I just can’t get closure on a tournament until I see the player party video, can you? Here’s the party in Doha. I love Wozniacki’s “brainless ball basher” vs. “pusher” analysis of her match vs. Azarenka!

Also, I didn’t realize Jelena Jankovic was a budding fashion designer. I propose that Serena and J.J. design the evening wear for the next player parties – they could have a design-off!

One last appeal to the WTA -  with all the injuries at the YEC last week, shouldn’t high-heels be banned?

Dinara Safina’s retirement against Jelena Jankovic and subsequent withdrawal from the year ending championships was Wednesday’s big news out of Doha.  She tapped out in the third game of the match, leaving the court after a series of gut wrenching sobs no doubt caused by both pain and disappointment. In what was supposed to be the final stage of battle for the year end No. 1, Dinara Safina shot herself in the foot.

Safina explained afterwards that one of the discs in her lower back was “starting to fracture,” and that the doctors recommend at least 6 weeks of rest and a long rehabilitation process. She could miss the Australian Open: “When I speak with the doctors, it doesn’t sound so good,” Safina said. “It is possible I may have to skip it.” (via Fox Sports)

Uh, where were these doctors a few weeks ago?

She’s apparently been suffering from this injury for about three months and she says she had hoped a short break between the US Open and Tokyo would be enough to recuperate. But from her comment below, it sounds like the desire to end the year at No. 1 may have pushed her too far:

“I’ve been playing on the pain, on anti-inflammatory, on everything, already for about three months,” Safina said. “It was one of the reasons I had to take a break after the US Open. It was advised. But I thought like, as I was chasing this No. 1 ranking, so I was fighting with my body. God knows, maybe I had to stop after US Open.

“But for two tournaments, Beijing and Tokyo, it was quiet, it didn’t bother me that much. So I was still hoping. Then my body just gave up. I did everything possible to play here, but I could not handle any more this pain.” (via The Times)

I applaud Dinara for her determination and grit – however ill-advised – and hope that she uses this enforced break to rehab both her mind and body. For all the smack talk about her mental failings, Safina can be extremely stoic – too stoic. Call her the anti-J.J.: she hardly ever calls the trainer, never complains of injury after a loss and very rarely retires from a match (anybody remember the last time?) Even the smack-talking Serena Williams – who with her win over her sister today has secured the No. 1 ranking – mentioned this, saying: “Dinara must be hurt because she never gives up – it would have been a really great tournament had she been able to get through to the final.”

It would have been “really great,” indeed, but unfortunately Safina safizzled and Serena won the war by default. Something tells me these two women will be fighting very different battles next season, and not against one another. Oh well, it was kinda, sorta fun while it lasted.

Vera Zvonareva will sub in for Dinara. Considering that chaos reigns in the White Group, I see no reason why she couldn’t make it to the semis and even beyond.

In other Doha Day 2 news, Caroline Wozniacki battled through her own injury problems (her upper leg was wrapped tighter than a tourniquet) to beat Victoria Azarenka in an impressive come-from-behind victory: 1-6, 6-4, 7-5. This was an entertaining match for many reasons:  the 14-deuce fifth game in the second set, the match point that Wozniacki saved, and Azarenka’s  ball-smacking, racquet smashing breakdown towards the end of the match, which earned her a point penalty that cost her a crucial service game. Wozniacki seems to be supremely well-adjusted and capable of dealing with the pressure of the moment. The same thing can’t be said of Vika, who I continue to root for despite her banshee screech and tantrums. Maybe it’s the headband.

Thursday’s line up in Doha:

1. Vera Zvonareva vs. Caroline Wozniacki
2. Serena Williams vs. Elena Dementieva
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Venus Williams

Click here for the TV schedule.

Photo via www.sonyericsson-championships.com

The best thing about the year ending championships is the format – from the very first day you have the best players playing against each other and the promise of seeing them again soon, win or lose.

The first match was an interesting one. YEC rookie, Victoria Azarenka, trounced former world number one Jelena Jankovic in straights: 6-2, 6-3. J.J. had to play last week’s Kremlin Cup to earn her spot in Doha, and she looked to be burnt out and grouchy from the effort. Azarenka, on the other hand, went on court with eyes as big as saucers, ready to eat up her first-ever YEC match like a kid with a hot fudge sundae. She’s also well rested, taking last week off to prepare. This will give her the advantage tomorrow, when she plays her good buddy Caroline Wozniacki, who is reportedly still struggling with the hamstring injury that took her out in Luxembourg last week.

And check out this reporter-facilitated exchange between Vika and J.J. after the match – it sounds there was some telephone being played in the press room (via Monsters&Critics):

‘I basically gave her (Azarenka) everything,’ said Jankovic. ‘I beat myself. I was just a shadow of myself. Sometimes you want to play your best, but it just doesn’t happen. I just hope I can play better tomorrow, and I’ll keep trying my best in this whole competition.’

Azarenka was having none of the head games: ‘I’m glad she wasn’t in the mood. It worked out fine for me. I haven’t played in a tournament for a while,’ said the second-round loser a fortnight ago in Beijing. ‘I felt pretty good out there.’

Venus vs. Dementieva was more dramatic on the court – there was even a surprise ending. At first, it looked to be the the same old story: Venus was up a set and a break against the Russian, who hadn’t beaten her since 2004. But somewhere during the second set tiebreak Venus’s game drove off a cliff. She lost the third set 2-6 and finished the match with 52 unforced errors. Great news for Dementieva, but not the way Venus wanted to go into tomorrow’s match against her sister.

Photo via www.sonyericsson-championships.com

Tom Perrotta at ESPN.com has an interesting take on Venus’s extended slump:

More and more, Williams looks like a player who needs a change, whether it’s a new voice on her coaching team, a new strategy (volley more?), or a new approach to training. As James Blake recently discovered, change for the sake of change can be positive, even if it reveals that you ought to stick with what you were doing in the first place (at least then you can continue down the same path with confidence). Williams has the athleticism to play top-level tennis into her 30s and accomplish a lot more (on the short list: win her first Australian Open and her first U.S. Open since 2001). She doesn’t have much time, though, to figure out how she’s going to do it.

Assuming she doesn’t defend the title in Doha, Venus may be disappointed enough in her season to make some changes. Or maybe she’ll continue to be a grass court specialist and hope that Justine Henin takes out Serena before the Wimby final next year.

Serena Williams beat Svetlana Kuznetsova in a tight two setter: 7-6(6), 7-5. The round robin format is an interesting one for Serena, because it doesn’t allow her the luxury of easing into a tournament like she’s wont to do. But she looked ready to go today, not only sending a message to her friend Sveta but to the rest of the field: Serena’s in it to win it.

I have to mention Serena’s bizarre pre-match interview with Tracy Austin. These interviews are usually duds, but this one was downright testy. When Austin asked Serena if she was playing to be World Number One this week, Serena let out a sarcastic chuckle and said: “Yeah, in doubles.” (She and Venus are playing in the doubles in Doha, too.) Serena then walked away, leaving Austin to say, with the perfect degree of faux sweetness: “Good luck, Serena.” Serena ignored her. Awkward! I look forward to seeing how Serena’s attitude plays out this week. I sense she’s a little on edge – which could be a good thing. It’s worth noting that the one time she won the YEC in 2001 (yep, only once!), she also finished the year at No. 1. (UPDATE – Actually, I’m wrong. Serena won the YEC in 2001 but didn’t end the year at No. 1 until 2002.)

By the way – Serena Williams will join Melanie Oudin, Liezel Huber and Alexa Glatch in next week’s Fed Cup final vs. Italy. Yay! I hope all the taping I saw today on her ankles, wrist, and upper leg is just preventative.

Wednesday’s line up in Doha:

Azarenka vs. Wozniacki

Safina vs. Jankovic

Serena vs. Venus

With the WTA’s Year Ending Championships in Doha this week, it seems a fine time to take a look at how the tour’s hyped-up “Roadmap” is working out. If you remember, the Roadmap was implemented by ex-WTA CEO Larry Scott at the beginning of this season to address the rampant injury problems and tournament pull-outs that were plaguing the tour.  Changes included increasing prize money (by 39% from 2006) and the length of the off-season (from 7 to 9 weeks) while decreasing the tournament commitments for the top players (from 13 tournaments to 10.) It also instituted the much-loathed on-court coaching rule. Click here to find the WTA’s press release, which goes into more detail.

So did the Roadmap get us anywhere? Larry Scott’s replacement (and former employee), Stacey Allaster, says she “couldn’t be more pleased,”  reporting that the number of player pull-outs and injuries have significantly decreased. Here are some of her comments from a recent piece in the New York Times:

Q. How do you view the first year of your restructured calendar, the so-called road map?

Allaster: I really couldn’t be more pleased. I think overall what we tried to achieve was for our players to deliver to fans and sponsors, and they did that. We made player commitment at 80 percent of our events. If we dial it back to 2007, we didn’t make player commitment at one of our commitment events. That was a big part of what we were trying to reform — bringing credibility to the Sony Ericsson W.T.A. Tour — and our players have stepped up and delivered.

I think some of the other metrics relate to the business aspect of the road map. In this economy, there was a 34 percent increase in prize money, which was incredible.

For the first time in many years, all top-10 players who were part of the bonus pool in 2009 will all receive a bonus pool payout. That hasn’t happened since 2004, and that’s all tied to their delivery of commitment. And Jelena Jankovic will receive a million-dollar bonus-pool payout.

Of course, Jankovic complained recently about the Roadmap’s restriction of top players’ participation in lower-tier International-level tournaments. J.J., just take your pool money and hit the beach, already.

Here are Allaster’s casualty numbers:

Q. Do you have injury numbers for the season?

Allaster: Withdrawals as a whole are down 30 percent. To give you context, the number of first-round retirements in 2009 is 17, compared with 36 in 2008. And total retirements and walkovers are at 58 in 2009, compared to 71 in 2008.

Allaster also addressed the $88 million dollar question. With mega-sponsor Sony Ericsson renewed only through next season – Allaster says she’ll know by the end of this year if the company will extend through 2011 – are the players doing what they can to keep sponsors happy?

Q. Are your players aware of doing more for the business in a tough economy?

Allaster: Many of them talk to me in those terms, even the younger ones. They understand it. Obviously they live in a world where they’re not affected by the economy, but they’re in touch enough to know what is happening around them.

Players like Venus Williams — you could not ask for a better player leader. She’s been incredibly supportive inside the Player Council, and I can tell you she’s been actively engaged with helping with the Sony Ericsson renewal. She recently participated in a meeting in New York with me with Sony Ericsson along with Billie Jean King and Melanie Oudin. I think we know the story there: the past, present and future all understand the importance of our sponsorship partners.

It took literally a nanosecond for all three of them to say, “If my schedule is clear, I’ll be there.”

Issues of the economy (and Jelena Jankovic’s scheduling) aside, I’d say the Roadmap is doing more good than harm. At least for the first couple of rounds, most of the big names showed up to play at the tournaments this year. The issues for 2009 – see Indian Wells or the US Open as examples – seemed to be a lack of consistency and confidence amongst many in the top stars. Or we could spin it WTA-style and rack up the rash of early round upsets to a new depth of field. But I think we can all agree that we’d rather watch Venus or Safina be upset in the third round than not see them at all.

I’m already looking forward to 2010, when the tour has both Belgians back from retirement, a (hopefully) healthy Sharapova, two motivated Williams sisters and a maturing crop of up-and-comers (Oudin, Wozniacki, Azarenka, Lisicki et. al.) ready to fight for Major titles. Bottom line – I want to watch the best players playing high-quality matches on the biggest stages. That’s where fans want to be, and we don’t really care how we get there.

Click here to read the entire New York Times piece.

Serena and Venus Williams, Dinara Safina and the rest of the WTA’s top eight gathered at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar on Sunday to take part in the Sony Ericsson Year End Championships draw ceremony. Here’s the lowdown on the draw via tennis.com:

WHITE GROUP:

• Dinara Safina
• Caroline Wozniacki
• Victoria Azarenka
• Jelena Jankovic

MAROON GROUP:

• Serena Williams
• Svetlana Kuznetsova
• Elena Dementieva
• Venus Williams

The top two finishers in each round robin group advance to the semifinals, where each first-placed player will face the second-placed player from the other group. (Meaning that Venus and Serena could meet in the final, even though they’re in the same group.)

Of course, no WTA event would be complete without the ballgown competition.

As usual, J.J.’s the one to beat:

Elena Dementieva’s wax figure:

I don’t know who this is:

Caroline Wozniacki was sweeping a chimney before this was taken:

Kuzy has a new sponsorship with David’s Bridal:

Serena channels Chaka Kahn.

Vika rocks her prom:

And Venus defies explanation:

The Championships start on Tuesday. Click here to visit the WTA’s Doha website.

We’re only 5 days away from the start of the WTA Year End Championships a.k.a. the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar. And with Jelena Jenkovic progressing to the quarterfinals of the Kremlin Cup this week (and Vera Zvonareva being upset in the second round), the Serbian’s secured the 8th and final spot in the line up:

(Graphic swiped from the the Sony Ericsson Championship’s website.)

Dinara Safina will be back to number one this Monday, and is therefore the tournament’s top seed. With the year end number one ranking up for grabs in Doha, I think Serena Williams will have that extra bit of motivation to do well. It’s also interesting to see Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki in spots 3 and 4, benefiting from some late-season play. And does Venus have any chance of defending her title?

I, for one, wish that the WTA had “pulled a Lucy” as Jon Wertheim put it, and given US Open champ, Kim Clijsters, the final spot as a special exemption. I don’t think it’s unfair. The YEC should be about the 8 best players in the world slugging it out. I think Kim belongs in this group more than Jelena Jankovic does this year, no matter how much I (really do) adore ol’ J.J. Plus Fila’s sponsoring this year!

Only 4 doubles teams participate in the Championships: Black/Huber, Williams/Williams, Llagostera/Martinez, Stosur/Stubbs. Could we see a Williams sister sweep?

The Sony Ericsson Championships run from October 27 – November 1.

Maria Sharapova won the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo this weekend. It’s her first title since coming back from shoulder surgery this May, after a nearly ten month long injury layoff. Her last title came at Amelia Island in April, 2008.

It was her opponent, Jelena Jankovic, who suffered from shoulder problems, retiring at 2-5 down in the first set.

“It’s never easy to win a match like this.“ Sharapova said afterwards. “Obviously, it’s very important for Jelena to be healthy and we want to compete at our 100%.” (via BBC)

At this point in the year, Maria may be benefiting from having had a shorter season than the other pros. But regardless of how she won it, getting this title is a comeback confidence booster. (Not a Clijsters-sized boost, of course, but at least the trophy’s nice.)

And Maria still has enough gas in the tank to take part in the inaugural “Maria Sharapova South American Tour,” a series of three exhibition matches vs. Gisela Dulko, scheduled for late November/early December in Brazil, Chile and Argentina. She will reportedly make close to a million dollars in appearance fees. (via Tennis Week)

Will the thought of Justine Henin back on the court – sporting her no-nonsense Adidas kit and a stick-straight ponytail – strike fear into the hearts of her WTA colleagues? Will the threat of her steely resolve, butterfly feet and whipping forehand cut beach holidays short? Will the words of Carlos Rodriguez make the blood of many a hitting-partner-cum-coach run cold?

“The desire to win Wimbledon is one of the main reasons she’s come back and I’ll do everything to help her do it.”

Here’s my best guess at what everyone’s thinking.

Dinara Safina: “No! Not another Real No. 1!”

A major milestone on Dinara’s journey to the top of the rankings was her win over Justine Henin in Berlin, 2008. Justine retired just days later, while still ranked No. 1 in the world. Safina’s victory over Henin and subsequent success seemed to represent a changing of the guard in women’s tennis. And now, just sixteen months later, Justine says she’s ready to compete with the best again. And with another multi-Major winner in the mix, the still slam-less Safina’s spot at the top appears to be more of a fluke of circumstance than the WTA’s new status quo.

Safina/Henin head-to-head: 1/5. Dinara’s victory marked the end of Justine’s professional career.

Serena Williams via Twitter: “Anyone know what time my anger management class is?”

Serena Williams is scared of no one. But her recent blow ups, threatening bodily harm on a lines person at the US Open and on a cheating opponent, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, at the French, have revealed a dangerous crack in Serena’s body armour. If Justine tries to pull anything like the French Open’s infamous “hand incident” again (click here), we should all be scared.

Serena/Henin head-to-head: 7-6. Justine has the 4/2 advantage in Majors.

Venus Williams: “It’s great for women’s tennis! But Wimbledon is mine! All mine!”

Didn’t Justine get the memo? Wimbledon belongs to Venus. She may play puzzling, ramshackle tennis at other tournaments, but when it comes to the greens of Wimbledon, she’s the one (for Serena) to beat. Venus loves the place so much, I think she’d marry it if she could:

“I just love Wimbledon. I have true love in my heart and when you have true love you do your best and nothing can stop you.” (via The Independent)

I suspect Venus has herself to blame for Justine’s comeback. Watching Venus destroy World No. 1 Dinara Safina, 6-1, 6-0 in this year’s semifinals must have made Justine’s Wimbledon dream seem pretty achievable.

Venus/Henin head-to-head: 7-2. At Wimbledon, Venus has beaten Henin both times they’ve played.

Kim Clijsters: “Whatever, JuJu!”

Who would blame Miss Congeniality for being a little peeved? She was thinking this postpartum comeback would be a breeze – some training, a couple exos and a Major title or two between Jada’s play dates. But with her Belgian rival returning things are bound to get more stressful – and less smiley.

Really, how could Kimmie not roll her eyes at this:  “Subconsciously it might have had an impact,” Henin said, referring to Clijsters’ success.“But it certainly was not the most important reason.“

Clijsters/Henin head-to-head: 10/12. Justine enjoys a 5/2 advantage over Clijsters in Majors.

Melanie Oudin: “Dang, there go all the Justine Henin comparisons.”

I love Melanie, but I never really bought the Justine Henin comparisons the media started spouting during the US Open. Sure, they’re both small, blonde, and quick, but so what? So’s Olivier Rochus.

Oudin/Henin head-to-head: 0/0

Maria Sharapova: “Hi. I have my own problems.”

I don’t think Maria Sharapova gives a hoot about anyone else on the WTA tour now. She just wants to learn how to serve again. If anything, Justine’s return could inspire her – they played what many called the best WTA match of 2007 at the year end Championships. Maria lost that one, but then annihilated Justine a couple months later in the Australian Open quarterfinals: 6-4, 6-0. Masha went on to win that tournament and Justine started planning her singing career.

Jelena Jankovic: “I’m still JJ, right?”

Don’t worry, Jelena. Justine’s nickname is JuJu – you’re safe.

Jankovic/Henin head-to-head: 0/9.

Ana Ivanovic: “I’d like to announce my return to professional tennis!”

We all know poor Ana is struggling right now. But at least she took advantage of her window and got a Major while the time was ripe (see the photo at the top of this post.) She should just pretend she’s been retired all of this year, and announce her own comeback at the Australian Open. Shoot, stranger things have happened.

Ivanovic/Henin head-to-head: 0/4.

Oh the wild, wacky world of the WTA Tour! The Australian Open can’t come soon enough.

I know there are more important stories from Day 4 at the US Open than this, but I just had to start the wrap with this quote from Dinara Safina:

Q. Who is more popular in Russia now, you or your brother?
DINARA SAFINA: My brother. By the girls so far. I mean, how many girls there are in Russia? (laughter.)

And how many girls are there in the world?

Dinara Safina struggled again, but fought her way through three more sets to earn a spot in the third round. Two other top seeds can’t say the same. No. 5 seed Jelena Jankovic was knocked out by No. 55 ranked Yaroslava Shvedova and No. 4 seed Elena Dementieva was upset by the spunky young American, Melanie Oudin (ranked #70), who also knocked out Jankovic in the third round of Wimbledon this year. Here’s how Melanie took out yet another top player in another big tournament (and this time it was on Arthur Ashe instead of Wimbledon’s Court 3):

“Well, when I saw the draw, I was like, wow, this is not a very good draw compared to my like Wimbledon one, which I didn’t have, you know, the 4 seed in my second round. But the thing is, I played with no fear today. She’s expected to win, and I just went out there and played my game and I came out with a win.”

Seeds just aren’t intimidating anyone in the women’s draw lately. Half of the top 20 seeds are already out of the tournament: Dementieva (4), Jankovic (5), Ivanovic (11), Agnieszka Radwanska (12), Bartoli (14), Stosur (15), Razzano (16), Mauresmo (17), Schnyder (19), Medina Garrigues (20).

Oudin faces the great unseeded* Maria Sharapova in the third round. *oh yes, I forgot she is seeded # 29. My bad. But that’s almost as good as unseeded, in terms of darkhorse status!

23-seeded Sabine Lisicki made the most painful exit of the day. She served for the match against Anastasia Rodionova in the third set, was broken, and then sprained her ankle on her opponent’s match point. She left the court in a wheelchair.

Court 11 was cursed for a while – Granollers and Soderling were ready to warm-up while Sabine was still sprawled across the baseline. Minutes after she was wheeled off, Granollers retired with a back injury after playing only two games.

Next up was my personal fave, Carla Suarez Navarro, who was dominated by Shahar Peer: 6-2, 6-0. The Israeli wore a striking purple and hot pink ensemble and her tennis was even more remarkable. She hit pummeling ground strokes off both sides, looked fit as a fiddle and was superbly focused and motivated.

I randomly sat next to Shahar Peer’s father during the match (he seemed to be a mellow and well-behaved type of tennis dad) and someone turned to him and said, “You’re that girl’s dad? She’s playing so well, I think she’ll be playing Venus Williams in the semis!“ Well, actually, that match-up can’t happen until the final, but Mr. Peer and I got the drift. He answered with a smile, “Right now I’m just worrying about this match.”

I agree with the bystander – Peer’s my new favorite on the non-Williams half of the draw. Seriously, she was scary-good. She’ll play Kuznetsova next.

With upstarts like Oudin, improving stars like Peer and resurgent former champs like Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters all looking great going into the first weekend, could this be the year of the *unseeded US Open champ? *or seeded #29 like Sharapova!

Speaking of the Williams sisters, they played their first doubles match of the tournament on Thursday in front of a standing room only crowd. They beat the team of Julia Goerges/Arantxa Parra Santonja 6-2, 6-2.

With all the drama on the women’s side, the men’s side of the tournament seems a little placid by comparison. Stan Wawrinka is the only top 20 seed to be booted out early (he lost to Lapentti in the 1st round.) The rest of the top guys are punching the clock and getting the job done. Even 21st seeded James Blake held it together, beating Olivier Rochus in four sets and avoiding another early round upset. Countrymen Roddick, Isner, Querrey and Witten also advanced on a great day for the U.S. of A.

Click here for more results from the men’s side and here for more women’s results.

Practice makes perfect and the ladies were looking pretty dang good at the official US Open Practice Day on Sunday. Kuznetsova, Dementieva, Jankovic, Sharapova, Safina, Azarenka and Mauresmo were all sweating up the courts. Based on the effort level out there, it looks like each and every one of them expects to make it to the final weekend.  Good luck, gals!

Oh, and it was cool to see Dinara Safina practicing with Carla Suarez Navarro and Daniela Hantuchova hitting with Anna Chakvetadze – I love it when the girls hit with other girls instead of male practice partners. Roar!!!

Here are some of our photos