August 28, 2008 - The last Grand Slam of the season - the US Open - is upon us and a number of our favorite ladies - Venus, Serena and Lindsay - are there.  Two star attractions, however, are missing.  Last year’s champion Justine Henin retired and Russian Maria Sharapova has an injury.

Still, there are a number of quality players vying for the title. It may be Venus’ for the taking but younger sis Serena is hungry for a championship after her loss at Wimbledon.

The New York draw unfortunately has Venus potentially in a quarterfinal match-up with Serena.  Serena won the title in 1999 and 2002 and Venus won it 2000 and 2001 following Wimbledon wins in those years so it’s anyone’s guess who will advance.

Russia’s Dinara Safina, one of the hottest players on the tour, is also a potential finalist as is her compatriot, the Beijing gold medalist Elena Dementieva, who should go through to at least the semi round.

And don’t count Serb Jelena Jankovic.  JJ is probably the best player in the Top 10 never to have reached a Slam final.

Fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic was upset by qualifier Julie Coin of France in the second round marking the earliest exit by a female No. 1 seed in the tournament’s 40-year history.

Who do you think will win?

Match Scores

CBS Sports and the USA Network will broadcast the US Open in the United States. The women’s final will be aired live on CBS at 8:00 pm on Saturday, September 6 so don’t miss it.

Fun Facts:
With $22,087,173 Lindsay Davenport is currently No. 1 on the all-time career prize money list, having passed Steffi Graf after the 2008 Australian Open

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July 22, 2008 - If you’re looking for a career that pays big bucks, learn to swing a racquet (or a golf club). For women, the highest-paid athletes come almost exclusively from tennis and golf, where prize money and endorsement dollars flow overwhelmingly to the brightest stars.

According to Forbes, the four highest-paid female athletes in the world are from the tennis circuit: Maria Sharapova (Russia), Serena and Venus Williams (U.S.) and the newly retired Justine Henin (Belgium).

Maria Sharapova leads the list of the highest earning female sports figures with endorsements from such big names such as Pepsi, Nike, Canon and Motorola. Her total earnings are estimated at $26 million per year.

Serena Williams, who was top earner before Sharapova became a teen sensation,  still brings home $14 million a year. 2008 Wimbledon champion Venus Williams is just behind her younger sister with $13 million. Coming in at fourth place on the top earning list is Justine Henin who just recently stopped playing professionally. Forbes estimates Henin’s yearly worth at $12.5 million—$5 million of which she earned by winning titles in 2007.

Golfers Annika Sorenstam, Michelle Wie and Lorena Ochoa have also broken into eight-figure earnings territory (that’s over $10 million for those who are counting).

Sorenstam has racked up more career prize money than any female golfer in history–some $22 million. The eight-time player of the year has 72 LPGA tournament wins to her credit, including 10 majors. She recently announced she’ll retire from the tour after the ADT Championship in November, just after she turns 38.

Teen sensation Wie has deals with Nike and Sony that contribute to her $12 million paycheck. Ochoa has netted $1.8 million in prize money this year to go along with major endorsement deals with Audi and Lacoste that bring her annual payday to $10 million.

The top 10 list is rounded out by IndyCar driver Danica Patrick and tennis player Ana Ivanovic who earn $7 million and 6.5 million respectively.

What about team-sport athletes? Will women’s team players ever catch up to men? Olympians and WNBA stars like Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi and Lisa Leslie don’t get nearly the same money from corporate sponsors that LeBron or Kobe command.  Who will be the one to break through? You?

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July 5, 2008 - Venus Williams beat sister Serena 7-5, 6-4 Saturday to win her fifth Wimbledon title and seventh Grand Slam championship.

It was Venus’ first win over her younger sibling in a Grand Slam final since the 2001 U.S. Open, and evened their career record at 8-8.  More

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July 3, 2008 - It’s no surprise that Wimbledon 2008 has turned into the Williams show. Venus and Serena won in straight sets to set up their third all-sister Wimbledon final and seventh Grand Slam championship matchup.

Not content with final berths in the singles, sisters Venus and Serena are through to the last four of the ladies’ doubles as well.

In Ladies’ Singles, defending champion and four-time winner Venus beat Elena Dementieva 6-1, 7-6 (3), then two-time champ Serena overcame two rain delays and served 14 aces to down China’s Zheng Jie 6-2, 7-6 (5).

It will be the first all-Williams final at any tournament since 2003, when Serena beat her older sister in the Wimbledon title match for the second year in a row.

Serena holds an 8-7 career edge over Venus, including 5-1 in Grand Slam finals. Since Venus won the U.S. Open in 2001, Serena has won five straight of their major finals.

“She’s a tough opponent,” Serena said. “I think she’ll be the toughest person I’ve played. I’m excited.”

Said Venus: “It’s every Williams for themself.”

Their father, Richard Williams, said he would fly back to the United States on Friday and doesn’t plan to watch a single point of the final on television. The reason? He can’t bear to watch his daughters playing against each other.

The rest of us can catch the final on Saturday, July 5th. Whoever wins, it’ll be proof that someone from the other side of Atlantic can hit a decent forehand or, in Venus’s case, hit a 127 mph serve.

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• Lawn Tennis: The game of tennis as it is played today comes from Great Britain, where it originated as lawn tennis in the mid-1800’s.
• Wimbledon: In 1884 the Ladies’ Singles at Wimbledon was inaugurated, and from a field of 13 players Maud Watson became the champion.
• Tennis Balls: A new tennis ball should weigh two ounces.
• Bouncing Balls: When dropped from a height of 100 inches onto concrete, a new tennis ball should bounce about 55 inches.
• Grand Slam Titles: Margaret Smith Court holds the record with 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
• Record Holder: Martina Navratilova holds the record for most career singles and doubles titles with over 325.
• 1884/1885: Ladies’ singles tennis competition was added to Wimbledon in 1884. Maud Watson won in both 1884 and 1885.
• Lottie Dod: Lottie Dod won the women’s Wimbledon Championship five times between 1887 and 1893.
• 1897: The first Women’s French Tennis Championship is held.
• Ball Boys & Girls: There are more than 200 ball boys and girls used to fetch tennis balls during Wimbledon.
• Lawn Mower: Wimbledon is the only major tennis tournament still played on grass. The lawn there is cut every day.
• Tennis Dresses: The first women to play in the Wimbledon tournament wore full length dresses.
• Australian Open: Martina Hingis was the youngest Australian Open Women’s Single Champion (16 years, three months) in 1997.

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June 30, 2008 - Second-seeded Jelena Jankovic and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova were both ousted in the fourth round Monday, leaving Wimbledon without any of the top four women in the quarterfinals for the first time.

With top-seeded Ana Ivanovic and No. 3 Maria Sharapova eliminated last week, none of the top four women reached the quarterfinals - the first time that’s happened at Wimbledon and also the first time at any Grand Slam tournament in the 40-year history of the Open era.

Meanwhile, the Williams sisters moved closer to another Wimbledon final. Venus and Serena found themselves playing back to back Monday on  Court 2, known as the “Graveyard of Champions” based on the record number of upsets played on there.

While Roger Federer glided to victory on Centre Court, and Rafael Nadal played on Court 1, the Williams sisters were relegated to a less than stellar venue. Was the slight on purpose? Officials say no - schedules were based on other factors.

However, there are no replay reviews on Court 2, where the scoreboard is manually operated. Spectators can hear players muttering to themselves, and the soundtrack for matches also includes cheering from other courts and noise from the nearby dining area for players.

The Williams sisters might be glad to know the days are numbered for the Graveyard of Champions. As part of a project to renovate the outer courts, a new Court 2 opens next year, while the Graveyard will become Court 3 in 2009— meaning fewer marquee matches—and will eventually be torn down.

Even after Venus and Serena spent the day at the Graveyard, their title hopes remained very much alive. They’re defying the trend in a women’s tournament that, by one measure, ranks as the most upset-filled on record.  If the Graveyard can’t stop them, what will?  Which one will prevail?

In the meantime, Venus has been assigned to the Court 1 stadium Tuesday. Serena is to play on Centre Court, where fans may find them both Saturday.

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June 29, 2008 - One swing from completing her week’s work, Venus Williams toed the baseline, bounced the ball, gave it a toss and delivered yet another blistering serve at Wimbledon. The ace bounced off the Court 1 backstop as Williams closed out her third round match and bid another foe farewell.

The scoreboard said 127 mph, the fastest women’s serve ever recorded at Wimbledon. The scoreboard also had Williams winning 6-1, 7-5 over qualifier Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. The defending champion was not even aware that her 11th ace had broken the tournament’s fastest serve record.

Four-time champion Venus cruises into the round of 16, along with her sister Serena.

With No. 1-ranked Ana Ivanovic and No. 2 Maria Sharapova eliminated, and with No. 3 Jelena Jankovic limping to victory Saturday, prospects look good for an all-Williams final next weekend. It would be their first meeting in a Grand Slam final since Serena beat Venus for the 2003 Wimbledon title.

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June 28, 2008 - Top seed Ana Ivanovic, clear favorite to win Wimbledon for the first time this year, was upset in the third round on Court No. 1 by wild card entry Zheng Jie of China. Zheng, ranked 133 in the world, secured the astonishing 6-1, 6-4 victory in 72 minutes.

Ivanovic of Serbia, who took over the No. 1 ranking after winning the French Open earlier this month, blamed the pressures of winning her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros this month and becoming world number one for her shock defeat.

“It has been a very emotional past couple of weeks and it took its toll,” Ivanovic claimed.

“It’s a surprise for me,” said the 24-year-old Zheng, who has won 11 tour doubles titles, including the 2006 Wimbledon and Australian Open championships. “Thanks to Wimbledon, (which) gave me a wild card. I just tried my best and had to keep going, going.” Her unexpected win extended a spate of stunning upsets at the All England Club including Maria Sharapova’s round two loss yesterday.

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June 27, 2008 - The number three seed, Maria Sharapova, was stunned in the second round of Wimbledon, 6-2, 6-4,  by little known compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva. The dramatic upset by a 154th-ranked player marked Sharapova’s earliest exit from a Grand Slam tournament since her first full season on tour in 2003.

Like Sharapova, Kudryavtseva is a Russian blonde in her early twenties with a two-handed backhand. But unlike Sharapova, one of the world’s most recognizable and bankable athletes, Kudryavtseva is not a household name and her career earnings are less than a quarter of what Sharapova earned just this year.

The Australian Open that Sharapova won in such convincing fashion back in January was of no help to her as she tried and failed to control her powerful shots. Her game was littered by double faults and unforced errors.

On paper, it seemed inconceivable that Kudryavtseva could beat the three-time Grand Slam winner and reigning Australian Open champion — especially at the tournament where Sharapova made her major breakthrough four years ago.

Kudryavtseva, who was born in Moscow and now lives in Miami, lost in the first round at Wimbledon to eventual champion Venus Williams last year.

In their only previous meeting, at the French Open last year, Sharapova easily beat Kudryavtseva 6-1, 6-4.  But this match was a completely different story.  Later, Sharapova was brutally honest in her assessment of how she lost to her unheralded compatriot, “She just did everything better than I did”.

So Kudryavtseva, now part of Wimbledon folklore, moves on after the second round as does Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Amelie Mauresmo and Jelena Jankovic. 

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June 19, 2008 -  The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour unveiled the TV and print creative for its landmark global advertising campaign to the international media at an exclusive screening  in London.

The :60 and :30 second television advertisements are the pinnacle of the Tour’s multi-million dollar, pioneering global marketing campaign which will also include print and digital advertising, along with viral and community generated elements. In all, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour expects to invest $15 million in the campaign over the course of the next three years.

Over thirty players took part in the film and photographic shoot for the campaign which took place at various locations in Rome, Italy, at the start of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia tournament in May 2008 including Maria Sharapova who initially complained about the WTA’s schedule demands.

In this single largest commitment to promote the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players in the history of the Tour, a world-class creative team was assembled and led by WPP Group  and renowned commercial director Matthieu Mantovani. The advertisements ask the question ‘Looking for a Hero?’ and bills the Tour’s players as superheroes both on and off the court.

(more…)

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