Australian Open may lose its Grand Slam status?
Tennis Australia fears that the Australian Open may lose its Grand Slam status because of two reasons:
1) Melbourne Park needs to be invested in; it has now fallen behind it's Grand Slam counterparts based on a recent report undertaken into the facilities at Melbourne Park
2) a possibility of another Grand Slam event in the Asia Pacific region
With considerable financial influence and pressure coming from Asia and the Middle East, Tennis Australia is requesting $300 million of government funding to upgrade Melbourne Park. Tennis Australia, has expressed concerns that it is not only a possibility that the Australian Open may lose its Grand Slam status unless something is done regarding the facilities, but may also find another Grand Slam event introduced in the Asia Pacific region, therefore decreasing the profile of the event.
The Australian Open has been upgraded only very little since the introduction of the Vodafone arena in 2000, while all the other Grand Slams spent $195 million during the past two financial years on their tennis centers. (via BlogSport)

We all know that Maria Sharapova had to change her serving motion due to a right shoulder injury, and…in the photo you can see the outcome. Hehe.

Venus Williams 
Isn’t this a fantastic photo? It reminds us of the old times and the beginnings of Venus Williams’ brilliant career. It also illustrates that an important part of becoming a champion is not to forget to take a little break from practicing and simply have fun.
Austrian Tamira Paszek seems to be taking the ASB Classic seriously as she has already arrived in Auckland to start practicing for the New Year's Eve event.
Aaress Lawless from
Fila has signed an endorsement agreement with rising tennis star Agnes Szavay. The agreement signals Fila's on-going commitment to tennis as a core category and continues the company's legacy of sponsoring elite tennis champions.
