By Justin Cohen
- During the 21st Georges Bertellotti Golden Podium Awards Monaco 2010, ATP World Tour doubles teammates Rohan Bopanna of India and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan were unveiled as the winners of the Peace and Sport Image of the Year Award. The Peace and Sport Image of the Year Award will be given to the Indian Bopanna and Pakistani Qureshi, two tennis players who managed to bring the political authorities in their respective countries closer, through their own history of personal friendship and commitment. Bopanna, who is Hindu, and Qureshi, who is Muslim, have been teammates for three seasons on the ATP World Tour and are building their careers together, despite historical hostilities that divide India and Pakistan. Motivated by their close friendship, they decided to actively campaign for peace between their two nations. During several tournaments in 2010, they wore warm-up outfits displaying the slogan “Stop War, Start Tennis”, thus affirming their belief that friendship between India and Pakistan is possible. At the US Open this summer, Bopanna and Qureshi reached the finals before falling to Bob and Mike Bryan in a tight match. This year, for the first time, the winner of the Award for Peace and Sport’s Image of the Year was chosen by a public voting system on Internet. The winning photograph, submitted by the ATP World Tour, won nearly 60 percent of the votes. The Award will be presented to Bopanna and Qureshi and representatives of their countries’ authorities during the Gala Evening of the 4th International Forum Peace and Sport, which will take place on December 2 in Monaco in the presence of HSH Prince Albert II and 450 international leaders from the worlds of sport and peace.
- Last Saturday, Andre Agassi’s annual Grand Slam for Children event in Las Vegas raised $8.5 million for charity, which was more than $500,000 more than the 2009 event. Performers at this year’s event included Sir Elton John, Jennifer Hudson, Bill Cosby, and Rob Thomas. Some of the items up for auction included a kiss from Agassi’s wife that went for $25,000, and swimming lessons from Olympics swimming legend Michael Phelps that went for $60,000.
Andre Agassi - Bob and Mike Bryan, the all-time winningest doubles team in the history of the ATP World Tour, are once again taking the lead of their close friend and inspiration Andre Agassi and hosting the Bryan Brothers’ Grand Slam Jam at the Malibu Racquet Club on Saturday, October 23. The day will benefit the Bryan Bros. Foundation and the Bogart Pediatric Center Research Program. Founded in 1984, the program was named in memory of the late record and film producer, Neil Bogart, who died of lymphoma at the age of 39. “It’s true, we were inspired by Andre Agassi,” Mike said during the US Open. “He’s a great example for young Americans to start your own foundation. We do a couple events each year for unprivileged kids. “We are honored this year to be helping not only kids in Ventura County but also to be assisting the Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research Program. We have heard nothing but great things about the work that the people at Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research are doing. Music execs Bill Vuylsteke and Jonathan McHugh were the first to tell us about this wonderful program that they have supported through the years and now we have even made monetary contributions to help their work to battle cancer in young children and we want to do this event to raise even more funds so they can continue their mission.” This year’s event will feature many of the twins’ friends and celebrities from the tennis world with special appearances expected by fellow Southern Californians and top American players Sam Querrey, Mardy Fish, this year’s reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open doubles champion Vania King and retired three-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport. Former ATP touring pros Rick Leach, Scott Davis, Jeff Tarango, Vince Spadea and Derek Rostagno will all take part in the pro-am.
- Solfire founder Brendan Murphy, has designed several special edition jackets exclusively for Billie Jean King and Sir Elton John to wear during the upcoming WTT Smash Hits exhibition event, which will take place on Monday, November 15 at the Bender Arena on the campus of American University in Washington, D.C. Solfire just completed its first year as the official apparel sponsor of World Team Tennis. The WTT Smash Hits event will feature Billie Jean King, Sir Elton John, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Anna Kournikova and James Blake.
- AAMI Tennis Classic Tournament Director Colin Stubs announced that Tomas Berdych, Fernando Verdasco, Lleyton Hewitt, Gael Monfils, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mikhail Youzhny will all participate in the exhibition event in Melbourne, which takes place a week before the Australian Open from January 12-15, 2011. Stubs is hoping to fill the final two spots in the event with Rafael Nadal and Robin Soderling.
- The USTA announced that single day tickets for the U.S. vs. Italy Fed Cup Final at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, Calif., from, November 6-7, have been released for public sale. They went on sale on Monday, October 18 at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets for either the Saturday or Sunday session will be sold with prices from as low as $40. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting USTA.com or ticketmaster.com; by phone at 888-334-8782; or in person at the San Diego Sports Arena Box Office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Two-day ticket packages remain available for sale. Tennis Channel will show live daily coverage of the Fed Cup final.
- James Blake’s mother, Betty, will have a book signing for her new book, “Mix It Up, Make It Nice: Secrets of a Tennis Mom” on October 24 at 1:30 p.m. in the Memorial Room at the Fairfield Public Library in Fairfield, Conn. The book focuses more on education and family values than on athletic training and tennis skills that turned James into a top 10 player. The library is located at 1080 Old Post Road. Registration for the event can be done online by calling 203-256-3160 or by going online at www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org . The program is free.
- On Sunday, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal arrived in India to officially launch the Nadal Tennis School at the Anantapur Sports Village in Andhra Pradesh. The tennis academy currently has three clay courts with major plans to expand.
- In a rare move, current WTA Tour player Alicia Molik has announced that she will run for a position on the Tennis Australia board. She will join John Fitzgerald, Wally Masur, and six other candidates vying for just three open spots on the federation’s governing council. Molik is already a board member of her national federation.
- VolleyGirl tryouts for the ATP Delray Beach International Tennis Championships in Delray Beach, Fla., from February 18-27, 2011, are underway. To be considered for an interview, you must fill out an application, which you can find on the official website, www.yellowtennisball.com. The application must be sent to Marlena Hall in a Word document at: MHall@yellowtennisball.com. You must also include one letter of recommendation and a clear picture or headshot of yourself (JPEG). The deadline to submit your application is Friday, November 26. The interview process starts as early as November 1 and will run until November 30. Every prospective 2011 VolleyGirl must submit an application to be considered.
- According to The Globe and Mail, the No. 2 ranked doubles tandem of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic will not play together in 2011. Zimonjic will team with Michael Llodra of France next season, while Nestor will play with Max Mirnyi of Belarus. “I think it’s a good move,” said Nestor. “It came from him but it’s something I’ve definitely thought about, too.” The duo won three Grand Slam doubles titles together including the 2010 French Open, but have gone winless since winning the title in Paris this year.
- Serena Williams’ season looks to be over after reinjuring her foot after over training. She was hoping to return in Linz, but after feeling discomfort in her foot, test revealed that she restrained it. “I am likely out for the year now. I was really looking forward to beginning my comeback in Linz, followed by the Year-end championships in Doha. I feel completely heartbroken, and devastated, but knowing I will never be given more than I can handle I plan on coming back stronger and better,” said Williams.
- Anastasia Rodionova, who won the singles and doubles gold medal and silver in mixed doubles for Australia at the Commonwealth Games last week in India, announced on her Twitter account that she will not play the rest of the season after retiring in a recent match in Linz with a left adductor strain. “Hurt my leg during the match… and had to retire. Unfortunately I won’t be able to play next week in Luxembourg. Done for the year.”
- The Polish Times is reporting that Agnieszka Radwanska will undergo foot surgery during the offseason and will miss the Australian Open in January. Radwanska hopes to return in February or March.
- Former World No. 1 and 1995 French Open Champion Thomas Muster has received a wildcard into the main draw in next week’s ATP World Tour event in Vienna, Austria. Muster has played six challenger events since making a comeback, winning just one match.
- In a recent online poll by Serbian newspaper, Blic, Novak Djokovic was voted Serbia’s most eligible bachelor. The recent US Open finalist received nearly 20 percent of the votes.