Black Tennis Pros

Venus Williams played Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinal round of the BNP Paribas Open.

Venus Williams was enjoying a very spirited and competitive run at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open. Unfortunately, in her ninth meeting with Germany's Angelique Kerber, Venus was eliminated from the quarterfinals 6(3)-7, 3-6.

Venus is currently scheduled for the upcoming Miami Open March 18-31.

"I want to thank you for everything you gave me this week"

Thank you, @Gael_Monfils 👊#BNPPO19 pic.twitter.com/tjCw4J1snv

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 15, 2019

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Former World No. 1 Venus Williams made a special appearance to sign autographs on High School Day for a throng of students gathered in the Grandstand Tent.


Williams, who made the third round of Cincinnati in ’09, has won seven Grand Slam titles in her career and 43 Tour titles overall. A viral illness has forced her to withdraw from this year’s Western and Southern Open, but she came on-site Sunday to fulfill sponsor obligations.

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On Saturday night, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia qualified for the final of the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank after a match that never actually ended.

Djokovic was leading 6-4 and 3-0 when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, who defeated Roger Federer on Thursday, retired due to a right arm injury.

There were some spectacular points in the two-sided first set. Until 4-4, things were running smoothly despite the three break points that went to Djokovic.

In the ninth game, the World No.1 broke Tsonga and ran away with the set.

As the second set got underway, it seemed that Djokovic had also broken Tsonga's spirit. At 2-0, the Frenchman asked the chair umpire to call the trainer, who came out at the next changeover and quickly saw that Tsonga couldn't go on.

Attack, defense

At the start of the match, Tsonga pulled out his best offensive arsenal, pushing Djokovic to the limit. Unfortunately for him, the world no.1 stood firm. All Tsonga could do was fold.

Slowed by pain in the second set, the Frenchman changed his game and rallied from the backcourt with the king of counter offensives to no avail.

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As she recuperates at home, Serena has not forgotten about all those who have made their concern for her known. Today she posted the following message on her website, Serena Williams:

Hey Loves!

I am overwhelmed, and teary eyed by all the love and support from everyone. I am so blessed to have caring love from everyone. I love each and everyone of you! I am getting better each day. And I will continue to go forward with healing.

Thanks for the support , Prayers, and love.

I love you

Xxx

Serena

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Top seed Gael Monfils has withdrawn from the Sydney International with a shoulder injury which also has the Frenchman in doubt for the Australian Open starting in Melbourne next Monday.

Monfils says his right serving shoulder is inflamed and requires several days' rest.

The world No.12 is hopeful of being fit for the opening grand slam of the year, but won't make a decision until later this week.

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The Legg Mason Tennis Classic presented by GEICO returns to the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park (16th & Kennedy Streets, NW), August 1-9, 2009, joining a new classification of elite events, the ATP World Tour 500’s, recognized as being among the top 20 men’s tournaments worldwide.

While we will have the pleasure of watching Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga compete, American James Blake has withdrawn with a foot injury and Frenchman Gael Monfils continues to ail from a wrist injury.

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LONDON (AP) — Gael Monfils of France has pulled out of Wimbledon due to a wrist injury.

Tournament organizers announced his withdrawal on Thursday. His place in the men's singles draw will go to a loser from the qualifying rounds.

The withdrawal comes a week after the 14th-ranked Frenchman had to pull out of his scheduled match against Belgian Steve Darcis in the last 16 of the Queen's Club tournament.

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Yesterday at the U.S. Open Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga returned to the courts after an extensive layoff because of surgery to his knee. After Tsonga enthralled the tennis world with his beautiful play at the Australian open this year, he was greatly missed while out with his injury.

Although Tsonga was not in the form that we saw him in when he was a grand slam tournament finalist, he still managed to defeat his opponent Spainard Santiago Ventura 7-6(7/3), 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

“I didn't play really good tennis...I was a bit worried about my knee"

"Of course it is different than before. But I feel good."

Tsonga will have a brief period to rest his knee before he hits the courts again against Carlos Moya.

“It is difficult,” Tsonga said of coming back from his injury. “That’s life. Sometimes you are happy and sometimes you are not. I am happy to be back on the court.”

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BEIJING (AFP) — Former Olympic tennis champion Lindsay Davenport pulled out of the Beijing singles tournament on Friday with a knee injury, a US official said.

The 1996 gold medallist has been struggling with the problem since it forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon.

"It's still complications from the knee injury that forced her to pull out of Wimbledon," a team spokesman said.

"There's concern about being able to play potentially 11 matches on it."

It was not clear whether Davenport, who remains in the doubles tournament, would be fit for the US Open on August 25.

The 32-year-old former world number one, who returned to the circuit last year after giving birth to a baby boy, has previously said she had "no plans" beyond the Olympics and the US Open.

Davenport remains in the doubles competition where she will partner Liezel Huber. She earlier spoke about her injury without announcing a pull-out.

"It's doing a bit better. I've been resting it since I hurt it at Wimbledon," she told a press conference on Friday.

"For me it's a thrill to be back no matter what happens."

The six-foot-two-and-a-half (1.89m) Californian is a luminary of the women's game after winning Grand Slams in three consecutive years between 1998 and 2000.

She returned to the circuit in September after giving birth to baby Jagger last June and has won in Auckland and Memphis this year, taking her career total to 55.

Davenport picked up the knee problem playing in Eastbourne in July and was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon after her first-round win against Czech player Renata Voracova.

"There's two events that I've been wanting to play since I've been back," she said at the time.

"The Olympics were number one. That's on the forefront of my mind. To play in New York another time. After that, I have no plans."

On Friday, Davenport said the Olympics were the longest time she had been away from her baby.

"It just wasn't feasible for it to happen. I figure this is probably one of the last times it'll be that way so I'm looking forward to taking advantage of it," she said.

"Unfortunately it just didn't work out this time. They're with me in spirit."

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This afternoon at the Olympus U. S. Open Series, Bank of the West Classic Tournament on the Stanford University campus, American Serena Williams had to withdraw from her semifinal match against Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak with a knee injury. The score at her retirement was 6-1, 3-1.

Serena was obviously not at her best from point one. Her movement was very poor, she was over hitting the ball and quite frankly, did not seem in the best of moods. After a short while of play, the reason became apparent; she was being bothered by a bad knee. The injury appears to be to the same knee [left] on which she had surgery in 2003.

As it should be, Wozniak was really not concerned about Serena's knee, she was playing as if Serena was firing on all cylinders. It was actually kind of amusing to watch. Wozniak took nothing for granted about a potentially injured Serena, she took advantage of the situation and played her game. I don't blame her! Taking it to Serena Williams is not an opportunity that other players often get, seize the moment.

Hopefully this is a small kink and Serena will be able to get healthy in short order and get back on the court.

Get well soon Serena!

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WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- French Open semifinalist Gael Monfils withdrew from Wimbledon before the first round Monday because of inflammation in his right shoulder.

The 22-year-old Frenchman was replaced in the singles draw by Serbia's Ilia Bozoljac, who was due to play Australian Chris Guccione later Monday.

Monfils said he risked long-term injury if he played because the inflammation has been bothering him for a long time.

"I think now with more experience I'm sad, but still, I know it's the right decision,'' Monfils said. "So I stay confident in my decision and I'm not worried about it -- because I know it will be a couple weeks, but still will be good after.''

The 26th-ranked Monfils, who lost to Federer in the French Open semis, could have faced Federer in the third round at Wimbledon.

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Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga held a press conference at 6 pm on Saturday in a hotel in Paris to announce that he was withdrawing from the French Open Tournament. This year's Australian Open finalist will have to have an operation on his right knee and will also miss Wimbledon.

The No.14 seed will be replaced by lucky loser Luis Horna of Peru who will face American qualifier Scoville Jenkins in the first round.

Sounds like this young man is going to need some 24/7 TLC to get back into shape. Mmmkay.

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A decade ago, the knee injury that all athletes dreaded was the torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Today, it’s been replaced by a scarier one — an injury that requires microfracture surgery. Some people, like Phoenix Suns star Amare Stoudemire, have recovered completely. Others, like former New York Knick Allan Houston, have never been the same.

For tennis player Mashona Washington — who underwent the procedure in 2006 and had to sit out an entire season — the final verdict has yet to be rendered.

On a sunny Tuesday at the Boar’s Head Sports Club, Washington — the younger sister of former men’s tour player MaliVai Washington — continued her comeback in the Boyd Tinsley USTA Women’s Pro Tennis Championships.

In a morning qualifier, Washington, ranked No. 602 in the world, defeated Lauren Herring 7-6, 6-3. However, a couple of hours later, Washington lost her first-round match to Gabriela Paz 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.

Despite her early exit, the 31-year-old Washington says she has been pleased with her progress. Her knee has felt good following the microfracture surgery. “Often the reason I think [athletes] don’t come back is that they come back too soon, like after five or six months,” she said. “I was completely gone until it got better. I think athletes can be their own worst enemies.”

Washington displayed powerful groundstrokes in her victory over Herring. She did a good job of keeping her off balance by mixing in some drop shots and coming into net. Tied at 3 in the first-set tiebreaker, Washington executed a beautiful slice forehand approach, which set her up for a put-away backhand volley.

“A lot of the girls just like to hang from the baseline,” said Washington, who was once ranked as high as No. 50 in the world. “When you come into net, ‘They’re like, ‘Oh my God, what do I do?’ It puts a lot of pressure on them, especially in a tiebreaker.”

Serving was the one area where Washington showed some rust. She was fortunate that Herring was off in that department as well. There were a whopping 13 service breaks in the match. “I didn’t serve that well,” Washington agreed, “but I said to myself, ‘I have other parts of my game that I can make work.’”

Washington’s goal is to break back into the Top 50 within the next two years. In 2004, Washington made it to the finals at an event in Tokyo before losing to current No. 3 player in the world Maria Sharapova, a player whom she had beaten on two other occasions.

Washington’s best grand-slam finish was a run to the third round of Wimbledon in 2005. That just so happened to be the place where her older brother, MaliVai, made his claim to fame.
In 1996, MaliVai Washington became the first African-American player to reach the finals at the All England Club since Arthur Ashe did so in 1975.

Today, MaliVai is running a foundation in Jacksonville, Fla. for inner-city kids. “I always call him for advice and things,” said Mashona, the youngest of four children. “He’s really good for that.”

Washington, who is scheduled to participate in the doubles portion of the tournament on Thursday, isn’t sure how long she’ll continue her comeback attempt. After all, by tennis standards, the 31-year-old isn’t exactly a young pup.

“This year is a climbing year for me,” she said. “I’ll see how it goes. If I feel like I’m making significant strides, I’ll play in ’09 and ’10 and see how it goes.”

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Frenchman Gael Monfils, returning to play from an injury, was knocked out of the first round of the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Monfils went down to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2.

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It is absolutely amazing what a lil' baby oil will do for a fella!

Ahem, *cough, cough* moving right along,.......Stylish, injury-hit Frenchman Gael Monfils has withdrawn from the Australian Open, his coach Thierry Champion says.

The former world junior number one has not played competitively since September due to an injury to his left hand.

He had been due to return to action at this week's Sydney International but has been forced out this time because of a knee injury.

Doctors advised him to rest for a longer period and the decision was taken to skip the Australian Open.

Monfils has targeted the ATP tournament in Marseille which starts on February 11, for his return.

Technorati Tags: Sports Tennis Gael Monfils

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Serena Williams' new tennis season will start like several of her past - with an injury affecting her preparation for the first Grand Slam event.

The winner of last year's Australian Open, Serena will miss the United States' opening match at the Hopman Cup in Perth, organizers said Thursday. The American star is trying to recover from a lingering left knee injury that forced her to pull out of the WTA Tour's season-ending championships in Madrid in November. She had been scheduled to take on India's Sania Mirza on Saturday in the first match of the team event, but will be replaced by Meghan Shaughnessy.

Tournament officials said Serena will not arrive in the Western Australia state capital until the weekend, and plans to play for the Americans in Monday's match against the Czech Republic. Player substitutions are allowed between matches.

After an injury-filled 2006, Serena had an incredible win at the 2007 Australian Open - unseeded, ranked No. 81 and beating six seeded players en route to the title. By the end of the season, she was ranked No. 7.

Serena first injured her left knee in 2000 and had surgery in 2003, forcing her to pull out of all events after Wimbledon that year.

Technorati Tags: Sports Tennis Serena Williams

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The Good News:

It may have been short lived, but for a day, Venus Williams was the official coach of record for baby sis' Serena Williams at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid. It could not get much better than having a six-time grand slam winner, former world no. 1 and big sis' for your coach - it must be nice!

The Bad News:

Serena has reinjured her previously operated on left knee in her first round robin event. She came out with both knees taped, unfortunately to no avail. She was slow from the first serve. She never looked polished or able to find any kind of rhythm. By the end of the first set she appeared as if she were nearly in tears.

Serena had already taken a medical timeout to treat her left knee at 5-4 down, then after a lengthy discussion with the trainer and retiring from the match, she decided she was not fit to continue and later on announced her withdrawal from the tournament altogether.

"I felt it [the left-knee injury] maybe a little bit yesterday," Williams said. "Although it wasn't too intense so it's really sad it reacted so badly today. I had a really short practice yesterday and the day before I had a short practice because I was just trying to stay fresh for my matches and I'm disappointed I couldn't stay longer in the tournament."

Technorati Tags: Sports Tennis Venus Williams
Serena Williams Sony Ericsson Championships
Injury Withdrawal Serena Williams

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American Ahsha Rolle withdrew from the tier III Bell Challenge in Quebec City, Canada with a right knee sprain.

Hopefully she'll be healed and ready for the new year and the Australian Open.



Technorati Tags: Sports Tennis Ahsha Rolle

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Personally, prior to reading reports of Venus possibly having been ill during her semi-final match at the U. S. Open, I thought that she was looking a bit sluggish the entire match. She seemed to be making mistakes and not calculating returns as she had been earlier during the tournament.

Yesterday there were a number of reports stating that Venus was possible suffering from the return of an anemic condition that she had been dealing with, and that her health was not what it should have been for her to even be playing in the Open.

An hour after the semi-final match, Venus was seen leaning on her boyfriend, PGA Tour golfer Hank Kuehne, hobbling to the women's locker room. Venus's mom, Oracene Price was there, obviously very concerned about her daughter. She revealed that Venus had been diagnosed with anemia when she began to experience dizzy spells during a tournament in San Diego three weeks after her Wimbledon victory.

Instead of Venus returning to her home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Venus's mom insisted on an immediate series of extensive medical tests at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

“Today I guess the anemia came back,” said Price. “Venus feels like the ground is moving beneath her feet. Things aren’t right and we have to find out what’s wrong.”

I hope that Venus feels much better soon and I'm glad that her mom is around. Short of God's blessings, mama love is the next best cure.

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Unfortunately for Chanda Rubin and Jamea Jackson who both received wild cards into this year's Open, the same injury that probably cost Jamea her singles match against Nicole Pratt cost both of them an opportunity in the doubles. Jamea withdrew today prior to the match that she and Chanda would have played. Truly unfortunate.

As you know, some months ago Jamea had hip surgery and has not been able to really compete this year. Go home and get well sweetie, we want to see you on the court healthy and happy.

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