Black Tennis Pros

If this equipment is half the fun that it appears to be with Regina King using it, I'm down!

This Spring Reebok is partnering up with Cirque du Soleil to introduce a fun and exciting new gym workout called Jukari Fit to Fly in select venues across the world.

Jukari is a Cirque-inspired full-body workout that includes a giant swing called a Flyset to incorporate cardio, strength, balance and core training all together in one group workout session.

Hey, I use every other rowing, elliptical, cycling (hate it), treadmill machine at the gym, time to get off the floor.

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On Wednesday in the doubles quarterfinal round of the BNP Paribas Open, Americans Mashona Washington and Bethanie Mattek-Sands lost their quest for the doubles title.

The American ladies had all kinds of trouble holding serve, thus allowing the Spaniards break after break. Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez severely ousted the Americans 6-1, 6-2.

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INDIAN WELLS, California (AFP) — The WTA Tour is weathering the global economic downturn, but chief executive Larry Scott said the women's tennis tour can't afford to be complacent as fans and sponsors feel the pinch.

"The message I'm sending to players is we have to work harder," Scott said, saying it was more important than ever for popular stars such as Serena and Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova - as well as the tour's lesser lights - to go the extra mile to publicize the game and make sure sponsors get value for money.

Scott said his task was to "sensitize" players, who may be unaware of just how tough financial times might impact them.

"I don't assume players have a full grasp of what's happening in the economy," Scott said. "I'm going to be asking them to work harder than they've ever worked before."

That said, Scott said the tour to date was in good shape. But the WTA is planning to survey its tournaments asking them to report on their finances in recent years and expectations for 2010 in an effort to spot and head off any potential problems.

But Scott insisted the tour "is in the healthiest financial position it has ever been in," noting that total prize money in 2009 is up 23 percent and adding that he was not aware of any tournament that had lost a title sponsor.

He noted that the tournament in progress at Indian Wells has the backing of a new title sponsor this year in BNP Paribas.

In addition, tour sponsor Sony Ericsson is on board through 2010. That means the WTA tour doesn't envision having to make the kind of move recently announced by the ATP World Tour, which is rebating three million dollars in fees to its 63 tournaments.

The rebate is the men's tour's answer to a request from tournaments that wanted a reduction in prize money.

"Times are tough, everybody knows that," the ATP's chief operating officer Flip Galloway said in a statement. "The ATP is trying to give its tournaments some financial relief to help them through the current difficult times."

Scott admitted that the current economic climate certainly wouldn't foster expansion.

"I'm not expecting to see any tournament that's growing," he said, noting that even if attendance levels remain relatively even, people will likely spend less while on the grounds and income from smaller sponsors will likely dwindle.

"We're going into uncharted waters in terms of the economy," Scott said. "If we continue to hold our own I'll be satisfied."

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Something must be in the air in Indian Wells, not Big Jo!

Truth is, in a featured match on Monday evening at the BNP Paribas Open, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was ousted by Russian Igor Andreev 7-5, 6-4.

Six aces and a moderate serving day were not sufficient to keep the powerful Frenchman in California. And to make matters worse, Andreev served worse than Tsonga! However, Andreev was able to capitalize on a couple of breaks of Tsonga's serve.

Oh well, next...

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Press Release

Los Angeles, CA – The Venus and Serena Williams Tennis Academy located at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Center of L.A. will begin its next 8 week Wednesday night adult group tennis classes on March 25. For eight (8) Wednesdays beginning March 25 through May 13 between 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., adults of all levels can enjoy the sport of tennis in a group class while working off those pounds before bathing suit season hits. With instruction from master tennis instructor Le George Mauldin (as seen on KNBC-TV Channel 4), classes are one hour and rackets are provided. All classes will take place at the Rancho Cienega Sports Complex located at 5001 Rodeo Boulevard in Los Angeles. The eight (8) week session is $88. Limited space is available. For more information or to sign up, please call Le George Mauldin at (323) 392-6864 or email info@tenniswithlegeorge.com. Additionally, the Venus and Serena Williams Tennis Academy is open seven days a week with instructors available for private, semi-private, and group lessons. Online at www.tenniswithlegeorge.com

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Teamed with another American, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Mashona Washington has reached the doubles quarterfinal round of the BNP Paribas Open. Washington and Mattek-Sands took out the very formidable team of Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo.

Washington and Mattek-Sands are scheduled to play Spaniards Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.

Americans Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears were defeated by Iveta Benesova and Barbara Zahlavova of the Czech Republic 1-6, 5-7.

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INDIAN WELLS, CA - MARCH 16: Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic and Leander Paes of India play Juan Martin Del Potro and David Nalbandian of Argentina at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 16, 2009 in Indian Wells, California.

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Sorry to see American Angela Haynes have to make her exit in the third round, she's put in the work on this one. Angela prevailed in the qualifying rounds to reach the main draw and has been playing well.

I was definitely concerned when I saw that she was scheduled to play Italian Flavia Pennetta. Pennetta can be a force to be reckoned with on any given day. Although Angela was able to take the first set off of Pennetta, she wasn't able to mount enough game to hold on through the next two sets. Pennetta took the win 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Hopefully we'll be seeing more of Angela in upcoming tour tournaments.

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