121^st Wimbledon returns June 25^th-July 8^th

Hundreds of lesser known players are already in England attempting to qualify for what is regarded as the most historic of tennis’ Grand Slam Events, Wimbledon.  With some of the better players retiring or not showing up in best form lately it could be one of those late qualifiers who ends up shocking the tennis world by hoisting up the trophy at the end of the day.

A pair of examples of players that have been out of form lately actually come from the same bloodline, the Williams Sisters.  Venus and Serena have been mainstays at the top of the women tennis rankings, but have slipped off considerably due to injuries, for both of them, over the last year or so.  Venus last won Wimbledon in 2005, and has won three Wimbledon championships altogether.  For Serena it’s been a while since she’s been in the winners circle at Wimbledon.  After winning back to back championships in 2002 and 2003 she has been unable to return to form.  But, not only will the Williams’ sisters get a chance to redeem themselves in singles’ play, they will also join forces as a doubles team, something they haven’t done since Wimbledon in 2003.  Together they have won 6 major tournaments including Wimbledon in 2000 and 2002.  The sisters earned their doubles spot on a wildcard when another team went down with an injury earlier in the month.  It will be interesting to see if they can return to their old selves in both singles and doubles competition. 

Last year’s woman’s champion Amelie Mauresmo has also battled injuries since her victory.  Mauresmo is just now returning to from and hopes she can defend her championship.  Right after her departure from the Australian Open she spent nearly two months recovering from appendicitis surgery.  

The men’s side of the bracket has been dominated by only one player in the last four year, Roger Federer.  Federer first won the title as a 4 seed in 2003, and has won the last three Wimbledon’s as a number 1 seed in dominating fashion.  Not only has he won Wimbledon in dominating fashion the last few years, but he has also taken down any major competition that means anything with relatively little trouble at all.  In 2004 and 2005 Andy Roddick was Federer’s Wimbledon finals victim, and would love to get a third chance this year to finally knock him off.  Last year it was Raphael Nadal who was runner up.  Nadal has climbed up the rankings as well as one of the best players in the world, and is the most dominate player on clay, perhaps on history.  Unfortunately for him this tournament is played on grass.  But, many people are still picking a Federer vs. Nadal rematch of last years finals.

What’s important on the world stage is that for the first time ever the Men and Women’s prize pools will be exactly the same.  The debate has gone on for ages trying to determine since women play fewer sets then men should there purse be the same.  However, it really wasn’t about that because it was more a matter of equal rights, and tennis has became the first major sport to offer the same prizes for both women and men.  I imagine it will still be a while before you see the top players in the NBA and the top players in the WNBA sharing the same salary. 

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