Answer: Monica Seles

As a response to the ATP players' baby pictures in the video below, I want to give you a glimpse as some of the top legend and WTA pros' baby pictures. Hope you enjoy jumping to some of your favorite player's pasts.



Check out this darling picture of US Open champion Kim Clijsters:



Clijsters(right) pretty much looks the same in this picture but the awkward little girl on the left is former world no. 1 Justin Henin:



How about this little cutie:

Now Ana Ivanovic is tennis' very own beauty!

Speaking of tennis' pretty women- guess this star:

 Anna Kournikova brought tons attention to tennis alone for her looks!

Married to a legend, this Golden Grand Slam player is a legend herself:


Steffi Graf is still deemed one of the greatest players of all time.

How about this retired Swiss former no. 1:

Martina Hingis is still hits up the courts with Kournikova.

Who is the quite little girl in this picture:

Don't let this photo fool you- we all know Maria Sharapova has some lungs on her.

Born and bred for tennis:


Venus and Serena Williams are in their 30s but are still in the top 10.

The other Russian player that turns heads:


Maria Kirilenko is still rising to her potential in singles but is taking several titles in doubles.

She left tennis to have a family of her own but I think she could still come back:

The United States' Lindsay Davenport was year-end world no.1 four times.

She never has won a Slam title or played well this year but she dominated the international tournaments last year:

Dinara Safina is shocked again at her falling ranking this year.


Hope you enjoyed these pictures! Add some of your own in the comments if you find some more.

On twitter today, tennis twitter personality Dmitry Tursonov introduced us to his Russian blue cat, Monique, who he referred to as his "little girl." I would say she is a lucky girl- her daddy has won 6 singles and 5 doubles ATP tour titles. He is known for his killer ground strokes and his opponents know that when they play him it will not be an easy win.


The tweeting was out of control over this feline today- many people offering studs for her. Check it out:

-Thats a good thing... That u didn't peg me... RT @KatCastrence: @TursunovTales Never would have pegged you to be a cat person. :)

-She's way 2 classy 4 that! RT @whatasneeze: @TursunovTales Does she tweet? U should c if she can get more followers than Murray's dog.

-Too young for you!!! She's a daddy's girl. Don't even think about it!! RT @centac: @TursunovTales Monique is lovely, how old is she?

-She doesn't like gingers... RT @centac: @TursunovTales hahah but It's not for me, it's for my Brad, he's a nice boy http://is.gd/gL7Rt :)

-She sure is. Look @ all mothers trying to introduce their boysRT @inoplanetna: @TursunvTals Is ur cat "RUS blue"? cause I have a boy, u know

-He probably got it because of the parents connections! RT @inoplanetna: @TTales haha:) P.s. my boy is very classy,he has a cat-passport:):)



On twitter, Dmitry refers to himself as a "Tennis hacker, DJ wannabe, Italy supporter in EA's FIFA 2010." He has got enough personality and charm to grab my attention- AND have you seen the picture above. The Russian tennis hottie is currently the world number 193 but has has the career high of the world number 20 in January 2007.


I think Dmitry would agree with me that this lady is one of the most cruel, evil, and vile people on this earth.



I love cats!

Pardon Roger Federer's Swiss French, but this video is TOO bloody cute. Anyone willing to translate?


Mirka and Roger Federer's twins, Charlene Riva and Myla Rose, haven't been very available to the public eye(understandably) so it is very exciting to see the twosies at the Swiss Indoors in Basel. I am sure we will be seeing a lot more of them too. Mirka rarely misses a match and I am impressed how good both of the girls are sitting there(not many adults have the patience to sit through a tennis match without a tear, a beer, or a nap-esspecially when you have Mahut or Isner on court). I like how they make tennis a family affair. Fed has said that, "What I have realised is that travelling with babies isn't the most difficult thing in the world. The twins are very good travellers...it's been fun, travelling in a big group, as a family. I'm happy because it was the way I expected it to be."



The tennis family reminds us how tennis can be a lifestyle and a great one at that. It amazes me how Federer can put family first but still be on top of the game wowing us with his winners and graceful hits on court. He makes it clear that he is there for his family saying, "For Mirka, the most important thing is just that I'm there. She doesn't care too much if I change nappies or feed them. She just wants me to hold them as much as possible, because we both believe it's very important that mum and dad are both there as much as possible."



No one can deny that they are the spitting image of him! Can't wait to see what the future holds for this doubles team.

So, ever since Andy Murray has been coach-less people have been questioning his mom coaching him and various contenders. Adidas couldn't have picked a better candidate for MiCoach. First off, as a tennis and sports dabbler myself, this product seems amazing. Though I must say that MiCoach can't watch Murray while playing Roger Federer and tell him that he was leaning back on his heals too much for return of serve but how cool is it that it can find the strengths you need in a specific sports how to practice and achieve them. Being web-based you can carry it with you everywhere through your phone or computer- 100 times cheaper than a coach for this reason. It also keeps track of what you do and your progress. I'm sold- just need a smartphone.

I don't know about you but has Andy inspired you to work on your footwork, like he has me, in this video?

Has anyone tried this product? Share your review!

Everyone loves a royal fairytale where they decide they want to live happily ever after. Great Britain and the world have been waiting for the event for a long time and the date has been set for 2011. Take a look at that ROCK!!! William said it was the former Princess Diana's ring and giving it to his sweetheart was a way of keeping his mom(mum) part of the event.


Now onto the tennis, I believe we could see Willie and Katie in Londontown's O2 Arena for the ATP World Tour Finals. In this year alone, we have had two royals show up at tennis events. Prince William made it to the Australian Open to watch Roger Federer beat Victor Hanescu and was all smiles(which hopefully means he likes it).



Kate Middleton has also expressed interest in tennis that will further support her and Will's appearance as a couple. We saw her at Wimbledon in 2007 watching Rafael Nadal versus Robin Soderling and also in 2008 where she spent the whole day there.
 
 
How about the Queen of England at Wimbledon: She came out to watch some tennis this year at Wimbledon to watch fellow brit, Andy Murray, which was the first time since she watched Virginia Wade play in 1977 to win the women singles title. She seemed to enjoy the match and graciously met all of the players.

 
Are you convinced yet? I am sure they want to experience their love for tennis together and there is no  better time like the present. Plus, if William is going to be King and Kate to be Queen soon- they would be wise to follow in Queen Elizabeth's footsteps and, not to mention, tennis was an English royals' favorite past time(notably the one King Henry VIII played in at Hampton Court Palace).


 
Am I just dreaming or is Prince William and soon-to-be Princess Kate the ultimate royal tennis fans?

Are they going to be there?

Ever notice after playing tennis that the trash bins near by are absolutely plum-full of dead tennis balls? There is a good reason for that because once a ball is dead it is miserable to play with again. I can't fathom how many I have "killed" in a year's time.  Rebounce now has a method that reverses that process- they bring the dead back to LIFE! They will re-pressurize your balls-100 tennis balls for $45, 250 tennis balls for $100, and 500 tennis balls for $185 (crazy cheap prices by the way). And to make it better when you get the balls back you can scream, "It's aliveeeeeee!" Great opportunity for schools, clubs, and teams to give back and help the environment for our favorite sport.



The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells have jumped on the recycle bandwagon and  started a "Rally, Roundup, & Recycle" tennis ball recycling competition with Rebounce. They want to collect over 100,000 fuzzy yellow balls from Southern California tennis associations  to win the awesome prizes for the most balls. The first prize includes 16 seats in a luxury suite for a day and night session and VIP parking. Second gets 8 seats and parking, while third gets 4 seats and parking. All must enter before November 30. FedEx Ground is providing free shipping to those who enter. If I were in S. Cali I would enter...

If you are planning on purchasing tickets for Indian Wells or already have some- come prepared! Your dead and used tennis balls(at least six balls or more) will be collected on-site on March 12th, 13th, 19th, and 20th to receive a free can of tennis balls back.

There are more things you can do to recycle your used tennis balls...
1. You can donate them to your dogs, your friend's dogs, or head over to a local animal shelter. I have never met a pooch that didn't love a good ole' tennis ball.



2. You can donate them to walker company or a retirement home. They are great for putting the balls on the ends so the walker is easy to slide and move around. Warning: It is no easy task to cut open a tennis ball and make a sufficient x in the ball to place on the walker- make sure if you do that, it is in an adult's capable hands.



3. You can also use them for arts and crafts if you have a great imagination.


 

 

Ever wanted to get up close and personal with Bob and Mike Bryan. Right now, on Bryan Bros facebook page, you can submit a question to them under the discussions tab and Bob has taken it upon himself to answer your question (no matter how bizzarre). All you have to do is submit a topic or go under one of the other ones and ask a question.

Here are some of my favorites so far:

Question: ...favorite song you like to sing in the shower?
Bob: "Mariah Carey "Can't live if living is without you" or Kelly Clarkson "Since you've been gone." Those are good ones to really belt out. Hotel showers have good acoustics too."

Question: What more do you guys have to do to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated?
Bob: "We have to look good in a bikini or in a body painted suit to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Unfortunately our boobs aren't big enough."

Question: ..do you believe (in) aliens?
Bob: "This is a funny post. No, I don't believe in aliens, but you never know! Haven't heard about the news, but will look out for it."

Question: ...if you werent a sports player what job would you have most likely have done ?
Bob: "A ball kid, a ninja, Hagen Daaz employee, the Dog Whisperer, professional poker player, a clown" "

Question:If you pair up with Venus, do you think you will beat Andy & Serena?
Bob: "I think I'll beat Andy regardless of who he plays with...we're not talking singles here. Skinny legs work!"

A lot of juicy stuff answered- you should see what you can get him to tell? Bob actually revealed that he is taking his bride-to-be Michelle Alvarez to Thailand for their honeymoon.
 
So there was also some very interesting questions that they answered about their games, fitness, diet being twins, traveling, etc. I got to interview them this year and they were full of good humor: here's the interview.

So it came as a surprise to me as much as I am sure it came as a surprise to you- Caroline Wozniacki claims to be a sufferer of acne- SAY WHAT! I could almost swear that I have never seen a blemish, zit, or pimple on her pretty "Sunny" face but if she says so I'll take her word for it.

This was the closest picture I could find to Wozy with a flaw, other than that bloggers freaky photo-shopped version of Caroline:


Let me know if you can find a picture where she doesn't look flawless because I sure can't! This girl rarely wears make-up and still is a total cutie.

In case you haven't guessed yet, Caroline is the new face of the most celebrity- endorsed product, Proactive! She joins the likes of Jessica Simpson, Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne, and Andy Roddick's ex-girlfriend Mandy Moore (all of whom I believe have lovely skin or the best photo re-touching EVER).

Caroline highlights how hard it is to have clear skin when you are an athlete which I think is very cool to admit- in, let's face it, an industry who emphasizes and promotes natural beauty(Ana Ivanovic, Maria Sharapova, Anna Kournikova, etc.). As a woman, it is hard to be in the spotlight and scrutinized for not only your tennis skills and wins but also for the way you dress and your looks (although I have never heard an unpleasant word about Woz, other than the haters that were clearly jealous). I know from my tennis pals and hitting partners that it is very hard to keep clear skin when you are on court sweating all the time in the harsh sun.

"A lot of athletes struggle with their skin because we're always sweating, and we're under a lot of stress. I see other girls in the locker room trying to cover their pimples with makeup, but they know it's not going to work. The minute you start sweating, it comes right off. When they ask me how I keep my skin so nice, I always tell them about Proactiv." Confessed Wozniacki, who says she has suffered since from the skin condition since she was 15(not exactly a long time :p).



If it works for the World No. 1 Woz- I'll give it a try! Now if only we could switch faces, bodies, tennis game, etc.... Hmmmm.

P.S. Curious, why is it that all the spokespeople for Proactive have the same favorite product- The Refining Mask? Food for thought hehe...