Hot news: 2009 WTA Awards announced in Miami

2009 WTA Awards were announced last Wednesday in Miami. Here is the list of winners:

Player of the year: Serena Williams
Doubles team of the year :Serena Williams & Venus Williams
Most improved player: Yanina Wickmayer
Newcomer of the year: Melanie Oudin
Comeback player of the year: Kim Clijsters
Sportmanship award: Kim Clijsters
Fan favorite: Elena Dementieva
Player services: Liezel Huber

Hot news: Nicole Vaidisova retires, will marry Radek Stepanek in July

Source: TennisReporters.net

According to Matthew Cronin at TennisReporters.net, Czech player Nicole Vaidisova is retiring at the age of 20. She's scheduled to marry ATP player Radek Stepanek in July. She just informed the tournament in Miami that she's turning down a wild card and pulled out of all her events the rest of the year.

Semifinalist at Roland Garros'06 and Australian Open'07, Vaidisova won 6 WTA titles and entered Top-10 in 2006 being just 17 years old, peaking at #7 in May 2007. But she couldn't handle the pressure and after two bad seasons she was currently ranked at #176. She couldn't contend with losing, no longer had the desire to compete hard and began to dislike the sport.

Hot news: Wickmayer's ban revoked by court

Source: AP via Yahoo! Sports

A Belgian court Monday suspended the one-year doping bans given to tennis players Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse.

Wickmayer’s lawyers hope the injunction will make 16th-ranked Wickmayer eligible to play as soon as possible. The U.S. Open semifinalist hopes to receive a wild card for the Australian Open.

Shortly after the ruling, she was offered a wild card to the ASB Classic. The Jan. 4-9 tournament in New Zealand serves as a tuneup for the Australian Open, the year’s first Grand Slam event.

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Hot news: Molik announces comeback and engagement

Source: Herald Sun
Photo via Tennis Australia


The former world No.8 on Friday declared her "long service leave" officially over and said she felt fresh and fit. Molik retired in 2008 after a run of serious illness and injury but after announcing a comeback in July, recently won her third Australian Pro Tour title.

Her personal life is also flourishing, recently engaged to Perth-based man she referred to only as Tim, as she was reluctant to reveal any further details.

A fan favourite at Melbourne Park, 28-year-old Molik could have waited for Tennis Australia to hand her a wild card for the Open. But the Olympic bronze medallist said she preferred to prove herself by playing in next week's wildcard tournament, and by doing so send a message to Australia's next crop of talent. She will line up against players including Casey Dellacqua, who has been sidelined with injury for almost a year, Olivia Rogowska and rising star Monika Wejnert.

(read the whole story here)

Just to remind, last year's wildcard tournament winner was Jelena Dokic, who had an amazing run afterwards to the Australian Open quarters. We wish Alicia the best luck on both her comeback and engagement.

Hot news: Amelie Mauresmo retires

Source: Reuters via Yahoo! Sports

France’s two-time grand slam winner and former world number one Amelie Mauresmo announced her retirement from tennis on Thursday.

“I came here to announce the end of my career. I made this decision after careful consideration,” Mauresmo told a news conference before bursting into tears.

Mauresmo, 30, topped the WTA rankings in September 2004 and clinched her two grand slam titles in 2006 when she won the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

She collected 25 WTA singles titles since turning professional in 1993.

Hot news: Serena gets record $82,500 fine, but no suspension

Source: AP via Yahoo! Sports

Serena Williams was fined a record $82,500 for her U.S. Open tirade and could be suspended from that tournament if she has another “major offense” at any Grand Slam in the next two years.

Williams lashed out at a lineswoman after a foot-fault call at the end of her semifinal loss to eventual champion Kim Clijsters at the U.S. Open in September. If she has another “major offense” at a Grand Slam tournament in that time, the fine would increase to $175,000 and she would be barred from the following U.S. Open.

Read the whole article here

Hot news: Henin to follow Clijsters on Tour comeback

Source: AP via Yahoo! Sports

Former world No. 1 Justine Henin is returning to competitive tennis, making the announcement barely a week after Kim Clijsters capped her comeback from retirement with a second U.S. Open title.

Henin had been retired for just over a year, but at 27 says she has the fire and physical strength to compete for an eighth Grand Slam title. Her announcement on VTM television capped an about-face that went from her “definitive decision” to retire last year, to weeks of no comment to a smiling admission Tuesday that she truly missed the game too much.

She wants to play two exhibition tournaments, in Charleroi, Belgium, and Dubai, to hone her skills ahead of a competitive return next year with plans to compete in the next Grand Slam, the Australian Open.

“The fire within burns again,” Henin said. “I want to come back in January.”

Henin officially retired on May 14, 2008, initially rejecting any thought of a comeback with a dogged determination that had come to mark her play throughout a decade-long career that yielded seven Grand Slam titles and one Olympic gold medal.

At 27, it certainly is not too late for a comeback. As Clijsters proved, breaking back into the top tier at short notice is far from impossible. She won the U.S. Open in her third tournament since announcing her return.

Hot news: Nathalie Dechy is pregnant, announces retirement

Source: AP via Yahoo! Sports

French tennis player Nathalie Dechy is retiring. The French tennis federation said in a statement Tuesday that the 30-year-old Dechy has decided to end her career as she is expecting a child and wants to devote her time to family life.

Dechy reached the Australian Open semifinals in 2005, but is currently ranked 88th. Dechy won the Gold Coast singles tournament in 2003 and two Grand Slam doubles titles at the U.S. Open—with Vera Zvonareva in 2006, and Dinara Safina in 2007. She also won mixed doubles at the French Open in 2007. Dechy played for France in the Fed Cup in singles and doubles from 2000 until this year.

Hot news: Kim Clijsters to announce comeback plans on Thursday

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Former world number one Kim Clijsters will reveal her 2009 plans on Thursday and U.S. Open organisers said they would be happy to offer her a wildcard if she announces a return to the tour.

The 25-year-old Belgian will “unveil her plans for the 2009 season” at the tennis centre in her home town of Bree north of Brussels where she has been training in recent weeks, a statement issued on her behalf said.

Her former coach Carl Maes told Reuters last week that Clijsters, who retired in May 2007 before marrying basketball player Brian Lynch and giving birth to a daughter, could return to the WTA tour.

The former U.S. Open champion announced last week that she would compete in the World Team Tennis event in the United States later this year and in a special event at Wimbledon in May, alongside Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman.

U.S. Open tournament director Jim Curley sent her a note asking if she was interested in any involvement at the Open, ranging from an exhibition up to taking a wildcard, spokesman Chris Widmaier said.

“Nothing official has happened yet as far as a wildcard for the U.S. Open,” Widmaier said.

“However, there are few better ambassadors for the sport of tennis than Kim Clijsters as a former champion and world number one. If she were to ask for a wildcard I’m sure she would get it.”

Clijsters, U.S. Open champion in 2005, won 34 singles titles overall and held the No. 1 ranking for a total of 19 weeks.

Hot news: Larry Scott resigns as WTA Tour CEO

Source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour announced on Tuesday, March 24, that Larry Scott will step down as its Chairman and CEO to become Commissioner of the NCAA's (National Collegiate Athletic Association) PAC-10 Conference, effective July 1, 2009. Scott will work with the Tour Board on the selection process for the next Chairman and CEO.

During his six year tenure as Chairman & CEO of the Tour, Scott is credited with having engineered a remarkable turnaround for the sport, with the Tour and women's professional tennis in a stronger position today than ever before. Milestone achievements under Scott include: (i) passage of the Tour's Roadmap plan, the most sweeping reforms to the Tour calendar in history to enhance the women's tennis product; (ii) achievement of equal prize money at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, with the top 10 events in women's professional tennis now featuring equal pay; (iii) signing of the largest sponsorship deal in the history of women's sport and professional tennis with Sony Ericsson at $88 million over 6 years, along with inking deals with a host of other major partners including Whirlpool and Dubai Duty Free; (iv) signing of the largest TV deal in the history of the Tour with Eurosport; (v) signing of the largest year-end Tour Championships deals in Tour history, with the event hosted by Doha, Qatar from 2008-2010 following a successful two year stint in Madrid, and by Istanbul, Turkey from 2011-2013 at a total value of $84 million; (vi) significant global expansion of the sport into new markets, including establishment of the Tour's Asia-Pacific headquarters in Beijing, with the Tour poised for major growth in the world's fastest growing market; (vii) launch of the Tour's largest ever global marketing campaign, "Looking for a Hero?"; (viii) leadership role in the introduction of more innovations to the sport than in its prior history, including electronic line calling, on-court coaching, pre-match players interviews, interviews with coaches during matches and a new doubles scoring format; (ix) unprecedented lifestyle and fashion coverage of the Tour's players; and (x) establishment of the Tour on its strongest financial footing in history, including a 500% increase in sponsorship revenues and two and a half times increase in overall revenues, a 40% increase in prize money and $710 million in new stadium investments.

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Hot news: Comeback for Kim Clijsters?

Today, many Belgian newspapers published that former WTA #1 Kim Clijsters is back training with her former sparring Wim Fissette. Oficially, it is only known that Clijsters will play an exhibiton event in Belgium, but the rumour of a possible partial comeback (playing only a few tournaments, as Davenport does) of Clijsters to WTA Tour is spreading fast.
We'll keep you informed.

Sources (in french):
lesoir.be
RTLsport.be
DH.be

Hot news: Sharapova pulls out of Australian Open

Source: AP

Maria Sharapova’s shoulder injury will keep her out of another big event—the Australian Open.

Sharapova told the tournament Sunday she will not be able to defend her title at Melbourne Park beginning Jan. 19. She also missed the Beijing Olympics and the U.S. Open because of the injury, and her recovery has been slower than expected.

“My shoulder is doing great,” she said in a statement. “But I just started training a few weeks ago and I am just not near the level I need to be to compete at the highest levels.”

Hot news: Jelena Jankovic honored by ITF

Source: AP

Jelena Jankovic was honored Wednesday as the International Tennis Federation’s world champion of 2008.

Jankovic finished the year as the top-ranked women’s player despite failing to win a Grand Slam title in 2008—she lost in the U.S. Open final to Serena Williams. But the 23-year-old Serb still managed to win more matches than any other player on tour, and claimed WTA titles in Rome, Beijing, Stuttgart and Moscow.

“I worked really hard this year and to finish No. 1 is where I want to be and where I want to stay,” Jankovic said.

The ITF selects its world champions based on a system that includes results from the ATP and WTA tours, along with Grand Slams, Olympics and the Davis Cup and Fed Cup.

Hot news: Davenport expecting second baby in 2009

Source: AP

Lindsay Davenport is pulling out of the Australian Open because she is pregnant with her second child.

The three-time Grand Slam singles champion and former No. 1-ranked woman gave birth to a son, Jagger, in June 2007. Davenport then returned to the tour, although she hasn’t played since the U.S. Open in August of this year.

Just last week, the Australian Open announced Davenport would play in the tournament, which begins Jan. 19.

“Of course this unexpected but exciting surprise now means I will be putting tennis on hold for the foreseeable future,” Davenport said in a statement issued Wednesday by her agent.

Hot news: Four players will fight for US Open title and World's #1

Women’s semi-finals day will have added spice to it at the U.S. Open on Friday with the carrot of the number one ranking looming large over the four remaining protagonists.

American Serena Williams, Russians Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva and Serbian Jelena Jankovic can all replace another Serbian, Ana Ivanovic, at the top of the rankings by winning the title in New York.

Of more immediate concern to all of them will be earning a place in the final, with Williams chasing her ninth grand slam title and the other three closing on their first.

Jankovic, Dementieva and Williams will become #1 if they win the title. Jankovic would be also #1 if she reaches the final and Safina defeats Williams in the semifinals. Finally, Safina needs to win the title and that Jankovic loses to Dementieva in the other semifinal.

Hot news: Alicia Molik retires at 27

Source: Yahoo Sports

Australia’s Alicia Molik has retired from international tennis after a long run of injuries, including a debilitating inner-ear virus.

The 27-year-old Molik peaked at a No. 8 ranking after reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2005, but spent most of the rest of that season off the circuit because she was unable to balance due to the ear virus.

She won the bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics and, despite only limited time in competition, achieved her ambition of making the Beijing Olympics last month. But she was knocked out in the first round.

“It’s tiring and it’s very draining,” Molik told Melbourne’s The Age newspaper on Friday. “I’ve spent a lot of time thinking. I did have a huge setback three years ago, with my middle ear problem.

“It took a while to get back and since then I’ve just struggled with a few more things that I never imagined would come along the way.”

Molik won five WTA singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles, at the Australian and French Opens.

Hot news: ITF announces acceptance lists for Olympics

Source: ITF official website

The ITF announced today the direct acceptance list for the 2008 Olympic Tennis Event in singles and doubles. For both men and women, this is the strongest field ever to enter the Olympic Tennis Event since tennis returned as a full medal sport in Seoul 1988.

Led by the world No. 1s, Roger Federer of Switzerland and Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, 17 of the top 20 men and 18 of the top 20 women will compete in Beijing.

Fifty-six players are entered based on their singles ranking of 9 June 2008, following Roland Garros, with a limit of four singles players per gender per country. Players must also be in good standing with their National Association and have met the minimum participation requirements for Davis Cup and Fed Cup.

Acceptance lists available via ITF here

Hot news: Tennis's leading names dress up for Olympic Book

Source: ITF official website

The ITF today announced the publication of its official Olympic Book ‘Journey to Beijing – Tennis celebrates the Olympics’. Over 40 of the world’s leading tennis players took part in the ITF project to help promote the 2008 Beijing Olympic Tennis Event.

The 140-page publication features a series of specially commissioned photographs of the game’s top names dressed as athletes from other summer or winter Olympic sports. These are accompanied by interviews with the players talking about their Olympic memories and hopes for Beijing.

Among the 44 players represented in the book are the two current world number ones, Roger Federer, who poses as a fencer, and Ana Ivanovic, who is shown playing beach volleyball, both in Miami. Rafael Nadal appears as a footballer on location in Shanghai, while Novak Djokovic takes advantage of Dubai’s indoor ski slope.

Maria Sharapova takes time out from a photo shoot to try rhythmic gymnastics in Los Angeles, while Serena Williams demonstrates her ice skating abilities at home in Palm Beach. Olympic champions Nicolas Massu and Fernando Gonzalez become marathon runners on the streets of Santiago, while wheelchair world No. 1 Esther Vergeer shows her versatility as a basketball player in the Netherlands.

To view ‘Journey to Beijing – Tennis celebrates the Olympics', click here

Hot news: "Looking for a hero?" campaign launched

Source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour


The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has unveiled the television and print creative for its landmark global advertising campaign to the international media at an exclusive screening at the Charlotte Street Hotel in London.

The 60- and 30-second television advertisements are the pinnacle of the Tour's multi-million dollar, pioneering global marketing campaign which will also include print and digital advertising, along with viral and community generated elements. In all, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour expects to invest $15 million in the campaign over the course of the next three years. Over thirty players took part in the film and photographic shoot for the campaign which took place at various locations in Rome, Italy, at the start of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament in May 2008.

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To view the TV commercials and sample print ads, visit www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/lookingforahero

Hot news: Henin Retires From Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

Source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

Tributes are flowing in from around the world for Justine Henin, who on Wednesday announced her immediate retirement from the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. The 25-year-old Belgian became the first woman in the history of professional tennis to retire from the sport while ranked No.1 in the world.

Henin, winner of 41 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles – including seven Grand Slam championships – is currently in her 117th week as the world No.1, sixth on the all-time list. She has amassed $19,461,375 in career prize money and compiled a 493-107 win-loss record in singles. But more importantly than any statistics, the 5-foot, 5 3/4-inch (1.67 m) Henin was renowned for her spectacular backhand, incredible athleticism and unrivalled mental fortitude and work ethic.

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