Venus Williams played with and against some of the finest names in tennis during her illustrious career, but one of her favourite players of all time has raised plenty of eyebrows.
An American journalist has discovered some interesting facts about the 42-year-old on her Women's Tennis Association bio.
She loves karaoke, has written several books and lists playing the guitar as one of her favourite ways to relax - and Bernard Tomic is one of her favourite all-time players.
That shocking tidbit has stunned plenty of Williams fans, given the epic tumble the Australian star has taken in the world rankings.
He showed plenty of promise at the beginning of his career with two junior Grand Slam singles titles, four ATP titles, a quarter final appearance at the Wimbledon Championships and a world ranking of 17.
However, the 30-year-old's ranking plummeted to as low as 825 in 2022 and he is desperately trying to revive his career in lower-ranked tournaments around the world.
There must be something in his forehand, though, because Williams lists him as one of her favourite players in a group that includes Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Gael Monfils.
The attention didn't escape Tomic, who posted a screenshot of the bio to his Instagram with the caption: 'Such an honour @venuswilliams thank you'.
Others struggled to make sense of it.
'Bernard Tomic??? That's unexpected,' one fan replied.
'You beat me to the punch. Total head scratcher,' added another.
One fan suggested it was a golden opportunity to pair the duo on court at the Australian Open in 2024.
'How about a Venus x Tomic mixed doubles at the next Wimbledon or AusOpen?' they suggested.
While her younger sister Serena has retired, Venus is keen to play on.
'A lot of people have been asking me, 'are you gonna play again?' I love tennis and I would like to play again and I will let you know exactly when,' she said in December.
She played at the ASB Classic in Auckland in January and received a wildcard for the Australian Open, but was forced to withdraw because of injury.
Tomic is now ranked 435 and was denied a wildcard entry into Australian Open qualifying, forced to play a Challenger Tour event in Qatar instead.
