Tennis News

Rafael Nadal has started a family.

No, the second-ranked Spaniard isn't going to be a father, but his success playing with Babolat racquets has prompted the launch of a line of new Babolat Nadal Junior racquets for children.

Named for the five-time Grand Slam champion the Nadal Junior racquets are designed for budding young players age four to nine.

Struggling Ashley Needs Time Off; On-Court Coaching Dying
 
On Sunday, Flintstone native Ashley Harkleroad was as happy as a Georgia peach conducting pre-tournament interviews celebrating her appearance on the cover of Playboy as well as her prospects in the East West Bank Classic draw.

Whether it is fair or not, Novak Djokovic has become a forgotten player during the past two months.

The third-ranked Serb was on top of the tennis world in January when he won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

Djokovic carried that momentum to a victory at Indian Wells in March and in early May, he won the claycourt event in Rome, leaving many to wonder if the 21-year-old was ready to challenge for the French Open trophy.

Heavy rain halted second-round action from the Toronto Masters.

British number three Katie O'Brien failed in her bid to reach the quarter-finals of the Slovenia Open, losing 6-3 6-2 to Russia's Vera Dushevina.
 
The 22-year-old from Yorkshire claimed one of the best results of her career in the first round on Monday, beating fifth seed Tsvetana Pironkova in Portoroz.
 
But O'Brien, ranked 150, struggled with her serve against world number 65 Dushevina and was broken six times in the match.

Rafael Nadal looks to continue the best stretch of his career this week at the Rogers Cup.

The second-seeded Spaniard will play his first match since winning Wimbledon when he faces American qualifier Jesse Levine in one of 14 second-round matches scheduled at the hardcourt event Wednesday.

The first player to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season since Bjorn Borg in 1980, Nadal comes into this event at the top of his game. The world No. 2 since July 2005 has won his last four tournaments played and is on a 24-match winning streak.

Thai tennis star Tamarine Tanasugarn will be given a special invite to next month's Beijing Olympics after her performance at this year's Wimbledon.
 
Tamarine, 31, who has appeared in three previous Games, initially missed out on representing her country in Beijing because her world ranking had dropped.
 
However, after her show at Wimbledon earlier this month, when she reached the quarter finals -- where she was beaten by eventual winner Venus Williams -- her rankings soared from 60 to 38.
 

Russian tennis ace Maria Sharapova is the world’s highest-earning female celebrity under 25. That’s according to Forbes magazine. With an estimated fortune of $23 million, the 21-year-old is also the world’s richest sportswoman.

Overall, Sharapova came in at number three in the Forbes’ list of rich young celebs. Interestingly, the top two slots were also given to sports stars.  First place was given to basketball superstar LeBron James with $27 million, followed by NFL rookie Reggie Bush with $24 million.

Serena Williams' Carson appearance abruptly concluded after practice on Tuesday. The left knee injury that prompted Williams to retire from the Stanford semifinals on Saturday forced her out of the East West Bank Classic today.
 
Williams said she hopes to recover to play both the Beijing Olympics, which start on August 10th and the U.S. Open beginning on August 25th.