News, gossip and other items of interest from the world of tennis:
Eye Candy, or Something Like It
Can you believe we’re just three months away from 2010? I always find this time of the year exciting. Fall is in the air. The holidays are right around the corner. There are new TV shows to get addicted to before they get cancelled. And the tennis season is winding down, so we all get to decompress a little. But, what really gets me going is that this is the time of year when new wall calendars come out. It’s crucial to find just the right one, the one that best reflects your tastes and personality, the one that brightens your outlook and sets the right tone for the day. Get the wrong wall calendar and your whole year could be ruined, right? Well, here’s one that will put a smile on even the most cynical tennis fan’s face: The Andy Murray Official Calendar 2010 from Danilo. The online shop’s description says it all: “Mr. Murray has come of age and at last Britain has a contender with more than a little tennis know how and the muscles to pull it off. If you fancy spending a year in the company of a serious pair of biceps then look no further. Not just for Scots.” Pasty white biceps? I’m warming up just thinking about them.
Gossip, Gossip, Gossip…
Last week, People.com reported that Anna Kournikova and Enrique Iglesias may or may not be engaged. A week before that, New York Daily News said she may or may not be two months pregnant. They don’t ever address the rumors, so who knows what’s going on. According to her website, Anna is “excited about her] upcoming trip to Russia with PSI.” (PSI is [Population Services International, an organization that provides medical services and health education programs for people in need throughout the world.)
Also, Boris Becker was seen at Oktoberfest in Munich. Accompanied by his (definitely) pregnant wife Lilly, the three-time Wimbledon champ was walking with a cane because of recent hip surgery.
Music update: The Bryan brothers’ first album, Let It Rip, has been selling well on amazon.com (where it currently costs $3.96) and iTunes.
We’ve All Been There
When I first read New York Times columnist Michelle Slatalla’s tennis-themed piece entitled “There is a ‘Me’ in ‘Team,’” I couldn’t fathom why it was lurking in the Fashion & Style section. Slatalla doesn’t mention anything about fashion, unless a visor has become fashionable again, or style, unless you count her description of how she plays (“…Soft returns, ridiculous loopy lobs and a serve that floated across the net like a matzo ball made with love”). Anyhoo… I found Slatalla’s portrait of a jittery player returning to competitive team tennis after a two-year absence very relatable. In any area of life, who hasn’t been a little freaked out about letting the team down? Slatalla pushes through her fear of smashing a ball over the fence instead of just over the net by approaching the game in a new way. Does she succeed? Read the column and find out.
Be Your Stress?
W. Timothy Gallwey has a new Inner Game series book out. For those unfamiliar with Gallwey, he pioneered the “Zen of tennis” method with his 1972 game-improvement book, The Inner Game of Tennis. (Pete Carroll, Southern Cal’s football coach, told TENNIS.com he’s a devotee.) His new one, called *The Inner Game of Stress*, is about the Zen of stress. I’ve started reading it because I’ve been feeling stressed out about what’s happened in tennis since the U.S. Open. Stuff like Roger Federer’s back problems have been keeping me up at night. Is Federer’s back going to be a serious issue for him in 2010? Will Dinara Safina be able to hold onto the No. 1 ranking after her latest flameout? Is the arm Sam Querrey cut when he fell through a glass table going to heal? Will Ernests Gulbis ever win a second-round match again? I’ll let you know if I find the book helpful or not.
Backcourt Update
In August, I wrote a Backcourt item about the eviction notice issued to the Recreation Wish List Committee. This organization, founded by Marion Barry’s estranged wife, Cora Masters Barry, ran the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center in Washington, D.C. The center was being evicted over what sounded like an administrative screw-up involving the committee’s corporate registration. Supporters of the center included Serena and Venus Williams and Maya Angelou. Well, there’s been some good news. It was announced on Thursday that a settlement had been reached and the center can continue to run its educational programs and teach kids in the D.C. area tennis. Good work conquers all.
Pink Power
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Companies like Lacoste, Wilson and Penn will be selling pink products this month with proceeds going toward research for a cure. Other entities helping raise awareness and funds include:
• Rosie Casals’ Esurance Tennis Classic, which takes place this weekend in Mill Valley, Calif. Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Michael Chang and Tracy Austin are just a few of the exhibition headliners at this event put on by former pro Casals and the Harbor Point Charitable Foundation. Sunday’s main attraction with Agassi and Graf has sold out, but there are a few general admission tickets still available for Saturday.
• The girls’ varsity tennis team at Central Regional High School, in Berkeley, Calif. The players will be wearing pink ribbons in their hair and selling pink paper tennis balls to students.
• Diana Vincent and her husband, Trace, of Baton Rouge, La. The Vincents are holding a Rally for the Cure fundraiser and tennis event on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Tara Club tennis courts.
You can also donate to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation or the National Breast Cancer Foundation. A little support goes a long way in fighting this disease.
And Finally…
It wouldn’t be Backcourt without some Serena Williams news. Williams is the cover girl for the October issue of Success magazine. “I am not doing anything for money. I am doing because I love it,” she says in her feature story. This week, Proctor & Gamble announced Williams would be featured in a new Tampax print advertising campaign. (Insert U.S. Open tirade/PMS joke here.) And Wednesday evening, Williams attended the Hollywood premiere of Whip It, Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut starring Ellen Page as a fledgling roller derby queen. Here are photos of Williams on the red carpet. I know, I also wondered why she wasn’t wearing her HSN “rings of bling” necklace.
Sarah Thurmond is an associate editor for TENNIS. Follow her on Twitter.