A New Tennis Season Dawns on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Dec 31, 2006 | Print
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Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows that it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows that it must outrun the slowest
gazelle or it will starve.
It does not matter whether you are a lion or gazelle.
When the sun comes up you had better be running.
Indeed, the sun has come up on yet another tennis season on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and all the players, regardless of if they are “lions” or “gazelles”, are marking today as the official start of another year of professional tennis.
To help you prepare for another eleven months of championship and (hopefully) inspirational tennis, here are a few handy links to information on the 2007 season.
2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tennis Calendar
A quick look at the most important dates on the tour schedule, as well as a link to the complete calendar on the Tour’s website.
Official Rules for the 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Tennis Season
An overview of the changes to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rules for the 2007 season.
Players to Watch in the 2007 Season - Part One & Part Two
A look at eleven players to watch for in the 2007 season.
Predictions for 2007 anyone? Who will be the lions - and who will be the gazelles?
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Alsacienne | Jan 3, 2007 | Reply
No predictions but:
Gazelles find security in numbers…
Lions hunt predominantly at night…
what does that tell us about tennis’ lions and gazelles?
Aaress | Jan 3, 2007 | Reply
Very good question!
I tend to think of it as the power players vs. the “finesse” players.
Maria Sharapova would the classic example of the lion - someone who overpowers her opponents with devastating ground strokes and serves, while Mauresmo and Henin-Hardenne play with the grace/speed of gazelles and dictate (outrun) the points.
Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but generally the bigger the player, the slower they move. Look at Lindsay Davenport - at 6′2, she was not going anywhere on court fast, compared to somebody like Clijsters at 5′8.
Which of the two do you think has the greatest advantage?