Action began at the season-ending tournament of Bali, and unlike at the let's call it Premier season-ending tournament of Istanbul, the Bali eight-women draw doesn't have the round-robin format preceding the semifinals, but rather regular quarterfinals, semifinals and the title match. Therefore, after the first day of action we already have one semifinal pair: Ana Ivanovic and Nadia Petrova.

Ivanovic served up a 6-3 6-3 victory over Roberta Vinci, the player with whom she made cookies for charity as a pre-tournament activity to raise funds for UNICEF's education projects in Asia-Pacific. In her seventh career match with Vinci, defending champion Ivanovic was aggressive and played well.

However, Ivanovic fell in the beginning of the second set and received treatment for her ankle, but hopefully the injury is not serious. We have every reason to believe so as Ivanovic rushed through the second set against Vinci.

Petrova took out Peng Shuai 6-4 6-3 despite going up and down, dropping serve four times and having problems with upper back, which she overcame by adrenaline and the will to win.

The other two quarterfinals will take place on Friday: Marion Bartoli vs. Anabel Medina Garrigues and Sabine Lisicki vs. Daniela Hantuchova. (photos courtesy of Robertus Pudyanto)

Now that the WTA Championships in Istanbul have come to a close, let's shift our attention to the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions which is about to start on November 3 in Bali. The Tour actually announced the draw of the really-season-ending tournament on the day the much more important season-ending tournament commenced (how awkward is that?), but I decided to postpone the Bali talk until Istanbul finishes.

You know that in order to qualify for the event in exotic Bali you have to win an International-level WTA tournament in the ongoing season and not qualify for the WTA Championships in Istanbul which features the best eight singles players of the year. To make things even more complicated, Marion Bartoli did not qualify for Istanbul and was therefore eligible to play Bali, but as the first alternate in Istanbul she did eventually play the event because of Maria Sharapova's withdrawal. Nevertheless, Bartoli is still qualified to play Bali. Pretty messed up. But hey, let's see who's in.

Direct qualifiers (in brackets are the titles they won in 2011):

Marion Bartoli (Osaka)
Sabine Lisicki (Birmingham, Dallas)
Roberta Vinci (Barcelona, 's-Hertogenbosch, Budapest)
Daniela Hantuchova (Pattaya City)
Anabel Medina Garrigues (Estoril and Palermo)
Nadia Petrova (College Park)

Wildcards:

Ana Ivanovic
Peng Shuai

Ivanovic and Peng have not won titles this year. Ivanovic is defending champion in Bali, while Peng is the only player in the Top 20 who has not won a WTA title in her career.

Players have gathered in Bali and photographer Robertus Pudyanto caught some beach tennis action of Shuai and Hantuchova.

The Bali tournament in this format was first organized in 2009. This year it will take place from November 3 to November 6. (photos: © Neal Trousdale)

Don't you love the American-flag tube socks and the accompanying red shoes? Bethanie looks awesome in her Under Armour outfit with accessories that perfectly match the US Open occasion.

Bethanie is known for her experiments with fashion and her most recent took place before and during Wimbledon, when she incorporated tennis balls in her player party and on-court outfits.

Venus Williams shocked with her EleVen US Open dress as much as she did with her subsequent abrupt withdrawal due to a long-undiagnosed syndrome.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki and Stella McCartney absolutely failed to inspire with a white dress much more suitable for Wimbledon. Why not use colors for the US Open when you can?

Regular Adidas prepared a lovely collection for the US Open, with dominant colors being pink, blue and white, and all the players wearing it look perfect. Above you can see Simona Halep, Andrea Petkovic and Maria Kirilenko in Adidas Fall Barricade clothes, while Ana Ivanovic and Sorana Cirstea are cled in Adidas Fall Adizero Feather collection.

Ellesse luckily has Galina Voskoboeva stealing the spotlight from Nadia Petrova. While Petrova's print makes your eyesight blurry, Voskoboeva is attracting all the right attention with the fluffy dress that suits her perfectly.

We have already talked a lot about Nike and you know everything about their US Open apparel (Maria Sharapova's and Serena Williams' dresses, Sharapova's jacket, Li Na's and Victoria Azarenka's outfits), so here's just a collage of photos which is also featuring Sabine Lisicki, a new representative of Nike.

Besides Vera Zvonareva, K-Swiss had Alona Bondarenko and Alexandra Dulgheru representing it. Dulgheru will remember this US Open for her stunning first round victory over reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

Jelena Jankovic was working a yellow Anta dress, while Dominika Cibulkova sported a white, black and purple Lacoste dress (Samantha Stosur is wearing a similar dress, just that colors are distributed differently).

Svetlana Kuznetsova is a perfect match with Fila sportswear brand. It's a pity that Fila's Kim Clijsters, twice defending champion at the US Open, had to miss the tournament.

My favorites this US Open are Maria Sharapova's night dress, Adidas Adizero tank and skort on Sorana Cirstea, Galina Voskoboeva looked cute in the white Ellesse dress, and Fila on Svetlana Kuznetsova is a good combination. Also, Bethanie Mattek Sands' outfit has a thumbs up from me. What do you think? Which styles do you prefer?

For a complete insight into the 2011 Grand Slam fashion, check out our overviews of Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon WTA outfits. (photos: © Neal Trousdale, Rob Loud/usopen.org, 2011 AFP, Don Star/usopen.org, Philip Hall/usopen.org)

Nadia Petrova started both sets against Ana Ivanovic with a deficit, but the early advantage wasn't enough for the Serb to end up victorious and the Russian won 6-3 7-6(4) at the Western & Southern Open.

The 15th-seeded Ivanovic had a comfortable 6-0 6-2 victory over qualifier Alexa Glatch in the first round, and against Petrova in the second round Ivanovic started the match by breaking her opponent (she quickly lost that advantage, though, when Petrova broke back in the following game) and in the second set Ivanovic established an initial 3-0 lead. However, no advantage was enough to counterbalance Ivanovic's numerous errors, including eleven double faults.

Petrova's next opponent will be Christina McHale, who made the biggest news of the tournament by defeating world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Bethanie Mattek Sands is always attracting a lot of attention with her look and for Wimbledon 2011 she reinvented herself in cooperation with Lady Gaga's designer – the jacket adorned with white tennis balls may have challenged the officials, but it is likely to end up in the Wimbledon Museum (one Bethanie's Wimbledon outfit is already there).

Venus Williams' outfit for Wimbledon is the second biggest shocker of the tournament. Her EleVen zipper jumper with an open back is definitely unique, whether you like it or not. I like the piece for bringing something new (it's not a dress, it's not a shorts and a top), but it reminds of pajamas. Also, I don't appreciate the visible brown bra in the back.

Nadia Petrova's message still hasn't reached her sponsor Ellesse, they simply don't want to give up the fluffy outfits.

Let's move on to some good examples.

Maria Sharapova is wearing a simple white dress with gold details. Nike hasn't been too inspiring with the Russian's designs lately, however, a cute jacket accompanying the Wimbledon dress makes Sharapova's complete look stunning.

For Serena Williams Nike made more contrast, with black details. I like how Serena looks in the dress, and I especially like the V-neck and the black accents.

World number one Caroline Wozniacki and Adidas by Stella McCartney just changed the Roland Garros blue to white.

Ana Ivanovic and Daniela Hantuchova sported the beautiful Adidas Adizero dress, my favorite of the tournament. Unfortunately, Flavia Pennetta didn't wear the Adidas Adipure dress I was expecting to see her in.

What do you think of the fashion at Wimbledon 2011? Bethanie and Venus stole most of the limelight, Serena, Maria and Ana/Daniela come in second (if we talk about the attention attracted), while the others can all be fit in "the rest" category. What do you say? Who's on top of your best dressed list?

Reminder: Check out how the courts of Wimbledon looked last year. Also, remind yourselves of what players were wearing at the Australian Open and Roland Garros this season. (photos via Wimbledon and Yahoo)

World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki brought nothing new to the fashion table of Roland Garros – the 20-year-old Dane, who bowed out of the tournament in the third round already, wore the adidas by Stella McCartney Ruffle Dress which she debuted at Indian Wells in March.

Adidas impressed with an array of bright colors that perfectly contrast/match the red clay of Roland Garros. Above you can see the variety of pink, orange and green combinations on Daniela Hantuchova, Sorana Cirstea, Andrea Petkovic, Maria Kirilenko and Arantxa Rus. Here you can read more about Adidas' French Open collection.

And now that we mentioned Arantxa Rus, let's proceed with Kim Clijsters. The Belgian sported a special vintage Monica Seles-inspired ensemble, which Fila made for her based on her childhood tennis outfit from the 80s. It's refreshing, something out of the ordinary for the usually classic Clijsters.

Compare this year's tennis fashion to what players were wearing at Roland Garros 2010.

Lacoste, represented by Samantha Stosur and Gisela Dulko, opted for stripes in red and black. Adidas' Adipure line, which Dulko's doubles partner Flavia Pennetta is wearing, also has stripes.

Vera Zvonareva, the most prominent representative of K-Swiss, wore a nicely-shaped black skirt and a cute red tank.

When it comes to Nike, they prepared a dress specifically for Serena Williams, even though she hasn't played competitive tennis in almost a year, but Maria Sharapova and her yellow Eiffel Tower-inspired dress are giving plenty of exposure to the brand. Julia Goerges was in the similar color palette, wearing Nike Statement tank and skort.

Victoria Azarenka is sporting a purple Nike Flirty Set Point dress, while Li Na is wearing a Nike Summer Smash Classic Top and Skort. Nike can be satisfied with three representatives in the quarterfinals.

Ellesse considerably tuned down their fashion expression for Nadia Petrova. That's less interesting for us, but good news for Nadia. Defending champion Francesca Schiavone is also wearing simple clothes, a Lotto outfit in neutral colors.

Jelena Jankovic and her always-colorful Anta, this time in pink. Jelena also had a matching bag.

And last but not least, Bethanie Mattek Sands. The American had a number of looks at the French Open, some more moderate than the others, but of course she stayed faithful to herself – with her long socks, under-eye makeup and tattoos. I don't know yet what happened to the release of her Lady Gaga craziness, though.

My favorite of all the outfits is without a doubt the Adidas Summer Adizero dress, and the entire current Barricade and Adizero collection. Nothing else really impresses me. What about you? Which Roland Garros 2011 outfit is your favorite? (photos: y.caradec, Cedric Fischer, tsavoja, krissaconnection, Paul Auther, Diario Informe, Julien (Quelques-notes.com), francetvsport, Yahoo, Roland Garros)

Russian world No.22 Nadia Petrova has been drawing a lot of attention with her Ellesse apparel – from her US Open stripes in more than all the colors of the rainbow, to the blue piece pictured above. The Ellesse designs are neither making Petrova look stylish and fashionable, nor flattering her figure in any way. The outfits look like a joke, and as ridiculous as they are, they look even more ridiculous on Petrova (Caroline Wozniacki would look somewhat better in them, for example, or maybe Jelena Jankovic).

Anyway, A Change of Ends chatted with Petrova at the All-Access Hour in Charleston and we learned that Petrova actually hates the clothes Ellesse prepares for her. The interview is hilarous!

Q. Recently you’ve made some pretty bold fash­ion choices on court. How much input…

A. Oh my god. That has noth­ing to do with me. Those are not my choices.

Q. That’s what I was won­der­ing, how much input do you have in your outfits?

A. This is what Ellesse sends me.

Q. So you don’t say, "this is what I want," you don’t meet with them? They just send them to you?

A. I don’t have a say. Um, I did actu­ally pro­vide them with some of my sketches because I know what really flat­ters my physique, my figure.

Q. Do you think they’ll take them into account?

A. Well they haven’t done it yet…and actu­ally this is my last year with them. So I don’t see why they would com­pro­mise. They do what they think are sell­ing in Japan and they are just send­ing it to me.

(photos: Johan Rivera, sydney-yokochin, sr_cranks)

Let's not save the best for the last. Let's start with by far the biggest fashion attention-grabber of the tournament – Venus Williams. The American played three matches (actually two, but she started her third one) and showcased the same number of outfits. The following one is the unofficial ugliest tennis outfit of the decade.

Venus, a graduate in fashion design and the person behind clothing line EleVen, made the outfits herself.

Believe it or not, Venus' dresses, or whatever they can be called, have gained a fan base. Whoever likes Venus' latest EleVen dresses, please leave a comment! I'm sure the world would love to hear your reasoning.

I'd like to continue with Nadia Petrova, the representative of Ellesse. Petrova has also had some colorful and imaginative styles (remember her US Open 2010 outfit that had stripes of all the possible colors?). There might be sound logic behind Petrova's support of EleVen.

Another fashion favorite is always Aravane Rezai. Even though this time her family drama attracted more attention than her dress, the Frenchwoman stayed faithful to the touch of crazy uniqueness. Although, she definitely can do better!

Let's move on to adidas – plenty of it.

The I-look-awesome-in-everything Maria Kirilenko is wearing adidas Barricade line, just like Justine Henin, who shockingly retired from the sport two days ago, and Andrea Petkovic, who wore both all-white and all-green ensembles.

In the following photo you can also see the back of Maria Sharapova's Nike dress. There was a lot of talk about Sharapova's Oz Open Ace Dress and Nike people even made a video describing the whole process behind it, and her shoes.

Here's the front part of the dress:

But let's get back to adidas.

Flavia Pennetta was wearing adidas Adipure line, with stripes.

While Daniela Hantuchova, just like Ana Ivanovic, sported the wonderful adidas Adizero dress. However, I got a bit disappointed by the opening in the back. It would've been better without it.

Samantha Stosur looked sleek in her white Lacoste dress.

Jelena Jankovic and ANTA failed to bring anything new to the table, and I'm mentioning her only because of her previously earned fashion fame.

Melanie Oudin switched from adidas to Wilson tennis clothes, and here's how it looks.

Another apparel change involving adidas took place – with Dinara Safina moving from the German brand to Italian Sergio Tacchini.

As for Fila, they chose grass green for Kim Clijsters, and their classic colors for Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki was the ballerina of the tournament, with adidas by Stella McCartney white and pink dress.

Vera Zvonareva and K-Swiss I'll mention only because Vera was the second seed and I want to show something from K-Swiss as well, but compared to other designs, theirs doesn't stand out, which is essentially not a bad thing.

Here's a bit of purple Reebok, represented by Shahar Peer.

And some more of Nike, pink and white on Victoria Azarenka.

For the end, I'll let you guess whose socks are these.

Wow, I've made an extensive overview! So many photos, so many brands and different styles. My No.1 option as of late is always adidas. The fashion fun award goes to Venus! What are your picks? Do tell!

(photos: Upali Wickramasinghe, Tidalist, Ben Solomon, Getty Images/Clive Brunskill, Getty Images/Quinn Rooney, Getty Images/Cameron Spencer, Getty Images/Mark Dadswell, Getty Images/Quinn Rooney via Australian Open, Life.com)

Marta, an account by profession, is the mother of two tennis stars, Agnieszka Radwanska (pictured above) and Urszula Radwanska.

Katarina Cibulkova is the mother of Dominika Cibulkova.

Nadia Petrova's mother Nadezhda Ilyina was also successful in sports. She won a bronze medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in the 400 meter relay.

Michelle Larcher De Brito's mother, Caroline.

Alize Cornet's mother, Patricia, is a housewife and travels with her daughter.

Do share some pictures of WTA mothers that you may have come across! (photo: Life.com, Each Tennis, Nadia's mom)

Both Petrova and Kleybanova broke their opponents five times. Petrova took 61 minutes to beat Kirsten Flipkens 6-2 6-1, while Kleybanova needed seven minutes more to defeat good friend Ekaterina Makarova 6-1 6-2. Szavay had a much tougher match, but ended defending champion Kimiko Date Krumm’s seven match winning streak at the Hansol Korea Open with a 6-2 6-7(3) 6-3 victory in two hours and 42 minutes.

Former world No.1 Dinara Safina has now lost all her three meetings with Klara Zakopalova, and all the three in straight sets, losing to the Czech 7-5 6-3 in Seoul. (photo: sydney-yokochin)