Professional tennis might look like an attractive gig, especially at Wimbledon, but while the money’s good for those who reach the middle rounds of main draw events, the sport is unforgiving in the way it shapes reputations. One only had to watch Friday’s third round at the Big W to understand why. There are only [...]
For women with a last name of Williams, the official release of the Wimbledon singles draws on Friday morning provided a pleasing path to tennis riches. After years of being placed on the same side of the draw, Venus and Serena stand on opposite sides of the bracket at the Big W. If you loved [...]
The French Open draws are out, and a quick look at the singles brackets suggest that the two top seeds should stroll to the finals, and very likely capture the second Grand Slam event of the season. Part I – Women’s Singles Of the 128 women who will converge on Paris over the next 15 [...]
Even as she spent the past three months climbing the ladder in the world of women’s tennis, Victoria Azarenka lacked a really big achievement to show for her excellence. Now, another milestone can be crossed off the Belorussian’s checklist. A promising 2009 season just got better for Azarenka, who showed steely nerves to hold off [...]
When two celebrated sisters took the court on Thursday night in Miami, a slightly new feel enveloped the biggest rivalry in modern women’s tennis. At the end of their 20th match, Serena and Venus Williams did nothing to change the way these siblings are perceived. In a battle that fell short of a classic but [...]
The high seeds just keep tumbling out of the women’s field at the Sony Ericsson Open. Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina injected shock value into the weekend with early-round stumbles at the Crandon Park Tennis Center, but by the time darkness fell on a crazy Sunday, two more bombshells did further damage to a bracket [...]
Tennis was not meant to be played in high winds, so when gusts of 20-30 miles per hour overwhelm a tennis match, the losing player can’t be blamed for inferior execution. The survivor should be saluted for enduring incredibly difficult conditions. Consider Vera Zvonareva, then, one of the better survival stories on the WTA Tour. [...]
Vera Zvonareva used to be the kind of player who would fuss when a match didn’t go her way. Friday afternoon in the California desert, this gifted Russian took a big step forward in the world of women’s tennis. No longer an emotionally volatile performer who would telegraph her feelings to an opponent, Zvonareva allowed [...]
Ever since Steffi Graf retired in 1999, Serena Williams has been the best pressure player in women’s tennis. This well-deserved reputation was only affirmed on Wednesday afternoon in Rod Laver Arena, as the nine-time Grand Slam champion advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open with a 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova. In [...]
Day Five of the 2009 Australian Open was going along as planned until two stirring late-day performances by longshots rocked the grounds in Melbourne. 29th seed Russian Alisa Kleybanova muscled her way to the biggest upset of her career with a hard fought three set win over Serbia’s 5th seed and 2008 Australian Runnerup, Ana [...]
