The Queen of Wimbledon, Serena Williams is one of the last tennis players, male or female, keeping the status quo of Wimbledon in tact. This year, the tournament has been plagued with upset after upset of top ranked players, but Serena is still in it. In fact, she’ll be defending her title in the finals again this year.

It’s a good thing too, because she’s trying to promote her new outfit and needs longevity in the tournament to get more publicity out of it. Serena named the Nike dress “Strawberries and Cream” herself. You might wonder where all the red is because there actually isn’t much on the dress itself, until you see her shorts and then it’s obvious.

“The red is strawberries and the white is cream. It's not like a pure white; it's more of a cream. Also the red kind of symbolizes a lot of things I do in Africa, along with a lot of the work, like the red laces.”

She says that when somebody buys the dress, proceeds automatically go to a charity that she’s working for in Africa. Each purchase of the dress can save the life of someone in need in Africa by providing them with clothing and food. A noble cause.

“I really kind of wanted to tie that all together with this championship. Since it means so much to me, I thought it could work well. The tournament means so much to me as well as the things I do in Africa. I thought it could also work well together.”

Help Serena and people in Africa out, and get the dress yourself!

Boys everywhere were tantalized with the idea of supermodel Anna Kournikova (oh, and once female tennis player) coming back to play professional tennis. They were, however, let down, as she has no intention in playing tennis anymore.

Kournikova and Martini Hingis were reunited in an exhibition match on Centre Court yesterday at Wimbledon where they played Sam Smith and Anne Hobbs. The match was just for fun, but it caused a lot of buzz about whether Kournikova would come back to tennis.

The answer, sadly, is no.

"For me it would be impossible really physically to be on the tour. It even bothers me a little bit playing like today. I mean, it wasn't strenuous match. It was quite fun and giggly. I'm sure I'm going to feel it tomorrow and I'll be sore. Even to prepare for the specific tournament, the last two months, I've had to have therapy, like real therapy, every day for an hour, hour and a half.”

The two still remain close friends

British tennis player Andy Murray wanted to try something new for his semifinal match against the heavily favored Rafael Nadal yesterday. He switched his diet to something a little strange: eating a surprisingly large amount of sushi.

Murray felt like eating the raw fish in sushi would generate enough energy to give him the upper hand in his match against the world’s number 1 tennis player.

"Andy takes in about 4,000 calories a day…He has six meals a day, including two protein shakes. Sushi is his favourite dish - especially spicy tuna rolls. His personal best is eating 50 pieces in just one sitting," a source from The Sun said. A diet like that sounds like he's training to become a professional body builder!

4,000 calories is almost two times more calories than a man should have in a day! In addition to eating a staggering 50 servings of sushi a night, Murray also drinks 6 liters of water every day. It doesn’t appear Murray’s diet helped him much however, as he lost to Nadal in straight sets. And thus, Britain’s dream of having one of their own win Wimbledon was crushed. Better luck next year!

With tennis superstar Rafael Nadal’s recent win over Tomas Berdych for the Wimbledon final, there has been a ton of buzz all over the internet about him. His top secret workout has been the source of a lot of gossip, and some of it has been exposed by his trainers.

It’s no surprise that Nadal’s workout is very intense. He focuses on high impact aerobic excerises instead of sprints because he is limited by his knee. It ranges from workouts in his pool to lifting weights and standing on a balance board. Nadal is constantly stretching to stay loose and warmed up. Although little is known about everything that Nadal does, his trainer, Joan Forcades doesn’t mind telling us a little about what he does.

He says that Nadal focuses a lot on balance, aggression, and reaction time- all things that are required when playing long matches, especially on clay. Nadal is constantly trying to improve his footwork, coordination, and being quick on his feet. His trainers lead drills that force the Spaniard to change directions very quickly. After workouts, he takes a hot bath and then an ice bath.

What does our champion eat? Well in addition to eating a lot of carbohydrates like pasta and bread, Rafa also eats a lot of fish. Since he is not allowed to eat meat days before a match, his main source of protein is fish. Nadal’s trainer says that he is allowed to eat chocolate and his grandmother’s “special cake.” I’m not sure what’s in that special cake, but whatever it is, it’s working!

Check out some of Rafa’s workout drills:

Andy Murray is notorious for changing coaches soon after he gets unwanted results, such as losing in the semifinals of Wimbledon, and this time is no exception.

His current coach, Miles Maclagan, is responsible for suggesting Andy Murray’s diet. The new diet was detrimental to Murray because it was implemented too close to his match with Rafael Nadal. After his most current loss, Murray feels like it’s time for a change.

Andy Murray’s new coach will probably be Daren Cahill. Cahill is a former professional player from Australia. His highest rank achieved was the number 22^nd tennis player in the world. One of the things that is most notable about him is his upset win over Boris Becker in the second round at the 1988 U.S. Open.

Murray will most likely stay with Maclagan through the U.S. Open to test his effectiveness as a coach and then switch coaches. It will depend on how he plays in the tournament and if he is satisfied with the results. Is it really the coach's fault though?

It must feel good to be Serena Williams right now.

Let’s see, she just won the Wimbledon title and is still the best female tennis player in the world, holding tightly to her number 1 rank. In addition, Serena’s Wimbledon dress has been very popular among female tennis players and has generated a lot of sales to help her charity in Africa.

Serena’s breakup with Common may have affected the way she played in the French Open, but it had no effect this time. Not only did she destroy all the competition at Wimbledon, she looked good doing it.

Her current success has landed her on the most recent cover of Sports Illustrated, and she has also been interviewed in the magazine Harper’s Bazaar. When asked about her body, Williams told the magazine, "I'm super-curvy. I have big boobs and this massive butt." She goes on to say she’s proud of it too.

Here are some pictures of Serena at the Champion’s Ball after Wimbledon:

The two Wimbledon champs:

The world’s number 10 tennis player Fernando Verdasco is taking a well deserved vacation after his first round exit from Wimbledon. Verdasco’s modeling has also been put on hold so he can catch up on some rest and relaxation.

He didn't go alone, however. Verdasco is accompanied by his good friend Feliciano Lopez, who is trying to get away from the recent media frenzy over Lopez’s ex-girlfriend drama. If you didn’t know, Lopez recently got his ex-girlfriend pregnant…While some tennis players are already training and practicing again, tennis seems like the last thing on the Spaniard’s minds.

The two were seen frolicking on the beach in Spain with a group of young girls and enjoying each other’s company. They were also seen having the “Titanic moment” at the front of a yacht. Luckily someone got a picture of the magical moment.

Enjoy some pictures of the two Spanish heartthrobs:

Tennis diva Maria Sharapova has decided to pick up fashion design during her downtime between tennis tournaments. She’s been helping to design her dresses with Nike for some time so why not take the whole thing into her own hands?

Sharapova’s new career will probably be very successful, as she has already helped design many of her own dresses. Fans were impressed with Sharapova's clay court dress at the French Open. Tennis fashionistas everywhere have already been following Sharapova’s fashion, so the transition should be pretty smooth.

“I’ve been interested in it since I was pretty young,” says Sharapova, showing her commitment to her new hobby.

The tennis superstar says she will be excited to create new dresses with a fresh outlook in the design process. She loves to put together and create outfits. Before, she was designing dresses that she felt would look good on herself, but now she must come up with ideas for outfits that will look good on the public in general. Is she up to the task? Sharapova says yes.

After Vera Zvonareva’s semifinal match win at Wimbledon, she was interviewed about her new “coaching staff.” She told the media about her new coach, Sergey Demekhine. Sergey is a former tennis pro, but more importantly, he used to model for Abercrombie and Fitch.

What’s a girl doing taking lessons from a former Abercrombie and Fitch model? Well, his looks for one. But also, Sergey is a pretty good tennis player who won the Russian mixed doubles championship with Zvonareva one year.

Whether the credit goes to her new coach or just her own natural ability, she did get to the women's Wimbledon finals to play against Serena Williams, even though Zvonareva was the second lowest ranked Russian in the tournament.

“I’ve known Sergei for many, many years. We actually won mixed doubles Russian championships one year. I think he was a good player. He stopped playing himself like a year ago, and I think he really enjoys coaching.

“So for me it’s always a tough challenge against him. He’s playing good tennis. So, yeah, so far, you know, it’s working quite good.”

I’m sure it is working quite good Vera…

There are tons of tennis players out there with tattoos on their body. Some good, some not so good. Many players try to hide their tattoos to keep their clean image for the tennis world, while others are proud of them and are not afraid to flaunt them. We grade a few of their tattoos based on best looking and best location.

THE BEST

Marat Safin

Safin was once asked: "What does it mean?"

"Live fast, die young," Safin says.

"So your tattoo means 'Live fast, die young'?"

"Actually, no, it is symbol of the monkey," he says. "But I like that the people always go, 'Wow, really?'"

Kournikova shows off her tramp stamp proudly

Serena Williams Simple and in a great location, Serena Williams is not ashamed of her heart tattoo. This is no ordinary heart, however. The lines at the top are crossed...what could that symbolize?

THE WORST

Carlos Moya

Moya’s tattoo is supposed to be a bunch of dolphins riding waves, a tad feminine.

John Mcenroe

THE WHAT IFS

Ana Ivanovic

Cutie pie Ana Ivanovic gets a small butterfly on her shoulder blade.

Fernando Verdasco

Andy Roddick

America's sweetheart, Andy Roddick, shows off his American pride with his eagle tattoo.

Maria Sharapova

Tennis superstar Maria Sharapova gets a Superman tattoo on her backside along with some other ones...

Rafael Nadal

Top ranked Rafael Nadal puts his own name on his back

Roger Federer

The King gets his logo on his chest, along with a tattoo to show his true off court personality.

Serena Williams

The beast gets a dragon on her well-toned forearm.

Roger Federer was seen a couple days ago taking time off of tennis to spend time with his wife Mirka and his two kids. They were enjoying their vacation on a very nice yacht in the beautiful Mediterranean waters of Corsica, France.

Many critics say that this is exactly the reason that Federer is passed his tennis prime, and they say that his new family is the reason. He’s choosing to spend time with his family over practicing tennis. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it could be the reason why he’s now slipped down to the world’s number 3 tennis player.

Here are some pictures of our man on vacation:





Eh...

In an article in Vogue, there is an article featuring Serena Williams giving a manicure to model Marina Rust while she is being interviewed. Serena has always been in to starting her own nail salon and being able to give people manicures. In fact, she is about to be an officially certified nail technician.

"When I was fifteen, sixteen, I made half my room into a nail salon. I had the table, the chair, the rack against the wall with 50 nail polishes," she says.

When Serena was a little girl, she paid close attention to Florence Griffith Joyner’s nails when she won gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. "Flo Jo had those long, awesome nails. I can't have her titles, I thought, but I can have her nails."

Well she has surpassed her and has way more titles. Serena’s Wimbledon title has launched her into a media frenzied, and she was most recently named the G.O.A.T., Greatest of All Time.

When asked about how hard tennis can be on newly manicured nails, she answers:

"Forehands are. That's why you'll see me doing a lot of backhands."

Andy Roddick showed up to the Atlantic Athletic Club yesterday for the Atlanta Tennis Championships with a fresh buzz cut, shocking many people.

Why did he shave off all his hair? Roddick’s loss at Wimbledon to an 82nd ranked player is credited for his new fashion statement. Because of the upset, Roddick decided to try something new, anything, to change up his recent funk.

“The haircut was my idea," he said. "I must have been having a Britney Spears moment.”

Maybe the new look will give him a fresh start in the U.S. open? Or maybe he believes it will make him more aerodynamic? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Roddick doesn't play until Wednesday because he was given a first round bye.

The last time that Roddick played in Atlanta was in 2001, where he won the event. He was much younger and faster than, at 18 years old.

"I guess that makes me the defending champion," he said.

From listening to a clip of Andy rapping about signing autographs to slow dancing with a fan on the James Corden World Cup Live Show, Andy Murray takes a chance to relax and have fun. In addition to a lucky fan winning the chance to slow dance with the tennis star to the song Lady in Red, Murray also talks about soccer teams and clears the air about who he roots for.

Then he participates in a little contest to hit a series of soccer balls down with tennis balls while someone else tries to hit them down by kicking soccer balls.

His embarassed look when his rap is played, and his goofy smile when he is dancing all give viewers a good impressions of off-court Murray. This video is very laid back and shows the more fun side of Andy Murray.

Believe it or not, Anna Kournikova does still play some tennis. She plays for the St. Louis Aces team in World Team Tennis. Anna Kournikova’s modeling career is more well-known than her tennis career. Kournikova may not be good at tennis anymore, but her mere presence still draws huge crowds. And I doubt they’re there to watch how good she is at playing tennis…

Since her World Team Tennis campaign brought her to St. Louis, she was invited to throw the ceremonial first pitch at Busch Stadium before the Cardinals game this past weekend.

Here are some pictures of Kournikova at the event. Her form actually isn’t too bad.

I saw a Tampax commercial the other day featuring Serena Williams which was quite interesting. It reinforced Serena’s reputation of being a tough, independent woman.

It was aired on television shortly after Serena’s infamous outburst at the U.S. Open last year. Just in case you forgot what she said, it went along the lines of screaming “I swear to God, I'll f****** take this ball and shove it down your f****** throat” at a line judge after she was called for a foot fault.

In the commercial, Mother Nature is personified as a small lady who is carrying her “monthly gift” to give to Serena. It’s a little awkward, as the references about Mother Nature’s “monthly gift” aren’t very subtle.

“Serena loves me like an Aunt. Aunt Flow.”
“Bad blood? Well there is plenty of blood, but none of it’s bad.” Oh geez…

Watch the video yourself here:

The John Isner and Nicolas Mahut Wimbledon match has already been sucked up in a media frenzy and there is not a single tennis player or fan who hasn’t heard about by now. So condom manufacturer Durex thinks: Why not make a commercial about it and draw some of that attention to themselves?

And they did, but they weren't very subtle about it.  

Durex put in various clips of the match and tried to build off of the fact that it lasted a long time. The commercial tries to convince the viewer that their product can match the task achieved during Isner and Mahut's marathon match.

At first it may seem like a commercial for a battery (the one that goes on and on), but the ending really seals the deal. You might think "Oh this isn't too forward" at first, but then the pitch at the end of the commerical will completely change your mind.

You can watch the video yourself below but beware: the innuendos are blunt and in your face.

Serena Williams, the queen of dramatics, has been getting tons of attention because of her so-called foot injury. From cussing out a lineswoman to her very public breakup with Common, Serena just loves the attention, whether it’s good or bad.

Are you kidding me? Serena steps on a piece of glass at a restaurant and now she’s going to miss out on three tennis tournaments? Seems to me like after she won Wimbledon, Serena wanted to take a break from tennis and enjoy the high from her Wimbledon title for a little while longer.

Serena got surgery on her foot last week and of course, posted a picture of it on her Twitter. Guess who’s in the picture? Her ex-boyfriend Common. I guess if you miss your ex, a good way to get his attention is to make it look like you’re injured and bedridden.

In addition to getting attention from ex-lovers and tennis fans everywhere, Serena went out to party with Christina Milian last night, wearing a cast on her foot. Talk about dramatic. She got stitches, that poor thing. Do you really need to wear a cast just for stitches? Maybe if she was seriously injured and couldn’t play tennis she should be at home recovering, not going out and partying.

Serena recently posted this tweet and picture on her Twitter:
“OMGSH hold on for the funniest picture u ever seen of me ever!!! U r gonna die laughing!!! Hahah!!!”

Alright attention lover, calm down!

Male:

The tallest male tennis player to ever play on the ATP Tour is Ivo Karlovic, who actually still currently plays on tour. Ivo is 6’10” and has won three singles titles already. Karlovic’s height gives him a unique advantage especially on serves, such as very high speeds and sharp angles. However, he is at a disadvantage when it comes to running speed and quickness on the court. For those of you bandwagon John Isner fans, Isner is actually 6’9”, missing the record by 1 inch.


Ivo Karlovic

Female:

There is actually a tie for the tallest female tennis player between Akgul Amanmuradova from Uzbekistan, and Eva Hrdinova from Czech Republic. Both of the two women stand at 6’3”, however, it is said that Hrdinova is one centimeter taller than Amanmuradova now. Akgul won the 2009 AEGON international doubles title with Ai Sugiyama, where the two defeated Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur. Hrdinova hasn’t won a WTA title yet. She is currently ranked at the world's number 168.


Eva Hrdinova (on the left)

Akgul Amanmuradova (on the right)

It seems like the best height is around 6’1”, which is the height of Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, and Bjorn Borg, all legends. With this new wave of tall tennis players, it might be time for their opponents to switch up their shots and use slices more.

Male:

The shortest male tennis player is Olivier Rochus, from Namur, Belgium. Rochus is just 5 ft 6 inches tall. He was Roger Federer’s partner when they both played in the junior circuit. Now he has won two singles titles and also took the 2004 French Open doubles title with his partner Xavier Malisse. His height doesn’t really hinder him on the court, but it’s probably pretty easy to hit a lob over him when he’s at the net!


Oliver Rochus

Female:

There is yet again a tie in the women’s category. The three-way tie for shortest female tennis player is between Jill Craybas, Camille Pin, and Anna Smashnova, who are all 5’3”. Anna Smashnova, besides having an awesome last name, has reached world #15, which was her highest ranking in her career. She retired from the WTA tour after Wimbledon in 2007. Camille’s highest achievement was probably when she came within two points of defeating top seeded Maria Sharapova in the first round of the 2007 Australian Open. Jill Craybas is best known for her victory at Wimbledon in 2005 over Serena Williams in the 3rd round.


Jill Craybas

Camille Pin

Anna Smashnova (left)

Do you think being short is advantageous in tennis or does it affect a player’s game negatively?

Makeup Free Mondays are exactly what they sound like. Women across the world pledge to not put on any makeup on Mondays and then take a picture of themselves and post it on Facebook and Twitter. Then, these women give each other compliments and confidence.

Many tennis players have already agreed to participate in Makeup Free Mondays such as former players Mary Carillo and Chris Evert, along with Serena Williams. Unfortunately, there haven’t been any pictures of the tennis stars without any makeup on that have surfaced online yet. Hopefully one will show up soon so we can be sure the women are actually keeping up with the program. If we see one, we’ll show it to you!

Mary Carillo was a professional tennis player who played on the WTA tour for four years. The highest rank she ever received was number 33. Mary played mixed doubles with John McEnroe during the 1977 French Open, where they won the championship. She is mainly now focused on being a sports broadcaster on ESPN and the USA Network. Chris Evert is well known in the tennis world. She was a world number 1 female tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam single championships, pretty impressive!

Serena Williams needs no introduction. She is the current number 1 ranked women’s tennis player and is just coming off a Wimbledon championship. Here is her interview on “real beauty.”

What do you think makes someone beautiful?
This answer is definitely cliché, but true… beauty is skin deep. I think a person’s character, confidence and integrity are some of the most beautiful traits one can possess.

How do you deal with the pressure for body perfection in our culture?
There is no such thing as perfection. It’s very important to love your body and be confident with who you are.

If you could give your younger self advice about beauty, what would it be?
I would tell my younger self to get enough sleep and drink more water!

What’s your one, can’t live without beauty product?
Nail polish. I can’t stand it when my nails aren’t done. I actually carry a small nail kit in my purse that has nail polish remover pads, cuticle oil, a file and nail polish. It’s perfect when I’m on the go.

3) Serena Williams yelling at line judge: I’m sure nobody has forgotten about last year’s U.S. Open semifinals match when Serena Williams yelled at the line judge for a bad call and held a ball to the line judge’s face and threatened to “shove it down” her throat. Serena’s outbursts contained a few other curse words and expletives as well. She later went on to lose the match to unseeded Kim Clijsters, and her reaction was posted on the Internet where it became infamous.

2) Martina Hingis and Steffi Graf’s dramatic match: In the 1999 Roland Garros Final between Hingis and Graf, there were many calls that were disputed by the two players. On one call, Hingis even crossed over to Graf’s side of the court just to point out where the ball hit the line. The judge decided to dock Hingis two points, which made her so upset that she started to serve underarm to her opponent, very unsportsmanlike. When the match was over, Hingis started crying and ran off the court. So much drama!

1) John Mcenroe and Ilie Nastase- 18 minutes of disarray: During a 1979 U.S. Open match, when McEnroe played Nastase, their match became legendary. The majority of the match was spent disputing calls rather than actually playing the game. Both players abused the officials and there was little sportsmanship showing during this match. There was 18 minutes of complete chaos when a bad call was called against Nastase. This almost led to an uprising from the entire crowd, who agreed with Nastase. McEnroe was eventually defaulted while Nastase absolutely refused to serve, and the highly respected chair umpire, Frank Hammond, was replaced.