Another fashion retrospection, another first-time honor. Women's Tennis Blog's apparel overviews date back to 2007 and on Sunday I featured Nike representative Petra Kvitova for the first time. Now let's have a look at one more hot player of 2011, new Top 10 member – Adidas-clad Andrea Petkovic.

We opened this season's fashion retrospections with Caroline Wozniacki and Adidas by Stella McCartney, but let's check out a more sporty Adidas – the colorful Barricade.

Petkovic opened the season with a runner-up finish to Petra Kvitova at Brisbane in an all-pink ensemble, and continued it by reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals switching two outfits from the Barricade line which was all about the refreshing green and red, and white. Have a look at my 2011 Australian Open fashion focus, Justine Henin and Maria Kirilenko also looked great wearing the line. Read more »

A year ago I interviewed Bethanie Mattek Sands about her favorite tennis outfit, her tattoos, her best friends on the WTA Tour, etc. This fall I had an opportunity to interview the American again and I asked her about her 2011 season, her leisure activities and of course her opinion on the on-court WTA fashion.

MARIJA: What will you remember the 2011 season for?

BETHANIE MATTEK SANDS: Even though my 2011 season ended early due to injury I was able to reach a career high ranking and still get some of my best wins to date. The win at Hopman Cup with my partner John Isner was an amazing start to my season and I really felt I was able to gain some momentum and confidence. Off the court I have to say the Wimbledon Player Party will always be memorable as I got to rock a custom Alex Noble dress on the red carpet.

MARIJA: How is your shoulder injury now? Will you be perfectly healthy for the start of the new season and the Hopman Cup?

BETHANIE MATTEK SANDS: I'm happy to say my shoulder has come along way from where it was. I've been able to practice the last couple weeks but the time off and rehab I was able to take really helped it heal up. I'm excited to be going back to Perth for Hopman Cup at the end of December. If it wasn't such a far flight I would be "down under" more often!

MARIJA: What was your favorite activity you had more time for during the rehabilitation process? I read that you enjoyed cooking? Read more »

Anna Chakvetadze has recently become engaged in politics and she’s already been voted the sexiest woman in the field. On top of that, we’re receiving good news regarding her tennis career – the 24-year-old will play the Moorilla Hobart International tournament in January 2012.

Russian internet users were asked to vote for a Russian politician they find the sexiest and Chakvetadze took the honor, beating some all-time favorites on the way.

When news of Chakvetadze's political engagement surfaced in September it made us question her further interest in tennis, as she already hadn’t played much during the 2011 season due to health problems. However, Chakvetadze is returning to tennis in a month, at the Hobart tournament she won in 2007, the brightest year of her career, when she reached her career-high ranking of No.5 and won four WTA titles.

In the entire 2011 the Russian played just 14 matches and won only six of them. She's currently No.231.

Additional info: On December 4 there were State Duma elections and Chakvetadze's Right Cause Party did not cross the 5% election threshold for a seat in the Parliament. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

Never in their eight previous matches in the period of eight years, from 2002 to 2010, had Francesca Schiavone beaten Venus Williams, and at the December 3rd exhibition event in Milan, the Italian managed to beat both the Williams sisters, on top of showing her dancing skills by entertaining the 11,000 crowd to Michael Jackson's "Beat It" with Flavia Pennetta.

Schiavone defeated Venus 7-5 7-3, and then Serena 7-3 8-10 8-6. Pennetta also beat Venus, 7-6 7-2, but lost to Serena 6-8 7-3 7-3. The Williams sisters won the doubles 3-7 8-6 8-6.

Neither of the Williams sisters played competitive tennis since the US Open, however they did play another exhibition match recently, last month in Columbia, and Venus defeated Serena 6-4 7-6(5). (source: ESPN)

Petra Kvitova may not be famous for her fashion, but the Nike-clad Czech had a stellar 2011 season – with six titles, including a Grand Slam and WTA Championships – and I decided to feature our world No.2 in my apparel retrospections for the first time.

The first thing you notice is that Kvitova is not wearing dresses. Two-piece outfits are her thing, and she wears them well.

Also, there is no eye-catching jewelry, no special accessories, except for a headband.

Kvitova nurtures the classic sporty look, but she did wear a wide range of colors during 2011, as opposed to world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, who sported Adidas by Stella McCartney dresses with many details but only changed three colors in the entire season. Read more »