 2021, after a scary vault in the opening team event where Biles lost her orientation in the air in what gymnasts call the twisties, she made the difficult—and controversial—decision to withdraw from that event and nearly all of her remaining ones. That included the all-around, in which she was the reigning Olympic champion, a title she was widely expected to defend. She didn’t fully appreciate it then, but the twisties were a physical warning sign of the stress and pressure that had been building around her from shouldering the world’s expectations. “I neglected my mental health,” she says. “I was like, ‘it’s just a couple more months, then another couple more months, and then I can get help.’” Biles took two years off from competing before starting to train again for her third Olympics—but this time on very different terms. “The only reason I came back for Paris was because of the mental work I had put in following Tokyo, and getting myself more comfortable and confident enough to compete again.” That included seeing a therapist, which Biles continued to do while competing in Paris, and acknowledging that she needed support from her family and friends. Her decision to compete in Paris was a way to both celebrate the help she received and, she says, “prove that it worked. It was a personal choice for me so I could be the best version of myself. At the end of the day, the gymnastics is the easy part—I can do that, and I’ve known I can do that. At this point it was making sure that my mental [side] was in tune with everything else.” Advertisement She took a different approach leading up to last summer’s Games—prioritizing therapy, strengthening her family support, which now included her husband Jonathan Owens, NFL’s Chicago Bears safety, and granting very limited interviews so she could keep all of the hype and expectations surrounding her Olympic comeback at bay. Her decision in Tokyo to prioritize her mental health and step back from competing has become a rallying cry of sorts for other young people, from well-known athletes to teens who have found strength in her vulnerability. “It makes me happy that people can feel honest with themselves and the people around them who care about them,” she says of the precedent she set in showing it’s acceptable to admit when you’re struggling, and to ask for help, no matter how famous you are, or where you are when you need it. “They should know that they deserve that help. It just shows the strength in numbers—you are the strongest you can ever be when you’re vulnerable enough to say ‘listen, I need help.’ It makes me really, really happy that people are able to stand up and speak for themselves.” Advertisement Finding that voice was particularly challenging for Biles and other elite gymnasts for decades, since the national training structure that groomed them for the Olympics required rigorous monthly camps where they were separated from their families, and discouraged them from speaking out or even admitting they were injured. That culture enabled widespread sexual abuse of dozens of gymnasts, including Biles and many of her teammates, by the national team doctor, which went on for years. Along with some of her teammates, Biles testified to Congress questioning the FBI’s handling of the abuse reports, and she and other gymnasts have also called for both USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee to be held accountable for allowing the abuse to occur. Thanks to the bravery of Biles and other gymnasts, more athlete safety protocols are now in place, and both organizations have made additional mental health support and services available for Olympic-level athletes who may be struggling. In Paris, Biles says the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee “made it very known that there were people on site to help us if we need anything mentally. That’s been a change over the past few years.” During the Games, she continued to talk to her therapist from home even while competing, calling in for sessions before every major event in the Olympic schedule. “It made a difference to make me more comfortable and it was what I thought I needed,” she says of the regular sessions. That comfort translated into a confidence that drove her to earn a second all-around title, help Team USA win the team gold, and collect a gold and silver in the individual events. Will she be back on the mats for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028? “I have to decide by 2027 if I want to compete,” she says. “I am getting a little bit older, but never say never.” Advertisement Whether or not she returns for a fourth Olympics, Biles has already assured her place in gymnastics and Olympic history as the most decorated gymnast ever. But it will likely be what she did, and continues to do, off the floor to prioritize mental health that truly makes her the "Greatest Of All Time."

Serena Williams sits back in the driver’s seat of her light blue Lincoln Navigator, as darkness turns to light one recent South Florida morning. An interview that was supposed to start close to noon got pushed up, on very short notice, to the ungodly hour of 6:20 a.m. Something unexpected came up with her daughters—Olympia, 7, and Adira, 1—that required a pre-dawn rescheduling. Given Williams’ hectic life since she announced, nearly three years ago, that she was “evolving away from tennis”—she purposely avoided saying retirement—a last-minute request to shuffle things around didn’t come as a big surprise. But no one was thrilled with the new appointment time, least of all a bleary-eyed Williams. “Oh my God, this is the worst,” she says. We’re in the driveway of her family’s five-acre farm because her in-laws are sleeping inside the house. “We basically eat off the land,” says Williams of the property on which she and her husband, Reddit co-founder and investor Alexis Ohanian, grow berries, tomatoes, kale, and other crops while raising chickens. A basketball hoop stands to our left, which seems fitting at this moment in time: a few weeks earlier, Williams announced that she was joining the ownership group of the Toronto Tempo, a WNBA expansion team that will take the court in 2026. It is yet another addition to an already full plate that includes running her investment firm and raising two children with Ohanian, with the occasional high-profile moment like calling out Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who had suggested a woman’s most important title is homemaker, when she hosted last year’s ESPYs or, making a surprise appearance dancing at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. As our sleepiness wears off, I ask her if she misses tennis, expecting a canned answer about how that part of her life is now behind her. But I should have known better. Dull has never been Williams’ style. “I miss it a lot, with all my heart,” she responds. “I miss it because I’m healthy.” In other words, her body feels good enough that she’s confident, even at 43, she could still pile up some wins on tour. “If I couldn't walk, or if I was so out of it, I wouldn’t miss it as much,” Williams says. I wonder if she’s healthy because she stopped playing. “I think I’m healthy because I didn’t overplay,” she says. Williams, who has 23 Grand Slam singles titles, still hits around—there’s a tennis court on the farm. And after George Foreman died, just four days prior to our meeting, a comeback did cross her mind. “He was champion at 45,” Williams notes. It’s a tantalizing prospect, for sure. But a tennis return remains highly unlikely. “I just can't peel myself away from these children,” says Williams. “Another reason I had to transition was because I wanted to have more kids. And I look at Adira and I'm like, ‘Was it worth it?’ I literally thought about it the other day. I was like, ‘Yeah, it was definitely worth it.’” So tennis marches on without Williams, as a plethora of talented players—Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, and others—continue to duke it out, tournament after tournament, to fill the void she left behind. But Williams never planned on fading away. She’s followed through, for example, on her promise to pour her energy into growing as a businesswoman: Over the past 15 years, Williams has put her own money into more than 120 companies, 14 of them valued at $1 billion or more. Her company, Serena Ventures, has raised over $100 million of outside capital to invest in more than 30 companies since 2021. Deal flow at Serena Ventures has quadrupled in the last year. She joined the Tempo at an ascendant moment for the WNBA, which tips off its 2025 campaign in mid-May. Last season, the league set attendance and viewership records. Williams has ambitions of propelling it further. She has also signed on as an executive producer of Netflix's adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid's best-selling novel Carrie Soto Is Back, about a tennis champion who comes out of retirement to reclaim her Grand Slam record. Meanwhile, the Super Bowl dance illustrated that even though she’s no longer acing opponents on the Wimbledon grass, the power of Serena endures. Just as, at various points during her athletic career, she sparked conversations about racism, sexism, sportsmanship, decorum, and a whole host of issues that extended far beyond the tennis court, her crip walk, in front of some 200 million people tuning in around the world, during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance of “Not Like Us”—his diss track aimed at fellow rapper Drake—caused a commotion. Was Williams’ Black cultural expression a form of political resistance against a President aiming to squash diversity initiatives in American life? Was this act appropriate at the Super Bowl, ostensibly one of the few remaining unifying events remaining on the calendar? Was she settling old scores with an ex-boyfriend (Drake)? Subscribe Apr 16, 2025 5:38 PM IST Serena Williams Is Still at the Top of Her Game Sports TIME 100 2025 Time 100 Serena Williams profile Serena Williams photographed in West Palm Beach, Florida on Mar. 11Adrienne Raquel for TIME Sean Gregory / Jupiter, Fla. by Sean Gregory / Jupiter, Fla. Senior Correspondent This story is part of the 2025 TIME100. Read Allyson Felix’s tribute to Serena Williams here. Serena Williams sits back in the driver’s seat of her light blue Lincoln Navigator, as darkness turns to light one recent South Florida morning. An interview that was supposed to start close to noon got pushed up, on very short notice, to the ungodly hour of 6:20 a.m. Something unexpected came up with her daughters—Olympia, 7, and Adira, 1—that required a pre-dawn rescheduling. Given Williams’ hectic life since she announced, nearly three years ago, that she was “evolving away from tennis”—she purposely avoided saying retirement—a last-minute request to shuffle things around didn’t come as a big surprise. But no one was thrilled with the new appointment time, least of all a bleary-eyed Williams. “Oh my God, this is the worst,” she says. Advertisement We’re in the driveway of her family’s five-acre farm because her in-laws are sleeping inside the house. “We basically eat off the land,” says Williams of the property on which she and her husband, Reddit co-founder and investor Alexis Ohanian, grow berries, tomatoes, kale, and other crops while raising chickens. A basketball hoop stands to our left, which seems fitting at this moment in time: a few weeks earlier, Williams announced that she was joining the ownership group of the Toronto Tempo, a WNBA expansion team that will take the court in 2026. It is yet another addition to an already full plate that includes running her investment firm and raising two children with Ohanian, with the occasional high-profile moment like calling out Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, who had suggested a woman’s most important title is homemaker, when she hosted last year’s ESPYs or, making a surprise appearance dancing at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. Advertisement As our sleepiness wears off, I ask her if she misses tennis, expecting a canned answer about how that part of her life is now behind her. But I should have known better. Dull has never been Williams’ style. “I miss it a lot, with all my heart,” she responds. “I miss it because I’m healthy.” In other words, her body feels good enough that she’s confident, even at 43, she could still pile up some wins on tour. “If I couldn't walk, or if I was so out of it, I wouldn’t miss it as much,” Williams says. I wonder if she’s healthy because she stopped playing. “I think I’m healthy because I didn’t overplay,” she says. Williams, who has 23 Grand Slam singles titles, still hits around—there’s a tennis court on the farm. And after George Foreman died, just four days prior to our meeting, a comeback did cross her mind. “He was champion at 45,” Williams notes. It’s a tantalizing prospect, for sure. But a tennis return remains highly unlikely. “I just can't peel myself away from these children,” says Williams. “Another reason I had to transition was because I wanted to have more kids. And I look at Adira and I'm like, ‘Was it worth it?’ I literally thought about it the other day. I was like, ‘Yeah, it was definitely worth it.’” Advertisement Photograph by Adrienne Raquel for TIME Order your copy of the 2025 TIME100 issue here So tennis marches on without Williams, as a plethora of talented players—Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, and others—continue to duke it out, tournament after tournament, to fill the void she left behind. But Williams never planned on fading away. She’s followed through, for example, on her promise to pour her energy into growing as a businesswoman: Over the past 15 years, Williams has put her own money into more than 120 companies, 14 of them valued at $1 billion or more. Her company, Serena Ventures, has raised over $100 million of outside capital to invest in more than 30 companies since 2021. Deal flow at Serena Ventures has quadrupled in the last year. She joined the Tempo at an ascendant moment for the WNBA, which tips off its 2025 campaign in mid-May. Last season, the league set attendance and viewership records. Williams has ambitions of propelling it further. She has also signed on as an executive producer of Netflix's adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid's best-selling novel Carrie Soto Is Back, about a tennis champion who comes out of retirement to reclaim her Grand Slam record. Advertisement Meanwhile, the Super Bowl dance illustrated that even though she’s no longer acing opponents on the Wimbledon grass, the power of Serena endures. Just as, at various points during her athletic career, she sparked conversations about racism, sexism, sportsmanship, decorum, and a whole host of issues that extended far beyond the tennis court, her crip walk, in front of some 200 million people tuning in around the world, during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance of “Not Like Us”—his diss track aimed at fellow rapper Drake—caused a commotion. Was Williams’ Black cultural expression a form of political resistance against a President aiming to squash diversity initiatives in American life? Was this act appropriate at the Super Bowl, ostensibly one of the few remaining unifying events remaining on the calendar? Was she settling old scores with an ex-boyfriend (Drake)? Advertisement In the less than five seconds she appeared on television that night, barely a blip on the screen, she rocketed back into our collective consciousness. In the Navigator, while breaking down the whole affair, Williams arrives at a simple conclusion. “That’s such a Serena moment.” Before her final professional tennis match, a three-hour Friday night epic in New York City that she lost to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanović at the 2022 U.S. Open, Williams told TIME she was stepping away from the game, in part, to evolve as a mom. “I think I’m good at it,” she said of parenthood. “But I want to explore if I can be great at it.” Nearly three years on, has she achieved greatness in this realm? “I’m a wonderful mom,” Williams says. “I think we, as women, don’t give ourselves credit, but I’m a great mom. I really am. I do everything. I'm freaking the room mom at Olympia’s school this year.” Advertisement Williams gave birth to Adira less than a year after hanging up her racquet, and she’s had to grapple with a challenge familiar to most, if not all, parents of second children: doting on the new arrival at the expense of the older sibling. “I try to be less on baby, but she's just so cute,” says Williams. “How do you not give her all the attention in the world? Oh my God. It’s so hard.” Peeling herself away from Adira as she goes to pick up Olympia from school is more difficult than she envisioned. And as the youngest sister in her own family, she also cops to taking Adira’s side during rare squabbles between the sisters. (She says they get along great.) “When Olympia tells Adira no, I'm just like, ‘Excuse me, you have to share’ because it's triggering,” she says. In that same pre-retirement interview, Williams said she got “more love and more joy out of what I do in the VC space” than from tennis. That passion for business has endured. While many athletes simply lend their name to such financial enterprises, Williams actually does the work. The founders of Serena Ventures-backed start-ups often have a line into Williams herself. “She’s giving her direct cell phone to a lot of people,” says Beth Ferreira, the firm’s general partner. Williams sometimes mitigates disputes between company executives, according to Ferreira, or sits in on legal calls. “In my past life, I’ve worked with other athletes, and they’re usually very in the background,” says Ferreira. “This is different. I’ve tried to pull her out of the weeds.” Advertisement Ferreira, who previously worked for a New York venture-capital firm that early-stage invested in companies like Airbnb, Shopify, and DraftKings, would prefer that Williams spend even more of her time opening doors for the fund’s portfolio companies. Two other well-known venture-capital funds, for example, promised to introduce a start-up’s founders to a Fortune 100 executive, but ultimately couldn’t make it happen. “Serena not only got them the meeting by the next day, but she also walked them into the meeting and stayed for the meeting,” says Ferreira. Some companies expect to leverage Williams’ celebrity. “One of the challenges is, people are like, ‘Can you do this picture or post?’” says Williams. Sometimes she will plug a business to her 18.1 million Instagram followers, because it can only help her investment. “But that's the least part that I bring, posting about something which lives on social media for 10 seconds and people forget,” says Williams. “The best part about what we bring, as a firm, is that we make introductions that firms with 20 years’ experience make.” According to Serena Ventures, nearly 70% of the companies in which the firm invests were founded by women or people of color, including online marketplace Rebel, which sells discounted baby products and other home essentials that have been returned to retailers and would otherwise be headed for a landfill, and Esusu, a fintech company that helps renters, particularly immigrants, build credit scores. And Williams doesn’t intend to alter her strategy because of President Trump’s policies targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. “We are obviously going to lean into that, because my team is filled with inclusion, because we're women,” says Williams, who quickly adds that Serena Ventures would like to hire a man. “We like to partner with people that believe in that too. It's a free world. People are going to do what they want to do. And I can't let that affect how I do things. I'm going to do the things that I think are right.” While Serena Ventures may branch out into sports investments, Williams is putting her own cash into the Tempo. She first fell in love with women’s basketball, she says, during her years seeing the U.S. national team up close while at the Olympics, starting in 2000: Williams, who herself won four Olympic tennis gold medals, points to players like Lisa Leslie and Diana Taurasi as inspirations. The way last season’s WNBA rookie sensation, Caitlin Clark, handled all the fevered debates that surrounded her also left an impression. “I felt like she’s always herself, she stayed out of it, just muted the noise,” says Williams. “She has this maturity that I didn’t have.” Clark did have the benefit of being in college when she attracted the national spotlight, while Williams started playing on tour at age 14. But Clark, at just 23, has already learned to tune out distractions like the latest online outrage, something Williams got better at later in her career. "I felt like she was, like me, purposely staying away," says Williams. "I respect that. Kudos to her." About a year ago, Williams publicly expressed interest in owning a WNBA team. Women’s team sports valuations are surging, and Williams does not believe it’s a bubble that will burst. “With AI coming in, it's going to affect so many different industries,” says Williams. “But the one thing it's not going to affect is sports. They’re the last real thing that you can see and hold and feel.” A few weeks after the Tempo were awarded an expansion franchise in May 2024, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert asked Tempo majority owner Larry Tanenbaum if he had any room for Williams in his group. “It took me exactly five seconds, maybe not even that long, to say of course,” says Tanenbaum. The duo connected and clicked. It didn’t hurt that Toronto was one of Williams’ favorite stops on the Women’s Tennis Association tour. The Canadian Open alternates for the women each summer between Toronto and Montreal: Williams won all three of her tournament titles in Toronto. “You spend so much time at these places and get to know the insides of the city,” she says. “You get to know the restaurants, you get to know people, you get to know just festivals and all kinds of stuff. I got to know the karaoke rooms.” Advertisement She’s throwing herself into the job. Williams, along with Tanenbaum and team president Teresa Resch, took part in the interview process that landed the Tempo its first general manager, former WNBA player and assistant general manager of the Phoenix Mercury, Monica Wright Rogers. Williams asked Wright Rogers what she thought was the most important aspect of player experience with the team. Wright Rogers emphasized resources for nutrition and recovery and analytics to optimize performance. “Right answer,” Williams said. She requested a follow-up conversation, one-on-one, to confirm the leadership team's hunch that Wright Rogers was the correct choice. The Tempo is betting that Williams can help the team, and the WNBA at large, accelerate its international growth, which has lagged behind the more established men’s game. “We’re truly positioned to be the global catalyst for this league,” says Resch. “The WNBA is a rocket ship in North America. But worldwide, there’s no great exposure. And I don't know if there's a bigger global brand than Serena Williams.” Advertisement It took some nine months for Williams to finalize her deal with the Tempo. Her Super Bowl booking came together much quicker. A couple of weeks before the game, Lamar, a 22-time Grammy winner and Pulitzer Prize winner who like Williams was born and raised in Compton, Calif., reached out to her. “We’ve been trying to do something together for ages,” she says. Lamar had watched Williams do the crip walk, a West Coast dance move that originated with first-generation members of the Crips, a Los Angeles gang, on the supposedly sacrosanct Wimbledon surface after winning the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. She received some blowback in the media. One columnist compared her dance to “cracking a tasteless, X-rated joke inside a church.” Lamar, however, appreciated that Williams represented hip-hop culture on the world stage and wanted her to do it again. “I'm like, ‘Wait, what, you're asking me?’” says Williams. “I'm not Taylor Swift, let's be honest. I would have a better chance to be quarterback at the Super Bowl than dance.” Advertisement Williams knew, going in, she would be dancing to “Not Like Us,” Lamar’s incendiary 2024 hit that won five Grammys in February. In his 2022 song, “Middle of the Ocean,” Drake sang, “Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie.” In “Not Like Us,” Lamar tells Drake he’d “better not speak on Serena,” and, in very unsubtle fashion, accuses Drake of sexual impropriety with minors. (Drake has denied all such allegations and has sued the Universal Music Group, the record company behind “Not Like Us,” for defamation; UMG has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.) Williams had previously danced to “Not Like Us” at the ESPYs, joking, “If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us, not a single one of us, not even me, should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar. He will make your hometown not like you. The next time Drake sits courtside at a Raptors game, they’re going to Forrest Gump him. Seats taken.” But this was clearly much bigger. Advertisement Williams strategized with her team: would the negativity her appearance could spark be worth the thrill of performing at halftime? The opportunity to amplify her hometown to the globe—again—was too good to pass up. “Who would have thought that a tennis player from Compton would be regarded as one of the best tennis players of all time?” she says. “It was just putting an exclamation on it.” These days, Williams spends her days listening to Gracie’s Corner, a YouTube channel for kids. “Eenie, meenie, miny, moe/ Take big steps like an elephant, go,” is one lyrical sampling. She leans forward in the car and puts her hands over her face, recalling her reaction as she listened to the, er, less gentle words of “Not Like Us” in her earbuds and at rehearsals as the halftime show got closer. “Ohhhh my God,” she says. She took a couple of shots of tequila before going onto the Caesars Superdome field in New Orleans. They weren't calming her nerves, but her handlers discouraged her from taking a third. Despite the butterflies, Williams danced with aplomb, as viewers exclaimed, “Wait a second, is that Serena Williams?!” Then the fallout commenced. The FCC received some 125 complaints about Lamar’s performance, with one even singling out Williams for promoting “gang affiliation.” Many took her crip walk as a direct shot at Drake. “I don't know if I regret it or not,” she says now of her decision to dance. “I don't know the answer to that.” So was Williams throwing shade at Drake? “Absolutely not,” she says. “I would never do that. And that was sad, that anyone would ever think that. I respect how they could. Obviously I can see how someone would think that. But absolutely not. I have never had negative feelings towards him. We’ve known him for so many years.” ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith—who recently signed a reported $100 million contract with the network—weighed in, claiming that if he were married to Williams, he’d divorce her over the halftime show. “If I’m married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his ass,” Smith said on the show First Take. “’Cause clearly you don’t belong with me. What you worried about him for and you’re with me? Bye-bye.” Williams caught Smith’s reaction. “I thought it was hilarious,” she says. “He’s allowed to have his personal opinion. But did you see my husband’s remark? It was so eloquent.” Ohanian replied to Smith on social media, with a thread that included a reminder that Williams received criticism for crip-walking at the Olympics and a clip of the victorious Philadelphia Eagles players dancing to “Not Like Us” in the Super Bowl locker room. “This is bigger than the music,” Ohanian wrote. “And I'm like, dude, like, we literally are investing in the world, both of us,” says Williams. Ohanian owns a stake in Angel City FC, the National Women’s Soccer League team, and started an all-women’s track event last year. “We’re investing in women and in sports,” she says. “This is literally the last thing on our minds. Come on.” That evening, the couple was more concerned with securing an autograph from Swift, who was at the game supporting her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Swift had been greeted by boos—presumably from Eagles fans—in New Orleans. “Why would you boo her?” says Williams. “That’s so mean. That’s just awful.” Olympia waited with her mom and dad outside Swift’s suite, hoping to catch her exiting the area. “I’m such a mom. I was ready to go in here myself and be like, ‘Taylor, come get this girl,’” says Williams. But since the Eagles were trouncing the Kelce’s Chiefs, she wanted to respect Swift’s space. “It’s hard when your team is losing,” says Williams. “I totally get it.” So Olympia’s Swift autograph will have to wait. “My husband and I, we’re so in a different space,” she says. “We’re so connected, we’re so in love, we’re just, like, trying to get our daughter Taylor Swift autographs. And nothing else.” Williams does still care about tennis. She’s a big fan, for example, of Jannik Sinner, the emergent Italian star who’s won the last two Australian Opens and is the defending U.S. Open champion. “Fantastic personality,” says Williams. “I love the guy, I love this game. He’s great for the sport.” She admits, however, that she was surprised by the three-month suspension he was given for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance a year ago. According to Sinner, a physio inadvertently gave him the substance. The International Tennis Integrity Agency agreed with his explanation, determining that the amount was so small that it didn’t give him a competitive advantage, but the World Anti-Doping Agency pushed for a one-year ban. The parties reached a settlement in February, and while Sinner is currently sitting out tournaments, he won’t have to miss a major. Some players have accused the game’s officials of giving the top-ranked Sinner favorable treatment. Williams wants to be crystal-clear: she wishes Sinner no ill will. “I’ve been put down so much, I don’t want to bring anyone down,” she says, adding that she’s excited to see his return to the tour, at the Italian Open in early May. “Men’s tennis needs him.” But, she says, “if I did that, I would have gotten 20 years. Let's be honest. I would have gotten Grand Slams taken away from me.” Williams says she was always extra careful about what went into her body, taking nothing stronger than Advil for fear of ingesting something that could get her in trouble. A performance-enhancing-drugs scandal would have landed her “in jail,” she says, with a laugh. “You would have heard about it in another multiverse.” She also wonders what her contemporary and occasional rival, Maria Sharapova, is thinking. Sharapova got a two-year doping ban back in 2016 (on appeal it was reduced to 15 months), despite the fact a tennis governing body determined that her offense was, like Sinner’s, unintentional. “Just weirdly and oddly, I can't help but think about Maria all this time,” says Williams. “I can't help but feel for her.” (Sharapova declined to comment.) With those thoughts off her chest, Williams gets out of the Navigator and offers a tour of her farm. She says that growing up in Compton, she never could have imagined a life of growing peppers and collecting eggs. “I never thought I had a green thumb,” she says. One corner of the property houses bees. “We get so much honey it’s insane,” she says. Williams dehydrates the farm’s Moringa leaves, which are packed with antioxidants, to make tea. She is in frequent touch with her friend Meghan Markle, who has a colossal garden at her California home. “I’m always like, ‘Girl, what are you doing today?’” says Williams. “So we're trading recipes.” She plans on adding a padel court on the property: padel, like pickleball, is a fast-growing racquet sport (in padel, you play the ball off of walls). “I’m clearly good at padel,” Williams says. “I’m not great at it. It’s a learning curve.” A trio of playhouses line a paved mini-road, replete with an “East Stockton St.” sign, in honor of her childhood address in Compton. She intends to put a number on each of the playhouses: 1117, her house number in Compton; 313, the address for the Florida home she shared with her sister Venus for two decades; and the number of Ohanian’s childhood home in Maryland. A farmhand offers to pluck some mint for Williams and informs her that some purple sweet potatoes will be coming. Mangoes, blueberries, and raspberries will be growing in soon. “You crushed the Super Bowl, by the way,” she tells Williams. “Oh my God. I was like, ‘There's my boss, that’s lit!’” Despite her continued longing for the sport she once dominated, Williams is clear on why she made the decision she did. As a person who fully commits to everything she does, she knows she has to be selective about where she devotes her energy, and right now her priorities are not on the court. She also suspects the itch she feels to keep competing will fade over time. “Hopefully I'll feel better when I feel like, physically, I'm not able to have wins over some people,” she says. “I've given my whole life to tennis. And I would gladly give another two years if I had time. But it's nice to do something different. I'm content.” Styled by Solange Franklin; set design by Ceci Garcia; hair by Angela Meadows; make-up by Natasha Gross; production by Petty Cash On the cover: Top by Alaia, skirt by David Koma, shoes by Gianvito Rossi, earrings and necklace by Vhernier, watch by Audemar Piguet, anklet is Williams’ own On the inside: Jacket by Helsa, shoes by Khaite, tights by Falke, belt and earrings by Patricia von Musilin Jumpsuit by Sergio Hudson, shoes by Paris Texas, earrings by Van Cleef & Arpels, watch by Audemar Piguet

With under eight minutes left in Duke’s comfortable and convincing 85-65 victory over Alabama in Saturday night’s East regional final of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Blue Devils freshman phenom Cooper Flagg found himself with the basketball, being hounded by a smaller Crimson Tide player. That Alabama player was the 6 ft. 1 in. Mark Sears, who like Flagg was a first-team All-American this season, and who happened to hit 10 three-pointers—yes, 10 three-pointers—in Alabama’s Sweet 16 game against BYU two nights prior. The nearly 19,000 fans who filed into the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. came to see fireworks from Flagg, who is 6 ft. 9 in., and Sears. And here they were, going one-on-one in a key moment. Alabama trailed by just seven. Flagg hadn’t really found his shooting touch: the freshman finished the game just 6-for-16 from the field, with16 points. And though Flagg has eight inches on him, Sears refused to back down. He tried to push Flagg out of position, but it ultimately didn’t matter: Flagg was able to convert a short jumper over his smaller fellow All-American, to give Duke more breathing room late in the game. A few minutes later, Sears again tried to disturb Flagg while he had the ball: Flagg even fell to the floor. But he kept his dribble, stood up and again drove to the hoop on Sears, again scoring on him, this time giving Duke a 76-58 cushion, with just over three minutes of the game left. Sears dribbled down court, bullied his way into the key for a point-blank, straight- on chip shot—and missed it, adding to a frustrating evening that saw him shoot just 2-12 from the field with a single three-pointer (forget about double-digits). With that miss, Alabama was done for. Flagg beat Alabama when it counted. “It’s not going to be your night every night,” said Flagg, the National Player of the Year in college basketball and likely the top overall NBA draft pick in June. “Don’t hang your head.” Duke, winner of five national championships during the legendary tenure of Hall of Fame former coach Mike Krzyzewski, moves on to its first Final Four since 2022, Coach K’s last season at the helm. It’s the first appearance for his successor, former player and assistant coach Jon Scheyer. Duke will face the winner of Sunday’s Houston-Tennessee Elite Eight game in the national semifinals in San Antonio next Saturday. The deep and talented Blue Devils seem set to collide with Florida, who on Saturday also advanced to the Final Four, thanks to a thrilling comeback win against Texas Tech. Next week, in the other national semifinal, the Gators will face the winner of Sunday’s Auburn-Michigan State regional final. No college player in recent memory has hit more clutch NCAA tournament shots, in key moments, than Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. Advertisement Still, the focus will be on Flagg in Texas, for good reason: the most well-rounded freshman basketball player in the college game since Kevin Durant in 2007 is still playing for a championship, for the most blue-chip brand (Duke) in the land. Durant, who played for the University of Texas, never made it out of the second round. There’s been a lot of groaning this March about the lack of upsets in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament. But at this point, the griping about Cinderellas—or lack thereof—feels tired. There’s nothing wrong with seeing the best players, and best teams, make it to the last stage of the Big Dance. Duke over Alabama in an Elite Eight prime-time clash, Duke potentially facing top-overall seed Florida in the April 7 national championship: no problems there. Earlier in March, Flagg missed the remainder of the ACC tournament after injuring his ankle in Duke’s opening game: he was placed in a wheelchair, and fans feared the worst. But he made it back for March Madness, and looks quite fine: Flagg, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament’s East region, probably turned in the finest freshman performance in NCAA tournament history on Thursday, when he scored 30 points, dished out seven assists, grabbed six rebounds and blocked three blocks in Duke’s 100-93 victory over Arizona. He's the only freshman in history to ever record at least 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the Sweet 16 round or later. And even though he missed a few shoots he usually makes on Saturday night, he still grabbed 9 rebounds, went up high to block a shot and dished out three assists, including another alley-oop to center Khaman Maluach: on Thursday, Cooper fed the big man for two-straight alley-oop slams. Advertisement “I get more satisfaction, more energy, more enjoyment throwing a lob to Khaman or Pat [Ngongba II, another Duke center] than I do scoring, shooting three or anything like that,” Flagg told TIME in the Duke locker room after the game. “Setting up a teammate for a dunk like that, it gives me a lot of momentum, it gives me a lot of energy. So those are probably some of my favorite things to do on the court.” Before the game, a young fan shouted “Cooper, can you sign my underwear?” to Flagg during warmups: odd, yes, but a surefire sign of the mania he’s already creating. After the game, his mother Kelly, who played at the University of Maine, beamed as Flagg and his teammates celebrated, while wearing a blue t-shirt with about a dozen or so images of her son on it. Another young fan had made it and sent it to her. Flagg grew up in a small town in Maine, a state not at all known for producing top basketball talent. “This is more than we had ever really dared to dream of,” says Kelly. Advertisement “What I've been trying to prove my whole life, and on this journey I've been on, is that it doesn't matter where you're from or what resources you have, as long as you're dedicated and you give 100%, you can make it out, you can make it,” says Flagg. Flagg continues to stay on message about his future as a pro: he’s promising that he’s living in the moment, cherishing this year in college at Duke, and not at all thinking about next year. With two more wins, he’d finish off what would arguably be one of the best seasons of college basketball in the history of this storied game. Not a bad opening act.