Tennis News

Twenty-seven years on from her major breakthrough, the Barcelona Bumblebee Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario has not lost her love of the game, signing up as the latest ambassador for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

However, for many the Spaniard will forever be the effervescent 17-year-old who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the then-queen bee Steffi Graf in the 1989 French Open final.

This was one of many enduring memories to have occurred at a tournament that has become synonymous for first thrusting iconic names into the public eye. And as Roland Garros 2016 enters the home stretch, CNN Open Court asked some of the famous old venues’ most fêted competitors to share their memories.

Who is the most famous athlete in the world? Ben Alamar, ESPN’s director of sports analytics, devised a formula that combines salary, prize money and endorsements with social media following and Google search popularity to create the ESPN World Fame 100 rankings.

The WTA’s brightest stars dominated the list: of the 8 women highlighted by ESPN, half are WTA players. Maria Sharapova (No.18), Serena Williams (No.25), Sania Mirza (No.41) and Venus Williams (No.74) were named as the most famous female athletes.

At No.18 on the list, Sharapova is the most famous female athlete in the world and her combined 17.6 million fans on social media can agree. From winning her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon at the age of 17 to debuting her confectionary lines, the Russian’s broad popularity has cemented her position at the top.

Two “Serena Slams” 13 years apart speak to the longevity of Serena’s career, during which she’s amassed 70 titles and claims a combined 10.4 million social fans. Her off court activities – including a couple of viral cameos – keep her firmly in the pop culture spotlight as well. At No.25 she is the third most famous female athlete on the list.

A pair of trailblazers round out the ESPN World Fame 100 list: Sania Mirza and Venus Williams. Mirza galvanized an entire subcontinent when she became the first Indian woman to win a Grand Slam last year at Wimbledon, and the world’s No.1 doubles player continues to break barriers for women. Similarly, Venus made history when she became the first African-American player ever – male or female – to hold the No.1 ranking in tennis. Her 49 career titles are only eclipsed by her continuing contributions to equality in the game, and as a result she remains one of the most famous athletes in the world.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Serena Williams is set to return to No.1 in the WTA rankings after winning her seventh Australian Open title, a 23rd Grand Slam title that breaks the Open Era record she hitherto shared with Stefanie Graf.

Serena came to Melbourne with a slim hope of taking back the top spot, but opportunity knocked when defending champion and top seed Angelique Kerber bowed out in the fourth round to CoCo Vandeweghe.

Despite the German’s early exit, the American still needed to make history to take back the ranking she held for 186 consecutive weeks – a record she narrowly missed breaking and holds alongside Graf.

But she did just that on Saturday, defeating elder sister Venus Williams, 6-4, 6-4 to guarantee her accession back to the top of women’s tennis.

The feat came as a surprise to Serena, as she shared in her post-match press.

“in the beginning of the tournament, I was like, ‘If I win, will I be No. 1?’

“[My coach Patrick Mouratoglou] said, ‘No, no, no.

“I was like, Whatever.

“So, today on the court when they were like, ‘And No. 1,’ I was like, ‘Whoa, really?'”

As for Venus, the five-time Wimbledon champion will move up to No.11, with a return to the Top 10 for the first time since last fall firmly in sight.

“I feel motivated to continue, to continue to go out there and hit the ball the way I know I can,” Venus said. “There’s only things I can improve on, to be honest, and to build on.

“I feel I played very well this week, pulled a lot of things out of my pocket. I got more stuff in my pocket. Get it out.”

Billie Jean King congratulated Serena on returning to No.1 on Twitter:

Congrats @serenawilliams on your 23rd major title and return to the top of the@WTA rankings. You are a history maker and a trailblazer.

— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) January 28, 2017