REPOST: Roger Federer Serves Like a Girl

A new pattern has emerged when Sabine Lisicki broke the record for fastest serve during the Bank of the West Classic at 131mph. This article from Slate.com discusses how women tennis players serve faster than their male counterparts.

Sabine Lisicki serves to Maria Sharapova during their women's singles third-round match of the 2014 U.S. Open on Aug. 29, 2014, in the Flushing, Queens. | Image Source: slate.com

A month ago at the Bank of the West Classic, Germany’s Sabine Lisicki hit a serve 131 miles per hour—the fastest ever recorded in women’s tennis.

That’s not just fast for a woman. Lisicki’s record-setting shot—which broke Venus Williams’ mark of 129 mph—is faster than any serve Roger Federer has hit in 2014, according to statistics provided to me by the Association of Tennis Professionals.

Lisicki, who lost in the third round of the U.S. Open to Maria Sharapova, stuck around long enough to blast the speediest serve of any woman at this year’s U.S. Open (124 mph). That’s just barely slower than the best effort in the Open of top men’s seed Novak Djokovic (125 mph) and equal to or better than the fastest serves of at least 29 men, including seeded players Kei Nishikori, Richard Gasquet, David Ferrer, Guillermo García-López, and Mikhail Youzhny. (I say at least 29 men because not every player in the men’s and women’s singles draw played on a court equipped with a serve-measuring radar gun. Also, a necessary caveat: There has been some dispute about the accuracy of tennis radar gun measurements.)

Serena Williams’ top serve at this year’s Open (122 mph) has also outpaced that of Ferrer (119 mph), García-López (118 mph), and Youzhny (117 mph). And women can compete with the men on average first-serve speed as well. Serena Williams’ average (108 mph) in her quarterfinal match against Flavia Pennetta was better than that of No. 12 men’s seed Gasquet (104 mph) in his third-round loss to Gaël Monfils. And No. 10 seed Nishikori, a U.S. Open semifinalist, has an average first-serve speed of 108 mph—the same as Serena’s highest—in three of his five matches thus far.

In a recent column on hard-throwing Little Leaguer Mo’ne Davis, the Washington Post’s Sally Jenkins argued that cross-gender comparisons risk making the world’s best female athletes look like failures. Indeed, it would be silly to argue that Lisicki and Serena Williams’ fast-serving feats aren’t all that impressive because certain men, like Milos Raonic and John Isner, can serve a whole lot faster. But what’s fascinating about the tennis serve is that the gender gap is so narrow by comparison with other athletic endeavors. And sometimes, as in the cases of Sabine Lisicki and world No. 5 David Ferrer, the gender gap gets flipped completely.

In his excellent book The Sports Gene, David Epstein points out that there’s long been speculation that women might catch up to men in athletic performance—for instance, a 1992 article in Nature asked, “Will Women Soon Outrun Men?” Given that women have only recently been encouraged to participate in sports, it was natural that elite female athletes would improve at a rapid clip. Epstein argues, however, that after the initial boom in women’s sports, “the biological gap is expanding.” In track and field events, he writes, “the top 10 men at any distance … are about 11 percent faster than the top ten women ... [and] in the long jump, women are 19 percent behind men. The smallest gap occurs in distance swimming races. In the 800-meter freestyle, top women are within 6 percent of top men.”

And then there’s tennis. The overlap between men’s and women’s serving speeds in the ball-and-racket sport isn’t totally unique. In golf, the top three women on theLPGA tour in average driving distance—Lexi Thompson, Gerina Piller, and Brittany Lincicome—all outdrive the last man on the PGA Tour’s driving distance scoreboard, Paul Goydos. But there is far more overlap with tennis serves, where someone like Lisicki can crank it faster than many of the world’s best male players.

Golf and tennis have something in common: Players impart force to the ball by swinging a piece of equipment. Do the rackets explain the rocketing serves of top female pros? In a piece on ESPNW.com, the global tour manager for Wilson tells Johnette Howard that he thinks improved racket technology isn’t a huge factor—that improved training and technique “are contributing to higher ball speeds more than a racket change has.”

Or is it the balls? Forbes’ Allen St. John claims that women are serving so well at the U.S. Open because they’re playing with a different ball than the men are, one that flies more quickly. But the data don’t support that conclusion—or at the very least don’t support the idea that the ball explains everything. At Wimbledon, where men and women do play with the same ball, 20 women served 111 mph or faster. At the U.S. Open, 20 women have served 112 mph or faster. The fastest serve by a woman at Wimbledon in 2014 (Madison Keys’ 123 mph strike) was just one mile per hour slower than the fastest serve by a woman at this year’s U.S. Open. (David Ferrer’s fastest serve at Wimbledon in 2014? 118 mph.) And Serena Williams’ fastest average first-serve speed in any Wimbledon match in 2014 (106 mph) was just two miles per hour slower than her fastest average speed so far at the U.S. Open.


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Tennis: A great sport for all ages

Image Source: .nytimes.com

Tennis is an intensive sport that exercises the entire body. Since it requires two to four players, the fun factor often masks the rigorous activity the muscles receive. As such, most tennis experts advise younger people to participate in this sport to prevent injury. Nevertheless, many people in their 50s are starting to take up this sport, despite many hesitations and discouraging remarks.

Admittedly, older adults should take more care in doing physical activities, but these should not prevent them from engaging in sports, particularly those that can be properly observed and commented on. Professional tennis can reach fast-paced speeds but these can be dramatically reduced for recreational purposes. The focus of tennis for fun should be more on form rather than numbers. This is a great way for beginners to practice their techniques with their friends or coaches, and becomes particularly important for players of a certain age. Learning, understanding, and practicing good form lessens the risk of injury and encourages flexibility.

Image Source: theguardian.com

Keeping an active lifestyle has been suggested to add years to a person’s life because it strengthens one’s immune system which prevents them from getting sick. Sports have also been shown to improve quality of life through decreased stress and (in team sports) creating new friendships. People over 50 have also reported having a greater sense of well-being, along with improved sleep and increased daytime vitality after engaging in a physical sport such as tennis. These data considerably suggest that participating in sports is beneficial for any one, at any age.

Image Source: victoriaparktennis.co.uk

Tom Phanco is a tennis enthusiast who wants to encourage everybody to share his passion for the sport. Learn more about him by following him on Twitter.

REPOST: Back from Exile: Viktor Troicki Returns to Tennis

After a long break from the world of Tennis, Viktor Troicki returns to the court, determined and ready to redeem himself. Read about his interview from Tennis.com below.

The Serb's last match took place last July in Umag, which passed on giving him a wildcard for his return. | Image Source: tennis.com

“The tough part is that I’m starting from zero,” Viktor Troicki says as he wraps up a practice session in the sleepy alpine town of Gstaad, which plays host to this week’s Swiss Open, the scene of his comeback from a controversial 12-month doping ban. “I won’t have any protected ranking or anything so that’s going to be hard. But I’ve made it to the top once so I’m ready to do it again.”

Troicki pauses. His statement of intent is imbued with a quiet determination, stemming from the events of 2013 which he and many others still regard as a deep injustice.

Wind back 15 months to the 2013 Monte Carlo Masters. Troicki had just been comprehensively outplayed in the first round, but as a matter of procedure, he still needed to complete a blood test. It’s a routine process for most players, but Troicki has a deep-seated phobia of needles which makes every test a trauma. Feeling unwell, he requested it to be postponed to the following morning.

Troicki and his team say that the on-site doping control officer agreed, he took the test next day, and thought nothing more of it. As with every other test taken throughout his career, the results returned negative. But to his horror, two days later he received an email from the ITF informing him that he faced a potential two-year ban for allegedly refusing to take the test on time.

Three months later, he was banned from tennis for 18 months. An ITF tribunal panel refuted his claim that their official had told him he could postpone it. "Her response was that this was not a matter upon which she could advise the player," the panel said.

Looking back, Troicki is still in disbelief at how the trial proceeded. “It was amazing how the lawyers were going really hard for the maximum suspension,” he says. “I’m a tennis player and yet this was coming from the International Tennis Federation for whom I’ve played a lot of tournaments. That was really disappointing. I made my name through tennis and then they do this to me.”

He turned to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but when the hearing took place in October, it came down to his word against the ITF. Lacking requisite evidence to overturn the ban altogether, it was merely reduced to 12 months.

“The funny thing is that the doctor who gave me the wrong instructions, she continued working,” he says. “She just continued doing her job and that’s because she doesn’t have rules. We players have rules and she just has instructions to follow. For me that’s kind of silly. She made a mistake and she hasn’t been sanctioned by anyone.”

Troicki’s feelings were shared by Novak Djokovic. The pair have known each other since Djokovic was eight years old, and at last year’s World Tour Finals he released an emotional statement in support of his friend.

“He gave me the most support out of all the players,” Troicki said. “He’s shown that he’s a great friend and even though he faced problems because he was supporting me, he still stood by me and tried to help as much as he could. He was one of the first guys to publicly support me and I will never forget that.”

Image Source: tennis.com

Not everyone was on his side. Andy Murray hit out at Troicki and Marin Cilic, who was also banned for four months for accidentally ingesting a banned stimulant, accusing them of “unprofessionalism,” a move which infuriated Cilic’s coach, Goran Ivanisevic.

“The players have to be more like a family,” Ivanisevic said. “Troicki’s case is ridiculous. He’s now having to start from zero. From zero, for a crime he didn't commit. It’s a f***ing joke because it’s the official’s word against his and they believe her, not him. And the ATP doesn’t do anything even though they’re supposed to protect the players. If you cheat I’m for banning, but come on, for this? You can’t put everybody in the same basket. It’s not fair.”

In Troicki and Ivanisevic’s eyes, he is a victim of sporting politics. Sport has been wrestling with the dark spectre of doping for some time, but for many years, while an almost endless sequence of big-name positive tests brought baseball and cycling almost to their knees, tennis remained relatively immune.

But Lance Armstrong’s long-awaited confession last January cast a shadow which sent shivers through the entire sporting universe. Suddenly there were hints that tennis may too have something unpleasant lingering in the closet. Murray and Rafael Nadal expressed surprise that they hadn’t been tested more. Many players called for the ITF to introduce the same biological passport system being implemented in cycling.

Troicki believes the federation was simply waiting for an opportunity to ease the pressure, to show everyone they were taking doping seriously. “I feel they wanted to use me, to put me down for a long time to set an example,” he said. “My tests were always negative and they know that. I’ve always been against any kind of doping and use of illegal substances. I’ve done a lot of tests and I’ve never even thought about taking something illegal. Even this year while I’ve been banned they’ve tested me a lot of times.”

Image Source: tennis.com

Now 28, Troicki is currently ranked No. 847 in the world. He faces a long slog through the backwaters of the game, playing the kind of events he thought he left behind a decade earlier.

There will be few wildcards to ease the journey back. Instead of heading to North America for the upcoming hard-court swing culminating in the U.S. Open, Troicki will spend his summer competing in a series of Challenger tournaments, amongst the journeymen and the hungry young upstarts, all keen to take the scalp of a player once ranked 12th in the world.

Even finding a place to launch his comeback was not easy. As a former semifinalist, Troicki initially hoped for a wildcard into this week’s ATP event in Umag, but he was overlooked in favor of three Croatian juniors before Gstaad eventually answered his plea.

The draw, pitting him against rising Austrian star Dominic Thiem, epitomized the struggles he will face to return to the top of the game. A year is a long time in sport and a new wave of talented youngsters are starting to emerge. Troicki knows he will have to be patient.

“I’m not expecting everything to happen straight away. There’s going to be a bit of pressure but I haven’t played any official tournaments for a year. I don’t know how good I’ll be against the top guys. I might need two matches or I might need three tournaments to get things started.”

Image Source: tennis.com

There will undoubtedly be difficult times on the road ahead, but Troicki does not have to look far for motivation. He remembers last year’s Davis Cup, when he was banned from attending Serbia’s training camp during both their semifinal and final ties, and even from being present inside the stadium.

“It was kind of ridiculous what they were doing to me. I just wanted to watch it as a normal spectator but the Serbian federation told me that the ITF were really putting pressure on them. They didn’t want me in the stands, in the arena at all. They even wanted to put my photo on each door of the arena like a criminal to say that I was forbidden to be there.”

However, the ITF say they did not choose to deliberately ban Troicki from the Davis Cup ties.

"It was not an ITF decision not to allow Troicki to attend the final," they informed TENNIS.com. "The WADA code and therefore the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme rules do not allow any suspended player to attend any event covered by the program."*

The idea of practicing for months on end without a goal is a crippling prospect for any professional, but Troicki drew on the support of his coach and physio who stuck by him despite receiving multiple alternative offers.

“They felt really down in the beginning, they felt for me you know, and that’s why they want to continue working with me, get me back on the right track. My coach wants me to be even better than I was. That means a lot to me.”

Troicki brightens as he describes his team’s attempts to put a positive spin on his predicament. He feels it may actually aid his longevity as a player. Lasting 11 months of the year, the tennis circuit is relentless and most players admit they can ill-afford to take more than a week off from training. Even holidays are booked only in the knowledge that a tennis court is nearby. So after more than a decade as a professional, he was finally able to recharge.

Image Source: tennis.com

“I took the chance to do all the things I hadn’t been able to do while I was playing tournaments,” he said. “I was skiing a lot in the winter. I was hanging out with my friends, just trying to forget about what happened to me. It was hard at first to begin working again, but I’ve been working really hard on my condition and as time went on I became more motivated and more pumped to come back. I realize what I’ve missed.”

But bitterness can also be a powerful motivation, and even as he talks through the benefits of relaxation, that lingering sense of injustice is never far from the surface.
“I will always feel that,” he says. “Of course. The ITF tried to destroy my career and I will never forget what happened. In the court they really went after me and they really wanted to put me down and ruin me completely. But I hope to show them they were unable to do that. I will be back.”

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Diet tips for tennis players

Image Source: happyherbivore.com

A healthy diet contributes to a player’s peak performance. Whether it is for a club championship or practice, what is good for the health is also generally good for the player.

Image Source: wsj.com

Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic, for example, credits his success to a strict diet of mostly warm foods. Mardy Fish, on the other hand, has ditched eating pizzas and burgers to become slimmer and sleeker, which he credits for his mobility.

Following this, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) promotes “Eating Right” as a way to improve performance, delay feelings of fatigue, and reduce a player’s vulnerability to injury and illness. The ITF lays out the following tips for tennis players:

Image Source: anokhimedia.com

• For pro players or for those who actively play tennis, a person is predicted to need between 3500 to 5000 calories a day.

• Players are encouraged to consume four primary nutrient categories, including fluids, electrolytes, carbohydrates, and protein.

 • Best liquids and beverages include water, seltzer, club soda, mineral water, flavored water. Players, however, should stay away from diuretics like caffeinated beverages and alcohol.

 • Carbohydrates—found in cereal, bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, legumes, and fruits, vegetables, and sports products—should represent approximately 60 percent of the calories in one’s diet.

• Proteins, those that are easy to digest like fish and vegetables, help players recover between matches. Players are encouraged to consume protein within 30 minutes after tennis play.  

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REPOST: Tennis-Federer through to Halle semis without hitting a ball

Defending champion Roger Federer make it to the semifinals of the Halle grasscourt championships last Friday without appearing on court. Find out why in this UK Reauters article. 

Image Source: uk.eurosport.yahoo.com

(Reuters) - Roger Federer reached the semi-finals of the Gerry Weber Open without hitting a ball on Friday after Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan pulled out because of a back injury in Halle, Germany.

Elsewhere, Rafa Nadal's conqueror Dustin Brown was knocked out after he lost a final set tiebreak 18-16 against fellow German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Fourth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan beat American Steve Johnson 6-1 7-6 (4) and Colombian Alejandro Falla ousted home player Peter Gojowczyk 7-6 (4) 7-6 (2).

Seventeen-times grand slam champion Federer made up for the walkover by continuing his preparations for Wimbledon with an exhibition match against Germany's Christopher Kas who is ranked 78th in doubles.

Lu joked: "If I'm 150 percent and he's 100 percent I think I'd still lose".

Six-times Halle winner Federer now faces Nishikori in the semi-finals.

Brown captured the imagination of the crowd on Thursday with a convincing win over world number one Nadal but failed to match that form as he lost a marathon match against Kohlschreiber.

The wildcard looked on course for another victory, leading 5-2 in the tiebreak, but the German number two kept his cool to save five match points and secure a meeting with Falla.

"I don't think a third set ever went so long," said 2011 winner Kohlschreiber. "Absolute war of nerves.

"It was very exhausting to keep calm, stay cool and maybe even enjoy it. The atmosphere was incredible but in the end you just want to leave the court as the winner." (Reporting by Tom Hayward, editing by Tony Jimenez)

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REPOST: Nick Kyrgios wins Challenger tennis tournament in Georgia

Kyrgios defeated American young gun Jack Sock in Savannah Challenger. Read more from this Abc.net.au article

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Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios has celebrated his 19th birthday with a tournament win on the ATP's secondary Challenger tour, his second title in as many weeks. 

Image Source: en.wikipedia.org

Kyrgios defeated American Jack Sock 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 on Monday to lift the trophy at the Challenger event in Savannah, Georgia.

It was his second straight tournament victory on American green clay following his triumph at the Sarasota Challenger in Florida the previous week, and takes his winning streak to 10 matches.

 Image Source: tennis.com.au

"Awesome couple of weeks, nice rewards for the whole team and our hard work. Couldn't have asked for much more. Nice Bday pressie too!!," he tweeted after the match.

He also said that he had picked up a slight abductor strain in the win over Sock, but hopes to be fit for the next Challenger tournament in Florida next week.

 Image Source: atpworldtour.com

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REPOST: Tennis Trivia

Tennis is played by million recreational players. Although it's a very popular game, there are tidbits about it that a lot of people still don't know. This article shares trivia about the sport.
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A selection of tennis trivia and useless facts, inspired by the longest tennis match in history played at the 2010 Wimbledon tournament.

 Image Source: commons.wikimedia.org

• The longest tennis match in history was played between between American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon on June 22-24, 2010. The first-round match took 11 hours and 5 minutes over three days, lasting so long it was suspended because of darkness two nights in a row. The match was won by Isner 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68. The fifth set was the longest set in history as determined by both duration and number of games (8 hours 11 minutes, 138 games) and the set itself would have broken the previous longest match record of 6 hours 33 minutes. The longest women's tennis match was played in 1984 between Vicki Nelson and Jean Hepner at the 'Ginny of Richmond' tournament in Richmond, Virginia. That match took 6 hours, 31 minutes with a score of 6–4, 7–6(11), and featured a 29-minute, 643-shot rally - the longest in professional tennis history.
• Possibly the shortest tennis match is the match that lasted just 20 minutes, when Susan M. Tutt beat Marion Bandy 6-0, 6-0 at the Wimbledon tournament in 1969.

Image Source: businessinsider.com

• The US Open was known as the Patriotic Tournament in 1917 during World War I.
• The strings or guts of the tennis racket have in the past been made out of a cow and sheep guts.
• The French Open is named after the stadium it is played in, which is in turn named after a World War I pilot named Roland Garros.
• Boris Becker became the first unseeded player to win Wimbledon in 1985 when he was only 17 years old. He also became the youngest player to win the title, as well as the first German.

 Image Source: hdwpapers.com

• The open era of tennis started in 1968. The first Grand Slam to go open was the French Open.
• Two Australian Open tournaments were held in 1977, when changing from a January event to a December event - the first in January, the second in December. In 1987, the tournament moved back to January, so no championship was decided in 1986.
• Tennis was first played at the Olympics in 1896, but was removed from competition after the 1924 games. It was played as a demonstration sport in 1968 and 1984, then re-introduced as an actual event for the 1988 Olympic Games.

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Realizing your Dream with the Best

It takes a lot of patience, and a little bit of blind faith, when coordinating a development project. The stakes are extraordinarily high for investors, and they must therefore seek out the very best in the business to ensure that their assets are being used as proactively as possible. As such, extensive research should be conducted in order to avoid going over budget and procuring unnecessary and avoidable spending costs. Firstly, prospective investors should look into respected and trusted real estate development companies whose track record matches their ambitions. Without an experienced overseer and manager of a development project, funds can begin to exceed expectations, and dreams can ultimately be delayed.

Image Source: msn.com

Choosing the right kind of real estate developer for a given project is a decision not to be taken lightly. The organization should be willing to take the risks involved and have an extensive and thorough plan mapped out before any kind of development, construction, or building begins. Organizations operating in this field of work should have the right kind of contractors, surveyors, architects, and engineers to make a vision a reality. These are, after all, the vital components of any project, and their confidence and willingness to oversee and execute the various aspects of real estate development.

Tom Phanco is the co-founder of CTV Capital, a real estate development company whose reputation is matched by the expertise they bring to the table. For years investors have turned to CTV Capital for mortgage financing, real estate sales, development, redevelopment, renovations, and construction projects from the ground up. The firm prides itself on overseeing projects from initial conception to final execution, and manages their work with the utmost precision while going above and beyond to please their customers. If any company can be trusted on high-stakes real estate development, CTV Capital will most certainly exceed expectations.

To learn more about Tom Phanco and his associates at CTV Capital, visit the company’s website and learn how the best in the business can make dreams a solid and reliable reality.

Reaching for New Heights of Quality Living and Working

The different stages that go into construction, development, and redevelopment projects must be meticulously planned out and seamlessly executed to please all parties involved – which is many. Construction and management firms have to develop consistent and proactive dialogue throughout the process to assure investors that their assets are being used with the most productive measures possible. The minutest details have to be considered and implemented into the overall development efforts. Without tried and true insight practiced across all levels of collaboration taking shape, timelines have to be pushed back, thorough quality control must be implemented, and investors could potentially lose their eagerness to provide financial backing on future projects.

Image Source: bizlaunchblog.com

Developers have to approach any kind of real estate development prospect with cautious optimism. Taking risks is an unnerving but altogether central component of the business itself, and companies willing to take those risks and bring ideas to realization must first assemble a team of trusted and knowledgeable industry experts to get the job done right, the first time.

When a project or building site is lacking imaginative architects, detail-oriented engineers, seasoned surveyors, and reliable contractors, then missing links slowly start to reveal themselves and, before long, time surpasses budgets. Such instances can be avoided by aligning the right people for the right project. Working with an experienced and trusted real estate developer is the first step towards ensuring that an imagined project is effectively executed and managed in a seamless and timely fashion. Tom Phanco is the co-founder of CTV Capital, one of the most trusted real estate developers in operation today.

CTV Capital and its affiliates collaborate on high-stakes real estate refinancing, development, renovations, and redevelopment on projects throughout Arizona and California. They have established themselves as one of the preeminent real estate developers in the Southwest, and oversee mortgage financing, real estate sales, and building construction from beginning to end. To learn more about Tom Phanco and CTV Capital, visit the company’s website and see if their expertise matches up to your own vision.

REPOST: Nadal joins Ronaldo's Brazilian-based marketing agency

Rafael Nadal joins Ronaldo's marketing agency in Brazil. Read more about it here:

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Image Source: tennis.com

SAO PAULO -- Soccer great Ronaldo and Rafael Nadal are teaming up in Brazil.

Ronaldo's sports marketing agency announced on Thursday it has reach a deal to manage Nadal's advertising contracts in Brazil.

The agency said the "non-exclusive" agreement was reached with Goramendi Siglo XXI, which handles the tennis player's image rights worldwide.

Ronaldo said in a statement, "Nadal is a lot more than just a new partner, he's an idol that all of us learned to admire for his talent on the courts and for the kind of person that he is."

The No. 1-ranked Nadal joins Ronaldo's list of other top sports personalities he manages in Brazil, including Neymar, Rubens Barrichello and Anderson Silva.

Ronaldo was at the Rio Open final last week to watch Nadal, who won the title.

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More news circulating in the world of tennis can be read on this Tom Phanco blog site.

Serena Williams – A Standout in Women’s Tennis Worldwide

Image Source: discovery.com

Very few people are unfamiliar with the Williams sisters in tennis: Even those who do not usually watch tennis have typically heard of them. One of the Williams sisters, Serena Williams, recently claimed a title as the top-ranked tennis player this year – her third time garnering such a title in her career.

Williams also was given this title after 2002 and 2009. In a recent WTA Championships match, she beat China’s Li Na, who was ranked No. 3 in the world. The win was her 11th title this year after having won a whopping 78 out of 82 tennis matches. She is only the eighth female player to win 11 or more titles in a single year.

Here is an easier way to explain her accomplishment: She was successful enough to be able to lift up the coveted Billie Jean King trophy. Billie Jean King is widely known for being an American world No. 1 professional tennis player who was a strong advocate for sexual equality in her sport. At 29 years old, she won a huge 1973 match known as the Battle of the Sexes against then-55-year-old Bobby Riggs and created the Women’s Tennis Association.

Ending the year with the Billie Jean King trophy was meaningful for Williams, with the association currently celebrating its 40th year. At the beginning of the match, it appeared as though Li was going to come out ahead, as she had an excellent start, while Williams appeared to be fatigued early on. However, Williams managed to climb to the top, with Li serving a total of 10 double faults and Williams capitalizing on her slip-ups.

Williams is certainly a standout in the women’s tennis world, and her future matches will certainly not disappoint. For more information on Williams’ and Li’s recent WTA Championships match, take a look at Tom Phanco’s home page.

The Top Tennis Players of All Time

Tennis is a game that may appear effortless on a television screen but is impossible to excel at on the court without practice. Over the years, this popular “participation” sport has certainly had high-rating moments as a spectator sport as well. Here are some of the top male tennis players of all time:


1) Roger Federer: This tennis player is often known as the greatest player of all time. He has claimed a whopping 17 Grand Slam titles so far – a record – in addition to claiming 36 Grand Slam quarterfinal successes. Federer has been such a long-time player because he plays gracefully and thus has been able to prevent injuries that many other tennis players have had to endure.

2) Pete Sampras: This player is perhaps best known for the exceptional 286 weeks he spent ranked as No. 1 in the world. He has claimed seven Wimbledon titles and is especially popular because of his stellar one-handed backhand.

Image Source: hdwpapers.com

3) Ivan Lendl: This player won a total of eight Grand Slams in the 1980s during his outstanding 19 appearances in finals. His expertise has improved the career of well-known player Andy Murray, and he is one of the top players to have spent several weeks at No. 1 – being behind only Federer and Sampras.

4) Jimmy Connors: This professional tennis player was most popular in the 1970s, when he remained No. 1 in the world for a whopping 159 straight weeks. He claimed two Wimbledon wins and five U.S. Open victories. What makes this player even more unique, however, is that he proved that age was no match for him: At 39 years old, he made it to the U.S. Open semifinals in the early 1990s – and he was just 5 feet 10 inches, shorter than most of his competitors.

Tennis indeed has a spectacular history, and its unparalleled history is still in the making. For more information about the most popular tennis players of all time, visit the homepage of Tom Phanco.