Archive for the ‘Random’ Category

Life of a Tennis Ball

Here is a quick short film about the life of a Tennis Ball.

30 Rock: Jenna Maroney – Tennis Night in America

Im not exactly sure what to say about this. So American!

The Case for a Longer Grass Court Season

Wimbledon is often considered sacred ground from the perspective of a professional tennis player. Victory on these revered lawns presents the ultimate tennis glory. A majority of professional tennis players would sight Wimbledon as the most desirable title in all of tennis. There is a distinct, indescribable eminence that comes with claiming the Wimbledon trophy.

No player better represents not only the brilliance but pure elegance that is characteristic of a Wimbledon champion than Roger Federer. The graceful nature with which Federer plays the game is of no comparison and is truly visible on grass.  It is on this surface that Federer’s fluidity and variety really provide him with the upper hand against virtually every opponent.

Unfortunately, the beauty associated with grass court tennis is only seen for an abbreviated time span. The grass court season begins the Monday following the French Open and ends around a month later. With four warm up tournaments over a span of two weeks, transitioning from the slow, high bouncing clay courts to the fast, low bouncing grass courts presents a formidable challenge. Many players such as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have even opted to skip these warm up tournaments and jump into Wimbledon cold.

For the surface on which the most striking and highly technical tennis is played, it would seem a just exploit to the tennis world to extend the season much beyond its current length. The Clay court season, which spans from February to June, is four months of relentless back court grinding that presents an extremely demanding physical challenge.  The Hard court season, which lasts from July to the end of November, arguably takes an even bigger physical toll on players. A prime example of this is Rafael Nadal. Nadal plays the game with a never say die attitude, but unfortunately because of this he has encountered various knee problems throughout his career due the incredible effort and grit he puts into every single point. The toll taken on his knees on grass is not nearly as severe as the aggravation experienced on the hard and clay courts.

With this being said the grass courts are considerably less destructive to the body and allow the players to focus more on what’s being done on the court as opposed to what the court is doing to their body. Despite all of this, I am in full recognition that there are obvious obstacles in the way of extending the grass court season such as a lack of venues and scheduling. If the ATP is in fact able to extend the life of the grass court season, it would not only be a positive improvement for the health of the players but it would also be nothing short of a gift to tennis fans all around the world.

Win a Free Copy of Rafael Nadals Autobiography on TheTennisTimes

Here on TheTennisTimes we are lucky enough to have 3 copies of the new Rafael Nadal’s autobiography to give away!

In the book Rafa talks about everything within his career including his amazing 2008 Wimbledon final victory over Roger Federer.

All you need to do to win a copy of the book is Retweet this article and then comment to let us know why you want a copy of Rafa’s autobiography.

Entries close 11th of September 2011.

These are edited extracts from Rafa: My Story by Rafael Nadal with John Carlin, published by Sphere (RRP £17.99).

Addition: Rafael talks about the book on the Telegraph.

Kim Sears Struggling for Work, But At Least She Isnt Just Posing for Hello Magazine!

There was a very interesting article on the Telegraph that stated Andy Murray’s girlfriend was struggling to find a job. Andrew Castle statted live on air:

“So if anyone out there is listening there’s a lovely young lady who wants a job.

“This could be the first time someone gets a job via a TV commentary.”

However, the best comment of the article was from Andy stating:

“She doesn’t want to follow me around on tour. She wants to have her own career, not just pose in Hello magazine.”

I know Andy’s comment was from 2009, but it fits in very nicely with Novak Djokovic and his girlfriend Jelena Ristic just posing for Hello Magazine!

Highest Paid Female Athletes: Mostly Tennis Players

There is a very interesting article over at PostGame that showcases the top 5 highest paid female athletes. Out of the top 5 there are 4 tennis players in the list!

Thus, if your a female and you want to earn a lot of money from sport, then Tennis is the game for you.

Read the full article here.

UK Mailman Convicted for Graffiti campaign against Andy Murray

A mailman in England was convicted of launching a graffiti campaign against British tennis star, Andy Murray and was in return fined and made to do community service.

A Scottish newspaper reported that 45 year-old Darren Swain was responsible for putting up dozens of posters at a Royal Mail sorting office in Coventry with offensive comments, two of which featured “racist slurs.” He called Murray a “useless Jock”, and the word Jock is a slang term for a Scot.

The culprit was eventually caught after officials installed hidden cameras and hired a team of handwriting experts to uncover who the perpetrator was.

He was sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid community service at the Coventry Magistrates Court  and ordered to pay 3,000 pounds for being found guilty of three counts of criminal damage and two of racially aggravated criminal damage.

It is not clear however why Swain would target Andy Murray in his pejorative messages.

Andy Roddick & Michelle Bernstein Team Up for Annual BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis

It is time again for the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis. The tournament brings together the top tennis players in the world and the top chefs in a pro-am type format.

The star-studded charity event produced by AYS Sports Marketing will hold court Thursday, August 25^th, 7-10pm at the W New York in midtown Manhattan. For more information check out their website: www.bnpparibastasteoftennis.com.

Tennis Players include:

• Andy Roddick
• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
• Mardy Fish
• Tomas Berdych
• Kei Nishikori
• Andrea Petkovic
• Marin Cilic
• Lleyton Hewitt
• Darren Cahill
• Victoria Azarenka
• Milos Raonic
• Francesca Schiavone
• Li Na
• Jarmila Gajdosova
• Lucie Safarova
• Dominika Cibulkova
• Gilles Simon
• and more…

London Olympic Medals for Tennis

The London Olympics is less than a year away and they have just showcased the medals the athletes will be trying to win.

Caption Competition: Roger Federer Going a Little Crazy!

This makes me wondering if Roger Federer is starting to lose his mind on and off the court.

This is a great picture we found from the 2011 Australian Open.

Caption Competition: Caption the picture in the comments.

Michael Chang surprised at his depiction in Andre Agassi’s book

Former French Open champion Michael Chang has voiced his surprise at how he was depicted by Andre Agassi in his autobiography titled Open.

In the book, Agassi made some comments about Chang’s devotion to Christianity which sort of made Chang scratch his head a little bit. Chang was also flustered at the fact that Agassi let another tennis legend, Jim Courier know about the contents of the book before its release but never spoke to him about it at an exhibition with only a week left for publication of the book.

“I read the excerpts, and it’s hard for me not to shake my head a little bit,” Chang said. “I wonder if, to some degree, whether some of the stuff he wrote was more or less to sell the book… It was kind of odd. Andre was very harsh on me for my Christian faith, but at the same time, I believe he understands where I am as far as my faith. We actually used to have Bible studies together early on in our careers. He was upset that I would go and thank the Lord for my matches, which, back then, was probably not as commonplace as you see today. I would have thought that he would know me better than that; that me going out and expressing that has nothing to do with saying, ‘I’m better than you, or ‘God loves me more than he loves you.’ That’s not the case.”

Chang did say that Andre was pretty harsh on everyone, and it’s just the way he is; but he has had a pretty good relationship with him for the most part.

Whole Host of Tennis Stars Attended Elena Dementieva’s Wedding

There were a whole host of tennis professionals that attended the recent wedding of Elena Dementieva. Maria Kirilenko, Igo Andreev, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Vera Zvonareva, Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Vesnina and Vera Dushevina, among others.

“They were sitting with us, talking on the microphone, they were dancing together. It was unbelievable. Normally when you go to wedding, you are sitting and watching and it’s kind of boring.”

Kirilenko said that the newlyweds performed a duet, singing a love song to each other while dancing.  “Elena told me they practiced a lot. I was surprised she sang well.”

Top Tennis Names React to Recent World Tragedies on Twitter

Some of the most recognized names in tennis had their say about recent tragedies such as Amy Winehouse’s unexpected death and the cold-hearted and grisly Norway Attacks, on their Twitter accounts.

Here are some messages that show that tennis players also have their opinions about world events and that they really want to comfort the people that are affected by these terrible events.

“Can’t believe what’s happened in norway, absolutely tragic, what is that meant to achieve, gets me so down:-(”
-Andy Murray

“What is wrong with some people in this world? So tragic, so sad. Thoughts are with the people in Norway.”
-Anne Keothavong

“Just read a detailed report on the #Oslo bombing/shooting. It amazes me that some people can have that much hatred in them. Scary world.”
-Amer Delic

“Wow. Rest in peace Amy Winehouse. Very sad news. Such an amazingly talented lady.”
-Laura Robson

“Just heard the news about Amy Winehouse…sad,but not sure why im not surprised…”
-Sorana Cirstea

Andre Agassi Speech for Tennis Hall of Fame Induction

A few weeks ago Andre Agassi was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. Here is Andre’s wonderful induction speech in case you missed it. Enjoy!

Picture from the Past: Daniela Hantuchova

Here is a picture from the past. Daniela Hantuchova back in her junior days. Doesnt look much different to now really.

Name That Pro Tennis Player Dancing at a David Gray Concert

Lets have a little competition. See if you can name the professional tennis player dancing at the front of the crowd!

Leisure Diving: Tennis Style

It seems like Leisure Diving is the new viral thing at the moment and I just came across Leisure Diving Tennis Style.

What do you think?

Check out more pictures are Leisuredive.com

p.s. Looks a little bit like Andy Murray!

Novak Djokovic and Jelena Ristic Only Holidays at French Beach

Just got sent some interesting picture of Novak Djokovic and Jelena Ristic on Holiday in the French Riviera.

Picture of Elena Dementieva’s Wedding to Maxim Afinogenov

Last week we were the first to report about the wedding of Elena Dementieva. Now we have picture straight from the wedding.

ESPY Awards Announce Winners Wednesday Night

On July 13, the stage was set for the annual ESPY Awards in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theatre. It is the awards show that recognizes the best sports stories from the previous year. All the guests gave the event a glamorous feeling as always, and some great athletes won their place among the legendary ESPY winners of the past.

This year’s winners for the Best Male and Female Tennis Player were Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. Nadal was also nominated in the Best Male Athlete category, but lost out to Dirk Nowitzki from the Dallas Mavericks (basketball).

Among the guests who were invited to the awards were Andy Roddick’s wife, Brooklyn Decker; Justin Bieber and girlfriend Selena Gomez, and Maria Sharapova.

P.S Maria Sharapova’s dress made her look a bit like a black swan and The Fighter won the Best Sports Movie award but nonetheless, congrats to all the nominees and winners at this year’s ESPYS!