Welcome to this week's edition of "Hot Shots," a USOpen.org-curated look at what you may have missed on social media over the past few days.
The tennis family said goodbye to a former member of the WTA Top 10 this week as she announced her retirement from the sport, while the tour continued its move through Europe in three countries.
Former World No. 9 Julia Goerges announced her retirement from professional tennis this week, with her last match being a second-round loss to compatriot Laura Siegemund at the French Open. A winner of seven singles titles and five doubles titles in her career, Goerges' best Grand Slam result came at Wimbledon in 2018, where she reached the semifinals before losing to Serena Williams.
Over a 16-year career, the 31-year-old was one of four Germans to earn a Top-15 WTA ranking in both singles and doubles, along with Steffi Graf, Claudia Kohde-Kilsch and Anna-Lena Groenefeld.
One of the most popular players in the WTA locker room, Goerges earned plenty of heartfelt goodbye messages from her peers on social media after her announcement. Here are just a few.
Elsewhere on tour, ATP players have been competing this week in Cologne, Germany and Antwerp, Belgium, while the WTA returned to action in the Czech Republic at the new event in the city of Ostrava.
In Antwerp, American Marcos Giron scored the biggest win of his professional career by beating No. 1 seed and home favorite David Goffin, but it was the exploits of another Belgian who captivated audiences in this first two rounds.
Wildcard Zizou Bergs, a 21-year-old ranked outside the Top 500, won his first ATP main draw match in the first round and pushed No. 3 seed Karen Khachanov to three sets in the second round before falling.
Remember the name. (And his TikToks.)
Away from the courts, two-time Grand Slam champion Garbiñe Muguruza has been enjoying time off in Italy, while the legendary Billie Jean King announced her latest sporting venture: she and partner Ilana Kloss have joined the star-studded ownership group of the new professional women's soccer franschise in Los Angeles, Angel City FC.
In July, Serena Williams, her husband Alexis Ohanian and their toddler Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr., were among those announced as investors in the new National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) franchise.
And finally, with less than two weeks until Election Day to decide the U.S. presidential race and early voting already underway in many states, 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens checked in to make sure her fellow Americans have properly prepared and will exercise their right to vote.
Check back next week for more US Open Hot Shots.
