Tennis FanHouse

Wickmayer Suspended for Agassi's Sins

Greg Couch — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

It's amazing how much "no comment" can say. I've made a pet project of the curious case of Yanina Wickmayer, the young tennis player banned for a year from the tour for a doping offense even though she never missed a doping test and never failed one.

Wickmayer is being punished for Andre Agassi's sins. That's how tennis is trying to save face, by crushing a 20-year old budding star who seems to have committed, at worst, a tiny infraction.

I've spent the past few weeks calling and emailing the doping agencies and governing bodies involved. You name the initials, VDT, WADA, WTA, ITF.

Most of them are B.S. In the end, this isn't even about Wickmayer anymore. It's about doping tests and steroids in sports in general. We need watchers to keep an eye on the cheating athletes.

But who is watching the watchers?

Here's what Koen Umans, spokesman for the Flemish anti-doping council (VDT) in Belgium that banned Wickmayer, wrote in an email response to a request for details of her case and a copy of the 20-page report on it:

"As for reason the procedure is not yet finalized at all (appeals are introduced at different levels), it shouldn't be correct to comment on the factuals as a spokesman of the court involved."

A spokesperson for the World Anti-Doping Agency said, "WADA must refrain from commenting on pending cases in order to protect the integrity of this review."

Integrity. Interesting.

The thing is, agencies have already commented. VDT banned Wickmayer and said the punishment was just. Those are such strong comments that a young woman who just had her breakthrough, reaching the U.S. Open semis, had to pack up and leave a tournament. Imagine the humiliation.

Her agents had been close to lining up endorsements, too.

Those talks are on hold now.

Why didn't she inform the doping-testers where she would be, as rules require? That sounds bad.

She has an answer. She blames the Flemish anti-doping agency, and now, no comment from the agency.

We've heard so many ridiculous excuses for failed tests that no one believes athletes anymore. At the Turin Olympics, members of the Austrian ski team fled the country in fear of WADA testers and the law.

One official was thrown into an insane asylum. How great watching cheats running.

Wickmayer's name was smeared, her career seriously damaged and her reputation assaulted. And now the agencies won't explain? I've always been a fan of WADA. But Wickmayer's story passes the smell test. And WADA's and Flemish agency's silence casts the suspicion on them.

I'm starting to feel bad for the guy in the insane asylum.

Wickmayer's name was smeared, her career seriously damaged and her reputation assaulted. And now the agencies won't explain?

Look, if an agency is going to serve as judge and jury, then it has to be accountable for its paper trail. Open. Transparent.

"All the letters that I had to sign for upon receipt," Wickmayer said, "were sent back to the Flemish Anti-Doping Agency, meaning that they did know that I had never received them."

This is Wickmayer's case. She didn't report her whereabouts three times in 18 months.

Under WADA rules, the top 50 players have to tell testers where they'll be for an hour each day. Wickmayer wasn't in the top 50 yet, but countries can toughen-up those standards. The Flemish agency decided the top 50 wasn't enough.

So Wickmayer, from Belgium, had to account for her whereabouts. But someone needed to tell Wickmayer.

Here's her claim: She never reported her whereabouts because she didn't know she was supposed to. The Flemish agency sent her a letter in November or December of 2008 to inform her of her requirements, but she was training in Switzerland. The letter was sent via certified mail, meaning it wasn't delivered because no one was there to sign for it.

So it went back to VDT.

In February of 2009, she said, other players mentioned the whereabouts rule to her, so she wrote to the VDT to ask about it.

"I received an email back, which included a login and did not include any information about the one failed update I had already missed, without knowing that this system even exists ..." she said.

Strike one.

The password the agency gave her never worked, she said. And after coming back from the U.S. seven weeks later, she called officials, who said they had to reset her password. What they didn't tell her: strike two.

For strike three, she misunderstood the form online and filled it in wrong.

So she has some blame here. For one, why did she wait seven weeks to mention that her password wasn't working?

One official said that when an athlete gives an address to a sports federation, that athlete is responsible for finding a way to receive mail sent to that address.

But when the agency got the letter back, couldn't it have called Wickmayer? Sent an email? Called an agent?

Umans said there would be a press conference in Brussels this week, and I asked if it would include details on how Wickmayer was informed.

Also, where can I get the 20-page report?

"We won't comment on particular cases," Umans wrote back. And, "We are not allowed and will not publish the verdict. I repeat it has been handed only to the parties involved."

Here's a timeline: A prosecutor in the case suggested that Wickmayer get a stern warning. Then Agassi humiliated tennis by admitting he lied his way out of a failed crystal meth test. Then Wickmayer was banned for a year.

Everything she says would be so easy to check. The Flemish agency must know whether its letters were signed for. Records could show whether officials called Wickmayer or sent emails.

One of Wickmayer's people told me the report says she's not suspected of doping or hiding from tests, but instead of technical errors.

Usually, it's the people with something to hide who say "No comment."

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

Wickmayer Suspended for Agassi's Sins originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Suspended Players Wickmayer, Malisse Appeal WADA Rulings

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:03:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, ATP

BRUSSELS (AP) -- Suspended Belgian tennis players Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse are launching appeals with European authorities challenging the legality of the whereabouts rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Victory at the European Commission in Brussels and the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights could force WADA to change its rules on when and where athletes can be tested out of competition.

"The indispensable fight against doping is not the issue here. The problem is the lack of proportionality of certain measures," their lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The athletes are already appealing their one-year bans before the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Greg Couch: WADA Punishing Wickmayer for Agassi's Sin

Dupont was the lawyer of Belgian soccer player Jean-Marc Bosman, and secured the 1995 ruling of the European Court of Justice that forced FIFA to drastically change its transfer rules and limits on foreign players.

The 20-year-old Wickmayer, a U.S. Open semifinalist, was banned for failing three times to correctly report where she could be found for testing. The 16th-ranked player said she never missed a test or tested positive.

Malisse, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2002, missed one test and twice failed to report his whereabouts. The 29-year-old says the one-year suspension could end his career.

"No one has accused them of doping, yet their careers are shattered," Dupont said.

"The European Union treaty gives them the right to freely ply their trade and play throughout Europe. This right is now disproportionally violated," he said, explaining the complaints to EU authorities.

The controversial "whereabouts" rule is a cornerstone of WADA policy. It requires elite athletes to make themselves available for out-of-competition testing for one hour a day, 365 days a year.

Under the rules, athletes must give three months' notice of where and when they can be located for testing. The information is registered online and can be updated by e-mail or text message.

If an athlete misses three out-of-competition tests or fails three times to register where he will be for anti-doping tests, sanctions can be imposed.

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Yanina Wickmayer Photos

Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer wipes a tear as she addresses the media at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009. U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer was suspended for one year by a Belgian anti-doping tribunal on Thursday for failing to report her whereabouts to anti-doping officials three times. Wickmayer has denied any wrongdoing and said on her Web site she planned to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.(AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Yanina Wickmayer Photos

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer cries as she addresses the media at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009. U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer was suspended for one year by a Belgian anti-doping tribunal on Thursday for failing to report her whereabouts to anti-doping officials three times. Wickmayer has denied any wrongdoing and said on her Web site she planned to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer addresses the media at the King Baudouin stadium in Brussels, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009. U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer was suspended for one year by a Belgian anti-doping tribunal on Thursday for failing to report her whereabouts to anti-doping officials three times. Wickmayer has denied any wrongdoing and said on her Web site she planned to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.(AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

Belgian tennis star Yanina Wickmayer speaks during a press conference, at the Koning Boudewijn Stadium - Stade Roi Baudouin, in Brussels, on November 12, 2009. Wickmayer, who burst onto the scene in September with a run into the US Open semi-finals, was handed one-year bans by the Flemish Doping Tribunal (VDT) on November 3, 2009. AFP PHOTO / BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM (Photo credit should read DIRK WAEM/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

Belgian tennis star Yanina Wickmayer gestures during a press conference, at the Koning Boudewijn Stadium - Stade Roi Baudouin, in Brussels, on November 12, 2009. Wickmayer, who burst onto the scene in September with a run into the US Open semi-finals, was handed one-year bans by the Flemish Doping Tribunal (VDT) on November 3, 2009. AFP PHOTO / BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM (Photo credit should read DIRK WAEM/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

Many athletes contend the system violates their right to privacy, while WADA says the fight against doping benefits all athletes and supersedes that right.

WADA says it is necessary to test athletes out of competition because many banned substances are undetectable by the time a competition starts. The agency instituted the "whereabouts" rule to catch athletes who were doping between competitions.

Wickmayer has said she was never properly informed how the system works and is now being punished like a doping cheat without ever having tested positive.

"They are taking my work of 10 years away. Just like that. Just because I didn't fill in (my whereabouts)," she said on Thursday. After the one-year suspension, Wickmayer will have lost her ranking and will be forced to start over.

Wickmayer was suspended last week by a Belgian anti-doping tribunal, which based its decision on the WADA rules.

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.

Suspended Players Wickmayer, Malisse Appeal WADA Rulings originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ITF Let Golden Star Serena Off Hook

Greg Couch — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:24:00 EST

Filed under: WTA

The International Tennis Federation has completed its two-month "investigation'' into Serena Williams' f-bomb-laced, threatening tirade toward a line judge on worldwide TV at the U.S. Open. Her "punishment'' should come Monday or Tuesday.

I would give just about anything to see the notes from this "investigation.'' The quote-marks show that this was just a theoretical thing, anyway. As in, it took two months to find "justice.''

This whole thing has been a sham. Will Williams be suspended from the next major, the Australian Open in January?

"I don't think [an Australian Open ban] would make much sense, because it would penalize the people handing out the punishment,'' ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti said. "For the grand slam committee to exclude her from a grand slam doesn't seem likely.

More From Couch: Serena Is No. 1, and Deserves It

"A significant financial penalty makes more sense. But it has to be significant enough for the fans [to feel justice was served].''

It's rare for one of these bureaucratic-b.s. organizations to admit so freely how small and weak it is. So the ITF, which governs the major championships, is not expected to vote to suspend Williams from a major because it would hurt the ITF's cash flow.

The ITF isn't even coming to a conclusion, isn't telling you what it thinks here, whether Williams has already been punished enough. Right and wrong never mattered here. So what has it spent these past two months doing? Everyone involved in the "investigation'' was easily accessible. And the whole thing happened on worldwide TV.

This is what they've been doing: talking among themselves to figure out what they can do to punish her to make fans happy without hurting themselves.

The grand slam committee still has to vote on grand slam administrator Bill Babcock's recommendations. But this seems like a done deal.

Frankly, I'm not even as worked up over her tirade as a lot of people are. But it's just so pathetic when a governing body finds its self-interests bigger than the thing it's governing.

And what timing. Tennis has spent the past few weeks agonizing over what Andre Agassi said in his book, that he regularly used crystal meth in 1997 as a player, failed a drug test and talked his way out of it with a flimsy excuse of a lie.

What an outrage that tennis swept a positive drug test under the rug to avoid hurting one of the game's big stars.

Tennis has not changed one bit. The president of the ITF doesn't think Williams should be suspended from the Australian because that will hurt the ITF.

If Williams hadn't been this big of a star, would she have been suspended? Well, last week, Yanina Wickmayer, the 18th ranked woman and certainly not a household name, was given a one-year ban from the tour for a doping offense.

She didn't fail a test. She never even missed a test. She didn't report where she would be.

So she's out for a year. And Serena Williams? She apparently is not going to be out for 15 minutes. She apparently will get a heavy fine. She made $550,000 at that U.S. Open. I'll guess they'll stick her for half of that.

It's a lot of money for most people. But Williams would still have made a quarter of a million from the tournament, winnings minus "justice.''

The message from the ITF is this: Serena Williams is bigger than the game, bigger than us.

It's true. She is. She's a great player who brings great star power to a game that really needs it.

But tennis' governing bodies have created the other side, reinforced bad behavior. At the French Open this year, another player cheated Williams, taking a point even though the ball hit her arm. Williams was understandably angry.

But then she threatened the woman, saying she would get her in the locker room.

Williams' punishment?

Nothing.

At the U.S. Open in the semis against Kim Clijsters, Williams built on that. Knowing she can get away with threats, she waved her racquet in the face of a tiny line judge who happened to have made the correct call, by the way.

I was sitting right along the line. The foot-fault was obvious to anyone sitting there. Amazingly, no photos or video footage has ever emerged with a clear view.

But that really doesn't matter? Williams had no place making threats, saying she would shove the ball down the line judge's throat.

Williams can do whatever she wants because tennis has let her, tennis is afraid of her, tennis knows that she's the golden goose.

Last week, on Tuesday, she told the USTA that she would play for the U.S. flag in the Fed Cup final against Italy. So the USTA named its official team, including Williams. And then on Saturday, Williams went back on her word, pulling out because she said she was too beat up to play.

Over the next 36 hours, she won two matches, including one over her sister, Venus, at a big tournament in Doha.

So Melanie Oudin became the Fed Cup team leader. And after the team lost Sunday, she said some things that might have been shots at the Wiliams sisters. Venus also didn't play.

"I wanted to play for my country,'' she said. "I don't know, other people choose different things ...

"But I think that the team that we had here really wanted to be here ... That's what you want. You don't want people that don't want to be here or play for their country.''

Play for the Fed Cup or not, Williams should at least live up to her word.

But she's much bigger than anyone who might have the nerve to say that.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

ITF Let Golden Star Serena Off Hook originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Italy Shuts Out US In Fed Cup

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: WTA

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy (AP) -- The Williams sisters were conspicuous by their absence on Sunday when Italy completed a shutout of the United States to win its second Fed Cup title in four years.

Yet the Americans who did play had no regrets and the victorious Italians felt there was no need to put an asterisk next to their victory.

"I wanted to come here. I wanted to play for my country. Other people choose different things," U.S. Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin said after her 7-5, 6-2 loss to Flavia Pennetta gave Italy an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

"Some people I guess didn't want to play as badly as I did. But I think that the team that we had here really wanted to be here," Oudin said. "You don't want people here that don't want to be here. Even if you lose, if you give it everything you have, then that's the best you can do."

The 11th-ranked Pennetta and the 16th-ranked Francesca Schiavone also scored straight-set singles victories Saturday on the outdoor clay court at the Rocco Polimeni club.

The fourth singles rubber was canceled and Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci completed the 4-0 shutout by edging Liezel Huber and Vania King in doubles 4-6, 6-3, and 11-9 in a champions tiebreaker.

Top-ranked Serena Williams and sister Venus had decided not play in the Fed Cup final before meeting in the season-ending tour championships final last weekend.

The Italians beat France in the opening round and ousted defending champion Russia in the semifinals, but still faced questions over the value of their victory without the Williams sisters.

"We're the world champions, it's simple," Pennetta said. "We've played against some great teams this year."

Pennetta and Vinci skipped an elite second-tier season-ending tournament in Bali this week, giving up potential rankings points and valuable prize money in the process.

"To represent your country it's something very different," Pennetta said. "We always play for ourselves. Here it's completely different."

Without the Williamses, Oudin was the highest-ranked American at No. 49. Alexa Glatch-No. 132-played second singles.

"The main goal is to build the new generation," U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez said. "You've seen the new generation this year. There are many other young players coming along as well."

Still, the Americans don't want to close the door for the Williams sisters.

"Serena and Venus are just a different story," Fernandez added. "If they are willing and able to participate, I think that's a great experience for everybody involved in it to learn from."

Pennetta opened the series by beating Glatch and Schiavone made it 2-0 with a win over the 18-year-old Oudin.

Oudin said she let her team and country down by losing twice. But after scoring an important point against the Czech Republic in the semifinals and having the experience of playing No. 1 singles here, she also had something to be enthusiastic about for the future.

"I think this was a great experience for me," she said. "I'm going to look back on it and someday when I'm in a Fed Cup final again, hopefully I'll be able to pull out the win. It will go my way instead of theirs next time."

The U.S. has won a record 17 Fed Cups, but its last title came in 2000. Italy won its first Fed Cup title in 2006 over Belgium and Justine Henin, and lost the 2007 final to Russia.

The Italians celebrated this time by launching captain Corrado Barazzutti up and down into the air, then ran around the court dousing each other with bottles of champagne and water.

"These girls are incredible," Barazzutti said. "The first victory was extraordinary and this second one goes beyond expectations."

The young Americans see the Italians as a model to emulate.

"They are a real team, and I think that is what has really helped them this year," Oudin said. "They do it extremely well. I think that's a huge part of Fed Cup."

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.

Italy Shuts Out US In Fed Cup originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Italy Takes 2-0 Lead over US at Fed Cup

FanHouse Newswire — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:15:00 EST

Filed under: WTA

REGGIO CALABRIA, Italy (AP) -- Alexa Glatch and Melanie Oudin lost in straight sets Saturday to give Italy a 2-0 lead over the United States in the Fed Cup final.

Glatch lost to Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 6-1, and Francesca Schiavone rallied after a two-hour rain delay to defeat Oudin 7-6 (2), 6-2 on the outdoor red clay court at the Rocco Polimeni club.

"She came out and started playing a lot better and wasn't missing anything when she came back out," Oudin said. "She changed her game a little bit. I did the best I could."

Reverse singles and doubles were scheduled for Sunday in the best-of-five series.

The U.S. has won all nine of its previous meetings with Italy. But the Americans are without Serena and Venus Williams, who opted not to play after meeting in the season-ending tour championships last weekend in Doha, Qatar.

Oudin, who reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, faces Pennetta in the opening singles on Sunday.

The 11th-ranked Pennetta used her consistent baseline game to wear down the 132nd-ranked Glatch, breaking early in the first set to set the tone, then cruising in the second set.

The 6-foot Glatch likes to rely on her serve, but she won only won 43 percent of the points on her first serve.

"My serve kind of let me down," Glatch said. "I didn't win a lot free points off my serve, so it made it very difficult to hold serve."

Oudin took a 4-2 lead with an early break in the first set before the rain delay. Schiavone broke back in the first game when play resumed, using a drop-shot winner on her first break point.

With the crowd chanting "Fran-CES-ca, Fran-CES-ca" between points, the 18-year-old Oudin maintained her concentration and saved three break points to take a 5-4 lead. She flattened out her forehand for a couple of winners up the line and used an effective drop shot of her own on occasion, yelling "C'mon" whenever she won a big point.

"It's absolutely key playing at home," Schiavone said. "It really helps having the crowd behind you on the important points and the crucial points of the match."

In the tiebreaker, Schiavone's bigger serve and more powerful groundstrokes made the difference, and she landed an inside-out backhand return winner on the line on her first set point.

"I had lots of chances in the first set, so losing was pretty tough," Oudin said. "But I fought hard throughout the whole match."

Oudin broke in the opening game of the second set but Schiavone broke right back and took a 5-1 lead against the teenager from Marietta, Ga. Schiavone then dropped her serve, but broke in the next game to close it out when Oudin landed a forehand in the net.

"Fed Cup, you have to go a match at a time," U.S. captain Mary Joe Fernandez said. "We've seen a lot of comebacks from 2-0 down. It's a new day."

Glatch routed Pennetta 6-1, 6-1 in the first round of this year's French Open, but she was never in control on the slow clay during a cool and overcast day in southern Italy.

"She definitely played better than last time," Glatch said. "The conditions were also different. It was much quicker and hot that day and very dry, and I served extremely well. I was more aggressive in that match, and I probably should have tried to be in this match."

The 20-year-old Glatch broke Pennetta in the opening game of the second set, but the Italian took control.

"After I broke her, the next two games she really stepped it up," Glatch said. "She hit a couple great shots."

Pennetta finished with 33 winners to Glatch's 14 and broke the American five times. Glatch struggled with her mobility, watching several winners whizz by her within reach.

"She has a pretty varied game," Pennetta said. "She can slice the ball, hit it hard, topspin. You need to move her around because once she starts moving she has trouble."

One of the few things Pennetta struggled with were low balls, with the heavy clay hardly providing any bounce.

"There was a bit too much clay on the court, but that's what we asked for," Pennetta 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.

Italy Takes 2-0 Lead over US at Fed Cup originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Serena Williams On Two Weeks' Notice

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

Filed under: WTA, WTA Rankings

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

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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)

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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)

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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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Serena Stays Unbeaten in Doha

Chris Sesno — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: WTA

Serena and Venus Williams have plenty of experience playing against each other. But you wouldn't have been able to tell that by the way the two played when they faced off for the 22nd career time on Wednesday in the WTA Tour Championships in Doha.

It took Serena almost three hours and a full three sets (including a third set tiebreak) to top her older sister 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(4) in a somewhat sloppy match. They didn't play well at the same time until the last three games of the match, where the two finally seemed to put forth their best effort.

With Serena trailing 5-6 in the third, both players turned on the jets and provided the fans in Doha with a brief glimpse of what they were hoping to see throughout the match. Asked what changed for her late in the third, Serena said, "I just tried to relax. Whenever I relax, I play better." Seems simple enough.

Serena looked noticeably agitated in the first two sets. She appeared to be in some pain from her taped upper thigh, but agitation turned into motivation late in the third when Serena battled back against Venus who held one match point at 6-5. Serena held serve to force the third set tiebreak.

After a mostly dull back-and-forth match, the numbers show that it was actually an extremely close match. Serena had a slight edge over Venus, winning 120 total points to Venus' 119.

Both Williams sisters struggled to hold serve. Each broke the other seven times in the match. Venus was down 3-5 in the third set and went on a crucial three game winning streak to stay alive. Serena was able to hold her serve and force the tiebreak, where she won on a last-point ace to stay undefeated in Doha.

On Thursday, Serena is scheduled to play Elena Dementieva while Venus will take on Svetlana Kuznetsova. Reserve player Vera Zvonareva will fill in for the injured Dinara Safina in a match against Caroline Wozniacki.

Serena Stays Unbeaten in Doha originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Women's No. 1 Spot Up for Grabs

FanHouse Newswire — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:40:00 EST

Filed under: WTA

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- After months of debate about who is more deserving of the No. 1 ranking, Serena Williams and Dinara Safina will settle the issue on the court at the WTA Tour's season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships.

Safina recaptured the top ranking from Williams on Monday, but the margin is so slim that the player who performs better at this week's tournament in Doha will end the year at No. 1.

Safina has held the top spot for 26 weeks this year, but the Russian has faced persistent questions about whether she's worthy of the title without having won a Grand Slam tournament. Williams won her 11th major title at Wimbledon this year, after also taking the Australian Open.

"It would be awesome," Williams said Monday about the prospect of ending 2009 atop the rankings. "It would be really cool. But I would have to win."

Actually, she only has to win one more match than Safina. If both players have equal results, Safina keeps the top ranking.

The eight-player tournament starts Tuesday with a round-robin stage, with the top two players from each group advancing to the semifinals. Williams and Safina are in different groups, meaning they will not face each other until a potential match in the knockout rounds.

Williams was drawn with her sister Venus and Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva. The other group consists of Safina, former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki.

Safina has 7,731 points in the latest rankings to lead Serena Williams by 155 points. Each win in the round-robin stage here is worth 160 points.

The other six players also have plenty to play for.

The total prize pool is $4.55 million and the champion receives $1.55 million if she completes the tournament undefeated-with $100,000 knocked off for each loss in the round-robin stage.

Venus Williams is the defending champion, while Azarenka and Wozniacki are competing in the event for the first time.

The Williams sisters-who are also playing in the doubles tournament-are the only previous champions, and Venus said the money isn't the only reason she's looking for a repeat.

"Last year was definitely a monumental moment," she said. "I never thought it would feel so good to actually win the year-end championships. It was definitely a surprised feeling at the end. I would love to feel that again."

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.

Women's No. 1 Spot Up for Grabs originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Was the Fix in on Wozniacki's 'Injury'?

Greg Couch — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:04:00 EST

Filed under: WTA

In a sport that has had a serious gambling scandal involving suspicions of match-fixing, how are we supposed to take Caroline Wozniacki's match the other day?

I'm starting to wonder exactly how many tennis matches aren't really on the up-and-up. Wozniacki, who reached the U.S. Open final, led Anne Kremer 7-5, 5-0 Tuesday at the Luxembourg Open.

And that's when Wozniacki chose to retire from the match with an injury. No broken bones. No fall. She had won seven straight games and was four points from winning.

"The injury suddenly happened," she said.

No way.

The WTA tour needs to investigate, and no matter what they were actually up to, Wozniacki and her father need to be punished somehow. That means suspensions or fines.

Wozniacki hurt her hamstring late in the first set and had a trainer wrap it. Up 3-0 in the second set, she called out her father/coach to the court, and he spoke to her in Polish.

A microphone caught the whole thing, and he apparently told her to play two more games and then quit.

"I chose the sporting way,'' Wozniacki said afterward, admitting that she could have played on.

The sporting way? This was about the least sportsmanlike thing imaginable.

Look, here's how this is being explained: Wozniacki's father, Piotr, didn't want her to risk further injury before next week's season-ending tour championships in Doha. So even if she had beaten Kremer, she wasn't going to play the next match.

The idea then, was to allow Kremer to advance to the next round.

"Let them have some joy," Wozniacki's father reportedly said.

The theory was that fans in Luxembourg would have been happy to see Kremer, who is from Luxembourg, advance.

Piotr later told the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet that he had told his daughter to play two more games and then decide whether she could be ready for the next round. If not, "Then make the right decision."

That's a little hard to believe. She could have played about another 90 seconds, then had some rest before deciding about the next round.
Image means a lot to tennis, and that's why the sport's governing bodies have been so tough in the crackdown on gambling, or even the appearance of it.

Besides, the 'right decision' would have been to finish the match.

You play a match to the end, or as far as you can. Tennis players consider themselves warriors, standing alone on court with no excuses.

What is the message to Kremer?

It was this: I could have beaten you even though I'm hurt, but I'll let you win.

No one wants to be handed a win like that. It flies right in the face of what tennis is all about.

This is wrong on so many fronts. How about the ticket-buyers, who paid to see a legit match?

And in a sport with gambling issues, you cannot have a coach tell his player to throw a match, no matter what the reason. If she couldn't play at 3-0, then she should have quit then.

If she could have played on, then she should have played on.

I doubt that Wozniacki and her father were involved in match-fixing, but some tough questions need to be asked.

At the least, this is about image. And gamblers reportedly did use the information. Some were said to have placed a bet on Kremer after hearing Wozniacki's dad tell her to retire. The bets were allegedly placed on-line at Betfair, which has not responded to a request for confirmation.

Image means a lot to tennis, and that's why the sport's governing bodies have been so tough in the crackdown on gambling, or even the appearance of it.

Suspicions rose a few years ago with some strange betting during a match with Nikolay Davydenko, who has been cleared of wrong-doing.

Several players since have told of being approached to fix matches. Earlier this year, French player Mathieu Montcourt, now deceased, was suspended five weeks for betting a total of $192 on 36 tennis matches.

That's an awfully big punishment for $5 a match.

It doesn't matter if Wozniacki thought she was doing something nice. The game is on the verge of a credibility gap. Serena Williams doesn't try if she's not playing in a major; she hasn't won a non-major in a year-and-a-half.

And remember last week's cries from the men's tour? Players complained that the tour schedule and demands were too much, and then nine players retired during matches, citing injuries.

This week, Robin Soderling, Feliciano Lopez and Tommy Haas all have won at the Stockholm Open.

All three were among the nine too hurt to finish matches just a few days earlier.

I'm wondering if some of those injuries were real, or if maybe players who didn't really want to be in Saigon for a tournament, anyway, saw Andy Roddick's legitimate injury, and used it as an excuse for dropping out.

For tanking matches.

Come on, tennis. You take a court to win.

You fight to the end. That's what real sportsmen do.

It's what a real warrior would do.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

Was the Fix in on Wozniacki's 'Injury'? originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:04:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Martina Hingis Fades From Game

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

Filed under: WTA

Some of the excuses from these athletes are just laughable. They thought they were just injecting vitamins in their behinds. They didn't know the ingredients in that medicine. They must have gotten it in their systems by kissing a woman who had been using the stuff at a bar.

Martina Hingis never made an excuse for failing a cocaine test. She said she never did the stuff and had no clue how it could have gotten into her system, if it really did.

So it's over for Hingis. She failed that test more than two years ago, and now her suspension is up, and it's the era of comebacks in women's tennis. I always figured she'd try again. A failed drug test was no way for a great athlete to end a career.

But Hingis told L'Equipe of France, she's not coming back.

"I've got a nice house, my four horses," she said. "On the tour, I had no life."

Is there any shock over this? A champion with five major titles, and her career ended like this?

She said she never did it, but she didn't even put up a fight. Her test results are a little fishy, to be honest. Richard Gasquet failed a cocaine test this year with a trace amount in his system. It was such a tiny amount that when he appealed, his suspension was overturned because an independent panel believed his story about getting it in his system by kissing a woman in a bar.

That's how tiny the amount was.

Hingis had less in her system than Gasquet did. And an SI.com reporter writes that with the amount she had, she would have passed a military drug test. They changed the rules after Hingis failed, providing wiggle room for a lesser punishment. When she failed, it was an automatic two years.

We don't trust the athletes, but how much do we know about the drug-testers, anyway? Is there some other way that the tiniest of traces of the stuff can get into your system?

On top of that, Hingis got a two-year ban for a trace of a recreational drug. Manny Ramirez got less than one-third of a season for cheating with steroids.

"I didn't have the right to play any competition, even in another Olympic sport," she said. "I didn't have the right to feature in equestrian competition, even at an amateur level.

"I'm not sure I have completely recovered."

I can almost feel bad for her. Almost.

But it's hard to stand up for someone who doesn't fight for herself.

Hingis said two years ago that she was "frustrated and angry because I believe I'm 100 percent innocent. [I have] no desire to spend the next seven years fighting doping officials."

It was a thrill to watch her with her smart, artistic style when she first came up. Her career turned in a meltdown against Steffi Graf at the French Open final, when Hingis complained about calls, walked to the other side of the net, took a bathroom break, served underhand a few times. She had it won, but then lost. And when it was over, her mother had to talk Hingis, in tears, into going back for the awards ceremony.

Hingis never won another major. She quit three years later because of foot problems, but then came back and climbed to No. 6 in the world. She wasn't strong enough anymore, though, to contend with the Williams sisters, or other big players.

"I was on [the] down slope," she said. "And I was suspended for two years, and that was it."

Hingis was tested for drugs a few weeks ago, and said that apparently tennis' governing bodies thought she was planning to come back. How will her career be remembered? Well, no one seems ready to bash her, honestly. Maybe it's because it was a recreational drug and not a performance enhancer. Maybe it's because we've grown numb to drugs in sports.

But 209 weeks at No. 1, a major winner at 16, and this is how it ends, with Hingis riding horses at 29, competing and losing in the first round of Strictly Come Dancing, the British TV version of Dancing With the Stars.

In that one, by the way, she was definitely robbed.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

Martina Hingis Fades From Game originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Serena, Lineswoman Won't Hug It Out

Greg Couch — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:15:00 EST

Filed under: U.S. Open, WTA

Two days after threatening to shove a tennis ball down her throat, Serena Williams said she would like to give a U.S. Open line judge "a big ole hug."

Unfortunately, that happy -- heartfelt? -- reunion will have to wait. The Serena line judge, whose identity has remained a secret, will not be at the WTA Tour Championships next week in Doha, Qatar.

Neil Harman of The Times of London gave a few of the first-known details about the line judge, saying she is Japanese and travels the world calling lines. She was graded by her peers after the U.S. Open as among the top line judges throughout the U.S. Open Series of tournaments.

Here is what Harman wrote:

"The umpiring fraternity, which holds the lineswoman in high regard, believes that she was told not to travel to the Middle East because of the possible drama her presence might provoke, while the WTA insisted last night that she had been invited to attend and declined for family reasons."

Meanwhile, the International Tennis Federation continues its investigation, and it took real effort not to put quote-marks around the word investigation.

What could possibly be taking so long? The whole thing is on tape. The question is whether Williams will be fined more than the $10,500 she was already hit with, and also whether she will be suspended. A suspension could include major championships.

The call in question came with Williams just two points from losing to Kim Clijsters in the U.S. Open semifinals. Williams foot-faulted on her second-serve at 15-30, and then, after her f-bomb-laced, racquet-waving threats, was given a point-penalty. That penalty on match point meant that Williams had lost.

Anyone sitting along the line, including me, saw that it was a clear foot fault. Williams acknowledged after the match that she thought she had foot-faulted, but then later that she had not.

When the chair umpire called the line judge to the net to meet with two tournament officials, Williams approached, and said to the line judge, "Were you scared? Because I said I would hit you?" She later said she didn't know why the line judge would have been afraid.

A preliminary decision on any further punishments for Williams is expected around the end of the month. Williams then will have a chance to appeal.

The tournament in Doha could serve to determine who the final No. 1 player of the year is, as Williams is barely ahead of Dinara Safina in the computer rankings.

Best bet: The ITF won't have the nerve, after the angry divide in the debate over Williams' tirade, to suspend her from Doha and hand the year-end No. 1 ranking over to Safina. And it also won't have the stomach to suspend Williams from a major, as sponsors, networks and tournament directors would go nuts over the loss of the game's most marketable player.

Look for a big fine, and maybe a mandated "big ole hug."

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

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U.S. Open 2009

Joachim Johansson of Sweden plays a shot during his tennis match against Australia's Peter Luczak in Stockholm on October 19, 2009 during the first day of the ATP Stockholm Open tennis tournament. AFP PHOTO / OLIVIER MORIN (Photo credit should read OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

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AFP

U.S. Open Photos

Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic plays a shot during his match against Argentina's Juan Monaco (out of camera range) in Stockholm on October 19, 2009 on the first day of the ATP Stockholm Open tennis tournament. TOPSHOTS / AFP PHOTO / OLIVIER MORIN (Photo credit should read OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

Joachim Johansson of Sweden plays a shot during his tennis match against Australia's Peter Luczak in Stockholm on October 19th, 2009 during the first day of the ATP Stockholm Open tennis tournament. AFP PHOTO / OLIVIER MORIN (Photo credit should read OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

Australia's Peter Luczak plays a shot during his tennis match against Joachim Johansson of Sweden in Stockholm on October 19th, 2009 on the first day of the ATP Stockholm Open tennis tournament. AFP PHOTO / OLIVIER MORIN (Photo credit should read OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic plays a shot during his match against Argentina's Juan Monaco (out of camera range) in Stockholm on October 19, 2009 on the first day of the ATP Stockholm Open tennis tournament. AFP PHOTO / OLIVIER MORIN (Photo credit should read OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

AFP/Getty Images

Serena, Lineswoman Won't Hug It Out originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No Pain, No Gain on the Tours

Greg Couch — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, ATP

Three weeks. That's all Andy Roddick is expected to miss with the knee injury that knocked him out of the Shanghai Masters last week in the middle of his first-round match.

It should still give him time to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London in November.

"Results of the MRI [scan] showed a mild sprain of his medial collateral ligament of the left knee," said a statement on Roddick's website. "The news was very good for Andy. No surgery will be needed and Andy is expected to make a 100 percent recovery."

But Roddick's warning still stands. This time every year, players grumble about the difficulty of the schedule. Basically, the U.S. Open has passed, casual sports fans think the season is over, and plenty of the top players, tired from a long year, are wanting the same thing.

The day before Roddick got hurt, he complained about the 11-month long season, filled with required appearances. So did Rafael Nadal.

From there, the outcome of the tournament proved their point, as nine players withdrew during matches with injuries. On top of that, Roger Federer (fatigue) and No. 4 Andy Murray (sore wrist) didn't come at all.

"It's ridiculous to think that you have a professional sport that doesn't have a legitimate off-season to rest, get healthy and then train. . ." Roddick had said. "I just hope that the short-sightedness doesn't affect the length of players' careers. In tennis you definitely want your stars around as long as possible."

And then, pop, Roddick was out in the middle of the first set against Stanislas Wawrinka, followed by a row of players.

This has become the big issue on tour. And Adam Helfant, new CEO of the ATP Tour, will talk with the players about it in London.

But the schedule is not as easy to change as you might think. It is already set through 2011, and the 2012 schedule will need to have room for the London Olympics.

Also, the players do not have a union independent of tournament officials. So half the decision-making process is done by tournament directors who don't want the season shortened. On top of that, the post-U.S. Open part of the year is the Asian swing of the tour, and it's not easy to simply dismantle that when a worldwide game is being promoted in front of such large populations.

The best hope is for an adjustment to the number of required stops. Or maybe a strong players union, but it's doubtful that Helfant will be pushing that.

So what's next for Roddick? Rest and rehab.

For two weeks.

Then, he starts training again. He figures to play in the Paris Masters Nov. 8-15 in a push for a spot in the World Tour Finals which invites the top eight players. Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro are already in.

Roddick fell to No. 7 in the rankings on Monday.

No time for pain.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

No Pain, No Gain on the Tours originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Players Divided Over Grueling Schedule

Greg Couch — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:10:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, ATP

It seemed so simple at first, when Andy Roddick made his point better than anyone could. He complained on Monday that the tennis schedule is too demanding, and warned that star players could start dropping.

Then his knee popped, and he dropped.

But that has turned into a disagreement between two former No. 1 players, Roddick and Marat Safin, and other players have piped in over the hot topic on tour now. And it all shows how difficult this scheduling mess will be to clear up.

What Roddick said was absolutely right. But leave it to Safin to hammer more blunt truth into the discussion. Just two tournaments from the end of his career, Safin left the Shanghai Masters taking shots at Roddick and others over their warnings.

"In 2004, we had this discussion at the Olympic Games with Roddick, and they were blaming me, that I'm playing too much," Safin said. "And I was saying that the season is too long. And the guys jumped on me, like I was the one that was wrong.

"So look at all of them [now]. Everybody is falling apart. ... They just have to deal with that not when they are 21 and ambitious and want to make money. They have to think a bit with their brains to make their careers a little bit longer."

Earlier this week, I wrote that it's amazing the players don't have some independent, strong union standing up for them in the face of the greedy governing bodies running the game, milking the players.

Since then, it has become clear why there is no strong union:

The players aren't unified. They don't agree on what they want, and in many cases don't know.

Roddick responded to Safin Thursday afternoon on his Twitter account, saying that Safin's memories of 2004 are a little off:

"(It) wasn't exactly about the calendar ... was more about the fact that there was too much tennis in the summer of 2004."

"I agreed with this, but found it odd that he chose to play in Sopot (Poland) the week before on clay ... didn't think it gave him much of an argument as far as complaining about too much tennis."

It has become clear why there is no strong union: The players aren't unified. They don't agree on what they want, and in many cases don't know.
Seven players now have dropped out of Shanghai hurt, including U.S. Open champ Juan Martin del Potro, who left with a sore wrist. And that doesn't count Roger Federer (exhaustion) and Andy Murray (sore wrist), who didn't come.

Roddick said on Monday that the tour schedule, with 13 mandatory events spread through the calendar worldwide, is "ridiculous," and that it's unreasonable to have an 11-month season without time to rest and recover. He now awaits test results on his knee.

Rafael Nadal, who missed several months this year with sore knees and then sore abdominals, said similar things. But then he announced he would play an additional exhibition tournament at the start of the year in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. And while Federer is skipping the Asian leg of the tour, citing exhaustion, he also has chosen to play the additional exhibition tournament.

Safin has hit on it perfectly here -- though, to hear Roddick, Safin may have had the same problem, too. The players have their own greed to deal with.

Safin's point is that many players are greedy and don't really want a shortened schedule until they start getting hurt and it's too late.

Meanwhile, Andre Agassi, preparing for an exhibition against Pete Sampras, said that tennis needs an offseason, allowing the game to build momentum when the season starts up again.

Yet Tommy Robredo said there should be tournaments year-round, but that the players shouldn't be required to play so many of them. That way, they can play when they want.

As for the current No. 1 players, Federer is simply skipping mandatory tournaments now, apparently figuring any potential fines added or rankings points lost won't matter. And Serena Williams said she hoped to play Fed Cup, depending on "if I am walking or if I am going to be in a wheelchair."

She also inexplicably went to a small tournament in Spain in April.

"Everybody is getting injured left and right,'' Safin said. "And everybody is complaining the season is long. It takes six years to realize something is wrong?"

So what now? Adam Helfant, new CEO of the ATP Tour, plans to be at the Masters Final in London next month, and will talk with players about scheduling. The schedule, though, is set through 2011, and 2012 will be tough to shorten with the London Olympics added in.

And while top players grumble and also act hypocritically, those players just trying to scratch out a living aren't going to want a shortened season with less opportunity.

So the players aren't together, don't know what they want and don't have a voice strong enough to push it, anyway.

Apparently, Roddick is trying to fill that role.

"I really like Marat and his opinions, and am excited that at the very least this issue is getting discussed," he tweeted. "And yes, I certainly feel like I know more now than I did when I was 21. I don't really know anyone who wouldn't feel that way six years further into a career."

The women in tennis keep burning out, and the men are getting hurt. So many varied interests. It will be amazing if they all come together with one solution.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

Players Divided Over Grueling Schedule originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Injury List Grows, Players Want Change

Chris Sesno — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:55:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, ATP

On Monday, Andy Roddick spoke out against the ATP for the lack of a normal tennis offseason. On Tuesday, he retired from the Shanghai Masters with knee pains.

Fast-forward to Thursday, the injury count at Shanghai has grown to seven after just four days of play. The latest additions are Gael Monfils of France and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who retired from their matches earlier today.

The Shanghai injury list includes reigning U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, Tommy Haas, Jose Acasuso and Mischa Zverev. Not included are Roger Federer (fatigue) and Andy Murray (wrist), who opted out of the tournament before it began to recuperate.

Greg Couch: Hellish Schedule Breaking Down Players

The biggest stars in tennis have publicly spoken out on the tough schedule, and the grueling effects of the irregular season are evidenced by the major injuries that have plagued tennis stars all year.

Rafael Nadal missed several months due to knee troubles and was also bothered by an abdominal injury during the U.S. Open.

On Monday, Nadal spoke out against the ATP schedule citing the toll it has taken on his body. "It's impossible to play first of January to finish fifth of December," he said. "It's impossible to be here playing like what I did the last five years, playing a lot of matches and being all the time 100 percent without problems."

Roger Federer is sitting out, citing fatigue. Less than one week after his taxing loss to del Potro in the U.S. Open finals, he was back on the court in Switzerland to compete in a Davis Cup match. "It would be nice to have a week of holiday, but it's not possible right now," Federer said before he was set to represent the Swiss against Italy.

Serena Williams said last week that she would like to play in the Fed Cup finals next month against Italy, but she is not sure if she will be healthy enough. "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."

After taking the No. 1 ranking from Dinara Safina, missing a match would be costly for Serena who holds on to a miniscule lead in the WTA rankings.

With many of the top players bothered by injuries and speaking out against the current system, it seems to be time for the ITF to step up and make a change, or at the least, address the issue and allow the players some time to recover between events.

Follow Chris Sesno on Twitter: @csesno

Injury List Grows, Players Want Change originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hellish Schedule Breaking Down Players

Greg Couch — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:30:00 EST

Filed under: WTA, ATP

Andy Roddick warned us. Everyone has been warning us, really, with words or with pain, or meltdowns.

But on Monday, Roddick complained that the tennis schedule is too rough on the players. He called the requirements of the tour "ridiculous," and warned that the short-sightedness of the rules-makers might cut short the careers of stars.

More Coverage: Del Potro Joins Shanghai Injured List

On Tuesday, this is what he said:

"I don't really know what's going on in there. I'm not a doctor. [The pain] was enough to make me stop a tennis match, which is going to be pretty significant."

Roddick hurt his knee in the first set in the first round of the Shanghai Masters Tuesday and had to retire from the match. He planned to fly back to the U.S. for tests. And when a 27-year old tennis player's knee pops, you have to wonder about the long term.

The tennis schedule has become a major problem. Women keep retiring just to get away from the grind, and then come back after months or years. Rafael Nadal missed several months this year with tendinitis -- wear and tear -- in his knees. And in the past few weeks, most of the top-10 men have suddenly shown signs of trouble.

It is amazing that a players' union hasn't emerged to demand changes. The players' union and tournament directors merged under the ATP Tour 20 years ago.

"I certainly don't see any other sporting leagues or federations following our lead as far as not being individually represented," Roddick said before the injury. "I don't know that it's up to the players to be making business decisions about the schedule. At a certain point, I wish our input would be [considered]."

The tennis schedule has become a major problem. Women keep retiring just to get away from the grind, and then come back after months or years.
So I would like to rip into tennis' governing bodies for their greed. They draw up a long schedule, demand that players come to all sorts of tournaments -- they can't simply pick and choose -- in a money grab that endangers the health of their best players.

And I believe that all to be true. At the same time, this isn't a one-sided thing.

Nadal also complained Monday about the schedule:

"It's impossible to play first of January to finish fifth of December. It's impossible to be here playing like what I did the last five years, playing a lot of matches and being all the time 100 percent without problems."

Yes, the schedule lasts 11 months. But Nadal also plays all the tournaments leading up to the French Open, when he could easily skip one. And on Tuesday, we found that he had agreed, with Roger Federer, to play in a three-day exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi starting Dec. 31.

Rafa complained about the length of the schedule, and then added a week to it?

Andy Murray won the event in Abu Dhabi last year, and now has a sore wrist.

Serena Williams has talked about the demands of the tour, but then inexplicably played a small, meaningless tournament in Italy.

Federer is out this week, complaining of fatigue. But last year, he came down with mono that weakened him, and that came with a schedule that included exhibitions around the world with Pete Sampras.

So money grabs come from all sides.

It's clear that tennis wants its regular events meaningful, and not just its majors. So if players skip mandatory events, then they drop dramatically in the rankings and can build up big fines.

At this point, the tours seem to have the power.

Meanwhile, Federer is out with exhaustion (though, at the same time, adding the exhibition tournament). Nadal is still recovering. No. 3 Murray was a mess at the U.S. Open with his bad wrist. Juan Martin del Potro, the U.S. Open champ, and Roddick have both lost to players not ranked in the top 140 in the past few days.

"I don't think it's coincidental," Roddick said about the troubles of the top players. "It's ridiculous to think that you have a professional sport that doesn't have a legitimate offseason to rest, get healthy and then train."

This was a year of re-emergence for Roddick. He reached No. 1 as a young player, and then let the game pass him by as he stuck with mindless power. This year, he dedicated himself to fitness, to losing weight, gaining speed, developing a backhand and, most importantly, finding a strategy.

And it took him to a classic Wimbledon final, which he barely lost to Federer.

"For the last five years, I have been No. 1 or No. 2 in terms of matches played, and I was OK, with only a few problems," he said. "But sooner or later it becomes impossible."

We move into what should be one of the best eras of men's tennis, but too many top players are grinding down. Roddick has become the kind of star player tennis needs.

Now, wait for test results to see what the game has done to him.

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com

Hellish Schedule Breaking Down Players originally appeared on Tennis FanHouse on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:30:00 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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