There was a lot of talk about the exhibition match between Maria Sharapova and Anna Chakvetadze. Weeks before the match everybody was talking about it, Singapore went crazy for Maria. So, now that it’s over, what are people’s impressions? Fellow tennis blogger Nawin attended the event, and his impressions are mixed. I will just sum up what he said in his review, for his detailed story accompanied with photos visit Regentville Tennis Blog.

Nawin is happy that Singapore, after a long time, got the opportunity to welcome two high-profile tennis players. However, he hopes that this was just the beginning of big events organized in Singapore. He’s disappointed because the organization was bad, and the ball boys and girls were slow and uncoordinated. Also, the umpire had to do most of the work because line judges were unsure of the calls. As the match progressed, Maria and Anna clearly became frustrated with this.

Oops, I almost forgot: Maria Sharapova beat Anna Chakvetadze 6-0, 7-6(10). (photo via Sharapova’s website)

We see Maria’s father, Yuri Sharapov, at every match his daughter plays, but her mother Yelena has remained somewhat mysterious (something like Jelena Jankovic’s father). But here is your chance to remind yourself of what she looks like, in a photo where she stands with Maria in front of a Christmas tree.

It is rumored that Yelena doesn’t enjoy watching her daughter’s matches and only likes to hear the scores afterwards.

If you want more of Maria’s mother, take a look at these photos. (via Down the Line)

Jelena Jankovic has announced that she will cut back on her schedule in 2008 – that’s something all of her fans were eagerly waiting for.

The world number three played as much as 97 matches in the 2007 season, more than any other player on the WTA Tour, and as the year progressed she struggled for fitness and form. Jankovic has realized that less is more and that if she wants to avoid injuries, she must plan her schedule a bit wiser.

"I had so many matches during the year, not much time off and it was difficult. I will cut back a little bit on my schedule and play a lot less and mainly focus on the big tournaments, the Grand Slams and Tier Ones," Jankovic told reporters at the Hopman Cup on Saturday, the eight-nation mixed team event where she and Novak Djokovic will represent Serbia, the number one seeds.

The 22-year-old said that she started training a little later because of her nose surgery which kept her in bed for three long weeks. Therefore Jankovic is not in her best form at the moment. But, please, note what she said: "I don't have any expectations, I just want to play as many matches as possible and try to get back in form." Isn’t this the exact opposite of what she claimed her plans for the 2008 season were? Oh, Jelena, you just can’t stop. (source: Reuters, photo via Tennis Server)

Anna Chakvetadze still suffers consequences of the recent robbery of her Moscow house. Chakvetadze’s hands were tied so tightly by the burglars that she still has problems with her left hand.

Russia Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpischev explained to newspaper Sovietskiy Sport:

"Anna has problems with her left hand — she almost cannot feel her fingers, because during the attack her hands were tied very tightly with some ropes."

He added that Anna has started practicing, but she has not fully recovered, and is hence undergoing acupuncture with a Chinese expert.

Tarpischev also noted that the whole ordeal left Anna quite traumatized, and she doesn’t want to stay at home. No wonder! Especially if you consider that the robbers have promised to come back!

Reminder: Chakvetadze is scheduled to play an exhibition match with fellow Russian Maria Sharapova on December 30 in Singapore. (via Tennis Info Blog)

When adidas contacted me to write a review of some of their latest products I was so happy to accept. Isn’t it an honor to have professional tennis clothes in your hands, weeks before they even hit the stores? Wohoo! Writing this blog is starting to pay off. And that’s not all, they were very kind and gave me the opportunity to choose a product I liked most! So, I went for the Women’s Edge Tank and Skort. It’s strange, I’m not crazy for clothes at all, but when I got the box with the outfit I was jumping in my room like a child.

Haha, I actually started writing a review of the outfit, but this introduction proved to be so long that I decided to make a separate post out of it. Anyway, the Edge collection will be in stores starting from January, and somewhere during the first week of 2008 I will publish the real review.

Justine Henin has added the 2007 United States Sports Academy Female Athlete of the Year award to her already impressive list of achievements. It's the first time Justine has won this very popular American sports award.

The online ballot was presented by United States' daily newspaper – the USA TODAY and communications giant MSNBC. The poll received hundreds of thousands of votes from all around the world, and Henin took first place on the female side. Second place went to Venus Williams, while American swimmer Natalie Coughlin finished in third place. (via Justine Henin's site)

Indian tennis phenomenon Sania Mirza joined her colleagues Ana Ivanovic and Anna Chakvetadze by signing a partnership deal with adidas. This shows adidas’ commitment to being the dominant international tennis brand and the importance of India in the brand’s vision.

Sania Mirza is pleased to have joined a long list of adidas superstars: "I am extremely happy to be part of such a distinguished family of players and brand ambassadors… I am really looking forward to wearing the stylish 3-Stripes for many years to come."

Hartwin Feddersen, Director of Marketing at adidas India, said: "She is a perfect fit for the brand as she personifies the passion, energy and boldness that adidas stands for. We welcome her into the adidas family and look forward to a long association with her."

A world-class athlete who embodies the adidas philosophy of Impossible is Nothing, Sania Mirza is an inspiration to millions of Asian women and tennis lovers. (via fibre2fashion)

Australia's No.1 women's tennis player Samantha Stosur is forced to miss the Australian circuit because she didn’t have enough time to prepare. Stosur was unable to compete on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for most of the last half of the season due to two serious illnesses and she only resumed training three weeks ago.

The world No.46 has withdrawn from the Australian Open, as well as from her home event, the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts on the Gold Coast.

"I always love competing at home in Australia and have had some of my best results here, which makes the decision not to play especially hard," Stosur said. "But I need concentrate on the long-term goal of getting my health and fitness 100 percent again, so I don't want to start competing again until I'm fully ready." (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, photo via Sam Stosur's official site)

Now I have photos of two pregnant tennis stars on the homepage — Kim Clijsters and Anastasia Myskina, and who knows, soon we might add Nicole Vaidisova to the list — but don’t worry Women’s Tennis Blog won’t become a pregnancy-oriented blog. Anyway, for those of you still keeping track of retired Kim Clijsters, this is how the former world number one looks now.

What do you say? Not bad at all! Our Fiona lookalike seems very happy.

Kim Clijsters married US basketball player Brian Lynch in a secret wedding ceremony in Brussels, on July 13. She got married only a few days after the announcement of her pregnancy. (photo via WTA World)

Maria Sharapova will play an exhibition match against fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze in Singapore on December 30, and goods Sharapova will be using during her stay in a five-star hotel will be auctioned off.

Eager fans have been making inquiries – and offers – to buy almost anything Sharapova comes in contact with. However, the officials have decided not to offer everything for auction, for the sake of good taste – therefore, they said, toilet seats or covers won’t be available. Disposable items such as bathrobes, towels slippers, pillow cases and bedsheets will be auctioned off. It’s still not determined yet whether the goods will be washed or not.

BTW: Sharapova will be staying in the presidential suite at the riverside Fullerton Hotel which costs $4,745 per night. (source: Bangkok Post, photo via Sharapova's official site)