Martina News
(2001)
December 11, 2001: Martina won last Thursday's exhibition match against Arantxa in London at the Honda Challenge, scoring a 7-6 4-6 10-8 victory. Congratulations, Martina on this excellent win! The final set was a special champion's tie-break (this is the format used on the senior men's tour after the first two sets are split). My special thanks to Aspenite for informing us of the result, which by and large, was ignored by the mainstream sports media. One exception was an article from 'The Independent' and for more on that, click here.
December 4, 2001: Here is another article on Saturday's exhibition match, this one's by the 'Associated Press'. Click here for more.
December 2, 2001: Martina played Monica Seles in an exhibition singles match yesterday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. I apologize for not being able to post about this match sooner. I'm thankful to all the fans who sent me links to articles & photos, both before & after yesterday's encounter. Martina put in a good effort yesterday and took Monica to the distance, before going down 7-6(2) 6-4. We need to give Martina her props for showing us that, at 45, she can still compete with the best, despite not playing regular singles for the past 7 years. Well done, Martina! She is truly the greatest. For pre-match articles, please click on the following links: Tennis Week (1), Tennis Week (2), The New London Day, The Hartford Courant, Reuters. And for articles on yesterday's match, check out the websites of the Hartford Courant and the New London Day. And here are some photos from yesterday: Photo One, Photo Two. Again, my special thanks to Bill, Sky and the others who e-mailed me some of the above-mentioned links. Also, to read a nice report on the match by Andee, visit the message board here. And if you got to watch the match too, please don't hesitate to share your thoughts with us. Martina's next event is a special exhibition match against Arantxa at the Honda Challenge in London on Thursday.
November 16, 2001: For all (American) football fans, Martina serves as guest critic in today's USA Today, previewing the weekend's NFL games. For the complete write-up, click here.
November 13, 2001: Here are some photos from Indianapolis in August, where Martina participated in the RCA Women's Challenge. My special thanks to Pat for sharing these excellent photos with us. Click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four, Photo Five, Photo Six. Other players: in photo one, that's Ilana Kloss with Martina; in photo two, Jana Novotna & Lori McNeil are pictured besides Martina.
October 29, 2001: For a German interview with Martina from the newspaper, "Welt am Sonntag," click here. Mostly the interview is about the current women's tennis scene and there's not much about Martina's own season on tour. Topics discussed include comebacks, the season-ending Championships move from New York City to Munich, Venus Williams, Jennifer Capriati and more. As always, for translation help, try Alta Vista's Babelfish Translation Service.
October 25, 2001: Here are some more links to articles from various Austrian newspapers on Martina's loss on Tuesday. Martina revealed that, at the earliest, her 2002 season will begin in February. This year, she played her first tournament in April. For the articles, click on the following links: Der Standard, Der Kurier, Kleine Zeitung, Oberöesterreichische Nachrichten. All articles are in German so once again, Alta Vista's 'Babelfish Translation Service will come in handy. My special thanks to Sky for alerting me to the 'Der Standard' link. The article is the same APA one posted yesterday but it has a photo of Martina and Arantxa in action on Tuesday.
October 24, 2001: Some good news to brighten the gloomy mood. Martina confirmed yesterday that she is planning on returning in 2002 and is looking for a new partner. For the Austria Presse Agentur (APA) article, in German, click here. My special thanks to Aspenite for alerting me to this. As always, use Alta Vista's Babelfish Translation Service for help with the translating. Martina is next scheduled to play in London on December 6 in a special exhibition singles match against Arantxa at the Honda Challenge.
October 24, 2001: Martina joined a number of animals rights supporters in sponsoring a $11,000 full-page ad in "Womens Wear Daily" that urged against the design and promotion of fur products. The ad was scheduled to run on Tuesday (the same day the VH1 Fashion Awards first aired); however, at the last minute, the newspaper rejected the ad. For the complete press release by PETA, click here.
October 23, 2001: Martina and Arantxa lost in the first round in Linz round to Elena Tatarkova and Iroda Tulyaganova 7-6(4) 7-5 and with that, their chances of qualifying for the Sanex Championships in Munich are over. I am too disappointed to search for articles/photos etc. right now; hope all of you will understand.
October 22, 2001: Martina and Arantxa will play their opening match at the Generali Ladies Linz tomorrow, against Elena Tatarkova & Iroda Tulyaganova in the day's final scheduled match on Center Court. For the complete schedule of play, click here. The 'Oberöesterreichische Nachrichten' reports that Martina had to drive to Linz from Zurich as there were no flights available. Martina also got to practice on the Center Court over the weekend. For the complete article, in German, click here. As always, try Alta Vista's Translation Service for translating help.
October 22, 2001: Some old news here. Martina fans in the U.S. will certainly remember her appearance on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" celebrity edition which was televized last month. The taping was done in July and here's what Martina had to say to 'Entertainment Tonight,' before the taping, about how she expected to do. She said she felt pretty confident on subjects such as history, geography, animals and food; but added, "I have my tail covered with the arts, literature and science. Even the sports trivia - I didn't grow up in this country, so some of the stuff is gone for me. I am better around the world than the U.S." Martina also admitted to ABC Sports that nursery rhymes were another major concern! Said Martina, "Nursery rhymes, that's what would stump me. That's where you get help. I would just turn around and ask Jim (Courier) what it is, and I'll be all set. Jim's my secret weapon. Tennis players have to stick together." Summing it all up, Martina continued, "When you get nine different athletes, it is always steep competition. I don't know who is the brilliant one. I hope the athletes do it. The celebrities haven't done it yet (won a million), but it would be nice for a charity to get the money." For the record, Martina won $125,000 for her chosen charity, Save the Rhinos International, Inc. For a small photo of Martina with Regis Philbin, backstage, click here.
October 22, 2001: Former German #1, Steffi Graf, talked about Martina in a recent chat on the 'Der Club' website. Said Steffi, "I sat with her (Martina) recently at Wimbledon. She supported Andre's sister very much with her charity gala against breast cancer. She engages herself for "Save the Rhinos", is very fit and plays tennis very often, e.g. in the double competition." She also added that while no exhibition match against Martina has been planned anytime soon, she is not ruling one out for the future. Graf and Andre Agassi are expecting a son, their first child together, in December.
October 21, 2001: Martina and Arantxa will play Elena Tatarkova and Iroda Tulyaganova in the first round of the Generali Ladies Linz tournament in Linz, Austria that begins this week. For the complete doubles draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here.
October 20, 2001: There's a brief news report on the website of the Generali Ladies Linz tournament talking about Martina's participation there. Martina telephoned the tournament director today to confirm her entry. For more, click here.
October 20, 2001: Martina and Arantxa lost in the quarterfinals in Zurich yesterday, going down to Sandrine Testud and Roberta Vinci 6-3 4-6 6-1. This marks the first time Martina has failed to reach the doubles final here. She won the event in 1993 (with Zina Garrison) and 1994 (with Manon Bollegraf); and was a finalist in 1992 with Pam Shriver. Martina and Arantxa are scheduled to play in Linz, Austria next week, their final chance to qualify for the Sanex Championships in Munich.
October 20, 2001: For some birthday photos, courtesy of the Sanex WTA Tour website, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two. In the first photo, Martina is presented with a birthday cake by tournament director Beat Ritschard; in the second, she receives a bouquet of flowers from a Swisscom employee.
October 18, 2001: Martina and Arantxa will play their quarterfinal match against Sandrine Testud and Roberta Vinci on Centre Court tomorrow, in the final match of the day. You can follow it live through the tournament website's "Live Scoreboard." Go to the website here; after selecting your language choice, click on "Interactive" and then "Live-scoreboard." Good luck, ladies!
October 17, 2001: Martina and Arantxa won their first round match today defeating Nadia Petrova and Iroda Tulyaganova 1-6 6-3 6-2. They will next play Sandrine Testud and Roberta Vinci in the quarterfinals, a rematch of last month's U.S. Open quarterfinal which they lost. For photos from today's action, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four, Photo Five, Photo Six, Photo Seven. The first two photos are by the 'Associated Press,' the next three by 'Reuters' and the final two by 'Agence France-Presse.' Martina and Arantxa get the day off tomorrow and in all likelihood, will play their quarterfinal match on Friday.
October 17, 2001: Martina was interviewed by the Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger yesterday. One major disclosure from the interview is that if Martina decides to continue playing on tour next year, Arantxa and she will no longer be partners. They have not been as effective as they could have been since they both prefer playing on the ad court and both need a power player to complement their games in doubles. Other topics Martina discussed included the current state of women's tennis, her present-day relationship with Chris Evert, her pastimes apart from tennis and more. Martina also feels that Venus Williams (ranked #4) deserves to be #1, ahead of current #1, Jennifer Capriati. The interview is in German; for help with translation, try Alta Vista's Babelfish Translation Service. Accessing the interview is going to be a bit complicated. First, go to the "Tages Anzeiger" archives page here [page will open in new window]. If the page doesn't load completely the first time, hit the "Refresh" button to reload. Once the page has opened, type in "Navratilova" in the search box, just below the heading Begriffe zum Thema and then, click on "Suchen". A list of links will show up. Click on the link that says "Habe noch viel zu bieten", which will take you to the interview. If you have any trouble opening this page, please e-mail me at martinawebsite@yahoo.com and I will e-mail the interview to you.
October 16, 2001: Martina and Arantxa will play their first round match tomorrow on Centre Court in the day's penultimate match. As mentioned earlier, they will face Nadia Petrova and Iroda Tulyaganova. You can follow the match live on the tournament website's "Live Scoreboard." Go to the website here; after selecting your language choice, click on "Interactive" and then "Live-scoreboard." Good luck, ladies!
October 15, 2001: Martina's and Arantxa's first round opponents in Zurich will be the team of Nadia Petrova and Iroda Tulyaganova.
October 14, 2001: The draw for the Swisscom Challenge was released today. Martina and Arantxa will take on a pair of qualifiers in their opening match. Initially, they were to be unseeded but after the withdrawal of the #2 seeds, Martina Hingis and Anna Kourikova, Martina and Arantxa have been seeded #5. They are in the same half of the draw as the top seeds, Kimberly Po-Messerli & Nathalie Tauziat, and could play the team they lost to at the U.S. Open, Sandrine Testud and Roberta Vinci, in the quarterfinals. For the complete draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here.
October 13, 2001: Here are some more photos from Filderstadt, taken at a party to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Porsche being a sponsor of this tournament. All photos are courtesy of the Sanex WTA Tour website: Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3. In the first photo, Martina talks about her favourite memories of the Porsche Grand Prix (which she won a record 6 times in singles & 8 times in doubles - thrice with Pam Shriver, and once each with Billie Jean King, Mima Jausovec, Candy Reynolds, Iwona Kuczynska & Jana Novotna). In the second photo, Martina poses along with the tournament directors of the Seat Open in Luxembourg. And in the final photo, the players gather on stage with tournament promoter Dieter Fischer. If you look closely, you can spot Martina in the back row, straining to get her face seen, in between Lori McNeil & Kimberly Po-Messerli.
October 12, 2001: Martina and Arantxa will play in Zurich next week at the Swisscom Challenge. My special thanks to Sandra and Aspenite for informing me of this latest development. With only two more weeks to go before the championships in Munich, this presents a good opportunity for Martina and Arantxa to, hopefully, pick up more points. They are scheduled to play in Linz the week after this. Good luck, ladies!
October 11, 2001: For a Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) article on yesterday's match (in German), featuring more quotes from Martina, click here. You can make use of Altavista's Babelfish Translation Service for a reasonable translation.
October 10, 2001: Some more news from Filderstadt. Despite the defeat, Martina said that playing against Hingis "was a great feeling. I have wanted to play against Martina for such a long time now, and ever since she played her first tournament in Zurich in 1994, and I played one of my last there. She has terrific hands, and it was such a thrill to be out there on the same court as her. When I look back now, one of the things I am most proud of in my career is the fact I have played against all the great players in the last 30 years or so, names like (Margaret) Court, (Billie Jean) King, (Chris) Evert, (Evonne) Goolagong, (Steffi) Graf, (Monica) Seles, the Williams sisters and now Hingis. It gives me chills when I think about it!” Indeed, one noteworthy statistic - Martina's opponents over her unparalleled career have ranged from the 1959 Wimbledon winner (Maria Bueno) to the 2001 champion (Venus Williams) - a span covering 'six' decades!! For two more photos from today, courtesy of the Sanex WTA Tour website, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two.
October 10, 2001: Martina and Arantxa lost their opening match at the Porsche Grand Prix in Filderstadt, Germany today, to the #3 seeds, Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova 6-3 6-4. It appears Martina only arrived in Germany yesterday from Seattle. For photos by the 'Associated Press' from today's match, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three. After this loss, Martina's and Arantxa's chances for qualifying for the Sanex Championships in Munich have taken a hit. They are scheduled to play just one more tournament (the Generali event in Linz, Austria the week before the championships). Playing next week - either in Zurich or Bratislava, Slovakia - would help their chances of making the final cut. Only the top 8 teams of the year qualify for the championships. Martina & Arantxa are currently #12 (#10 if you factor in the teams ranked ahead of them but not playing). Our fingers are crossed for the ladies and we hope for good news in the coming weeks.
October 8, 2001: The draw for the Porsche Grand Prix was released today. Martina and Arantxa, unseeded, will take on the #3 seeds, Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova in the first round. For the complete doubles draw, courtesy of Michael Blue's site, click here. Martina is expected to arrive in Filderstadt tomorrow.
October 8, 2001: Martina got to play just one match at the Schick Xtreme III Tennis Challenge in Bellevue, Washington on Sunday but it was quite an interesting one. First, it must be mentioned that Martina had to switch teams and played on Team Sampras. The match she played was a "mixed singles" match against Andre Agassi! Agassi was limited to one serve while Martina got to play the doubles lines. It appears Martina held her own against Agassi the entire match. With the score tied at 3 games apiece, they played a sudden-death 9-point tie-break which Agassi won, but just barely 5-4. Team Agassi ended up winning 3 of the 4 matches played for an overall 19-17 victory. All in all, the event raised $1.4 million for breast cancer research at the UWMC. For articles on yesterday's action, click on the following links: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Seattle Times.
October 8, 2001: We have grown accustomed to watching Martina & Arantxa play on the same side of the net all year round, but on December 6, they will be on opposite sides of the court when they face off in a charity match at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The match takes place as part of the senior men's Honda Challenge event being held that week and will benefit 'Save the Rhino International' and 'Wildlifeline'. For news reports, click on the following links: Agence France-Presse, Ananova. My special thanks go out to Marilyn and Mandy for alerting me to this.
October 8, 2001: Martina addressed the topic of whether she will play on tour in 2002 or not in response to a question on the Women's Sports Legends website. Said Martina, "I don't know yet if I will be playing next year, but I should figure it out soon - hopefully before the year is out."
October 4, 2001: In addition to the autographed Subaru Impreza, another item up for auction on Saturday in Bellevue, Washington at the Schick Xtreme III Tennis Challenge player party will be Martina's 1993 Harley-Davidson FatBoy. In other developments, it appears Jana Novotna will not be participating on Sunday and her place has been taken by Tami Agassi. Ms. Agassi, a breast cancer survivor, is the honorary chairwoman of the event.
October 4, 2001: For an article on recent Martina sightings in New Castle, Pennsylvania, click here. It is from 'The New Castle News.' However, as astutely observed by 'Aspenite' on the message boards, the article's reference to Martina being a fan of "steaks" seems hard to believe, considering she is a committed vegetarian! Interesting reading, nevertheless.
October 3, 2001: In her capacity as spokeswoman for Subaru Inc., Martina has inspired the creation of a one-of-a-kind 2002 Subaru Autograph Edition Impreza WRX featuring autograph signatures from a number of tennis greats. The WRX will be auctioned off to the highest bidder at the Player Party at the Pro Club in Bellevue, WA as part of the Schick Xtreme III Tennis Challenge on October 6. All proceeds from the Autograph Edition WRX auction will benefit patient care and research at the University of Washington Medical Center Breast Care and Cancer Research Center. The unique exterior design features autographs by Martina, Andre Agassi, Jennifer Capriati, Jim Courier, Lindsay Davenport, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Billie Jean King, John and Patrick McEnroe, Patrick Rafter, Pete Sampras, Jonathan Stark and Serena and Venus Williams. Said Martina, "Subaru has always been generous in their support of my philanthropic efforts. The Autograph Edition is a great example of our extraordinary partnership and the strong bond I still maintain with the tennis community. The auction of this vehicle is a significant way for all of us to support the efforts of the Agassi and Stark families, while helping UWMC raise awareness and funds for their important work." For the official press release, click here. Also, check out a page on the UWMC's site, here (featuring a nice photo of Martina from her latest Subaru print ad). For another photo, courtesy of PR Newswire, click here.
October 3, 2001: Martina's participation at the Porsche Grand Prix in Filderstadt has been confirmed. For the official press release, in German, courtesy of the tournament website, click here. For translation assistance, try Alta Vista's Babel Fish service. My special thanks go out to Sky and Jolana for alerting me to this.
September 30, 2001: Martina's next scheduled event is the Schick Xtreme III Tennis Challenge in Bellevue, Washington on October 7. All proceeds from this charity event will benefit the University of Washington Breast Care and Cancer Research Center. The exhibition will feature two teams. Martina will be on Andre Agassi's team along with Jonathan Stark and Bill Gates (yes, 'the' Bill Gates). Pete Sampras will lead the other team which also features Jim Courier, Jana Novotna and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. The night's action will include a couple of doubles matches and the featured Agassi-Sampras matchup. For more information, visit the Center's website, here.
September 30, 2001: Martina and Arantxa are scheduled to participate in the Generali Ladies tournament in Linz, Austria, beginning October 22. It appears they are also likely to play in the Porsche Grand Prix in Filderstadt, October 8. I will keep you updated when confirmation is available. My special thanks to Jolana for alerting me to this.
September 30, 2001: Will Martina continue in 2002? Arantxa says she's thinking about it while Charles Brinker of the 'Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel' and Greg Garber of 'Espn.com' think it is quite likely. Click on the following links for the articles: Bricker, Garber. I'm sure all Martina fans will agree with me that it has been a special treat to have Martina back on tour and whatever decision she makes regarding 2002, we will always be grateful for these past two seasons.
September 30, 2001: Martina's first tournament after the U.S. Open was the Toyota Princess Cup in Tokyo, held from September 17-23. For the second straight year, Martina lost in the quarterfinals. This time, Arantxa and she lost in three sets to Janet Lee and Rachel McQuillan 4-6 6-3 7-6(4). Earlier in the first round, they had defeated Rika Hiraki and Iroda Tulyaganova 5-7 7-5 6-1. At the start of the tournament, Martina commented on the recent September 11 terrorist attacks and about moving on after such a tragedy. Click here for a 'Reuters' article that I posted on the message board. On the final day of the tournament, Martina led a silent prayer in tribute to the victims of the attack before the start of the women's singles final. Click on the following links for photos: Reuters, Associated Press. In a press conference that day, Martina talked about the current women's game as well as her own doubles season so far. Click here for more in a 'Reuters' article.
September 30, 2001: At the U.S. Open, Martina and Arantxa reached the quarterfinals where they suffered a disappointing three-set defeat to Roberta Vinci and Sandrine Testud 6-2 4-6 6-4. Seeded 7th, Martina and Arantxa had not dropped a set in their three previous matches. In the first round, they defeated Bianka Lamade and Patty Schnyder 7-5 6-3; in the second, Tatiana Perebiynis & Tatiana Poutchek 6-3 7-5; and in the third, Whitney Laiho & Jessica Lehnhoff 6-3 6-0. In the mixed doubles, Martina and Max Mirnyi lost in the first round to the #1 seeds, Rennae Stubbs & Todd Woodbridge 6-3 7-6(3). Martina's press conference after her final doubles match was another gemstone as is always the case with Martina's interviews. For photos from the Open, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three. The first one from the tournament website is from the first round match and the last two, courtesy of the 'Associated Press,' are from the loss in the quarterfinals. There wasn't much media attention on Martina this Open but that didn't seem to bother her a bit. Said Martina to 'The New York Times', "Last year it was a big deal. But I'm old news now. I just had so much fun. I wanted to do it again this year. I'm playing better than last year. For me, it's just keeping everything under control and playing as well as I do in practice and just having fun." Martina also spoke to 'NY Times' columnist Maureen Dowd and was quoted in her September 2 column.
September 30, 2001: On August 23, Martina's father, Mirek, passed away after a heart attack. Our sincere condolences and prayers go out to Martina and her family for their loss.
September 30, 2001: In August, the Women's Sports Legends honored Lee Jackson, the current Player/Sponsor liason for the Sanex WTA Tour, at a reception in New York. Mrs. Jackson has been associated with the women's tour since the 1970s when she served as an umpire and was later promoted to official referee. Martina was present at the reception. For a write-up and photos, courtesy of the WSL website, click here.
September 30, 2001: Martina and Arantxa reached the semifinals of the Roger's AT&T Cup in Toronto, the week of August 13. They lost to Tina Krizan and Katarina Srebotnik 6-3 2-6 6-4. In their previous matches, they defeated Iva Majoli and Henrietta Nagyova in the first round 6-3 7-5; Kveta Hrdlickova and Barbara Rittner 6-2 3-6 6-4 in the second round; and most impressive of all, the #1 seeds Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs 6-3 6-2 in the quarterfinals. Visit the tournament's official website here for write-ups and photos from the event. And click here for Martina's press conference at the start of the tournament.
September 30, 2001: Martina competed in the RCA Women's Challenge in Indianapolis on August 11. She missed the first day's action after all flights from New York's La Guardia airport were cancelled due to bad weather. Martina played a few matches on day 2 but the event was won by the opposing team, led by Jana Novotna, undoubtedly helped by Martina's absence on the first day. I have not been able to obtain any scores from the event. The Women's Sports Legends is refusing to disclose the scores. For an article from 'The Indianapolis Star' posted on the message board, click here. For a short report and photos from the WSL website, click here. For additional photos from the tournament site, click here.
August 5, 2001: Martina will participate in the opening ceremonies at the Rogers AT&T Cup in Toronto which begins August 13, her first Sanex WTA Tour hardcourt event of the year. Martina will compete in the doubles event with Arantxa as scheduled; and this will mark her return to the tournament for the first time since 1989 when she won her third Canadian singles title, defeating none other than Arantxa herself in the final.
August 5, 2001: Here are some more photos of Martina from World TeamTennis action in Wilmington, Delaware last month, taken during her second match for the Delaware Smash against the New York Hamptons: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four, Photo Five, Photo Six, Photo Seven, Photo Eight Photo Nine. My special thanks to Marilyn for the great photos.
August 1, 2001: Martina completed the taping of her appearance on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" yesterday. The show will air on September 10. Other athletes competing, besides those mentioned yesterday, included Carl Lewis and Tony Hawk. Martina's chosen charity was "Save the Rhinos."
July 31, 2001: Martina will make an appearance on the celebrity edition of the game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," scheduled to air in the U.S. on September 10. The other athletes competing are Jim Courier, Charles Barkley, Johnny Bench, Jeff Gordon, John Elway, Steve Young and Laila Ali. All winnings will benefit charities selected by the contestants. My special thanks to the Martina fan who alerted me to this info.
July 31, 2001: Martina will take part in the "Legends in the Park" clinic and exhibition, hosted by Prince®, in New York City's Central Park Tennis Center on August 26. Joining Martina will be former ATP Tour players John Newcombe, Stan Smith, Vijay Amritraj and Gene Mayer. The tennis clinic is free and open to the public and those attending will be able to test newly-launched Prince tennis racquets and receive autographs from the athletes. An exhibition match will also be played. To read the official press release for more details, click here.
July 31, 2001: Will Martina be back in 2002? As of right now, Martina appears to be leaving that option open. In response to a question asked on the WSL website, she had this to say: "We [Arantxa and herself] decided we would like to play this year, so we will finish out this year and then we will see." You can read Martina's answers to a variety of questions from fans and tennis enthusiasts on the WSL website here.
July 31, 2001: As confirmed by Martina on the WSL website (see above for link), she will not be playing at the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut this year. Last year, Martina and Katarina Srebotnik reached the semifinals there, her best result of the year.
July 30, 2001: Martina played her second and final WTT match of the season for the Delaware Smash last week on Monday, July 23. She won her mixed doubles match with John-Laffnie de Jager, defeating Jonathan Stark and Tina Krizan of the New York Hamptons 5-3. In the womens doubles, Martina and Mariaan de Swardt lost to Krizan and Katarina Srebotnik 5-4(5-2). The Smash lost the tie 20-18 and finished last in the WTT Eastern Conference. Click here for the final team standings and here for player statistics. For an article on the final match from 'The News Journal,' accompanied by a photo of Martina in action that day, click here. Martina's next scheduled event is the RCA Women's Challenge in Indianapolis beginning August 10.
July 21, 2001: Martina was quoted in an article in yesterday's 'USA Today' that dealt with the public charities of sports celebrities. She talked about the problems she faced with her charity, the 'Martina Youth Foundation' (which she was forced to dissolve 10 years ago). Click here for the complete article. Scroll down to the boldfaced sub-heading "Learned their lesson" to read what Martina had to say.
July 21, 2001: Martina lost both her WTT matches on Thursday, playing for the Delaware Smash against the Philadelphia Freedoms. In the womens doubles, Martina and Holly Parkinson were beaten 5-1 by Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs. And in the mixed doubles, Martina and John-Laffnie de Jager lost to Raymond and Don Johnson in a 5-4(5-4) tie-break. Overall, the Smash were beaten 23-18 (OT 1-0). For two articles of interest, courtesy of 'The News Journal,' click on the following links: Article One, Article Two. The first article is accompanied by a photo of Martina in action on Thursday. Martina will return on Monday when the Smash take on the New York Hamptons.
July 19, 2001: It looks like Martina will be playing World TeamTennis this season after all. She has agreed to fill in for Serena William's on the Delaware Smash roster. Williams was forced to withdraw at the 11th hour due to a viral infection. Martina was contacted by the Smash Wednesday afternoon and has signed on to play today's match against the Philadelphia Freedoms and on Monday (July 23) against the New York Hamptons. Both are home matches (held at the DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Del.) She will most likely play doubles and the mixed. Martina also played for the Delaware Smash back in 1998. For an article from 'The News Journal' on this latest development, click here. Martina will also attend a press conference scheduled today at 6:15 p.m. before the match. To visit the official website of the Delaware Smash, click here. Also note that fans attending today's match can save their ticket stubs and watch Monday's action for free. Despite losing Williams, Martina's teammates are excited about the prospect of having her on the team. Said Holly Parkinson, "It's not a bad trade-off. Having Martina is even better. You can't ask for a better role model than that."
July 8, 2001: Martina talked to the BBC1 about Tim Henman's future chances at Wimbledon, following his five-set semifinal loss to Goran Ivanisevic in the semifinals today. Click here for more in a 'PA Sport' article. And with Venus Williams becoming the fourth woman in the Open Era to successfully defend her Wimbledon crown, Martina was quoted in the 'International Herald Tribune' as saying, "I'm sure that Venus Williams's name will be there more than twice."
July 8, 2001: Click here for some neat screen captures of Martina from her second round mixed doubles match at Wimbledon this year. Also, included are captures from her first round matches in Berlin and Rome, back in May. My special thanks to Tom for the great pictures.
July 8, 2001: Another "old" piece of news. For an interview with Martina from 'Automotive News' where she talks about her role as spokeswoman for the Subaru Forester, click here.
July 6, 2001: Here are links to Martina's recent columns in "The Guardian" newspaper, including her latest previewing tomorrow's ladies singles final. I apologize for not providing the first two links earlier: June 30, July 4, July 7.
July 6, 2001: For another photo of Martina waving goodbye to the crowds following her doubles quarterfinal, click here. The photo is by Allsport.
July 5, 2001: Sadly, Martina's 2001 Wimbledon run came to an end yesterday with defeat in the Ladies doubles quarterfinals. Arantxa and she lost to the #5 seeds, Kimberly Po-Messerli and Nathalie Tauziat 4-6 6-4 6-3 on Court 2. Both Martina's losses at Wimbledon this year have come on this horrible court. For photos from the match, please click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four. The first three are from the tournament website and the last one is by the Associated Press. The tournament website also has a write-up of someone's "opinion" on the match; click here for that. Surprisingly yet again, there was no post-match press conference for Martina. Her next scheduled event is the RCA Women's Challenge in Indianapolis (a WSL event), which begins August 10.
July 3, 2001: Martina and Arantxa advanced to the quarterfinals in Wimbledon after their scheduled opponents, Serena and Venus Williams withdrew from the event today. Serena was suffering from a stomach upset. For an article on the withdrawal, click here. Martina and Arantxa will next play the #5 seeds, Kimberly Po-Messerli and Nathalie Tauziat.
July 2, 2001: Unfortunately, Martina and Max lost their second round mixed doubles match today to the #6 seeds, Leander Paes and Lisa Raymond 6-3 6-4 on Court 2. For a short report on the match from the tournament website, click here.
July 2, 2001: For a nice tribute to Martina, written by Bob Molinaro in an opinion column in 'The Virginian-Pilot,' click here.
July 2, 2001: The Wimbledon website has added a gallery of photos of Martina from Saturday's mixed doubles match. To visit the gallery, click here.
July 1, 2001: Martina won two matches yesterday in doubles and mixed at Wimbledon. First, Arantxa and she opened things on Court 3 with a 7-5 6-1 second round victory over Yayuk Basuki and Nana Miyagi. Later, Martina teamed up with Max Mirnyi to beat Mitch Sprengelmeyer and Lilia Osterloh 6-4 7-5 in the first round of the mixed doubles on Court 1. Sprengelmeyer and Osterloh were replacements for Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters who pulled out of the mixed just before the match due to tiredness. For an 'Agence France-Presse' photo of Martina and Arantxa on court during the doubles, click here. For an 'Associated Press' photo of Martina and Max during their mixed doubles match, click here. For Netcam photos, courtesy of the tournament website's Netcam, click here. Martina and Arantxa will next play the #4 seeds, Serena and Venus Williams. In the mixed, Martina and Max will next play the #6 seeds, Leander Paes and Lisa Raymond.
July 1, 2001: For some more photos of Martina during a practice session in Eastbourne last month, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three. Again, my special thanks to Pat for the great photos.
June 29, 2001: Martina and Arantxa won their first round doubles match at Wimbledon yesterday, defeating Giulia Casoni and Sandra Nacuk 6-0 6-1. Playing on Court 1, Martina and Arantxa took 38 minutes to complete the victory. For match statistics, courtesy of the official tournament website, click here. For an article on the match by Reuters, click here. The tournament website also has a short report (albeit a foolishly titled one), here. For photos from yesterday's action, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four, Photo Five. The first two are by the 'Associated Press,' the next two by 'Reuters' and the last one from the tournament website. Martina and Arantxa will next play Yayuk Basuki and Nana Miyagi in the second round.
June 29, 2001: Martina spoke with Phil Jones of TNT for an exclusive Day 5 Wimbledon preview. To watch the video clip of that conversation, courtesy of the CNN/SI website, click here. To start the clip, select the desired format from the drop down menu at the top. Her comments on Pete Sampras' chances at this event appear to have received a lot of attention by the local media. But instead of reading "third person spin" on Martina's comments, it would be better to listen to what her exact words were - which clearly were not controversial at all.
June 29, 2001: The Women's Sports Legends website have updated their Wimbledon section and Martina's comments on topics such as her favourites for this year's event to competing again at Wimbledon can be found here. The questions asked are listed initially; scroll down to Martina's name to read her answers.
June 26, 2001: Martina will be writing a few columns for the British newspaper, The Guardian, during the Wimbledon fortnight. To read Martina's first column, focusing on the shocking upset of the women's world number Martina Hingis on Monday, click here.
June 26, 2001: Here are some more photos of Martina during one of her practice sessions in Eastbourne last week taken by Pat Cove: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three. The puppy in the second photo is Martina's new 8-week-old Jack Russell terrier, Sophie. My special thanks to Pat for the great photos.
June 24, 2001: Martina's comments on Jennifer Capriati's recent success and her chances at Wimbledon can be found in the following two articles, courtesy of Bloomberg News and The Boston Herald.
June 24, 2001: For two more photos of Martina in action from Friday's doubles match in Eastbourne, click on the following links: Photo One, Phto Two. Both photos are courtesy of the BBC website.
June 22, 2001: Unfortunately, Martina and Arantxa lost in the semifinals in Eastbourne today, going down 2-6 6-4 6-4 to Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs in a close match. This was, however, Martina's best showing at the doubles event in Eastbourne since she reached the semifinals in 1990 with Gigi Fernandez. In her next three appearances, she reached the quarterfinals once (1991 with Pam Shriver) and lost in the first round twice (1995 with Raymond; 2000 with Mariaan de Swardt). For a brief write-up on today's match, courtesy of tennis.net, click here. The article is accompanied by a photo of Martina and Arantxa during the match. For another photo of the two, taken yesterday during their first round encounter, click here. The photo is from the BBC website.
June 21, 2001: Martina and Arantxa won two matches today to reach the semifinals in Eastbourne. First, they completed their opening round match against Magüi Serna and Sandrine Testud, winning 6-7(4) 6-4 6-4. They later beat Amanda Coetzer and Lori McNeil 5-7 6-3 6-2 to reach the semifinals. They next face the top seeds, Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs. For a short article by 'PA Sport,' click here.
June 21, 2001: As many of you already know, Martina will be commentating for TNT during the Wimbledon fortnight. She will also be a guest commentator for the BBC during the Ladies Singles final. Talking about the uneven TV coverage of tennis, Martina said, "The biggest problem I see is inconsistency when you get to sports results on the news. Some days you get tennis, some days you don't." Martina also said that Jennifer Capriati "has to be considered one of the favorites" for the Wimbledon Championships beginning next week. These quotes were reported by the 'Associated Press.'
June 20, 2001: Martina's and Arantxa's first round match in Eastbourne today was suspended due to darkness. They were tied at one set all with Magüi Serna and Sandrine Testud. The exact score up to that point was not disclosed by the WTA Tour. The match is scheduled to be completed tomorrow. (Update 06/26: the score was 6-7(4) 6-4)
June 19, 2001: The Ladies Doubles draw for the Championships at Wimbledon has been released. Martina and Arantxa will take on Giulia Casoni and Sandra Nacuk in the first round. They are in the top half of the draw and are seeded to meet the #4 seeds, Serena and Venus Williams in the round of 16. For the complete draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here.
June 18, 2001: The seedings for the Championships at Wimbledon were announced today. Martina and Arantxa are the #16 seeds in the Ladies Doubles event. For the complete list of seedings, click here.
June 18, 2001: The doubles draw for the Brittanic Asset Management International Championships in Eastbourne, England was announced today. Martina and Arantxa will take on Magüi Serna and Sandrine Testud in their opening round match. For the complete draw, (in the form of a .pdf file) courtesy of the LTA website, click here. If you are unable to open the page, you can view the draw on Michael Blue's website here. That first round match is expected to take place on Wednesday, reports 'The Independent.'
June 17, 2001: Martina was one of a select group of sports greats who were interviewed by 'Newsweek' magazine for their recent June 17 cover story on golfer Tiger Woods. To read the exclusive interview with Martina (not featured in the actual print edition), click here. To read the complete article on Woods, click here. Scroll down midway through the article to the box entitled "Never Satisfied?" and by clicking on Martina's photo, you can listen to a short audio clip from the interview.
June 17, 2001: To all U.S. residents, Martina will be profiled on "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," airing tomorrow, June 18, at 10:00 p.m., Eastern time on HBO. To read a short description of the documentary, click here. There will be repeats of this show too; for more on that, click here. My special thanks to Andee and Andrew for the alerts.
June 5, 2001: Martina and Max Mirnyi lost their second round mixed doubles match yesterday in Paris. They were beaten by Mahesh Bhupathi and Elena Likhovtseva 6-4 3-6 6-4. Martina's next scheduled tournament is the Brittanic Asset Management International Championships in Eastbourne, beginning in two weeks time.
June 2, 2001: Martina spoke with the Czech newspaper "Mlada Fronta Dnes" after her mixed doubles match yesterday. Here are some of the topics covered. Martina was extremely disappointed after losing her first round womens doubles match with Arantxa. They haven't had much time to practice together this week because Arantxa had to practice for her singles matches. Martina is hopeful for better results on the grass in England later this month. She revealed her post-Wimbledon plans - the Sanex WTA Tour events on her itinerary include Toronto, New Haven, the U.S. Open and Tokyo. Martina has a new pet - a black French bull dog. She also disclosed that she played tennis and golf with Jana Novotna in Florida back in January. Martina expressed her happiness for Hana Mandlikova, who gave birth to twins (a boy and girl) last month. Martina hasn't had much time to devote to flying of late, let alone buying a plane. Fans will remember that Martina acquired her pilot license last year. She also said that she hasn't had much time for sightseeing in Paris because she needs to practice for her matches. Last year, she got to see the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée Rodin. Martina also disclosed that she plans to go to Africa for a vacation this Fall. For the complete article in Czech, click here. My special thanks go out to Jolana for the link as well as for the translation.
June 1, 2001: Martina and Max Mirnyi won their first round mixed doubles match at Roland Garros today, defeating Jeff Tarango and Tina Krizan 6-1 6-7(2) 6-3. For a photo of the two in action, courtesy of the tournament website, click here. Martina gets the day off tomorrow; their second round opponents have not been decided as yet.
May 31, 2001: Martina and Max Mirnyi are scheduled to meet Jeff Tarango and Tina Krizan in the first round of the mixed doubles at Roland Garros tomorrow, playing the fourth match on Court 3. As always, you can follow the match live on the tournament website's Scoreboard.
May 30, 2001: The mixed doubles draw was announced today. Martina is playing with Max Mirnyi of Belarus. They have drawn Jeff Tarango and Tina Krizan in the first round. For the complete draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here.
May 30, 2001: Martina and Arantxa lost their first round doubles match today, going down to Kveta Hrdlickova and Barbara Rittner 2-6 6-3 7-5. This marks the first time in her career that Martina has lost in the first round of the women's doubles at Roland Garros, which she has won a record 7 times.
May 29, 2001: Martina makes her 2001 Grand Slam debut tomorrow when she partners Arantxa in their first round doubles match against Kveta Hrdlickova and Barbara Rittner. The match has been scheduled fourth on Court 3. You can follow the match live on the tournament website here.
May 29, 2001: Here's another 'leftover' from the Italian Open two weeks ago. For the transcripts of Martina's press conference after her first round doubles match in Rome, click here.
May 28, 2001: The womens doubles draw for Roland Garros, which began today, has been released. Martina and Arantxa are the #9 seeds and will face Kveta Hrdlickova and Barbara Rittner in the first round. For the complete doubles draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here.
May 28, 2001: Martina was in Monaco for the Laureus Sports Awards on May 22. Along with 5-time Olympic track & field gold medallist Michael Johnson, she presented Jennifer Capriati with the "World Comeback of the Year" award. Martina is a member of the World Sports Academy, whose patrons host the awards ceremony each year. For photos from the event, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four, Photo Five. The first three photos are from the Laureus website, the next one by Reuters and the last by the Associated Press.
May 28, 2001: In one of her press conferences in Rome, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario was asked about her doubles partnership with Martina and this is what she had to say: "[Playing doubles with Martina] is always very important, because of her personality
and her serve & volley game. We're a team in which both provide something to each other. Her serve & volley game makes me feel confident to try these shots on the court, while I help her to play on clay. Without a doubt, when I think about individual tournaments,
especially Roland Garros, playing doubles with her helps my game. Besides, it's a pleasure to play & see how we fill the stands, in spite of being only a doubles match." My special thanks to Mariana and Marsha for help with the translation.
May 28, 2001: For a photo of Martina from her second round doubles match in Rome two weeks ago, courtesy of 'Tennis Village,' click here. My thanks to Aspenite for alerting me to the photo.
May 17, 2001: Martina and Arantxa lost their second round doubles match in Rome today to Daniela Hantuchova and Henrietta Nagyova 7-6(4) 7-5. Martina's next scheduled event is Roland Garros in Paris beginning May 28.
May 17, 2001: After today's loss, Martina was presented with the "Partners for Success Mentor Award" by the Sanex WTA Tour. She was honored for her outstanding services to the tour's Player Development program. Martina has been the mentor to Olga Barabanschikova since 1997 and to Mirjana Lucic since last year. For more details, please check today's Sanex WTA Tour 'Match Notes' here. Scroll down to the headline "Martina the Mentor honored."
May 16, 2001: Martina and Arantxa will play Daniela Hantuchova and Henrietta Nagyova in their second round match tomorrow. The court location for the match has not yet been decided and will be announced tomorrow.
May 15, 2001: Martina and Arantxa won their first round doubles match today, defeating Nathalie Dechy and Nathalie Tauziat 7-6(7-3) 2-6 6-3. They will next play the winners of tomorrow's first round match between Daniela Hantuchova and Henrietta Nagyova and Kerry-Ann Guse and Alicia Molik. For an article in Italian by 'Sportal,' click here. The article features quotes by Martina, which I believe were made during her post-match press conference today. A credible translation to English can be obtained through AltaVista's Babel Fish translation service. For photos from today, click on the following links: Photo One, Photo Two. The first one is by 'Reuters' and the second by 'Rai Sport.'
May 14, 2001: The draw for the women's Italian Open has been made. Martina and Arantxa have been seeded #8 and will taken on Nathalie Dechy and Nathalie Tauziat in the first round. That match has been scheduled for tomorrow, third on Court 6. For the complete doubles draw, click here. This marks Martina's first appearance in the womens doubles in Rome since 1991.
May 14, 2001: Click here for an interview with Martina, conducted by the German newspaper, "Die Welt". Martina talked about a variety of subjects, both tennis- and non-tennis-related. My special thanks to Jolana for alerting me to this link.
May 14, 2001: Here are some more links of interest regarding Martina's participation in Berlin last week. First, click here for the transcripts of Martina's press conference in Berlin after losing her second round doubles match. You can get a reasonably credible translation using AltaVista's translation service, Babel Fish. For English-language articles by the major news agencies, featuring quotes by Martina taken from the press conference, click on the following links: Reuters, AFP. For a DPA article, in German, click here. My special thanks to 'Aspenite' for the link.
May 10, 2001: Martina and Arantxa lost their second round doubles match in Berlin today to Lubomira Bacheva and Asa Carlsson 6-3 6-3. Unfortunately, the news media coverage of Martina's participation this week has been very poor. Here are links to just two brief German-language articles reporting the loss: Sport1, SID. Both articles are accompanied by photos. Martina's next tournament is the Italian Open in Rome which begins next week.
May 9, 2001: Martina and Arantxa won their first round doubles match today in Berlin, defeating Gisela Riera and Patricia Tarabini 6-2 6-2. They will next play Lubomira Bacheva and Asa Carlsson in a second round match, scheduled on Court B tomorrow. You can follow that match live on the tournament website here (for specifics, see yesterday's post). For photos from today's match, click on the following links. The first three are courtesy of the 'Associated Press'. The next four are by 'Onlinesport': Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four, Photo Five, Photo Six, Photo Seven. Please note that photos numbered five and six are from the tournament website and photo seven is heavily watermarked.
May 8, 2001: Martina and Arantxa are scheduled to play their first round doubles match in Berlin tomorrow. Their match against Gisela Riera and Patricia Tarabini has been scheduled fourth on Center Court. You can follow the match live on the website through their live scores feature here. You can choose to follow the match either on the normal full-screen page - click "Ergebnisse als HTML" for Center Court results only or "Frames" for match scores from all courts. Or you can click on "Pop-Up-Fenster" for a Javascript pop-up window for the Center Court matche scores only.
May 8, 2001: Subaru of America has announced a new advertising campaign entitled "What are you made of?" that features Martina along with mountain biker Tara Llanes and professional snowboarder Victoria Jealouse. This is part of a new creative to support the 2002 Subaru Forresterr and marks the second straight year that Martina is involved in a Subaru marketing program. Said Martina, "Subaru has made a strong and very real commitment to speaking to active lifestyle women in a high-level way. Subaru understands that women are an essential component of the automotive market, and posses tremendous buying power. The compliments I received after appearing in the 'What Do I Know?' campaign last year were both overwhelming and inspiring. Women told me they truly connected with the campaign and its message.” The ad campaign consists of television as well as print ads. The television spots are expected to run in the U.S. on channels such as VH1, ESPN, The Outdoor Life Network, The Golf Channel, Lifetime and Oxygen and will begin airing by mid-May. Publications expected to run the print ads include Golf for Women, Fitness, Health, Runner’s World Women’s Select, Shape, Self, and Sports Illustrated for Women. To read the official press release, click here.
May 6, 2001: The womens doubles draw for the Eurocard Ladies German Open in Berlin which begins tomorrow has been made. Martina and Arantxa will play Gisela Riera and Patricia Tarabini in the first round. For the draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here. Please note that this is only the bottom half of the draw; for the upper half, click on the "1 bis 16" link.
May 6, 2001: Martina's participation in Toronto this summer at the Rogers AT&T Cup, August 11-19, has been confirmed. For a press release from the tournament website, click here. For a related Reuters article, in French, click here.
May 6, 2001: The organizers of the Britannic Asset Management International Championships in Eastbourne have confirmed Martina's and Arantxa's entry at their event to be held June 18-23. For the official press release by the LTA, click here. For articles by the major news agencies, click on the following links: Reuters, Associated Press.
May 6, 2001: Here are some more photos of Martina from Amelia Island last month. They are from her first round doubles match with Arantxa against Kristina Brandi and Jill Craybas: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four, Photo Five, Photo Six, Photo Seven, Photo Eight. My special thanks to Marilyn for the photos.
May 2, 2001: Tennis Week reports on their website that Martina will not be playing World TeamTennis this year. She had been signed on to play for the New York Buzz but owing to scheduling conflicts, she will be unable to play.
May 2, 2001: To read the official press release by "Prince Tennis" on Martina's multi-year endorsement deal with Prince racquets, click here.
May 2, 2001: According to the above-mentioned press release, Martina is expected to play in the Canadian Open in Toronto this August as well as the Toyota Princess Cup in Tokyo the following month. It will be Martina's first appearance in Toronto since 1989, when she won her fourth singles title there. She played in Tokyo last year, reaching the quarterfinals with Monica Seles. Please note that there has been no official announcements from the tournaments as yet but I will keep you informed on the latest developments.
May 1, 2001: Martina will wait until Wimbledon to decide if she will compete in this year's Pilot Pen event in New Haven, Conn. to be held August 20-25. This was disclosed by tournament director, Anne Worcester, to The Hartford Courant. Last year, Martina reached the semifinals in New Haven partnering Katarina Srebotnik.
May 1, 2001: Here are two photos of Martina and Arantxa taken after the doubles final in Amelia Island last month: Photo One, Photo Two. My special thanks to Marsha for the photos. You can visit Marsha's website dedicated to Arantxa here.
April 28, 2001: Some details on the RCA Women's Challenge in Indianapolis to be held August 10-11. The Indianapolis Star reports that Martina and Jana Novotná will serve as captains of their respective teams. The other players lined up for the event are Virginia Wade, Mary Joe Fernandez, Zina Garrison, Wendy Turnbull, Lori McNeil, Illana Kloss, Kathy Rinaldi and Mary Lou Daniels. The format is expected to be the same as last year - two four-player teams, with an alternate each, playing doubles over the two evenings.
April 28, 2001: Mahesh Bhupathi, who played mixed doubles with Martina at Wimbledon last year, recently spoke with the Indian newspaper The Hindu about the experience: "I couldn't believe it when Martina Navratilova offered to play with me. It was an amazing experience. By playing with her I learnt a lot about doubles." Mahesh will be Martina's teammate in World TeamTennis this year, playing for the New York Buzz.
April 26, 2001: Martina has been named by "The Gay Financial Network (GFN)" as one of the 25 most influential out gay and lesbian executives in corporate America. Martina was recognized for her work as spokeswoman for the Rainbow Endowment and co-founder of the Visa Rainbow Card. For the complete list with details on the 25 honored executives, click here.
April 26, 2001: It was confirmed by The Hartford Courant today that Martina's World TeamTennis schedule for this year will not include a stop in Hartford as had been previously assumed, owing to a scheduling conflict. Martina's complete WTT schedule is not yet known.
April 26, 2001: Martina has signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Prince racquets, reports Tennis Week magazine's website. She will play with the Prince Triple Threat Hornet racquet. To read the brief article, click here.
April 20, 2001: Organizers of the Eurocard Ladies German Open in Berlin have confirmed that Martina will be participating in that tournament with Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario. For an article by SID (Sport-Informations-Dienst), in German, click here.
April 20, 2001: In the latest Sanex WTA Tour doubles rankings, released on Monday, Martina moved up 21 spots to #50. This is the first time she's been ranked in the top 50 since October 1995. It's also Martina's highest ranking since she reentered the doubles rankings lists in June of last year. Previously, Martina's highest ranking since returning had been #64.
April 20, 2001: As I mentioned earlier, Martina briefly joined Pam Shriver and Mary Joe Fernandez in the ESPN commentator's box during the networks live telecast of the womens singles final in Amelia Island. For a report on topics Martina dicussed with Pam and Mary Joe, click here.
April 20, 2001: It appears there was a missing report from The Florida Times-Union on the newspaper's website. Click here to read the article, located through the "Tennis" magazine site. The article covers Martina's and Arantxa's semifinal victory in Amelia Island and features quotes by both ladies after the match. I also found another photo of Martina on the German-language "Sport1" website, taken during one of her matches at Amelia Island last week. Click here for the photo.
April 16, 2001: Martina and Arantxa lost yesterday's doubles final in Amelia Island, going down to Conchita Martinez and Patricia Tarabini 6-4 6-2. This was Martina's first WTA Tour doubles final since reaching the finals in Oakland in November of 1994 with Gigi Fernandez. For articles on yesterday's match, click on the following links: Associated Press, The Florida Times-Union. Photos from yesterday's action courtesy of the aforementioned sources: Photo One, Photo Two. Martina's next scheduled Sanex WTA Tour event is the Eurocard Ladies German Open in Berlin, which begins May 7. Sidenote: Martina joined Pam Shriver and Mary Joe Fernandez in ESPN's commentary booth yesterday during the network's live telecast of the women's singles final in the U.S. I will be posting a summary of the topics Martina discussed with Pam and Mary Joe later in the week.
April 15, 2001: Martina and Arantxa advanced to the final yesterday after a 6-4 7-5 victory over Amanda Coetzer and Lori McNeil in the semifinals. They will next meet Conchita Martinez and Patricia Tarabini. The match has been scheduled second on the Stadium court, following the womens singles final. Again, you can follow the match online through the tournament website here. For a brief 'Associated Press' article on today's action, click here. For photos from today, click on the following links. All are courtesy of the 'Associated Press': Photo One, Photo Two.
April 14, 2001: Martina and Arantxa won their quarterfinal match yesterday, defeating the #2 seeds, Virginia Ruano-Pascual and Paola Suarez 7-6(5) 1-6 6-1. They will next play Amanda Coetzer and Lori McNeil, a one-time doubles partner of Martina's. That match has been scheduled fourth on the Stadium court. As always, you can follow the scores live on the tournament website here. For photos from today's action, please click on the following links. All photos are courtesy of the 'Associated Press': Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three.
April 13, 2001: Martina and Arantxa won their opening round doubles match yesterday, defeating the American pair of Kristina Brandi and Jill Craybas 6-1 6-2. They advance to the quarterfinals where they will meet the #2 seeds and last year's French Open finalists, Virginia Ruano-Pascual and Paola Suarez. That match has been scheduled fourth on the Stadium court. Again, you can follow it live online through the tournament website here. For photos from yesterday's match, click on the following links. The first two are by the 'Associated Press' and the third is from The Florida Times-Union: Photo One, Photo Two, Photo Three, Photo Four, Photo Five. Note: two new photos have been added, April 14.
April 12, 2001: Martina and Arantxa will take on lucky losers, Kristina Brandi and Jill Craybas, in their opening round doubles match today. The match is scheduled fourth on the Stadium court. You can follow the match live on the tournament's website here.
April 12, 2001: The World TeamTennis player drafts were completed yesterday. Martina's team, the New York Buzz, has signed on multiple Grand Slam winner and Martina's mixed doubles partner at Wimbledon last year, Mahesh Bhupathi. Also added were Canadian #1 Jana Nejedly, Jill Craybas and Justin Bower. For the official WTT press release with details on other team rosters as well, click here.
April 12, 2001: Martina and Arantxa have been scheduled to play their first round match against Corina Morariu and Mary Pierce today, playing fourth on the Stadium court. However, Pierce withdrew from her second round singles match yesterday after straining her back during an exercise work-out. Whether she will play tomorrow remains in doubt. In the likelihood that Martina and Arantxa do get to play tomorrow, you can follow the match live on the tournament website by clicking here.
April 11, 2001: Martina spoke to the media at Amelia Island yesterday. Her opening round doubles match with Arantxa has been scheduled for Thursday. For an brief write-up in The Florida Times-Union on some of the topics discussed at the press conference, click here.
April 10, 2001: Click on the following links for articles regarding Martina's comments on Richard Williams, father of current American #1 Venus Williams and her sister Serena, made at a press conference in Amelia Island: Reuters, Associated Press. The first article is accompanied by a short audio clip from the press conference. For a related opinion column from The Florida Times-Union, click here.
April 9, 2001: The doubles draw for the Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island, Florida was released yesterday. Martina and Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario are unseeded and will take on former doubles #1 Corina Morariu partnered by Mary Pierce in their opening round match. For the complete doubles draw, courtesy of the tournament website, click here.
April 5, 2001: Martina is quoted in today's USA Today talking about the concept of the "Grand Slam." The topic is back in the news thanks to golfer Tiger Wood's attempt to win a fourth consecutive major this week at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia. He is already the reigning champion of golf's other three majors - the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championships, all won last year. Here's what Martina had to say: "To hold all four at the same time is pretty amazing. It hasn't been done very many times in tennis. A Grand Slam puts you in the history of the game. I'd say if Tiger wins The Masters, he has a Slam." Martina won the Grand Slam in 1983-84, the fifth tennis player in history to do so.
April 4, 2001: For all U.S. residents: A&E will televize the biography of Billie Jean King entitled "Rebel With a Racket" on their regular "Biography" series on Saturday, April 7 at 8:00 p.m., Eastern time. Martina is among the contributors interviewed for this program so make sure you don't miss it!
April 4, 2001: The DuPont World TeamTennis marquee player draft for the 2001 season was done today and it is confirmed that Martina will compete in WTT this year, playing for the New York Buzz (formerly the Schenectady County Electrics). This will mark the third consecutive season that Martina plays for the New York team. The rest of the team will be decided during the roster player draft on April 11. For today's press release by DuPont World TeamTennis, click here.
April 2, 2001: An article in today's Miami Herald confirms that Martina will be competing at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island this month with Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario. Sánchez-Vicario's partnership with Nathalie Tauziat over the past month was apparently only a temporary one. For the complete article on Sánchez-Vicario's and Tauziat's win at the Ericsson Open on Sunday, click here. My special thanks to Jolana for the link.
March 25, 2001: Martina was in Tucson, Arizona last week practicing with Brad Dancer, her one-time coach in World TeamTennis and the current women's tennis coach at the University of Arizona. Martina spent one week in total, training at the Robson Tennis Center, according to The Arizona Daily Star. Dancer explained, "I met her in Colorado and I expect her to come back for another week of training this spring." My thanks to Jolana for the news alert. Also, special thanks to Bob who saw Martina two weeks ago in Tucson. Details regarding that have already been posted on the message boards.
March 25, 2001: I still haven't been able to find any news regarding Martina's non-participation at the Ericsson Open in Miami. However, another article in The Miami Herald from earlier in the week features many quotes by Martina and Pam Shriver, talking about the current women's tennis scene. For the complete article, click here.
March 21, 2001: The womens doubles draw for the Ericsson Open was released today and shockingly, Martina's name was not in the draw! Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario is playing doubles with Nathalie Tauziat. I guess I was mistaken about Martina being in Miami already and judging by her non-participation, it is unlikely that she is there or will be there for the tournament. There do not seem to be any news reports with details as to why Martina is not playing. I will keep you informed if I hear anything new. Martina's next scheduled tournament is the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Fla., beginning April 9.
March 20, 2001: Martina was quoted two days ago in an article in The Miami Herald on Jennifer Capriati. I think it is safe to deduce that she is already in Miami getting ready for the Ericsson Open which begins tomorrow. In the article, Martina talked favourably of Capriati, comparing her to the current top American woman, Lindsay Davenport. Said Martina, "She is to me almost as good as Lindsay, and she's faster than Lindsay. She has a very similar game to Lindsay. Good serve, solid second serve, heavy ball, and now she has the legs to go with it and the stamina. It's a hunger. My God, she's so excited now." To read the complete article, click here.
March 8, 2001: Martina has tentatively committed to playing at the RCA Women's Challenge in Indianapolis, August 10-11. The event format is the same as last year with two 4-player teams playing doubles matches over two evenings. For the press release on the tournament website along with a list of committed players, click here. My special thanks to the Martina fan who alerted me to this piece of news.
February 7, 2001: Martina was at Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania yesterday giving a speech as part of the university's Distinguish Speaker Series. Here are a few links to related articles. The first one is accompanied by a photograph of Martina at a press conference before the speech: The Digital Collegian, Centre Daily Times, Associated Press.
February 4, 2001: For a nice article on Martina by Agence France-Presse (AFP), click here. Martina talks about her comeback and also discloses that she is planning on playing at this year's U.S. Open as well. However, she admits, unfortunately, that 2001 could very well be her final year on tour. For the article in French, click here.
January 27, 2001: The website of the Rainbow Card has added a few write-ups to their "News" section, accompanied by new photos of Martina at various events. Also included is an article by Martina in which she shares excerpts of the speech she gave at the 1999 Human Rights Campaign National Dinner where she was presented with the National Equality Award. You can visit the Rainbow Card website here and then click on the "News" link for the reports. Martina is the co-founder and spokeswoman for the Rainbow Card.
January 22, 2001: Martina was in Naples, Florida last week for the pro-am of the Subaru Memorial golf tournament. To read the complete article, courtesy of "The Naples Daily News," click here.
January 22, 2001: Here are some of the details from Martina's interview with "Mlada Fronta Dnes." Martina spent part of last month and early this month practicing in Revnice with Czech junior Iveta Benesova under the watchful eye of her father, Mirek. She says she is making progress and is looking forward to joining the tour this year. Said Martina, "I think this year will be easier for me. Last year I was very nervous and my body was really hurting. You understand when you come back just how demanding the game is." Martina says she will spend the rest of the winter playing ice hockey and skiing in Aspen. She also talked about her home in Aspen, which has been up for sale. She is hoping to eventually move to a smaller house but she hasn't been able to find a buyer for her current one as yet. For a Spanish article with all the details, courtesy of "Deporweb," click here.
January 22, 2001: Martina has announced her 2001 Sanex WTA Tour doubles schedule for this spring. She will make her season debut in Miami in March at the Ericsson Open playing with Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario. This will be followed by the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island in April; the Eurocard Ladies German Open in Berlin and the Italian Open in Rome, both in May; her next event, Roland Garros in Paris, will be her first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Martina will then head to the English grass courts in June, starting with the Direct Line International Tennis Championships in Eastbourne and The Championships at Wimbledon. Arantxa will be her doubles partner at all events. Martina revealed her plans to the Czech daily, "Mlada Fronta Dnes" earlier this month. For the article, in Czech, accompanied by a photo of Martina, practicing in her hometown of Revnice, click here. For the articles by the major news service, click on the following links: Reuters, Associated Press, BBC. My special thanks to Jolana, Ian and Carin for the links.
January 22, 2001: Martina will compete in the downhill skiing race at the "Spirt of Skiing" charity event, sponsored by 'Newsweek' and 'Oldsmobile', that takes place in Aspen, February 22-25. The event benefits the "Prostrate Cancer Initiative." To visit the official website of the "Spirit of Skiing," click here.
January 22, 2001: Martina wrote an excellent instructional article entitled "The Leading Edge" for the December/January issue of Tennis magazine. The article dealt with holding on to a lead in tennis matches. For the complete article, click here.
January 22, 2001: For those who didn't get to watch Martina's appearance on the American sitcom "Will and Grace" in November, you can view a Real Media video clip from the episode by clicking here. In the clip, Karen (one of the show's characters) makes up a story concerning various marriage proposals she received back in 1985. One of them was from Martina, who she runs into at a discotheque! The transcripts of the entire episode can be found here. Both the video clip and the transcripts are courtesy of "Rob's Will and Grace Web Page."
January 22, 2001: Ray Bowers, in his excellent "Between the Lines" column of The Tennis Server website, has selected Martina as the (tennis) Player of the Century! To read his detailed analyses of the decision, click here.
January 22, 2001: Martina was back on the ice rink in November and December of last year, playing for her team, the Aspen Mother Puckers, in the 2000-2001 season of the Women's Association of Colorado Hockey league. Reports indicate that Martina scored numerous goals in the various games she competed in. I'm not sure if she is still playing but will keep you informed of the latest developments. To visit the official website of the Women's Association of Colorado Hockey (WACH), click here. The website of the Northern Colorado Comets features a few photos from a game with the Mother Puckers. You can view the photos here.