Passing shots

Bethanie Mattek-Sands, as promised, wore a dress made partly of tennis balls to the WTA pre-Wimbledon party. The dress was designed by Alex Noble, who designs for Lady Gaga.

"...I didn't call her. I sent a text message saying, 'I'm good. Now in Paris, on my way back to Munich.' And she said, 'I heard you won a tournament.'" If you guessed this was a communication between Li Na and her mother, you are correct. 

Backspin Time Capsule, the 15th in a series featured on WTA Backspin, features the 1989 Wimbledon tournament.

Today is Venus Williams' 31st birthday.

Here is the story behind the gardens of Wimbledon.

Note to Bob P. of Tulsa: If WTA players are "grunting beasts" (and he appears to mean that in a bad way), exactly what are Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer? Not that many WTA players (Schiavone comes to mind) grunt--but some do "shriek," as Sonja of Apex, North Carolina points out. And some (Wozniacki and Wickmayer come to mind) do something that is neither grunting nor shrieking, though I suppose Wozniacki's "oompah" is more of a grunt than anything.