French tennis star Amelie Mauresmo is out of commission for at least a month because of an emergency appendectomy. Ranked fourth in the world, Mauresmo was hospitalized in Paris due to a severe stomach ache for a few days before a sonogram detected that her appendix required removal. She was forced to withdraw from the [...]
Henin Less the Hardenne
February 19, 2007 By Leave a Comment
It must be truly tough to go through a divorce and lose your world number one ranking at the same time. This is what Justine Henin is facing, yet she refuses to surrender her career. Justine recently separated from husband Pierre-Yves Hardenne and revealed publicly that she is in great pain and shock. She is [...]
Big Babe Slugfest in Sydney
January 12, 2007 By 1 Comment
The Medibank International is just finishing up in Sydney, Australia. One of our Wicked Backhand readers subscribes to The Tennis Channel and I do not, so I wanted to share with you his account of yesterday’s semifinal match between Jankovic and Vaidisova: “Wow, what a slugfest between Jankovic and Vaidisova. Jankovic was really stretched to [...]
Borg Is Back
January 11, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Former World No. 1 Björn Borg is scheduled to play the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament this June, his first appearance on English grass in over 25 years. The 50 year-old Swedish tennis legend will play a doubles match on June 13 and a singles match on June 15 at Calderstones Park in Liverpool. For ticket [...]
Aussie Open: Competition Narrows Again
January 10, 2007 By 3 Comments
Venus Williams, ranked number 48 in the world of women’s tennis, has withdrawn from next week’s Australian Open. Williams will miss the first Grand Slam of 2007 due to an injury to her left wrist. The women’s competition should be fierce regardless; Amelie Mauresmo was just beaten in the Sydney International by Jelena Jankovic who [...]
Davenport to Retire in 2007
December 14, 2006 By Leave a Comment
Three-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one, Lindsay Davenport is trading her racquet bag for a diaper bag. She and husband Jonathan Leach recently announced her pregnancy and stated that she does not expect to play tennis professionally in the future. At thirty years old, Lindsay says she hates to use the word [...]
Top Players Honored
December 12, 2006 By 1 Comment
The International Tennis Federation chose Swiss superstar Roger Federer and Belgian ace Justine Henin-Hardenne as their 2006 World Champions. This is Roger’s third consecutive year winning this honor; Justine won it previously in 2003. Both Federer and Henin-Hardenne finished the tennis season as number one in the world, competing in all four of the Grand [...]
Clijsters to Retire in 2007
December 8, 2006 By 1 Comment
Kim Clijsters, currently ranked number five woman in the world of tennis, has declared 2007 her last year of professional tennis. Though Clijsters is only 23, she is plagued by persistent injuries. She also plans to marry American Brian Lynch right after Wimbledon and devote herself to starting a family and making a home. Lynch [...]
Hard Core Tennis
December 7, 2006 By Leave a Comment
Imagine you are at CBGBs in NYC and you overhear John McEnroe go to Henry Rollins, “Yeah, whatever. F— Lendl.” [Laughs]. No, really, it happened. You may know Rollins as a hardcore/punk singer/songwriter, spoken word artist, prose and poetry writer, radio and TV personality, movie actor, comedian, or voice-over artist, but he also plays a [...]
Andre Agassi Takes on Barbara Walters
December 5, 2006 By Leave a Comment
Andre Agassi is scheduled to appear in a special, Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2006 on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 at 10 p.m. (ET) on ABC. Agassi’s amazing career includes eight Grand Slam titles, a total of 21 US Opens (including two championships), and spans two decades. He is the second [...]