Video: It Must Be Love

In anticipation of the 2009 Olympus US Open Series and the 2009 US Open, meet some of the world’s top tennis players, including Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic talking about their lives and their loves.

Wimbledon – Williams sisters through to semis

It’s the USA against Russia in the Wimbledon women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday.

The world top four players have all won their quarter-final matches setting the stage for a possible all Williams final.

First, Venus Williams dismantled 20-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in 1 hour 8 minutes. Then there was a short break and then Serena Williams, on Centre Court, made it two sisters in the semifinals.

With Venus watching, number two seed Serena took out Victoria Azarenka, the 19-year-old from Belarus, 6-2, 6-3.

Serena will play Elena Dementieva after the Russian fourth seed came through 6-2, 6-2 against Francesca Schiavone of Italy.

Top seed Dinara Safina will face the defending champion Venus.

With Serena’s  10 Grand Slam victories to Venus’s 7, could it be another Venus vs. Serena final? It’s looking that way.

Happy Birthday, Venus Williams

Seventeen Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals and a host of other championships  make Venus Williams one of the most recognizable figures in professional tennis.

The birthday girl’s resume off the court is nearly as impressive as her on court accomplishments. She’s launched her own line of clothing, founded an interior design company and has been named one of America’s most powerful women by Ladies Home Journal

Venus Williams was born June 17, 1980, in Lynwood, Calif., to Richard and Oracene Williams. Growing up in Compton, a suburb of Los Angeles, Venus and her younger sister Serena displayed talent as they “practiced with dead balls on cracked courts,” wrote Sports Illustrated.

By age 10, Venus was winning tournaments, and in 1991, the Williams clan relocated to Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where the young phenoms began training full-time. The sisters’ careers were carefully managed by Richard and Venus turned pro at age 14.

Venus played her first full season on the WTA Tour in 1997 and won her first pro tournament a year later.  The following year won two grand slams. She and Serena became two of the tour’s top players, and also formed one of the best doubles teams. In 2002, Venus became the No. 1 ranked women’s player in the world, the first African-American to achieve that status.

Williams has thus far won seven grand slam tournaments: two U.S. Open titles and five Wimbledon titles. At 29, she remains one of the best players on the women’s tour.

Off the court, Venus Williams studied fashion design at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. In November 2007, she launched a line of sporty clothing and accessories, including footwear, called EleVen.

She and Serena founded the Venus and Serena Williams Tutorial/Tennis Academy in Los Angeles, providing tennis lessons to inner-city children. The academy provides not only on-court instruction, but also tutoring and assistance in applying to colleges.

Venus, who is one of the best paid athletes in the world,  has one the fastest serve in the women’s game – 129 mph. She  also stars in Virtua Tennis, a popular video game.

Happy Birthday Venus!! Hope the day is as special as you are!!

Profile

Name :	Venus Williams
Profession :	Tennis Player
Date of Birth :	June 17, 1980
Place of Birth :	Lynwood, California, USA
Plays :	Right-handed
Career Titles :	25

Venus Williams, Wyclef Jean on Iconoclasts

Ever wonder what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes? How about the shoes of someone that shatters expectations and stands above the crowd?  That’s what the Sundance Channel’s TV series Iconoclasts explores. 

Executive Producer Robert Redford says “Iconoclasts explores the intersection where two great talents meet – and where creativity becomes alive.”

As part of the current season, tennis great Venus Williams joins Grammy winner Wyclef Jean on episode five of the critically acclaimed series.

A five-time Wimbledon champion, Williams towers over the world of professional tennis and still finds time to challenge herself off the courts as a designer running her own fashion line.

Born June 17, 1980, Williams has won 56 titles, which includes 17 Grand Slam titles – seven in singles, eight in women’s doubles, and two in mixed doubles. She has won more Olympic gold medals than any other tennis player (male or female) in history – one in singles and two in women’s doubles.

She is the chief executive officer of her interior design firm “V Starr Interiors” and in2007 teamed with retailer Steve & Barry’s to launch her own fashion line EleVen.

Jean, a former member of the Fugees is equally ambitious, testing himself in new realms. Born October 17, 1972, the multi-platinum Haitian-American musician, actor, and producer has sold more than 31 million albums throughout his career including album sales with The Fugees.

Jean has been active in his support of his native country and created the foundation Yele Haiti in 2004, to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to Haiti. He describes Yéle as a non-political organization intended to empower the people of Haiti and the Haitian Diaspora to rebuild their nation. In January 2007, Jean became a roving ambassador for Haiti, to help improve its image abroad.

Viewers can watch Wyclef give Venus her first guitar lesson, while she returns the love with a crash course in tennis. A playfully competitive friendship unfolds as both of these self-made superstars explore the discipline and dedication of each other’s pursuits.

The Iconoclasts series pairs two leading creative innovators from different fields including film, sports, architecture, fashion, food, music, and business. Unlike an ordinary interview programme, it captures the essence of these headline-makers through the eyes of the creative visionaries who respect and admire them the most. 

The Iconoclasts visit each other’s worlds to explore their creative process, their inspirations and their passions. Each pair provides viewers with an inside glimpse into the inspiration and motivation that made them who they are today and offers insight into the real people behind the public personae.

If you’re a fan of Williams and/or Wyclef, this sounds like must-see TV.

2009 Laureus World Sports Awards nominees announced

I love awards. Gold stickers and glitter stars too.

So it was great to see that a sparkling collection of the world’s greatest sports stars have been nominated for the 10th Laureus World Sports Awards, following a ballot by the world’s media.

The Laureus World Sports Awards is recognized as a premier event in the international sporting calendar honoring the greatest sportsmen and women across all sports each year. A panel of leading sports editors, writers and broadcasters from 112 countries announced the Laureus nominees for 2008-09, which includes six athletes in each category.

Check out some of the nominees:

Sportswoman of the Year

Tirunesh Dibaba (ETH) – athletics
Yelena Isinbayeva (RUS) – athletics
Lorena Ochoa (MEX) – golf
Stephanie Rice (AUS) – swimming
Lindsey Vonn (USA) – skiing
Venus Williams (USA) – tennis

Breakthrough of the Year

Rebecca Adlington (UK) – swimming
Novak Djokovic (Srb) – tennis
Ana Ivanovic (Srb) – tennis
Anthony Kim (USA) – golf
Sebastian Vettel (GER) – Formula One
Zou Kai (CHN) – gymnastics

The organizers of the Laureus Awards ceremony say the gala event will be scaled back to focus on the Sport for Good Foundation. The economy strikes again. Bad news for gala goers, good for the foundation. Winners will instead receive their awards individually at a series of presentations in May and June. Good luck to all!!

Venus Williams stops traffic in Miami

Three-time Sony Ericsson champion Venus Williams and British number one Andy Murray kicked off the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open with a little “Traffic Tennis” atop two SUV’s on Miami’s Ocean Drive.

Thankfully for both stars, the game was only promotional and served only as a warm-up for this year’s Sony Ericsson Open, which begins tomorrow.

The Miami tournament, running March 25 – April 5, will open play on the purple courts with World No. 1 Rafael Nadal (who defeated Murray last week in the BNP Paribas final) looking to win his first title in Miami.

With 48 of the world’s top 50 players involved in Miami, both Williams and Murray face a tough task to win one of the more gruelling but lucrative tournaments on the circuit.

Dressed in a bright pink and purple tennis dress, Venus proved she is up for some serious competition against younger sister Serena, currently World No.1.

Twenty-seven-year-old Serena will be aiming to maintain her No.1 ranking as she begins her quest for a sixth title in Miami against either Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky or US wild card Alexa Glatch.

Maria Sharapova had to withdraw from this week’s Open due to a nagging shoulder injury, but fans still have chance to see and meet her in South Florida.

MaSha will make a personal appearance, greet her fans and sign autographs at Cole Haan in Village of Merrick Park on the first floor of Nordstrom in Coral Gables, Florida on Wednesday, March 25th from 2 to 3 p.m. Fans can also enter a contest to win one of five prizes of tickets to the Sony Ericsson Open and a Cole Haan handbag.

Looks like a little of something for everyone.

Dubai winner Venus Williams is Pretty Tough

Venus Williams defeated France’s Virginie Razzano 6-4, 6-2 at the Dubai Tennis Championships to win her first title of the season .

The victory gave Venus her 40th career singles title and was the seventh triumph in her last eight finals. Her last title came at the WTA Championships in Doha in November.

A day earlier, Venus upset sister Serena 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 to reach the final while the unseeded Razzano  put out 16th seed Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-1, 6-2 to move on to the title match.

Venus will return to the Top 5 from sixth for the first time since the week of August 25, 2003.

When questioned if she might also replace her younger sibling at the top of the rankings, Venus said “Well I would love to be the best in the world – and I am coming. So I am going to try.”

So how does Venus prep to become one of the best tennis players in the world? Well one thing she does is balance her intense training by getting in touch with her girly side. Check out this photo shoot she recently did with Marie Claire.  Maybe the underwater glamour tennis shots are a cross-training secret that will help put her on top.

WTA Dubai Update; Visas, Quarterfinals & More

Venus Williams is on course for a possible semi-final clash with her younger sister Serena after beating Alize Cornet 6-3 6-1 at the WTA Barclays Dubai Championship.

The 19-year-old Cornet, from Nice, proved no match for the Wimbledon champion, who will now face Elena Dementieva in the quarter-finals.

Venus was forced to mix up her game more than usual against an opponent who has risen more than 50 spots in little more than a year.

Russian fourth seed Dementieva came through 6-1 6-3 against Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues, while French Open champion Ana Ivanovic also made it through to the elite eight after defeating Camille Pin 6-2 7-6 (7-5).

Top seed Serena Williams won 6-4, 6-2 against Zheng Jie the Wimbledon semi-finalist from China . Serena now plays Ivanovic for only the second time.

But former world number one Jelena Jankovic is out after losing 6-2 7-5 to the 16th-seeded Estonian, Kaia Kanepi.

Jankovic attributed her loss to a bad performance (rather than a worthy opponent). “This was the worst match of my career. It was a horrible day. I kept framing the ball, kept making unforced errors and could not put two balls together on the court. I didn’t move properly, and I didn’t see the ball properly.”

Visa Controversy

Earlier this week, Israeli Shahar Peer was denied a last minute visa to compete in Dubai despite qualifying for the event. The tournament’s organizers supported the decision to deny Peer a visa, saying local tennis fans would have boycotted the championships if she had been allowed to compete.

So why is Israeli doubles specialist Andy Ram receiving a visa by the United Arab Emirates to play in Dubai?

The double standard is reprehensible. Shahar earned the right to be in the tournament just as Ram did. WTA officials criticized the decision and said they may consider dropping Dubai as a future site. How would the ATP have responded had the same thing happened to one of their ballers?

Athletes should never get caught in the middle of politics. Ever.

AO Update: Venus upset, Serena digs deep

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams who many thought was primed to win her first Australian Open title, lost to Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in the biggest upset so far at this year’s event.

This Spanish surprise had Venus squandering a match point in the 10th game of the final set before losing 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 at Rod Laver Arena.

Suarez Navarro, ranked 46th in the world and a French Open quarterfinalist last year, is making her tournament debut, while Williams suffered her second- earliest exit in 10 appearances.

Interviews with both Venus Williams and Suarez Navarro can be found on the Australian Open website.

In other AO news,

Serena Williams produced a characteristic fightback to advance to the third round after a 6-3 7-5 victory over Argentina’s Gisela Dulko in 110 minutes.

Also, Jelena Dokic of Austrialia defeated Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-4,  6-7, 6-3 on Night 3 while Serbian Ana Ivanovic rallied past Italian Alberta Brianti 6-3,  6-2.

Also through to the third round are Jelena Jankovic, Elena Dementieva, Amelie Mauresmo and Jie Zheng.

AO Results Women’s Singles

Many winter graduates are student-athletes

December 16, 2008 – The list of winter quarter graduates at Ohio State includes an unexpected name. The great Katie Smith, a terrific scholar-athlete whose professional basketball journey took her away from OSU before she earned her degree, finished a dozen years later. A lot of pros often speak to that intention but never quite get around to it. Smith remained true to her intention. (thanks Women’s Hoops Blog)

Over at the University of Arizona, LPGA Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame member and U of A alumna Annika Sorenstam will serve as guest speaker at Dec. 20th winter commencement ceremony. As a member of the Wildcat’s women’s golf team from 1990-92, Sorenstam won seven NCAA titles, and was the first freshman to win the individual NCAA Championship.  (via LPGA.com)

It was just a year ago that Venus Williams walked across the commencement stage at the Art Institute in Fort Lauderdale to earn her associate degree in fashion design.

Although graduation may be a life-altering transition and a memorable time for student-athletes, the toss of the tassel to the other side of the cap means more than just a testament of hard work and dedication. For many, it also shows the ability to be a team player as well as the tenacity to succeed in competition amongst the best in the nation.

Congrats to all the winter graduates!

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