By Justin Cohen
- The USTA Southern section announced on Tuesday that the Atlanta Athletic Club will host the 2010 Atlanta Tennis Championships from July 19-25, an ATP World Tour 250 event that will kick-off the Olympus US Open Series. “The Atlanta Athletic Club is the perfect site for the Atlanta Tennis Championships,” said Rex Maynard, the President of the USTA Southern section. “With its rich history of hosting ATP tennis and other major sporting events, it is a great location, and has wonderful facilities for showcasing professional tennis in the Atlanta area.” In 2005, the Atlanta Athletic Club was named by the USTA as the National Tennis Facility of the Year and from 1986-2001, the club hosted ATP tournaments every April. “The Atlanta Athletic Club is pleased to host the upcoming Atlanta Tennis Championship this July and the best tennis players in the world,” said Chris Borders, the General Manager at the Atlanta Athletic Club.
- Commemorative Roger Federer stamps featuring his 2009 title run at the French Open will be released this week in Austria. 300,000 stamps will be sold, as well as 2,000 silver editions.
- Serena Williams will face Kim Clijsters on March 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York City during the BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup. The other semifinal will feature Venus Williams against Svetlana Kuznetsova. The Williams vs. Clijsters match will be a re-match of their famous U.S. Open semifinal last September where Williams lost the match after a point penalty after shooting obscenities at a lineswoman.
- Starting this summer, the ATP and WTA Tour Ordina Open will be called the UNICEF Open. The tournament will be held from June 13-19 in the Netherlands.
- Ana Ivanovic signed a lifetime endorsement deal with adidas. Financial terms of the deal were not released. “Ivanovic is believed to have become the youngest ever athlete – male of female – to sign an agreement of this length,” said a statement by Ivanovic’s management. Ivanovic, however, has struggled of late, falling from her perch as the No. 1 player in the world in 2008 to her current rank of No. 23. She holds a 7-10 record since July of 2009 and recently accounted for losing all three points in Serbia’s 3-2 loss to Russia in the first round of the 2010 Fed Cup.
- During a recent interview with France’s Sportweek, former World No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam singles champion Amelie Mauresmo said that she has settled into retirement and hopes to be a tournament director, as well as host an interview show if the opportunity comes along. “I’m already planning into the future because I don’t want to do nothing for a long time, but I want to reflect properly and fix the stages for getting there like I did with tennis,” said Mauresmo.
- Italian Flavia Pennetta, who previously wore Sergio Tacchini, has signed a three-year clothing sponsorship deal with adidas.
- Fernando Verdasco, currently ranked No.11 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings, beat 14-time Grand Slam singles champion Pete Sampras, 6-3, 7-6(2), in a 56-minute exhibition match at the SAP Open in San Jose on Monday night.
- Still suffering from a back injury that forced her to retire during a match at the Australian Open, Dinara Safina has withdrawn from next week’s Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event in Dubai. “Unfortunately, I will not be able to play the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships this year because of the back injury that’s been bothering me since the end of last season,” Safina said on her official website.
- Model Brooklyn Decker, wife of Andy Roddick, landed on the cover of the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Former world No. 1 and French Open champion Ana Ivanovic is featured in three pages of the swimsuit issue. “It was a very rewarding experience: fun and challenging at the same time,” said Ivanovic. “Obviously a publication like this is run by people who are leaders in their fields and I found it very interesting and enjoyable to work with them.”
- Former World No. 2 Tommy Haas has earned his United States citizenship but will continue to represent Germany during competition. Through a statement on his official website, Haas said he completed the naturalization process by passing the United States citizenship test in December and taking the oath of allegiance on January 27. “In Tampa, along with about 300 other immigrants from over 70 different countries, I raised my right hand to swear the oath of allegiance,” said Haas. “I desperately wanted to do this because the United States have really become my home over the past years and that’s why I considered it a logical step to apply for naturalization.” Haas has been living in the United States since he started training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida when he was a teenager.
- Justine Henin has received a wild card into the main draw at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. “I hope that I am able to claim my first title of the season at the BNP Paribas Open in March,” said Henin.
- Argentine Jose Acasuso, currently ranked No. 59, had knee surgery on Tuesday and will be sidelined for two months.
- During the Nuremberg toy fair, Mattel unveiled a Kim Clijsters Barbie doll, as well as a doll of Clijsters’ daughter Jada. The doll marks Clijsters’ US Open title last year. “When I was a young girl I played with my Barbie dolls all the time and took them with me everywhere I went. I am therefore deeply honored and humbled…” said Clijsters in a statement. “My family means everything to me, so I was really excited when I found out that Jada would also receive her very own ‘Jada’ Barbie doll.”
- Babolat, the leading manufacturer of tennis racquets, has signed a two-year deal to be the presenting sponsor of the “Little Mo” Nationals and “Little Mo” International Open tennis tournaments. “The shared values between Babolat and the ‘Little Mo’ organization make this the perfect partnership. We think 2010 will be the best year yet!” said Carol Weyman, the Executive Vice President of the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation and “Little Mo” Tournament Chairman.