Venus Williams started her clothing line EleVen By Venus in 2007. During its formative years, the line featured some truly horrid designs, often ill-fitting and deploying questionable prints and fabrics. But, resilient like its designer, EleVen By Venus has rebounded quite nicely in recent times. 

Let's take a look at some of Vee's best and worst looks over the years. 


10 Of The Best

Venus's current look for the French Open (first pic) plays so well against the red clay in Paris, the colours so vibrant and the dress fitting her perfectly. Other favourites include: 2012 Sony Open (9), 2013 U.S. Open (10), and 2014 Duabi (2). 





10 Of The Worst

2011 was a difficult year for EleVen By Venus. She began with the yellow midriff cut-out dress in Australia and followed with #8 in Paris, #1 at Wimbledon and finished with #9 in New York. It must be very difficult to design something unique within the all-white constrains of Wimbledon, but Venus' 2011 outfit was likely my least favourite tennis dress ever. 

What do you think? What are your favourite and least favourite designs from EleVen By Venus? 

The French Open is finally upon us; the lead up to the premier clay event has been a long and eventful one this year. Rafael Nadal has looked vulnerable on clay for the first time in his career, and Novak Djokovic appears in prime form to finally complete his career Grand Slam. Yet, Nadal has won this tournament eight of the last nine years; he is still the King of Clay until he is not. Rafa has been able to thwart Djokovic's attempts at his crown the last two years - can he do so one more time? 

The Men's Draw, released on Friday, is definitely more favourable to some than others. Here are my reactions to the draw, some of the key early round matches to look out for, and my picks for the quarters.


First Impressions

• If Rafael Nadal is to win a ninth French Open and 14th Grand Slam title, he will have to fend off several tough opponents before a seemingly inevitable final against Novak Djokovic. Lurking in his half are: Thiem, Almagro, Dimitrov/Ferrer and Wawrinka/Murray. He has embraced the struggle this spring, and maybe that will have prepared him for one more almighty fight in Paris. 
• Dominic Thiem and Nick Kyrgios have been described as the future of the ATP. Both have had good seasons and, given a favourable draw, could notch a few scalps at the French. The tennis gods have not cooperated; Thiem gets Nadal in the second round, and Kyrgios draws Raonic in the opening round. 
  
• Andy Murray has struggled mightily in his return from back surgery last fall. His tussle with Nadal in Rome signalled he may be close to his best. While he has Wawrinka in the quarters, his road up to that point might allow him to find some more form and make a competitive go of it. 
• I can hardly believe the depth on the ATP tour. The fourth round matches are all mouth-watering, further evidence that the men's tour keeps getting better and better.
  
• Stan Wawrinka has proven he can beat anybody, but he has yet to convince me that he can be counted on to bring his best every match. The draw will test his mettle often; if he makes it to the second week, he should be ready for the big boys. 
  
• Djokovic must be thanking the tennis gods that Stan is on the opposite side of the draw. He can only meet his bogeyman in the final. After losing to him in Australia and playing two five-setters in Slams last year, Novak must happy to pawn Stan off on Rafa this time around.
  
• Federer has the easiest path to the quarters of all the big guns. Fresh off having twins again, Roger could probably use some more matches on clay after skipping Madrid and losing early in Rome. I have no idea what to expect from him in Paris, but at least the draw has gifted him a chance to make noise in week two.  
• The men's draw is oh so top heavy. It's impossible to please everybody with a draw of 128 players, but this is a bit much!

Early Round Matches To Watch


Raonic vs Kyrgios - 1st Round
Nishikori vs Klizan - 1st Round
Thiem vs Mathieu - 1st Round
Almagro vs Sock - 1st Round
Seppi vs Girlado - 1st Round
Wawrinka vs Garcia-Lopez - 1st Round
Nadal vs Thiem - 2nd Round
Murray vs Brown - 2nd Round
Youzhny vs Stepanek - 2nd Round
Bautista Agut vs Berdych - 3rd Round
Nishikori vs Dolgopolov - 3rd Round
Almagro vs Haas - 3rd Round
Wawrinka vs Lopez - 3rd Round
Monfils vs Fognini - 3rd Round


Quarter-Finalists

Nadal vs Ferrer
Wawrinka vs Murray
Bautista Agut vs Federer
Nishikori vs Djokovic

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are the defending finalists in Paris, and likely the two biggest favourites to win the title. Unfortunately for them, and fans, there will be no rematch of last year's final. The two are on course to meet in the quarters of the top half of the draw, due in large part to Maria's dip in the rankings this spring. Li Na and Simona Halep are the top two seeds on the bottom half. 

The Women's Draw is filled with intrigue; there are so many early round matches that promise great entertainment. Below are a few thoughts regarding the draw, some early round matches you should pay attention to, and my picks for the final 8. 


First Impressions

• Spare a thought for Alize Lim. She was last seen taking a selfie with Serena at the player's party, and now gets the 17-time Slam champion in the first round. How's that for bad luck!

• Poor Venus! She has played her way into getting a seed at Roland Garros, yet that hasn't paid any dividends whatsoever. She draws Belinda Bencic in the first round, and has her sister looming in the third round. 

• Eugenie Bouchard gets a favourable draw as she seeks to make another deep run at a major following her semifinal showing in Australia. A round of 16 match with Kerber is her main obstacle from making the quarters. 

• Expectations were already very low for Caroline Wozniacki after her very public split from Rory McIlroy this week, and her prospects didn't get any better with the release of the draw. She gets Wickmayer, Pavlyuchenkova and then Li Na in the third round. 

• If Maria Sharapova is to win a second French Open title, she will have to get past Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova in the round of 16 and then Serena Williams in the quarters. Ouch. 

• Taylor Townsend will make her Grand Slam debut at the French Open, and she's in with more than a fighting chance of scoring her first main draw win too. Vania King should be a winnable match all things considered. 

• Sloane Stephens will need to buckle down if she's to make her ninth consecutive third round at a Slam. Her performances since the Australian Open have been lacklustre, and she draws Peng in the first round and Jana Cepelova in the second.  

• The bottom half of draw is wide open for a surprise finalist. Kuznetsova could do some damage with Kvitova in a tailspin, so too could Simona Halep who couldn't ask for a better road to the semifinals. If, somehow, Li Na fails to make it out of the first week, your guess is as good as mine as far as who makes it out of that section. 

Early Round Matches To Watch

Ivanovic vs Garcia - 1st Round
Errani vs Keys - 1st Round
Stosur vs Puig - 1st Round
Townsend vs King - 1st Round
Venus vs Bencic - 1st Round
Date-Krumm vs Scrabble - 1st Round
Stephens vs Cepelova - 2nd Round
Kerber vs Lepchenko - 2nd Round
Pennetta vs Kirilenko - 2nd Round
Kvitova vs Kuznetsova - 3rd Round
Petkovic vs Li - 3rd Round
Stosur vs Cibulkova - 3rd Round


Quarter-Finalists

Serena vs Sharapova
Radwanska vs Bouchard
Ivanovic vs Halep
Jankovic vs Li

The French Open is only four days away! Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal, while favourites, are not locks to defend their titles. Serena's battled exhaustion from a frenzied schedule over the last year, and Rafa's encountered an untimely lack of confidence during the clay season. The "Booty Twins" spoiled tennis fans with their dominance last year; that they've been unable to match that pace should not come as a surprise. Nonetheless, their results have panicked their respective fanbases this spring, and allowed for compelling stories to develop on both tours.

Let's examine some of the players and storylines we should all pay attention to in Paris:

ATP

• This French Open will feature Novak Djokovic's third attempt at a career Grand Slam. Nole has made no secret of how badly he wants this. With Nadal and Federer both owning a career Grand Slam, the pressure is on Novak to keep pace with the two GOATS. The last two attempts ended at the hands of Rafael Nadal, and look for them to meet for a third straight time this year. I imagine that potential showdown will be talked about ad nauseam. 
• We know Novak has a bullseye on Rafa's back; can Nadal fend him off one more time at Roland Garros? There's also the not-so-small matter of the #1 ranking at stake. Yes, Stan is big league now, but this is the final that everybody will be expecting. These two are the best in the game and a win for either will settle many a score. Rafa is also chasing Federer's 17 Slam titles. After failing to win his 14th in Australia, Nadal had to rebuild his confidence for this event. All the turmoil of the spring will be forgotten should he win a ninth French title.
• Kei Nishikori's arrival as a big threat to the top ballers is one of the ATP's most surprising wrinkles this season. He's beaten Federer, Ferrer (twice), Dimitrov, played Nadal very tough for three sets in Australia, and looked to be in command against him in Madrid before injury forced a retirement. Whoever gets Kei in the round of 16 will be very unlucky. He's made one Slam QF (Australia 2012) and looks ready to go at least one better in Paris. 
• I honestly have no idea what to expect from Roger Federer at Roland Garros. That in itself is a story to keep an eye on. He and Mirka just had another pair of twins, and that may propel him towards something truly special. Roger has enjoyed a resurgence in 2014, but anything more than a QF in Paris will be a bonus. 
• Grigor Dimitrov seems to be getting closer and closer to making that critical breakthrough. He battled Rafa valiantly in the Australian Open QF, and has followed that performance with titles in Acapulco and Bucharest. I don't think clay will be the surface for him to win a first Slam, but a SF showing would be more progress toward that end. His improved play has made his high profile relationship with Sharapova all the more interesting. The two won titles on the same day earlier in 2014 - can you imagine the press frenzy if they both make deep runs in Paris? 
  
• 2014 has been nothing short of awesome for Stan Wawrinka. He won Chennai, the Australian Open and Monte Carlo to lay claim to residency inside the "Big Four". He loves the red dirt and has all the weapons to win big again. The biggest concern for Stan is being able to avoid an off day that seems to plague him from time to time. Absolutely one of the favourites in Paris.  
• Players to watch: Roberto Bautista Agut, Ernests Gulbis, Dominic Thiem, Nicolas Almagro. 

WTA

• Serena Williams is chasing her 18th Grand Slam singles title in Paris, hoping to tie Martina Navatilova and Chris Evert on the all-time list. Like Rafa, it feels like Australia slipped through her grasp. Last week's triumph in Rome bodes well for her; barring injury it's difficult to imagine anybody getting in the way of her continued march up the Grand Slam ladder. 
• Apart from Serena, is Maria Sharapova the most consistent clay court player of the last two years? And how did this happen? If Serena doesn't make a deep run here, Sharapova is the easy favourite to win a second French title. Look for her to continue her fine run on the red dirt, especially after some good results in the lead-up events.   
• I have watched Ana Ivanovic intently this season and am very impressed with her consistency. She began by beating Venus to win Auckland, then Serena on her way to the quarters in Australia, and added another title in Monterrey. Her last three tournaments have yielded a QF, SF, and F - all on clay courts. She has the look of a legitimate contender in Paris. The question is: do you have the fortitude to throw your support behind her?  
• Simona Halep is the obvious candidate to have a big breakthrough at the remaining Slams in 2014. Since June of last year, she's won 7 tournaments and proven she has the game to beat almost anybody. Now, Halep is ranked #4 and expectations are higher than ever. She played Serena twice in 2013 and won only 7 games combined, including two bagel sets. There is still room for improvement and perhaps she will take that next step in Paris. 
• What on earth is going on with Sloane Stephens? Paul Annacone has yet to make any discernible difference for her game. To date, Sloane has been able to brush aside poor results in smaller tournament by performing at the Slams. A good showing at Roland Garros would enhance that reputation, because nothing she's done in 2014 indicates something special is in store for Roland Garros. Look for the U.S. media to run wild with picking apart Sloane's matches, and make grand proclamations about the state of American tennis. What's new? 
• Like Wawrinka, Li Na will be looking to make it 2/2 in Slams for 2014. Li is a favourite in any tournament she enters; along with Serena and Maria, she's got title expectations on her shoulders. Her win in Australia was dogged by complaints of weak competition throughout. It would be nice to see her play lights out and beat a slew of big names to hoist the trophy.
• I can't get enough of Taylor Townsend. Her back-to-back ITF titles scored her a wild card entry into Roland Garros. I want her to blaze her way to the top in no time, then switch allegiances to a country with a federation that doesn't shame its teenage talent about their bodies. Give 'em hell, TT!
• Players to watch: Svetlana Kuznetsova, Caroline Garcia, Andrea Petkovic, Belinda Bencic.

Side Note: Below is a prime example of the blatant and systemic sexism in sport & society. 

I'll be rooting for Caro next week!

Winners:

• Ana Ivanovic - 2014 has a bit of a retro feel to it with Ana and Jelena playing well again. For Ivanovic, her success is due to a consistency that's been missing for a long time. She's been more than awkward fist pumps and wayward ball tosses; Ana has scored wins over Sharapova, Jankovic and both Williams sisters to go along with two titles. All of a sudden, she's a legitimate contender at the French, site of her lone Slam win. 
• Li Na - The Aussie Champ didn't have the toughest road to the title, but she still beat all who stood in her way. The rest of her year has been solid but not spectacular, but hey, she's still the only Slam winner in 2014.
  
• Maria Sharapova - It hasn't been an easy road for Maria, but she's managed to stay afloat in the rankings by defending most of her points from this time last year. Now, she again finds herself as one of the favourites heading into the French Open. Over the last two years, only Serena has been better on clay.  
  
• Venus Williams - Vee's struggles since being diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome are well documented, but she's turned in some encouraging results in 2014. A title in Dubai, final in Auckland and two R16 performances have her sitting at #30 in the rankings, with only points in Tokyo to defend the rest of the year. Should she stay healthy, a return to the top-20 is a real possibility.  
• Dominika Cibulkova - What a start to 2014 for Domi! She's made three finals, including a sizzling run at the Australian Open. Consider that she's also made two QFs and a SF, and it's no surprise that she's made her way into the top 10. Cibulkova has had possibly the most consistent seasons of anybody thus far. 
• Kimiko Date-Krumm - KDK turns 44 in September and is currently ranked #82. That alone makes her a winner in my book. She's also scored wins over Muguruza, Pennetta and Puig this year while managing to maintain her ranking inside the top-100.   
• Taylor Townsend - The last time you heard about Taylor Townsend may have been in 2012 as the tennis world shamed the USTA for its handling of one of it brightest talents. Now Taylor has won consecutive ITF tournaments and scored a wild card into the French Open. Currently ranked #200, she's guaranteed to have a picture on her WTA profile page very soon. Have that USTA!
• Martina Hingis - The Swiss Miss made an unsuccessful doubles return to the WTA last year alongside Daniela Hantuchova. She has since partnered with Sabine Lisicki to win Miami, her first doubles title since 2007. I know firsthand how exciting it is to have Martina back on tour (Rogers Cup 2013), and hopefully she can convert this bit of success into something more sustained. The WTA will be better for it. 

Also deserving: Jana Cepelova, Casey Dellacqua, Andrea Petkovic, Belinda Bencic, Flavia Pennetta, Simona Halep, Jelena Jankovic.


Losers:

• Victoria Azarenka - Vika looked poised to seriously threaten Serena's stranglehold on the WTA, but has been undercut by injury this year. She's managed only three tournaments and will now miss the French Open. Her setback came at an inopportune time in her career, and has left a noticeable hole at the top of the women's game.   
• Sloane Stephens - Just a miserable season for Sloane. A coaching change to Paul Annacone has failed to bring more focus to her game. We're witnessing a player who looks lost and disinterested on court, disconcerting given the promise that she's shown.  
• Sara Errani - Tough start to the year for the Italian #1 when she matched her first round exit in Australia from 2013. Although she's reached two finals (including last week in Rome), Errani hasn't been as consistent in her start to this year as she was during the same stretch last season. The injury she picked up in the Rome final was a cruel ending for an otherwise stellar week.  
• Roberta Vinci - Like her Italian counterpart, Vinci's had a rough go of it. The top 10 seems a distant memory after making only one QF all season. 
• Sabine Lisicki - The round of 16 has been the ceiling for the German all season. We know she excels on grass, but the lack of results elsewhere continues to confound. 

Stuck In The Middle:

• Serena Williams - I can't call Serena a winner, much as I haven't with Nadal, because both have come down from last year's pace. Serena's battled fatigue and injury in a couple of tournaments, and took a deserved break from the tour after Charleston. Still, Serena was the overwhelming favourite in Australia and didn't deliver the goods. The loss to Cornet in Dubai was curious, and her play - even while winning - hasn't been as dominant. Like Rafa, a win at Roland Garros fixes everything!

All sorts of emotions here as Michael Sam learns he’s been drafted, the burden of a trailblazer lifted.

Below: A piece I wrote after Sam first came out, in anticipation of this historic night.

Michael Sam & the Promised Land of Big 4 Professional Sport


Reactions from folks on Twitter: 

Venus Williams and Martina Hingis are 33 years old. More than half their lifetimes have passed since they first burst onto the WTA Tour. So much has happened for both women since the mid-90s. Martina has retired twice from singles play, the second time in 2007 as she faced a drug suspension. She’s currently an active player on the doubles circuit, winning Miami this year partnering Sabine Lisicki. As for Venus, she hasn’t made a Grand Slam final since Wimbledon in 2009, and has had to reconstruct her career after being diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome in 2011. Neither woman has been able to script the back ends of their careers as they would have imagined, but their accomplishments still secure very special places in the annals of tennis.

Martina and Venus emerged during a time of transition for the WTA Tour. By 1997, Steffi Graf was mostly absent due to injury, and Monica Seles returned a fraction of the player she was prior to being stabbed in 1993. The hierarchy of women’s tennis was up for grabs, and the era of “big babe tennis” had yet to fully materialize. They were also part of a soon-to-be extinct breed of tennis prodigies; teenagers are no longer able to thrive at the highest level like these young women did. There was a window through which new talent could force their way to the forefront of women’s tennis. These two arrived at the right time, amidst the perfect storm, to form a brand new and scintillating rivalry on the WTA Tour.

This rivalry was also complicated by race. Venus and Serena’s blackness was an affront to the tennis establishment and its fans. Their brash power game threatened all who preferred a more elegant femininity on court. Martina was the anti-Williams. She employed a deft touch and a knowledge of every inch of the tennis court to combat players who sought to blast her off the court. Her phenomenal success as a 16-year-old was a heralded resistance to the power game that threatened to overtake women’s tennis. That she was white only solidified her role as chief defender against a Williams invasion.  

It didn’t help that Martina did not shy away from talking about race and the Williams sisters. She famously opined that the sisters benefited from being black and that any slight they perceived, they could easily point to race as its cause. I don’t expect any 19-year-old to have a nuanced understanding of how race works in America, and so I won’t hold that against Martina, but her words furthered an already volatile situation in women’s tennis. I also believe that Martina knew what she was doing. She wanted to get inside Venus and Serena’s heads. She understood that if she could puppeteer the sisters mentally, she may benefit once she had to meet them on court.

Another element of the rivalry that elevated it to must-see status was the vastly different worlds that Venus and Martina came from. Venus grew up in Compton, California with unconventional tennis parents. Richard Williams told anyone who would listen that his daughters would dominate the tennis world, and kept a level of mystery surrounding them by refusing to have them play on the junior circuit. Meanwhile, Martina was a known entity, winning the French Open Junior title at 12, and finishing 1994 ranked #87 as a 14-year-old. When Venus emerged at the 1997 U.S. Open, with noisy hair and Richard photographing her every move from the stands, nobody knew what to make of her. Venus’ blackness was difficult for a mostly white tennis audience to understand, and even harder for them to identify with.

Martina dominated that 1997 U.S. Open final and much of the early going against Venus, winning 9 of 14 matches between 1997 and 1999. In her prime, Hingis enjoyed toying with her opponents; she knew she had superior skills and court intelligence to counter anything her opponents could muster. This dynamic was no different with Venus in their early matches. Even though Venus could out-hit her, Martina could count on all her intangibles to neutralize the booming serves and blistering groundstrokes. But, by the end of 1999, Venus seemed to be getting closer to solving the Hingis riddle. Although Venus had yet to beat Hingis at a Grand Slam, she was fresh off a 3-set tussle in the U.S. Open semis, and followed that up with a breathtaking win at the Grand Slam Cup. 


Below: Watch highlights of Venus' 3-set win at the 1999 Grand Slam Cup. 

For the remainder of their head-to-head, Venus led Hingis 5-2, including wins at Wimbledon and the U.S Open on her way to both titles in 2000. This period coincided with Venus’ peak, Martina’s struggles against the ever increasing power game, and a slew of injuries that would eventually force her first retirement from the game in February 2003. When she returned to the tour in 2006, the two split a pair of meetings before Martina disappeared once more. Of their 21 meetings, 10 were decided in three sets. Their respective styles complemented each other so well, but their rivalry was more than that: they both had such confidence in themselves and wanted to win so badly, those emotions (more often than not) spilled over into their tennis.

I’d love for Martina to give singles another go just so this rivalry could get a third renewal; there seemed to be so much unfinished business between the two on court. The majority of their matches occurred during their precocious teens/early twenties when both were prone to drama rather than keeping a level head. I often wonder what the two could muster against each other in the twilight of their tennis years, as more mature and evolved versions of the players we first met. With Hingis’ successful return to the doubles circuit this year in Miami, perhaps we will have get one more high stakes battle, in a doubles final with Martina against both sisters. Even though Venus and Martina’s rivalry feels like it was way too brief, the two electrified tennis during a distinct period in the history of the WTA. However short their rivalry, their contributions to the sport loom large.


This is the fourth in a series on great tennis rivalries:
Pistol Pete & The A-Train: American Tennis Royalty
Steffi & Monica: Ill-Fated Rivalry & Story of What Might Have Been
The Sisters Williams: Beyond Tennis Rivalry