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2012 OLYMPICS: ITF Launches Olympic Mobile App

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Olympic rings


The International Tennis Federation (ITF) today launched a mobile App for the Olympic Tennis Event taking place at The All England Club, Wimbledon from 28 July until 5 August. The smartphone App forms part of a wider digital strategy that makes the ITF Olympic Tennis website ITFtennis.com/Olympics the number one destination for tennis fans during London 2012.

The mobile App provides fans with live scores, schedules, drawsheets, news, photos, and player and event information, and is available for free download to iPhone and Android users. For other smartphone devices, a mobile friendly version of the website is available equipped with the same features.

The new-look ITF Olympic Tennis website was launched earlier in 2012 alongside a Spanish-language version of the site ITFtennis.com/Olimpiadas. During the Games, the website will offer a comprehensive live scores console with match statistics, the first time live scoring has been available on the ITF Olympic Tennis website.

The ITF Olympic Tennis website will offer in-depth coverage from the All England Club including news, match reports, interviews, photos and blogs. The website aims to build on the success of Beijing 2008 when a record number of visitors followed the action.

Fans can also keep up-to-date with the tennis through the ITF Olympic Tennis social media channels on Facebook and Twitter. These pages provide behind-the-scenes insight as well as giving followers the opportunity to have their say on current and topical issues.

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “We are delighted to launch this mobile App, which will provide fast, informative and easy-to-access information on the Olympic Tennis Event to fans around the world wherever they might be. The other new online features, including live scores for the first time, will make tennis one of the easiest sports to follow at this year’s Games.”

source:  itftennis.com
Photo by Steve Wake


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Jasmyne Cannick: Serena Williams' Record Fine Is Just A Distraction

Friday, December 11, 2009



Black Tennis Pro's Jasmine Cannick Serena Williams ITF Fine/Probation CommentaryIt comes as no surprise that Serena Williams was fined a record $82,500 and placed on a two year “probationary period” for her September 2009 U.S. Open outburst wherein she yelled some choice words at a lineswoman after a foot-fault call that resulted in her semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters.

Ever since the Williams’ sisters hit the pros, they have been both loved and hated. Openly loved and adored by the people they represent and secretly and sometimes not-so-secretly hated by those, who up until the Williams’ came along, dominated the sport of tennis. But yet and still, the Williams’ sisters endured and persevered even with sports commentators crediting their triumphs and victories to their “strength” and “athleticism” while their counterparts won because they “played smart” and were “strategic.”

Add to that, Venus and Serena Williams’ contributions to tennis have increased the earnings for all women on the pro circuit, but they are still loathed by the same women who should be thanking them for the money they now earn when they lose to them.

Serena herself once blogged about an incident at the German Open where she lost to Dinara Safina. She wrote that she could hear the entire players lounge “all happy and joyous” because she finally lost.

"It was funny when I lost I was in the locker room and I could hear the entire players lounge really loud like really happy and joyous. Like down goes the champ! Someone beat her!!! It was like a big hoopla…."

To date, the previous highest fine for a Grand Slam offense was nearly $48,000 in 1995 when Jeff Tarango was docked for at Wimbledon while playing Alexander Mronz. Tarango was upset when a serve he thought was an ace was called out. When the crowd heckled him and he told them to shut up, the umpire, Bruno Rebeuh, issued a code violation. Tarango yelled at Rebeuh and then stormed off, defaulting the match, after announcing: ‘You are the most corrupt official. I’m not playing any more.’ As the umpire Rebeuh made his way back to the changing room, he encountered Benedicte, Tarango’s wife, who slapped him. Later she defended her action and said: ‘If Jeff had done it, he would have been put out of tennis.’

Let me be clear. This is not about the money. Please. $82,500 is chump change for Serena Williams who raked in $350,000 just for reaching the 2009 U.S. Open semifinals, $6.5 million in earnings this year alone, and $28 million in total career prize money. Serena Williams is an 11-time Grand Slam singles champion who ended the 2009 season at No. 1 in the Women’s Tennis Association’s rankings. No—this s about making sure that Serena Williams doesn’t continue to dominate women’s tennis.

In other words, if you can’t beat her’, fine her’, but more importantly, put her on probation and set her up to fail.

Serena now faces a “probationary period” at tennis’ four major championships in 2010 and 2011. If another offense occurs at a Grand Slam Tournament during that time, the fine increases to $175,000 and she would be barred from the following U.S. Open. And there wherein lies the conspiracy.

I think the powers that be are tired of watching the same two Black girls kick ass year in and year out on the tennis court. And since there’s no sign of either Williams sister retiring anytime soon, being photographed inhaling from a marijuana pipe, going to prison after being under Federal investigation for dog fighting, admitting that she took performance-enhancing drugs, or doing a Sammy Sosa and showing up on the court as white woman, the International Federation of Tennis’ ruling is the next best thing.

Everyone is aware that Serena is highly emotional on the court.

So with Serena on a “probationary period,” all it’s going to take is one “bad call” meant to provoke her and strike a nerve so that she violates the conditions of her probation, thus getting barred from the next U.S. Open.

Even with Venus Williams still playing tennis, if Serena were barred from the next U.S. Open, a dramatic shift in women’s tennis would occur that would result in a cataclysmic scenario wherein the odds would be greater that someone other than a Williams would take home the coveted Grand Slam title. And even though there’s no guarantee of the outcome in such a scenario—it does present an opportunity for players who—with Serena competing—wouldn’t ordinarily have a chance at advancing in the Grand Slam tournament.

But for that to actually come to fruition, the World’s No. 1 ranked female tennis player would have to be somehow disqualified—by say another “major offense” during her “probationary period.”

Thank FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and COINTELPRO, former LAPD Detective Mark Furhman, the Republican National Committee and the 2004 Presidential Election, as the reason that I don’t put anything past anyone.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

The $82,500 fine is just a distraction from the bigger picture as it relates to Serena and women’s tennis over the next two years. A picture that some would rather paint without her in it.


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Serena Responds To ITF Decision

Monday, November 30, 2009

Black Tennis Pro's Serena Williams Response to ITF Decision"I am thankful that we now have closure on the incident, and we can all move forward," Williams said in statement released by her Los Angeles-based publicist. "I am back in training in preparation for next season, and I continue to be grateful for all of the support from my fans and the tennis community."


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ITF Decision Overkill: Serena Now The Gold Standard For Bad Behavior?

Black Tennis Pro's Serena Williams ITF Decision OverkillLet the truth be spoken up front; American sisters Venus and Serena Williams have conducted themselves over the lifespan of their tennis careers in an exemplary manner and there are others who could learn a lot from them. That said, sure, Serena has always been the highly emotional fiery player that causes the fans to raise the roof in the stadiums - all within the confines of the sport and nothing contrary to it.

Serena Williams' choice to lash out at the linesperson in the manner that she did at the 2009 U.S. Open was without question an aberration in the behavior that she typically displays during matches. Poor judgement in the heat of the match? Unquestionably. A continuance of longstanding bad behavior? Absolutely not!

On its own merit, the decision of the International Tennis Federation to fine American Serena Williams a record $82,500 for the incident is certainly not as extreme as it could have been and let's face it, the payout won't even make a slight dent in her stash.

The funky portion of this decision comes with the probation and and the potential for Serena to be suspended if she has another "major offense" at any Grand Slam in the next two years. WHAT A LOAD OF BULL!!

Holding Serena to a standard FAR different than other players, male or female, is just beyond the pale. If the ITF wants to set a new standard and then hold all players feet to the fire, fine; but to take an isolated incident and now set Serena up as the gold standard in bad behavior and place punitive sanctions on her that establish new lows in parity is absolutely ridiculous.

Serena has been placed on a probation over the four major championships that occur in 2010-1011. If she has another "major offense" at a Grand Slam tournament in that time, the $82,500 fine would increase to $175,000 and she would be barred from the following U.S. Open.

"But if she does not have another offense in the next two years, the suspension is lifted," says Grand Slam administrator Bill Babcock. Oh how sweet.

He stated that "Williams violated the "major offense" rule for "aggravated behavior." The Grand Slam committee - with one representative from each of the sport's four major championships - approved his decision Saturday.

Babcock said a "major offense" under Grand Slam rules is "any conduct that is determined to be the 'major offense' of 'aggravated behavior' or 'conduct detrimental to the game.'" There is no specific definition of what sort of actions constitute a "major offense."

He said the highest possible fine that Williams could face - $175,000, if she violates her Grand Slam probation - was chosen because it is the difference in winnings between reaching the quarterfinals and semifinals at the U.S. Open. The $10,000 Williams already was docked by the USTA will be counted toward that total; that's why she is paying half of $165,000 now.

Call it what you will, view it in your own light and subject this decision to your own scrutiny - there's one thing that's for certain, this decision would take on a totally different color if this were a white male player. The history of the game bares all of the truth of that statement.

What's good for one should be good for all - this sucks...


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ITF Chief Says Ban Unlikely For Serena Williams

Saturday, November 14, 2009

By Andrew Dampf (AP) -- Top-ranked Serena Williams will most likely receive a "significant" fine but no suspension for her U.S. Open tirade, the president of the International Tennis Federation said.

Grand Slam administrator Bill Babcock is expected to give his recommendation to the Grand Slam committee, which probably will announce the sanction Monday or Tuesday.

"I don't think (an Australian Open ban) would make much sense, because it would penalize the people handing out the punishment," Francesco Ricci Bitti told The Associated Press on Saturday. "For the Grand Slam committee to exclude her from a Grand Slam doesn't seem likely."

The Grand Slam committee is composed of Ricci Bitti and the four Grand Slam presidents.

Williams was fined $10,000 after her profanity-laced outburst at a lineswoman during her semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters in September. A fine from the ITF could be much greater.

"A significant financial penalty makes much more sense. But it has to be significant enough for the fans (to appreciate) it," Ricci Bitti said. "Of course it may not be significant for Serena Williams, who earns tens of millions."

By winning the season-ending tour championship last weekend, Williams set the record for single-season prize money in women's tennis by topping $6.5 million in 2009. Her career prize money is a record $28.5 million.

Ricci Bitti spoke at the Fed Cup final between the United States in Italy. Serena and Venus Williams decided not to play in the Fed Cup final after meeting in the final of the season-ending championship last weekend in Doha, Qatar.

The ITF president is also involved in a request by the World Anti-Doping Agency to investigate Andre Agassi's recent admission that he took crystal meth in 1997.

Agassi wrote in his soon-to-be-released autobiography "Open" that he ingested the drug and then lied to the ATP to avoid a suspension after failing a doping test.

Ricci Bitti is also a member of WADA's executive committee.

"The WADA code is our reference point and in every doping case the rules are quite clear. There is an eight-year period for sanctions to apply," Ricci Bitti said. "In terms of the regulations, there is nothing that can be done because we're past the eight-year period. It's more upsetting than anything else — for our sport and for the players."

Still, Ricci Bitti noted that the ATP should have a dossier on the case.

"We'll see what happens," he said.

In another drug-related case, the ITF confirmed a one-year suspension for Belgian tennis players Yanina Wickmayer and Xavier Malisse on Saturday. The duo was suspended by a Belgian tribunal this week for failing to report their whereabouts to anti-doping officials three times during 2009.

"This reminds me of the cases of Italian players involved in betting a little while ago," Ricci Bitti said. "These players need to be aware of their responsibilities. If they don't know, this is the result.

"These cases create discussion because they're not reliant on positive tests, but there are rules to respect," Ricci Bitti added. "We're awaiting the details from the Belgian federation. These kids need to wake up. They're professionals and they earn a lot of money. They don't need to merely know the rules, they should also respect them."


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Serena Into Paris Quarterfinals; Not Feeling ITF New Doping Rules

Friday, February 13, 2009

Black Tennis Pro's Serena Williams Open GDF SuezPARIS (AP) — Top-ranked Serena Williams showed no signs of the illness which kept her bedridden last week as she ousted Karolina Sprem 6-1, 6-2 to reach the Open GDF Suez quarterfinals on Thursday.

Williams, after winning the Australian Open, didn't practice until Monday, and was relieved to get through the first round of the indoor tournament she's won twice.

Her second-round match was easier, as Williams took less than an hour to beat the Croatian qualifier, converting her first match point with a forehand return winner down the line.

Next up will be French qualifier Emilie Loit, whom Williams hasn't met in six years.

"She's a lefty, she uses a lot of spins and slices," Williams said about Loit. "She's a very experienced player and tricky."

**********

Serena Williams joined the chorus of top tennis players who believe the new anti-doping measures on athletes are too strong, she called the rules implemented by the International Tennis Federation as “over the top.”

“It’s very invasive,” she said. “Basically, they show up at your house on any day.

Under the new rules, athletes must specify one hour each day when and where they can be located for testing. They also must tell anti-doping authorities where they will be over the next three months, but they can update this by e-mail or phone message.


Photo by AP

Source



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Olympian Tennis Player Serena Williams An Ice Skater Too?

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Black Tennis Pro's Serena Williams OlympicsSeveral of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's biggest stars are showcased in a fantastic new photographic book published by the International Tennis Federation to celebrate the upcoming Olympic Tennis Event in Beijing.

Entitled "Journey To Beijing – Tennis Celebrates The Olympics", the book features more than 40 of the world's leading tennis players who took part in the ITF project to help promote the prestigious event, which features its strongest fields since tennis returned as an Olympic sport in 1988.

The 140-page publication features a series of specially commissioned photographs of the game's top names dressed as athletes from other summer or winter Olympic sports. These are accompanied by interviews with the players talking about their Olympic memories and hopes for Beijing.

The photographs were taken over a six-month period by some of the world's leading tennis photographers, with photo shoots held in venues as varied as Barcelona, Beijing, Dubai, Indian Wells, Los Angeles, Miami, Melbourne, Moscow, Netherlands, Palm Beach, Santiago, Shanghai and Tel Aviv.

Among the 44 players represented in the book are the two current world No.1s, Ana Ivanovic, who is shown playing beach volleyball, and Roger Federer, who poses as a fencer, both of whom were photographed in Miami. Rafael Nadal appears as a footballer on location in Shanghai, while Novak Djokovic takes advantage of Dubai's indoor ski slope.

Maria Sharapova takes time out from a photo shoot to try rhythmic gymnastics in Los Angeles, while Serena Williams demonstrates her ice skating abilities at home in Palm Beach. Olympic champions Nicolas Massu and Fernando Gonzalez become marathon runners on the streets of Santiago, while wheelchair world No.1 Esther Vergeer shows her versatility as a basketball player in the Netherlands.

The players also give an insight into the part the Olympics has played in their lives, with a series of exclusive interviews looking at their childhood memories, previous Olympic appearances and ambitions for this summer's Games.

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: "I believe the book shows how proud current tennis players are to represent their countries in the Olympic Games as well as the importance the Olympics has played in their lives. In turn, we have witnessed the continued growth, not only of the Olympic Tennis Event, but also of the international reach of our sport since tennis returned to the Olympic Games in 1988."

Click here for more information on the Olympic Tennis Event and for a chance to win a copy of "Journey To Beijing."

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Hello And An Update From Dustin Brown

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

I recently received an email from one of Black Tennis Pro's favorite players, Jamaica's Dustin Brown. He is busy playing tournaments, nonetheless, he took the time to drop a line and let us know how he is doing and what he's been up to. Good to hear from him!

Dustin says that he still does not have a sponsor, and continues to receive no assistance from the Jamaican Federation. This lack of support makes travel difficult, as well as entering the big tournaments.

At the same time, he has been having good fortune on the courts, which you can read about at his website. Most significantly, Dustin recently won the ITF - Future 8 Singles and Doubles Bitburger Tennis Grand Prix 2008 Trier, Germany, June 2008. Way to go Dustin!

Here is a video clip from the tournament:

Black Tennis Pro's Dustin Brown


Take care, stay in touch and keep up the good work Dustin!

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