The WTA 2012 Awards and Other Tennis Stuff

by Savannah

The WTA has finished releasing it's best of list for 2012.

Player of the Year - Serena Williams
Newcomer of the Year - Laura Robson
Comeback Player of the Year - Yaroslava Shvedova
Doubles Team of the Year - Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani
Most Improved Player of the Year - Sara Errani

The above list comes to us courtesy of the professional Tennis Writers.

Then there are the awards voted on by the players:

Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award - Kim Clijsters
Player Service Award - Venus Williams

Fans voted too.

FAN FAVORITE SINGLES PLAYER - Agnieszka Radwanska
FAN FAVORITE DOUBLES TEAM - Serena Williams & Venus Williams
FAN FAVORITE TWITTER - Caroline Wozniacki
FAN FAVORITE FACEBOOK - Agnieszka Radwanska
FAN FAVORITE VIDEO - Agnieszka Radwanska & The Bee

So, Laura Robson, who finished the year ranked #53 gets "Newcomer of the Year". Sloane Stephens finished the year ranked #38. Heather Watson finished the year ranked #49. Who the hell voted for Robson? Was the ballot stuffed or weighted by British tennis writers who see Laura, not Heather Watson, as the second coming for British women's tennis even though Heather ended the year ranked four places ahead of her? And what about those slackers in the American tennis hierarchy? Sloane finished at #38, 11 places ahead of Watson and 15 places ahead of Robson. Right now I have nothing against Ms Robson but she's been the darling of the Brits since forever.

I wonder if the voting went like this: The Yanks got the top spot so we deserve the next most prestigious place. Sure Laura was born is Australia but we gave her British citizenship and the Aussies are part of the Tennis Axis Powers so it's all good. Heather? Where is her mother from again? Papua New Guinea? We don't even know where that is. Laura is our girl. You say it didn't go that way? I'm still trying to figure out how she got the award over two newcomers who finished higher in the rankings.

I'm skipping over the awards Clijsters and Venus won. If their peers voted for them there's nothing else to say.

And whoa to the Aga Radwanska Fan Club. You guys did your player proud.

ATP This and That

Grigor Dimitrov is no longer being coached by Patrick Mouratoglou.

John Isner has parted with long time coach Craig Boynton and will now be coached by Michael Sell. Sell, who once coached Monica Seles has worked with the USTA since 2003.

Sergei Bubka who sustained multiple fractures after a three story fall in Paris is standing and taking hesitant steps. He underwent 9 hours of surgery to repair his injuries. I wish him the best of luck in his recovery.

Speaking of recovery Mardy Fish has withdrawn from the Australian summer swing due to issues related to his heart problems that were diagnosed last year. He's looking to come back for the US spring hard court swing.

End Notes

I'm tennis'd out. I've been tennis'd out since late spring. Yes it has a lot to do with my favorite player being out but it goes deeper than that.

I'm a blogger, not a journalist, and I've been doing this for awhile now. I've never wanted to be part of the in crowd. I want, and continue to want, to be someone who can speak free encumbrances to a press organization or professional organization.

My interest picked up at the big events - the tennis season is hardwired in my brain - but I remember staying up to see the fall Asian swing. Not this year. Coming to my senses? Perhaps.

But when you look at the decision made by the WTA re it's television rights, the fact that my cable company hasn't made Tennis Channel available since September 2011 (or was it 2010? It's a blur) and Tennis TV, something I pay for, is blacked out more often than not forcing me to rely on sometimes shady live streams out of Europe it's become very difficult for a fan like me to actually watch live tennis. The ultimate frustration for a tennis fan is watching a stream and the person decides he or she is bored and changes the channel. If you're lucky you'll get a Eurosport stream that is clear and has decent announcers.

If I want I can watch UEFA, Serie A, Spanish or British football any time I want. How many of us here in the States saw Ibrahimovic's fantastic goal from a couple of weeks ago? Yet to see a tennis match I have to jump through hoops no other fandom does. Maybe the tennis establishment wants it like this. They want to control the commentary, fan attitudes towards players, and deem which players are worthy of fans adulation.

That is the only conclusion I can reach based on the antics of the tennis establishment this past year.

Will I stop watching tennis? Of course not. Come the end of December I'll be watching whatever I can online however I can. I like American football, baseball and basketball but I love tennis. I think it's time that tennis stop pretending it wants to be a sport everyone can relate to since it continues to make it difficult for a fan to be a fan. If tennis is serious about becoming a big deal, especially in the States, it's time for it to stop behaving like the niche sport it presently is.

Not So Idle Chit Chat

by Savannah

Ana Ivanovic posted the following on her site.

I guess having to withdraw from Beijing is an appropriate ending to a very disappointing season. This trip to Asia has been a big disappointment and I have struggled with my health pretty much since I arrived. I am sorry to my supporters who were hoping to see me play here in Beijing. It's very disappointing for me as well, to come here, see the amazing facility they have and not have the energy to be able to step onto court. I can only look forward to coming back here next year.

It's especially disappointing because I was hoping to be able to see some improvements before the season ended. I have gone through a lot of training and physical changes over the past few months, which have mostly remained private until now... My body is quite fragile at the moment, because I over-trained during the first part of the year. This was, I think, what caused me to have many small injuries this season.

Instead of being patient and accepting that my best form was almost impossible due to physical limitations, I was always over-thinking things, and I never dealt with it very well. The season was a continuation of going from one disappointment to another. If I had dealt better with these setbacks, I would have had a lot more success.

I also found it very tough to switch off and have a proper break over the past year or so, partly because of these physical problems. Actually, I don't think I can remember the last time I had a proper holiday: I was always doing some kind of fitness or recovery work during my holidays, and that meant that I wasn't able to switch off from tennis. I guess I just want it so badly.

As you may have noticed, I completely changed my serve after Wimbledon. This was because of my shoulder: if I continued serving and training the way I was, I would have almost certainly picked up a serious injury. My team and I are confident that I will be able to go back to my old service motion when I start practising again in November.

On the positive side, I am still No.11 in the world. I have no clue how I am ranked so highly, but to look on the bright side, I can't play any worse than I did this year and I'm still in the top 20!

I've learnt so much this year. It's a bit little bit like a few years ago, when I was ranked around No.14 for almost an entire year, and everyone was asking me, "when are you going to reach the top 10?" Within a year I was there, and within two years I was No.1. Sometimes you have to go through these experiences in order to become a better player.

Despite my disappointments there is nog a single doubt in my mind that I will reach the top again and win Grand Slams.

One other positive to come out of all this is that I realised what a great team I have around me: they never doubted me, they supported me so well and did everything they could to assist me. I am very grateful to them all: my family, coaches and management.

I have appointed a new fitness coach, whom I will tell you more about later. Over the next month or so I can have a great break. I can rest without thinking about any future tournaments, then train and practise hard for the new season.

I have a lot to look forward to. Now is the time to rest, recharge, and come back stronger.

Love
Ana

P.S. I'd like to thank my loyal supporters for their encouragement this year. The journey is never easy!

The BBC reports the following:

Guernsey's US Junior Open winner Heather Watson will turn professional by the end of the year.
The 17-year-old's father said she had planned to play college tennis in the United States but changed her mind after advice, including from the LTA.
Ian Watson said: "It seems the obvious thing to do now, she's got a belief she can get to the top."
(...)
Ian Watson said: "After Barnstaple she'll probably be signing the pro forms and being pro from then on in.
"There is a big mindset change from wanting to go to a US college and play tennis to being a professional.
"You need a team, you need coaches, you need fitness people, you need advice, you need people putting a schedule together... you need people to open doors for you.
Nick Bollettieri has got a network unsurpassed, especially in America but worldwide in tennis, and IMG are the biggest management agents. They can open tournament doors for Heather because some tournaments are not easy to get in and if you can't get into them you can't win them.
"Lots of doors will be opened as soon as she signs with IMG and of course in Europe and the UK given her standing now the LTA are opening those doors. The LTA have given her a wildcard into Barnstaple."

Mr Watson is very excited for his daughter isn't he?

There is an American player named Donald Young and he actually won a couple of matches in Asia last week. Will wonders never cease. Amazing what a threat of cutting off your funding will do to motivate someone isn't it? He even beat Feliciano Lopez who is now playing qualies.

Dmitry Tursunov is out for the rest of the year. He had surgery in early September.

Has the Anna Kournikova era of women's tennis come to an end? Big girls like Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Alisa Kleybanova are having nice runs right now and neither one of them could be called thin, or fit, by any stretch of the imagination. Somehow I don't think IMG will be banging down their doors with endorsement deals. Hell they'll never make it onto a show court at Wimbledon either will they?

All joking aside Pavlyuchenkova was taken apart by Marion Bartoli after her previous win against Venus Williams. Marion messed with her head and the girl fell apart. When she shows me she can do more than she has, in other words not let a player mess with her mentally, I'll be more interested. Same goes for Kleybanova. I still can't watch her because of that hair thing she did in Australia. Gives me the creeps.

There's already talk of Elena Dementieva moving up to number three in the WTA rankings. Pressure much?
Does anyone have a clue what's going on with Igor Andreev? He's losing matches he usually wins.

Who does Marco Chiudinelli think he is anyway? He's doing his best to make himself the other Swiss man in the conversation.

Fernando Verdasco has put off needed foot surgery so that he is available to play Davis Cup for Spain.

Am I the only one who was surprised about Andy Roddick playing doubles in Beijing? It is just me huh? Okay, moving on.

There is a men's tournament taking place in Tokyo this week. All eyes will be on Juan Martin del Potro, US Open Champion who takes the court for the first time since that win tomorrow.

Diva's On Parade
It's fun to see how the women of tennis comport themselves off of the tennis court isn't it? Hope you enjoyed the pictures scattered through this post of them arriving in Beijing.