Friday, September 25, 2009
BUSINESS NEWS
Clijsters Plans a Carefully-Selected Schedule for 2010
Kim Clijsters is planning to play all four Grand Slam event in 2010 but only intends committing to 16 tournaments in all on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour but she is making herself available for selection for the Belgian Fed Cup team.
The 26 year-old who took this year’s US Open women’s title earlier this month in only her third tournament since returning to the sport consequently seems to not foster any ambition to recover the top spot on the world rankings she held for 19 weeks in three separate spells between mid-August 2003 to mid-March 2006.
Clijsters said: "A no.1 ranking is not what I focus on. It would be nice, but looking to next year the Grand Slams are the big thing."
Now back to 17th spot in the rankings, after her New York triumph and a 5-2 record in her two build up tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto, Clijsters is currently home in Belgium, playing her favored role of wife to husband Brian and mother to toddler daughter Jada while also spending time with her younger sister Elke who is expecting her own first child in a few weeks.
She admitted the traveling was fun again but domesticity takes prime position in her life. "I try to spread out my trips abroad. The most important thing is that it remains do-able as a family," she said.
"It takes a lot more planning than a few years ago. For a tennis player I don't think it's that busy. I've taken out a lot of tournaments that I used to play when I wasn't a mother.
"It was up to me to say, with Jada, our daughter, how long I want to travel, where I want to travel to and where not. "We have to see how it will work out as a family. Things have to remain fun for Jada."
Clijsters has made her herself available to Belgian Fed Cup captain Sabine Appelmans for next February’s first round tie in Poland. If Justine Henin also stresses a desire to play along with US Open semi-finalist Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium could have a team worthy of winning the competition for the first time after finishing finalists in 2006, losing the final at home in Charleroi to Italy; a match Clijsters missed through injury.
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Tennis Traveling Can Increase One’s Language Ability
Journeying week after week to different cities on the tour can get a bit routine for the players, no matter what exotic places they visit. But playing this week in Seoul is of particular interest to Daniela Hantuchova.
"It's very special for me to be here," she said on her blog for the WTA website. "In 1988 I watched Miloslav Mecir win gold at the Seoul Olympics. It was the first time I saw tennis on TV and that match was the reason I started playing. After seeing him win, I asked for my first racquet. It's amazing to be playing in the very same stadium."
Hantuchova, who turned down a place at one of Slovakia’s most prestigious universities to pursue a tennis career, also revealed the number of languages she speaks. It’s a lot!
"My first language is Slovak. I also speak German, which I learnt at school when I was very young (I probably spoke it better back then!) We live close to Austria, so it comes in useful, and whenever I'm in Germany I try to use it. Of course I also speak English. Also Czech, Croatian, Slovenian, but sometimes it's a bit of guessing. . . I know some Italian. I'd love to learn more in the future."
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Fish Believes in Paying Back to the Community
American Mardy Fish is one of several professional tennis players who put back into the community, alongside others such as Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.
His own foundation was established to support youth organizations in Indian River County, Fla., and at the center of its fundraising activities is Mardy’s Tennis and Jake’s Music Fest, to be held this year on December 11 and 12. The weekend event will feature a barbeque luncheon with silent and live auction, a concert with country music star Jake Owen, a Kids' Tennis Clinic and a tennis exhibition with Mardy Fish and other current and/or former touring tennis professionals.
The Foundation has utilized funds from the festival to provide after-school programs in the community, and two years ago the Foundation opened the Pelican Island Elementary School/Mardy Fish Music Club and Health & Fitness Club, which is an after-school program that provides a place for children to go and partake in various activities that will help them better themselves using sports, music, art and dance.
The Mardy Fish Foundation will expand the program this fall with the addition of two more after-school programs in community schools. In addition, the Foundation continues to support other youth organizations, including the Boys & Girls Club of Vero Beach and the Youth Guidance Foundation, which is dedicated to enriching the lives of children in need in Indian River County through the establishment of positive mentoring relationships with volunteer adults.
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Hantuchova Will Miss Her Doubles Partner
Daniela Hantuchova has enjoyed a successful doubles relationship with Ai Sugiyama stretching all the way back to 2002 when they reached the final of both San Diego and Los Angeles. They’ve won only a modest three titles in that time, but the pair also reached another eight finals, including the 2009 Australian and 2006 French Opens. So, when her Japanese partner retires this year, Hantuchova is going to miss having her around.
"We're playing our last tournament together in Tokyo," the Slovak responded to a question posed to her on a blog for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. "It's really sad, but I'm really glad I'll be a part of her last tournament. Ai has given me so many wonderful memories on the court, and we're great friends, so it's going to be tough to see her go.
She's such a great fighter and a great person. The tennis world will miss her, for sure I will. It won't be easy to find another one like her. Next year I may play some doubles here and there but I'm really going to try focusing on my singles. One of the reasons I was playing doubles so much was because Ai was one of my best friends, and we were having so much fun."
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Dokic is Back in Court
Damir Dokic, the imprisoned father of former top ten player Jelena, currently serving a 15 month jail sentence, is to be retried on the charges that he threatened the Australian ambassador to Serbia.
Dokic’s retrial has been ordered because of a legality; ambassador Claire Birgin was represented by a lawyer at the original Belgrade hearing in late May and early June, and did not testify in person.
Bosiljka Djukic, Dokic's lawyer, said: "We expect justice from the court and that Damir will be a free man.”
Dokic was found guilty of "endangering the security" of the ambassador in Belgrade and unlawful possession of weapons, including a hand grenade, discovered in his home. He maintained he would blow up Birgin's car with a rocket launcher if she didn't stop negative articles about him from being published in Australia.
Jelena had claimed in Australian magazine interviews that her father, a former boxer, had beaten her. Later he insisted these claims were made in anger but he did admit to physically harming his daughter.
After an impressive return to the top grade by making an emotional path to January’s Australian Open quarter final, 26 year-old Jelena’s progress has been hampered by a bout of mononucleosis (glandular fever) and various injuries. She lost in the first round of Wimbledon and the US Open while winning a match at the French Open.
Most recently she played two clay court ITF Challenger events in Italy and Bulgaria, losing in the second round of both and is currently ranked 81st on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings.
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Ivanovic Planning on a Strong 2009 Finish
Looking for luck in Asia, that is the path Ana Ivanovic chose to try to revamp her fading career in this year. The former #1, nowadays ten places lower ranked, plans to play two big events in a row.
The first one is Tokyo next week; the draw is already done and Ana will play Czech Lucie Safarova whom she has beaten twice, but lost to in their last duel this summer in Toronto. The follows the even bigger tournament in Beijing.
"The field here is very strong so I'm going to have a difficult first round match for sure. I've obviously had a very disappointing season, but these two tournaments in Asia are an opportunity to end it on a high. I'm going to try and enjoy myself on the court here,” Ana said as she hopes for a good season ending.
For the time being, tournaments in Tokyo and Beijing are her final scheduled events of the season. There is a possibility that she will ask for wild card after, but no decision is done.
Ana arrived in Japan on Tuesday because this tournament is one of her favorite events.
"I love visiting Tokyo," said Ivanovic. "Everyone here is so polite and welcoming. It's actually very humbling to visit here. I've done some fun things here over the years, for example visiting a sumo wrestling camp, and then two years ago I learnt about some interesting superstitions, the day before the final.”
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USPTA Recognizes Standouts in Tennis
The United States Professional Tennis Association honored outstanding tennis coaches, players, managers and volunteers during its annual national awards ceremony at the USPTA World Conference on Tennis on September 24. Some of the honorees include;
Robert Greene Jr., of Rangeley, Maine, received the association’s top annual member award, the Alex Gordon Award for the USPTA Professional of the Year. Greene, who has been a USPTA Professional 1 member for more than 30 years, is the director of tennis at the Balsams Grand Resort Hotel in Dixville, N.H.
Tom Fey of Indian Wells, Calif., is highly committed to bringing tennis to his surrounding community of Coachella Valley, especially through camps and clinics. This and his work with Special Olympic athletes is what earned him the USTA/USPTA Community Service Award.
Michael Mahoney of Riverside, Ill., received the Facility Manager of the Year Award. Mahoney is the vice president and general manager of Midtown Tennis Club in Chicago.
Other honorees are:
Adrian Chirici, Roslyn, N.Y. – Touring Coach of the Year Billy Chadwick, Oxford, Miss. – College Coach of the Year Lawrence Eyre, Fairfield, Iowa – High School Coach of the Year
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World TeamTennis names Leamer as Manager of Advanced Media
World TeamTennis has named Isaac Leamer as Manager of Advanced Media. Leamer, who has worked with WTT as a consultant since April 2009, will manage the strategic growth and maintenance of WTT's online presence, including WTT.com and its affiliated social networking sites. Leamer will also oversee IT systems and serve as a technology liaison for the WTT and the Pro League teams.
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USTA Names Junior Davis Cup Team to Play in Mexico
The USTA announced that Bjorn Fratangelo (Pittsburgh), Marcos Giron (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) and Hunter Harrington (Spartanburg, S.C.) will represent the United States in the Junior Davis Cup Finals, Sept. 29 - Oct. 4 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The event features 16 teams from nations across the world composed of players age 16 and under.
The U.S. is the reigning Junior Davis Cup champions and will attempt to become the first back-to-back winners since France in 1992 and 1993. USTA National Coach Mark Merklein will captain the U.S. Junior Davis Cup team.
Fratangelo, 16, is currently the No. 2 player in the USTA Boys’ 16s National Standings and won the USTA Boys’ 16s National Clay Court Championships in July. Giron, currently No. 5 in the USTA Boys’ 16s National Standings, won the doubles title at the USTA Boys’ 16s National Championships in August and reached the final of the Boys’ 16s Easter Bowl in April. Harrington, 16, is currently No. 6 in the USTA Boys’ 16s National Standings and won a USTA Boys’ 16s National Open in February.
Harrington replaces Shane Vinsant, who was forced to withdraw due to an abdominal injury.
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We Hear---
--that Reigning European Junior Champion, 14-year old Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova, has been signed by IMG.
--that according to the 2009 Tennis Europe Member Nations Survey to be published shortly, Europe has over 40,000 tennis clubs, 35,000 of which are registered with their national federation.
--that after recently signing with adidas, Daniela Hantuchova will be in discussions with the company designers at the end of the season to develop a personal line of clothing.
--that Paul-Henri Mathieu has signed with Lagardere Unlimited for representation.
--that Midland will have a $100,000 purse for its Pro Circuit event.
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THIS WEEK
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Metz
WOMEN
Seoul
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MEN
Bangkok
WOMEN
Tokyo
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