She glides across a hardwood floor rather than running across the red clay, she’s slipped out of sneakers and stepped into high-heeled shoes and the mirror ball has supplanted the tennis ball in her sphere of influence.

Monica Seles announced her official retirement from tennis earlier this month, but she’s picked up the pace in preparing for her star turn. (more…)

That voice you hear in your head on court sometimes — you know the one that reassures you your second serve is destined to float into the net like a soap bubble into a ceiling fan before you even release your toss — may be sounding a bit hoarse in your head. (more…)

Sheila Johnson taught algebra for 30 years then spent recent years earning a national ranking in the USTA 60s division so it may sound surprising that the retired school teacher didn’t bother to do the math when faced with a simple numbers problem a grade-schooler could probably figure out: how many times has a 60-year-old woman more than four decades removed from her last college match come back to successfully compete with players 40 years younger?

Sometimes even the most experienced mathematicians don’t let logic stand in the way of their dreams. (more…)

Daniela Hantuchova started last week with a sprint across the court in Paris and ended it with a strut down the catwalk in Madrid.

The stunning Slovakian, who counts a collection of esteemed Italians: Armani, Cavalli and Missoni among her favorite designers, modeled for the Spanish brand TCN on Sunday, which was the opening collection of Madrid’s fashion week. (more…)

Louis Armstrong never saw a shot struck in the stadium that bears his name, but he may have smiled overhearing this exchange between two fans waiting to see tennis’ top virtuoso, Roger Federer, play its most notorious rapper, Vince Spadea, at the 2006 U.S. Open in a match between two men whose styles are as similar as Miles Davis and Flavor Flav.

“I don’t watch much tennis, tell me the truth: how good is this guy Federer?” a middle-aged man asked his teenage son. (more…)

She grew up in a small West Virginia mining town where tennis was as wide spread as a collection of clay courts in a coal mine.

She doesn’t recall setting eyes on a tennis court, holding a racquet in her hand or becoming aware the game even existed until she was a freshman in college. (more…)

Open up and say “aaaahhhh!”

Whether it’s a doctor’s exam or an examination of the Davis Cup format sometimes you find yourself slightly speechless when you’re force-fed balsa wood logic under the guise it’s good for you. (more…)