September 5, 2012
Kim Clijsters is a Belgian tennis player. She won four Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles. Clijsters retired in 2007 to have a child, but returned to tennis in 2009. In only her third tournament back, she won her second U.S. Open title, becoming the first unseeded player and wildcard to win the tournament, and the first mother to win a major since Evonne Goolagong in 1980. At age 29, Clijsters just retired to have a second child. The U.S. Open in 2012 was her final tournament. I guess I need to choose a new favorite WTA player.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #8 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
September 4, 2012
Justine Henin is a Belgian former tennis player. She won seven Grand Slam singles titles from 2001-2007. Henin also won the singles gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She is a very gifted athlete with the best one-handed backhand in the women’s game (and probably the men’s game too, unless you think the Federer backhand is better).
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #7 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
September 3, 2012
Serena Williams is an American tennis player. She has won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, 13 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles (with her older sister Venus) and two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She has also won four Olympic gold medals, one in singles (2012) and three in women’s doubles (2000, 2008 and 2012). Serena’s complete domination (6-0, 6-1) of Maria Sharapova in the gold medal match at the 2012 Olympic Games last month was remarkable. She is one of the greatest tennis players of all time, but can also act appallingly classless and disrespectful.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #6 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
August 31, 2012
Venus Williams is an American tennis player. In 2002, she became the first African-American woman to achieve a world No. 1 ranking in the Open Era. Venus has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, 13 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles (with her younger sister Serena) and two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. She has also won four Olympic gold medals, one in singles (2000) and three in women’s doubles (2000, 2008 and 2012).
Note: Venus wore this controversial lacy corset dress at the French Open in 2010. This is 8-bit tennis character #5 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
August 30, 2012
Martina Hingis is a Swiss former tennis player. She won five Grand Slam singles titles, nine Grand Slam women’s doubles titles (including all four in 1998) and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title. Hingis spent a total of 209 weeks as world No. 1. Ankle ligament injuries forced her to withdraw from tennis in 2002 at the age of 22. Hingis returned to the WTA Tour in 2006, but announced her retirement after testing positive for cocaine during Wimbledon in 2007.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #4 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
August 29, 2012
Monica Seles is a former tennis player born and raised in the Socialist Republic of Serbia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1994. Known for her aggressive game and for introducing the grunt to women’s tennis, Seles won nine Grand Slam singles titles. In 1990, at the age of 16, she became the youngest-ever French Open champion. Seles won eight Grand Slam singles titles before her 20th birthday and seemed utterly unstoppable. However, in April 1993, she was stabbed on a court in Hamburg by a maniac who adored Steffi Graf. Seles did not return to tennis until 1995. Her game was never the same.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #3 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
August 28, 2012
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former tennis player. She won four Grand Slam singles titles, six Grand Slam women’s doubles titles and four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. Sánchez Vicario participated in a record five Olympics and won four Olympic medals (two silver and two bronze). I mainly remember her tenacity and determination, and how I would root against her when she played Steffi Graf.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #2 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
August 27, 2012
Steffi Graf is a German former tennis player. She won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, the most of any tennis player in the Open Era. In 1988, she became the only player to achieve a Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year. Graf was ranked world No. 1 for a record 377 total weeks. Many consider her the greatest women’s tennis player of all time. Graf retired in 1999 and married Andre Agassi in 2001.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #1 of 8 in celebration of the U.S. Open.
July 3, 2012
Rafael Nadal is a Spanish tennis player who has won 11 Grand Slam singles titles, between 2005 and 2012. His wins include a record seven French Open titles and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time—and the greatest clay court player in history, as his nickname “The King of Clay” attests.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #7 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon.
July 2, 2012
Roger Federer is a Swiss tennis player who has won a men’s record 16 Grand Slam singles titles, between 2003 and 2011. He has appeared in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam tournament finals, including a men’s record ten in a row, and appeared in 18 of 19 finals from 2005 through 2010. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #6 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon.
June 29, 2012
Pete Sampras is an American former tennis player who won 14 Grand Slam singles titles between 1990 and 2002. He was the year-end world No. 1 for six consecutive years (1993-1998), a record for the Open Era. His seven Wimbledon singles championships are also an Open Era record. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #5 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon.
June 28, 2012
Andre Agassi is an American former tennis player who won eight Grand Slam singles titles (and competed in 15 Grand Slam finals) between 1990 and 2005. He also won the 1996 Olympic gold medal in singles. Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #4 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon. Now-bald Agassi is sporting his iconic 1990s-era mullet, which he recently revealed was a wig.
June 27, 2012
Boris Becker is a German former tennis player who won six Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal in doubles between 1985 and 1996. He is the youngest-ever winner of the men’s singles title at Wimbledon at the age of 17. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #3 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon.
June 26, 2012
Stefan Edberg is a Swedish former tennis player who won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam men’s doubles titles between 1985 and 1996. A major proponent of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he is a former world No. 1 professional tennis player (in both singles and doubles). He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #2 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon.
June 25, 2012
Mats Wilander is a Swedish former tennis player who won seven Grand Slam singles titles from 1982 through 1988. He won three of the four Grand Slam singles events in 1988 and finished that year ranked No. 1 in the world. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #1 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon.
June 1, 2012
Martina Navratilova is a former tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles and 41 Grand Slam doubles titles during her career. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Navratilova became a U.S. citizen in 1981. She holds the Open Era record for most singles titles (167) and doubles titles (177). Navratilova is one of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time, if not the greatest.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #5 of 5 for French Open week.
May 31, 2012
Chris Evert is an American former tennis player who won 18 Grand Slam singles titles during her career in the 1970s and 1980s. Her career win-loss record in singles matches of 1,309-146 (89.96%) is the best of any professional player, man or woman, in the Open Era. She is one of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #4 of 5 for French Open week.
May 30, 2012
Evonne Goolagong is a former tennis player who won seven Grand Slam singles titles and seven Grand Slam doubles titles during her career in the 1970s and early 1980s. As a child of an Aboriginal Australian family, she faced widespread discrimination in rural Australia during her youth. She’s one of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #3 of 5 for French Open week.
May 29, 2012
Billie Jean King is an American former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 27 Grand Slam doubles titles during her career. She has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society. King won “The Battle of the Sexes” in 1973, in which she defeated Bobby Riggs, a former Wimbledon men’s singles champion, for $100,000. She’s one of the greatest women’s tennis players of all time.
Note: This is 8-bit tennis character #2 of 5 for French Open week.
Novak Djokovic – No. 454
Novak Djokovic is a Serbian tennis player who has won five Grand Slam singles titles, between 2008 and 2012. In 2011, Djokovic became the sixth male player in the Open Era to win three Grand Slams in a calendar year. During 2011, he compiled in 43-match winning streak and finished the season with a 70-6 record and No. 1 in the world. He’s one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
This is 8-bit tennis character #8 of 8 in celebration of Wimbledon. Also, Djokovic’s long-time girlfriend Jelena Ristic is possibly the most supportive and adorably emotive tennis fan ever. Happy Fourth of July!