Passing shots

"Stuff just happens," Chanda Rubin said her recent house fire. Reporters asked Rubin which professional tennis player she would have picked to be on the fire rescue team. She immediately answered "Arantxa," a reference to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Good choice.

Serena Williams says she plans to play on the USA Fed Cup team in April. First, however, the USA has to beat Belgiam in the quarterfinals.

Maria Sharopova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Dinara Safina are scheduled to play for Russia in the 2011 Fed Cup World Group quarterfinals. Russia will play France in Olympic Stadium in Moscow.

Aravane Rezai has withdrawn from both Fed Cup and the indoor Paris tournament. She withdrew from doubles competition at the Australian Open, following media reports that a member of her family would most likely be banned from tournaments. Rezai's father has a history of inappropriate behavior at tournaments, and--though one report mentions that a female is under investigation--it has now been widely reported that the French player's father threatened her romantic partner. Rezai says that the reports are inaccurate and exaggerated, but--considering her father's history--it isn't that hard to believe them. One thing is certain: Rezai's withdrawal from Fed Cup and the Open GDF Suez is very unfortunate.

Fern Lee "Peachy" Kellmeyer, the WTA's first director (and first employee) has been elected for induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. This honor has been a long time coming.

Miscellany

Serena Williams reports that her foot surgery was performed to repair a torn tendon which had caused her toe to droop. She had twelve stitches on one toe, and six on another. The world number one was injured by broken glass while she was in a restaurant in Munich. She had planned to return to the tour in Tokyo, but now she is doubtful for that tournament.

Once again, Nick Bollettieri's name is not included among nominees to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Regardless of whether you like the Bollettieri style, he does create champions.

I'm not sure how much longer I can cope with hearing, ad nauseum, the following phrases:
"Cinderella run"
"at the end of the day"
"close out" (as annoying as all extraneous adverb use, e.a., "print out," "head up," etc.)
"young lady"
"going to be a tough match"
"America's hope" (or even worse, "America's next hope"--what does even mean?)

I am completely taken with Alona Bondarenko's tennis dress.

The College Sports Council has jumped on the ridiculous "Blame Title IX" bandwagon. Fortunately, both the NCAA and the Women's Sports Foundation have come forward, utilizing those pesky facts that always get in the way of a good Title IX attack.

"She was fire, and I was ice"

Congratulations to Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, who were inducted, as a pair, into the International Tennis Hall of Fame today. Fernandez and Zvereva won fourteen major titles, and numerous other titles and honors--almost too many to count. They also hold the second-longest major tournament doubles title streak in Open Era history.

Fernandez and Zvereva to be inducted into Hall of Fame

Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, who comprised one of the tour's greatest doubles teams, will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July.

Fernandez and Zvereva won 38 titles together, including 14 majors. Fernandez won a total of 68 doubles titles, including 17 majors, three of which she won with Robin White, Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna. Zvereva won 84 doubles titles, including 18 majors, four of which she won with Larisa Savchenko (2), Pam Shriver and Martina Hingis. Zvereva also won the Australian Open mixed doubles championship twice.

Fernandez and Zvereva on ITHF nomination ballot

Of the twelve people who were recently announced as possible 2010 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees, two are very successful tour doubles players--Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, who appear on the list as a team.

Fernandez won 17 majors, including five consecutive French Open titles. She won a total of 68 career titles, and was ranked number 1 on four different occasions.

Zvereva won 18 majors in women's doubles, and won the Australian Open mixed doubles title twice. Zvereva was also ranked as high as 5 in the world in singles.

Fernandez and Zvereva won more major titles than any team in the open era except for Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver.

Seles to be inducted into Hall of Fame tomorrow

Tennis great Monica Seles will be inducted into the International tennis Hall of Fame tomorrow in a ceremony that also includes the induction of Andres Gimeno, Donald L. Dell and Dr. Robert Johnson.

Seles--who tallied a 180-31 win-loss record at the four majors, and who won nine of them--won 53 singles titles throughout her 15-year career. She also won six doubles titles, won three consecutive year-end championships, and held the number 1 ranking for a total of 178 weeks.

A left-hander who hit both her forehand and backhand with both hands, Seles played with uncommon aggression, finding angles that often left her opponents stunned. She was the youngest player to ever win the French Open, and the youngest to win the year-end championships. In 2000, Seles won a bronze medal at the Olympics.

It is generally agreed that if Seles had not been the victim of a stabber in 1993, her career would have included even more major titles. The incident caused Seles to leave the tour for over two years, and was made even more bitter by the fact that her perpetrator never served a day in prison.

In addition to being one of tennis's brightest stars, Seles was also part of a wonderful rivalry. She and Steffi Graf thrilled fans for years with their close, high-quality matches.

Seles to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Monica Seles, one of the most talented players to ever take part in the tour, will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame this summer. Seles won nine majors, 53 singles titles, six doubles titles, and was number 1 in the world for 178 weeks.

Seles to make Hall of Fame induction speech

Monica Seles will present Mark McCormack for induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame next month. McCormack, the founder of International Management Group, will be inducted posthumously.

James Martin revives the Sabatini controversy

Some time ago, in another blog, I wrote about the controversy surrounding Gabriela Sabatini's induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Some thought she should not have been inducted; others thought the induction was justified. I am in that latter group.

First, a quick look at the highlights of Sabatini's career:

• 27 singles titles, including the U.S. Open, in1990

• 14 doubles titles, including Wimbledon, in 1988

• finalist in two other Grand Slam singles tournaments

• two-time winner of what is now called the Sony Ericsson Championships (Year-End Championships)

• silver medal at the 1988 Olympics

There is no doubt that--if Sabatini had not wound up the filling in the Graf-Seles sandwich, she would have achieved much more. It was her misfortune to play during a period when these two spectacular champions played. She got as high as number 3 in the world, and was only one or two points away from becoming number 1. She could also have achieved more if she had stayed on the tour longer. In his column for Tennis.com, James Martin says that Sabatini "was inducted last year on the strength of, well, one Slam...."

But that is not the reality of the matter. A player is not inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame based solely on how many singles Grand Slams she has won. First, that would eliminate from consideration all of the doubles specialists. Should we deny Lisa Raymond induction? How about Rennae Stubbs? Second, Hall of Fame inductees are chosen "based on their records of competitive achievement." Surely "competitive achievement" encompasses more than Grand Slam singles wins.

I understand what Martin is saying--that the International Tennis Hall of Fame needs to change its standards so that so-called "one-Slam wonders" are not eligible. But that would still not eliminate Sabatini, unless it were made clear that doubles achievements simply do not count. Besides, 41 titles and a silver medal are nothing to sneeze at.

How many Grand Slam singles titles would be enough to permit induction? What about players who led their teams to major victories in Fed Cup competition? Would their achievements count? Do the Sony Ericsson Championships count for nothing?

I realize that there will probably always be some controversy surrounding Hall of Fame induction. But I think it is narrow to judge players' careers based on how many Grand Slam singles titles they have won. Many a great player has won only one or two, and though they "should" have won more, they were still great players with outstanding careers.

Sanchez-Vicario inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, the woman Bud Collins nicknamed the Barcelona Bumblebee, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame today. The first Spanish woman to win the U.S. Open (1994), Sanchez-Vicario won the French Open three times, and she also holds ten Grand Slam doubles titles--six women's and four mixed. The indefatigable Spaniard also holds twenty-nine WTA career singles titles and sixty-seven doubles titles. She was on the tour for sixteen years, guiding Spain to all five of its Fed Cup victories, and--with two bronze and two silver medals--is the most decorated Olympian in Spanish history.

The Barcelona Bumblebee was probably the counter-puncher of all time on the women's tour, keeping her opponents on the court until all hours in lengthy rallies, in which she covered an amazing amount of ground. She was also the nemesis of the two greatest players of her generation--Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.

In recent years, Sanchez-Vicario, who speaks five languages fluently, has continued to play an active role in tennis. It was she who first noticed Russian star Svetlana Kuznetsova, who trained at Spain's famed Sanchez-Casal Academy (co-founded by Sanchez-Vicario's brother, a former doubles champion). Sanchez-Vicario put Kuznetsova in touch with Martina Navratilova and they became doubles partners. Kuznetsova credits much of her rise in the sport to the mentoring she received from both Navratilova and Sanchez-Vicario.