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Federer and Nadal Commit to Join Forces at Laver Cup 2019
The pair of rivals will take to the same side of the court again in Geneva in 2019.Reunited—and it feels so good.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have both committed to the third installment of Laver Cup, to be held next September in Geneva.
@RafaelNadal and @RogerFederer have confirmed they will reunite for Team Europe’s 2019 Laver Cup campaign in Geneva https://t.co/Ecxqitp6L7
Tickets will go on sale in early February. Register to receive updates https://t.co/cRx3rnYEqB
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) December 13, 2018
Federer and Nadal joined forces for the inaugural Laver Cup in Prague in 2017, and ended up playing and winning a doubles rubber together.
“It doesn’t get much better for a captain than naming both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the Laver Cup in Geneva,” Team Europe Captain Bjorn Borg said. “Bringing together two of the greatest players, and rivals, the sport has ever seen together on one team is very exciting for our sport – and will give us the best possible chance to win the Laver Cup three years in a row.”
Wimbledon Purchases Wimbledon Golf Club, Adding 73 Acres to its Holdings
The Club plans to move its qualifying event over to Wimbledon in the not too distant future. Wimbledon has added 73 pristine acres to its territory.
The club announced on Thursday that the members of Wimbledon Park Golf Club voted in favour of the AELTC’s offer to acquire the Club. Rumors have circulated that Wimbledon was offering about £ 50 million.
The Golf Club will stay open through 2021 as an 18-hole course, with at least one more year as a nine-hole course.
The AELTC welcomes the decision of Wimbledon Park Golf Club’s members to vote in favour of the AELTC’s offer to acquire the Club. Full statement ➡️ https://t.co/o2lZbBE1qK
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) December 13, 2018
Wimbledon plans to move its qualifying tournament to this site from Roehampton as soon as it is feasible.
Wimbledon Chairman Philip Brook gave his thoughts in a statement published on the tournament’s website.
“The decision of the Wimbledon Park Golf Club members to vote in favour of the acquisition offer is a hugely significant moment for the AELTC and The Championships. We have achieved what we set out to do many months ago in having certainty in our planning for the future. In many ways, it will be business as usual for the Wimbledon Park Golf Course during the next couple of years, but the AELTC will use this time to give careful consideration to our next steps.
“We have been open in our long-term ambition to move the Qualifying Competition from its current home in Roehampton to the AELTC Grounds as part of our mission to continue to maintain the position of The Championships as the pinnacle of the sport. Furthermore, we have the ambition to open the land up to increased public use in the future.
“We will work with the local authorities and other interested parties as these plans are developed and I would like to emphasize that we have no intention of applying for change of use, planning permission or other approval to use the land that would be completely out of character for the AELTC and The Championships.”
Coco Gauff Becomes Youngest Orange Bowl 18s Champ in 15 Years
The 14-year-old American may have played her last junior tennis match. 14-year-old American Coco Gauff became the youngest Orange Bowl 18s champion since Nicole Vaidisova in 1995 on Sunday in Plantation, Florida, defeating China’s Qinwen Zheng, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
Your 2018 Orange Bowl girls’ 18s champ: @CocoGauff. She beats Qinwen Zheng, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, to become, at 14 years old, the youngest Orange Bowl girls’ champion since Anna Kournikova in 1995. pic.twitter.com/lzEo6UyLdD
— USTA (@usta) December 9, 2018
Top-seeded Gauff didn’t drop a set until the final when she rallied back from 4-2 down in the decider after a prolonged rain delay in Florida.
“I remembered saying this in my head: ‘All these people are here, and they are still rooting for you, and you’re down 4-2. Then you should start rooting for yourself, too,’ and I think that helped turn the match around,” Gauff said after the final.
The American went 31-5 in junior singles matches and won the Roland Garros Girls Singles title this year, becoming the youngest player to win that title since 1993.
Great way to finish the season 🍊#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/0ueWKcpUet
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) December 9, 2018
Finland’s Otto Virtanen defeated American Zane Kahn in the Boys’ 18s singles final, 7-5, 6-4.
Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka Join Forces for Nissin Charity in Japan
The two megastars played mixed doubles and singles for charity in NagoyaKei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka joined forced with other Asian tennis stars on Sunday to raise money for the Nissin Food Dream Tennis event in Nagoya, Japan.
It gave fans a chance to celebrate Japan’s two Top 10 year-end players—Osaka finished at No.5 while Nishikori closed his campaign at No.9—and enjoy some light-hearted tennis for a good cause.
Osaka and Nishikori joined each other in a doubles match and even though things didn’t go well for the pair of megastars on the scoreboard it appears as though they had tons of fun.
We won the breaker!
— Kei Nishikori (@keinishikori) November 27, 2018
Taro Daniel, Hyeon Chung, Kurumi Nara, Yosuke Watanuke, Kaichi Uchida, Shuzo Matsuoka and Michael Chang also took part in the event.
Sharapova Featured on Cover of Entrepreneur
The 31-year-old Russian has become quite the business mogul. Maria Sharapova graces the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine this month. The 31-year-old Russian has always been given credit for being one of the greatest tennis players of her generations, but now she is getting it for her tremendous work in building brands.
In the article, Sharapova discusses her vision of Sugarpova candy as a growing brand in a growing industry.
“I’m not someone who goes into something without looking at charts and looking at how it’s distributed in the world and what the growth opportunities are,” Sharapova said. “I wanted to create a brand that people saw on shelves and didn’t eat on their way from the register and throw away before they got in the car. I wanted them to treat it as a souvenir, something they appreciated, something they wanted to share and show and gift.”
“The great thing about @Sugarpova is that I started it as a businesswoman not as Maria Sharapova.” – @MariaSharapova discussing her journey as an entrepreneur #ENTLIVE @Entrepreneur pic.twitter.com/eWVxiTHL8e
— Chante Harris (@chante__harris) November 16, 2018
According to the article, Sharapova launched the brand with 500,000 of her own cash and it began to grow—before it hit a major speed bump when Sharapova was handed a drug ban for Meldonium usage in 2016.
Patrick Kenny, a marketing director who came on board after the launch, says they dealt with the challenge of Sharapova’s image head on.
“We didn’t brand around it,” Kenny told Entrepreneur. “We branded right through it. Maria worked as hard as ever on bringing new products to market during that time period, and we touched base with all our customers and told them that we were going to continue to be successful and Maria was going to continue to be behind the brand. There was never space between us and Maria and our customers, and everybody stayed with the project.”
Sharapova was the highest-paid female athlete in the world for 11 years running until the scandal broke in 2016. Since then she has fallen off the Top 10 list. She has struggled to regain her tennis form as well, finishing the year at 29 in the world and earning just over $1.3 million in prize money.
If her play has stagnated, her ability to run a business has not. Her portfolio currently includes Sugarpova as well as investments in Ultimate Fighting Championship, sunscreen maker Supergoop and an app called Charly that lets users message celebrities. Sharapova also has an upcoming partnership co-designing hotel gyms with architect Dan Meis, whose projects include the Staples Center in Los Angeles and Safeco Field in Seattle.
USTA Names Patrick Galbraith as Chairman of Board and President
The USTA announced a new slate for its board of Directors on Tuesday. The USTA announced its new slate of Board of Directors on Tuesday, naming Patrick J. Galbraith as USTA Chairman of the Board and President. The new Board has been elected to a two-year term that begins on January 1, 2019.
Katrina Adams, who served two terms and was the first African-American, first former professional tennis player and youngest person ever to serve as USTA President, will serve the next two years as the USTA's immediate past president.
Galbraith is a two-time winner of the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship. He ended 1993 as part of the No.1-ranked men’s doubles team with partner Grant Connel. Galbraith is currently Senior Vice President-Wealth Management for UBS Financial Service, Inc.
Read more: https://t.co/38MdaILsrm pic.twitter.com/LXe5Bfltn8
— USTA (@usta) November 27, 2018
De Minaur and Barty Share Tennis Australia’s Newcombe Medal
For the first time in history the award is shared by two players.
Alex de Minaur and Ashleigh Barty were so scintillating in 2018, that Tennis Australia had to break the rules to give them their due.
The pair of rising Aussie phenoms were jointly awarded the Newcombe Medal on Monday at the Australian Tennis Awards in Melbourne.
For Barty, who went 46-19 with two titles in 2018, its her second consecutive Newcombe medal. The 22-year-old took it home in 2017 as well after notching her first career Top 20 finish.
De Minaur, still 19, burst onto the scene in 2018, rising from outside the Top 200 to his current perch at No.31 in the world. He was named ATP Newcomer of the Year.
History has been made in 2018. The highest individual honour in Australian tennis is awarded to @alexdeminaur and @ashbar96 🏅 🏅 #Newks18 pic.twitter.com/ne3wuNXOxR
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) November 26, 2018
“[The decision] was very difficult,” Newcombe said. “So we did the only sensible thing. For the first time, we have dual medallists.”
“It’s been a whirlwind of a year–I’ve enjoyed every second of it,” De Minaur said. “I’ve just tried to keep improving each day, keep battling it out, keep fighting every single point. I’m super proud of my efforts.”
“It truly is amazing to be standing up here again,” Barty said of the honor. “I’m very grateful and very thankful to be in the position to be able to play the sport that I love, to do this as a job and to enjoy every single moment.”
Darren Cahill picked up the coaching excellence award from Tennis Australia for his work with Simona Halep, while Destanee Aivia and Rinky Hijikata picked up the awards for male and female junior athlete of the year.
Former star Casey Dellacqua was awarded with the Spirit of Tennis Award.
Legendary. The tennis family unites at #Newks18 🙌 pic.twitter.com/CUo4OOXOVT
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) November 26, 2018
Noah: Call it Davis Cup and You’re a Liar
The French legend gave the media lots to chew on in his farewell press conference
The winds of change are blowing hard in Lille, France, and after the dust settled and Croatia was crowned the 2018 champion, the stark reality set in.
The Davis Cup as we know it is over.
Even during the trophy ceremony on Sunday Nicolas Mahut could be seen giving ITF President David Haggerty a piece of his mind.
And he wasn't the only one with strong words on offer.
Just after the final, Yannick Noah said farewell to the media after his final tie as French Captain, and gave them plenty to chew on as well.
"It's very confusing,” he said of the future of Davis Cup. “Nobody knows what will happen. I hope, in any case, that the money promised, will serve small countries. I hope so.”
Noah, who coached the French to three Davis Cup titles over the course of his three stints and nine years at the helm of Les Bleus, leaves with a bittersweet feeling about the soon to be revamped competition.
Call it anything you like, he says, just not Davis Cup.
A deep, meaningful, sad and already nostalgic end to a great chapter.
"This was my last press conference, tennis is over for me" said legendary Yannick Noah to the journalists here at Stade Pierre-Mauroy #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/XnhCHCmN70
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) November 25, 2018
“To be continued,” Noah added. “But do not call this Davis Cup competition yet! Matches in two sets? It will not be the Davis Cup. Those who still call this competition by name are liars! Nothing will be the same again.”
Noah expressed doubts that the competition will have the same emotional tone now that the final will be an 18-team affair at a neutral venue.
"I said I'm disgusted and upset to his face,” he said. “It's the truth. It's the way I feel. Everyone has a right to feel differently but I feel I owe the Davis Cup because it means so much to me as a player, as a spectator. We have people who have decided it doesn't matter, I don't know if they don't know, or they don't care. But as I told the president I'm not from his world."
Naomi Osaka Signs Global Sponsorship Deal with Shiseido
The 2018 U.S. Open champion adds the Japanese beauty brand to her sure-to-grow portfolio. A breakthrough season on the WTA Tour is helping Japan’s Naomi Osaka to break the bank. The 21-year-old World No.5 has signed her second global sponsorship deal after winning the 2018 U.S. Open title–this deal with Shiseido. Osaka will be the new face of Shiseido’s beauty brands, ANESSA and bareMinerals.
“Shiseido never stops innovating and changing to best support the lives of consumers worldwide through beauty. With our ever-stronger foundations and upgraded global structure, such as Osaka, we are always striving to improve ourselves. We are never satisfied, always challenging the status quo. As Osaka gives her best, we too are taking on various new initiatives, challenging the world and reaching for new heights,” the brand said in a release.
Earlier this year Osaka signed on with Nissan to be a brand ambassador. As part of the deal, Osaka will be appearing in global promotions and advertising for the Japanese car brand. In addition, Nissan will support her activities as a tennis player, including the provision of Nissan vehicles at her tour destinations.
Some Common Misconceptions About Par 3 Golf Courses
Given today’s hectic lifestyles, par 3 golf courses are enjoying renewed popularity. Traditionally, a round of golf consumes about four-and-a-half hours. The par 3 experience can cut that time to between two-and-a-half and three hours.