WTA Tour World No. 3 Victoria Azarenka Joins Wilson
Wilson Sporting Goods has signed a long term partnership with world no. 3 Victoria (Vika) Azarenka.
“I’m extremely excited to be changing to Wilson’s new Juice racket. The power and spin that I feel with this racket is insane and I look forward to seeing what I can do with it,” said Azarenka. In addition to the Wilson Juice tennis racket, Azarenka will accessorize with the matching new blue Tour tennis bag and exclusive Wilson Emotisorb shock absorber every time she steps on to the court.
“Vika’s talent is undeniable, and she has been one of the tour’s most consistent performers. Our goal is to provide the best equipment to help elevate her game and help her reach her goal of winning her first Grand Slam,” said Renaud Vallon, global tour director for Wilson. “She is a very powerful player, with a dynamic personality and we are very thrilled to have her join the Wilson family.”
In 2011, Azarenka finished at a career high of number three to become the highest-ranked Belarusian player in history, after reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon and the finals at WTA Tour Championships in November. Azarenka has also begun to distinguish herself off the court as a tennis teen idol with her good looks, fashionista ways and engaging Twitter posts.
Leading up to the 2012 Australian Open, last week, Azarenka upset world number one Caroline Wozniacki, at the World Tennis Charity Invitation in Hua Hin, Thailand, by beating her 6-2, 7-5 and is off to a great start at the Apia International Sydney, defeating Stefanie Voegele 6-2, 6-1 in the 1st round.
Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal share honours in the 2011 ATP World Tour Awards
Bryan brothers, del Potro, Raonic, Bogomolov among award winners
Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal share honours in the 2011 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moët & Chandon, which were announced in London on the eve of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Players will receive their awards in special, on-court ceremonies at The O2 throughout the week.
Djokovic receives the year-end ATP World Tour No. 1 award for the first time following a banner year in which he won three Grand Slam titles and a record five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles.
Federer edged out his competitors in two award categories, respectively selected by fans and ATP World Tour players. The 30-year-old Swiss extended his reign as the ATPWorldTour.com Fans’ Favourite presented by RICOH to a ninth straight year, and won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for a seventh time in eight years. Since 2003, Federer has now won 22 ATP World Tour Awards. Read more
Guinness World Record Attempt: Most Consecutive Tennis Matches Played
Event to Coincide With Wimbledon Championships – 100% of Proceeds to go to Charity
This summer, endurance athlete Mike Wisner [http://www.mikewisner.com ] will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the greatest number of three-set tennis matches played in succession.
Guinness World Records have set the record at 20, but Wisner will attempt to play at least 25 consecutive games of tennis on grass, clay and hard courts against opposition made up of celebrities and local players. He will pit his considerable skills against Sam and Holly Branson, children of Sir Richard Branson, amongst others.
Editor-in-chief at Guinness World Records, Craig Glenday, said: “To set a new Guinness World Record, Mike will have to complete 20 three-set tennis matches in succession. This will be a great personal test of endurance and we’d like to wish Mike the very best of luck.” Read more
Millions Watch Wimbledon in Office: TV Licensing
Millions of employees could tune into Murray-mania in the workplace, while employers decree “business as usual” over Wimbledon.
Figures released by TV Licensing from a member poll conducted in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) show that the overwhelming majority of employers (86%*) say they won’t be allowing employees “time off” to watch Andy Murray’s pursuit of the Wimbledon Grand Slam title.
However, separate figures suggest this won’t stop people tuning into the tournament:
- 7.1 million** people, the largest audience of last year’s tournament, watched Murray’s performance in the 2010 semi-final in the middle of the working day – Over half of the UK tuned in (51%)** over the course of the competition
- 6.8 million*** people watched matches live online last year during last year’s tournament. Read more
4 Star Tennis Summer Camps expands to Stony Brook University
4 Star Camps announced that they will be partnering with Stony Brook University, a NCAA Division I college on Long Island, NY, to provide residential and day tennis camps starting in 2010. Coach Gary Glassman and Justin Drzal have directed this residential tennis camp for the past three summers and will continue to be the summer camp directors. Justin directed 4 Star’s Tennis Camp at the University of Virginia for 10 years prior to joining Gary at Stony Brook.
“We are very excited to be working with Gary and reuniting with Justin,” said Mitch Popple, 4 Star Camps’ Executive Director. “We’ve been searching for an expansion opportunity, and you can’t ask for a better location than Long Island, NY. We are a summer camp company whose entire focus is on our campers and operating high-quality camp experiences. This is why both Gary and I strongly believe this was a natural fit.”
Coach Glassman said, “I was looking for a company to partner with that would allow my coaches and me to focus on what we enjoy the most, the students and their tennis. 4 Star Camps really impressed me with their knowledge of the summer camping business, enthusiasm for creating great programming and attention to detail. They are so flexible and provided us with a number of ideas on how to grow the camp to reach more people. Already, 4 Star Camps has reduced the weekly rates to keep it affordable while also adding a new High School Players Tennis Camp.”
There will be two tennis programs offered over the course of three weeks – the High School Players Tennis Camp from July 6 – 9 and the traditional Junior Tennis Camp for ages 9 – 18 the weeks of July 11 and July 18. Both programs utilize Stony Brook’s 12 outdoor tennis courts along with their dorms and dining halls.
4 Star Camps is a family-owned and -operated summer camp that offers an exclusive brand of high-quality tennis, golf, academic and SAT Prep instruction for youth ages 9 – 18 since 1975. Summer camp locations include the University of Virginia and Stony Brook University.
Source: 4starcamps.com