Black Tennis Pros

Read the rest of this post...........

Venus and Serena Williams attend "The Ugly Truth" film premiere at the ArcLight Cinemas Cinerama Dome on July 16, 2009 in Hollywood, California.

Read the rest of this post...........

LONDON (AP) — Richard Gasquet escaped a lengthy doping ban Wednesday when the International Tennis Federation ruled that he inadvertently took cocaine.

The 23-year-old Frenchman, who was cleared to resume playing after completing a 2 1/2-month ban Wednesday, convinced an independent anti-doping tribunal that he ingested cocaine by kissing a woman he met at a nightclub in Miami.

The tribunal panel of three lawyers said Gasquet consumed no more than "a grain of salt" of the drug, and a long ban would be an injustice in a case which was "unusual to the point of being probably unique."

"We have found the player to be a person who is shy and reserved, honest and truthful, and a man of integrity and good character," the tribunal said in its ruling.

The ITF, which had sought a two-year ban under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Agency's code, was told to impose a retroactive ban of two months, 15 days. The ban ended Wednesday morning, clearing 32nd-ranked Gasquet to resume playing.

Gasquet tested positive in a urine sample in March after he pulled out of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, with a shoulder injury.

After deciding to withdraw from the tournament he went to a nightclub with friends to see a French DJ perform at a Miami dance music festival, which the tribunal noted was "notoriously associated with use of illegal recreational drugs including cocaine."

Gasquet told the tribunal hearing held in London last month that he kissed a woman, identified in the ruling only as "Pamela."

The tribunal said it was likely she had consumed cocaine during the night, though it had no direct evidence.

Gasquet was "on the balance of probability, contaminated with cocaine by Pamela" and, therefore, not significantly at fault for the doping offense, the ruling said.

"We take into account that the amount of cocaine in the player's body was so small that if he had been tested only a few hours later, his test result would be likely to have been negative," the tribunal stated.

Gasquet also argued at the hearing that his positive test was given after he had pulled out of the Key Biscayne tournament. Cocaine is a banned drug for athletes in competition.

The tribunal said Gasquet's rights to practice his profession would be infringed by a one-year suspension, though it was required to find that a doping offense was committed.

It also noted that Gasquet would be banned for life if he tested positive for a banned drug a second time.

The ruling allowed the Frenchman to keep the ranking points and prize money he gained at tournaments in April.

The ITF provisionally suspended Gasquet when the test result was announced in May and he was forced to miss the French Open and Wimbledon. His ranking has since dropped nine places.

The ruling can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within three weeks.

Read the rest of this post...........

Read the rest of this post...........

Venus Williams is among the most famous athletes in the world. A five-time Wimbledon singles champion. Seven-time Grand Slam tournament singles winner and, with younger sister Serena, a nine-time Grand Slam tournament doubles champion.

Just past her 29th birthday, the Lynwood native is as compelling on the court as she is in the board rooms where the business of tennis is conducted and its policies are shaped.

But ask her to name the other professional athletes she admires and she'll double-fault.

"I'm the worst with sports. I don't know anything outside of tennis," she said, laughing.

"Like when I go to the ESPYs people will say, 'Congratulations,' and I won't know who they are so I won't even know if I should say, 'Congratulations.' I don't know what they did. I feel like, stuck. And I don't want them to think I'm a loser or stuck up.

"I can tell by their physique they're an athlete but other than that I'm lost. So I'm sorry, I can't help you."

No apologies necessary.

She might not know a race car driver from a bowler at tonight's ESPY awards at the Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live, but everyone will know who she is: One of the most powerful servers and baseliners the game has seen, driven to be the best since she and Serena learned the game from their father, Richard, on Compton's municipal courts.

She took little consolation that the Wimbledon title stayed in the family July 4 when Serena beat her, 7-6 (3), 6-2. "I still want to win. Especially that title," she said Tuesday during a visit to The Times' offices.

"I like winning that one. I'm used to winning that one."

That's not all she has won. What most fans don't know is that behind the scenes, the world's third-ranked player is just as powerful as she is on the court.

Williams has successfully pushed for equal prize money for women, helped formulate a better-calibrated tour schedule and was a key figure in a joint program between the WTA and UNESCO -- the cultural arm of the United Nations -- that promotes gender equality and leadership opportunities for women.

The idea for the UNESCO program emerged from her experience at an ESPY awards ceremony in which two Afghan women were honored for starting a soccer program in their war-torn homeland. The UNESCO-WTA program uses tennis as a vehicle to educate women around the world, making the sport a stepping stone to a better and fuller life.

Williams understands how that can happen. Tennis has made her a very rich woman and has been the main focus of her life but hasn't been her entire life. Nor will it ever be, even though she has been criticized by fellow players for having pursuits that could have cut into her court time.

Even when she started playing professional events at age 14 she knew she wanted a life outside tennis and collected images of fashions and artwork, snipping pictures out of newspapers and magazines and pasting them into scrapbooks.

In the digital age she can scan drawings into her desktop computer instead of lugging scrapbooks around the world, but she's still gathering ideas for her V Starr interior design business and her EleVen clothing line.

"I think that having other interests helps you realize that no matter what you do, you start on the bottom. You work your way up," said Williams, who lives in Florida and considers the winters here "cold" compared to her new home.

"You get to the top and think, 'Let's just stay here as long as I can.' It helps you realize and appreciate what you do have, besides being a well-rounded person when tennis is over and not being afraid of what might be, what your life might be."

Not that she has an idea of when tennis will be over for her.

"I plan on stopping when I'm just terrible," she said, and that could be never.

"As long as I'm doing great I have no plans on stopping. The one thing that could stop me would be injuries, so I try to prevent those."

Toward that end, she does more work in the gym than she used to and is more conscious of protecting her joints. She sets her schedule more deliberately too.

After Wimbledon she played a few days of World Team Tennis for the Philadelphia Freedoms for fun before heading to Vancouver for the launch of a Wii tennis-themed video game.

"Which I'm actually really bad at because I actually try to play tennis," she said. "You have the thing and you're moving and being a good tennis player, you have to scale your game down."

She squeezed in a visit to L.A. to see her mother, Oracene, and sister Lyndrea and support Serena's nomination for "Best Female Athlete" at the ESPYs before she will begin preparing for tournaments at Stanford beginning July 27, Cincinnati starting on Aug. 10 and Toronto on Aug. 17. After that, she heads for the U.S. Open, which she has won twice.

Her pace rarely slows, but she likes it that way.

"I enjoy being busy for the most part," she said. "I'm the kind of person that needs to do lots of things at one time."

And why not, even if she can more readily recognize a fashion designer than a fellow athlete.

Read the rest of this post...........

Read the rest of this post...........

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was tennis before baseball for President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

Before heading off to St. Louis to throw the first pitch at the All-Star game, the president welcomed Wimbledon champion Serena Williams to the White House.

"It was amazing," Williams said before her World Team Tennis match with the Washington Kastles. "I love President Obama; he has such an unbelievable presence, and he seems to be so normal — and he noticed my shoes. I think that was the highlight of the whole day, was he liked my shoes."

Williams said she was wearing 5-inch heels for the presidential visit.

"He asked me, 'Should I be wearing high heels?' So I thought that was kind of funny because he may have been right," Williams said. "Because it is a job hazard for me, but I insist on wearing them."

Williams got to meet Michelle Obama and the rest of the first family.

"I didn't know she had such an amazing personality," Williams said. "She had me cracking up and laughing. I knew she was a great person, but now I really understand how important this first family is to the United States. And the kids were just so cute and sweet, and the dog was nice."

Read the rest of this post...........

ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA - The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour announced on Monday the appointment of Stacey Allaster, the Tour's President since 2006, as the new Chairman and CEO of the world's leading global sport for women. Allaster will begin her new role immediately and will continue to be based at the Tour's US headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida. The naming of Allaster culminates an international search undertaken by the Tour's Board of Directors and led by leading global executive recruitment firm Korn/Ferry International.

Commenting on her appointment as Chairman and CEO, Stacey Allaster said: "I am honored to lead the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, which since its founding by Billie Jean King 36 years ago has continued to break barriers and grow into a premier global sporting league. The Tour and our sport have enjoyed unprecedented success over the past years, and we are poised for even greater heights in the years to come. Our primary and enduring focus will be our fans, our players and our tournaments, and continuing to build a premium sport and entertainment brand."

"Women's tennis and the Tour have never been stronger as a business, and Stacey has been at the center of this business success over the past years," said seven-time Grand Slam champion and Player Council member Venus Williams. "Stacey has helped to lead the development of a stronger Tour product through the passage of a healthier and streamlined circuit structure. I believe that Stacey will be a great leader for the Tour, understands how players can help drive our business, and has all the tools to take our sport to even greater heights."

"Stacey Allaster is one of the most talented and respected leaders in our sport," said Steve Simon, Tournament Board Representative and Tournament Director of the BNP Paribas Open women's event. "Stacey brings to the role a track record of success in the areas of sales, marketing and television, possesses a deep understanding as to the needs of tennis fans, and has the respect of our players, tournaments and entire tennis industry. Stacey's appointment is great news for both the organization and the sport."

Allaster, 46, succeeds Larry Scott, who held the position for six years prior to becoming the Commissioner of NCAA's PAC-10 Conference. Recognized as one of the most internationally successful female sports executives, Allaster came to the Tour on January 1, 2006 in the newly-created role of President, responsible for the Tour's operations, business development, television, new media and tournament and player relations. Since joining the Tour, Allaster has played an integral role in a number of groundbreaking Tour achievements and is credited with helping to take the business of women's professional tennis to unprecedented heights, including:

(i) passage of the Tour's landmark Roadmap reform plan, which has resulted in a 40% increase in prize money, $750 million of new stadium investment and a healthier calendar better able to ensure that fans see top players competing more often on the Tour's biggest stages;

(ii) implementation of more fan friendly innovations to the sport than in its prior history, including working with leaders of other tennis governing bodies to bring electronic line calling to the sport, as well as on-court coaching, pre-match player interviews, interviews with coaches during matches and a new doubles scoring format;

(iii) expansion of the Tour's global television footprint and launch of groundbreaking digital initiatives, including TennisTV.com in partnership with the ATP World Tour, bringing live streaming of matches from the world's top women's and men's Tour events to a global online audience, along with a brand new fan friendly official Tour website;

(iv) playing a lead role in the prior renewal of the Tour's biggest three sponsorship deals - Sony Ericsson, Whirlpool and Dubai Duty Free;

(v) achievement of the Tour's longstanding quest to grant equal prize money for women tennis players at Wimbledon and Roland Garros, along with the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships and five of the biggest events on the Tour; and

(vi) reestablishment of the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships as a premier season ending event.

Prior to joining the Tour, Allaster served as Vice President and Tournament Director at Tennis Canada, where she is credited with leading a professional tennis resurgence during her tenure. She was instrumental in generating record revenues and attendance at the Canadian Open (currently known as the Rogers Cup), and turning each of the tournaments in Montréal and Toronto into premier global sporting properties. Allaster played an instrumental role in the building and fundraising for Toronto's world-class Rexall Tennis Centre, and led a team that generated over $165 million in sponsorship and stadium revenues for the development of the sport.

A consummate tennis professional, Allaster has held every position in the sport of tennis, from a junior to a collegiate player, to a Tournament Director of prestigious Masters Series and Premier Events, to Tour President.

Read the rest of this post...........