Serena Williams in her first round match against Patty Schnyder. Williams retired at 0-6, 0-3 with a sore thigh.
I get really giddy when I see branded courts. For instance, this week’s hardcourts at the Zurich Open were painted with the Tier I tourney’s location (that’s Zurich). And the men are playing on green hardcourts at the Madrilena Masters. Those courts are painted with “MADRID”.
(This is the last post in a series looking back at the 2007 Australian Open. Enjoy!)
Look at this wonderful green Nike ensemble worn by Serena Williams during the two weeks she tore up the draw at the 2007 Australian Open in Melbourne.
I’m pretty sure her fellow SEWTAers were green with envy over her performance. Serena started the year ranked 81st after a lackluster 2006 (which saw her affected by injury and off-court distractions). She was seen as a dangerous floater and took the part to heart: she beat fifth seed Nadia Petrova 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 — her first win over a Top 10 player since beating Lindsay Davenport at the 2005 Australian Open. She followed this up with a fourth round routing of eleventh seed Jelena Jankovic; a tight 3-6, 6-2, 8-6 battle over Shahar Peer in the quarters; and a straight-sent win over Nicole Vaidisova in the semis.
But it was in the final that Serena made her boldest statement. She took out the pale Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in 63 minutes to win her eight Grand Slam singles title (and third Aussie title).
Up close: What made Serena’s look so complete? She paired the green outfit with hoop earrings in a metallic royal blue and topped it off with a green wristband. And Nike paid close attention to the detail by adding white and striped trim to her dress.
What do you think of the outfit? Tell us!
Omg, can I tell you how much I love these earrings on Serena? She wore them for today’s 7-5, 6-4 win against Ukranian Tatiana Perebiynis in the second round of the Kremlin Cup.
The charms framed by the heart-shaped hoops look like crowns… Perhaps a tribute to Russia’s imperial history?
Browse: Lately I’ve been eyeing the charm hoops of Juicy Couture. I know the brand’s synonymous with “dirty soccer mom” in some circles, but eff it — this jewelry rocks! If you feel like getting a pair like Serena’s, they have a few variations of the crown-medallion-as-earring. Check it out.
We’re thankful that Serena Williams‘ wrist has healed enough to get her back onto the tour. She’s playing at this week’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
In her 7-5, 6-2 win over Ukranian Julia Vakulenko, Nike has put Serena in a softer version of her bow-beleaguered U.S. Open dress in what looks to be the stealth grey/burgundy colorway. The empire-waisted A-line number is pleated down the front and back to maximize movement. FYI, adidas put Maria Kirilenko in similar colors for this season.
And for accessories, she wore a ring (which we’ve seen on Venus) and — apparently — passed on nail polish.
Buy: The Open version of her Fall dress (in the black/pink colorway) is still available. On sale for $95 at Midwest Sports.
(photos by Getty Images)
RELATED POSTS
>> TSF’s serena williams archive
Not to be outdone by the babes in Beijing and the cuties in Calcutta, Serena Williams put on a Catherine Malandrino for the red carpet premiere of The Kingdom — Jamie Foxx‘s latest war movie — on Monday night in Westwood (gotta love it when the glass bricks of Diddy Riese become the backdrop).
Serena’s a big fan of the designer (she’s worn Malandrino’s bright, geometric-print dresses before); this time, she chose a silver empire waist halter and paired with it some strappy Christian Louboutins.
(via AllUrbanGossip)
RELATED LINKS
>> catherine malandrino website
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>> serena at the espys
Serena’s preggers?: The rumor mill churns… “Serena Williams may have just been knocked out of the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open, but apparently she has something else going on in center court. MediaTakeOut is reporting that the tennis star is expecting her first child with her longtime boyfriend, actor Jackie Long. Word is that Long has already announced to friends and family that he hit one into the net, so to speak.”
Apparently, Richard‘s been yapping about it, too. Perhaps that’s why he’s not so concerned with how Venus is playing this week?
(babble via yogahz)
While CNBC’s Darren Rovell has spent a lot of energy covering the many marketing moves of Ana Ivanovic (and what a great job he’s done), I feel like the recent developments in Serena‘s world deserve mention…
Back on the web: First, after being MIA at least since the beginning of 2007, her official website is back up and running. I’m not in love with that cursive font she uses in her note to fans, but hey it’s a start. Not sure what’s going to happen with her blog. (It’s been cited in a few media outlets — who I can only assume fact-check — so we’ll go with it.)
HP’s “Hands”: Serena is also the latest star of HP’s ads which have previously featured Shaun White and Vera Wang. The TV ad focuses on her passions, “including tennis, fashion, movies, video games, animation, and music.” They’ll run on USA and ESPN (and online at SI.com).
The ad also plays when users visit the “Serena Web Experience” — a mash-up of vlogs (from friends and family), downloadable ringtones (her grunts!!), and clips of her Jackass moment with Wee Man — involving a pineapple, of all things.
FYI: The ads were created by Omnicom Group‘s Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.
How does Serena choose endorsements?:
I don’t take every offer that comes along — I get a lot of them. I think sometimes my agent (Jill Smoller) gets mad at me! Not really; she understands, but she does kid me about it: “Are you going to turn down everything?” I don’t want to attach my name, like some athletes or celebrities or whatever, to just anything. It has to fit my values, my personality. … And my partners are always involved in philanthropic things. They’re companies that give back, and that goes well with me. It’s not really about the money. … [The brand of] Serena Williams is not for the now; it’s for a lifetime. (via Ad Age)
Boobs, schmoobs: And Serena takes part in a series of ads by Nike Women which comment on the place of women in sports. Manhattan got a billboard from the campaign in time for the U.S. Open. It’s a picture of Serena Williams wearing a blue shirt printed with the word “ATHLETE”. The accompanying text asks, “Are you looking at my titles?” Titles, titties — get it?
AdRants wonders why Nike would stoop to the level of objectifying women if the point is to move away from that. (But female fans drool over male athletes all the time, so I guess it’s okay…)
FYI: As a part of the campaign, Nike founded the Let Me Play Fund with $425,000 in cash and equipment. The fund will benefit women’s sports orgs.
(via DTL)
First off, TSF made an error reporting that Roger Federer would be wearing the Body Map Polo for this year’s U.S. Open.
Turns out he’s wearing a non-production shirt that’s a take on the Heritage Polo from Nike‘s Fall ’07 collection. Roger wore the one in the Argon/White colorway for his first round match (above, middle and right).
And for last night’s match he pulled out the Black/White shirt (above, left) to complete, as he said, his “tuxedo” look: a head-to-toe all-black ensemble with bandana, wristbands, this bag and a limited-edition all-black version of the Nike Vapor IV (50 pairs of which will be available at the Open).
The Vapors: Nike made Roger’s version of the shoe with three circular Swiss flags on each shoe (the flags represent his three consecutive U.S. Open singles titles). Like the white version of this shoe, an embossed “RF” monogram appears on the heel and tongue.
Shirt deets: The Dri-FIT Polo has a satin-backed placket laser-etched with his monogram (the laser cut exposes the satin behind it). I have not seen the back of his polo, but apparently there’s a monogram at the collar which fades into a sublimated pattern down the back. (via MW)
Mining Nike’s archive?: The Daily News called him the “Grim Reaper“, while discussion forums have found the outfit ugly and tacky (esp. the black socks/shoes). I think the outfit is great, and reminds me of Serena‘s sleek Nike U.S. Open look from 2004 (above).
We love Roger in all-black. Do you? Tell us!
(photos via Getty Images)
RELATED POSTS
>> TSF’s u.s. open coverage
With talk of fabulous clothes dominating the week leading up to the 2007 U.S. Open, how funny that the first day of matches had people talking about wardrobe issues:
Now you see it, now you don’t.
Pesky German, pesky bow: During Serena Williams‘ win 6-3, 7-5 against German Angelique Kerber, the seesaw second set found Williams ripping off the bow on her Nike dress out of frustration. Ripping. off. the. bow. So much for keeping this “young, hip and fun” outfit intact for two weeks.
What do you think of Serena’s dress? Tell us!
TSF owns up: Okay, okay. So we merely speculated that Serena would be wearing this dress. We’re much happier with her current choice — a conservative hybrid between Vaidisova‘s bow-at-the-bust dress from Reebok and Ivanovic‘s pink and brown outfit from Roland Garros ’07.
Jelena’s left shoe: And Serbian Jelena Jankovic, clad in simple pink Reebok, struggled un poquito in her defeat of Slovakian Jarmila Gajdosova 6-2, 7-6 (2). On top of dealing with heavy hitting from her opponent, Jankovic also had to deal with her faulty left shoe:
“I got tight at the end, but I managed to kind of recuperate and do my best as much as I can and finish the match. Because also I broke somehow my shoe. My shoe broke at the end of the first set. I kind of lost my concentration a bit because I was thinking, you know, what am I going to do if this shoe completely wears out? Can I play barefoot? What am I supposed to do (laughter)?
“It was a little bit — it was difficult. The trainer came out. I didn’t even know if she was allowed to come if the shoe breaks because that’s not a medical timeout.
“She helped me. She put some glue, which she stuck my sock to the sole, so I had some other problem there. I managed to get through everything and win the match.
EleVen does good: The new Steve & Barry’s line by Venus Williams — EleVen — looked even better on the tennis superstar than it did on the mannequin. She wore it tonight for her first round match which followed a tribute to tennis legend Althea Gibson. Aretha Franklin performed and in the audience sat Janet Jackson (also clad in EleVen).
Roger needs a do-over: When the number one seed was asked what he knew about Althea Gibson, he answered: “I don’t know. You’re putting me on the spot. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The reporter clarified that Gibson was being honored tonight, and Roger clarified his answer, too: “(I know) nothing, to be honest. It’s before my time. Isn’t much I can really say about it. I don’t know, I’m sorry.”
Uh, what?! Aren’t there reading prerequisites to joining the tour? Tennis legends’ biographies should be on it. In the words of my friend Wally, “this is unacceptable”.
(photos via AP and Getty Images)
All Nike: The Nike stable did their fair share for yesterday’s Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day at the 2007 U.S. Open. Rafa came out in casual tennis attire, while Roger raised charity money (and entertained the kids) in this cute blue/white ensemble.
Meanwhile, Serena appeared in pink plaid (from the women’s Heritage Collection), and Dani Hantuchova (not pictured) wore black.
At least for Rafa, Roger, and Serena, the clothes they wore yesterday will not be what they’re wearing for the actual tournament.
Costume change: Texan Andy Roddick wore his white Lacoste outfit (this) for one exhibition match, and changed into this super-blousy red crew neck shirt (above) for another.
What are you hiding in there, Andy? Why so baggy?
(photos by Getty Images)
Here are photos from last night’s U.S. Open Players’ Party.
Tommy Haas and the eccentric Nole Djokovic (perhaps he’s doing an impersonation of Hugh Hefner?).
Serena Williams, Andy Roddick in Lacoste (of course), and ANTM‘s Caridee Engilish.
Andy would have looked sooo good in something from the Fall/Winter 2007 collection. Can his stylist take some notes, please?
(via Getty Images)
TSF speculates that this dress is what Serena Williams will be sporting during her two weeks at Flushing Meadows (if she recovers in time from wrist injury, that is). I think the U.S. Open is in for a treat!
It’ll keep with the same flattering silhouette that she’s kept this year (RG ’07, Wimby ’07). The Nike Dri-FIT dress has a scoop neck and accented with die-cut holes over mesh in this “sublimated print”.
Buy: The Autumn SW Dress is available for purchase here.
UPDATE: As you may already know, this isn’t the dress Serena actually wore. Instead, she has a black and pink dress with a bow. Check out that link for photos. Make sure to comment!
My obligatory Beckham post: You really can’t help being swept up in Beckhamania if you live in this city. Even without lifting a finger, I already know that David and Victoria like their CBTL (Austy…), drive a Lincoln Navigator, and can look good in anything (well, David at least. Above he’s wearing a red cardigan while dining at The Little Door on Third Street).
Tennis star at the party: Serena Williams attended the “Welcome to Los Angeles” party thrown by Tom Cruise and Will Smith for the Beckhams. It was held at MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary space on Sunday night. Serena looked awesome in her jumpsuit but overdid it with those giant earrings. (WireImage via Quick’s Catch Up)
Using celebrity wisely: How nice, especially in light of the recent Michael Vick scandal, that Beckham has spoken out against (and will stop wearing) adidas soccer cleats made with kangaroo skin. The sports clothier is currently battling with the State of California, whose state laws bar sales of products made with certain wildlife species including these marsupials.
The L.A. Galaxy is also speaking out in favor of selling the kangaroo cleats. The franchise argues that California players will be at a disadvantage if they can’t play with these lightweight shoes. The Galaxy is right to fight, because their players — with all the Beckham madness — are distracted enough as it is. They’ll need all the help they can get. (LAT)
“Speaking of Michael Vick…”: Tennis Planet wants Rafael Nadal to stop being a Goody Two-Shoes already. Less stories about cooking hearty Italian meals and more stories about getting implicated in gambling rings.
For posterity’s sake: We’ve all seen it, but I just can’t get enough. Here are the photos from W magazine’s August ’07 cover story on the power couple (photographed by Steven Klein). It makes me want to eat whipped cream out of a can and hang out with lots of cats. (via Just Jared)
RELATED POSTS
>> short balls archive
>> ralph lauren gets in trouble with the beckhams
>> carson gets a beckham boost
From the frontlines: Well, far behind the baselines, really. I was at UCLA tonight watching James Blake brush off his rusty game to beat Alexander Peya in two sets. Turns out that was just a warm-up for the upset of top seed Fernando Gonzalez by hometown fave Zack Fleishman. This is the former Bruin’s best scalp in five years of playing the Tour’s UCLA stop. He was blasting his forehands just as well as Gonzo. I hope Fernando’s okay… it looked like he was having some right arm trouble.
Sex selling sex: there were some delicious fellas hawking tickets for the upcoming ULTIMATE TENNIS CELEBRATION!!!! EastWest Bank Classic in Carson. They’ve got a decent promo, too: $20 gets you two tickets to an early round match PLUS an “I (heart) SHARAPOVA” or “I (heart) SERENA” shirt. (Guess which shirt I picked.)
Favabean sighting?: I think I saw TSF reader in the stands behind me. Section 16, Chris — was that you?
Others I saw: Amer Delic after winning his doubles match, Paul Goldstein after winning his singles match, Robert Kendrick battling Wesley Whitehouse in the Grandstand Court, and Serena Williams sitting five seats over from Kevin Garnett, both watching Blake.
Serena Williams showed up to the ESPYs in a Grecian-themed ensemble. We’re loving the chiffon dress and the diamond drop necklace. Serena was nominated for “Best Female Tennis Player” and “Best Championship Performance”.
Andy Roddick and James Blake were also in attendance, both up for the “Best Male Tennis Player” award. (L.A. locals: James will be signing his new book at the Torrance Borders this Saturday.)
(via Getty Images and WireImage)
San Francisco Chronicle‘s award-winning journalist Bruce Jenkins wrapped up the latest ado about Serena quite nicely, explaning that the two-time Wimbledon champ had no reason to “act” her way to a fourth round win over Daniela Hantuchova. And it makes sense: who would want to fake a leg cramp that likely led to a slip (and a sprained thumb) that later cost her the quarterfinal match against Henin?
I could have lived without Serena saying that she could have beaten Justine if she was healthy. While that might be true, prize money and titles aren’t handed out in hypotheticals. There was no need for her to cheapen Henin’s win in a match that was contested fair and square. Serena is a great athlete “full of integrity”, but sometimes she’s also “full of herself”.
She continues to make people talk, and former champion (and BBC commentator) Michael Stich, who called Serena out on being disrespectful, became the latest pariah. Speaking of Michael, he has a non-profit devoted to HIV/AIDS awareness working extensively with infected children in German-speaking countries.
[via Kenneth in the (212) — link NSFW]
Serena Williams accessorizes her Nike Power outfit with a bandana and some silver hoop earrings (in concentric squares).
She followed it up with circles in her match against Sequera.
Further reading: Refinery29’s quick roundup of cutting-edge earrings.
What do you think of her jewelry? Tell us.
Thanks to Faded Youth Blog for tipping us off about last night’s SEWTA Wimbledon party hosted by Sir Richard Branson (of Virgin fame).
Maria Sharapova showed up in a Chloe dress, a crop jacket, and Marc Jacobs shoes.
Click here for pictures of Serena, Venus, Tatiana Golovin, Mary Pierce, and others…
If you found Serena‘s Wimbledon dress boring, then this should perk your right up: she and her sister Venus will be playing the tournament with limited-edition [K] Factor racquets, each with 22-carat gold leaf laid into their frames.
I cannot WAIT to see what these racquets look like. (Serena’s frame is black and Venus’ is white.) Drop us a line if you find a photo of it: tennisCBH AT gmail DOT com.
The sisters have also entered the doubles draw as wild cards. They won the Wimbledon women’s doubles title in 2000 and 2002.
(AP stories, via ESPN.com)
RELATED POSTS
>> our wimbledon fashion coverage continues…
Tennis fashionista Serena Williams will be wearing a white version her Nike Serena dress to next week’s Wimbledon.
Yet another safe choice. I can’t wait for her to bust out some mad outfit at the U.S. Open. (What do you think of her Wimbledon whites? Tell us.)
BUY: If you want this look, check out Tennis Warehouse.
RELATED POSTS
>> wimbledon preview: ana ivanovic wears adidas
>> reebok debuts mauresmo’s wimbledon dress
>> nadal’s wimbledon wear
>> for wimbledon, roger is wearing purple
>> i wonder what stella mccartney has in store for kirilenko?
tennis served fresh 
