Doping Talk, Serena’s Workout Mix, and Clijsters’ Return!
By Blair Henley
While Serena Williams was out finding new ways to make money, we were compiling the latest andgreatest stories from around the tennis world.
Hey Tennis Fans, I’m Blair Henley and welcome to the Tennis Now News Update.
Yes, Serena Williams has added another title to her resume – fitness DJ. According to TennisFixation.com, she’s been selling her workout playlists at Walmart, and you can also purchase the pulse-pounding tunes on Amazon. According to the cover photos of both Volume 1 and Volume 2, Serena works out on the beach, clad in only a bathing suit. Who knew?
James Blake told USA Today that he believes some tennis players are doping. The paper also reported that Major League Baseball conducts 15,000 tests annually compared to just 2,000 annual tests for tennis. Blake had this to say about the issue:
"I am realistic with this much money involved, $1.9 million for the winner of the U.S. Open, people will try to find a way to get ahead."
And former French Open Champion Yannick Noah, has not backed down from the comments he made a year ago insinuating widespread doping among Spanish athletes. In fact, he recently said that the problem is likely more widespread than he initially thought and he believes players should get tested a whopping 60 times per year.
Tour veteran Tommy Haas re-entered to the top 20 this week, and he also became the 38th player in the Open Era to reach 500 career victories. The 34-year-old returned to the tour a year ago after missing chunks of the last three and a half years with hip and shoulder injuries. Congratulations!
Robin Soderling may be sidelined from the tour thanks to a severe bout of mononucleosis, but he’s got something new to celebrate. The 28-year-old Swede welcomed a daughter this week with his wife, Jenni.
It looks like we might see Kim Clijsters at some tournaments in the coming year, as she has signed on to advise fellow Belgian Kirsten Flipkens. While Clijsters won’t be her full-time coach, she’s happy to help out her friend of over 20 years. Flipkens went on to say, “To everyone else she’s Kim the tennis player, but to me, she’s Kim.”
Last but not least, we had some laugh-worthy footage courtesy of Deadspin. Marco Chiudinelli caught a fan dozing in his match against Janko Tipsarevic earlier this month, and was so annoyed that he actually halted play until the snoozing spectator stirred from his slumber.