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Serena Williams continues to define professionalism

Serena Williams really does deserve her own entry in the dictionary of the English language. Serena Williams (noun) – A professional, and everything that word means. * Interestingly enough, another American female tennis player owns a connection — albeit a very tangential one — to this idea of professionalism and how Serena so fully embodies […]

Halep and Radwanska have no one to blame but themselves

Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska were not happy with French Open officials on Tuesday. In rain-soaked conditions, both players would have preferred to not play. On merit, their points were not unreasonable. Hitting a waterlogged ball on a highly saturated court doesn’t seem like an ideal way to contest a major championship. The ball should […]

Roland Garros 2016: when a story is drawn, not merely written

To a certain extent, it will always and inevitably be true that draws don’t matter that much in tennis. What looks good on paper often becomes nothing other than a dream. For blockbuster semifinals to emerge at the 2016 French Open, four players — Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal — must […]

Serena, Muguruza, And The Absence of Treachery

As a Spanish woman, Garbine Muguruza, prepares for a Wimbledon singles final on Saturday, the pages of tennis history turn. Back in 1974, 39-year-old Ken Rosewall contested the Wimbledon men’s final against 21-year-old Jimmy Connors. That’s a college freshman’s lifespan between the two competitors. In the annals of Wimbledon women’s finals with large age disparities […]

Kvitova Loses: Affirmations And Transformations Coexist At Wimbledon

Twice in a span of 24 hours at Wimbledon, the same basic drama unfolded… and cut in different directions. On Friday, Serena Williams — one of the two players expected to make the women’s final — found herself at 4-4 in the third set on Centre Court. She lost serve at 4-4 and watched Heather […]

WTA Finals: Serena Wins, Halep Takes Her Place, And Wozniacki Steals The Show

The Women’s Tennis Association moved its end-of-the-year showcase event from Istanbul to Singapore this year. The time difference put a lot of matches on American television in the middle of the night. The sport is bigger than one country or continent, and Li Na — who retired before the 2014 WTA Finals began — had […]

When you beat Maria Sharapova in three sets, you’ve done something significant and rare in women’s tennis. When you do so at the U.S. Open and in nasty, punishing weather conditions, you’ve done something far more impressive. Wozniacki enjoyed a favorable draw in the quarterfinals and semifinals before running into Serena Williams in the final. However, Wozniacki’s win over Sharapova was the trial the Danish star had to endure, the hurdle she had to clear on the way to her second major final.

Out Of The Darkness

When an athlete drinks in one of the great moments of her career, it’s natural to want the perfect setting for such an occasion. However, at the very moment Caroline Wozniacki defeated Maria Sharapova on Sunday at the U.S. Open, dark storm clouds loomed not too far away. Those very clouds soon poured down rain, […]

Bothered To The Breaking Point

The biggest story from day three of the U.S. Open emerged in the women’s singles event, as Agnieszka Radwanska, the No. 4 seed in the draw and a player given a more-than-reasonable path to the semifinals, crashed out in the second round to Peng Shuai. The relatively meek 3-and-4 loss won’t eliminate the satisfaction Radwanska […]

Montreal-Toronto Combo Review: A Weekend In Canada, A Change Of Scene

A weekend in Canada, a change of sceneWas the most I bargained forAnd then I discovered you, and in your eyesI found the love that I couldn’t ignore. — Canadian Sunset, 1956  * Norman Gimbel, the lyricist for a song that’s almost 60 years old, knew what a weekend in Canada could do for the […]

Wimbledon Women’s Draw Analysis

The Wimbledon ladies’ singles draw was announced Friday morning. Click on each quarter of the draw to see the full 128-player bracket, with 32 players in each quarter. What stands out in the WTA portion of the 2014 Wimbledon bracket? As is the case with Novak Djokovic’s quarter in the men’s draw, it is as […]

Roland Garros Women’s Draw: 5 Takeaways

The Roland Garros women’s draw is out. You can look at it here. If you’re new to the art of bracket-scanning, realize that you are looking at one quarter of the draw and can click on the other three quarters to bring them up on your screen. Take your time – the first ball won’t be struck […]

Roland Garros: 5 WTA Question Marks

This is a pre-draw assessment of the uncertainties that will greet the 2014 Roland Garros women’s tournament. When the draw is announced this Friday morning in Paris, the process of “tennis bracketology” can begin. For now, though, one can only look at a few players irrespective of the draw and ask questions about what they’ll […]

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