Month: August 2022

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Sports

NBA in morning after Celtic legend passes

Basketball Hall of Fame member Bill Russell has died aged 88. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The basketball community lost an all-time legend on Sunday as Bill Russell died at age 88, his family announced.

Russell, who won a record 11 NBA titles with the Celtics, was a trailblazer as a black superstar in the 1950s and ’60s, and became the first black head coach of any North American professional team when the Celtics hired him in 1966 as a player -coach.

In a statement announcing his death, his family called Russell “the most prolific winner in American sports history.” By any measure, that is correct.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975 as a player and in 2021 as a coach, Russell won two NCAA titles at San Francisco, an Olympic gold medalist and two NBA titles as a coach, in addition to his 11 as a player.

Comprised of a core that included Russell at center along with fellow Hall of Famers Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinsohn, KC Jones, Bill Sharman and Sam Jones, the Celtics won a stunning 11 of 13 championships from 1956-1969.

In 10 Game 7’s, Russell was undefeated in his career. Extended to any winner-take-all game — in NCAAs, Olympics and best-of-five playoff rounds — he was 21-0. The Finals MVP Award is named after him, and Russell was often on hand to give it out.

In addition to his basketball credentials, Russell was also a leader in the area of ​​civil rights, enduring racist abuse throughout his career in Boston, where his home was once broken into and graffitied.

“From boycotting a 1961 exhibition game to unmask too-long tolerated discrimination, to leading Mississippi’s first integrated basketball camp in the fuel wake of Medgar Evans’ assassination, to decades of activism ultimately recognized by his receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010, Bill called out injustice with an unforgiving candour that he intended would disrupt the status quo, and with a powerful example that, though never his humble intention, will forever inspire teamwork, selflessness and thoughtful change,” his family said in a statement.

Bill Russell celebrates a championship with coach Red Auerbach.Source: Getty Images

“Bill’s wife, Jeannine, and his many friends and family thank you for keeping Bill in your prayers. Perhaps you’ll relive one or two of the golden moments he gave us, or recall his trademark laugh at him as he delighted in explaining the real story behind how those moments unfolded. And we hope each of us can find a new way to act or speak up with Bill’s uncompromising, dignified and always constructive commitment to principle. That would be one last, and lasting, win for our beloved #6.”

Russell’s relationship with the city was complex — he didn’t attend his jersey retirement in 1972 and once described himself as “playing for the Celtics, not for Boston.” Eventually, in 1999, the team re-retired his number from him in a ceremony at which he attended.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement that Russell was “the greatest champion in all of team sports.”

“Bill stood for something much bigger than sports: the values ​​of equality, respect and inclusion that he stamped into the DNA of our league. At the height of his athletic career, Bill vigorously advocated for civil rights and social justice, a legacy he passed down to generations of NBA players who followed him in his footsteps, ”Silver said. “Through the taunts, threats and unthinkable adversity, Bill rose above it all and remained true to his belief that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity.”

Bill Russell drives past his great rival Wilt Chamberlain.Source: Supplied
Kobe Bryant and Bill Russell in 2019. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images)Source: Getty

Born in Monroe, Louisiana, Russell’s family moved to San Francisco, where he parlayed a spot on the McClymonds High School basketball team into a scholarship at San Francisco. Though Russell never averaged over 20 points in an NBA season, he is considered one of the greatest defensive players of all-time, with a 6-foot-9 frame that made him one of the greatest shot blockers ever, and a career average of 22.5 rebounds per game.

In 2011, then US President Barack Obama awarded Russell the Medal of Freedom.

“Bill Russell, the man, is someone who stood up for the rights and dignity of all men,” Obama said at the ceremony. “I have marched with King; he stood by Ali. When a restaurant refused to serve the Black Celtics, he refused to play in the scheduled game. He endured insults and vandalism, but he kept on focusing on making the teammates who he loved better players and made possible the success of so many who would follow.”

Arrangements for his memorial service have yet to be announced.

This article was originally published by the New York Post and reproduced with permission

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US

Apple, GE, other major US companies ask Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action

Apple, GE, other major US companies ask Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action

More than 80 major American companies that employ tens of thousands of US workers are asking the Supreme Court to uphold the use of race as a factor in college admissions, calling affirmative action critical to building diverse workforces and, in turn, growing profits.

The businesses — some of the most high-profile and successful in the US economy — outlined their position in legal briefs filed Monday ahead of oral arguments this fall in a pair of cases expected to determine the future of the race-based policy.

The companies told the court they rely on universities to cultivate racially diverse student bodies which in turn yield pools of diverse, highly educated job candidates that can meet their business and customer needs.

“The government’s interest in promoting student-body diversity on university campuses remains compelling from a business perspective,” the companies wrote in an amicus, or friend-of-the-court, brief. “The interest in promoting student-body diversity at America’s universities has, if anything, grown in importance.”

Among the signatories are American Express, United and American Airlines, Apple, Intel, Bayer, General Electric, Kraft Heinz, Microsoft, Verizon, Procter & Gamble and Starbucks.

Citing data and research on a rapidly diversifying America, the companies said race-based diversity initiatives are about more than what many call a moral imperative and critical to their bottom lines.

“Prohibiting universities nationwide from considering race among other factors in composing student bodies would undermine businesses’ efforts to build diverse workforces,” they said.

PHOTO: The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 14, 2022.

The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 14, 2022.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Eight of the top US science and technology companies, including DuPont and Gilead Sciences, filed a separate brief stressing their view on the importance of racially diverse campuses for cultivating the best future innovators.

“If universities are not educating a diverse student body, then they are not educating many of the best,” they wrote, urging the court not to strike down affirmative action. “Today’s markets require capitalizing on the racial and other diversity among us… Those efforts, in turn, contribute to the broader health of our nation’s economy.”

In a series of decisions beginning in 1978, the high court has found that race can be used as one factor among many when considering college admissions applications but that a school cannot use quotas or mathematical formulas to diversify a class.

“In order to cultivate a set of leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, it is necessary that the path to leadership be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity,” Justice Sandra Day O’Connor wrote in her 2003 opinion in Grutter v. Bollinger.

A conservative student group challenging the use of race as a factor in undergraduate admissions at Harvard University, the nation’s oldest private college, and the University of North Carolina, the nation’s oldest public state university, is asking the court to overturn that precedent.

The group, Students for Fair Admissions, alleges that Asian-American applicants have been illegally targeted by Harvard and rejected at a disproportionately higher rate in violation of Supreme Court precedent and the students’ constitutional rights.

Two lower federal courts have rejected those claims.

That the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the cases is widely seen as an indication that the justices could be willing to revisit their precedents on affirmative action and end the use of racial classifications in admissions altogether.

It will be the first test on the issue for the court’s six-to-three conservative-leaning majority, following the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy and the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, both of whom defended race-conscious admissions.

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Technology

Spotify’s latest fancy feature for Premium users is a play button

Kris Holt

It’s 2022 and is adding the most basic of functions to its iOS and Android apps: dedicated play and shuffle buttons on playlists and album pages. Until now, tapping the button on most playlists started playback with shuffle mode enabled. To play tracks in order, you’d need to tap an individual song.

The split play and shuffle buttons will only be available to Spotify Premium subscribers. While at first glance it might seem odd to only grant paying members access to the separate icons, it makes sense. Beyond , free users are only able to use Spotify in on mobile (this doesn’t apply to the desktop or tablet app). In the coming weeks, Spotify will roll out the separate play and shuffle buttons, which really should have been baked into the app from the jump.

Last year, Adele pressured the streaming platform to remove the shuffle button from albums. She argued that albums should be listened to in order, in the way artists intended. It seems Spotify agreed, as it for albums — though it’s bringing the shuffle button back to those pages with the latest update.

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Sports

Commonwealth Games 2022 weightlifting: Kyle Bruce robbed, Australia news

Commonwealth Games 2022 weightlifting: Kyle Bruce robbed, Australia news

Aussie weightlifter Kyle Bruce was in tears after he had the gold medal taken off him following a controversial review.

It appeared Bruce had set a new Commonwealth record in the 81kg category with a lift that was given the all-clear by all three judges.

However, on slow-motion review, officials judged that Bruce’s arms did not fully extend.

The ruling saw him relegated to the silver medal.

England’s Chris Murray eventually set a new Games record after lifting 325kg from his snatch and clean and Jerk lifts.

Bruce looked absolutely shattered as the decision was announced and was seen being consoled by a member of the Australian team.

He was also in tears when interviewed by Channel 7 as he spoke about wanting to do his father proud.

Bruce wears his father’s compression top every time he competes following his dad’s death in 2015.

“It got overruled for a press out, I haven’t seen the video so I’m not sure but sometimes it’s just how the sport goes and congratulations to Chris on winning it. He was the good lifter on the day and I just got a bit unlucky there.”

He said he was “devastated”.

“My only focus and goal coming into these Games was winning that gold medal for Australia and coming away with that silver. Not going to lie, is quite disappointing. I set my standards very high but that’s just how sport goes sometimes and I’ll be ready for 2026 and I’ll come back and have some redemption I think.”

He was briefly overcome with emotion and needed several moments to compose himself when speaking of his dad.

“My dad actually passed away in 2015 and I just wear his shirt because… so he’s always there with me,” he said after a long pause.

“Just so he’s always there for me. This one’s for him.”

The commentators on Channel 7 were heartbroken for him.

“Oh no. He got the three green lights and now the jury has had another look at that and decided that is a no lift,” one commentator said.

“A tragedy for Kyle Bruce. He goes back to the silver medal position. The silver that he won four years ago.

“There’s tears backstage.

“What about the emotion? Then this man (Murray) has got to come out and try and steal it.”

When cutting away from the action to move to the netball, Sevens host Mel McLaughlin described the result as “heartbreaking”.

Aussie netball legend Cox summed it up perfectly: “Sport is horrible. It is also good in the same package.”

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US

Viktor Bout: Attorney for convicted Russian arms dealer is ‘confident’ prisoner swap with US will happen

Viktor Bout: Attorney for convicted Russian arms dealer is 'confident' prisoner swap with US will happen

“I do have some information about the progress of how things are going … But that information comes from the Russian side as opposed to the American side,” Bout’s attorney Steve Zissou told CNN’s John Avalon on “New Day.” “I’m confident this is going to get done.”

Zissou continued, “Look, it’s no secret they’ve been wanting him back for several years now. They’ve been trying to get him back for decades. That’s not something they’ve ever kept secret.”

The US has offered Bout, who is serving a 25-year US prison sentence, as part of a potential deal to secure the release of Griner and Whelan. But Russian officials have requested that Vadim Krasikov, a former colonel from the country’s domestic spy agency, be included in the US’ proposed swap of Bout for Griner and Whelan, multiple sources familiar with the discussions have told CNN.

Krasikov was convicted in December of murdering a former Chechen fighter, Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, in Berlin’s Kleiner Tiergarten in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison.

CNN Exclusive: Russian officials requested adding convicted murderer to Griner/Whelan prisoner swap

The request was seen as problematic for several reasons, the sources told CNN, among them that Krasikov remains in German custody. As such, and because the request was not communicated formally but rather through an FSB backchannel, the US government did not view it as a legitimate counter to the US’ offer which was first revealed by CNN on Wednesday.

National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby in an earlier interview on “New Day” called the Russian’s request a “bad faith attempt” and said the country should accept the US’ offer.

“This so-called, you call it a counteroffer, we would call it a bad faith attempt to avoid what is a serious proposal already on the table. And oh, by the way Brianna, has been on the table now for several weeks, Kirby told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on Monday. “Holding two Americans who have been wrongfully detained hostage for a convicted murderer in a third country is just — we don’t consider that a serious counteroffer at all. It is nothing more than a bad faith attempt by the Russians publicly to avoid what is a serious proposal, one that we are not making detailed in public and has been on the books for several weeks and we urge the Russians to accept it.”

On Friday US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year.

Blinken said he “pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner.” At a press conference on Friday he declined to say whether he thought Russia was more or less likely to move on the proposal following the conversation, nor would he describe how Lavrov responded.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the call that Lavrov “strongly suggested” to Blinken that the United States should return to a mode of “quiet diplomacy” regarding a possible prisoner exchange “without any dubious media leaks.”

Prior to the call between Blinken and Lavrov, US officials had expressed frustration at Moscow’s lack of substantive response to the proposal to free Whelan and Griner. State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Thursday acknowledged “this has not moved to the extent we would like.”

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Frederik Pleitgen and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.

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Categories
Technology

League of Legends fighting game Project L is free to play, Riot says

League of Legends fighting game Project L is free to play, Riot says

Project L, the new 2D fighting game from Riot Games set in the League of Legends universe, will be free to play, senior director and executive producer Tom Cannon said in a development update Monday. Cannon noted the news likely won’t come as a surprise to players of League of Legends, Valorantand other free-to-play Riot games, and added the Project L team is being mindful about how and when it will ask players for money.

“When it comes to monetization, we promise to be respectful of both your time and your wallet,” Cannon said.

Cannon also confirmed the next League champion coming to Project L: Illaoi, the Kraken Priestess. League of Legends players will likely be intimately familiar with Illaoi, who was added to Riot’s MOBA in 2015. But in Project Land in fighting game terms, Illaoi will be a “Big Body Juggernaut” with a “huge hurtbox, massive hits, and slower movement, with a simple-to-learn, hard-to-master kit,” game designer Caroline Montano said in to Project L development blog.

“Illaoi is a strong and muscular woman who attacks with a giant totem, so it makes sense she would hit with her own physical strength, as opposed to hiding behind the power of her god or magical abilities,” Montano explained about Illaoi’s gameplay design. “We also needed tentacles. Illaoi’s god, Nagakabouros, is a tentacled sea monster, and there needed to be some aspect of that in her kit. But beyond empowering her attacks from her, Nagakabouros also gives Illaoi the strength to steal her opponent’s soul from her. ”

There’s a lot more insight into Riot’s approach to bringing Illaoi to Project L in the team’s blog, if you’re interested. Illaoi will join five other previously confirmed League champions in Project L: Ahri, Darius, Ekko, Jinx, and Katarina.

Project L was first announced in 2019. The fighting game is being developed by former members of Radiant Entertainment, the studio behind canceled free-to-play fighting game Rising Thunder. Riot acquired Radiant in 2016.

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Sports

James Wilby shocks Adam Peaty to win breaststroke gold

James Wilby shocks Adam Peaty to win breaststroke gold

England’s James Wilby clinched gold in the men’s 100 meter breaststroke as compatriot Adam Peaty surprisingly finished outside the medals at the Commonwealth Games.

Peaty had never before lost a senior race in his favored event and looked set for a three-peat as the champion at Glasgow 2014 and on the Gold Coast four years ago unsurprisingly led at the halfway point.

But he lost momentum in the closing stages and was reeled in by Wilby, who clocked 59.25 seconds at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, just over an hour’s drive from where Peaty grew up in Uttoxeter.

Zac Stubblety-Cook finished second in 59.52secs while fellow Australian Sam Williamson took bronze in 59.82s, 0.04s ahead of fourth-placed Peaty.

Peaty was making his comeback after suffering a broken foot in May, leading to him missing last month’s World Championship, and his time of 59.86s was just under two seconds slower than his personal best.

“I don’t know what went wrong,” he said. “With 25m to go I had nothing in the tank. Maybe that’s overexposure on the foot. Sometimes you just have a bad race, I can’t pinpoint where I went wrong.

“It was a slow ending, I can’t remember the last time I went that slow. It just didn’t go right. Of course I’m disappointed but that’s what makes you go faster next time.

“I chose to fight, I don’t really care about the stats or how long you’re undefeated. Every time I get on to this box, I’m willing to fight and race anyone in the world.

“I’ve kind of lost that spark, whether it’s with my foot, but I’ll be looking to find that over the next months and into the next two years.”

England still capped a memorable day on the sporting front with top spot on the podium as Wilby went one better than 2018.

It is certainly up there as a special moment that I’ll remember forever.

james wilby

Wilby, who admitted he was considering his swimming future after a disappointing Olympic campaign, said: “It is certainly up there as a special moment that I’ll remember forever.

“It just adds up to my enjoyment and having that fun back in the sport is everything. We’ve all been faster times than that but I’m loving it and that’s got me to the top of the podium this time.

“Everything else doesn’t matter. I’m always going to have that medal, I’m always going to love looking at it and remembering the moments that brought it here.”

Chad le Clos equaled the record for the most Commonwealth Games medals, collecting his 18th gong with silver in the men’s 200metres butterfly.

While Le Clos was unable to claim a fourth successive gold in this event, the South African moved level with shooting pair Michael Gault and Phil Adams on 18 overall medals.

Le Clos was pipped to gold by New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt while England’s James Guy took bronze.

Alice Tai was another English gold medalist, prevailing in the women’s 100m backstroke S8 final, just a few months after having her right leg amputated below the knee.

“It’s a bit surreal,” she said after coming home in a time of 1min 13.64s, with Wales’ Lily Rice finishing third.

“I started and ended last season with surgery, pulled out of Tokyo, then had an amputation in January. I’ve been learning to walk this year and getting back in the pool was just a bit of fun as I missed swimming.”

Joshua Willmer took gold in the men’s 100m Breaststroke SB8 ahead of the Australian pair of Timothy Hodge and Blake Cochrane.

Emma McKeon lead home an Australian one-two-three in the women’s 50m freestyle.

McKeon came home at 23.99s ahead of compatriots Meg Harris and Shayna Jack.

South Africa’s Tatiana Schoenmaker took gold in the women’s 200m breaststroke in a time of 2:21.92.

Silver went to Australia’s Jenna Strauch with South Africa’s Kaylene Corbett claiming the bronze.

Australia finished on a high as Kaylee McKeown won women’s 100m backstroke gold before they broke the world record to win the women’s 4 x 200m freestyle relay in a time of 7:39.29.

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US

Suspect identified in deadly mass stabbing on Wisconsin river

Suspect identified in deadly mass stabbing on Wisconsin river

A Minnesota teenager died and four other people were seriously hurt after being stabbed while tubing down a Wisconsin river, authorities said. St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson said the victims and suspect, 52-year-old Nicolae Miu from Prior Lake, Minnesota, were all on the Apple River when the attack happened Saturday afternoon. Knudson said investigators were working to determine what led to the stabbings and whether the victims and suspect knew each other. They were tubing with two different groups that included about 20 people. “We don’t know yet who was connected to who, who knew each other or what precipitated it,” Knudson said. The knife attack happened on a difficult-to-access section of the river near the town of Somerset, Wisconsin, which is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Minneapolis. The suspect was arrested about an hour and a half later while getting off the river downstream. “Thank goodness a witness had taken a photo of him,” Knudson told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Another witness located him at the exit of the tubing area, where he was taken into custody.” A 17-year-old boy from Stillwater, Minnesota, died. Two of the other victims were flown to a hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, and two others were taken there by ambulance. The sheriff’s office said Sunday that the condition of all four surviving victims _ a woman and three men in their 20s _ ranged from serious to critical. They suffered stab wounds to their chests and torsos. The sheriff’s office didn’t name the victims, but did provide a few details about them. The victims included a 20-year-old man and a 22-year-old man from Luck, Wisconsin; a 22-year-old man from Elk River, Minnesota; and a 24-year-old woman from Burnsville, Minnesota; The name of the suspect wasn’t immediately released, but St. Croix County jail records show a 52-year-old man was being held without bond on suspicion of first-degree homicide, four counts of aggravated battery and four counts of mayhem.

SOMERSET, Wis. —

A Minnesota teenager died and four other people were seriously hurt after being stabbed while tubing down a Wisconsin river, authorities said.

St. Croix County Sheriff Scott Knudson said the victims and suspect, 52-year-old Nicolae Miu from Prior Lake, Minnesota, were all on the Apple River when the attack happened Saturday afternoon.

Accused river stabber Nicolae Miu

St. Croix Sheriff’s Office

Knudson said investigators were working to determine what led to the stabbings and whether the victims and suspect knew each other. They were tubing with two different groups that included about 20 people.

“We don’t know yet who was connected to who, who knew each other or what precipitated it,” Knudson said.

The knife attack happened on a difficult-to-access section of the river near the town of Somerset, Wisconsin, which is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Minneapolis. The suspect was arrested about an hour and a half later while getting off the river downstream.

“Thank goodness a witness had taken a photo of him,” Knudson told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Another witness located him at the exit of the tubing area, where he was taken into custody.”

A 17-year-old boy from Stillwater, Minnesota, died. Two of the other victims were flown to a hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, and two others were taken there by ambulance. The sheriff’s office said Sunday that the condition of all four surviving victims _ a woman and three men in their 20s _ ranged from serious to critical. They suffered stab wounds to their chests and torsos.

The sheriff’s office didn’t name the victims, but did provide a few details about them. The victims included a 20-year-old man and a 22-year-old man from Luck, Wisconsin; a 22-year-old man from Elk River, Minnesota; and a 24-year-old woman from Burnsville, Minnesota;

The name of the suspect wasn’t immediately released, but St. Croix County jail records show a 52-year-old man was being held without bond on suspicion of first-degree homicide, four counts of aggravated battery and four counts of mayhem.

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Technology

League of Legends fighting game will be free-to-play

League of Legends fighting game will be free-to-play

Riot Games and Radiant Entertainment released a video about Project L, the League of Legends fighting game they are hard at work on, ahead of the global fighting game tournament, Evo. The most significant thing announced during this August 2021 update is that Project L is a free-to-play game.

Project L is a 2-vs-2 assist-based fighting game in the same vein as titles like the Marvel vs Capcom series. The game stars characters made popular in the League of Legends franchise, with its latest addition being the juggernaut champion, Illaoi. A developer blog specifically focused on Illaoi’s creation also came out today.

Like League of Legends, Project L is going to be free-to-play, so it’s likely to feature in-game purchases for things like characters and skins. You can see this same business model successfully achieved in the recently released Warner Bros. platform fighter Multiverse. Project L developmental lead Tom Cannon also says Project L’s monetization will be “respectful of both your time and your wallet.”

Cannon also states that the development of Project L is going well. The team is confirmed to be currently finishing up its work on the core mechanics of the game, with a lot of the development team moving on to building playable champions. The game is also going to apparently have tons of side features other fighting games have lacked, as the update also confirms things like competitive play and social systems are on the way.

While there is no confirmed release date or even window for Project LCannon confirmed that we’ll hear about the game at least one more time before the end of 2022.

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Sports

Ash Barty posts wedding day photo on social media of her and her husband Garry Kissick

A smiling couple in wedding outfits look at each other as they walk across a wooden bridge.

Retired tennis superstar Ash Barty has married her longtime partner, Garry Kissick.

The 26-year-old exchanged vows with her golfer partner in a private ceremony in Queensland earlier this month.

Barty reached the pinnacle of world tennis as number one during a decorated career on the WTA tour.

She won three grand slam victories — the 2020 French Open, Wimbledon in 2021 and a hometown success in this year’s Australian Open.

She announced her retirement from professional tennis in March at the age of 25, shocking the sporting world

Barty posted a wedding day photo on her Instagram account on Saturday night, with the simple caption ‘Husband & Wife’.

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