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)

A new video game called Smash Court Tennis 3, featuring big names from both the male and female pro circuits, is due to be released for the X-Box 360 console in Japan this month.

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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.

The photo was taken last week during the 7th Annual Andy Roddick Charity Weekend in Florida where Sharapova partnered James Blake and they played Roddick and Brenda Schultz-McCarthy.

Additional info: I’ve just stumbled upon a forum called Commercials I Hate, and Maria Sharapova’s Canon ad, the one where she takes pictures of a dog, is being discussed there. What irritates some forum members about the ad? (via Celebmagic)

What? I’m speechless! This is the most unexpected news! Nicole Vaidisova, who celebrated her 18th birthday in April, to marry 29-year-old ATP tennis pro Radek Stepanek, Martina Hingis’ ex-fiancé? Haha, when I first read the heading of the news I thought that Vaidisova is about to marry someone, and Stepanek is about to marry someone (that’s how unbelievable their marriage is to me!).

According to the Bradenton Herald, the Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court has said that the pair applied for a marriage license on December 10.

The Herald also states that Vaidisova’s agent at IMG Academies has not been available to comment.

Remember that Stepanek and Hingis broke off their engagement only a few months ago, shortly before the US Open? And Stepanek is supposedly already planning to marry? Hm, maybe it’s a short period of time for me, but it might have been long enough for Radek to find a new bride. (via On the Baseline, photos via Nicole Vaidisova On-Line, BBC)

Venus Williams graduated in fashion design from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, and the Williams family certainly had a good time throughout the day. The celebration continued into the evening with the graduation after party and launch of Venus’ EleVen clothing line in Miami.

Who was there to support Venus? Father Richard, mother Oracene Price, boyfriend Hank Kuehne, and of course sister Serena, famous for always being ready for partying.

For more photos that illustrate what the celebrations were like visit WTA World and Down the Line.

Jelena Jankovic is joining forces with "Hairspray" actress Brittany Snow to collaborate in a new, original Reebok Entertainment-produced TV show called "Framed", which aims to take viewers behind-the-scenes in presenting an unfiltered, real view of the biggest names in sports, who each endorse Reebok. Read more »

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.

Haha. As one member of the forum where I found the photo remarked, Venus’ father Richard could have said “I got this child prodigy for free because I bought 500 tennis balls”.

I’ve also collected cute photos of other tennis starts when they were kids. Check out Ana Ivanovic, Monica Seles, Kim Clijsters, or Lindsay Davenport.

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.

In the past, the earliest that the players have arrived in New Zealand was two weeks before the ASB Classic, so fifth-seeded Paszek is about to break the record by about a week.

While it’s common for players to come to Australia two or three weeks prior to the first two tournaments, New Zealand had to wait a bit longer for the players to arrive. Richard Palmer, director of the ASB Classic, believes that if Paszek makes a good result at the tournament, other players will follow her example and arrive in New Zealand just as early. (source: Newstalk ZB, photo via Linkmania)

Aaress Lawless from On the Baseline Tennis News did a lot of work to organize the 2008 Players to Watch Series which will comprise of a number of guest posts and exclusive interviews. It will spotlight many familiar stars, as well as the brightest newcomers in women’s tennis during a period of two weeks. I believe that the series will be a valuable collection of articles and I suggest you to check it out.

My guest post will be about Tamira Paszek with a number of facts backing up my opinion that she is a player to watch in 2008. The article will air within the next two weeks and I will let you know when it gets online. Additionally, Aaress managed to obtain an exclusive Q&A interview with Paszek, so my recap of her career will be a nice lead-in to the interview. Cool!

Enjoy the series, it has already started!

UPDATE: I promised that I will inform you when my article about Tamira Paszek gets published, and here it is: Tamira Paszek May Pose Threat to Top Tennis Players in 2008. Hope you'll like it.

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.

In 2008, world No.19 Szavay will debut Fila's tennis performance collection which was inspired by Fila's tennis fashions from the 70s, in a striking red, black and white color palette at the Australian Open.

The 18-year-old Hungarian is definitely a good choice, we will see a lot of her in the future. In 2007 Szavay impressed us winning two singles titles (Palermo and Beijing), reaching the final in New Haven, and advancing to the US Open quarterfinal.

Additional info: In an exhibition match held in Budapest, Agnes Szavay defeated Ana Ivanovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. (Marketwire via On the Baseline, photo via Tennis Turkye)