From Justine Henin committing to play in the 2010 Australian Open to Fila signing a clothing and footwear deal for the 2009 Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha to Gustavo Kuerten helping secure an Olympic bid for Brazil to tennis legend Chris Evert and pro golfer Greg Norman separating after 15 months of marriage to the Australian Open prize money increasing to $21.4 million to Serena Williams having two weeks to tell her side of the story to the ITF regarding her tirade at the US Open, these stories caught the attention of tennis fans and insiders this week.
Craig Tiley, the Australian Open Tournament Director, confirmed that Justine Henin will make her Grand Slam singles comeback at the 2010 Australian Open.
- Fila has signed a deal to become the official clothing and footwear partner of the 2009 Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha. “Fila is a fantastic brand and we are thrilled that they will be the official tennis clothing and footwear partner of the Sony Ericsson Championships — 2009 in Doha,” said Stacey Allaster, the CEO of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.
- Gustavo Kuerten, a bid ambassador for Brazil, was on hand to witness Rio de Janeiro win the 2016 Olympic bid. “This is an amazing result. We are going to be working from tomorrow to make it happen. Brazil will do the best it can from this great opportunity,” said Kuerten following the announcement.
- Chris Evert and golf legend Greg Norman have separated after 15 months of marriage. “We will remain friends and supportive of one another’s family,” the couple said in a statement issued by spokesman Bart Collins.
- Australian Open prize money has been increased to $21.4 million for the 2010 tournament with the men’s and women’s singles champions collecting $1.86 million.
- Serena Williams has two weeks to tell her side of the story to the ITF regarding her incident at the US Open during her semifinal loss to Kim Clijsters at the US Open. The ITF, who has already talked to other parties involved in the incident, will then decide whether to enforce more sanctions on Williams.
- The following teams have been named for the 2010 Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia:
- Russia: Elena Dementieva and Igor Andreev
- Australia: Samantha Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt
- Germany: Sabine Lisicki and Philipp Kohlschreiber
- Romania: Sorana Cirstea and Victor Hanescu
- United States: Melanie Oudin and John Isner
- InsideOut Sports & Entertainment and Fox Sports Net announced the launch of Outback Champions Series Thursdays on Fox Sports Net. FSN will televise a new match for the next 12 weeks. “We are excited to expand our partnership with Fox Sports Net and create a consistent TV season for fans to watch the greatest players over the last 25 years compete against their peers for prize money and ranking points,” said Jon Venison, the co-founding partner of InsideOut Sports & Entertainment and the Outback Champions Series.
- Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Michael Chang, Brad Gilbert, Tracy Austin and Luke and Murphy Jensen were among the players that participated in the Esurance Tennis Classic fundraiser last weekend at the Harbor Point Tennis and Swim Club in Mill Valley, California.
- 19-year-old Mallory Cecil of South Carolina, who won the NCAA singles title last year while a freshman at Duke, has signed a multi-year representation deal with Lagardere Unlimited. Cecil will be managed by Lagardere President Ken Meyerson.
- James Blake announced last week that he will host a tennis exhibition at Pier 94 in New York City on December 1 and will play an exhibition match against Andy Roddick and other professional tennis players. BackOffice Associates Serving for a Cure with James Blake, presented by Empire Blue Cross Blue Shields will raise money for the Thomas Blake Sr., Memorial Research Fund, which supports cancer research at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
- According to reports by Belga, a Belgian news agency, Belgian players Xavier Malisse and Yanina Wickmayer have been ordered to appear in front of the Belgian anti-doping commission for violating the commission’s whereabouts policy. Malisse broke the rule twice and missed one doping test, while Wickmayer broke the rule three times in 18 months. Malisse will meet with the disciplinary commission on October 8, while Wickmayer has her meeting with the commission on October 22.
- Serena Williams is among several athletes who will be featured in a series of revealing photo shoots for ESPN the Magazine’s, Body Issue, which will hit newsstands this week.
- Talking to Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim, Martina Hingis said she has no plans to return to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour following the end of her two-year cocaine suspension.
- Joachim Johansson and fiancé Johanna Westerberg, an LPGA golfer, are expecting their first child in early 2010 according to ATP World Tour notes.
- American Sam Warburg, who reached a career high ranking of No. 132, has retired from the ATP World Tour at the age of 26. “Some people are cut out for the tour, and some aren’t,” Warburg told the Sacramento Bee. “It toughens you up, and I learned a lot, but I learned I don’t want to live like that.”
- Denmark’s Kristian Pless, a former world No. 1 junior, has retired from the ATP World Tour citing constant injuries.
- According to her father’s recent talk with BBC, US Open junior champion Heather Watson of Great Britain will be turning pro soon and will sign a representation contract with IMG.