So... Serena Williams just officially withdrew from the 2011 Australian Open. Not only is it a very early withdrawal, it is just the next chapter in an extremely perplexing injury story. She supposedly cuts her foot on glass in a restaurant and needs surgery for it (seriously, what kind of restaurants is she frequenting?), then provides conflicting information about the state of her injury. She's on crutches. She's on high heels at a red-carpet event. She's in a boot. She "pushed too hard" trying to get back into training and re-injured herself. How? Did her stitches split open? What exactly was cut by the glass?
I guess I was one of the skeptics out there when Serena was first injured, but I guess if she's withdrawing from all of these major events (including the WTA Championships), then there must be something serious going on. Why, then, doesn't she release something a little more detailed and forthcoming so that her haters don't have even more reason to hate?
Showing posts with label WTA Tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WTA Tour. Show all posts
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
WTA Championships (Final)
Some random thoughts as I wait for a phone call...
I really like Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters, but I think I'm going for Wozniacki so she can finally silence all of her doubters and add a validating line to her resume. Clijsters will probably win, though.
Is the new WTA logo in effect immediately? What's with this desperate image change? I can't remember the old logo (haha), but I can't say I love this one.
This isn't really about the final, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around Elena Dementieva's retirement. I was always vaguely annoyed by her as a player because she screeched and because her serve was irritatingly soft, but as usual Jon Wertheim makes several good points. I never saw Dementieva play live, which is a tiny bit curious considering how long she was on tour and the number of matches I managed to hop between at various US Opens, and so I don't have a very good grasp on what her serve was truly like. Wertheim points out that Dementieva wasn't broken any more than any other player (perhaps on the basis of her groundstrokes, though), and that it wasn't as if other players could simply set up a hitting clinic during their receiving games. This analysis, though, does not solve the screeching.
I guess one thing that partly prevented me from consistently seeing her as an elite, elite player was her lack of presence off the court. This is, in fact, a good thing, I know, because it means she never cashed in on various endorsement and marketing opportunities that all too often focus on sex appeal. But it did make her somewhat easy to forget when the media is filled with shots of Maria Sharapovas and Ana Ivanovics. Clijsters doesn't do much of the off-court opportunities, either, but she's just so nice and also quite verbose. So yes, in summary--my perceptions of Dementieva were probably never really fair.
Oh, and yeah, Clijsters did win. Surprise! Is Wozniacki too nice to win?
I really like Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters, but I think I'm going for Wozniacki so she can finally silence all of her doubters and add a validating line to her resume. Clijsters will probably win, though.
Is the new WTA logo in effect immediately? What's with this desperate image change? I can't remember the old logo (haha), but I can't say I love this one.
This isn't really about the final, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around Elena Dementieva's retirement. I was always vaguely annoyed by her as a player because she screeched and because her serve was irritatingly soft, but as usual Jon Wertheim makes several good points. I never saw Dementieva play live, which is a tiny bit curious considering how long she was on tour and the number of matches I managed to hop between at various US Opens, and so I don't have a very good grasp on what her serve was truly like. Wertheim points out that Dementieva wasn't broken any more than any other player (perhaps on the basis of her groundstrokes, though), and that it wasn't as if other players could simply set up a hitting clinic during their receiving games. This analysis, though, does not solve the screeching.
I guess one thing that partly prevented me from consistently seeing her as an elite, elite player was her lack of presence off the court. This is, in fact, a good thing, I know, because it means she never cashed in on various endorsement and marketing opportunities that all too often focus on sex appeal. But it did make her somewhat easy to forget when the media is filled with shots of Maria Sharapovas and Ana Ivanovics. Clijsters doesn't do much of the off-court opportunities, either, but she's just so nice and also quite verbose. So yes, in summary--my perceptions of Dementieva were probably never really fair.
Oh, and yeah, Clijsters did win. Surprise! Is Wozniacki too nice to win?
Monday, September 27, 2010
What Is Old, and What Is New?
On the day before her 40th birthday, Kimiko Date Krumm defeated Maria Sharapova in three sets at the Tokyo Toray Pan Pacific Open. Way to deliver in front of a home crowd.
What I noticed aside from the obvious point that Sharapova is having major issues that implicate more than just an uncertain shoulder was that she was wearing her US Open dress. What? The top stars--and someone like Sharapova especially, who makes such a point to be fashionable on court--almost never repeat outfits. And to repeat a dress from a tournament as visible as the US Open... did she lose too early there? Haha. I know this is a really trivial point, but I've really never seen her do this before.
I just added in this picture for good measure, simply because it's kind of cute and the dark fuschia complements the aqua well. And also because it's an example of an unremarkable dress that could be repeated across many tournaments without anyone really noticing.
I actually hit with Date Krumm several years ago at my local tennis club. I remember missing several shots until one of the coaches said in quite a sympathetic voice, "She's nervous," which actually calmed me down. But that's not the point, really. I hadn't known who she was until she showed up at the club and didn't realize that she had been as high as No. 4 in the world, but I was struck by the athleticism and fitness she exuded. Sharapova references Date Krumm's fitness in the press conference after her loss, and it's very interesting to realize that we are all similarly impressed. Date Krumm just seemed to have a really active body--she was just hitting with some club kids, but immediately became sweaty. I guess that's a weird anecdotal point, but it's stuck with me.
What I noticed aside from the obvious point that Sharapova is having major issues that implicate more than just an uncertain shoulder was that she was wearing her US Open dress. What? The top stars--and someone like Sharapova especially, who makes such a point to be fashionable on court--almost never repeat outfits. And to repeat a dress from a tournament as visible as the US Open... did she lose too early there? Haha. I know this is a really trivial point, but I've really never seen her do this before.
I just added in this picture for good measure, simply because it's kind of cute and the dark fuschia complements the aqua well. And also because it's an example of an unremarkable dress that could be repeated across many tournaments without anyone really noticing.
I actually hit with Date Krumm several years ago at my local tennis club. I remember missing several shots until one of the coaches said in quite a sympathetic voice, "She's nervous," which actually calmed me down. But that's not the point, really. I hadn't known who she was until she showed up at the club and didn't realize that she had been as high as No. 4 in the world, but I was struck by the athleticism and fitness she exuded. Sharapova references Date Krumm's fitness in the press conference after her loss, and it's very interesting to realize that we are all similarly impressed. Date Krumm just seemed to have a really active body--she was just hitting with some club kids, but immediately became sweaty. I guess that's a weird anecdotal point, but it's stuck with me.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Laura Robson vs. Patty Schnyder
In the spirit of the US Open Series (which is way overhyped but still a lot of good tennis in a short timespan) and the US Open itself, which will begin this coming Monday, I present this lookalike:
http://tennis-in-depth.com/2009/09/08/15-year-old-laura-robson-into-the-final-16/
http://tennis-in-depth.com/2009/07/18/patty-schnyder-joins-the-injury-epidemic/
Add on 15 years to Laura Robson, and you've got Patty Schnyder.
http://tennis-in-depth.com/2009/09/08/15-year-old-laura-robson-into-the-final-16/
http://tennis-in-depth.com/2009/07/18/patty-schnyder-joins-the-injury-epidemic/Add on 15 years to Laura Robson, and you've got Patty Schnyder.
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