Since the photos of players when they were kids is one of your favorite sections on Women's Tennis Blog, I decided to include it on the homepage, at least for a while. Actually, it's all the idea of our reader Tony (PennettaFan on Twitter). Under the title "Little tennis stars", below in the left sidebar, you can see young Monica Seles and links to all the other players' childhood photos that have been included on Women's Tennis Blog so far.

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Also, I was inspired to make a poll where you can vote for the cutest childhood photo of a WTA player. This list is of course by no means extensive. Feel free to share some cute photos of WTA players you may have come across, and I can feature them in future articles and polls.

Below are my photo favorites included in the poll:

1) Dinara Safina – I love her face expression here.

2) Sara Errani – Adorable curly blond hair, love the vintage look.

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Elena Dementieva ended her slamless but amazing career last year in October and married her long-time boyfriend, Russian hockey player Maxim Afinogenov in July. The tennis star will now try herself out in a new career field, as a TV host of the show entitled Kukhnya ("Kitchen" in Russian). The show will be aired on a Russian hockey channel KHL and will feature the personal lives of hockey players.

Above you can see Elena Dementieva talking about the show in Russian. (source: Tennis Info Blog)

Alla Kudryavtseva, who was the first to break the news about Elena Dementieva's wedding, took her reporting job seriously and didn't leave the story half told. Thanks to her we have the opportunity to see many pictures from the Moscow wedding and there is also a video from Russian Life News.

The 29-year-old Dementieva, remembered as one of the nicest WTA stars, looked like a princess in her wedding dress.

Dementieva's husband is a famous Russian ice hockey player, Maxim Afinogenov, and many athletes attended the wedding of this sports couple. As for Elena's colleagues, there were Vera Dushevina, Dinara Safina, Maria Kirilenko, Vera Zvonareva, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ekaterina Makarova. Read more »

Thanks to Alla Kudryavtseva and Twitter we're learning that Elena Dementieva is getting married, according to the tweet I suppose on Saturday, July 16th. Dementieva's husband will be her long-time boyfriend, 31-year-old Maxim Afinogenov. He is a professional ice hockey player.

This news is not a surprise at all. When Dementieva retired from tennis last October she hinted thinking about starting a family:

To be honest with you, I mean, if I would be a man I would never stop playing.  But in the age 29; I have to think about something else. I think I'm ready for the big change in my life.

(source: DeShawn Besabella, photo via My Fabe Tennis)

The second part of our series "WTA players and their mothers" is a special featuring retired tennis players (you can check out the first part here).

Martina Navratilova and her mother Jana, who passed away at the age of 75.

In the photos above and below you can see Amelie Mauresmo's mother Françoise. The photos are from the Paris ceremony paying tribute to the career of the France's former world No.1 and two-time Grand Slam champion. Read more »

Elena Dementieva retired this season during the WTA Championships in Doha and I decided to do this tribute to the well-known cooperation of the Russian and Yonex, as part of our yearly retrospections of players outfits.

As much as we fans loved Dementieva, most of us didn't like her Yonex clothes. Unlike Fila which nurtures that simple and sporty look successfully, Yonex's simplicity makes outfits too bland, and I would say it's mostly due to unflattering cuts. Dementieva has a nice figure and Yonex's outfits simply didn't take advantage of that. I believe they even failed to accentuate her pretty face, because they were so uninspiring.

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Twenty-nine-year-old Elena Dementieva quit tennis last week during the WTA Champinships in Doha and decided to pursue other things in life, such as starting a family. WTA players gathered to express their appreciation of Dementieva's personality, professionalism, successful singles and doubles career, and to share their memories of their tense matches with her.

The players featured in the video are: Francesca Schiavone, Jelena Jankovic, Kveta Peschke, Caroline Wozniacki, Kim Clijsters, Rennae Stubbs, Sam Stosur, Katarina Srebotnik, Lisa Raymond, Vera Zvonareva, Victoria Azarenka, Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta.

Elena Dementieva shocked the tennis world by leaving the sport without any prior notice, during the WTA Championships – Doha 2010. We have already shared with you some of the reasons behind Dementieva's decision, and I'm sure you would like more information about her future plans.

First of all, when Dementieva said she was ready for a big change in her life, yes, she was thinking about having babies. When asked about plans to have children, Dementieva said: "I hope so, yeah."

Also, you may have wondered how Dementieva will spend her time now that there is no travel and tennis in her life. The answer is that she will focus on her studies which she started last year at one of the best universities in Moscow. However, she will surely miss playing tennis and will follow the tournaments and congratulate players on their successes.

And of course, you may have wondered how Dementieva feels about not adding a Grand Slam title to her fruitful career. Well, she's not preoccupied with it, because she always gave the very best of herself – "You don't have to be perfect, but you have to try hard. And I did all the time." (source: WTA Tour, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

WTA players seem to enjoy catching us unprepared. It’s not a shocker that Elena Dementieva decided to call it a career, but at this very moment, without any prior notice, it’s nothing less than a shocker. The graceful Russian knew she was about to retire even in the beginning of the season, but didn’t want to make her decision public so that people wouldn’t talk about it during the whole year. That’s so Elena. She’s so humble and never wants to draw spotlight to herself.

Still, it's very tough decision to make.  Very emotional.  I made the decision in the beginning of this season, so it was very hard coming to the tournaments knowing that this was my last one.  It was very emotional for me to play the whole year.

I didn't want to make it public.  I didn't want everybody talking about the whole season. You know, I only told to my family and close friends, so today in the court I was very surprised that everyone kind of knew about my secret.  They all were standing, and it was very special for me.

The 29-year-old Dementieva was ranked inside the Top 20 for 524 of 529 weeks since September 11, 2000. That’s ten years! She’s currently ranked ninth, and 328 of her career weeks she spent inside the Top 10. Read more »

Dear readers, Women's Tennis Blog has become an attractive place for guest posters. This time Jay from www.OnCourtAdvantage.com wanted to contribute his preview of the Sony Ericsson Championships. Check out his favorites for the prestigious Doha title.

The Sony Ericsson Championships (SEC) have begun and will run for 6 days through to Women’s Singles Final on Sunday 31 October. Due to the unique Round Robin format used for this tournament we are blessed with the fantastic opportunity to see these top players clash more often than in any other tournament.

The SEC will produce a number of rematches of Grand Slam quarterfinals, semifinals and singles finals like Schiavone versus Stosur (2010 Roland Garros Final), Clijsters versus Wozniacki (2009 US Open Final) and Clijsters versus Zvonareva (2010 US Open Final).

In no other tournament are you required to beat at least 4 if not 5, of the world’s Top 8 ranked players to win the title. The degree of difficulty is extreme and at least one player will show us the qualities of a true champion this week.

The maroon group is:

(1) Caroline Wozniacki
(4) Francesca Schiavone
(5) Samantha Stosur
(7) Elena Dementieva

The white group is:

(2) Vera Zvonareva
(3) Kim Clijsters
(6) Jelena Jankovic
(8) Victoria Azarenka

Predictions:

Let me just warn you that in tennis more than any other sport you should never bet on the outcome of a match. Instead invest your funds into enjoying, watching, playing and improving the great game we love.

Anyone who REALLY understands this game knows that in the vast majority of matches, both players will have critical moments and opportunities that can swing the match either way and often there can be a number of these situations with the same match.

On any given day it is the player who in the above mentioned situations that can:

Produce the better strategic nous;
Make the better decisions;
Execute their shots during the BIG points; and
Copes best with mental challenges that usually dictate who triumphs on the day.
But if you really want a prediction THEN…

Who will make the semifinals?

The maroon group:

Based on the form that has taken the 20-year-old Wozniacki to be the current World No.1, you would have to lean towards the 1.77m Dane as the favorite to win her group. The youngest player in the field leads the WTA Tour in match wins – 59 – and singles titles this year, 6 titles from 7 finals.

The 1.66m Schiavone would probably be the next best chance to take the second semifinal spot. The eldest player in the field is in great physical condition and will be prepared to peak this week and in the Federation Cup Final following the SEC.

The 30-year-old Italian has enormous pride in representing her country and in her own performance, which suggests she will fight relentlessly. The steely resolve of the Lioness could prove too much for Dementieva’s fragile ankle and Stosur’s current lack of confidence.

The 29-year-old Dementieva forfeited with an ankle injury last week in Luxembourg as she did in the 2010 Roland Garros semifinals. The 1.8m Russian’s strongest component of her game is her court movement and court coverage, so if that is compromised it will be much tougher for her.

The 26-year-old Stosur has not been in good form recently but does possess a serve and forehand that can win her matches. The 1.72m Australian is well suited to hard courts and has won her most recent match against Wozniacki and Dementieva. Stosur also holds a winning record over Schiavone.

Best Guess = No.1 Schiavone and No.2 Wozniacki. Read more »