After several months of painting, drilling, sawing, and lots of dust, Justine Henin’s La Palestre tennis club in Limelette is ready for a grand opening which will include a number of weekend activities. The tennis club features three new clay courts, a restaurant, gardens, medical treatment room, and more.

"Whatever the reason of their visit to the club, I want people to feel at home and comfortable," the world No.1 said.

La Palestre means a lot to Justine Henin and I wish that her visitors enjoy time spent there. (source: Justine Henin's official website)

World number three Jelena Jankovic is now in Miami, recovering from a complex surgery she underwent in order to put an end to her breathing problems. Jankovic was having trouble breathing during matches, which became most prominent during the last few tournaments of the season. The surgery was a success and Jankovic believes that it will enable her to play at her best level.

Jankovic’s doctor doesn’t allow her to play tennis until she fully recovers, and told her not to take part in the charity exhibition event at the Belgrade Arena, scheduled for December 7. However, Jelena is so determined to play in her home town, primarily because the funds raised go to charity, that she will ignore the doctor’s orders, and will play at the event. Oh, that’s so nice of her.

After the exhibition match, Jankovic will return to the States, and she will stay off the court until the doctor tells her it’s safe for her to resume training and start preparing for the 2008 season. (source: B92, photo via Tennis Universe)

It has been confirmed today — Maria Sharapova and Anna Chakvetadze are scheduled to play an exhibition match on December 30 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The tickets will probably cost from about $150 up to a few thousand dollars!

Sharapova will arrive in Singapore two days prior to the match because of a few public appearances she is supposed to make.

Here’s one positive and relaxing video making fun of Ana Ivanovic, of course, only for the purposes of entertainment.

In the video, Ana’s team made fun of her “perfect” forehand, her “always precise” shots, her “honesty”, and other things we tend to associate with the 20-year-old tennis star. They also ridiculed her mother’s constant seriousness (something I’ve noticed myself) saying “Such a happy, bubbly, and exuberant person. She obviously gets it from her mother…”. Hehe, definitely! Anyway, enjoy this 5-minute video!

You can download the video at Ana Ivanovic’s official website.

Unbelievable, but true – Venus Williams injured her hamstring during the off-season! On Tuesday, Williams teamed up with talk show host Regis Philbin, and they played against ATP Tour player Mark Knowles and TV producer Michael Gelman.

The match was aired on television on Wednesday, during Live with Regis and Kelly. Then Williams made a confession: "I pulled my hamstring. I got up this morning and hobble hobble. But I'm used to injuries. I just block them out." (sources: On the Baseline, World Entertainment News Network)

The 2008 season has already started for Ana Ivanovic who resumed training on Monday. The Serb is working hard in London, at the state-of-the art National Tennis Center in Roehampton. Ana is amazed with the facilities describing them as “the best in the world”.

“In designing this center, it seems like they thought of everything. There is even this special pod, which is like a machine, that you can sit in to relax after training, and it speeds up the recovery time. But what I like most is the special coffee/smoothie bar,” said the world No.4.

And not only is Ivanovic practicing in modern tennis center, she is also renting a wonderful apartment in London where all the walls are at the same time the doors! Wow! I would love to see that. (source: Ana Ivanovic's official website)

Indian world No.31 Sania Mirza gave a lengthy interview for IBN Live, and although the whole interview is worth reading, there are two parts that are exceptionally interesting.

Firstly, the interviewer’s lack of knowledge, which can surely irritate some people, but hahaha, I’m still laughing. Please read this:

Anuradha SenGupta: You are currently on an injury break?

Sania Mirza: No, it’s off season now. Read more »

After skipping the Australian circuit in 2007 because of personal problems, world number one Justine Henin is eager to start the upcoming tennis season at the January 6-12 Medibank International in Sydney.

“I am very excited to be returning to Sydney. As everyone knows the start of 2007 was a very difficult time for me personally and I really missed playing the Australian circuit, but this will make me even more eager to do well in January,” said the 25-year-old Belgian. “I was sad I wasn’t in Australia this year and I hope to take my revenge in a few weeks.”

Henin already won two Medibank International trophies, and in January she’ll compete for her fortieth Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title. (via On the Baseline)

Maria Sharapova is busy shopping and traveling, as always.

The Russian was recently spotted buying shoes in Los Angeles, looking fantastic wearing black and gold boots.

Read more »

Without doubt, it’s very common these days to see flying racquets in the middle of matches. TC of the Tennis Country reflects on the fact that some players are more likely to break their racquets when angry, while some manage to channel their frustrations in good ways. Why coaches of the rising tennis pros and current professional players should pay attention to this aspect of the game?

Read more »