Lindsay Davenport, along with her oh, so misunderstood friend, Justin Gimelstob, will be two of the commentators for Fox Sports Network's coverage of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells next month. The Fox Network channel in my area rarely shows tennis, and I can't say that fact is making me especially unhappy in this case.
According to the ARGWUS blog, Robert Radwanski--father and manager of the Radwanska sisters--has declared that his daughters will not play in Dubai next year. A protest against the treatment of Shahar Peer? No--a protest against the treatment of Aga and Urszula: "It's not politics. We just won't play where we are not welcomed. For the organizers of this tournament, if you're not Williams or Sharapova, you're no one. They have let us all emphatically feel it." That's not politics?
Kristie Ahn, a junior who impressed me at the U.S. Open, lost the final today at the SMASH Junior Cup in South Carolina. She was defeated in straight sets by Alison Riske, whose reward is a wild card into qualifying at the Family Circle Cup.
Anne Keothavong has finally made it to the world's top 50, coming in at number 48. So far, two-thirds of those voting in the Eurosport poll have said that Keothavong will not win a tournament this year. Keothavong complains that a lack of professionalism in the LTA has held her back, or--as the always-candid Brit told the BBC: "If I knew what I know now I could've been in the top 50 years ago." I don't have any trouble believing Keothavong. The last time I checked, the LTA was very busy trying to convince girls they could be athletes and still be "feminine."
Speaking of rankings, Kaia Kanepi is now in the top 20 (number 20).
Patty Schnyder's official website has disappeared, though the English version (never as good as the European version) is still online. I hope this is a temporary status. The website for The White Mile is still online, too. The last time Schndyer was interviewed about the book, which was to have been released in Europe July of last year, she said that she and husband/coach Reiner Hoffman became very busy and had not yet figured out how to tie all of the parts of the book together. There are still no excerpts on the website.
Hmm, wasn't Indian Wells one of those events last year that FSN was carrying on a one-year basis, with the contract being extended to this year if the WTA was satisfied with the relationship?
ReplyDeleteYou know, one of the events that were hardly shown at all by most of the FSN affiliates and was criticized by the on-site players when THEY weren't even able to watch their upcoming opponents play because the local FSN channel wasn't showing it?
I guess that qualifies as a "good relationship" in the WTA's eyes. Somehow, I'm no longer surprised.
That's the same response I had, Todd. The WTA clearly has some criteria foreign to the rest of us.
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