Miscellany

Sania Mirza says she will retire in two years so that she can concentrate on family life. Stay tuned because--you know--it's Sania Mirza.

Anne Keothavong has had to give up rock climbing and bouldering because of her knee injuries.

I became so involved in blogging about the French Open that I didn't get around to blogging about the University of Southern California's Center for Feminist Research report on media coverage of women's sports. The news is even worse than it was five years ago, except that there has been a decline in blatantly sexist remarks made by the sports media. The study also confrims somthing we already knew--that women athletes tend to get decent coverage when something "controversial" occurs in an athletic event (the controversial behavior or action, of course, is often something that would get no attention at all if men did it).

As of this week, Francesca Schiavone, the 2010 French Open champion, is ranked number 6 in the world. This is the highest ranking ever achieved by an Italian woman. Flavia Pennetta, the first Italian woman to ever rank in the top 10, has returned to that list, with a current ranking of 10. There is now only one Russian, Elena Dementieva, in the top 10.

Elena Baltacha is blogging from Birmingham.

Peng Shuai withdrew from the French Open because of illness; she has now withdrawn from Wimbledon.