Maria Sharapova

By Aaress Lawless The women’s draw is also expected to feature Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Jelena Jankovic, Melanie Oudin, Yanina Wickmayer, Samantha Stosur, and Dominika Cibulkova. Co-ranked world number one players Cara Black an...

By Aaress Lawless Russia, which has had the strongest squad for several years, will take a secondary team into its opening tie against Serbia as Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva, Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova are all unavailable.

By Aaress Lawless Zvonareva is the fourth Top 10 player to enter the tournament, and she joins World No. 1 Serena Williams, World No. 4 Caroline Wozniacki, World No. 7 Victoria Azarenka, former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova, and American standout Melanie Oudin as a world-class playing field heads to Daniel Isla...

By Aaress Lawless Justine Henin Henin’s second round match against Elena Dementieva was probably the best women’s tennis match I’ve seen since last summer’s thriller between Dementieva and Serena Williams at Wimbledon. Needless to say, this bears testament to the skill of Elena and makes me hope that on...

By Guest Writers While Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin can seemingly wake up from a sound sleep, throw on a tennis skirt, and emerge as legitimate contenders for Grand-Slam titles, getting back to top form has proven to be a more nightmarish endeavor for the 22-year-old jet-setting Russian.

By Aaress Lawless Some of the world’s best-heeled and well-traveled athletes, such as Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, Dinara Safina, and Caroline Wozniacki, offer shopping and dining suggestions in the third annual Best of The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour 2010 Zagat® Guide, a must-have g...

By Aaress Lawless Ana Ivanovic reached the Australian Open final in 2008 before losing to Maria Sharapova. Two years after losing the Australian Open final to Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic is hopeful that she can fight her way to another major title after enduring a painful slump.

By Paula Vergara Melanie Oudin, a five-foot-six kid from Marietta, Georgia, shot to sudden fame in 2009, by defeating Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon, and advancing to the fourth round, as a mere qualifier. Oudin went on to captivate the U.S. Open crowd after out-maneuvering four Russian powerhouses, inclu...

By Guest Writers Justine Henin def. Maria Sharapova 46 61 64 – 2006 Australian Open SF A high-quality affair played indoors at Rod Laver Arena. Henin’s versatility won out in the end, but not before Sharapova impressed the crowd with her shotmaking and fighting spirit.

By Guest Writers For every all-Williams final, there is a run to at least the quarter-finals by Jelena Dokic, Carla Suarez Navarro (Australian Open 2009), Sorana Cirstea, Samantha Stosur (French Open 2009), Sabine Lisicki, Francesca Schiavone (Wimbledon 2009), Melanie Oudin or Kateryna Bondarenk...

By Aaress Lawless Doubles Team of the Year – Venus and Serena Williams Fan Favorite of the Year – Maria Sharapova Twitterer of the Year – Kim Clijsters Best Grand Slam Final of 2009 – Kim Clijsters d. Caroline Wozniacki (US Open) Best Non-Grand Slam Final of 2009 – Elena Dementieva d. Dinara Safina (Sydney)

By Guest Writers At just 22 years old, she already owns three Grand Slam titles (2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open) and has been ranked World No. 1 for 17 weeks. Following her quarterfinal finish at Roland Garros in 2004, Sharapova reached the semifinals or better in nine of the next 12 maj...

By Aaress Lawless Maria Sharapova has announced her partial calendar for the 2010 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season on her official website. Sharapova plans to prepare for the French Open by playing Charleston and Madrid, and immediately after Paris, she will compete at Birmingham and Wimbledon.

By Aaress Lawless Serena Williams d. Dinara Safina (Australian Open) / Svetlana Kuznetsova d. Dinara Safina (Roland Garros) / Serena Williams d. Venus Williams (Wimbledon) / Kim Clijsters d. Caroline Wozniacki (US Open) Elena Dementieva d. Dinara Safina (Sydney) / Amelie Mauresmo d. Elena Dementieva (Pari...

By Aaress Lawless Singles – Final Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) 52 ret. (right wrist injury) An updated copy of the main draw is available at the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour website. Maria Sharapova won her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title of the year on Saturday in Tokyo.

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By Aaress Lawless Maria Sharapova won her twentieth career singles title on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Maria Sharapova won her twentieth career singles title on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. The former world number one captured her first victory of the 2009 season after Jelena Jankovic retired injured in the f...

By Aaress Lawless Results – Friday, October 2, 2009 Singles – Semifinals 7) Jelena Jankovic (SRB) d. (15) Li Na (CHN) 64 63 Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (11) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) 63 26 64 Jelena Jankovic will face Maria Sharapova in the singles final on Saturday in Tokyo.

Related articles from SLAM! Sports, BBC Sport, AOL SPORTS, Simple Thoughts - Java and Web Technology Blog, news.aol.com and more.

By Aaress Lawless IMG is the leading client management company in tennis and the company’s roster of top tennis clients includes many of today’s superstars: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams and James Blake. In addition, IMG owns, manages or represents many of the world’s lea...

By Aaress Lawless Maria Sharapova Unlike JJ or Clijsters, Henin did not do as much to fluster Sharapova’s game. She even outfoxed Henin in the final of the US Open in 2006, which was not an easy feat. However, the Sharapova then is not the Sharapova we see now.

By Aaress Lawless Kim’s title run in Flushing Meadows included two big wins over Venus and Serena Williams, but can she keep up the momentum and return to her former position as one of the best players in the world? Is her game big enough to routinely beat the other power players including the Williams sister...

By Aaress Lawless Maria Sharapova wearing Tiffany & Co. drop earrings with aquamarines and diamonds set in 18 karat white gold. (© James White) The Gossip Column The talk surrounding Maria Sharapova is not only about her shoulder this year in Paris.

By Guest Writers Women’s tennis has had many exciting, intense rivalries. Chris Evert-Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf-Monica Seles and Serena Williams-Jennifer Capriati are some of the classic battles that have taken place on tennis courts throughout the world.

By Aaress Lawless She might have lost the number one ranking, but Serena Williams has been impressive over the past few months. The 2009 Australian Open champion dominated in Melbourne, reached the semifinals in Paris and Dubai, and played her way into the final at Miami before an injury cost her the title t...

By Aaress Lawless The Russian sensation from Moscow will become the 19th top-ranked player in women’s tennis history, joining a distinguished list that includes Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters...

By Aaress Lawless How bad is Maria Sharapova’s shoulder? “Maria Sharapova retiring from tennis because of her chronically bad shoulder?” Just a rumor, says fellow Russian Nadia Petrova, who quickly added, “I don’t believe it, but that’s the rumor.” Tennis News

By Aaress Lawless Scott Schneider, Goran Hofsteter, and Len Filatov are racquet stringers for the Sony Ericsson Open. These guys certainly know their stuff, having strung racquets for Serena and Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, and Dinara Safina, among others.

By Paula Vergara Marion Bartoli – Was upset early by Shahar Peer It’s been an exciting first week at the BNP Paribas Open. Some surprising upsets have sent the likes of Elena Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic, and Amelie Mauresmo packing. Could the dry desert air be the culprit?

By Aaress Lawless The Australian Open draw was again shaken up in the night session as seeds Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki were beaten by Alisa Kleybanova and Jelena Dokic on Friday. Saturday’s players in action in Melbourne will include Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva and...

By Aaress Lawless Ivanovic will join Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Dinara Safina, Venus Williams and defending champion Elena Dementieva in the region’s most prestigious tournament which, under the ATP and WTA restructure, is the only ATP 500 and only WTA Premier 5 sanctioned Ch...

By Aaress Lawless Everyone, feel free to discuss Tuesday’s matches in the comments below. Enjoy the tennis! Venus and Serena Williams will launch their 2009 Australian Open campaigns on day two of the season's first Grand Slam. The bottom half of the women's draw will hit the courts at Melbourne Park on Tues...

By Aaress Lawless Best Non-Grand Slam Singles Final of the Year - Serena Williams d. Jelena Jankovic at Sony Ericsson Open Serena Williams won her fifth career title at the Sony Ericsson Open in April after an epic 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 final against Jelena Jankovic.

By Aaress Lawless The JB Group Classic is a world team event featuring Europe, Russia, Team Americas and Asia Pacific. A total of 12 players make up a star-studded field including world No.1 Jelena Jankovic, Wimbledon Champion Venus Williams and crowd favourite Zheng Jie from China.

By Guest Writers But it was Maria Sharapova, of course, who won Wimbledon in 2004. That same year, Anastasia Myskina won the French Open, and Svetlana Kuznetsova won the U.S. Open. Elena Dementieva was the finalist in both the French and the U.S. Nadia Petrova is, once again, definitely a player to watch.

By Aaress Lawless Next year’s Bank of the West Classic, which will be held July 27-August 2 at Stanford University, will feature 2008 Australian Open Champion Maria Sharapova, two-time defending Wimbledon Champion Venus Williams, 2008 US Open Champion Serena Williams and current World No. 1 Jelena Jan...

By Aaress Lawless World No. 1 Justine Henin was beaten by Dinara Safina in the third round at the Qatar Telecom German Open. Maria Sharapova and the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour reached a photo shoot compromise. Maria Sharapova reclaimed the No. 1 tennis ranking after Henin requested that her name be removed.

By Aaress Lawless What is Martina Hingis’ ranking in 2008? Martina Hingis is retired and no longer on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tennis rankings. How many US Open titles has Serena Williams won? Three. Serena Williams won the US Open in 1999, 2002, and 2008.

By Aaress Lawless Former Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has returned home. In his place, Kuznetsova turned to Russian tennis legend Olga Morozova. Morozova became the first Russian to win a Grand Slam title in 1974 after partnering with Chris Evert at the French Open.

By Aaress Lawless Jankovic was one of five players to hold the World No.1 ranking this year along with Justine Henin (20 weeks), who retired on May 14, 2008 and immediately took her name off the rankings, Ana Ivanovic (12 weeks), Maria Sharapova (three weeks) and Serena Williams (four weeks).

By Aaress Lawless With the official withdrawal of Maria Sharapova due to a continued shoulder injury, Agnieszka Radwanska has secured one of the two singles alternate positions, with the remaining spot up for grabs between Nadia Petrova, Flavia Pennetta and Caroline Wozniacki. Venus Williams and Vera...

By Aaress Lawless Don’t forget to enter On the Baseline’s Pick the Winner’s contest! The entry deadline for Thursday’s featured match is 10:00 am ET. Four Grand Slam singles champions are scheduled to compete on day four at the 2008 US Open. Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Amelie Mauresm...

By Aaress Lawless Only two women can stop Venus and Serena Williams from meeting in the championship match of a Grand Slam for the seventh time in their careers. Elena Dementieva and Jie Zheng have a monumental task ahead of them on Thursday in the semifinals at Wimbledon.

By On the Baseline All times are Eastern. Defending champion Venus Williams returns to Centre Court on Thursday, while Lindsay Davenport is expected to put her knee to the test against Argentina's Gisela Dulko. Watch Venus and Lindsay, as well as Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic on day four at the 2008 Wi...

By Aaress Lawless As unbelievable as it may seem, Jelena Jankovic has actually headed to Wimbledon rested and healthy. She resisted the urge to compete at Birmingham, Eastbourne, or s’-Hertogenbosch, which means that she might actually last ten days without reciting a litany of aches and pains.

By Aaress Lawless Helmed by No. 2 Jelena Jankovic, the bottom half also includes 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, 1999 winner Lindsay Davenport, and four-time champion Venus Williams. Sharapova is in the toughest quarter of the draw with Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina, Nadia Petrova, rising star Victor...

By Guest Writers Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva survived Russian cannibalism to set up a quarterfinal meeting. Dementieva outlasted Vera Zvonareva in three sets. Safina ended Maria Sharapova’s mediocre Roland Garros run by producing the most incredible comeback in the tournament so far.

By Aaress Lawless Former Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has been solid from the start of the French Open and remains my top half pick to reach the final. Unless Kuznetsova has a terrible day at the office, look for her to outrun and out-hit the Belarusian teenager for a spot in the final eight.

By Aaress Lawless The best Russian stars in the world, including world No. 1 Maria Sharapova, are set to headline day seven at the 2008 French Open. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva, Dinara Safina, and Nadia Petrova are among the players competing for berths in the round of sixteen.

By Aaress Lawless Speaking from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Maria Sharapova said that although she still had to participate in the Tour’s photo shoot, it only required the bare minimal amount of her time. After reading threats of an organized ...

By Aaress Israel will be making Fed Cup history as this is the country’s first World Group match, made even more special by its location on Israeli soil. Shahar Peer will start the weekend’s proceedings with an inspiring win over Dinara Safina, but it will be all downhill from there for Israel as Shar...

By Aaress Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships has announced that new Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova has declared her intention to play in February’s tournament. The women’s draw is expected to include not only Sharapova, but also Justine Henin, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Svetl...

By Aaress If this match is anything like their last encounter, expect this quarterfinal to turn into an instant classic. Henin and Sharapova slugged it out for over three hours in the final at Madrid in November, before Justine finally closed out the most successful season of her career. Sharapova w...

By Aaress Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Amelie Mauresmo, and a host of other top players will be competing on Wednesday at the Australian Open, but fans are eagerly awaiting another match, one that would have proven worthy of a final.

By Aaress 11) Elena Dementieva - Twenty-four winners and only three double-faults for Dementieva against Tzipora Obziler. She could give Sharapova or Davenport a scare in the fourth round. 14) Nadia Petrova - The best player to never reach a Grand Slam final sent Nicole Pratt into tennis retiremen...

By Aaress The 2008 JB Group Classic begins on Wednesday in Hong Kong. The field includes Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, and Venus Williams. (WTA Tennis Blog) Women’s Tennis Blog has written a review of Jelena Jankovic’s new website. (Women’s Tennis Blog) Net Cords

By Aaress Paszek, currently the youngest player in the top 280, scored wins over former top 10 players Patty Schnyder and Elena Dementieva during 2007, and even pushed Maria Sharapova and Justine Henin into close, three-set encounters. You reached the fourth round at both Wimbledon and the US Ope...

By Aaress With Wimbledon only two weeks away, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will be kicking off the start of the grass court season today in Birmingham, the birthplace of lawn tennis. After losing in the quarterfinals to Serena Williams, top seed Maria Sharapova made the trip across the English Channe...