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Home » Cincinnati and Rome to be Combined Events in 2011: Washington, DC Area Awarded WTA Event: This Week in Tennis Business

Cincinnati and Rome to be Combined Events in 2011: Washington, DC Area Awarded WTA Event: This Week in Tennis Business

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By: Justin Cohen

  • The 2011 ATP and WTA Tour calendars feature two new combined tournaments and a new summer event in the United States. The Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome and the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women’s Open in Cincinnati will be combined events. The combined events in Rome will start on May 9 and the Cincinnati tournaments will begin play on August 15. A new WTA Tour tournament in Howard County, Md., will be held back-to-back with the ATP tournament in the nation’s capital. Also, a “virtual combined event” in Montreal and Toronto will take place where fans in one city will be able to watch live matches on television from the other tournament.
  • The USTA and Tennis Channel announced that the Los Angeles-based network will air live broadcasts of the finals of the 2010 US Open National Playoffs. The Men’s Championship will be shown on July 25 from the Atlanta Athletic Club, during the ATP World Tour Atlanta Tennis Championships. The Women’s Championship will be shown on August 1 from the Taube Family Tennis Center at Stanford University, during the Bank of the West Classic. In addition to the live coverage of the finals for both the men’s and women’s championship match, Tennis Channel will air a one-hour documentary, chronicling the first year of the US Open National Playoffs. Olympus, which is the official camera and long time sponsor of the US Open, is the sponsor of the playoffs and presenting sponsor of the one-hour documentary. “We are thrilled to have Tennis Channel telecasting the men’s and women’s finals of the 2010 US Open National Playoffs to a national audience,” said Jim Curley, USTA Chief Professional Tournament Officer and US Open Tournament Director. “The US Open National Playoffs has been a great opportunity for all tennis fans to have their own special link to the US Open and these telecasts are the perfect capstone to the first year of this initiative. These should be exhilarating and emotional finals with a chance to play in the US Open on the line.”
  • The 2010 Bank of the West Classic announced on Tuesday that former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova will be the featured night session match on Tuesday, July 27 at 7 p.m. The tournament will feature a 30-player singles draw including Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva, Ana Ivanovic, Samantha Stosur, Yanina Wickmayer, Daniela Hantuchova and defending champion Marion Bartoli.
  • The “Best of Belgium” at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, which was to feature Kim Clijsters vs. Justine Henin, will now be called the “Best of Belgium versus the Best of the World” featuring Clijsters vs. Serena Williams to be held Thursday, July 8. Henin had to pull out of the exhibition match with an elbow injury she got during a fall in her fourth round loss to Kim Clijsters at Wimbledon. Henin did announce that she will be in attendance as a spectator.  The match organizers are opening the attendance for the match will break the current record of most fans for a tennis match, which is 30,472 from the Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs match at the Houston Astrodome in 1973. Williams is scheduled to compete in World Team Tennis the day after her match with Clijsters when she and the Washington Kastles play the New York Buzz at 7:30 pm in Glens Falls, N.Y.
  • The BBC reached a two-year deal to broadcast the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at London’s O2 Arena from November 21-28. Under the new agreement, the BBC will show a live match each day of the tournament, including the opening match of the tournament, as well as one semi-final match and the championship match. Rafael Nadal has already qualified for the year-end championships.
  • Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, winners of 61 doubles titles, including 11 majors,  and 14-time Grand Slam champs Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva, as well as 14-time Grand Slam champion Owen Davidson lead the list of 2010 Hall of Fame inductees, which will take place Saturday, July 10 at 12:30 p.m., in Newport, R.I. Brad Parks, the founder of wheelchair tennis, and Derek Hardwick, past chairman of the Lawn Tennis Association, will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame. “We are delighted to honor these professionals who have made a remarkable impact on tennis, both on and off the courts. Gigi, Natasha, Todd, Mark and Owen achieved extraordinary results at all levels of competition, proving themselves to be true champions and legends in tennis. Brad excelled on the courts as well, and he developed an entirely new aspect of the game for the world to enjoy. Derek’s vision and leadership abilities were instrumental in elevating the game to the global sport that it is today,” said Christopher Clouser, Chairman of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum. “All seven of these individuals have left a positive impact on the game of tennis, and we are pleased to recognize their successes and contributions.” Since 1955, the International Tennis Hall of Fame has honored 218 people representing 19 countries, comprehensive of the Class of 2010. For more information, go to www.TennisFame.com
  • The YWCA Greater Los Angeles will honor Venus Williams at its Phenomenal Woman Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, July 13 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. “We are thrilled to salute Venus Williams with the Phenomenal Woman of the Year Award. Venus Williams exemplifies the YWCA’s core mission of eliminating racism, empowering women,” said Faye Washington, CEO of YWCA Greater Los Angeles. “She also is the quintessential example of our event theme, “Saluting Women who Change the Game”. We are so proud of her accomplishments on and off the court and so grateful to her for embracing our Job Corps program and students. Our Job Corps students are electrified with excitement that she is coming to speak at their graduation, which is just one of the many things Venus has done to shine a light and draw support for our organization and our students.”
  • Kelsey Aho, 18, of Marietta, Ga., and Melanie Nolt, 19, of Manheim, Pa., have been named the 2010 Novo Nordisk Donnelly Award national recipients. Both tennis standouts, who have Type I Diabetes, will each receive a $5,000 scholarship to be used for education, tennis development, and/or medical care. Aho and Nolt will be presented with the award at halftime of the World Team Tennis match between the Philadelphia Freedom and the New York Sportimes in New York City on July 14. Garrett Jensen, 18, of Portland, Ore., and Lauren Stauffer, 16, of Lititz, Pa., will also receive regional finalist scholarship awards of $2,500 each.
  • Serena Williams is on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated issue under the headline, “Love Her, Hate Her: She’s the Best Ever.” Williams is also in this month’s issue of Harper’s Bazaar, where she discusses her outburst at last year’s US Open over a foot-fault call.
  • Denis Kudla, the No. 1 ranked American, has signed a multi-year deal with Tecnifibre. The current No. 9 ranked junior in the world, reached the quarterfinals of the junior Wimbledon tournament last week. The 17-year-old won his first ever ATP World Tour main draw match on Tuesday in the opening round at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, R.I.
  • Nicolas Mahut, who lost to John Isner in the record-breaking 11 hour and five-minute match at Wimbledon, donated memorabilia from “The Match” to the Museum at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I., on Saturday. Mahut, who is in town to participate in the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, talked to Hall of Fame CEO Mark Stenning and fans about the match that made him a household name forever. “The Museum at the International Tennis Hall of Fame is an incredible landmark for the game of tennis. I am humbled and honored to have a piece of history from my career on display alongside memorabilia from the game’s greatest stars,” said Mahut.
  • A record 32,036 were on the grounds at the All England Club on the final Sunday for the Rafael Nadal vs. Tomas Berdych championship match, which beats last year’s record of 30,867. The overall attendance for 2010 was a remarkable 489,946, which is the second highest total in history.
  • Maria Sharapova announced that she helps design the outfits that she wears during competition and they are now available to the public. “The things that I wear on court are actually available for people to buy. I’ve got a chance to help design the dresses and the two piece outfits and that’s been really fun, because it’s something that’s really creative. I’ve been interested in it since I was pretty young,” said Sharapova.
  • The NCAA announced last Friday that the University of Illinois will host the 2013 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships. The Championships will be held from May 16-27 at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex and the Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign, Ill.
  • Tommy Haas and fiancée Sarah Foster are expecting their first child in November, according to his Facebook page. Haas, who has been off the tour for most of the year following shoulder surgery, expects to return to competition in late August.
  • Justine Henin will be sidelined from competition for at least two months with an elbow injury she suffered at Wimbledon. Henin will not participate in the US Open in New York in August. “I took several medical examinations that have revealed a partial ligament fracture of the right elbow,” Henin said on her official website. “This injury will keep me away from the courts for an approximate period of two months, with the consequence a withdrawal from the U.S. circuit, including the U.S. Open.”
  • Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be out of competition for two months with a knee injury he suffered during Wimbledon.
  • Janko Tipsarevic and broadcaster Biljana Sesevic were married in Belgrade, Serbia, on Sunday. Novak Djokovic, Victor Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic were all in attendance at the wedding.