Tennis News Today: Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian slams journalist; Ben Shelton's girlfriend Trinity Rodman shows love with birthday video

Iga Swiatek exited the Wuhan Open after a loss to Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinal stage of the tournament, 6-1, 6-2, in a shocking turn of events earlier today. For the semifinal, the Italian booked a spot against Coco Gauff, while Aryna Sabalenka set herself up against Jessica Pegula.

On the other hand, fans reacted to the new kit released by Nike, which Carlos Alcaraz will reportedly be seen in for the remainder of the season. The plain lemon-yellow kit disappointed fans, as they expressed their negative views on the outfit.

With that, let us take a look at some of the top stories of the day:

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#1. Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, slams Stephen A. Smith on an old comment

Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, responded to ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith on live TV after the presenter made some controversial comments on the tennis icon during the Super Bowl earlier this year. Back in February, Smith criticized Williams' halftime show appearance and said:

"If I'm married and my wife is going to join trolling her ex, go back to his ass. 'Cause clearly you don't belong with me. What you worried about him for and you're with me? Bye. Bye."

Talking about Athlos' 2-day event set to take place in Times Square, Ohanian appeared on First Take and replied to Smith.

"You hadn’t been married before, right? Cause I give advice to plenty of founders who want to build billion-dollar companies. And the reason I do that is because I build billion-dollar companies. So, I generally try to stay in my lane," said the angel investor.

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#2. Trinity Rodman's sweet video on Ben Shelton's birthday

Ben Shelton's soccer star girlfriend, Trinity Rodman, created an adorable video on the occasion of the American's 23rd birthday. As Shelton turned a year older, on October 9, Rodman shared a collection of their close moments with the song, Fall In Love With You by Montell Fish on her Instagram. Along with it, the Washington Spirit star penned an emotional note which said,

"To the most beautiful soul I’ve ever met. Happy birthday Benny! You’ve changed me, loving me the way I never knew someone could." (an excerpt from captions)

Shelton is currently off the tour, recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered during the US Open.

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#3. Cincinnati Open director responds to Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev's complaints

A few days ago, Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer spoke out against the slow court conditions, which have altered the way the game is played these days, and added that tournament directors are also favoring Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The comment garnered attention from Bob Moran, the director of the Cincinnati Open. Moran quashed all claims and said,

"Trying to create something that benefits certain players never goes through our head - not even close. We were fast, and we had Sinner and Alcaraz [in the final]. For the three years I've been doing this in Cincinnati, the players have come back to me that they feel fast." (via BBC)

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#4. Iga Swiatek's only possibility of overtaking Aryna Sabalenka in the 2025 WTA rankings

Aryna Sabalenka has been reigning at the top of the table for 48 weeks; however, Iga Swiatek can pose as a threat to her streak and challenge her ending the year as the world No. 1. If Swiatek decides to play in Ningbo and ends up winning it, she might topple the Belarusian, who currently stands at 10,400 points (as per WTA live rankings).

However, the gap of 1632 points between the two can further widen if Sabalenka wins the title in Wuhan, where she is currently competing. Swiatek, on the other hand, won the China Open but faced a crushing quarterfinal exit to Jasmine Paolini in Wuhan. Even though the status of her participation in Ningbo is still unknown, it provides tennis fans with a fair bit of excitement to wonder who would end the year as the No. 1.

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#5. Martina Navratilova's wife gets support from Julia Roberts

Martina Navratilova's wife, Julia Lemigova, made claims of her sleeping with The Real Housewives of Miami co-star Adriana de Moura in the first part of their reunion episode. Hollywood star Julia Roberts extended her support to Lemigova when she was asked about the claim.

Appearing on the late-night show Watch What Happens Live, host Andy Cohen asked her:

“Did you believe Julia’s (Lemigova) revelation at the end of part one of the reunion?”“One million percent yes," Roberts replied.

In the second part of the reunion episode that aired recently, de Moura accepted the claims made by Lemigova.

Edited by Tushhita Barua