Posts Tagged ‘women’

The Exciting Comeback of A Professional Tennis Legend

January 31st, 2010

If we rewind by a few years in the women’s tennis world, we’ll arrive at a time where Justine Henin was the world’s best female tennis player. Not only was she the best, but she was rather dominant.

Suddenly, Henin decided to call it a career during the summer of 2008. Many were shocked by this revelation, as there was simply no reason for her to retire. After all, it’s not as if she was slowing down.

While all appeared to be going well on the outside, Henin was mentally exhausted. She was sick of the two decades that she had devoted entirely tennis, and needed to get away from the sport.

There were personal initiatives that she preferred to focus on, including a camp for children where she’d teach them how to play tennis.

There was definitely a void in the world of women’s tennis. The number ones of the world weren’t truly the best in the minds of some fans, because they wondered if Henin would still be at the top of the ranks. Out of nowhere, some wishes were granted a few months ago when she said she’d return to the sport.

Before her first match, fans of the sport had doubted her abilities, thinking that either age or rust would have gotten the best of her by now. This would be a natural expectations, as most athletes initially stumble on the comeback trail.

Boy, were they wrong. Justine Henin looked as if she never took a day off after easily beating Nadia Petrova in straight sets at Brisbane. The competitive fire still burns in this warrior. In fact, some people claimed that she looked as if she never even took a day off.

After seeing Kim Clijsters’ triumphant return to the sport after her US Open win last year, nothing should be considered unrealistic for Justine Henin.

About this writer: Aside from sports, the writer also frequently contributes articles about stoneware dinner sets and fine china dinnerware.

Facts Regarding Hard Courts

January 19th, 2010

There are a handful of different tennis court surfaces. Each one has its own unique set of attributes, adding an interesting element to this already exciting sport.

The most popular surface in the world at the moment is the hard court. This is typically a green or blue court with painted lines and a concrete surface. You’ve likely seen it at the US Open and many other events.

As each court type has its own unique traits, I’d like to discuss some of the nuances of hard courts and the right strategies to deploy when playing on this surface. Let’s take a look at some.

The ball moves really quickly on hard courts, and you’ll be in for a surprise if you typically play on clay courts. Those who excel in the serving department always enjoy the advantages of this surface, as fast serves will be even harder to hit back.

As far as baseline play goes, hard courts don’t really work for or against people with this strategy. This is a good thing in many regards, as it won’t ruin your chances of winning a match should you choose to stay back. Hard hitting can be an asset here.

If you’re a fast runner, this never hurts in the sport of tennis, but it won’t be something you can exploit, so to speak. Your speed will be a bigger asset on hard courts than it is on grass, but it won’t let you get to as many balls as you can on clay courts.

Still, this isn’t to say that your speed won’t be an asset during a match, because it absolutely can and will. You’re far better off as a fast runner playing here than you would be on grass, and a speedy player is certainly difficult to defeat if there are other weapons that player possesses as well.

As far as net play goes, some of the best volleyers in the world have had great success on hard courts. This is because of the fact that a serve and volley strategy is a terrific way to take full advantage of this surface.

In light of the above, develop a strategy on these courts that lends itself well to your game. Most of all, have some fun in the process.

The writer additionally frequently contributes articles about commercial walk in cooler and the commercial/refrigerator combo.

categories: tennis,exercise,advice,education,recreation,fitness,sports,hobbies,teens,kids,men,women,travel,leisure

Breaking Down the Most Successful Women in Professional Tennis Since 1980

November 7th, 2009

Most of my articles focus on the state of men’s tennis, but I’d like to talk about the women this time around. Many believe that it’s the biggest women’s sport in the world, and I would agree.

I was thinking about the best women’s players in the history of the sport, and realized that so many of them happen to be very recent players. It was really hard to make this list, but I’m going to list the seven elite women’s players that come to mind, saving the best for the end.

Venus Williams has been one of the best players in modern tennis, and it’s crazy to think about the fact that she finds herself at #7 here. With 10 grand slam wins, her career has been wildly successful. Perhaps the most impressive stat is her four Wimbledon titles.

After Venus is Justine Henin-Hardenne. I put her ahead of Venus because she was simply better, and won more slams in a shorter span. While she cut her career short, she’s on the way back up now as she’s returned to the sport.

Monica Seles was one of my favorite players growing up, and I’m still saddened by the fact that some deranged man decided to put a knife into her during the match. Her career was never the same after this, but she seriously dominated women’s tennis before this happened.

Chris Evert is the oldest of the bunch here, but her accomplishments shouldn’t be overlooked. No current women’s players have 18 career grand slams to boast, and Evert is one of the all-time greats.

After Seles is the other Williams sister, as Serena now has more grand slams, not to mention the fact that she’s younger than Venus. The last few years have been dominated by Serena ever since Henin retired, and she still has a handful of good years ahead of her.

At number two is Martina Navratilova, who many might believe is the best woman to ever play the sport. She has an incredible number of grand slams (18) and her career lasted for many years.

1. Steffi Graf. The queen of women’s tennis, she was the Roger Federer of the women’s game. 22 grand slams.

The author of this article also writes about the chimney cleaner and the many chimney cleaning tools.

Why Female Tennis Needs to be Revered

October 4th, 2009

Seriously, what’s the deal here?

When Steffi Graf ruled the sport people did not enjoy it. When both of the Williams girls were devastating everyone on the road to the championship, the public did not appreciate it. And presently when grand slams are more well balanced than before? Tennis lovers do not appreciate this.

The majority confess that the Williams girls dominate most of the time. Although injuries and diminished non-Slam tournament schedules denote they presently meet prior to the championship match. Though yet again allow us to recall that very recently the previously referenced whining regarding this regular matchup in the final round and their governance over other athletes.

So currently we have Dinara Safina boasting the number spot in the WTA race and the US Open seeds. And what do people imply? She doesn’t deserve it since she has never won a Grand Slam (not to mention that she has been defeated in a couple slam finals recently.) But she’s getting to slam title and she is fairly entertaining along the way, on the court and off.

Earlier Safina was forced to battle it out yet again, practically becoming the 1st #1 seed to be defeated in the first round. Was it entertaining? I thought so. Although we’ll learn all regarding the inaccuracy of the ranking system, yada, yada.

And then there was Venus Williams last night–additionally pushed to 3 pairs. Also engaging. (Furthermore note that Venus didn’t have the best of summers post Wimbledon.) But in all likelihood to be heard is the prevalence of injuries among the sisters Williams and their “distractions” off the courts.

Furthermore presently Kim Clijsters is back and as opposed to being very excited – which we ought to be since she is affable and polite and a fine player – fans are all saying “okay what does it reveal about the women’s game that she might return and maintain a 6-2 finish for the summer season?”

Well I suppose it reveals that she – as she always has -exercises very well. Also that she is a seasoned player and she has nearly zero to lose.

So let’s simply cease all the bashing, please. Yes, there are problems in the ladies game. (For example the lack of diversity in terms of playing style.) But I for my part love that it is anyone’s guess as to who’ll play in that final in under 2 weeks. And I am excited about seeing how they end up there.

About the Author: