SERENA WILLIAMS

Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player who, as of November 10, 2008, is ranked World No. 2 by the Women's Tennis Association. She has won 18 Grand Slam titles: nine in singles, seven in women's doubles, and two in mixed doubles. She also has won two Olympic gold medals in women's doubles. She is the most recent player, male or female, to have held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously. In 2005, Tennis magazine ranked her as the 17th-best player of the preceding forty years. She is the younger sister of a former World No. 1 professional female tennis player, Venus Williams. Serena currently resides at Ballen Isles in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Williams is primarily a baseline player. Her game is built around taking immediate control of rallies with her powerful serve, return of serve, and forceful groundstrokes that can come from both the forehand and backhand wing.

Her serve is widely regarded as the best in the women's game. She is known for having a very smooth motion and her serve is one of the most highly respected on the WTA tour. For example, Lindsay Davenport has said that Williams's serve is the best serve that she has faced on the WTA tour. Williams frequently hits serves over 120 mph and often varies the placement of her serve; in 2006 at Cincinnati she struck a serve which measured at 127 mph and in 2008 at Charleston she recorded 129 mph, a speed which only two other female players have exceeded.  She can hit flat, slice, and topspin serves to both corners of the service box. Williams is capable of overpowering her opponents when returning serve, off both second and first serve.

Williams is also effective at the net, employing solid volleys (being especially effective on the drive volley) and powerful overheads. She also can produce good drop volleys, a shot that not many players use.

Although Williams's forehand is among the most powerful shots in the women's game, her backhand is considered to be one of the best, if not the best, on the Women's Tennis Association tour. Williams can often hit a winning backhand shot in any position or place on the court down the line or cross court albeit on the defence or under pressure. Williams strikes her backhand groundstroke using an open stance. She also uses the same open stance for her forehand.

Because of her aggressive style of play, Williams hits a relatively high number of unforced errors. This is tempered, however, by the fact that she typically hits more outright winners than her opponents. Other times her number of unforced errors are tempered by her powerful strokes forcing her opponents to commit errors.

Although many think of Williams as only an offensive player, she also has a good defensive game. Williams is quick around the court, and her core strength enables her to hit the ball efficiently from difficult positions. Williams has more variety in her game than the typical offensive baseline player. Although she normally dictates play from the baseline with heavy strokes, Williams occasionally slices her backhand or hits heavy topspin groundstrokes or drop shots to change the pace of the ball. (via Wikipedia)


From The Blogsphere

Adrian Peterson’s ESPN The Mag The Body Cover

via sportsbybrooks.com ( 47 Days ago )
The ESPN THE MAGAZINE “The Body Issue” Cover of a nude Adrian Peterson has been posted: (Credit: MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE) So we have a nude Serena Williams, topless Gina Carano, shirtless Dwight Howard and now Peterson. Share This

Serena Williams: Naked for ESPN Magazine!

via buzznet.com ( 47 Days ago )
Serena Williams shows off her naked body for ESPN The Magazine’s first-ever “Body Issue,” on stands October 9. USA Today reports six covers will be circulated including Serena, mixed martial artist Gina Carano, NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, triathlete Sarah Reinertsen (the first female amputee to complete the grueling Ironman Triathlon), Minnesota Vikings [...]

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via necolebitchie.com ( 47 Days ago )
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Safina, V. Williams Crash Out of China Open

via washingtonpost.com ( 48 Days ago )
BEIJING (Reuters) - World number one Dinara Safina was upset 7-5 7-6 by local wild card Zhang Shuai in the second round of the China Open on Monday, leaving Serena Williams one victory away from reclaiming top spot in the rankings.

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via uproxx.com ( 53 Days ago )
I don’t know which part of the video is more ridiculous, the fact that Serena Williams might have a white aunt or that people really believe that she actually menstrates. Here’s that Tampax commercial that’s already made the rounds with Serena “outsmarting Mother Nature.” You can see that Mama’s holding a big red gift in her hands. See kids, that [...]

Advertising: Serena Williams’s Ad Deals Survive Her Outburst on Court

via nytimes.com ( 55 Days ago )
After apologizing for her angry language, a tennis star kept old endorsements, and new ads will appear as planned.

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via uproxx.com ( 62 Days ago )
FIX YO KKAKE! Oh, Colts and Dolphins, you’re just one of those contests that was so much more interesting before everyone figured out how to stop Miami’s gimmicky bullstein. Besides, the Dolphins don’t matter when it’s high time for the Pierre Garcon breakout game! You know it. I know it. It’s gonna be just like Mario Manningham with the Giants last [...]

EVENT PICS: THE GUCCI COCKTAIL PARTY

via concreteloop.com ( 66 Days ago )
Singer Mary J. Blige, professional tennis player Serena Williams and singer Alicia Keys attend the Gucci cocktail party for Ffawn at Gucci Fifth Avenue on Wednesday night in New York City. Peep the HQ photos below ( Photos: GETTY IMAGES )

Are We Seeing the General Collapse of Civility?

via neatorama.com ( 67 Days ago )
Joe Wilson, Kanye West, and Serena Williams – what do these three have in common? Well, unless you’ve been living in a cave, you probably know that they all got in hot water over their recent outbursts. But are these incidents anomalies or are they part of a trend of rising rudeness and the general collapse of civility? Robin Abcarian of the Los Angeles Times wrote: In [...]

Serena Williams won't change after U.S. Open meltdown

via nydailynews.com ( 67 Days ago )
Serena Williams may have apologized for her obscenity-laden tirade Saturday at the U.S. Open, but chances are it's going to happen again because this diva isn't going to change.