Tennis news: Roger Federer's fortune soars and world's richest player shows true colours

Great Britain are eyeing up the Billie Jean King Cup final, but the USA and Jessica Pegula, heiress to a billion-pound fortune, stand in their way. The Laver Cup is also underway, and Novak Djokovic is nowhere to be seen, having been indirectly branded "finished" by John McEnroe.

After breezing past Japan, a British team made up of Katie Boulter, Sonay Karal, Fran Jones and Jodie Burrage are facing the USA in the semi-finals. The Americans are led by world No. 7 Pegula, who showed her kind and sentimental side after being given a gift by a fan in Shenzhen. The sport has seen a handful of other goings-on, including McEnroe taking an indirect swipe at Djokovic, one of Pegula's team-mates being booed and the great RogerFederer's lucrative business growing, as Express Sport brings you all the latest stories from the world of tennis.

Jessica Pegula shows true colours

Despite losing her singles match against Elena Rybakina, Pegula combined with Taylor Townsend in USA's quarter-final clash with Kazakhstan to give them a 2-1 victory overall at the BJK Cup. After the match in Shenzhen, Pegula posted a heartwarming gift that she received from a fan after the match, a keychain emblazoned with a picture of her dog Maddie.

She commented on Instagram: "The cutest little keychain of my dog Maddie fan from a Chinese fan," showing a picture of the present. And, despite being the heiress to her family's £5.5billion fortune, she shared another photo of a glass container filled with bracelets and other trinkets given to her by supporters, showing her classy nature.

"I also always save all the little bracelets and gifts I get, so keep them coming!" she posted. Pegula's family made their fortune through father Terry's oil and gas business, and they own the NFL's Buffalo Bills and the NHL's Buffalo Sabres.

Taylor Townsend booed for social media posts

Pegula's partner in the decisive doubles victory against Kazakhstan, Townsend, has not endeared herself with locals, however. Fans booed her when she entered the arena on Thursday after she was accused of making insensitive comments on social media.

"I'm just here doing recovery and I'm honestly just so shocked at what I saw in the dinner buffet. As I go back and I look and I'm like, these people are literally killing frogs, bullfrogs," posted Townsend to Instagram after arriving in China.

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"And turtles? And the fact it's all stewed up with like chillis and peppers and onions. Oh, you really made this a dish? And then you've got the sea cucumbers just staring there like, with the noodles. The only thing we've eaten."

Townsend was accused of being insensitive to the cultural differences in China and received backlash online. When she entered the court in Shenzhen, some booes rang out. The American later issued an apology online, saying: "Hi everybody, I just wanted to come on here and apologise sincerely from the bottom of my heart."

John McEnroe labels Novak Djokovic 'human'

While heaping praise on the next generation of tennis greats, American icon McEnroe indicated that he thinks Djokovic's time atop the sport of tennis is dwindling, and he is no longer superhuman.

Speaking to the Tennis Channel, McEnroe described Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as a "breath of fresh air" but also admitted that the days of the big three, Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal, are now truly over.

"You talk about a breath of fresh air when we desperately needed it," began McEnroe. "When we thought, 'Oh my God, what are we going to do? These three guys are finished.'

"'Novak looks human all of a sudden.' So to have him (Alcaraz) and Jannik come in, and now the other guys got to chase and try to catch up, it's really awesome."

Roger Federer surprised by growth of shoe empire

Even in retirement, Swiss legend Federer continues to be successful. The tennis icon invested in shoe brand On Running in 2019, receiving three percent equity. The brand's popularity has since soared, and it is now worth an estimated £9bn, meaning Federer's share is worth £270m.

Alongside Rolex, Uniqlo and Wilson, Federer has built up an impressive catalogue of backers, and speaking to CNBC, he admits he was particularly surprised by On's growth.

"I never thought it was going to work this well," confirmed Federer. "All I thought was it would be cool to work with a Swiss brand, help the guys out. We started working on a shoe before I had the deal with On because I thought it would be nice to help the guys out in what is an incredibly difficult market.

"Now you can think I was a little naive and I always wanted them to be successful, but not at this speed like that. I didn't know that a brand could grow this quickly."