2011 World Team Tennis finals to be held in Charleston

The 2011 World Team Tennis finals will be held in Charleston, South Carolina July 22-24 at the Family Circle Tennis Center, it was announced today. This is the first time the event has ever been held in Charleston, and only the second time that it has been held outside of a franchise city.

In making the announcement, WTT CEO/Commissioner Ilana Kloss said: "Charleston has such a rich tennis history, and it's a market that we have wanted to bring World Team Tennis to for a long time." WTT Co-founder Billie Jean King was also on hand to make the announcement, and she recalled the early days of the Family Circle Cup and the historical importance of the tournament. "Great tennis always finds a home in Charleston," King said.

King's vision, which became World Team Tennis, was to create a team atmosphere for the sport so that men and women could learn cooperation and leadership skills together. World Team Tennis also gives fans a chance to see both younger players who are on the rise and favorite players who have retired from the two professional tours. 2011 marks the 36th season of World Team Tennis. Players who have signed up to play this year include Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova, Kim Clijsters, Melanie Oudin, Lisa Raymond, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Kveta Peschke, Lindsay Davenport, and Liezel Huber.

World Team Tennis consists of an eastern conference and a western conference. Each team plays fourteen matches--seven at home, and seven away. The top two teams from each conference will compete during the finals. The Eastern Conference Championships will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 22, the Western Conference Champtionships will be held at 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 23, and the WTT finals take place at 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 24. All matches will be played in the Family Circle Magazine Stadium, where a hard court will be laid over the regular green clay court.

Last year, Charleston was named America's Best Tennis Town, and the Family Circle Cup, a premier WTA event, is the only women's clay tournament played in the U.S. The Family Circle Cup was the first WTA tournament to be televised, and the first to offer $100,000 in prize money. It is also the only WTA tournament to enjoy the support of the same major sponsor (Meredith Corporation) continuously throughout its history.

The idea to host the WTT finals came about when Family Circle Tennis Center general manager Bob Moran and some of his staff traveled to Washington, DC last July to see the Washington Kastles play. Moran then met with Kloss and King, both of whom were enthusiastic about the idea of bring World Team Tennis to Charleston.

Tickets for the WTT Finals Weekend presented by GEICO go on sale April 4 at 10 a.m. EDT. Weekend packages range from $50 to $150, and single session tickets range from $15 to $55. Tickets can be purchases through Ticketmaster, the Family Circle Cup website, or by calling the Family Circle Tennis Center box office (800-677-2293).

Family Circle Cup qualifying begins on April 2, and main draw play begins on April 4.

Passing shots

Stephanie Cohen-Aloro has retired from professional tennis. The Frenchwoman held her highest singles ranking, 61, in 2003.

Simon Reed believes that Petra Kvitova is the real thing.

If Caroline Wozniacki reaches the semifinals in Dubai, she will again be number 1 in the world. Paris champion Petra Kvitova was defeated in the first round today in double tiebreaks by Ayumi Morita, which clears one of Wozniacki's potential obstacles.

Recently retired WTA Tour star Justine Henin is considering undergoing surgery for her elbow. She is going to take a few months to think about it, and hopes to be able to skip the operation.

Pattaya City champion Daniela Hantuchova experienced dizziness during her first-round match against Anna Chakvetadze in Dubai. She and Paris champion Petra Kvitova were both defeated in the first round. Kvitova cited exhaustion and a painful stomach muscle.

There may eventually be night matches at the French Open.

In World Team Tennis, the New York Buzz and the New York Sportimes have merged. The new team will be called the New York Sportimes, and all but two of its matches will be played at Randall's Island in New York City. The other matches will be played in Albany, the home of the New York Buzz.

Miscellany

The Kansas City Explorers are the 2010 World Team Tennis champions. It is the first championship for the team. Jarmila Groth was named the final's Most Valuable Player. Groth, who won all three of her sets, played doubles with Kveta Peschke.

Charleston, South Carolina, Atlanta, Georgia and Richmond, Virginia are the three finalists of the ten cities nominated by the USTA as the 2010 Best Tennis Town. The winning city, to be announced next month, will get $100,000 worth of tennis equipment to be used in its tennis community. 2010 Family Circle Cup champion Sam Stosur said: "Charleston certainly felt like the Best Tennis Town in America when I won the title in April, and it's definitely one of my favorite events on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour because the city is so beautiful, and the fans are very knowledgeable and supportive of the sport."

Ana Ivanovic says she is "a little hurt and disappointed" that she did not receive a wild card into Rogers Cup competition. Ivanovic will have to qualify to get into the main draw.

Sarah Unke writes about the struggles of Anna Chakvetadze.

Vera Zvonareva withdrew from the Bank of the West Classic because of a minor leg injury, but she plans to play in San Diego.

Here is an interview with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Injuries and illness

Serena Williams has to have stitches because of a cut on the bottom of one of her feet, and--as a result--will miss the entire 2010 season of World Team Tennis. Williams plays for the Washington Kastles.

Peng Shuai, who has missed a lot of this season because of an extended illness, withdrew from Palermo today because of a sprained right ankle.

Finally, Tamira Paszek retired in her final qualifying round in Prague today because of heat illness.

Miscellany

Kim Clijsters defeated Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2 in the Brussels exhbition match that was supposed to have featured the "Best of Belgium," but was changed when Justine Henin had to withdraw because of an injury. I expected Yanina Wickmayer to be asked to step in, but instead, orgnanizers chose Williams. 35,681 spectators attended the match, the biggest crowd ever to attend a tennis event.

Dinara Safina is back on the court. She and Victoria Azarenka have been given wild cards into the Bank of the West Classic.

Not surprisingly, Maria Sharapova--who has long had a say in her own Nike dress designs--has decided to design tennis clothes for the rest of us.

Tennis Channel will broadcast the men's and women's finals of the U.S. Open National Playoffs. The men's final will be held on July 25, and the women's final will be held on August 1. The winners receive wild cards into U.S. Open qualifying.

The World Team Tennis finals will also take place on July 25.

Melanie Oudin will play in Stanford, San Diego and Cincinatti.

Alona Bondarenko married her coach, Nikolay Dyachok, on Thursday. The wedding reception was held today, and the couple is then off to a honeymoon in Crete.

Miscellany

Ravi Ubha comments briefly on all of the Wimbledon seeds.

Serena Williams' Wimbledon Ball dress beautifully matched the gold and silver of the Venus Rosewater dish.

Vera Zvonareva is back in the top 10; the Wimbledon runner-up is now number 9 in the world. 

Peng Shuai, out for a considerable time with illness, has returned to the tour.

Over the weekend, Martina Hingis played doubles with Sarah Borwell in World Team Tennis competition. Hingis plays for the New York Buzz.

Miscellany

The BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup, held in Madison Square Garden in 2009 and 2010, will be replaced in 2011 by a match between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Prior to the match, there will be a one-set exhibition match played by John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl.

Venus and Serena Williams were each fined $4,000 for failure to appear at a post-doubles match press conference at Wimbledon. Serena said today she was not aware there was a press conference--that generally, the team is simply asked to deliver a statement to the press.

The Fed Cup final between the USA and Italy will be held November 6 and 7 at the San Diego Sport Arena.

Sabine Lisicki has returned to the court to practice after a long injury layoff.

World Team Tennis competition begins on July 5. Martina Hingis will be playing for the New York Buzz, whose first match will be played against the Philadelphia Freedoms.

Miscellany

Sania Mirza is getting married next month. No, I'm not behind the times...Mirza did break off her engagement to Sohrab Mirza, but now she is marrying Pakistani cricket star Shoaib Malik. Mirza and her husband will live in Dubai.

College of Charleston student Mary Zolga has received a $5,000 scholarship grant from the Family Circle Cup's outreach program. Zolga, a business administration major and member of the women's track and field club, was awarded the grant on the basis of an essay she wrote. The scholarship program, founded in 2002, recognizes female College of Charleston students who make significant contributions in the areas of academics, athletics and community involvement.

New information reveals that 1912 Wimbledon champion Ethel Warneford-Thomson also won eleven badminton championships--five singles and six doubles.

The Fed Cup semifinal between Italy and the Czech Republic will be played in Rome on a clay court. This will be the first time that a Fed Cup competition has taken place at the Foro Italico Stadio "Nicola Pietrangeli."

Ashley Harkleroad will play World Team Tennis for the New York Sportimes this summer.

Miscellany

Daniela Hantuchova has been relaxing by playing golf in Indian Wells.

On Tuesday, March 23, in Miami, Maria Sharapova and Jay Sean will play Mel B. and Novak Djokovic in a doubles match at the Sony Ericsson Open.

"You'd think that the women of the WTA would feel resentment toward Clijsters because she came back after two years and won the U.S. Open." No, Brian Webber--you'd think they would.

Here is the 2010 World Team Tennis schedule.

Elena Dementieva has become a brand ambassador for Maui Jim sunglasses.

The Fed Cup Heart Award will now recognize six players instead of one. The award was established last year, and Melanie Oudin was the first winner. You may vote for players now. This vote is to determine the first four players. (It has all become too complicated for me.)

Hingis to play a complete WTT season

On February 11, when the World Team Tennis marquee player draft is held, one team will select Martina Hingis as a member. Hingis has signed on to play all fourteen matches this season.

The other marquee players--Venus Williams, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova--will each play five matches.

Miscellany

Charles Bricker thinks that we currently have the strongest top 10 in the history of women's tennis.

A proposed 74-court tennis court complex in Rome, Georgia would be the largest in the world.

Drop over to WTA Backspin and take a look at 2010 Intriguing Questions.

The Philadelphia Freedoms have lost their Advanta sponsorship.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has received written confirmation that Shahar Peer will be allowed to compete in Dubai next month.

Pouchkova saves 3 match points to give Washington Kastles first WTT championship

The Washington Kastles have won their first World Team Tennis Championship. The Kastles defeated the Springfield Lasers 23-20, a win sealed when Olga Pouchkova saved three match points to defeat the Lasers' Vania King.

Kastles team owner Mark Ein called it the most exciting WTT match he had ever seen, and "a dream come true to win this in front of our fans."

Vania King named WTT Most Valuable Player

Vania King of the Springfield Lasers has been named the World Team Tennis female Most Valuable Player for 2009. King had a 65% winning percentage this season, posting 61 singles games and 40 women's doubles games. This was King's first time to play World Team Tennis.

Named female Rookie of the Year was Liga Dekmaijere, who played for the St. Louis Aces. Dekmeijere won 52 women's doubles games.

Vania King the women's leader so far in WTT

Vania King, who plays for the Springfield Lasers, is currently the win-loss record leader among ranked women playing World Team Tennis this season. King has a .795 win-loss record, having played 35 games and lost 9. The next best record belongs to Angela Haynes of the Sacramento Capitals.

Only five ranked women have a winning record so far. They are--besides King and Haynes--Serena Williams, Abigail Spears and Sloane Stephens. Stephens plays for the New York Buzz, whose members are made up of players age 18 and younger.

Among unranked women, the win-loss leader at this point is Raquel Kops-Jones, who plays for the Boston Lobsters.

The Lasers, a Western Conference team, is 8-0 so far this season in match play.

Clijsters to play World Team Tennis

Kim Clijsters has signed with the the St. Louis Aces, and will play two World Team Tennis matches this summer. She will make her debut in St. Louis on July 21, and will play again in Philadelphia on July 22. Clijsters will play both singles and doubles.

I don't watch much World Team Tennis; it's not my cup of tea. I like the fact that lesser known players can make some extra money and get some extra match play, though. And watching World Team Tennis is a way to see Anna Kournikova and Michelle Larcher de Brito.

People are speculating that Clijsters will return to the tour, but when she retired, she said her body was seriously banged up beyond repair. Clijsters' style of play was very hard on her physically, and I remember her writing about all the machinations she has to go through when she gets up in the morning, just to minimize pain. World Team Tennis provides her a nice, stress-free way to play tennis.

Williams is WTT top draft pick

World number 1 Serena Williams was the top draft pick in today's World Team Tennis draft. Williams will be the headline player for the Washington Kastles, and will play four matches.

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.

Shvedova wins WTT Rookie of the Year award

Yaroslava Shvedova has been named the 2008 World Team Tennis female Rookie of the Year. Shvedova plays for the New York Buzz, who won the 2008 season championship over the weekend. Shvedova, who is ranked number 132 in the world in singles and number 55 in doubles, won the Canara Bank Bangalore Open in 2007.

New York Buzz win World Team Tennis championship, Stubbs is named MVP

Rennae Stubbs was named WTT Championship Weekend's Most Valuable Player

The New York Buzz has won its first World Team Tennis championship, defeating the Kansas City Explorers, 21-18 in the weekend's season championship event. The Buzz is a 14-year-old team that has reached the championship final three other times.

Rennae Stubbs, Kveta Peschke and Yaroslava Shvedova play for the New York Buzz. Stubbs was chosen as Championship Weekend's Most Valuable Player. Stubbs had the highest winning percentage of any player in the semifinals and finals.

Quote of the day

What is the diagnois exactly?
"The diagnosis is just an old knee that's played too many tennis hours."

Lindsay Davenport, in an interview with World Team Tennis