On the Baseline Tennis News

Nadia Petrova’s first match after recovering from meningitis ended in a two set defeat Monday at the hands of Alize Cornet in Sydney.

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and Dubai Duty Free announced on Monday the release of the second annual Zagat® Best of The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour 2009 Guide, the crème de la crème handbook for shopping and dining in 24 of the Tour’s top tournament cities.

The second edition of this one-of-a-kind guide features Zagat-Rated player and tournament favorites for dining and shopping in 24 Tour cities around the world.

Tsvetana Pironkova upset second seed Patty Schnyder in the first round of the Moorilla Hobart International on Sunday.

Top seeds Serena Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova escaped tough first round matches with three set wins on Sunday at the Medibank International.

Serena Williams started her 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season with an epic thriller on Sunday.

The number one seed survived four match points to defeat Australia’s Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-5 in two hours 26 minutes at the Medibank International Sydney today.

Maria Sharapova’s hopes of repeating her 2008 Australian Open title ended on Sunday as the defending Grand Slam champion has decided to withdraw from the Australian Open.

The former world number one announced the news on Sunday that she will not compete in Melbourne next week.

The Summer of Tennis is here in Australia as most of us eagerly await the first bounce at Rod Laver Arena for the 2009 Australian Open.

Tania Tchea previews the upcoming preparations for the Grand Slam and takes a look back at the first week of the 2009 tennis season.

Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva and Vera Zvonareva are the top four seeds at the $600,000 Premier tournament.

Flavia Pennetta, Patty Schnyder, Anna Chakvetadze and Jie Zheng are the top four seeds at the $220,000 International tournament.

Victoria Azarenka won her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title on Saturday by beating Marion Bartoli in the final of the Brisbane International in Brisbane, Australia.

Elena Dementieva won her 12th career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title on Saturday by beating Elena Vesnina in the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand.

Amelie Mauresmo retired in the semifinals of the Brisbane International Friday, sending Marion Bartoli into the championship round. Bartoli will play Victoria Azarenka for the title on Saturday.

One crucial aspect of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Roadmap is the division of the season-ending Championships in Doha and Bali.

Tell us your opinion of the Tour’s new “major/minor” league approach in today’s edition of Open Forum Friday.

Russians Elena Dementieva and Elena Vesnina will contest the 2009 ASB Classic singles final in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday. Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja will play Nathalie Dechy and Mara Santangelo in the doubles final.

Amelie Mauresmo knocked out top seed Ana Ivanovic in two sets 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday at the Brisbane International.