Serena is Yahoo's 3rd Most Searched Olympian

Yahoo's 2008 Year In Review Top 10 Most Searched Olympians:

1. Michael Phelps
2. Leryn Franco
3. Serena Williams
4. Kobe Bryant
5. Shawn Johnson
6. Jennie Finch
7. Misty Mae Treanor
8. Ronaldinho
9. Alicia Sacramone
10. Nastia Liukin

Serena makes Ask.com Top Sports Icon list

Popular search site Ask.com unveiled its Real Deal list of 2008's mos popular searches, as determined by the millions of people who conducted billions of searches on Ask this year. With more than 70 million unique monthly searchers, the Ask network of sites is the 7th largest Internet property in the U.S., according to comScore Media Metrix (Oct. 2008). Serena is the ONLY female to make the Ask.com Top Sports Icon search list.

Ask's Top Sports Icon Searches of 2008

1. Jimmie Johnson

2. Kobe Bryant

3. Jeff Gordon

4. Lebron James

5. Michael Phelps

6. Tiger Woods

7. Allen Iverson

8. David Beckham

9. Mohammad Ali
10. Serena Williams

'09 Australian Open: Women's Final at night

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Australian Open women's final will be played at night from next year on in hopes of attracting a larger television audience. The final has traditionally been played on a Saturday afternoon but officials are switching it to the evening after successfully moving the men's event in 2005 (breaking a 103-year tradition of daylight deciders).

"We have been thinking about a night final for the women ever since the men's night final proved such an outstanding success," tournament director Craig Tiley said in a statement. "Our research has shown that the Australian tennis public would prefer the women's singles final to be played at night." Tilley said the move was expected to attract a bigger television, radio and internet audience and had been approved by the Women's Tennis Association and some of the top players.

"The atmosphere at Melbourne Park at night is great and the cooler conditions allow the players to really produce their best," Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova said. "I think this move will further showcase a great sporting event and is good for both players and fans." The 2009 Australian Open is scheduled from Jan. 19-Feb. 1.

Serena @ Pam Shriver Classic

Photo credit: Khalid Naji-Allah / Afro.com

Who's #1? Interesting scenario

The following is an interesting submission to Jon Wertheim's (Sport's Illustrated) Tennis Mailbag. "Since there has been a lot of chatter about who's really No. 1 in women's tennis, I took everyone who finished the year in the top 10 and divided their total number of points by the number of tournaments they played. Here are the results:

1. Serena Williams 297.38
2. Venus Williams 233.71
3. Maria Sharapova 228.63
4. Jelena Jankovic 214.09
5. Elena Dementieva 192.79
6. Ana Ivanovic 192.05
7. Dinara Safina 181.76
8. Svetlana Kuznetsova 143.47
9. Vera Zvonareva 118.08
10. Agnieszka Radwanska 95.25

If you were to ask tennis fans to rank the top 10 players of the year, I would bet that their lists would adhere more closely to this list than the official rankings. I'm not being pro Serena or anti Jelena, but these rankings seem to be a little more representative of quality rather than quantity. What are your thoughts?-- Frederick, West Hollywood

Serena: Rock-n-Racquets (Louisville, Kentucky)

Louisville will host two of the world’s top athletes in a unique mix of tennis, music and charity at a special one-night-only event next month. Andy Roddick, currently ranked No. 6 in the world, and Serena Williams, 2008 U.S. Open champion, will be in Louisville Friday, Dec. 12, at Freedom Hall as part of the ICAP Energy Rock-n-Racquets tour. Roddick and Williams will be joined by fellow players John Isner and Caroline Wozniacki. The event will feature three exhibition matches: men’s and women’s singles (Roddick vs. Isner and Williams vs. Wozniacki) and mixed doubles (Roddick and Williams vs. Isner and Wozniacki).

In a departure from normal tennis protocol, the event will include music during changeovers. “Tennis events are normally hush-hush,” said tournament director Jeff Newman. “This is a more high energy event.” The event will be emceed by Wayne Bryan, father of the world’s No. 1 doubles team, Bob and Mike Bryan.

“Rock-n-Racquets showcases tennis in a different light and brings it to cities that don’t normally see professional tennis,” Newman said. The tour will also make stops in Knoxville, Tenn. and Columbia, S.C.

Rock-n-Racquets starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 to $77 and can be purchased at the Kentucky Exposition Center ticket office or for more information, please visit: www.rocknracquets.com, www.ticketmaster.com or www.experiencebest.com.

Serena: Rock-n-Racquets (Knoxville,TN)

Tennis fanatics, prepare yourself for the first pro tennis exhibition at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Andy Roddick, Serena Williams, John Isner, and Caroline Wozniacki will take center court as part of a 3-city tennis exhibition called Rock-N-Racquets. Rock-N-Racquets is an event that pairs tennis with music and fun. It benefits the Andy Roddick Foundation. It will take place at Thompson Boling Arena Sunday, December 14. Doors will open at 1 p.m with the event starting at 2pm. For tickets, you can call Tickets Unlimited at (865)656-4444 or visit Knoxvilletickets.com.

From the Vault: Classic Serena PUMA video

WTA Roadmap 2009

Fans can get ready for a more exciting and streamlined season in 2009 with a revamped Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. The "Roadmap 2009" has radically changed the current circuit structure, and with it will bring stronger rivalries on bigger stages. Top players will now face each other more often in newly designated "Premier" events, while huge investments give the Tour bigger and better venues with higher stakes in prize money.

Key elements of the Roadmap 2009 include:

• Record prize money: For the 2009 season, the total prize money has gone up 40% to $86 million, and it will be equal at the four Grand Slams, four Premier cornerstone events (at Indian Wells, the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, and the China Open in Beijing), Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships and the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships – Doha 2009

• Bigger matches and better rivalries: The new Premiere events will see the top players facing off against each other more often and in bigger venues, creating a new level of competition and unmissable match-ups more intense than have been seen in years

• An easy-to-follow calendar: The new Roadmap, with its four Premier cornerstone events (at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing), more defined 'swings' in the Premier events, with the 26 Tier I/II events changed to 20 Premier events, and more combined back-to-back events, will make the Tour much easier to track and enjoy

• A new ranking system: Best 16 results are more directly linked to the Tour's top events by awarding of "zero pointers" for any missed commitment tournament, Grand Slam or the Sony Ericsson Championships

• Record investments: The 2009 season will see $710 million in stadium facility investments, and $84 million in year-end Sony Ericsson Championships deals in Doha 2008-2010 and Istanbul 2011-2013

Discussing the changes at the 2008 Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Larry Scott shared the Tour's commitment to the players' needs, and the ways the Tour has worked to streamline the Roadmap: "The 2009 Roadmap is designed around three core principles: A healthier calendar for the players, through a shorter season and longer off‑season; increased prize money, reflecting the global growth and demand for women's tennis; and a clearer presentation to the public, with the best athletes playing against each other more often."

-- article courtesy of Sony Ericsson WTA website

Serena @ Pam Shriver Charity Event (Baltimore)

The 23rd annual Pam Shriver Charity Tennis Classic was held at Baltimore’s 1st Mariner Arena on Friday, November 21, 2008 for the benefit of the Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF). Net proceeds from the Tennis Classic are distributed to children’s charities under the guidance of the BCF.

Early in the the first set of the 23rd PNC Tennis Classic last night, the sport's megastar, Serena Williams, had a ball bounce off her head from a ricochet off the baseline wall. The world's No.2 player flashed a smile after briefly feigning dizziness, and the fans laughed with her.It was that kind of night at 1st Mariner Arena, with Williams and her opponent, Elena Dementieva, putting on a polite exhibition for an adoring crowd that welcomed the opportunity to be in the presence of a superstar while at the same time contributing to a worthy cause.

"We're here to have fun," Williams said before the match. "We're not going to take it Grand Slam final serious, but at the same time, we want to give the people a great show." Judging by the loud response from the crowd throughout the evening, Williams gave the people exactly that, despite losing the match, 6-4, 6-4. Of course, Williams transcends tennis - and sports, for that matter - and she was clearly the main attraction for the announced crowd of 7,231.

UPDATE: Billie Jean King Cup to air LIVE on HBO!

HBO will air “BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup” live on March 2, 2009 at 7:30pm EST from Madison Square Garden. The program, which celebrates tennis legend Billie Jean King, will feature 2008 US Open Champion -Serena Williams, 2008 Wimbledon Champion - Venus Williams, 2008 French Open Champion - Ana Ivanovic and World #1 - Jelena Jankovic in a one-night-only single-elimination event. The event is part of the national “Tennis Night in America” promotion. Tickets for the match can be purchased at the Madison Square Garden box office, Ticketmaster outlets or at www.thegarden.com.

Limited front row VIP tickets priced at $1,000.00 and additional tickets listed at $325.00, $175.00, $125.00, $75.00, and $50.00 went on sale today. "I am honored to be part of an event that showcases Serena, Venus, Jelena, and Ana – four of the best players in women's tennis today -- in one of the most storied tennis venues in the world," said sports icon and tennis legend Billie Jean King. "This collection of players, competing in this spectacular venue, in an event that benefits the Women's Sports Foundation and other organizations, is the perfect mix to deliver an exciting and entertaining celebration of women's sports and tennis."

The pool of players for this one night event is unprecedented, including three women who over the course of the 2008 season held the World No. 1 ranking and all four of whom have been No. 1 at least once in their career. The grouping also consists of three Grand Slam winners, as well as four of the eight qualifiers of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s season-ending Championships which was recently captured by Venus Williams in Doha.

Serena Williams, currently ranked No.2 in the latest Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings, holds a total of 44 titles (32 singles / 12 doubles) at Tour events, including 18 Grand Slam titles (nine singles titles, seven doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles). The summer of 2008 garnered all her highlights for this past year. Serena played in the finals at Wimbledon and most recently she captured her third US Open title when she defeated Jelena Jankovic at the USTA Center in New York and returned to the World No.1 ranking, which she held for four weeks in 2008. The Williams sisters as a team recently captured their third Wimbledon Doubles Championship this year and for the second consecutive Olympic Games captured the women’s doubles gold medal. Together they have won a total of 12 doubles championships including seven Grand Slam doubles titles.

"

Serena's former sponser, PUMA, turns 60!

PUMA History:

1998 - PUMA becomes Sponsor of Serena Williams as well as the official Corel WTA Tour Sponsor

1999 - Serena Williams wins her first Grand Slam tournament, the U.S. Open, by beating Martina Hingis

2001 - Serena Williams advances to the U.S. Open semi finals to participate in an “All-Williams” final

2002 - PUMA and Serena Williams unveil the 2002 Serena Williams Tennis Collection

2002 - Serena Williams wins the French Open wearing a sleeveless tennis dress in support of the Cameroon Football Team at the World Cup

2002 - Serena Williams wins Wimbledon and attains, for the first time, a number one ranking

2002 - Serena Williams wins the U.S. Open wearing a black PUMA catsuit

Serena hosts tennis clinic in Nairobi

Serena Williams assists local junior players during a training session at the Sadili Oval Tennis academy in Nairobi.

Laila Ali favors Williams Sisters

Boxer, Laila Ali, comments on her favorite athletes:

Which athletes do you most enjoy watching?
I like watching Venus and Serena Williams because they are so professional and dedicated.

-- quote from TimesOnline

Serena at HP store autograph session

Serena Williams attends a signing session held at the HP store on November 12, 2008 in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa

Serena opens her school

Serena Williams opens the Serena Williams Secondary School in Matooni 161km east, of Nairobi on November 14, 2008.

Serena press conference pic

Serena Williams speaks after opening the Serena Williams Secondary School in Matooni 161km east, of Nairobi on November 14, 2008.

Serena in South Africa hosting clinic for kids w/ AIDS

Image courtesy of www.serenawilliams.com

Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup

BNP Paribas presents the Showdown for the Billie-Jean King Cup, an exhibition tournament that will take place in New York on March 2, 2009. The event features Serena Williams, Venus Williams Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic. Dubbed “Tennis Night in America”, the indoor event at Madison Square Garden will feature a unique format, with two semi-finals preceding a final on the same night. The semi-final matches will incorporate “no-ad” scoring and will be played over one set; the final will be a best-of-three set match with traditional scoring.

The night, which will benefit the Dream Vaccines Foundation charity, will also feature a special tribute to women’s sports. StarGames President Jerry Solomon, who is the promoter of the event, said: “We saw from our Sampras/Federer ‘Battle for Tennis History’ in March that the New York audience and the tennis community was hungry to have world class tennis back at Madison Square Garden.“With the BNP Paribas Showdown we will bring together some of the biggest names in tennis, sports and entertainment to not only showcase the top women in the world but also honour Billie Jean King. We are looking forward once again to a tremendous night at the Garden, one that tennis fans won’t want to miss.” For ticket information, visit Ticketmaster or www.thegarden.com, or call (1-866-448-7849).

- Second image courtesy of www.anaivanovic.com