Serena Williams leads tennis players nominations for 2013 ESPYS

Serena Williams got two nominations for the 21th annual ESPY Awards, which recognizes last years major sports achievements, best moments and leading players and performances. World Nº1 WTA player, who brought home in 2012 a Gold Medal from London Olympics and two Grand Slam titles (Wimbledon and US Open), is nominated for Best Female Athlete and Best Female Tennis Player. Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka are the other nominees for Best Female Tennis Player.

Novak Djokovic is once again nominated for Best International Athlete alongside last year's winner football player Lionel Messi. Also competing for this prize are Cristiano Ronaldo, Usain Bolt and boxer Juan Manuel Marquez. Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal compete with the Serbian in the Best Male Tennis Player category, which Nole won for the first time in 2012. Roger Federer is a six-time winner of the ESPYs - from 2005 to 2010 - and Rafael Nadal got his first award in 2011.

Britain's pride and joy Andy Murray books a place in a special category: Best Moment. The Brit won his first major title at the Olympics, which were played at Wimbledon, but will have tough competition from other unforgettable events such as Alex Morgan's goal in the Olympics women's football semifinal.

Fans will determine the winners in all ESPY categories (except the Arthur Ashe Courage Award and other special awards) by voting online at ESPN. Voting ends July 17 9 p.m. ET.

The 21th annual ESPY Awards will take place at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, USA, on July 17, 2013. Mad Men's Jon Hamm will be the host and will be joined by Ben Affleck and Le Bron James who are confirmed as presenters of the Jimmy V Perseverance Award and the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.

Crazy day at Wimbledon paves way for Murray, Djokovic and Serena Williams

Wednesday, 26 June. Day 3, Wimbledon 2013. Probably one of the craziest days in tennis history. After Nadal's loss in the first round, no one could picture another major upset anytime soon. But the unexpected happened. Not once or twice but ten times. There were four withdrawals and three retirements in a single day. Six former World No.1 were sent home in Round 2!

Let's rundown wacky Wednesday at Wimbledon:

1 - Withdrawal: Victoria Azarenka was the first victim of the slippery grass. She injured her right knee during her Round 1 victory against Portugal's Maria João Koehler. The Belarus withdrew before her second round match against Flavia Pennetta.

Looks very comfortable RT @HuffPostUKPics Azarenka slips during her match against Koehler http://t.co/ld6RGdf0Ud pic.twitter.com/dYhTUnOLeR
— Charlie Lindlar (@charlielindlar) June 24, 2013

2 - Upset: Roger Federer was upset by World Nº136 Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Elation for #Stakhovsky after beating #Federer in the 2nd round at #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/treitMYTPY
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 26, 2013

With this loss, the Swiss will be out of the Top 4 players in the world for the first time since 2003. This was also Federer's earliest loss at a Grand Slam for a decade. Seven-time Wimby champion was out before quarterfinals for the last time in 2002. "End of an era?" ... some might say.

Does Federer's defeat mark the end of an era?: Boris Becker and Tim Henman ask what the future holds for seven... http://t.co/sDar1r75jY
— BBC Tennis (@BBC_Tennis) June 27, 2013

3 - Upset: Maria Sharapova lost to qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito in straight sets. The Russian was unable to overcome the grass voodoo (Masha and her 20 year-old opponent said the court was "dangerous") and the Portuguese spell. Between them, Portugal qualifiers Koehler and de Brito had a huge part in sending both second and third seed home in the early stages of the Championships.

Qualifier Michelle Larcher De Brito stuns Maria Sharapova 63 64 in 2R of @Wimbledon, her 1st career Top 10 victory! pic.twitter.com/cC1qpqUj49
— WTA (@WTA) June 26, 2013

4 - Withdrawal: Steve Darcis, who defeated Rafa Nadal in the first round, decided not to play against Lukasz Kubot due to an injury in his right shoulder. Tough decision for the Belgian.

Had to withdrawn after a win like this!?THE most difficult thing i had to do!!!#triedeverythingtoplaybutdidntwork!!!!
— steve darcis (@stevedarcishark) June 26, 2013

Marin Cilic withdrew due to a left-knee injury and Yaroslava Shvedova offered a walkover to Petra Kvitova because of an injury in her right arm. With Vika and Masha out, Kvitova is now top seed in her quarter. 

5- Retirements: Black Wednesday at Wimby also affected Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The French slipped, fell and hurt his knee. He retired in the third set. Radek Stepanek, on the other hand, quit in the second set. And John Isner's knee also got him in trouble. He retired after just two games in set 1.

Made a #Wimbledon pictorial of 21 players who took bad slips during Days 1-3. #Vika #Djokovic #Woz #Sharapova pic.twitter.com/sF3EvVxT6j
— Romi Cvitkovic (@RomiCvitkovic) June 26, 2013

6 - Upsets: Number nine-seed Caroline Wozniacki lost in straight sets 62 62 against Czech Republic's Petra Cetcovska. But she wasn't the only former 1-ranked player to say goodbye to SW19 on Round 2. Ana Ivanovic was defeated by teenager Eugenie Bouchard 63 63, followed by Jelena Jankovic who lost 75 62 to fellow Serbian Vesna Dolonc. 

With so many upsets in a single day, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have their way paved to the finals. In fact, that was the joke of the day among tweeps: 

BREAKING: Live pictures of Djokovic and Murray after Federer's defeat at Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/54TB7fWfbl

— Football Funnys (@FootballFunnys) June 26, 2013

Federer orange-soled trainers banned from Wimbledon

Roger Federer trainers were banned from Wimbledon due to All England Club rules. According to AELTC, the orange-soled footwear infringes Wimbledon's all-white dress code. BBC Sport reports that an All England Club spokesman said "a number of players had been spoken to about their attire in round one". 

But, that we know of, players like Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, who also had orange motifs in their gear (shorts and trainers), were not informed to change their clothing.

Looks like @serenawilliams & @rogerfederer are getting the same fashion advice #Wimbledon #Blazer pic.twitter.com/pXTeDA7VfR
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 25, 2013

Nike made no comments about the incident but didn't miss the chance to tweet about it. "One match wonder", they say. It could have been the best tweet ever if only Roger Federer hadn't lost his second round match to world Nº136 Sergiy Stakhovsky. Guess the all-white trainers for Round 2 had bad luck printed all over.

One Match Wonder. pic.twitter.com/rbDBu8SWil
— Nike Tennis (@niketennis) June 26, 2013

Nike looks for Wimbledon 2013

Roger Federer

Serena Williams

Maria Sharapova

Rafa Nadal

Li Na

Juan Martin Del Potro

Photo Credit: Nike Tennis (more info about the looks here)

Preview: Roger Federer and Serena Williams Nike outfit for Wimbledon

Roland Garros 2013 - Fashion hits and misses

Tennis action at Roland Garros is now a thing of the past, so it's time for us to talk about fashion and style! Who wore the most attractive tennis clothing? And what about the top fashion disasters?

Best Dressed

Sloane Stephens - Under Armour

Fun dress, fun colors. It looked gorgeous on live TV. 

Novak Djokovic - UNIQLO

Everyone loves this baby blue cute shirt and the jacket that comes with it.

Photo: Roland Garros/FFT

The big trio: Roger, Vika and Rafa - Nike

Azarenka, Federer and Nadal's outfits have the same type of design and vibe: kind of a minimalistic-hard-rock style with some hints of bright colors. It suits them well.

Photos: Roland Garros/FFT

Fashion Disasters

Flop nº 1  - Svetlana Kuznetsova

Was Svetlana Kuznetsova wearing her jammies on court?

Photo: Roland Garros/FFT

Flop nº 2 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Bethanie made this list last year and here she is once again. 2013 outfit is not that bad... just a little too Pippi Longstocking...

Photo: Roland Garros/FFT

2012 French Open Fashion hits and misses

Forbes: Federer becomes second highest-paid athlete

Roger Federer is now the second highest-paid athlete in all of sports and the first in tennis. According to Forbes newest list of the top 100 highest-paid athletes, Federer earn $71.5 million in 2012, including prize money and appearance fees. Tiger Woods is the biggest earner of all sports.

Federer at Roland Garros 2013 (Photo © FFT, via RG Facebook)

Forbes says the Swiss "has the most impressive endorsement portfolio in sports, with 10 sponsors that collectively pay him more than $40 million annually, including long-term deals with Nike, Rolex, Wilson and Credit Suisse". Moet&Chandon joined his list of sponsors in November. (See “How Roger Federer Makes $71 Million A Year”).

Maria Sharapova is the second tennis player to make Forbes Top 100 list, making the 22nd position, before Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The Russian is the world's highest-paid female athlete for the ninth straight time. In 2012, Masha earn $29 million, including around $23 million only in endorsements. 

Other tennis players included on the list are Novak Djokovic (28th position, $26.9 million), Rafael Nadal  (30th, $26.4 million), Serena Williams (68th, $20.5 million) and Li Na (85th, $18.2 million).

Forbes Top 100 features six tennis players, three of which are the only female athletes in all sports making the list. 

Serena, Roger, Rafa, Masha play in the dark - Coolest match ever!

Four top tennis stars - Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal - playing in a pitch dark court sounds like a crazy idea. Not for Nike Tennis who promoted a glow-in-the-dark exhibition match Thursday in Paris with its top ambassadors.

We don't know who won this mixed doubles match but we must say the effects are absolutely beautiful.

The team: 

With the lights on: 

In the dark: 

Set the court aglow in Paris. #kingoflights @serenawilliams @rogerfederer @mariasharapova @rafaelnadal twitter.com/niketennis/sta…
— Nike Tennis (@niketennis) 24 de maio de 2013

Images: Rafaholics; Sharapova's Facebook page; Nike Tennis 

Roland Garros 2013 outfits by Nike

Roger Federer

Serena Williams

Rafael Nadal

Victoria Azarenka

Maria Sharapova

Li Na 

Juan Martin Del Potro

Images by Nike Tennis

More information about the gears at Nike's website