Tennis

The Serbian world number three tennis player Novak Djokovic is to play Yugoslavia's first king in a television series to be shot next year, local media reported Thursday. The 10-part series will retrace the life and reign of king Aleksandar Karadjordjevic, first monarch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, who unified the kingdoms of Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia after World War I. The tennis champion and first-time actor will play Aleksandar during his reign, which came to a brutal end in 1934 when... Read Full Story

Roger Federer has been named International Tennis Federation (ITF) champion for the fifth time with Serena Williams taking the women's award for the second time. They will receive their awards at the annual ITF World Champions Dinner on June 1 in Paris, during the French Open. Federer had an oustanding year regaining the world No.1 ranking from Rafael Nadal after completing a career Grand Slam at Roland Garros with victory over Robin Soderling in the final. He went on to surpass Pete Sampras... Read Full Story

LONDON (Reuters) - Roger Federer and Serena Williams were named 2009 ITF World Champions on Tuesday after capturing four grand slam singles titles between them in 2009. It is the fifth time Switzerland's world number one Federer has won the ITF award, based on performances at grand slam events, Tour events, Davis Cup and Fed Cup. Williams took the award for the second time despite her foul-mouthed outburst at a line judge at this year's U.S. Open. Williams was fined $175,000 and put on... Read Full Story

Playing her best at the most important events, Serena Williams re-established herself as the top player in women's tennis in 2009 and was a landslide choice as Female Athlete of the Year by members of The Associated Press. Williams received 66 of 158 votes cast by editors at U.S. newspapers that are members of the AP. No other candidate got more than 18 votes in the tally, which was announced Tuesday. Clearly, Williams' most infamous on-court episode — a tirade directed at a line judge after... Read Full Story

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Larry Ellison, chief executive of software company Oracle, is the new owner of the Indian Wells tennis tournament and the venue itself. Ellison's Tennis Ventures LLC purchased the entire assets from the previous ownership group, the businessman said in a statement on Tuesday. "Anyone who knows me knows I love the game of tennis. I play it regularly, watch it frequently and now look forward to being in Indian Wells every March to host the greatest players in the world... Read Full Story

Anne Keothavong is set to return to Britain’s Fed Cup Team Anne Keothavong will return to Britain’s Fed Cup tie against Portugal in February after been sidelined from the Sony Ericsson Tennis Tour due to a knee ligament damage she suffered in July 2009. “To make my comeback from injury at the Fed Cup will be tough but hopefully we can perform well and move GB into the World Group,” said Keothovang. Anne will be joined by Elena Baltacha, Katie O’Brien and doubles specialist Sarah... Read Full Story

Larry Ellison, founder and chief executive of computer firm Oracle, has bought the ATP and WTA hardcourt event played at Indian Wells every March, officials said on Monday. The deal includes the stadium and grounds upon which the BNP Paribas Open is played, properties valued at 50 to 100 million dollars according to Sports Business Journal. "I am very excited," Ellison said. "Anyone who knows me knows that I love the game of tennis. I play it regularly, watch it frequently, and now look... Read Full Story

The United States will face Serbia on an indoor clay surface in Belgrade for its first-round Davis Cup match next year. The venues for six of the eight first-round World Group matches on March 5-7 were announced Monday by the International Tennis Federation. The Serbia-U.S. match will be played at the 20,000-seat Belgrade Arena. Defending champion Spain has been granted an extension until Jan. 11 to choose the venue for its opener against Switzerland, which could pit Rafael Nadal against... Read Full Story

Dinara Safina’s Off-Season Blog for WTA Sony Ericsson Tour Dinara Safinais in Monaco and she has made an off-season in her blog post to update us about what she has been up to…. Friday, December 18, 2009 Hello from Monaco The rehab for my back is going pretty good. I’m almost fully recovered and have been starting to practice again, so it’s definitely going in the right direction. I’m feeling better and better every day and I’m happy to be doing it in Monaco, which is like my second... Read Full Story

Former world No. 1 Justine Henin will extend her tennis comeback in Australia after officials announced Monday she has been granted a wild-card entry to the Sydney International. Henin is due to make her official return to the WTA circuit, after an 18-month absence, at the Brisbane International tournament that starts on January 3 next year. She will now play in the January 10-16 Sydney event which serves as a lead-up to the Australian Open starting in Melbourne on January 18. "I have a lot... Read Full Story