If you’re injured it doesn’t mean you can forget about making a statement — that’s what the modern tennis players are telling us. You need to use bright colors, strange or even symbolic taping.

After securing Taiwan’s spot in the 2008 Hopman Cup, Hsieh Su-wei wore a blue “V” for victory. Serena Williams shocked us all when she showed up at the Sony Ericsson Championships wrapped like a mummy (unfortunately, she had to retire from the tournament because of a knee injury). Maria Sharapova was much more simplistic concerning the shape, but the bright pink color couldn’t get unnoticed (this was at the Acura Classic in San Diego this July; by the way, the shoulder injury is now 100% fine judging from her fantastic performance at the recently-finished tournament in Madrid).

We have a new sponsor on the site. It's Own the Zone, which makes band vibration dampeners for tennis and other racquet sports. Don't worry, I won't turn Women's Tennis Blog into all-sponsored content site, but hey – I gotta make a living.

Anyway, on with the message…

You can significantly improve your training experience with one simple thing – Own the Zone Band Vibration Dampener.

Why and how were OTZ band vibration dampeners developed?

Necessity is the mother of invention. David Marcus and Julius Stockfish have been tennis buddies for years. At one point, David developed a severe case of tennis elbow, so his friend advised him to use a standard elastic band, instead the grommet/plug type of vibration dampener, to help absorb the string and racquet vibration. Realizing that despite its advantages, a simple office stationery rubber band wasn’t designed for the rigors of the tennis court, the two friends set about redesigning it to ensure that it could live up to the strenuous demands of the game. David and Julius started working on a product which would combine all the benefits and simplicity of the original simple elastic band, but with considerably improved performance. That’s how the Own the Zone band vibration dampeners came into existence. Read more »

I have been in contact with Miodrag Bozovic, a very committed founder and organizer of a tennis tournament for kids called Smrikva Bowl, so I decided to spread the word about this tournament and also present some possible tennis stars of the future.

Smrikva Bowl is a tournament for kids under 10 years old, located near the city of Pula, in Croatia. It was founded in 1996 and over time, it has become one of the most important tournaments of the kind. Read more »

Wii remote for playing the Nintendo’s revolutionary Wii video game, currently the most popular video game console in the world, will soon have a new add-on for playing tennis — a Prince Wii Tennis racket. It is a small racket, available in three colors, designed to provide a more realistic and fun experience for the gamers.

The Prince Wii Tennis rackets ($14.99) will be available beginning November 15, 2007 at all Circuit City locations as well as online at Circuit City. (source: IGN)

Tennis exists for a long time now, since the reign of Henry VIII who built a tennis court at Hampton Court in 1530, which still survives today. However, in England women started playing the game later, in the last third of the nineteenth century when the Lawn Tennis Association was founded. At that time, tennis was a popular middle class entertainment.

Most amateur female players wore ordinary summer outdoor outfits, playing tennis before afternoon tea. The only specific garments to aid play were aprons used to hold the tennis balls and to protect the dress below from grass stains, although occasionally a ball pocket would be incorporated into an over-tunic. Straw boater-style hats, as worn on the coast or for yatching, were the preferred headwear, although bonnets and hats were also used. Read more »