The new statistic in women’s tennis made its debut at the Acura Classic tournament, and it’s about determining how hard a player hits the ball.

The "power index" takes into account player's fastest groundstroke (forehand or backhand), first serve, second serve, first-serve return, second-serve return and smash or volley. It is measured by ball-tracking technology from Hawk-Eye Innovations company.

"We’re excited about the introduction of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Power Index and think it’s another great way to recognize the extraordinary talent, athleticism and sheer power of our top players," said Stacy Allaster, President of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour.

Like every novelty, "power index" has supporters and critics. In this case, I understand both sides, but the opinion I find worth reading is one of Richard Vach from Tennis X: Read more »

New WTA Tour rankings have come out today, and top 10 looks the same. Justine Henin is still the leader with 4457 points, while Maria Sharapova remains second ranked, despite 430 points earned with the victory at the Acura Classic in San Diego on Sunday. Read more »

In the Acura Classic final on Sunday, world No. 2 Maria Sharapova of Russia won her first title of the year overcoming world No. 17 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in three sets 6-2 3-6 6-0.

What I can say about the match is that Schnyder, seeded 11th, was excellent on numerous occasions throughout the final, but the player with consistent domination was top-seeded Sharapova. Read more »

Second-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland won her first WTA Tour singles crown with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory over Russia's Vera Dushevina in the Sunday final at the Nordic Light Open.

Winning this Tier IV tournament, the 18-year-old Radwanska became the first Polish WTA player to win a singles title. The final in Stockholm was Radwanska’s first career singles final; she had previously reached a semifinal at Luxembourg last year and pair of quarterfinals this year — in Istanbul and Palermo. Read more »

To defend her Acura Classic title, top-seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia will have to overcome 11th seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.

In the semifinals, Maria Sharapova beat fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze 6-3 6-2 and in that way ended the third seed’s hard-court run of 12 straight victories. However, soon after the loss to Sharapova, the 20-year-old Chakvetadze together with Victoria Azarenka of Belarus reached the doubles final by defeating Ai Sugiyama of Japan and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 6-2, 3-6, 10-6. Read more »