Tennis FanHouse

Serena Williams On Two Weeks' Notice

Chris Sesno — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:55:00 EST

Serena Williams was just two points away from a semifinals exit from the U.S. Open back in September when she began her now infamous tirade at the lineswoman who helped make her departure a reality by calling a foot fault that sparked the meltdown.

Now, nearly two months later, the ITF has announced they will make a ruling on her further punishment within two weeks. She was originally fined $10,500 -- $10,000 maximum on-court fine allowed plus $500 for racquet abuse -- but potentially faces more fines and a possible suspension from the WTA.

"It's in the hands of the Grand Slam administrator, who I believe has now completed his investigation and will be making a ruling within the next two weeks," United States Tennis Association President Lucy Garvin told The Associated Press on Friday. "That's what we have been told -- that Serena would hear, we would hear."

Greg Couch: ITF Let Serena Off the Hook

After the incident, Serena issued her version of an apology. "You guys heard that?" Williams said in the post match press conference. "Well, you know I am from Compton. So you know..."

She did later issue a carefully crafted apology from a PR expert, apologizing to the lineswoman, her fans and the WTA: "I want to amend my press statement of yesterday, and want to make it clear as possible -- I want to sincerely apologize FIRST to the lines woman, Kim Clijsters, the USTA, and tennis fans everywhere for my inappropriate outburst. I'm a woman of great pride, faith and integrity, and I admit when I'm wrong."

All apologies aside, the ITF needs to take a harsher stand on this incident. $10,500 is pocket change for someone who broke the WTA season prize money mark by earning $6.5 million in 2009. Whether or not the ITF will suspend Serena for the Australian Open is yet to be seen -- although as the most prominent figure in women's tennis, I imagine they will consider the financial ramifications for the sport as much as they will take into account the appropriate ethical punishment for Serena's outburst.

Serena, who will end the year at No. 1, recently pulled out of the Fed Cup along with sister Venus to rest after the two faced off in the season-ending WTA Tour championship finals last weekend.

Next up on her agenda? We'll have to wait for the USTA ruling to find out.

Follow Chris Sesno on twitter: @csesno

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Serena Williams On Two Weeks' Notice originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Serena Tops Venus in Year-End Finals

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:33:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- Serena Williams said she didn't arrive at the Sony Ericsson Championships expecting to win.

Plenty of other people did that for her.

Williams bested big sister Venus again Sunday, winning 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the season-ending tournament for her third victory of the season. Williams also won Wimbledon and the Australian Open, and clinched the year-end No. ranking earlier in the week.

"It feels great," said Serena, who also won the WTA Tour's season-ending event in 2001. "I totally didn't expect to come here and win."

Serena broke twice in the first set and lost only seven points on serve. She looked sharper than Venus in every facet of a match that featured few long rallies and only a glimmer of the spectacular tennis the two have provided in some of their previous meetings.

Serena sealed the match with a crosscourt forehand winner and celebrated with a simple fist pump before hugging her sister at the net.

"I don't think I returned as well as I wanted to," said Venus, the defending champion, who played four late-night matches that each lasted three sets during the week. "Sometimes I made her service games a bit too easy."

It was Serena's fourth straight win over her sister. She also beat Venus in the round-robin stage of the Doha tournament, the Wimbledon final and the semifinals in Miami this year. She leads their head-to-head record 13-10.

"Playing a final against Venus is really tough," Serena said. "Even though she wasn't really feeling great, she kept hitting every ball back.

"I haven't won a tournament that wasn't a Grand Slam in a while, so that was even more exciting," she added. "My losing streak in (other) tournaments is over."

Serena earned $1.55 million for the win after finishing the event undefeated, bringing her total prize money for the year to a record $6.19 million. Justine Henin had the previous record of $5.43 million in 2007.

The tournament featured the eight top-ranked women in the world divided into two groups, with the semifinalists decided by a round-robin stage.

Venus lost two of her three round-robin matches but still advanced. She then rallied for a three-set win over Jelena Jankovic on Saturday but looked sluggish from the start in the final.

"It was the end of the season, so I have no complaints," Venus said about her fitness level. "You have to show up and play no matter what. So that had nothing to do with it."

Venus played with her left knee strapped while Serena had strapping on her left thigh.

"We definitely weren't physically 100 percent out there today," said Serena, a day after pulling out of next weekend's Fed Cup final against Italy. "Right now, I'm just struggling in every aspect of my body."

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Serena Williams Photos

DOHA, QATAR - NOVEMBER 01: Serena Williams of the USA shakes hands at the net with Venus Williams of the USA after Serena's straight sets victory in the Women's final during the Sony Ericsson Championships at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex on November 1, 2009 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Venus Williams;Serena Williams

Getty Images

Getty Images Europe

Serena Williams Snapshots

Venus Williams of the United States reacts during her singles final against to Serena Williams of the United States at the WTA Tennis Championships, in Doha, Qatar Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Serena Williams of the United States is presented with a cheque after winning the singles final against Venus Williams of the United States at the WTA Tennis Championships, in Doha, Qatar Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Venus Williams of the United States serves to Serena Williams of the United States during their singles final at the WTA Tennis Championships, in Doha, Qatar Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Serena Williams reacts after winning the singles final against Venus Williams of the United States at the WTA Tennis Championships, in Doha, Qatar Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Serena Williams of the United States returns to Venus Williams of the United States during their singles final at the WTA Tennis Championships, in Doha, Qatar Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Venus Williams of the United States returns to Serena Williams of the United States during their singles final at the WTA Tennis Championships, in Doha, Qatar, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Venus Williams of the United States returns to Serena Williams of the United States during their singles final at the WTA Tennis Championships, in Doha, Qatar Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Serena Williams of the United States serves to Venus Williams of the United States during their singles final at the WTA Tennis Championships, in Doha, Qatar Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Serena Tops Venus in Year-End Finals originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WTA Finals Will Be All-Williams Affair

FanHouse Newswire — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:39:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- The Williams sisters will end their season with another title matchup.

Venus Williams defeated Jelena Jankovic 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 Saturday in one semifinal at the Sony Ericsson Championships. Serena Williams won the other when Caroline Wozniacki quit because of an abdominal injury while trailing 6-4, 0-1.

Serena, who secured the year-end No. 1 ranking this week, is returning to the final of the WTA Tour's season-ending championships for the first time since 2004. She was knocked out in the group stage the last two years, but was the only player to go undefeated through the round-robin rounds this time.

"I just came in here trying to do my best, and here I am," she said.

Serena won the event in 2001 and has been runner-up twice. On Sunday, Venus will defend her title from last year.

"It's wonderful, I'm so excited," Venus said. "It's the way I wanted to end my year."

Serena beat Venus in this year's Wimbledon final, the fourth time they played each other for that Grand Slam title.

The American sisters were back on the court about 30 minutes after Serena's win Saturday to compete in the four-team doubles event. They missed out on a second final, however, losing to Spaniards Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 2-6, 6-4, 10-8 after a champions tiebreaker.

Wozniacki received medical treatment on her stomach in the first set and quit after breaking Williams to start the second. The 19-year-old Dane has been battling injuries all week, and reiterated after the match that aching abdominal muscles were affecting her serve.

"She's been struggling throughout the entire tournament," Serena said. "She's just an incredible fighter to come out here today and put up an effort."

After chasing down a drop shot and hitting a forehand winner for the break, Wozniacki pulled up and told the chair umpire she couldn't continue. The U.S. Open finalist exchanged hugs and handshakes with Serena, explaining her decision with an apologetic smile.

"It was just too much for me to keep playing," Wozniacki said. "I used all my strength I had left."

Serena has also been playing with her left thigh strapped, and she pulled out of next weekend's Fed Cup final against Italy.

"I think I'm just going to be wiped out by the end of this," she said. "I'm literally giving everything I have."

Venus trailed 2-0 in the decisive set against Jankovic but broke the former top-ranked Serb three times in a row en route to a 5-3 lead. The defending champion then saved a break point in the last game before sealing the win with a forehand on a net cord.

"In the first set, I couldn't feel the ball," Venus said. "Just to come back ... to play so well against such a consistent player is great."

This was the ninth three-setter in 10 meetings between the two, with the head-to-head series now 5-5. Their last meeting was also in the semifinals in Doha last year.

Jankovic's ranking has slipped from No. 1 to No. 8 this year, and she was the last player to qualify for Doha. After a short vacation, she will go to work on reversing that trend.

"That will be my goal, to get up there to the top again," Jankovic said. "I have the ability to do that."

Venus reached this year's semis despite winning just one of her three round-robin matches, the first player to do so since Amelie Mauresmo in 2003. She clinched a berth when Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Elena Dementieva in the last group round Friday.

"This is my last tournament of the year, so I'm giving a thousand percent," she said.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

WTA Finals Will Be All-Williams Affair originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:39:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Serena Clinches Semifinals Spot, Venus Stays Alive in Doha

FanHouse Newswire — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- Serena Williams became the first player to clinch a spot in the semifinals of the WTA Sony Ericsson Championships on Thursday, defeating Elena Dementieva 6-2, 6-4 for her third straight win in the tournament's round-robin group phase.

Her sister Venus, the defending champion, stayed alive by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4 for her first win in three matches. She needs Kuznetsova to beat Dementieva on Friday to have a chance of advancing to the semifinals.

Earlier, Caroline Wozniacki overcame severe leg cramps and a tenacious Vera Zvonareva to win 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4.

After the match, Zvonareva, who replaced the injured No. 1 Dinara Safina on Wednesday, pulled out the tournament citing a right ankle injury. Her place will be taken by the second alternate, Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland. She will play Victoria Azarenka on Friday but has no chance of advancing.

Serena was broken to trail 2-1 in the first set, but then won seven straight games to take control. She converted her third match point when Dementieva sent the ball into the net, then pumped her fist and yelled "Finally!"

Serena, who secured the year-end No. 1 ranking when Safina retired with a back injury, has failed to get out of the round-robin phase of the elite tournament for the last two years.

"I'm happy to finally do well," she said. "I'm kind of used to the elimination thing: If you lose, you're out. But I was just trying to do better than I did last year, and compete in all my matches, which sometimes is very hard."

Dementieva, who rallied from a set down to beat Venus in their opening match, didn't find her stride against Serena until trailing 2-0 in the second set. The encounter failed to live up to their epic three-set Wimbledon semifinal - billed by many as the best women's match of the year.

Dementieva won the longest game of the match after converting her fifth break point to make it 2-1, and the set went with serve until the last game.

Venus, who lost another three-setter to Serena on Thursday, broke Kuznetsova at love for a 5-4 lead in the third set and then converted her third match point when the Russian's backhand landed in the net shortly before 1 a.m. local time.

Venus dominated the first set but again struggled to put the match away, after wasting a one-set lead in both her previous matches.

"Svetlana just started to play really well in the second and third set," she said. "It's always great to win these kinds of matches."

Wozniacki needed two medical time-outs to treat her cramping left thigh in the third set and collapsed to the court sobbing and clutching both legs after netting a forehand at 30-15 in the last game. But she got back up and clinched the win when Zvonareva, who had saved two match points in the second set, netted a forehand on the third.

"I have absolutely no idea how I pulled it through, but I'm very happy about it," Wozniacki said.

It was the U.S. Open finalist's second win in the tournament, putting her on the verge of the semifinals.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Serena Clinches Semifinals Spot, Venus Stays Alive in Doha originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Serena Williams Is No. 1, and Deserves It

Greg Couch — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

She threatened a player, didn't try most of the year, famously threatened a line judge and was thrown out of a match.

The other thing Serena Williams did in 2009 was this:

She won the year-end No. 1 ranking. It became official Wednesday in Doha, Qatar, at the WTA Championships when Dinara Safina, the current No. 1 Williams was trying to overcome, withdrew from the tournament with a bad back. It guaranteed that Williams would finish the year No. 1 for the first time since 2002.

Two more things: She deserves it.

And it's the best thing for tennis.

More Coverage: Serena Stays Unbeaten in Doha

"Dinara must really be hurt because she never gives up," Williams said after beating her sister, Venus, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Safina quit during the third game of her match with Jelena Jankovic. "It would have made a really great tournament if we both could have gotten to the final."

It would have made for a fun final spark for the year. Instead now, this tournament turns to mush.

But we really didn't need a Serena-Safina match to know which player is best.

It has been a debate most of the year, since Safina got there and apologized for it, and Serena responded with "Quite frankly, I'm the best in the world."

Then, Williams lost to a career bridesmaid.

Williams is far from perfect, as too few people in the media seem strong enough to point out.

But flaws and all, she is still the best thing for the game, someone interesting to look at, watch, pay attention to and talk about. She has taken a tour that would have been boring with a bunch of pretend champs on top, and turned it into a reality show.

It's not just that, though. She's more than an auto wreck on the highway that you can't help to notice. The rest of the top women have shown incredible mental weakness in 2009.

How many times have we seen Safina leave a court crying? For the past half-year, she has been in full fright. Ana Ivanovic was No. 1, and looking to be the next big thing, but she crumbled under the pressure. Jankovic couldn't take it, either. Maria Sharapova hurt her shoulder.
Williams' No. 1 ranking shows that she is bigger than the women's tennis tour, the non-majors. She's probably bigger than the majors, too.

All these women were No. 1 in the past two years. And with the exception of Sharapova, they all were terrible No. 1s. Particularly Safina.

Williams is always a threat on the biggest stage. And yes, one tiny U.S. Open line judge might take that sentence in a different way than I meant it.

Meanwhile, Williams still awaits punishment from the International Tennis Federation for her f-bomb laced tirade directed at that line judge, who had correctly called a foot fault on her.

The problem for the ITF is that it's having a hard time trying to figure out how to punish someone who is bigger than it is.

Williams' No. 1 ranking shows that she is bigger than the women's tennis tour, the non-majors. She's probably bigger than the majors, too.

But think about this. Williams has blown off entirely all non-majors, showing up only because she's required to. And she has lost in every one, sometimes quickly and to nobodies.

See, Safina has never won a major, but plays consistently, usually, all year in regular tour events. Williams doesn't try unless it's in a major, where she shows time and again how great she is.

This tournament was going to give the final answer as to which way is best, as if we didn't know.

An oddity: Williams has locked up the No. 1 spot for the year even though she has won just one tournament since January. It just so happens that that tournament was Wimbledon. The tournament she won in January was the Australian Open, another major.

So Williams disregarded the tour, and found that it worked just fine for her. Well, that's a problem for the tour to address, not for Williams. She did what she wanted and got what she wanted, what she deserved.

Despite playing well just eight weeks a year, she has managed to become the center of focus of the tour. At the French Open, she told a player, "I'm going to get you in the locker room. You don't know me."

That's her signature line, the you-don't-know-me part. She used it on the line judge, too.

So Williams has not been a true champ the entire year. A champ doesn't take the court without trying to win. A champ doesn't just give up in a big moment, as she did at the U.S. Open against Kim Clijsters, where I believe she, at some level, quit that match. She had to know she would be out after what she did.

But Williams also appeared (nearly) nude on the cover of ESPN the Magazine, sending a message to young girls about belief in a body that isn't a size 0. She wrote a book telling her story.

She won two majors.

She is the story. And despite her flaws, she was the best player, and stands as a far better champion than Safina or anyone else who was playing throughout 2009.

Tennis needed Williams at the top of the game.

She is No. 1 for 2009. And deserving it.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

Serena Williams Is No. 1, and Deserves It originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ana Ivanovic Works With Charities

Elie Seckbach — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: U.S. Open, WTA, WTA Rankings, FanHouse Exclusive

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Ana Ivanovic is on top of the world. She is a star athlete, who was once ranked No. 1 in the world. That's not to mention she has millions of dollars and looks that stops traffic. But life wasn't always that easy.

In this FanHouse video, Ana talks to us about how she used to practice tennis while growing up in a war-torn Belgrade, Serbia (formally part of Yugoslavia). We also hear from Ana about her charity work and what she would rather have, her shoes or her racket.

Check out the video after the jump.

Ana Ivanovic Works With Charities originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite Health Concerns, Serena Wants to Play in Fed Cup Finals

Chris Sesno — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

The soon to be No. 1 women's tennis player in the world says she wants to play in the Fed Cup finals against Italy next month. But before she can commit, Serena Williams wants to be sure sure she is healthy enough.

Serena is holding off on making a decision until after the season-ending championships in Qatar.

"I definitely want to play again. I am just trying to get there," Williams said. "It's just really hard to see how my body is going to be after Doha, (Qatar) -- if I am going to be walking or if I am going to be in a wheelchair."

The Americans have made it to the finals without help from either of the Williams sisters, relying on No. 1 doubles player Liezel Huber to lead the Americans.

Alexa Glatch, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Liezel Huber carried the load for the Americans in the 3-2 semifinals victory over the Czech Republic in April, while Melanie Oudin and Jill Craybas handled singles in the Februrary quarterfinals win (3-2) against Argentina.

Serena will take the No. 1 seed from Dinara Safina next week. Having another teammate ranked in the top five (Oudin is No. 45) would be a huge advantage as the Americans seek their first Fed Cup title since 2000.

If she is unable to play, Serena said the U.S. is still in good shape to win the finals. "We really have a really good team," she said. "Quite frankly, they got there without me, but I would love to go and support."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Despite Health Concerns, Serena Wants to Play in Fed Cup Finals originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Safina Didn't Have 'It' for No. 1 Spot

Greg Couch — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

The pain is over. The anguish, the torture, the pressure, the agony.

When Dinara Safina took the No. 1 ranking in women's tennis in April, she said it was her childhood dream. She also apologized for it, which was our first warning.

But now, finally, she has lost the ranking. Serena Williams, after her 6-3, 6-2 victory over Russian Ekaterina Makarova in the second round of the China Open Tuesday, will move to No. 1 next week. It's a much better fit for everyone.

Safina drops to No. 2 after the most embarrassing performance of her reign. Well, one of the most. She lost Monday to Zhang Shuai, the 226th-ranked player, the lowest ranked woman ever to beat a No. 1.

"I would like to take some break now," Safina said. "I'm very upset with myself."

Her run has been full of statistical worst-firsts. She might well be the worst No. 1 of all time.

The tennis world watched her dissolve the past few months under the pressure of being No. 1. But it was only the expectations that go with that ranking that made her a failure.

Safina made the most of herself. The thing is, the most for Safina should have been lower than No. 1.

When she came up on tour, she was not in shape and had a bad temper. It seemed to be in the genes, as her brother, former No. 1 Marat Safin, also had problems with mental control.

It's amazing how different brother and sister can be. Safin, who is retiring at the end of this year, never had the mentality of a champion, but did have the game and confidence. He didn't have it in his heart to work hard, when there were mountains to climb, girlfriends to party with. Had he committed fully, he never would have lasted. His temper was based on a guy who knew he should be great, and couldn't accept the times when he wasn't.

Safina wants to work day and night. She lives for it. So she got in shape, got control of her head, and started winning everything in site.

Everything but majors. But Safina doesn't truly believe in herself, and she climbed one step too high.

There are responsibilities that go with No. 1. Pressures. Safina is not confident enough to handle them.

Serena is, but she hasn't done well enough in non-majors to hold on to the top ranking. Venus is, but she isn't quite good enough anymore.

Justine Henin is, but she's just now coming out of retirement. Maria Sharapova is, but she's still figuring out how to serve again after shoulder surgery.

And Kim Clijsters is. She beat Venus and Serena on the way to winning the U.S. Open last month after a 2 1/2 year retirement/maternity leave, but she doesn't plan to play a full enough schedule to be No. 1.

So women's tennis has real champions, but each with reasons not to be No. 1. That's how Safina got there in the first place.

"We all know who the real No. 1 is," Serena said in the spring, just as Safina reached No. 1. "Quite frankly, I'm the best in the world."

A real No. 1 has to handle trash-talking. Instead, in the French Open final, Safina yelled out to her coach, in front of the world, "Why am I such a chicken?" At Wimbledon, she lost 6-0, 6-1 to Venus. At the U.S. Open, she choked to unknown Petra Kvitova.

And Safin was already using his farewell press conference in New York to plead with the media.

"I have to protect her ... " he said. "You can't imagine how crazy she is about sports. I don't think there is one person in the world who is more professional than her.

"Everybody is hitting her, giving her a hard time ... 'What happened with this, what happened with that.' Leave her alone."

Sorry, No. 1 is not going to be left alone.

Monday's loss in Beijing was humiliating. But a woman who has been looking to tap-out of the No. 1 spot was finally allowed to do it.

So what now for Safina? Well, if Serena gets suspended from the Australian Open for her threatening tirade toward a line judge at the Open, then Safina might accidentally slip back to No. 1 again.

That would be the worst thing for her.

She's only 23, and already is left deciding whether work or rest is best. This wasn't part of the dream.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

Safina Didn't Have 'It' for No. 1 Spot originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No Safety Net as Tennis Weighs Potential Serena Punishment

Greg Couch — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:31:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

The stakes go way up now.

Tennis' governing bodies have no way out of a racial mess over Serena Williams.

No. 1 Dinara Safina, a point of controversy over why she has that ranking in the first place, lost again Monday. And now, Williams has to win just one more match, Tuesday in China against a nobody, to finally regain her spot as No. 1 in the world.

Meanwhile, the International Tennis Federation has given her two weeks to defend herself, to explain her f-bomb-laced, racquet-waving threats at a tiny line judge who had the nerve to make a correct foot fault call in a crucial moment at the U.S. Open semifinal last month.

Check your spines, ITF board members, because if you suspend Williams for the next major, as precedent calls, then you will almost surely be taking away Williams' No. 1 ranking.

White-black, tennis establishment-Williams sisters.

The battle lines are already drawn. Every decision, every move with Serena and Venus Williams and tennis always involves some element of race. Even the question of why Serena hadn't already been No. 1.

So for the establishment to take away that ranking in a boardroom will only set off an explosion.

The debate over Williams' tantrum has lined up, in no small part, along racial lines. Her ranking has, too, to a lesser extent. The rivalry between Serena and Maria Sharapova, the human Barbie Doll, has too.

The truth is, though, a lot of people like to pretend otherwise and dream of the ideal, the racial undercurrent is permanent with the Williams sisters and tennis.

Some people think that Serena's behavior at the Open was outrageous, never-before-seen. Others feel they saw John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors behave poorly for years and be celebrated for it, not treated the way she has.

Some feel Serena gets preferential treatment. Some feel the sisters from Compton are still fighting the same old battles in a traditional country club sport.

The ITF has a few weeks to decide. If it does not suspend Serena Williams or add to her puny $10,000 on-court fine, then that will be seen as an outrage.

That is like cab fare to someone making $15 million a year. Almost any amount of money won't touch her, as she made more than $500,000 as runner-up at the Open alone.

And a suspension from non-majors will feel like a hall pass to her. She shows such little respect for the tour already, not trying at, and clearly not wanting to be at, non-majors.

The only way to make her feel it is to suspend her from the Australian Open. But how will that look? Some people feel she was the victim in all of this, and has been punished and humiliated.

Others might point out that Jeff Tarango, after calling a chair umpire corrupt and leaving the court at Wimbledon, was suspended from two majors.

This Williams sisters (and their fans)-tennis establishment fight is coming to a head right here, now.

Meanwhile, women's tennis has turned into a Serena reality show.

Have you heard these new words from her?

"I'm not afraid of her. I mean, come on, she's like five-foot-nothing. Look at these."

And she flexes her biceps and squeezes them.

New footage of her tantrum? No, this is what she says in the new Tampax ad, which pits Williams against Mother Nature.

We've seen discussions about whether this ad campaign will be in bad taste, so close to her tantrum. Having seen the ad now, it's clear that this is more than bad taste.

It's in-your-face. It's a nose-thumbing at the establishment, a statement that her tantrum was acceptable to her.

Yes, it was filmed before the Open, but Proctor & Gamble, and Williams, didn't seem too concerned about stopping it now.

That said, for some reason, I find the ad to be funny, especially when Mother Nature is trying to deliver the red box, "Aunt Flow,'' to Williams, and screaming out as Serena pelts her with tennis balls.

Bad taste can still make good humor. Bad behavior can turn into good publicity: Serena Willams is on the cover of the upcoming ESPN The Magazine Body issue.

But back to the ITF's dilemna, there are other things to consider. The electronic replay system was put into place a few years ago because Serena was clearly being ripped off against Jennifer Capriati.

So Williams has reason to be suspicious of line judges. In this case, the foot fault was obvious.

For all the videos of McEnroe and Connors that 20 Williams fans have sent me, I have yet to see one with threats of physical violence.

And a big thing people keep missing is that at the French Open, Serena Williams felt an opponent had cheated her, and made a threat there, too:

"I'm going to get you in the locker room for that. You don't know me."

Now, Bill Babcock of the ITF, is reportedly calling this a major offense investigation.

If it suspends her from the Australian Open, which she won in January, then Serena Williams will replace champion points on the rankings computer with a big zero. It will be tough to hold the No. 1 spot.

So tennis' establishment, in this racial environment, is all but deciding whether to take away her No. 1 ranking.

Having made a pattern of threats, she needs some sort of punishment with real teeth. But too many people are afraid of her. She is, after all, tennis' meal ticket.

I say they won't have the nerve.

"Little Serena, ah, she can't scare me," Mother Nature says in her squeaky voice in the commercial. "Did she show you her muscles? Mmm-hmm. That's what she always does."

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

No Safety Net as Tennis Weighs Potential Serena Punishment originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:31:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharapova, Jankovic Advance to Quarters at Pan Pacific Open

FanHouse Newswire — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:55:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

TOKYO (AP) -- Maria Sharapova recovered from a slow start Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over compatriot Alisa Kleybanova.

The former top-ranked Russian, who has been struggling since returning from a 10-month injury layoff, will face Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Benesova defeated Taiwan's Chang Kai-chan 7-5, 6-2.

Sharapova, 25th in the world rankings, took control of the match in the second set when she broke Kleybanova three times to open up a 5-0 lead. Kleybanova broke back in the sixth game and held before Sharapova served to win the set.

"She started off really strong," Sharapova said. "I was too slow in the beginning. Nobody had much of a warmup today, we kind of had to warm up in the first few games and she did a much better job of that than me."

Sharapova, who broke the unseeded Kleybanova three more times in the final set before closing out the match, won her first tournament as a professional at the Japan Open in 2003 and won in Tokyo in 2005. With the top six seeds all out of the tournament, she is positioned well for another shot at a title in the $2 million event at Ariake Colosseum.

"Some of the other girls not in the top 10 have played really well here," Sharapova said. "You've got to expect that from every player you play and focus on the task at hand."

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia advanced when Russia's Elena Vesnina was forced to retire with a left thigh injury. Jankovic, the No. 7 seed, was leading 6-1, 3-0 when the third-round match was stopped.

Jankovic is the highest seeded player left in the tournament but said she won't allow that to add to the pressure of winning here for the first time.

"I don't really think about that," Jankovic said. "I just think about my game and what I have to do on the court. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself."

The former world No. 1 will meet France's Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Fourteenth-seeded Bartoli recovered from a set down to defeat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Jankovic has lost to Bartoli twice this year, at the Australian Open and at Stanford.

Magdalena Rybarikova defeated Aleksandra Wozniak 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Sharapova, Jankovic Advance to Quarters at Pan Pacific Open originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why You Won't Find Tennis Great Pete Sampras on Twitter

Elie Seckbach — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Grand Slam, U.S. Open, French Open, WTA, WTA Rankings, FanHouse Exclusive

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

During a time when so many top athletes are addicted to Twitter, tennis great Pete Sampras tells us why you'll never find him sending out updates on the social networking site. Also, hear what this former No. 1 ranked player has to say about the state of tennis today, and why the United States is no longer dominating the sport. Sampras, by the way, is second all-time in earnings, making over $43 million as an active player.

Check out the video after the jump.

Why You Won't Find Tennis Great Pete Sampras on Twitter originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Andy Murray Overtakes Rafael Nadal to Become No. 2 in Rankings

FanHouse Newswire — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:54:00 EST

Filed under: WTA Rankings, ATP Rankings

MONTREAL (AP) -- Andy Murray has overtaken Rafael Nadal in the ATP rankings, becoming the first British man to reach No. 2.

Roger Federer is still No. 1 in Monday's rankings. Murray's Rogers Cup title in Montreal last week moved him up to No. 2 for the first time, while Nadal is now No. 3 after being ranked No. 1 from August 2008 through June 2009.

The only other change in the top 10 this week is Fernando Verdasco's rise from No. 11 to No. 10, supplanting Fernando Gonzalez.

Dinara Safina remains No. 1 in the WTA rankings, followed by No. 2 Serena Williams and No. 3 Venus Williams.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Andy Murray Overtakes Rafael Nadal to Become No. 2 in Rankings originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kim Clijsters' Triumphant Return Showcases Bigger Issues With WTA

Greg Couch — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

Well, that was quick. Just 82 minutes into her comeback, and Kim Clijsters already has drilled one of the hot players in women's tennis, provided a new (renewed?) star and also sent a message with her game that condemned the entire women's tour.

Pretty good work.

"To have won my first match feels really good," she said Monday night, after beating 13th ranked Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-3 in the tour stop in suburban Cincinnati. "I surprised myself a little with the way I started and then I kept fighting and trying to stay focused. I felt good out there."

Why not? There is nothing to stop her from feeling good.

She has been gone for 27 months, leaving because of the physical and mental grind of the tour, and also because she wanted to start a family. So she has a baby (Jada, 18 months) and is traveling with her now, is not match tough, was not in the best of shape just a few months ago, and what did she do?

She beat a player who beat Venus Williams just eight days earlier in the finals of a tournament.

"Without playing a match for two years," Bartoli said, "it is pretty amazing the level she already has right now."

Well, yes, that's one way of looking at it. But what does it say about the women's game when Clijsters, who was No. 1 three and a half years ago, can just walk right back in the door and beat a top player? Or how about Jelena Dokic, gone for a while, surviving her psycho dad, and then getting all the way to the quarters of the Australian Open?

Or a few years ago when Martina Hingis walked back in and started winning?

Or Jennifer Capriati?

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CINCINNATI - AUGUST 10: Kim Clijsters of Belgium serves to Marion Bartoli of France during Day 1 of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open on August 10, 2009 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kim Clijsters

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Dominika Cibulkova, of Slovakia, returns a volley to Peng Shuai, of China, during the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open tennis tournament in Mason, Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009. Peng won 6-3, 6-1. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

Peng Shuai, of China, hits a returns to Dominika Cibulkova, of Slovakia, during the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open tennis tournament in Mason, Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009. Peng won 6-3, 6-1. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

Sara Errani of Italy, hits a volley against Daniela Hantuchova, of Slovakia, during the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open tennis tournament in Mason, Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

Peng Shuai, right, of China, shakes hands with Dominika Cibulkova, left, of Slovakia, after their match at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open tennis tournament in Mason, Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 11 2009. Peng won 6-3, 6-1. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, hits a return against Sara Errani of Italy, during the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open tennis tournament in Mason, Ohio, Tuesday, Aug. 11 2009. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

Lleyton Hewitt, from Australia, returns to Juan Carlos Ferrero, from Spain, during second round of play at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009 in Montreal. Ferrero won 6-1, 6-4. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)

Juan Carlos Ferrero from Spain, celebrates his 6-1, 6-4 victory over Lleyton Hewitt, from Australia, during second round of play at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, Tuesday Aug. 11, 2009 in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)

Juan Carlos Ferrero from Spain, reacts during his 6-1, 6-4 win over Lleyton Hewitt from Australia, during second round of play at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, Tuesday Aug. 11, 2009 in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)

Juan Carlos Ferrero from Spain, celebrates his 6-1, 6-4 victory over Llyeton Hewitt, from Australia, during second round of play at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, Tuesday Aug. 11, 2009 in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)

CINCINNATI - AUGUST 10: Marion Bartoli of France returns a shot to Kim Clijsters of Belgium during Day 1 of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open on August 10, 2009 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Marion Bartoli

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Let me put it this way: The other day I was watching Venus and Serena Williams in an old match on the Tennis Channel. Back when they had the hair beads. They pounded the ball, ran hard for everything, and it hit me that they have not improved one bit since then.

And they are the standards of women's tennis. I mean, women's tennis has not been advancing.

So Clijsters steps away for a few years, comes back at just 26 after getting the itch again when Wimbledon officials asked her to participate in a ceremony for the new roof over Centre Court, and the game has just been sitting there, waiting for her.

Clijsters is going to play in the U.S. Open in a few weeks, and what some people thought would just be a nice story about a familiar face, I think is going to be a story about a woman who will immediately contend for a major title.

Now, I just short-changed her. The truth is, she's a great player. It's not that everyone else stinks. But the sport requires athleticism, timing and quick thinking, and if the game had been advancing, then it should have left her behind a little.

She has the disadvantage of not having a ranking anymore, which means she won't be seeded and will be subjected to luck of the draw. She could get, say, Serena in the first round.

She also is rusty in the fight required in a tight match.

And her nerves. That was always the issue before. She won the 2005 U.S. Open, but she had been known to tighten up in big matches, stop going for things.

But while she should be punished for all of those things, they're just aren't going to be an issue anymore.

Her life simply is not all-tennis, all-the time anymore. Surely, this can't be her identity anymore, as she already is a tennis champ and now is a mother, too.

Clijsters is out here again because she wants to be, rather than going through the grind out of necessity, it's something she's doing for fun.

"I'll see how the whole trip [goes] and which things I have to adjust,'' she said the other day. "It's a new experience for me. I'm traveling with a family. Being back on tour is going to be completely different.''

But look at the difference in tours the past few years. On the men's side, Andy Roddick reached No. 1, but then the game progressed. Roger Federer came in with perfection, and then Rafael Nadal storming the court, and Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic with power or touch.

The game advanced and pushed Roddick down. He's trying to catch up now.

On the women's side? Justine Henin was the best player until she quit last year, and now the game is just waiting for someone.

We always hear these comeback stories as a sign of the player's greatness, but when it keeps happening in the same sport, well, that's a problem.

Clijsters is going to be a test of the top players, such as No. 1 Dinara Safina, and also the up-and-comers, such as Victoria Azarenka.

"I still tried to run and to stay in shape but it was nothing compared to what I was like before, when I was playing,'' Clijsters said, talking about her time away. "Just getting my body back into normal shape after having Jada was tough enough, and then trying to get back into tennis shape ... It takes a long time. You have to take small steps."

Small steps will work fine. It's not a long trip.

E-mail me at gregcouch09@aol.com

Kim Clijsters' Triumphant Return Showcases Bigger Issues With WTA originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharapova's Return a Big Doodle

Greg Couch — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:36:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

The tennis industry's attempt to clone Maria Sharapova has been a big flop, so it was the best news possible for the women's tour when the real Maria Sharapova posted this on her Web site: "I know it has been a long time, but I wanted my next doodle to be the one my fans were waiting for.''

And the doodle is? "I am very happy to report that I will make my singles return to the tour in Warsaw, Poland, the week of May 18.''

Thank ... God.

Let me say it again. Thank God.

Something to talk about, something to watch on the women's tour. Not too many years ago, the women's game had different styles, shapes, looks, names. The men's was mostly one boring blah. Now that has flipped.

And the women's game has started to become a little too much about agents finding the best looking girl who can smack a forehand, and then hoping to market her to the top of the rankings.

Somehow, looks and style have blended their way into the actual sport.

So now, the sport is loaded with attractive women who play the same way, swinging as hard as possible without strategy, and have names that look an awful lot alike to many Americans, ending in o-v-a.

Bo-ring.

Latest Tennis Images

Alisa Kleybanova from Russia reacts during her match against Venus Williams from U.S. at the Madrid Open Tennis in the Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, May 12, 2009.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

Alisa Kleybanova from Russia returns the ball to U.S.A's Venus Williams during the Madrid Open Tennis in the Caja Magica, Madrid, Tuesday May 12, 2009.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

Alisa Kleybanova from Russia reacts during her match against U.S. Venus Williams at the Madrid Open Tennis in the Caja Magica, Madrid, Tuesday May 12, 2009.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

Alisa Kleybanova from Russia returns the ball to U.S.A's Venus Williams during the Madrid Open Tennis in the Caja Magica, Madrid, Tuesday May 12, 2009.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

U.S.A's Venus Williams reacts during her match against Alisa Kleybanova from Russia at the Madrid Open Tennis in the Caja Magica, Madrid, Tuesday May 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

U.S.A's Venus Williams returns the ball to Alisa Kleybanova from Russia during the Madrid Open Tennis in the Caja Magica, Madrid, Tuesday May 12, 2009.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

U.S.A's Venus Williams reacts during her match against Alisa Kleybanova from Russia at the Madrid Open Tennis in the Caja Magica, Madrid, Tuesday May 12, 2009.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

U.S.A's Venus Williams returns the ball to Alisa Kleybanova from Russia during the Madrid Open Tennis in the Caja Magica, Madrid, Tuesday May 12, 2009.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

U.S. Venus Williams reacts during her match against Alisa Kleybanova from Russia at the Madrid Open Tennis in the Caja Magica, Madrid, Tuesday May 12, 2009.(AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

Now, back from nine months off (except for a test-run doubles event) for shoulder surgery, Sharap... well... o-v-a, is back, a beautiful woman who just swings as hard as she can. Basically, she's doing what plenty of the others are doing, too.

But it works for her somehow. She's a superstar, a crossover athlete accepted to Americans, which translates to sponsors. Last year, Forbes Magazine said she's the world's highest paid women's athlete, with prize money and endorsements totaling $26 million a year. Serena Williams was next at $14 million.

The truth is, Sharapova isn't as good, or as accomplished as Williams.

She has a tendency to lose just before she should. But she has been ranked No. 1 and has won Wimbledon.

She is the legitimate Anna Kournikova.

So Sharapova is a model in several ways. The Sharapova clones, though, can't match her star power on- or off-court.

"My family and coach have been a tremendous part of this comeback,'' she doodled, "and I think it's important to acknowledge that without their drive, daily laughs, and endless belief in my ability, I would be sipping a pina colada on a deserted island (not that there's something wrong with that, but playing tennis is just so much more exciting at this stage of my life).''

No one will be happier than the British media. Many of them will dress properly for Wimbledon, go to the most proper event in the game, and then spend two weeks seeing if they can get a picture uncovering a new mole anywhere on Sharapova's body.

The women's tour was already starting to lose it before she left. It still has the Williams sisters, with Serena ranked No. 2 and Venus No. 3. They have star power and the power game.

But Serena is in a serious slump, and she embarrassed herself when she scoffed at being dropped to No. 2, saying that "quite frankly'' everyone knew she was the best. The next day, she lost in her first match of the Italian Open.

Danira Safina is No. 1, without star power. No one has been able to hang onto the top ranking or stand out in any way as the game is loaded with players who look alike and play alike.

Early in the decade, the game had a fresher Williams sisters story, Sharapova, the smarts of Martina Hingis, the guts on court and off-court soap opera of Jennifer Capriati, the amazing backhand of the best player, Justine Henin, the fight of Kim Clijsters. And of course, whatever it was Kournikova offered.

There was just so much diversity in so many ways.

Now, Sharapova returns. Clijsters is coming back and will surely reach the top 10 again, as the game has not improved one inch. Jelena Dokic, another fighter who retired, is working her way back.

Paging Jennifer Capriati.

Sharapova will struggle at first, especially at the French Open. Clay isn't her best surface. But if the shoulder holds up under her serve, it'll come back.

"Although it has not been an easy process these last few months, I really believe it's made me a much stronger person in so many areas of my life professionally and personally,'' she wrote. "There are so many things you learn while you are limited (from) something you love doing.

One of those things is patience, not my best virtue, but certainly one of my better ones now.''

Women's tennis has waited as long as it could.

Sharapova's Return a Big Doodle originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Tue, 12 May 2009 09:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Serena's Lack of Drive Betrays Her Talent

Greg Couch — Wed, 06 May 2009 11:39:00 EST

Filed under: WTA Rankings

Quite frankly, Serena Williams just embarrassed herself. But it's more than that, really. It's time for everyone to stop giving her a pass.

"We all know who the real number one is," she said Monday, talking about the computer rankings, which recently dropped her to No. 2.

"Quite frankly, I'm the best in the world."

Quite frankly, it was about 24 hours later that she lost her first match at the Italian Open, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 to Patty Schnyder, a career bridesmaid. This is Muhammad Ali bragging how great he is, and then getting knocked out by a sparring partner.

And Williams has lost her last three matches.

Is this it for her? Is it the end of her dominance in tennis?

Of course not. Unless she doesn't bother to dominate again.

That has always been the deal with Williams, and the apologists are always out there for her. This time it will be that she has had some injuries, it was her first match of the year on clay, Schnyder isn't that bad.

Please. The deal is this: Williams does not feel a sense of responsibility toward tennis. And at just 27, she is losing her fight. Except during the majors, when she cares enough to win. So she does.

The thing is, the stuff she said about herself on Monday was all true.

She is the best in the world, by far. But she only cares enough to play like it for four tournaments a year. She has won the past two majors.

Danira Safina is the new No. 1, but she barely even factors into this, other than having to defend herself, her worthiness, from Williams.

She can say this because she won many more Grand Slams than me," said Safina, 23, who has never won a major. "But she's also older than me, so she has more experience. So let's see when I'm her age how many titles I have and then we can say.

"It's not luck. Nobody gave it to me. I played two Grand Slam finals and last year I won four titles. This didn't come out of the sky."

No, it came from Safina always being there, always playing at her best.

The rankings are based on a computer system that compiles a player's results over the past 12 months. Safina has nowhere near the ability that Williams has. But this ranking is the result of caring enough to earn it.

On Monday, someone asked Williams which player she fears most:

"Probably myself," she said. "I always beat myself."

And that's true, too. She beats herself by not showing up, not fully anyway.

What other champion arrives for the fight so poorly prepared so often? What other champion fails so easily?

Quite frankly, this is not the behavior of a champion. Champions fight to the end, fight for everything.

This isn't about any of her endless injuries. And it's not a slump, either. It's a superstar not bothering.

Two years ago she showed up at the Australian Open fat. And she won anyway.

She's just that good.

But that isn't enough. Her sport needs her now. Maria Sharapova is out hurt, and women's tennis suddenly finds itself lacking star power.

But Williams' mind trails off. Maybe it's asking too much for her to be all things.

I used to think she could be a great new model for what Miss America could be: smart, strong, beautiful, fit, successful, well-spoken. She has everything. It all had to come from hard work, too.

But Williams won her first major 10 years ago, and since then has been in a cycle of dominating then disappearing. Then dominating. Then disappearing. Somewhere in there she went from a tennis-playing celebrity to a celebrity tennis player, just loving to be seen. She designs her own dresses, appears on TV shows, dates celebrities.

I once talked to her father, Richard Williams, about this.

"I have never taught my kids to be 100 percent committed to tennis," he said. "There's a lot beyond the baseline. If you don't learn that, you are doomed. It's kind of sad that people don't think that way."

He was talking specifically about Chris Evert, who had written a letter to Serena in Tennis magazine, begging her to stay focused. And it's true that we see tennis players getting so myopic sometimes that they burn out and go away.

Williams already has provided superstar power to her sport, but her balance has to include more than eight weeks of interest in her game per year.

"As you all know, I never stop working," she wrote on her website recently. "I am like a machine. Before I depart for Europe on Saturday, I am promoting my Signature Statement Collection through HSN. The line features a boyfriend sweater, jewelry, bags, & much more."

Quite frankly, she doesn't seem to respect the game as much as her position.

Serena's Lack of Drive Betrays Her Talent originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Wed, 06 May 2009 11:39:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Serena Should Be No. 1 and Much More

Greg Couch — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:44:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

Blame the system if you want. It is all wrong. But Dinara Safina is now the No. 1 ranked women's tennis player, and no, she's not the best women's player.

Psycho. That's how Serena Williams, the best player, described it.

"I just ...'' she said. "I can't compute it.''

No, a computer does that. Tennis has its own little BCS-type controversy now, with computers trying to measure greatness. The difference is that the college football can't pick a champ without computers. Tennis does it with tournaments.

For Safina, this is the spoiling of a moment when a young woman should be reaching her dreams. Her brother, Marat Safin, once was No. 1, too.

"There's no question that while I am very proud of my results over the past year, I would have liked to reach this achievement in a different manner,'' Safina said. "I hope to prove to everyone over the coming months that I merit the honor of being world No. 1.''

When the dream comes, is that really what you say?

She knows.

This is a shared blame, though. The computer system is wrong. But frankly, I give even more blame to Williams.

"Well, I mean, (Safina's) really a good girl and she is a nice person,'' Williams said earlier this month, when she barely managed to hang on to her No. 1 ranking. "You know, I just have the utmost respect for not only her, but everyone on this tour. I just think it's crazy that I can just be so consistent throughout the year, and last year, and barely be No. 1. I mean, winning two of the last four Grand Slams and getting into the finals of three of the last four.''

Was the word consistent in there? Really, Serena? The rankings are on a points system covering the past 52 weeks. You do well this week, and it erases what you did on the same week last year. And you get more points for doing well in majors.

Well, in the past 52 weeks, Williams has won the Australian Open and the U.S. Open, and reached the Wimbledon final, where she lost to sister Venus. Safina has never won a major.

Never.

But what about Williams' first-round loss in Stuttgart? And Marbella, Spain? Williams is the most dominant, best player in the world, but in the past 52 weeks, while she has won two majors, she has won a total of just three tournaments. When you discard the majors, she has won just one tournament, and reached the final in one other, where she was clobbered.

Look, Williams deserves to be No. 1. And every player on tour thinks of her that way. But the rankings reward consistency, too, and Safina has provided more of that than Williams. Safina won four tournaments in those past 52 weeks, and reached three other finals. She beat Serena in Berlin. She lost in the finals at the Australian and the French.

So the debate in tennis now is whether a player should be No. 1 without having won a major. Roger Federer has openly wondered. And the answer is no. Tennis is based around majors, four Super Bowls for the sport.

Just let the computer run its numbers and also require a major title.

It's not that hard to program in.

But to me, the bigger issue is Williams. She is everything tennis needs: power, success, beauty, grace and manners. And yet she never seems to fully commit.

I always find myself wanting more from Williams. She can be superstar, role model, hero. It's all right there inside of her.

Unfair? Of course it's unfair.

In fact, here's how unfair: On Monday, I talked with Monica Seles who told the story of how her life fell into shambles, complete with unstoppable eating binges, mostly because there was no balance in her life when she competed. Now here's Williams, living the life she feels comfortable with, in balance.

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Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan hits a return againts David Ferrer of Spain during ther match of the Barcelona Open tennis tournament on April 21, 2009 in Barcelona. Ferrer won 6-3,3-6,6-1. AFP PHOTO/JOSEP LAGO (Photo credit should read JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images)

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David Ferrer of Spain hits a return against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan during ther match of the Barcelona Open tennis tournament on April 21, 2009 in Barcelona. Ferrer won 6-3,3-6,6-1. AFP PHOTO/JOSEP LAGO (Photo credit should read JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images)

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David Ferrer of Spain hits a return against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan during ther match of the Barcelona Open tennis tournament on April 21, 2009 in Barcelona. AFP PHOTO/JOSEP LAGO (Photo credit should read JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

David Ferrer of Spain returns the ball to Mikhail Kukushkin of Russia during their Barcelona Open Tennis tournament in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 21, 2009. Ferrer won 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Mikhail Kukushkin of Russia reacts against David Ferrer of Spain during their Barcelona Open Tennis tournament in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, April 21, 2009. Ferrer won 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

And I'm critical? Well, others have been, too. Remember Chris Evert wrote her a letter once urging her to commit. But it just seems that Williams loves the life of celebrity too much.

So Safina gives total commitment to the game and the computer rewards her.

But maybe this is all we can get from Williams. Maybe a 100 percent commitment to tennis, and to fitness, would force her right out of the game. And as for the computer, well, even Andre Agassi, at one point, finally gave up on the rankings and decided to focus on majors only.

But it just seems that Williams, and Venus, too, have so much more to give. And tennis, finally starting to regain a little popularity, can use it.

The women's game has been trying to find its way since Justine Henin quit last year. Since then, the computer has punched up five different No. 1 players: Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Williams and now Safina.

Sharapova is still out hurt. Ivanovic couldn't handle the crown. The computer is just searching for someone to dominate, someone to lead the game.

Williams is the answer, and has to be. But the tour doesn't have to change the computer to make sure Williams is No. 1. She has the power to do it herself.

Serena Should Be No. 1 and Much More originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hobbling Serena Falls to 19-Year-Old

FanHouse Newswire — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) -- Rising from her chair following the final changeover, Serena Williams glanced at her skirt and brushed away some lint, trying to look good in defeat.

It wasn't easy. A thigh injury and erratic strokes were too much to overcome, and the top-ranked Williams was upset 6-3, 6-1 Saturday by 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Williams said her left thigh began bothering her in the quarterfinals, and she also was bothered by a sprained ankle.

"It was a little difficult moving to the left and a little bit to the right," she said.

With a chuckle, she added, "A little forward was also difficult."

The loss ended Williams' reign on Key Biscayne. She was bidding for a record sixth women's title and her third in a row. Instead, she fell to 38-2 in the tournament since 2001, with the only other loss to her sister Venus.

"I'm not that bummed, because I feel like there's next year," Williams said. "And then there's the year after and the year after."

The result heralded the emergence of Azarenka of Belarus, who trains in Scottsdale, Ariz., and will improve to a career-high No. 8 next week.

Serena Williams Snapshots

Serena Williams reacts after losing a point to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus during the women's singles finals at the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament, Saturday, April 4, 2009, in Key Biscayne, Fla. Azarenka defeated Williams 6-3, 6-1. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Victoria Azarenka, of Belarus, returns to Serena Williams during the women's singles final at the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament in Key Biscayne, Fla., Saturday, April 4, 2009. Azarenka won 6-3, 6-1. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, poses with her trophy as confetti falls after defeating Serena Williams 6-3, 6-1 in the women's singles finals at the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament, Saturday, April 4, 2009, in Key Biscayne, Fla. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Television personality Star Jones claps during the women's singles finals between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus at the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament Saturday, April 4, 2009 in Key Biscayne, Fla. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

KEY BISCAYNE, FL - APRIL 04: Serena Williams pose with her trophy after the women's final of the Sony Ericsson Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on April 4, 2009 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams

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KEY BISCAYNE, FL - APRIL 04: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus returns a shot against Serena Williams during the women's final match of the Sony Ericsson Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on April 4, 2009 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Victoria Azarenka

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KEY BISCAYNE, FL - APRIL 04: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Serena Williams pose with their trophies after the women's final of the Sony Ericsson Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on April 4, 2009 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Victoria Azarenka;Serena Williams

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KEY BISCAYNE, FL - APRIL 04: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates after defeating Serena Williams to win the women's final of the Sony Ericsson Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on April 4, 2009 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Victoria Azarenka

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Novak Djokovic will bid for his second Key Biscayne men's title Sunday against Andy Murray, the tournament's first British finalist.

Williams played with her thigh taped, and even when she wasn't on the move, her strokes lacked consistency. She served poorly and had trouble putting Azarenka's 90 mph serves into play.

Williams limped at times and said she considered pulling out before the match.

"I don't like to not play," she said. "I gave the effort that I could give today. That's all I could give."

Azarenka quickly realized Williams wasn't 100 percent and took advantage with pinpoint strokes to the corners.

"You could see the leg tape right away," Azarenka said. "But I wasn't really paying attention too much, because I had to play my game, and I had to keep her moving as much as I could."

Williams led 3-2 before Azarenka won five consecutive games to take control. The teenager also won the final five games and closed out the biggest win of her career when Williams sailed a backhand long. Azarenka tossed away her racket, covered her face and hopped to the net.

Her voice shook during the trophy ceremony.

"I'm sorry. I think I forget my English right now," she told the crowd. "It was such an honor for me to play Serena. She's the greatest player for me. I was so happy to be able to play her and win."

For Azarenka, it was a big improvement on their match in the fourth round at the Australian Open in January, when she became sick to her stomach beforehand and lost.

Azarenka said she battled nerves Saturday, but they betrayed her only with an occasional double-fault. She was so poised serving in the final game that when she challenged a call and was advised the replay system had malfunctioned, she smiled and won the next point.

"She has really, really improved," Williams said. "I actually look forward to playing her again so I can play a little better, and obviously do better. She's going to be a really good player."

Azarenka was the steadier player in rallies, often punctuating her shots with a two-tone shriek worthy of Maria Sharapova. A subdued Williams remained impassive throughout, even as the match slipped away, in contrast with Roger Federer's racket-breaking outburst that stunned the stadium Friday.

Williams dropped serve five times and committed unforced errors on 34 of the 64 points she lost. Despite reaching the final, she was erratic throughout the tournament: She lost five games in a row a staggering five times.

Despite the defeat, she'll retain the No. 1 ranking for a 10th consecutive week.

Azarenka, who won her first tour title three months ago at Brisbane, improved to 23-2 this year. She grew up in Minsk and befriended NHL goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, who invited her to the United States to train. She moved to Scottsdale and has lived there with Khabibulin and his wife since 2005.

Azarenka said her title would be big news in Belarus, where the most famous tennis player has been men's doubles specialist Max Mirnyi, who teamed with Andy Ram to win the doubles title Saturday. She was expecting a congratulatory phone call from President Alexander Lukashenko, whom she met when she was in grade school.

"He came to one of the tennis tournaments, and I was presenting flowers to him," she said.

Azarenka won $700,000, more than the men's first prize of $605,500. The two tours offer the same total prize money but distribute it differently.

"I can spend it in one day," Azarenka said. "I'm not allowed to drink in the States yet, but I'll definitely go celebrate somewhere."

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Hobbling Serena Falls to 19-Year-Old originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Serena Tops Venus in 20th Showdown

FanHouse Newswire — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 03:00:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) -- Serena Williams retained the No. 1 world ranking by being the best player in her family Thursday night.

Williams defeated older sister Venus 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open. It was their 20th sibling showdown, and each has won 10 times.

Serena needed to reach the final to retain the top ranking she has held since Feb. 2.

"I'm excited," Serena said. "I was thinking I'd love to remain No. 1. I think I was more happy about that than winning the match."

If Venus had won, Serena would have been supplanted in next week's rankings by No. 2 Dinara Safina.

"Even though she's my sister, I'm still here to win," Venus said. "I can't give anyone anything. So I'm disappointed that I lost tonight, whether or not she kept the ranking."

No. 1 Rafael Nadal lost in the men's quarterfinals to 20-year-old Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3). The upset delighted a partisan crowd that included many transplants from Argentina.

"Wonderful for the crowd," Nadal said. "Terrible for me."

The No. 6-seeded del Potro's opponent Friday will be No. 4 Andy Murray, who beat No. 8 Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-2.

Serena Williams will try for a record sixth Key Biscayne title Saturday against 19-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. Azarenka became sick to her stomach before losing a fourth-round match against Williams at the Australian Open in January.

Serena raced to a 4-1 lead in the final set and broke serve for the sixth time in the last game. When she closed out her victory, she hopped in delight, raised a fist and shouted "Yes!" She then met her sister at the net with a handshake and slap on the back.

"It never gets easy," Serena said. "She's the toughest player I think on the tour, besides me of course."

As often happens, Williams vs. Williams was an aesthetic disappointment. Both players repeatedly went for winners, which resulted in many errors and few long rallies. Fans were subdued, with the majority heading back to the mainland by the third set.

The players were subdued, too, wearing impassive expressions and refraining from any demonstrative reactions to points - until the final game.

With Venus serving at 3-5, Serena hit a backhand winner and punched the air, then repeated the sequence five points later to reach match point.

The sisters say they're close, and the match offered evidence. Serena won 82 points, Venus 81. Serena had 38 unforced errors, Venus 40. Serena hit 19 winners, Venus 22.

One big difference: Venus twice double-faulted on break point.

"It was a well-fought match," Venus said. "My serve wasn't going as well as I wanted. But she brought a lot of balls back and played tough."

Venus, a three-time Key Biscayne champion, fell to 15-2 this year. Serena has won the tournament the past two years and is 52-5 in the event, with one loss since 2001 - to her sister.

After losing her past two meetings with Venus, Serena said she was glad to pull even in the rivalry.

"I would love to be in the lead again," she said.

Del Potro had lost all nine sets in his four previous matches against Nadal, but the Argentine was buoyed by a home-court advantage, with many fans singing "Del-Po" between points.

"They helped me a lot," del Potro said.

The 6-foot-6 Del Potro showed patience in long rallies and used his looping forehand to keep Nadal deep as their three-hour match built to a dramatic finish.

"I beat him with my mind and with my game," del Potro said. "When we played long points, I was dominating every time."

Nadal was up two breaks in the final set at 3-love, but del Potro climbed back into the match by winning 12 of the next 14 points.

"I played really bad all the time," Nadal said. "When I have it 3-love in the third, I played worse. It was amazing disaster."

When Nadal lost serve for the second consecutive time for 3-all, del Potro let loose a primal scream. There was more noise to come.

In the 12th game of the set, Nadal saved three match points, two with aces. He caught a break in the tiebreaker when his return skipped along the net cord before clearing it for a winner and a 3-2 lead.

That was the last point Nadal won. Del Potro hit three consecutive winners to go up 6-3, and on the final point Nadal put a backhand in the net as the crowd erupted one last time.

"I beat the No. 1," del Potro said. "If you don't play unbelievable, you cannot beat him."

Nadal is a six-time Grand Slam champion, and he won at Indian Wells two weeks ago, but his best finish at Key Biscayne was as the runner-up in 2005 and 2008.

"I didn't play well during this tournament," Nadal said. "I didn't adapt well. I played really bad."

Azarenka kept waving clenched fists during her semifinal, as if there was any doubt she meant business. Celebrating every important point she won, the teenager earned her biggest victory yet.

"It's the first final in such a big tournament for me," the No. 11-seeded Azarenka said. "It's all kind of an experience for me. It's a new thing that I'm going to be introduced to on how to handle."

Azarenka closed out the victory on her fourth match point when Kuznetsova netted a backhand to end the 2-hour, 40-minute endurance test played in 85-degree sunshine.

"I'm just so happy that I found energy in that fighting moment," Azarenka said. "That was kind of adrenaline, I would say, on the last games."

Azarenka, who trains in Scottsdale, Ariz., is ranked a career-best 10th after reaching the semifinals at Indian Wells two weeks ago.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Serena Williams Snapshots

KEY BISCAYNE, FL - APRIL 02: Serena Williams celebrates after a point against Venus Williams at the Sony Ericsson Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on April 2, 2009 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams

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KEY BISCAYNE, FL - APRIL 02: Serena Williams celebrates after winning her semifinal match against Venus Williams at the Sony Ericsson Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on April 2, 2009 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Michael Heiman/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams

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KEY BISCAYNE, FL - APRIL 02: Enrique Iglesias and girlfriend Anna Kournikova watch as Venus Williams plays her semifinal match against Serena Williams at the Sony Ericsson Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on April 2, 2009 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Enrique Iglesias;Anna Kournikova

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Serena Tops Venus in 20th Showdown originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Fri, 03 Apr 2009 03:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Slammin' Serena Leaves Safina Feeling Like a Ballboy in Aussie Open Final

Tom Herrera — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 07:00:00 EST

Filed under: Grand Slam, Australian Open, WTA Rankings

Serena Williams may have just redefined the word "domination" as far as tournament finals go. In an absolute thrashing, Serena routed Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 Saturday to win the Australian Open -- her 10th career Grand Slam title. With the victory, she returns to the No. 1 ranking, and we might as well just stamp her name on Melbourne Park for now. After all, she's won four out of the last seven women's championships there.

Safina was simply overwhelmed from the start. She double-faulted three times in the first game -- including on break point -- and Williams finished the first set off in a smoking 22 minutes. Serena had 23 winners and just seven unforced errors overall, winning more than twice as many points as her 22-year-old opponent.

"I didn't even spend one hour on the court," said Safina as she apologized to the crowd. "Serena played just too good - I was just a ballboy out there today." It was the most lopsided Australian Open women's final since 1962 (other than matches that ended early due to illness or injury).

So, yeah, it's not going to take much for Federer and Nadal to top this one.

Serena faced questions at the end of 2008 due to nagging injuries that forced her to retire from a few tourneys. But following this win and her U.S. Open performance last year, there's no doubt which Williams is on top of the tennis world again.

Capping off a dazzling week in which she became the all-time leading money winner in women's sports, Williams is now just the fifth woman ever to win four or more Australian titles.

Serena Williams Snapshots

Serena Williams of the United States speaks during the awarding ceremony after beating Russia's Dinara Safina, right, in the Women's singles final match against at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Rick Stevens)

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 31: Serena Williams of the United States of America celebrates winning a point in her women's final match against Dinara Safina of Russia during day thirteen of the 2009 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 31, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Lucas Dawson/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 31: Serena Williams of the United States of America celebrates after winning her women's final match against Dinara Safina of Russia during day thirteen of the 2009 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 31, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Lucas Dawson/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 31: Serena Williams of the United States of America celebrates after winning her women's final match against Dinara Safina of Russia during day thirteen of the 2009 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 31, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams

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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 31: Serena Williams of the United States of America celebrates after winning her women's final match against Dinara Safina of Russia during day thirteen of the 2009 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 31, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Serena Williams

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Serena Williams of the United States, left, holds the trophy next to runner-up Russia's Dinara Safina during the awarding ceremony after the Women's singles final match against at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009. (AP Photo/Rick Stevens)

Slammin' Serena Leaves Safina Feeling Like a Ballboy in Aussie Open Final originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sat, 31 Jan 2009 07:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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