Passing shots

Dinara Safina has hired Davide Sanguinetti to be her coach. Sanguinetti reached a career-high rank of 42 in the ATP.

Olympus has settled the lawsuit filed against the company by the USTA. Olympus will remain a sponsor of the U.S. Open, and will remain the title sponsor of the U.S. Open Series.

There are a number of travel packages available for the Family Circle Cup, which will be played April 2-10.

You can read about Australia's new Learn Earn Legend! program here; it's the lastest initiative of the great Evonne Goolagong Cawley.

Venus Williams is the service speed leader so far in 2011. She hit a 121.2 mph (195 kph) serve at the Australian Open. Right behind her, not surprisingly, is Lucie Hradecka, who hit a 120. 5 mph (194 kph) serve in Brisbane.

New Zealand and Malaysia both pulled out of Fed Cup competition because they didn't have enough good players to compete. Marina Erakovic and Sacha Jones, New ealand's top players, both have wrist injuries.

Miscellany

The USTA has filed a suit against Olympus, the sponsor of the U.S. Open Series. The contract between Olympus and the USTA, which runs through 2013, stipulates that the camera company can opt out of the last two years if wishes to, but Olympus officials decided to opt out in 2011, which is a year early. The USTA is calling this action a breach of contract, but Olympus maintains that the USTA already breached the contract by permitting Panasonic to infringe on Olympus's sponsorship rights. USTA officials have referred to this opinion as being "without merit."

Don't miss WTA Backspin's WTA Yearbook.

A number of tennis and sports websites are reporting that Kimiko Date Krumm will retire next year. When she lost in the Asian Games, she said that she was very tired and maybe would have to quit next year, then she almost immediately felt better and talked about her future tennis plans. Though she certainly could stop after next year, the statement that she absolutely "will retire" was taken out of context by the Asian press and has been carelessly reprinted.

Laura Robson, who split with her coach in September, is reported to be looking for a new one.

Here are some early, and really cute, photos of the Williams sisters.

Miscellany

A reminder to U.S. viewers: Unmatched, a documentary about the rivalry between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, will have its premier showing tomorrow night, September 14, at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN. It will also be shown at 11 p.m. on the 14th on ESPN2. Viewers can also watch at 8 p.m., Thursday, September 16 on ESPN Classic, and Saturday, September 18 at 1 a.m on ESPN 2.

Navratilova was given the Eugene L. Scott Award on Friday at the Legends Ball in New York.

USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier says that putting a roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium would mean there would be no money available to fund grassroots tennis in the U.S.

Vania King says that she began playing doubles with Yaroslava Shvedova because Anna-Lena Groenefeld, with whom she had been playing, sustained a stress fracture in her foot. She expected Groenefeld to return for the clay season, but that didn't happen. King and Shvedova formed a team during the grass season and decided--for obvious reasons--to stay together.

This is the second year in a row that Esther Vergeer has won the U.S. Open women's wheelchair singles final with a score of 6-0, 6-0. 

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour "Looking Back at a Legend" series continues with a look back at Tracy Austin.

Wild card Rebecca Marino has advanced to the second round of the Bell Challenge in Quebec. She defeated countrywoman and wild card Heidi El Tabakh 7-6, 7-6.

Charleston named "Best Tennis Town" in U.S.

At the end of July, I reported that Charleston, South Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia and Richmond, Virginia were the three finalists of the ten cities nominated by the USTA for the second annual title of "Best Tennis Town." Today, the USTA announced that Charleston is the winner; the announcement was made today on Arthur Ashe Court at the U.S. Open. Charleston was selected for the title through online voting in July.

The city of Charleston will receive $100,000 to be used to enhance citywide tennis programming and/or facilities. There are 580 tennis courts in Charleston, which is the home of the Family Circle Cup, one of the most historically significant and fan-friendly tournaments in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's schedule.

USTA to give U.S. Open qualifying wild card to winner of U.S. Open National Playoffs

For the first time ever, the USTA is awarding a wild card into U.S. Open qualifying to just about anyone who is good enough to earn it. The U.S. Open National Playoffs involves a series of tournaments in the nation's 16 USTA sections. The winners of the women's and men's sectional qualifying tournaments will advance to the National Playoffs. The men's playoffs will be held in Atlanta, and the women's will be held in Stanford.

The tournament is open to both professional and amateur players. You needn't be a U.S. citizen to enter, but you have to be at least 14 years old. Players have to be USTA members in order to participate. There is a $125 fee to enter a sectional tournament. The sectional tournaments began this month.

Miscellany

Shahar Peer led Poland's annual March of the Living on Monday. The event pays tribute to the victims of Auschwitz. Peer was accompanied by her grandmother, an Auschwitz camp survivor.

The Amanda and Stacy Darling Tennis Center in Las Vegas has been designated a USTA regional training hub.

Sania Mirza married Pakistani cricket player Shoaib Malik on Monday, following weeks of controversy.

Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Yanina Wickmayer, and Kirsten Flipkens have been named to the Belgian Fed Cup team for the April playoff against Estonia.

Serena Williams has entered the Italian Open as a wild card.

Australian Open wild card playoffs in progress

Julia Boserup is the final entrant in the USTA's Australian Open wild card playoffs. Also, Julia Cohen is not playing; she was replaced by Grace Min. Play began yesterday, with these results:

Boserup def. Brengle, 6-3, 6-4
Riske def. Min, 6-4, 6-4
McHale def. Goldfield, 6-3, 6-2
Vandeweghe def. Muhammed, 6-4, 6-2

Today's matches are:
Boserup vs. Vandeweghe
Riske vs. McHale

The final will be played on Monday.

Miscellany

Zina Garrison has settled her lawsuit with the USTA. Garrison filed a racial discrimination lawsuit earlier in the year, claiming that she was wrongly dismissed as U.S. Fed Cup captain. She also alleged that she was paid less than U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe, and was held to a higher standard than McEnroe. Details of the settlement have not been disclosed.

Larisa Preobrazhenskaya, Anna Kournikova's coach at the Spartak Tennis Club in Moscow, died this week at the age of 79. She was the most honored coach in Russian tennis history.

Don't miss WTA Backspin's "Players of the Decade" feature.

Vera Zvonareva was fined $1,500 for her use of profanity at the U.S. Open.

For the first time, when the USA plays Italy in the final, the official Fed Cup website will feature live streaming of matches (Thanks to On the Baseline for this news.)

New ways to watch the U.S. Open

If you live in the U.S. and are fortunate enough to have Direct TV or ESPN 360, you have a lot of choices for watching the U.S. Open. Direct TV will show six matches at a time. If you do not have either of those venues, you still have plenty of choices, though, thanks to the USTA's new live streaming project.

The U.S. Open website will stream up to five matches at a time in high definition throughout the tournament. Also, Tennis Channel will stream some matches throughout the tournament, also.

In addition--though ESPN2 will provide most of the weekday coverage of the tournament--Tennis Channel will provide live broadcasting of some matches on outer courts!

Miscellany

Jelena Jankovic appears ready to replace coach Ricardo Sanchez after the French Open.

Here is the transcript of Monica Seles' recent ESPN chat.

The USTA has opened a regional training center in Austin.

Steve Flink talks with Craig Kardon about Ana Ivanovic.

We're way into the season and Tennis Live Radio has still not gone back on the air.

Wild card Maria Sharapova will play Tathiana Garbin in the first round of the Warsaw Open next week.

USTA to take 25% ownership of WTT

The U.S. Tennis Association will soon become a minority owner of World Team Tennis. The USTA is making this move in order to market USTA Junior Team Tennis through the WTT.

Zina Garrison preparing to file suit against USTA

Now that settlement talks have failed, former U.S. Fed Cup captain Zina Garrison is preparing to file a racial discrimination suit against the USTA, which manages the Fed Cup team. Garrison claims that she was wrongly dismissed as captain. Garrison is seeking millions of dollars in back pay and damages.

The USTA is currently involved in a lawsuit filed by Marvin Dent, who alleges that the organization did not promote him to the position of Director of Tennis at the National Tennis Center because he of its bias toward the Caucasian person who received the promotion. Dent also alleges that there is a pattern of racial discrimination that has been practiced by the USTA. A few years ago, the attorney general of New York ordered the USTA to create a transparent process for chair umpire applications. This action was prompted by two suits filed against the organization by African American umpires.

The USTA denies all charges.

USTA picks another woman-as-man to be its leader

Lucy S. Garvin has been chosen as the USTA's Chairman of the Board and President. Like her predecessor, she is referred to as a man, which is a bit confusing, since she is a woman. The USTA is not only confused about gender, but also about ethnicity; if you have ever filled out a membership application, then you know that the organization does not realize that Hispanic people are Caucasian. Perhaps the USTA will eventually join the 21st Century.

Rinaldi hired by USTA

Kathy Rinaldi, a former top 10 player in both singles and doubles, has been hired by the USTA as a Player Development National Coach. Rinaldi won her first major singles title by defeating Steffi Graf in the final. She was a U.S. Fed Cup team coach in 2006 and 2008.

Ditty breaks USTA Pro Circuit record

Julie Ditty has broken the USTA Pro Circuit record for titles won, singles and doubles combined. Ditty won both singles and doubles in a recent ITF tournament in Albuquerque, breaking the record for both men and women. She has now won thirty-two USTA Pro Circuit titles.

The 29-year-old Ditty broke into the top 100 last November when she made it to the semifinals in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's Bell Challenge in Quebec City. Ditty has earned almost $153,000 in prize money in 2008.

Irony I could do without

I always cringe when Jane Brown Grimes talks about gender equality at the U.S. Open while she and her organization continue to refer to her as a man.

USTA drops Gimelstob ads from U.S. Open Series campaign

The United States Tennis Association has scrapped all of its U.S. Open Series ads that featured Justin Gimelstob, former ATP player, Tennis Channel commentator and well-known misogynist. The USTA issued a statement which included these remarks:

Justin Gimelstob's recent comments on a Washington, D.C., radio program were derogatory and demeaning to female tennis players and to women in general. The USTA has long championed integrity, inclusiveness, diversity, and equality, and cannot ignore such harmful remarks. More than any other sport, tennis has benefited from the pioneering role and achievements of so many women.

Dear Jane Brown Grimes...

Billie Jean King didn't risk everything to found the WTA so that you could be elected to your very prestigious position and be called chairman of the board. I'm sure the USTA wants to call you a man, but could you please have the good grace to object?

U.S. Open to close lockers rooms to reporters

Last year at the U.S. Open, after Andre Agassi played the final match of his career, female reporters were barred from the men's locker room, in violation of U.S. Open media rules. Despite inviting gender equality, male reporters still went to the men's locker room, and female reporters to the women's locker room. To correct this discrepancy, the USTA has decided to close both locker rooms to all reporters. Other exclusive player areas will be open to members of the news media.