GlamSpinTennis

The 2014 tennis season is already underway with players playing a mix of exhibitions and live matches across the world.  Here's a final look back at the 6 players who came, saw, and conquered the 2013 Grand Slams.  Australian Open Victoria Azarenka & Novak Djokovic Roland Garros   Serena Williams & Rafael Nadal Wimbledon Andy Murray & Marion Bartoli US Open  Serena Williams & Rafael Nadal  As an aside - the players look so much better when they accept their trophies in their playing outfits instead of their warm-up jackets.  Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and hearty 2014!!!

We still have a couple hours to go in 2013, but the 2014 tennis season is already underway.  Here are the top ATP storylines that  GlamSpinTennis  will be following throughout 2014. 10. Will certified head-case Bernard Tomic finally be able to play to his potential? And, will he kick his abusive father out of his camp?  GlamSpinTennis  really feels for Bernie and his fraught familial and coaching situation.  9. Is Juan Martin del Potro going to be a force to be reckoned with at the majors? DelPo's tomahawk forehand was readily on display as 2013 came to a close. However, 2014 will mark the 5-year anniversary of DelPo's lone major win at the 2009 US Open.  8. Has American men's tennis bottomed out? Should we expect a resurgence from John Isner and Sam Querrey, the two best American males or will the duo continue to bring USA tennis to new lows? 7. Will the French-men continue to disappoint? Richard Gasquet's career showed some si...

The 2014 season is days away from kicking off and GlamSpinTennis can't wait.  Here are 10 potential storylines, questions and a dash of GlamSpinTennis predictions. 10. Will Patrick continue coaching Serena? She's not in Mauritius at his coaching camp.  9.    Does Sloane Stephens have what it takes to win a title and/or advance to the semis of  a non-major tournament? 8.   Will Petra Kvitova's career suffer now that she's dating the Worm? Radek Stepanek's ex-wife, Nicole Vaidisova, was poised to be a top player until she ended her career to marry Radek.   Bonus -  will we see Nicole attempt a comeback? 7. Will Li Na's work with Carlos Rodriguez pay off with another major? The Chinese player appears to be peaking in her early thirties.  GlamSpinTennis  predicts  that Li Na will be in the winner's circle in Australia.  6. Will Vika Azarenka win a major outside Australia?  GlamSpinTennis  predicts she won'...

Serena Williams ended 2013 with 17 major titles. Her marquee 2013 included winning Roland Garros and the US Open.  Serena accomplished this feat and earned $14 million in prize money along the way as she neared 32 years in age. (Also take a look at GlamSpinTennis's By the Numbers profile of Serena Williams' 2013 campaign.) Serena was arguably the most dominant player in all of men's or women's tennis in 2013. Her rival to the crown, Rafael Nadal, similarly won 2 major titles, but failed to prevail in the championship match in the ATP World Finals.  Sports Illustrated (" SI "), the US-based weekly sportsmagazine, annually awards a Sportsman of the Year title to a deserving athlete. Ultimately, the Sportsman designation, like TIME 's Person of the Year and Entertainment Weekly 's Entertainer of the Year (both Sports Illustrated sister-publications), is a marketing gimmick which was developed to generate advertising revenue and to spur con...

The 2014 tennis season is rapidly approaching and we are beginning to new sponsorship deals are beginning to leak.  Caroline Wozniacki , the former No. 1 women's player and current No. 10 , has returned to Babolat. The 23 year-old Danish player will be playing with a yet-to-be determined Babolat frame in 2014.  Caroline previously had a Babolat contract which expired at the end of the 2010 season. Yonex subsequently signed the Dane to a lucrative equipment deal in 2011 while she was the No. 1 player.  However, in July 2013, Yonex summarily  dropped   Caro from its roster.  Caroline had secretly played a couple tournaments with a blacked-out frame (see picture below).   This breached the terms of her Yonex deal and enraged Yonex's marketing staff.  Pundits presumed that Caro had ditched her Yonex racquet to play with one of her old Babolat frames.  Caroline and Yonex were said to ha...

The 2014 Tennis season is days away from kicking off and we are a few weeks away from  the 2014 Australian Open.   Here's a look at some of the verified and unverified  kits that the tennis pros will be sporting down under.  Adidas has released official promo pics of its kits for a number of players:  Ana Ivanovic in adidas: “ @NikolaP9 : Amazing!! @AnaIvanovic #Ajde pic.twitter.com/ESqB8Diyla ” looking forward to wearing my new dress in @AustralianOpen Do you like it? — Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) December 2, 2013 Maria Kirilenko in adidas by Stella McCartnery (Maria will not be playing the AO in 2014 due to an ankle injury) My #adidas #stellaMcCartney #barricade #australian open dress. Unfor I skip this tournament because of my injury. pic.twitter.com/Auz8LFNQ0P — Maria Kirilenko (@mkirilenko) December 20, 2013 Caro Wozniacki in adidas by Stella McCartney:  Caroline Wozniacki dress for the Australian Open designed by ...

This tennis off-season has been interminable. It seems like its been a 4 whole weeks since the ladies wrapped up in Istanbul and men said adios from London.  Thankfully, the Hopman Cup begins on December 28, 2013.  The Hopman Cup used to have the best trophy in all of tennis,  doling out diamond encrusted gold/silver tennis balls to the winning teams.  In 2014,  the tournament will be debuting a new trophy created by Solid Gold Diamonds. The trophy contains  just under an ounce of 18-carat white, yellow and rose gold  and is set with over 180 sparkling diamonds including half a carat of West Australia's world-renowned Argyle Pink Diamonds. Read more about the new design, here .  2014 Hopman Cup Superlatives :  Most likely to get cited for a PDA Violation :  Team Czech Republic - Radek Stepanek & Petra Kvitova Most attractive :  Team France - Jo-Willy Tsonga & Alize Cornet Best personality...

Reports recently circulated indicating that Rafael Nadal earned $10 million in fees for participating in exhibitions throughout South America during to the 2013 off-season.  While the dollar figure hasn't been confirmed, the Nadal camp hasn't denied or corroborated the story.  This story seemingly flies in the face of the swash-buckling, pirate pant wearing, narrative that was spun when Nadal first emerged as a future No.1 in the mid-aughts. Nadal was the island boy who enjoyed staying home and going fishing with his amigos.  Times sure have changed! According to Forbes magazine, Rafa has earned $25 million from his off-court deals and activities.  Let's take a look at Rafa Nadal Inc.: Agent & Agency Rafa is repped by Carlos Costa, a former ATP player who earned 6 singles titles while on the tour.  Carlos and Rafa initially joined forces around 2002 under the super-agency, IMG. Carlos also managed David Ferrer, but now concentrates sole...

On December 5, 2013 the James Blake Foundation hosted,  Serving For A Cure , a charity tennis exhibition that raised money and awareness for cancer research.  Photos from the event and an exclusive interview with James Blake are posted below: James Blake and his family established the   Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Research Fund  at the  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center   in 2005 to support early detection cancer research.  Thomas Blake Sr., James' father, passed away in 2004 after battling gastric cancer.    James spoke exclusively to GlamSpinTennis and was excited to report that his foundation has surpassed $1 Million in donations to the  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center .  After a year off, Serving For A Cure, returned to NYC where James Blake was joined on the tennis court by former ATP World No. 1 Andy Roddick, current No. 14 John Isner, and actor Boris Kodjoe. Brooklyn Decker, Andy's wife, and former ATP pros ...

In celebration of the off-season, lets take a look at the dance moves of some of our favorite tennis pros. As you can see below, dancing skills vary immensely by player. Thankfully, everyone looks like they are having a good time! Dancing with the Tennis Stars in Italy featuring Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone -  Baillandon Con le Stelle.  Venus and Serena - is this Salsa dancing? Blast from the past - Novak and Rafa in Colombia. Rafa seems a bit shy.  Retired ATP tennis star - Andy Roddick - showing off his moves. Why didn't we ever get to see these moves while he was playing? Guess it would have undermined his locker-room cred.  Bonus - Andy faces off with his wife Brooklyn Decker in a dance-off. I think Andy won handily.