On december first, Serena Williams will die for charity!

Keep a Child Alive, an organization co-founded by Alicia Keys that provides support services to families affected by HIV/AIDS has launched a campaign called BUY LIFE. Keys has organized a group of entertainers to sign off of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter and commit a digital life sacrifice on Wednesday, World AIDS Day, until they raise $1 million.

The campaign includes Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Serena Williams, Janelle Monae, Lady Gaga, Willow and Jaden Smith.

“This is such a direct and instantly emotional way and a little sarcastic, you know, of a way to get people to pay attention,” said Keys, who has more than 2.6 million followers on Twitter, to the AP. (Lady Gaga has more than 7.2 million followers on Twitter, and almost 24 million fans on Facebook.)

Keys says she wants the campaign to put things in to perspective. One of the campaign’s goals is to get people thinking about what it means to buy a life beyond HIV treatment meds.

“Keep A Child Alive buys more than just the pills needed to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. It buys the essential nutrition, shelter, support and education to help ensure those pills are taken properly and effectively,”
The foundation, which began in 2003, will accept donations through text messages and bar-code technology found on ads. Keep a Child Alive works in India, South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya.

To donate via text message, simply text "BUYLIFE" to 90999

or you can specifically text "SERENA" to 90999.

Nike outfits to kick off 2011.

As you can see in the previous blog, I have published what is believed to be some Adidas outfits for 2011, and now I will write what will probably be the outfits for Nike players Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and what would have been Serena Williams' out fit.

Although the picture size and quality is not to great, I hope you will still be able to see it well! The first dress, in the wolf grey and orange will most likely be her Australian Open dress, with the below tanks, for tournaments such as, Dubai, Memphis, Indian Wells etc. 

The second dress, the yellow one, which is my favourite one out of the tree, will possibly be for the French Open or US Open how ever im not to sure where the teal one fits in, probably for the US Open or French Open (which ever the yellow one is not for!)

The above pink dress will be Azarenka, probable out fit for the Australian Open with the tanks being for after and players such as Lucie Safarova, Li Na etc. and of course Marion Bartoli will also ware them!

The last dress, in navy blue and white and white and blue, is what Serena Williams was Supposed to ware for the first grand slam of the year, but will now no longer as she has with drawn (see below). The above crew tops will probably be also part of the Azarenka range, for her and the other players. 

Out of all of the Nike out fits I like what would have been Serena Williams' what outfits do you like the most?

Adidas 2011.

It May seem to early for some, to begin talking about predictions of what players will be wearing at the first Grand Slam of the year, but anyway! Here is what Adidas' Adilibria Player's will apparently ware 

to kick off 2011!

To your left is the Dress most likely to be worn by 

Ana Ivanovic and Daniela Hantuchova. I really like 

this dress and I think it would look great against the 

blue courts of Melbourne Park! Also i think this dress will look amazing on the two girls

And of course this will also be the dress for the

French Open as usual!

Below are the tops and skirts the Adilibria girls will 

be wearing (Sorana, Laura Robson, Sania Mirza etc.)

These outfits look great and will really suit the girls! Note: The top and skirt also

come in white with green underlay!

So perhaps it will be white and green for the French Open!?

What do you think of the outfits?

Serena Williams pulls out of Australian Open.

Serena Williams today confirmed she has withdrawn from Australian Open 2011.

“As I continue to rehabilitate my foot after the second surgery last month, it is with the utmost regret that I am withdrawing from the Hopman Cup and the 2011 Australian Open Championships,” Serena Williams said today.

“As I recently learned, pushing myself back into my intense training too early only caused me further injury and damage.

“While I desperately want to be back on the court and competing in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, it is imperative for my health that I continue to work with my doctors to ensure my foot heals properly.

“This decision, though heavy on my heart, is the right one. I am praying for a healthy recovery and I promise my Aussie fans and my fans around the world that I will be back better than ever as soon as I can be.”

Williams has been in regular contact with Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley and made her decision after receiving further medical advice.

“I know how disappointing it will be for Serena that she’s unable to come back and defend her title at Australian Open 2011. We all know how much she enjoys playing here, and how much she loves her Aussie fans,” Tiley said.

“Serena is a great champion and we will miss her in January. We send her our very best wishes for a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming her back to Australia soon.”

The slighting of Serena Williams

As the WTA season wrapped up with the championships at Doha recently, Caroline Wozniacki, a 20 year old from Denmark, ended the tour ranked No 1 in women's tennis – largely thanks to her consistency in winning minor WTA events. For many, Serena Williams, though knocked off the top spot in the rankings and unable, through injury, to defend her 2009 Doha title, remains clearly the supreme player of her generation.

But in certain circles of the US tennis establishment, Wozniacki's emergence is seen as a positive development, precisely because it puts Williams "in her place". Chris Chase, a tennis correspondent for Yahoo Sports, for example, has a history of writing hostile commentary about Serena Williams. Recently, he accused Williams of "hyping" her foot injury – despite the fact that a torn tendon had forced her to pull out of all the season's remaining events. And, he writes, Williams' fans should simply "deal with it" if Wozniacki is the new No 1.

ESPN writer Peter Bodo is another long-time critic of the Williams Sisters. Earlier this year, Bodo called the Williams sisters' patrotism "false and self-serving" because they had failed, as he saw it, to make a firm commitment to play for the US squad in the Federation Cup. And when the sisters again chose not to play the Indian Wells tournament this year, where Venus and her father Richard had been booed and allegedly racially abused following her withdrawal with injury from a match against Serena back in 2001, Tom Gainey of Tennis X said they should get over it.

Given this form, the question has to be asked, when has an American-born tennis champion ever been so disrespected as Serena Williams?

One reason why the American tennis establishment resents Serena Williams is because she doesn't make tennis her life. Williams is so superior to other women on the WTA that she can play part-time – and still win two out of the four grand slam singles titles.

But some of the establishment's almost palpable relief at Wozniacki's elevation is, frankly, because she's young, white and blonde; and is a physical type that conforms more closely to western stereotypes of female beauty than Williams' highly athletic physique. A female athlete, it seems, is not respected for her hard work and dedication; she still has to be a product on display to sell to heterosexual male consumers – and a dark-skinned, self-willed African American is not the preferred model.

For all her consistency, Wozniacki has never beaten any of the big four: either the Williams sisters, or the Belgians Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. Wozniacki has a weak forehand, a lack of variety in her game, and the top elite women have the power to blast her off the court. The fact remains that Wozniacki is just another, relatively anonymous woman player who has reached No 1 without a grand slam title, just as Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina did. The idea that Wozniacki is any kind of "great white hope" is doubly misguided.

Recently, Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena, told the New York Times he believes the USTA discourages African American youth from pursuing the sport because they don't want blacks dominating tennis, which is still, culturally, a white sport. That is a view that chimes with the fact that Maria Sharapova is the highest-paid female athlete in the world, despite the fact she's only won three grand slam singles titles – ten less than Serena Williams has.

So what is it that the Maria Sharapova or Caroline Wozniacki has that Serena Williams, the greatest champion US women's tennis has ever had, doesn't? Tennis ability has nothing to do with it. Prejudice has everything to do with it.

Clijsters wins Doha

Kim Clijsters started strongly, lost her way a little and finished fast in the final of the WTA Championships - Doha 2010, scoring a 6-3 - 6-3 win over Caroline Wozniacki for her third career title at the season-ender.

Coming into this year's event, Clijsters was the only player in the field who had a winning record at the WTA Championships in previous years (she had been 15-6 here, with none of the other seven players better than even). She was also on a roll in big matches, winning all five finals since returning to tennis last year.

All of that may have played into a very fast start for Clijsters, who burst out to a 6-3 4-1 lead; Wozniacki, who had won more matches than anyone this year, did not surrender - in fact she raised her level in a big way, upping the aggression and winning seven of the next eight games to win the second set and break for 1-0 in the first game of the third. The match would turn once more, however.

Clijsters broke right back in the second game of the third set and was again the frontrunner from there, firing an inside out forehand winner to break again for 4-2, holding easily for 5-2 then holding again two games later to complete the victory.

"At the moment I'm kind of relieved it's over. It seemed like it would never end," Clijsters said on court right after the match. "It was a tough battle. We should some great tennis and some great fitness - I think we showed the crowd some great women's tennis tonight. This was my first time in the Middle East and it been a very amazing experience."

Having also won this event in 2002 and 2003, Clijsters is the fifth player in WTA history to win here three or more times (Martina Navratilova won here eight times, with Steffi Graf winning four times and Monica Seles three times).

Clijsters won her fifth WTA title of the year, following triumphs in Brisbane, Miami, Cincinnati and the US Open; the only player who won more titles than Clijsters this year was Wozniacki (the Dane won six titles this year).

Wozniacki has a lot to be happy about after this week, making it to one of her biggest career finals (last year's US Open final was arguably her only bigger final, and she fell to Clijsters there too) and, by virtue of beating Francesca Schiavone in round robin play, securing the year-end No.1 ranking - she rose to No.1 on October 11 and is the 10th player ever to finish a year No.1.

"This may be disappointing for Caroline, but she has a great future," Clijsters added. "I also have to congratulate her on making it to the No.1 ranking."

"This has been a fantastic week for me - the support is always amazing here," Wozniacki said. "I had a great week. Kim just played amazing today and she really deserved to win."

Kim and Caro to play in final.

Four of this year's best performers on the WTA took center court Saturday, all battling for berths in the finals of the WTA Championships - Doha 2010. And with ferocious forehands and blistering backhands among their repertoires, it was one of the best days of tennis the entire season.

Kim Clijsters and Samantha Stosur, the No.3 and No.5 seeds, were the first to play. Stosur started quickly, breaking Clijsters in the second game and building a 3-0 lead; Clijsters broke back, however, and after saving set point at 4-5 always seemed to be in control, cruising through a tie-break to end the 61-minute first set and blowing through the second set in 25 minutes to improve to 5-0 in her head-to-head series against Stosur with a 7-6(3) 6-1 victory.

"Sam and I have played some tough matches in the past, but today I was able to play well on the important points. That's what helped me win the first set," Clijsters said. "In the second set I think her level dropped a little bit."

"That's what happens when you play against the best in the world. You have to play absolutely at the peak. If you drop off just that little bit, you get punished for it," Stosur said. "I had the set point and she hit a ball right on the line. You have to say too good on shots like that. She deserved to win it in the end."

Clijsters is playing a WTA tournament in the Middle East for the first time. "To play the WTA Championships here is very special. The fans are great here - my match against Azarenka went until 1am the other night and so many people stayed. I really appreciate that. I hope they keep supporting women's tennis."

The second semifinal went much like the first, with Caroline Wozniacki recovering from a close encounter in the first set then cruising through the second set to win. Wozniacki, the No.1 seed, squandered an early 4-1 lead and found herself down two set points with Vera Zvonareva serving at 5-4, 40-15; but she fought both of them off and ended up winning nine games in a row to seal victory against the No.2-seeded Russian in straight sets, 7-5 6-0.

"I was up 4-1 in the first set and suddenly she had two set points," Wozniacki said on court after the match. "First I want to thank the crowd for supporting me so much today and all week. Without you guys I wouldn't be here."

"I feel like in the beginning of the second set I lost a little bit of concentration and gave her three games right away," Zvonareva said. "Then I think it was a little bit too late. She was already dominating the second set. Against a player like Caroline you can't give her so many mistakes. I'm disappointed."

Wozniacki and Clijsters have only met once previously, with Clijsters winning in an entertaining straight-setter in the US Open final last year, 7-5 6-3.

"Right now I'm just going to enjoy this moment. I'm in the finals and it's a huge tournament," Wozniacki said. "We'll see what I come up with tomorrow."

Dementieva calls quits on a Marvelous decade.

She fought alongside the biggest names on the WTA for over a decade, right until the end too. And following her last match of this week's WTA Championships - Doha 2010, Elena Dementieva called it a career.

After Anna Kournikova's stint at the top level in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dementieva was the first of the current wave of Russians to make a mark, cracking the Top 20 on September 11, 2000 after a shock run to her first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open. She stayed in that elite for 524 of the next 529 weeks, including this week, and she spent an amazing 328 career weeks inside the Top 10 (peaking at No.3 for five weeks in the spring of 2009).

Dementieva seemed to get better and better with age, her most treasured title, the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, coming at age 26, and her two Top 5 finishes coming at 27 and 28 (at the end of the 2008 and 2009 seasons).

In addition to 16 WTA titles, Dementieva reached another 16 finals, including Grand Slam finals at the French Open and US Open in 2004. Players had to go to the ends of the Earth to beat her; who could forget Serena Williams' 6-7(4) 7-5 8-6 win over her in the semifinals of Wimbledon last year, where the eventual champion had to save match point in what is widely regarded as one of the best matches in recent memory. Dementieva reached the semifinals or better at Grand Slams nine times, doing it at least once at every Grand Slam.

Dementieva's success wasn't just limited to singles. She won six WTA doubles titles (including the WTA Championships in 2002 with Janette Husarova) and reached another seven finals (including two US Open finals, in 2002 with Husarova and 2005 with Flavia Pennetta). Her doubles career-high was No.5.

But after 12 years competing at the highest level, the Russian, who celebrated her 29th birthday earlier this month, decided to bow out on the WTA's biggest stage, her last match coming against Francesca Schiavone. The 30-year-old Italian would win that match in an hour and 33 minutes on center court, 6-4 6-2.

"This year in Doha was very special for me because it was my last tournament," Dementieva told the crowd. "I'd first like to thank Stacey Allaster. We're very lucky to have you as the leader of the tour. You do so much to make our tour better, trying to take women's tennis to a different level. It has been a big honor to be a part of the tour for such a long time. I'd like to thank all the people from the WTA - it was so nice to get to know all of you and work with you for so many years. I'm going to miss you so much. Thanks to all the players for the amazing experiences, all the years I spent on the court with you. And thanks to all the people around the world for supporting me, and my fan club, I could feel your support no matter where I was in the world. Thank you for your devotion.

"Most importantly, thanks to my family, especially my mom. You've been very supportive, encouraging, inspiring... you were always there for me. It was a long way and we did it together. I love you mom.

"It's so emotional. It's hard to say goodbye. I'm going to miss you so much."

"Russia is proud to have you. You've been a great inspiration and role model for kids," Vera Zvonareva said on court. "You've done so much, not just for Russian tennis but for Russian sport. The whole country is proud of you."

"We kind of grew up together. I've been playing with her since the juniors," Kim Clijsters said. "It's nice to see her look forward to something new in her life. She's been one of the most professional, nicest girls on tour.

"It will be rare to see another player like her."

Vera secures year end number 2.

The round robin portion of the WTA Championships - Doha 2010 wrapped up on Friday, with the first two matches having major implications.

First up was No.4 seed Francesca Schiavone's 6-4 6-2 win over No.7 seed Elena Dementieva, which would turn out to be Dementieva's last career match - she announced her retirement on court straight after the match.

"Everybody knew - not me," Schiavone said of Dementieva's news. "She has been a really big example for everybody. I'm friends with her. She feels it is her time to leave. It's part of life. I wish the best for her. She deserves it."

Schiavone had lost both of her previous round robin matches but ended on a winning note. She will play in the Fed Cup final next week against the USA. "I love to play for my country. I'm always ready when the captain calls me to play for my nation. Now I have some days to rest to play my last singles of the year."

Next, No.2 seed Vera Zvonareva rallied from a break down twice in the first set and twice in the second set to get revenge on No.3 seed Kim Clijsters, avenging her loss in the US Open final with a 6-4 7-5 win over the Belgian.

"I definitely produced some good tennis today," said Zvonareva, who also secured the year-end No.2 ranking with the win. "Every tournament I go to I'm trying to do my best to win it. But I have to take it one match at a time."

"Last night's match was pretty tough and I kind of felt it today," Clijsters, who beat Victoria Azarenka late Thursday night, said. "I kind of felt flat out there today. I'll have the morning off and I'll practice around 4pm. I'll be using this time to recover and be as fresh as possible for the semifinals tomorrow."

Although the final four line-up was settled on Friday, now both semifinal match-ups are set, with Clijsters facing No.5 seed Sam Stosur and Zvonareva facing No.1 seed Caroline Wozniacki. Clijsters leads Stosur in their head-to-head, 4-0; Wozniacki and Zvonareva are tied in their head-to-head, 3-3.

In the third match of the day, Azarenka, the No.8 seed, rallied from an early 3-1 deficit to beat No.6 seed Jelena Jankovic, 6-4 6-0, in a match that determined who would finish No.3 and No.4 in their group. Both were 0-2 in earlier matches.

Stosur beats Wozniacki, gives Vera a shot at top spot.

Her big serve and laser-like forehand in full flight, Samantha Stosur pulled off the first big upset of the season-ending WTA Championships - Doha 2010, dispatching Caroline Wozniacki, the world No.1, 6-4 6-3.

Stosur, the No.5 seed in Doha, gave Wozniacki some windows on her serve, six break points to be exact - but she saved them all and snuck out two breaks of her own against the top seed, one in the last game of the first set and another to go up 3-1 in the second. She hit a service winner on match point.

"Anytime you beat the No.1 player in the world it's a good thing," said Stosur, who hit 26 winners in the match. "It's so exciting to be here. Everything seems to be coming together. Hopefully I can keep playing like this."

Stosur scored her second career victory over a reigning No.1, her first coming earlier this year at the French Open, where she beat Serena Williams in a nail-biter in the quarters. Stosur is the only Australian in the last seven years to beat a No.1 (before her, the last one to do it was Jelena Dokic in 2003).

Stosur is now 2-0 in her group, having beaten No.4 seed Francesca Schiavone Tuesday; Wozniacki is now 1-1, having beaten No.7 seed Elena Dementieva.

In other matches on Day 2 of round robin play in Doha, No.2 seed Vera Zvonareva edged No.8 seed Victoria Azarenka, 7-6(4) 6-4, while No.3 seed Kim Clijsters beat No.6 seed Jelena Jankovic, 6-2 6-3.

Zvonareva was trailing 4-2 in the first set and 3-1 in the second set before toughing out her win over Azarenka. "I'm always leaving 100% on the court when I'm out there. I'm happy I was able to come back in those two sets; I shouldn't have started that slowly, but I was just trying to find my rhythm. I made the right adjustments and came up with great tennis in the tie-break when I needed it."

Clijsters had 10 double faults in her match but still found a way to win handily. "It wasn't my best tennis, but it was good enough. I felt I did a lot of good things, and there are a few things I need to tweak. The more matches I get, the better."