Passing shots

23rd seed Alisa Kleybanova has withdrawn from the French Open because of illness. Lucky loser Anastasia Pivovarova has replaced Kleybanova in the draw.

Marion Bartoli hopes to be able to play her French Open first round on Monday. She had to retire in the Strasbourg final today because of a thigh injury.

The Brisbane International tournament has been upgraded to Premier status.

ESPN.com recently posted a poll so that people could vote for who they think is the greatest tennis player of all time. All of the players listed were men. So instead of asking "Who is the greatest male player of all time?" ESPN just went with the usual sexist approach of presuming that "tennis players" are male and "great" tennis players are male. Big surprise.

Babolat is the official ball of the 2011 French Open. Defending champion Francesca Schiavone will be using a customized version of the Babolat AeroPro Drive.

Jillian Michaels is leaving the cast of NBC's "The Biggest Loser," but there's "good" news: Anna Kournikova is joining the cast.

WTA launches "Strong is Beautiful" campaign

The WTA has launched a new, "Strong is Beautiful" global ad campaign, featuring a number of the tour's players. I really like the idea, though I'd like the campaign better if the women were shown in their tennis clothes, on a tennis court, rather than in "photoshoot" style. Still, the ads are attractive and refreshingly simple. Kim Clijsters' ad also contains an unexpected feminist message, so--if we have to keep hearing about how she had a baby and came back--this is certainly a a great way to hear about it. (Of course, the WTA had to go and ruin the effect by once again delivering the sexist message that Clijsters "balances" motherhood and professional tennis.)

Here is the Sugar and Spice video, narrated by Heather Watson:



And here is Li Na's video:

Monday morning at Starbuck's

This morning, I was in Starbuck's and the barista noticed my T-shirt, one of the old "I'M IN TOUCH" shirts.


Barista: What's that shirt?

Me: From an old WTA campaign slogan, "Get in touch with your feminine side."

Barista: Oh, women's tennis. What's their slogan now?

Me: I'm not sure, but it ought to be "Our players are all sex objects."

Barista laughs and nods.

Me: The LPGA is actually worse.

Barista: Oh, I think it's all getting better.

Me: Really? I think it's getting much worse.

Barista: Well, women's softball is the worst.

Me: You mean, because they still call them "first basemen"?

Barista rolls eyes more or less in agreement, then laughs.

Barista: Really. But what I mean is, those players look, you know, softer these days.

Me: That's what I'm saying is worse.

Barista: Huh?

Me: What has "soft" and "pretty" got to do with aggressive athletic performance?

Barista is silent.

Me: There's pressure to look "soft" and "pretty." God forbid there might be any lesbians on the field or the court.

Barista: That shouldn't matter at all.

Me: Well, I guess it does.


(Trust me, you don't want to hear what the grocery store checkout clerk said when I accidentally hit the Food Stamps button.)

Passing shots

It's official: Vera Zvonareva has hired Karen Krotov to be her coach, at least for the U.S. hard court season; sources differ as to whether Krotov will work with Zvonareva in that capacity during clay season. Krotov did coach Zvonareva during the Fed Cup semifinals. The world number 2 parted with coach Sergei Demekhin because, she said, he didn't want to work with a team. Says Demekhin: "I have experience and I know girls' psychology, so let's wait for offers."

You can get to know Nadia Lalami.

"Neither as muscular nor as deep-voiced as she appears on television, she was strikingly normal, if that makes any sense." Yeah, Malcolm, we get it.

Rebecca Marino has begun taking Pilates classes.

James LaRosa has a fantasy about the WTA and on-court coaching.

Passing shots

Dinara Safina is ill, and had to withdraw from the semifinals in Fes. Alberta Brianti received a walkover, and will play last year's runner-up, Simona Halep, in the final. Safina had not reached a semifinal since August of 2009.

Irina Falconi has won the USTA French Open wild card playoffs. Falconi defeated Julia Boserup 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the final, which was held in Boca Raton, Florida. The other competing players were Beatrice Capra, Lauren Davis, Madison Keys, and Grace Min.

Vikings player Bryant McKinnie, who is trying to drop 20 pounds before returning to the football field, has opted to take tennis lessons from Venus Williams. "She tires you out," the offensive tackle said of his teacher.

Chris Evert expects Caroline Woznaicki to win the 2011 French Open.

Kim Clijsters has been named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People for 2011. Time's staff apparently discovered that Clijsters had a baby and returned to work. She "juggles" a  career and a family. (Roger Federer is not known to "juggle" his career and family, which makes him, I suppose, a not very extraordinary woman.)

Steve Tignor has begun a series on books about tennis.

Fed Cup miscellany

In order to determine the order of play against Ukraine in the Fed Cup World Cup play-offs, the Australian and Ukrainian teams enlisted the help of the Banks Rowing Club. Boats bearing the names of Ukrainian team members on their bows raced on the Yarra River in Melbourne. Olga Savchuk's boat won the race; hence, she played Jarmila Groth in the first rubber.

Erasmus Pelli, the vice-mayor of Lugano, hit some balls with Patty Schnyder during a "kidstennis" event held last week in observance of the Fed Cup play-offs.

Maria Sharapova has expressed interest in joining the Basketballers' Wives Club. The club was founded by Australian Fed Cup coach Nicole Bradtke, who actually said: "We're reasonably tall girls, so we need men with extra height. We can wear our high heels." Sorry, all you men who are under six feet tall--you're out of luck.

And, while we're on the subject of sexism, the Slovak Republic's Fed Cup team members were told by the master of ceremonies at the official dinner that they appeared to be part of a beauty contest as much as a tennis contest. The team members were then invited to parade in cat-walk fashion in front of all the guests. They declined.

As promised, Andrea Petkovic did not dance after she won her rubber against Christina McHale. The Petko Dance is really done.

Team USA has won the most Fed Cup titles--17--in history. However, if Melanie Oudin loses the first rubber on Sunday, the USA will be relegated to World Group II.

Passing shots

Doug Robson interviewed Serena Williams for USA Today. The former world number 1 has had a really difficult time lately, and talks quite openly about it.

Ana Ivanovic has parted ways with trainer Marja Lojanica. 

Shelby Rogers, last year's SMASH Junior Cup winner, has received a wild card into the main draw of the Family Circle Cup.

Guess who's playing mixed doubles in the U.S. open qualifying sectionals?! This broadcast is a bit long, but definitely worth listening to.

“It's never easy to play, I think, your countryman or countrygirl." That quote, unfortunately, comes from Novak Djokovic (from whom I expect more than, say, Brett Haber or Lindsay Davenport).

Steve Flink reviews Allen Fox's new Book, Tennis: Winning the Mental Match.

Chris Oddo interviews Bud Collins about the WTA.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands (who recently hit her first winning tweener) will make her debut as a BBC commentator during Wimbledon this summer.

Passing shots

Andrea Petkovic, who is blogging from Indian Wells, recently had a 45-minute practice hit with Steffi Graf. Petkovic says she plans to "reinvent" herself.

You can now get to know Rebecca Marino.

News flash! Reuters has learned that Kim Clijsters balances motherhood with a career! Because women, like trained seals, have to "balance" everything.

Dinara Safina considered retiring from professional tennis after the Australian Open.

Getting a beating when you lose a set, getting slapped when you have a bad practice, seeing the father of one of your peers physically assaulted...some of the WTA's drama hasn't been the good kind.

Anna Chakvetadze, who passed out during her second round match in Dubai, retired today in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open because of dizziness.

Passing shots

Conchita Martinez has been hired by Tennis Australia to give some guidance to some of the players.

Christina McHale, who received a wild card into the BNP Paribas Open main draw, is currently working with USTA coach Jay Gooding.

Surely by now, readers have heard about the Northwestern University computer study that generated the result that Jimmy Connors is the greatest tennis player of all time. Aside from the fact that discussions of who is "the greatest of all time" are ridiculous to begin with, this particular study has another flaw not being talked about: Connors, according to the study, is actually the greatest male player of all time, but the assumption by those who designed the study was that only men could even be considered. Such an assumption once again promotes the false (but very popular, with such players as Tim Henman, John McEnroe, Andy Murray, and John Isner "ranking" WTA players within the ATP) notion that the men's game and the women's game are the same. So please add sexism to the flaws in the study that are being discussed throughout the tennis media. The scientists at Northwestern are, of course, not alone. Members of the sports media constantly talk about the "greatest player of all time" when they are actually referring to the "greatest male player of all time."

bleacher report picks Jennifer Capriati's defeat of Martina Hingis in the 2002 Australian Open final as number 34 in the "The 50 Greatest Comebacks in Sports History." There are three tennis moments in the top 50.

Here are some photos from Maria Sharapova's Tatler photo shoot.

Retired doubles great Virginia Ruano Pascual has been named the new director of the Open Castilla Y Leon Villa de El Espinar. Ruano Pascual won 43 titles, including ten majors.

From Jon Wertheim: "...a recently retired player was telling me that she's observed a rash of eating disorders among her colleagues. 'If I see a player's results suddenly fall, the first thing I assume is that she either has an eating disorder or a complicated relationship with her coach.' She says that if it weren't for eating disorders, the top 20 would look very different."

"Lighten up, it's the internet"

I know that readers of this blog are as sickened and disgusted as I am by some of the things that are being said about Serena Williams on various blogs and message boards. Many of the remarks (which I absolutely cannot repeat, they are so malevolent and/or obscene) are racist, many are misogynistic, and many are even gay-hating (interesting how people can slip that in).

I am already sad that Serena has had to undergo these health scares, and now seeing this barrage of insults tossed her way is horrible. But there is something else that's bothering me: Though I have (thankfully) seen many readers stand up to the racism, I have yet to see anyone stand up to the misogyny. No one is calling out the bigots for their hatred of women; in fact, no one is even mentioning it. Misogynistic remarks have been called out every now and then, but not for being what they are--antagonism toward females.

It's true that if Serena Williams were an African American man, she would be the object of ignorant and vile comments because of race. As it is, she is both African American and female, so she gets double the number of attacks. Of course, she's also hated by some because she's rich and she's a celebrity, and the rich and celebrated are constantly under attack.

Williams does not conform to my culture's image of "femininity." This is partly because she's black, and partly because she is a big woman. There is only so much that the WTA can airbrush out of Serena Williams. She also does not comform to the "accepted" "feminine" image because she makes such good use of her aggression as an athlete, and because she doesn't giggle and hair-flip her way through interviews.

Certainly, there are issues that fans have with Williams--I have a few, myself. But here's the thing: When you wish to criticize someone for her behavior or values and you attack her gender or race or ethnicity or sexual orientation in order to make the criticism, you are a bigot. Besides that, attacking someone who has just undergone two big health scares is beyond tacky. It isn't about "liking" Williams--it's about using her for a hate-fest target practice.

"Lighten up, it's the internet," one of the insult-hurlers told someone who challenged his/her insult of Williams. And that is what is has come to: Call out bigotry of any kind (but especially toward women and girls), and someone will tell you to "lighten up." Because insulting people because of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. is an Internet leisure activity.

Serena Williams is an all-time tennis great. There will never be another player like her. Her recent string of frightening health problems is extremely unfortunate, and is a matter of concern for her and her family, of course, but also for her peers and for fans of women's tennis. Those who wish her ill, or who have seen her misfortune as an opportunity to express contempt for the huge part of the world's population that is black, female, or both--can only wish they had the mental strength, self-belief, regenerative power, and talent that Williams has.

Their daughters have my pity.

Fed Cup miscellany

Players are so tired at the end of the season, they probably appreciate any gesture that will lessen their workload. Usually, a player (or players) helps with the draw, but in San Diego, the job was given to Clyde the sea lion. The draw ceremony was held at SeaWorld, and Clyde selected the tennis ball which had Coco Vandeweghe's name on it, giving the young USA team member the first match against Francesca Schiavone, and setting up the weekend schedule. Schiavone's photo with Clyde is priceless.

Schiavone, by the way, is the final player to win a 2010 Fed Cup Heart Award.

For those unable to watch the final on television: You should know that Bethanie Mattek-Sands is wearing solid red knee socks this weekend.

Tomorrow, Billie Jean King will be given the 2010 Fed Cup Award of Excellence.

Spain's six top players have called off their boycott of the 2011 Fed Cup competition after reaching an agreement with their country's tennis federation that--according to Spain's sports minister, Jaime Lissavetzky--meets "the vast majority of the players' demands." "The objective," Lisavetsky said, "is to re-launch women's tennis in Spain over the short and medium term. The Spanish players who brought about the changes are Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Arantxa Parra Santonja, Carla Suarez Navarro, Nuria Llagostera Vives, and Lourdes Dominguez Lino.

Miscellany

Kim Clijsters has withdrawn from the China Open.

Serena Williams says she may play in Moscow. She has withdrawn frm the China Open.

The popular tournament in New Haven (formerly Pilot Pen Tennis) tournament is still searching for a sponsor.

The Commonwealth Games will commence on October 3. And of course, Sania Mirza's interviewer just had to use the "b" word.

Julia Goerges' upset of Sam Stosur was her first-ever top-10 win.

Kerry Melville Reid talks about her career and her place in history.

Happy Birthday to Kimiko Date Krumm!

Watch it with the sound off

I haven't had the television on for very long, but I have already heard enough sexism to convince me to turn the sound off:

Kevin Frasier believes that women automatically take their husbands' surnames.

Dick Enberg apparently believes that all police officers and firefighters are men (What decade are we in? To recognize September 11 by thanking a "policeman" or a "fireman" utilizes language that is all the rage again, I know, but that doesn't make it any less sexist--makes it more so.)

Earlier in the tournament:

John McEnroe found a way (I knew he would) to make fun of Denis Istomin because he is coached by his mother.

Commentators continued, ad nauseum, to ask Kim Clijsters about the "balance" in her life.

Commentators regularly call female players, even those in their late 20s, "girls."

Martina Navratilova, who routinely asks the other commentators to please call the players "women," referred to them as "guys."

Headlines proclaimed that Schiavone "does a Federer," when--in reality--Schiavone has been hitting 'tweeners for years.

Virginia Wade is carrying the message about women's desperation to "keep looking young."

As relentless as the sexism* is, there are also plenty of other comments, unrelated to gender, that reveal other prejudices. For example:

Enberg believes that if you are Russian and read Russian literature, you are " a serious sort."

A commentator actually bragged about mispronouncing a player's name (then immediately insulted a commentator who regularly mispronounces a name).

Liezel Huber continued her non-stop USA flag-waving every time she spoke.

And finally, in a moment of significant tone-deafness, Mike Bryan accepted a stole from the ambassadors of India and Pakistan, and immediately suggested he could "make a shirt out of it." (Perhaps his doubles partner, Huber, who "came from a third world country with only a suitcase and a dream," could educate him.)

*There are people all over the Worldwide Web who express so much concern about racism and ethnic prejudice, but the vile gender-related (and sometimes homophobic) things they are saying about Kim and Venus (and, at other times, just about any woman who is playing) demonstrate bigotry at its most disgusting.

"NO one's from Estonia"

Last year, Pam Shriver got into some trouble by dismissing U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer as more or less a nobody, and Belgium as more or less nowhere. Today, it was Wickmayer's opponent who got the treatment. Doug Adler, responding to Virginia Wade's comment that Kaia Kanepi was a shy person, said "Of course she's shy--she's from Estonia. No one's from Estonia."

It wasn't a terrible thing to say, but it reflects an almost consistent attitude that U.S. commentators have--that other countries have names that are "hard to pronounce," that other countries are not important. And--given all the comments made by commentators that are sexist, and that reflect a total ignorance of women's tennis--a little put-down of Estonia is a not-too-funny joke that perhaps isn't that significant.

I mention it, though, not because it's that disturbing, but rather, because it is representative of dozens of thoughtless comments made by tennis commentators and writers. From Tracy Austin's patronizing description of players as "young ladies" to commentators calling 20-something-year-old women "girls" to Tim Henman's (successful) attempt to get ATP players to trash the WTA, to the mockery of players' names on both tours, it's often hard to keep the sound on.

Having said all that, it's only fair for me to also say that--except for one or two notable occasions--I think Pam Shriver is one the best commentators around. She's knowledgeable, witty, and, in the last couple of years, has become outspoken about bigotry directed toward women. I missed her this weekend, but she'll be back for the second week of the U.S. Open.

And she won't have to face Yanina Wickmayer.

Miscellany

To enjoy the U.S. Open even more, you can enter the Match of the Day contest Tennis Now is sponsoring. Predict the score of the featured U.S. Open match, and compete to win a $50 gift card from Tennis Express. And while you're at Tennis Now, you can also enter to win three nights and two days in Miami while you attend the Sony Ericsson Open in March.

There is so much wrong with the ideas promoted in this article in the New York Times, I don't know where to begin. Fortunately, I don't have to, because After Atalanta has said just about everything I want to say. I'm pleased that Gigi Fernandez has children, but the oppressive tone of her comments (passively promoted by the writer) is worrisome. She also seems to have been "shocked" by discovering fairly standard biological realities, and her cautionary message is far more judgmental and needlessly guilt-oriented than it is helpful. (Update: Fernandez has responded to the After Atlalanta post, further explaining some of the difficulties involved in her goal to have children. I respect what she went through, but the tone of the article is nevertheless one that reflects the usual "warnings" our culture gives to female athletes who dare to compete at a top level for more than a few years.)

Just another reminder that Unmatched will premiere on ESPN's "30 for 30" on Tuesday, September 14 at 8 p.m. EST. The documentary covers the rivalry between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, which is the greatest sports rivalry of all time. (Make sure you read The Rivals, too.)

I'm liking Sam Stosur's front-pleat purple Lacoste dress with the white trim. I also like the Addidas dress that Daniela Hantuchova and Ana Ivanovic are wearing.

I can handle only a small portion of Andrea Petkovic's frenzied, and sometimes tangential, prose. But if you enjoy it, you should know that she's blogging for ESPN.

Lindsay Davenport says that the courts are too fast and the wind too strong for top seed Caroline Wozniacki to win the U.S. Open this year.

Now is a good time to get to know Mandy Minella.

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.

U.S. Open miscellany

As Cole Porter said, brush up your Shakespeare! You've never before experienced this deconstruction of Hamlet.

During Arthur Ashe Kids' Day, both Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters were interviewed. Federer, the father of one-year-old twins, was asked about this year's Open compared with last year's; Clijsters was asked how she "balances" playing tennis and being a mother.

The U.S. Open promotional spot with the players on famous leaning New York skyscrapers is wonderful.

Geoff MacDonald suggests we watch Victoria Azarenka, Kaia Kanepi and Coco Vandeweghe.

There are great practice and training photos all over Forty Deuce.

Cibulkova--good for her--was the lone player to attend the Dunlop party, where she tended bar.

Pre-U.S. Open miscellany

Venus Williams says she will not play women's or mixed doubles at the U.S. Open.

The Mets played the Astros on Friday, and Kim Clijsters threw the first pitch, on behalf of the Mets. She was introduced as "one of the best female athletes in the world." God forbid she should be introduced just as one the best athletes.

Vera Zvonareva did a photo shoot for the Vanity Fair website today.

Vania King says the U.S. Open is the least accommodating of all the majors.

Sabine Lisicki and Maria Sharapova have been hitting together at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Panasonic has signed a three-year contract to sponsor the U.S. Open. The company will team with CBS Sports and the USTA to produce 3-D versions of the high-def matches shown on both weekends.

Pre-U.S. Open Miscellany

Anastasia Pavlyuchenko began her stay in New York by doing a photo shoot for Babolat.

Laura Robson defeated Jelena Dokic 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of U.S. qualifying. Of note: Robson hit eleven aces.

"Even though she’s a mom, success still matters a great deal to her," says Matt Cronin of defending champion Kim Clijsters. (Because we all know that having a child wipes out all desire and ambition in women.)

Vera Zvonareva and Lisa Raymond are two of the players who have designated tomorrow as a shopping day in New York.

To prepare for the Open, Maria Sharapova has been training at the Bollettieri Academy.

Serena Williams was co-commentator for Nike's Prime Time Knockout last night at Pier 54 in Manhattan. Victoria Azarenka was one of the participants.

If they hate us so much, why do they watch us play and perform?

The most cursory exploration of tennis forums on the Web will quickly yield a collection of comments about WTA players that range from sexist and offensive to misogynistic and obscene. 25-year-old women are called "girls," which is bad enough, but the players are also routinely called "bitches" and "sluts." Very recently, it was suggested on one forum that a player retired in her match because she was thinking about sex, and on another forum, it was written that she retired in order to get off the court and have a sexual encounter.

Female players are routinely "suspected" of having problems with their menstrual periods--of course some of them have problems with their menstrual periods, and they play through the pain and complications. Players' disagreements--real, imagined, or exaggerated--are referred to as "cat fights." The women's game is often irrelevantly-- and malevolently--compared with the men's game. And there are frequent conversations about how "ugly" or "masculine" some players are, right down to detailed analyses of their body parts and their imagined personal lives. All of his talk is unbearably hate-filled and vicious.

The hatred of women (funny how that isn't referred to as bigotry in the media and in conversation) is nothing new. Women and girls struggle to gain both equality and respect in every culture in the world. Among women, internalized sexism is rampant. If you are a woman and choose to open your eyes and ears, you are affected by sexism and misogyny every day. What I don't understand is, why do those who have nothing but contempt for women choose to watch women play sports and perform?

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has a lot of real fans--men and women (and some children, too) who enjoy the game and like to watch their favorite players in action. Most real fans are also knowledgeable enough to criticize the flaws within the tour, as well they should. In fact, the tour could benefit itself by reading the comments that such fans contribute to tennis forums.

People who watch women's tennis and then insult the players because of their gender should have something better to do, it would seem, than to preoccupy themselves with a group whose members they hold in contempt. And the name-calling is not excusable because of "the culture" or "the times." Indeed, it is the culture and the times that create such a climate of hate. Calling women "bitches" and "sluts" is unacceptable in any context. And the argument of  "free speech" is a legal one (and one I support), but it has little to do with societal rules, in which people of all classes, genders, races, ages, etc. are granted equal respect.

Some of the woman-haters go for a double--or even triple, portion of bigotry--by also attacking players who are African American, or who are "suspected" of being gay. These people--and there are multitudes of them--do not know how to criticize the behaviors of a player without also attacking the player's gender, race and real or suspected sexual orientation. And some of them skip the behavior criticism altogether, and just make bigoted comments or "jokes" about the players.

Almost all Web forums have rules about hate speech and bigotry, but I have never seen those rules enforced when it comes to bigotry toward women. It is up to the rest of us to demand that they be enforced. That won't be easy, since sexism and misogyny are considered acceptable forms of bigotry. But as long as those who despise women insist on watching women's tennis, their expressions of hate and contempt--which affect all women and girls--need to be kept among themselves.