To celebrate the start of Rogers Cup, Sony Ericsson, one of the largest global mobile phone manufacturers known for its innovation and style, and two of the brightest stars of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, World No.8 Caroline Wozniacki and 2008 Roland Garros Champion Ana Ivanovic, took over Toronto’s Yonge Street for Street Tennis, an impromptu tennis match on Canada’s longest street.

Street Tennis follows on the heels of last week’s spectacular Fountain Tennis stunt in the fountains of Kings Island in Cincinnati, one of America’s largest amusement parks.

Sony Ericsson, the title sponsor of the Tour, is famous for its breathtaking stunts that place some of the world’s most recognizable female athletes in the most unusual places – on water, on car rooftops in Miami, in a metro station in Madrid, and on a desert island in the Arabian Sea in Doha.

Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic and Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki rallied against each other on a special tennis court that was laid down for the players on the world-famous street in a record time of five minutes.

Ana and Caroline brought their A games to the street, awing tennis fans with amazing points in one of the world’s most exciting cities.  With Street Tennis, Sony Ericsson was once again able to take the sport from the confines of the tennis court to a new audience and unexplored environment.

Ana Ivanovic said: “Rogers Cup in Toronto is one of my favorite stops during the US Open Series.  I won this event three years ago and it is always nice to be back in Canada. I was thrilled to have a chance to participate in the Street Tennis stunt with Caroline today.

“It is always exciting to be able to bring the sport of tennis to new audiences and we definitely had fun, taking people on the streets of Toronto by a huge surprise.”

Commenting on the experience, Caroline Wozniacki said: “I was thrilled to have an opportunity to participate in Street Tennis with Ana and very impressed with Yonge Street in this beautiful city of Toronto.

“The court was laid out for us in a record time and playing an impromptu tennis match with Ana was really fun. I am extremely excited about competing at Rogers Cup in Toronto and participating in Street Tennis was a great way to kick off the tournament.”

Stacy Doster, Head of PR, Sony Ericsson North America, said: “Once again, Sony Ericsson created an exciting and original stunt that gave us an opportunity to energize the tennis fans in Toronto and kick off Rogers Cup in style.”

Rogers Cup tournament director Karl Hale said: “Toronto and tennis share a passion for multiculturalism. Street Tennis is a great way to start a phenomenal week at Rogers Cup.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the tennis world including today’s stunt participants Caroline Wozniacki and past Rogers Cup champion Ana Ivanovic.”

Hey y’all. I know everyone’s waiting for me to weigh in on this Kanye nonsense from last night. I’ll tell ya what: I heard the news (I wasn’t watching the show live), and I was fucking pissed. Taylor Swift is the little sister I adopted without her permission, and NOBODY gets to fuck with her like that. I think she handled herself perfectly, both during and after the incident, and I think Kanye West is a fucking alcoholic who should know by now that drinking prior to live, televised awards shows never results in him conducting himself appropriately. I feel sad for him; I’m sure his embarrassment today is surpassed only by his hangover. But just as I was getting all worked up about that, scouring the web for more information, I saw the news that they found the body of that missing Yale grad student, and suddenly a stupid Kanye West rant didn’t seem so important. My heart just breaks for the family and friends of that girl. It’s so unspeakably tragic.

But I suppose there was just anger in the air this weekend, as Serena Williams completely lost her shit on the tennis court at the US Open on Saturday night. The lineswoman calls a foot fault on Serena during her second serve, and Serena then appears to threaten to do something involving the tennis ball and the lineswoman’s orifices. For whatever reason, I’m loving this clip. I mean, THIS is the kind of forum where you fight back against decisions — far more appropriate than frightening poor Taylor Swift at the VMAs. And then the lineswoman goes and tattles on Serena and she basically forfeits the match. Anyway. It’s a fun clip.

On Aug 26, Nike took over the space between 22nd and 23rd street on Broadway to serve up a pop-up tennis court as a preparation for the festivities of U.S. Open next week. Three of the top tennis players, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Serena Williams graced the event and played some tennis with kids from four different inner-city programs.

The three champions coached kids from New York Junior Tennis League, Athletes for Charity, Mentoring USA and New York City Parks Foundation alongside tennis legend, John McEnroe. Each of these organizations received $10,000 from Nike in donations, along with free Nike gear that made all the kids’ day. Check out Serena Williams volley some and get pumped for the upcoming tennis season.

The general idea of a tennis court is a rectangular surface with a single net stretch across the center of the court. Sometimes the court is grass, clay or concrete. Every tennis player knows that the surface of the tennis court impacts the game. The four main types of surfaces include clay courts, grass courts, and hard courts or Rebound Ace.

Clay Tennis Courts
The clay material used for tennis courts is actually a combination of crushed stone, rubber and various types of plastics. The amount of speed is reduced when the ball bounces and players are able to have longer rallies. Experienced baseline players have an advantage as a result, while serve-and-volley players experience reduced power when the ball bounces on the opponent’s side. Sliding and skidding occurs on clay surfaces due to the looseness. The foundation of a clay court is actually concrete, which makes for a smooth surface. Balls with greater spin that bounce in deep into the opponent’s court allow for more wins. The French Open is played on clay courts.

Grass Tennis Courts
Grass is less popular for tennis courts than it used to be. Grass courts are constructed using actual grass but flattened out. The foundation is a firm layer of soil. Like clay courts, grass also requires more maintenance for evening out. Major tournaments used to be played on grass courts, but Wimbledon is now the only one played on grass courts. Grass is less smooth compared to clay surfaces, which makes the bounce less consistent. Usually, the ball bounces lower and faster, allowing for more quick and low shots.

Hard Courts (Concrete)
Hard courts or concrete courts are the most common types of surfaces for tennis. Bounces are consistent and predictable. Those who play with speed and hard-hits have an advantage with concrete courts. However, hard courts are generally compatible with any playing style and level. Injuries are also more common on hard courts or rebound ace than any other. Certain tennis court surfaces are an advantage for certain playing styles and can be a disadvantage for others. Whether the court is clay, grass or concrete, there is a degree of maintenance involved in order to have a successful game. While Clay courts and grass courts require regular care, concrete courts are maintained about once a year. Not every tennis court is the same and the outcome of a game can really be affected by the type of surface.

Tennis sensation Melanie Oudin came to the show to talk to Ellen about her recent success at the US Open. Not satisfied with just a chat, Ellen opted to challenge her on the court (or in this case… the alley)! Then Queen Latifah and DJ Tony came out to join them, watch now to see them play!

Grass (Wimbledon surface)

• Surface: Wimbledon uses 100% rye grass for it’s courts. Maintenance wise grass takes a lot more than other courts. They need to be reseeded every year and rain can cause havoc on a tournament schedule. Wimbledon’s center court now has a roof so that rain does not delay play. If the court does get very wet it can get very slippery and it can take a day to dry.
• Play: As it is a natural surface, it is not uniformly smooth, therefore bad bounces are common. If the grass is at all damp the ball can skid and will also bounce low without losing much speed. Due to this the game is faster and points tend to be shorter.

Clay (French Open surface)

• Surface: Red clay courts like that used in the French Open are made of either crushed shale, stone or brick. You can also find green clay (or Har-Tru or ‘American’ clay) and blue clay, a controversial new clay that is trying to be introduced at the Madrid Masters. The reason is that the blue reflects the corporate colors of the sponsor, and supposedly it has the same properties as a traditional red clay court.
• Play: Clay courts are generally considered to be slow because the balls bounce high. Because of this the rallies are generally longer and there are fewer winning shots. Clay also provides the unique technique of sliding into the ball, rather than the standard running and stopping to hit the stroke, this obviously requires a different kind of training, and some players favor this type of play.

Just in front of this ‘Tennis Court’ you would find the following information plaque:
45% chewing fescue, 25% slender creeping red fescue, 20% smooth-stalked meadowgrass and 10% browntop bent. This mix of grasses is resistant to drought and disease. Its compact growth stands up to wear and tear. As it repairs itself quickly it is ideal for tennis courts, cricket squares, golf tees and fairways.

There are four main court surfaces, each of which is used in one of the Open tournaments:

DecoTurf (US Open surface)

• Surface: DecoTurf, like the surface of the US Open is hard court surface consisting of layers of acrylic, rubber, silica and some other materials on top of a hard surface like concrete or asphalt.

  An acrylic resurfacer is applied to the asphalt or concrete to create an even layer to build the court on. An acrylic latex coating is placed on that, this is the thickest layer that provides both resiliency to the surface and cushion, both of which provide much of the distinct playing characteristics. Another acrylic latex layer is applied after that to smooth out the surface. On top of that an acrylic paint with silica sand is applied, there are various versions of this, each of which will effect the speed of play and traction on the court. The court is then covered with a color that seals the court and also provides ultra-violet protection. This is offered in various colors, and is where often you’ll see the court as one color and the outer court area another color. It is the same protective layer, just in different colors. Lastly the lines are painted with an acrylic paint that can either be textured or not.

• Play: DecoTurf is known for having a lightly lower bounce and does not slow down so much on the bounce as on some other surfaces.

Plexicushion (Australian Open surface)

• Surface: Plexicushion is constructed in much the same way as the DecoTurf. The Plexicushion material is made up of a blend of latex, rubber and plastic particles. There is first an acrylic resurfacer to smooth out the asphalt or concrete, followed by a Plexicushion base coat. Then the thicker Plexicushion and the fortified Plexipave followed by the paint and line color.
• Play: Plexicushion is billed as a medium-paced surface but all accounts from players seem to indicate that it plays slower than expected (and slower than the DecoTurf) and created a higher bounce. Regardless of the speed, the benefit for the Australian Open was that the previous Rebound Ace surface was criticized for getting a bit sticky in the hot sun, which of course can lead to injuries. The new surface should stand up to the sun better.