The Week Ahead

Here’s what’s up on the ATP and WTA tours for the week of October 11, 2008.

ATP

Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid. Madrid, Spain. Surface: Indoor Hard (Greenset). Champion’s Points: 500. Defending Champion: David Nalbandian. Notable Entries: Entire top ten.

WTA

Tennis.com Zurich Open. Zurich, Switzerland. Surface: Indoor Hard (Greenset). Tier II: $600,000. Defending Champion: Justine Henin. Notable Entires: Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Venus Williams, Daniela Hantuchova.

Filed under: The Week Ahead , madrid, sports, tenis, Tennis, zurich

The Week Ahead

Here’s what’s up for the ATP and WTA for the week of October 6, 2008.

ATP

Bank Austria Tennis Trophy. Vienna, Austria. Surface: Indoor Hard. Champion’s Points: 250. Defending Champion: Novak Djokovic. Notable Entries: Fernando Gonzales, Stanislas Wawrinka, Juan Martin del Potro, Gael Monfils.

Kremlin Cup. Moscow, Russia. Surface: Indoor Hard. Champion’s Points: 250. Defending Champion: Nikolay Davydenko. Notable Entries: Davydenko, Igor Andreev, Marat Safin.

If Stockholm Open. Stockholm, Sweden. Surface: Indoor Hard. Champion’s Points: 225. Defending Champion: Ivo Karlovic. Notable Entries: Mario Ancic, David Nalbandian, Kei Nishikori.

WTA

Kremlin Cup. Moscow, Russia. Surface: Indoor Hard. Tier I: $1,340,000. Defending Champion: Elena Dementieva. Notable Entries: Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Dinara Safina, Venus Williams.

Filed under: The Week Ahead , schedule, sports, tenis, Tennis

The Week Ahead

The ATP and WTA schedules are packed for the week of September 29, 2008.

ATP

AIG Japan Open. Tokyo, Japan. Surface: Hard. Champion’s points: 250. Defending champion: David Ferrer. Notable Entries: Ferrer, Andy Roddick, Juan Martin del Potro, Jo-Wilfired Tsonga.

Open de Moselle. Metz, France. Surface: Indoor Hard. Champion’s points: 175. Defending champion: Tommy Robredo. Notable Entries: Mario Ancic, Marcos Baghdatis, Ernests Gulbis, Dmitry Tursunov.

The Bangalore Open is suspended for the 2008 season due to security concerns.

WTA

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Stuttgart, Germany. Surface: Indoor Hard. Tier II: $650,00. Defending champion: Justine Henin. Notable Entries: Venus & Serena Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina.

AIG Japan Open. Tokyo, Japan. Surface: Hard. Tier III: $175,000. Defending champion: Virginie Razzano. Notable Entries: Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Kirilenko, Kimiko Date-Drumm.

Tashkent Open. Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Surface: Hard. Tier IV: $145,000. Defending champion: Pauline Parmentier. Notable Entries: Michelle Larcher de Brito, Urzula Radwanska, Aranxta Rus.

Filed under: The Week Ahead , schedule, sports, tenis, Tennis

The Week Ahead

The U.S. Open Series continues during the week of July 21, 2008.

ATP

Rogers Cup. Toronto, Canada. Surface: Hard court. Defending Champion: Novak Djokovic. Champion’s Points: 500 + U.S. Open Series points. Notables: All top 10 players.

WTA

East West Bank Classic. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Surface: Hard court. Tier II, $600,000. Defending Champion: Ana Ivanovic. Notables: Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Serena Williams. Side Note: Jankovic can become #1 if she wins the title here.

Banka Koper Slovenia Open. Portoroz, Slovenia. Surface: Hard court. Tier IV, $145,000. Defending Champion: Tatiana Golovin. Notables: Maria Kirilenko, Caroline Wozniacki.

ON TV:

Rogers Cup: Mon-Thurs Early Rounds 11:00 am Tennis Channel

July 25 1:00 ESPN2, July 26 8:00 ESPN2, July 27 3:00 ESPN2

East West Bank Classic: July 25 3:00 Tennis Channel, July 26 3:30 Tennis Channel, July 27 5:00 ESPN2

Filed under: The Week Ahead , east west bank classic, rogers cup, sports, Tennis

The Week Ahead

The U.S Open Series kicks off this week of July 14, 2008

ATP

Austrian Open. Kitzbühel, Austria. Surface: Red Clay. Champion’s Points: 250. Defending Champion: Juan Monaco. Notables: Paul-Henri Mathieu, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Andreas Seppi.

Dutch Open. Amersfoort, The Netherlands. Surface: Red Clay. Champion’s Points: 175. Defending Champion: Steve Darcis. Notables: Jose Acasuso, Marc Gicquel.

Indianapolis Tennis Championships. Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Surface: Hard. Champion’s Points: 175 + U.S. Open Series Points. Defending Champion: Dmitry Tursunov. Notables:  James Blake, Andy Murray, Robby Ginepri.

Studena Croatia Open Umag. Umag, Croatia. Surface: Red Clay. Champion’s Points: 175. Defending Champion: Carlos Moya. Notables: Igor Andreev, Guillermo Canas, Ivan Ljubicic.

WTA

Bank of the West Classic. Stanford, California, USA.  Tier II, $600,000. Defending Champion: Anna Chakvetadze. Notables: Serena Williams, Elena Dementieva, Lindsay Davenport.

Gastein Ladies. Bad Gastein, Austria. Tier III, $175,000. Defending Champion: Francesca Schiavone. Notables: Agnes Szavay, Alize Cornet, Caroline Wozniacki.

ON TV: Friday July 18- 12:30 Indianapolis Quarters- Tennis Channel

9:00 Bank of the West Quarters- Tennis Channel

Saturday July 19- 1:00 Indianapolis Semis- Tennis Channel

3:00 Bank of the West Semis- ESPN2

Sunday July 20- 1:00 Indianapolis Final- ESPN2

3:00 Bank of the West Final- ESPN2

Filed under: The Week Ahead , sports, Tennis

The Week Ahead

The final Wimbledon tune-ups are what’s ahead in professional tennis for the week of June 16, 2008.

ATP

Ordina Open. ’s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. Surface: Grass. Champion’s points: 175. Defending champion: Ivan Ljubicic. Notables: David Ferrer, Richard Gasquet, Mario Ancic.

The Slazenger Open. Nottingham, England. Surface: Grass. Champion’s points: 175. Defending champion: Ivo Karlovic. Notables: Paul-Henri Mathieu, Radek Stepanek, Sam Querry.

WTA

International Women’s Open. Eastbourne, England. Surface: Grass. Tier II, $600,000. Defending champion: Justine Henin. Notables: Svetlana Kuznetsova, Marion Bartoli, Nicole Vaidisova.

Ordina Open. ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Surface: Grass. Tier III, $175,000. Defending champion: Anna Chakvetadze. Notables: Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina, Maria Kirilenko.

On TV:

Eastbourne: Quarterfinals-Finals. Starts Thursday June 19 6:30 am on Tennis Channel.

Filed under: The Week Ahead , eastbourne, nottingham, ordina open, sports, Tennis

The Week Ahead

The grass season is upon us for the week of June 9, 2008.

ATP

The Artois Championships. London, England. Surface: Grass Champion’s Points: 250. Defending Champion: Andy Roddick. Notables:  Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray.

Orange Warsaw Championships. Warsaw, Poland. Surface: Red Clay. Champion’s Points: 175. Defending Champion: Tommy Robredo. Notables: Nikolay Davydenko, Guillermo Canas, Guillermo Coria.

Gerry Weber Open. Halle, Germany. Surface: Grass. Champion’s Points: 225. Defending Champion: Tomas Berdych. Notables: Roger Federer, James Blake, Tomas Berdych, Mikhail Youzhny.

WTA

DFS Classic. Birmingham, England. Surface: Grass Tier III, $200,000. Defending Champion: Jelena Jankovic. Notables: Jelena Jankovic, Marion Bartoli, Vera Zvonareva, Dinara Safina.

Torneo Barcelona KIA. Barcelona, Spain. Surface: Red Clay. Tier IV, $145,000. Defending Champion: Meghan Shaughnessy. Notables: Shahar Peer, Maria Kirilenko, Dominika Cibulkova.

Filed under: The Week Ahead , sports, Tennis, tournaments

The Week Ahead

Here’s whats coming up in the tennis world for the week of May 5, 2008

ATP

Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Rome, Italy. Masters Series event. Defending Champion: Rafael Nadal. Champion’s points: 500.

WTA

Qatar Telecom German Open. Berlin, Germany. Tier I, $1,340,000. Defending Champion: Ana Ivanovic. Notables: Justine Henin, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams.

ON TV

Rome coverage begins Monday, May 5, at 7:00 am on the Tennis Channel.

Berlin coverage begins Friday, May 9, at 5:30 pm on the Tennis Channel.

Filed under: The Week Ahead , berlin, rome, schedule, sports, Tennis

The Week Ahead

Here’s what it coming up in the world of professional tennis for the week of April 28, 2008

ATP

Open Sabadell Atlantico. Barcelona, Spain. Defending Champion: Rafael Nadal. Champion’s Points: 300 Notables: Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, David Nalbandian, James Blake

BMW Open. Munich, Germany. Defending Champion: Phillip Kohlschreiber. Champions Points: 175. Notables: Fernando Gonzalez, Tommy Haas, Marat Safin.

WTA

Grand Prix de SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem. Fes, Morocco. Tier IV, $145,000 Defending Champion: Milagros Sequera. Notables: Tathiana Garbin, Aravane Rezai.

ECM Prague Open. Prague, Czech Republic. Tier IV, $145,000. Defending Champion: Akiko Morigami. Notables: Shahar Peer, Vera Zvonareva, Victoria Azarenka.

Filed under: The Week Ahead , barcelona, fes, munich, prague, schedules, sports, Tennis

The Week Ahead

Here’s whats up next for the ATP and WTA tours for the week of April 21, 2008.

ATP

Masters Series Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo, Monaco. Masters Series Event $3,571,000. Defending Champion: Rafael Nadal.

WTA

Fed Cup Semifinals

Russia v USA

China, P.R. v Spain

Filed under: The Week Ahead , Fed Cup, monte carlo, schedules, sports, Tennis