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Serena Williams memoir released in bookstores: This Week in Tennis Business

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By Justin Cohen

From Serena Williams’ memoir hitting bookshelves to a record number of fans on opening day at the US Open to Andre Agassi being honored during the opening night ceremonies to Elena Dementieva and Sam Querrey winning the 2009 Olympus US Open Series, these stories caught the attention of tennis fans and insiders this week.

  • Serena Williams’ memoir, On The Line, was released in bookstores on Tuesday.

  • A record 59,848 fans showed open for the opening day of the 2009 US Open.

  • During the opening night ceremonies on Monday at the US Open, Andre Agassi, former USA soccer legend Mia Hamm, quarterback Doug Flutie and former basketball great David Robinson were honored as athletes who have given back to the community. Agassi closed out the ceremony by giving a moving speech about the impact his foundation has had on the students of the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas.

  • Elena Dementieva and Sam Querrey win the 2009 Olympus US Open Series and will now compete for a $1 million bonus if they were to win the US Open title.

  • Bloomberg reports that the US Open will attract 700,000 fans throughout the two-week tournament, but will not match last year’s 720,227 ticket sales due to the recession. “Compared to 2008, no doubt, it’s going to be a challenging year, but we are feeling very good about where we are right now on virtually all revenue fronts,” said J. Pierce O’Neil, chief business officer at the US Tennis Association. “Will we surpass last year? I doubt it. But we’ll come very close.”

  • The USTA announced that Venus Williams has designed an official 2009 US Open t-shirt that will be made on 100% organic cotton and sold throughout the grounds of the tournament. The t-shirt will be designed as part of Williams’ EleVen clothing line.

  • Rap mogul Jay-Z has designed an Arthur Ashe t-shirt that will be sold during the US Open. Proceeds will benefit the National Junior Tennis League and the Arthur Ashe Endowment for the defeat of AIDS.

  • Americans Sam Querrey and Melanie Oudin will wear customized miadidas.com Barricade V tennis shoes throughout the US Open. Each player personally designed their own shoes based on their personality, color preference and style both on and off the court.

  • HEAD and Andy Murray are launching the Radical Messenger application on Facebook. The application will allow tennis fans to deliver digital messages to one another through a flash-based video messaging application. Murray will be the messenger by smashing his best shots through virtual tennis balls that contain written messages.

  • Five-time grand slam singles champion Martina Hingis has agreed to participate in the BBC reality television show “Strictly Come Dancing.” The show begins on September 18.

  • Roger Federer became the first tennis player to earn $50 million in tournament prize money after defeating American wild card Devin Britton in the first round of the US Open.

  • The Tennis Channel announced that their coverage of the US Open will not be available to Cablevision subscribers due to an ongoing dispute between both carriers.

  • Daniela Hantuchova has switched clothing sponsors from Nike to adidas. The Slovakian has also agreed to take part in the adidas player development program and work with coaches Darren Cahill and Sven Groeneveld.

  • Thailand tennis player Paradorn Srichaphan recently launched, Majic Iris, which is a natural alternative to Viagra. Majic Iris, which is only available in Thailand, is a supplement that contains ginseng, oysters and black galangal.

  • After an unanimous vote at a recent French Tennis Federation board meeting, technical director Patrice Dominguez has been relieved of his duties.

  • Former World No. 8 and tennis broadcaster John Alexander of Australia has announced he will seek election for a Liberal Party seat in the Australian parliament.

  • Former World No. 45 Jamea Jackson has decided to retire from professional tennis following her third hip surgery and will pursue her studies at Oklahoma State University, where she will also act as the assistant tennis coach.

Filed Under: This Week in Tennis Business with Justin Cohen

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