According to In Touch magazine, world tennis number 1 Serena Williams and her boyfriend rapper Common have broken up. Everything seemed to be going great for the couple. Common talked about Serena as recently as last week. Whatever is happening between them, we hope that it will not affect Serena’s performance in Paris, where she has managed to advance to the third round of the French Open.

Apparently those two couples are still together. Regardless of what they say,  the photos say it better.

Serena Williams and Common attended the “Just Wright” wrap party at Greenhouse on August 25, 2009 in New York City. Serena must be emotionally in a good place, something which can help her secure the US Open title.

Remember them? Photo is as recent as it gets, taken at the US Open’s players party.

Well… I don’t know. However, Matthew Cronin at Tennisreporters.net thinks that Anna Chakvetadze’s father’s quote about Maria Sharapova is most likely false.

For those of you who read the Russian Express story that alleged that Anna Chakvedatze’s father Djambuli told Yuri Sharapov that he has lost all control of Maria, that story is said to have no basis in reality. Mr. Chakvetadze and Sharapova are not friends and would never have such a conversation.
Due to the massive cutbacks in the publishing industry, reporting, or lack there of, has grown increasingly sketchy, while the editing, or the lack there of, has also hit the skids.

I also posted about the Chakvetadze’s father’s quote on my site, which I got from the Russian Daily Express. The argument that Maria’s father and Anna’s father are not friends might not be entirely accurate. When Maria was in Moscow for Fed Cup trainings, the Russian media reported back then that feuding fathers Yuri Sharapov and Djamal had made up. Russia’s team captain himself confirmed in a quote that the fact that Anna and Maria were training together spoke about the improved relationship between their fathers. Having said that, I am also not sure if the quote was true or false. When it comes to Russian media, the line between tabloid press and reliable news reporting is really blurred.  It is common to see a typical National Enquirer-type article appearing next to a 60 minute-style investigative report:-)

The Women’s Tennis Blog has posted the video of Serena Williams appearance on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show. Check it out. In another “breaking news development” (hehe), Serena was spotted with his on-again, off-again boyfriend Common. I guess their relationship is “on” again.

The gossip sites have been reporting lately that Serena Williams and her latest beau rapper Common have broken up. In his latest interview to CNN, it looks like Common confirms those rumors. You be the judge!

McLaughlin: I heard you’ve been hanging out with Serena Williams? How are things?

Common: From what I was told, Serena’s doing excellent. She’s just finishing up a tennis tournament. I think she did a trip in Africa and did some really great things. They opened up a school in her name and different things like that, which was cool. If you want to know, for me right now, I’m so focused on music and the release of my album and movies and the release of my new Web site. I hadn’t really had a lot of time to focus on a relationship like that.

Have you ever wondered what American Andre Agassi and Argentine David Nalbandian have in common?  Both famous tennis players are of Armenian origin.  Nalbandian began playing tennis at age five when his Armenian grandfather built a cement court in his backyard in Cardoba, Argentine. Agassi’s father is also Armenian who immigrated to the U.S. from Iran. Agassi’s middle name, Kirk, is after Armenian American tycoon Kirk Kirkorian, who hired Agassi’s father Mike to work in one of his casinos. Later they became good friends.

David Nalbandian plans to visit his ancestrial homeland Armenia in early October, where he will give a master class and play an exhibition match with Armenia’s top tennis player Harutyun Sofyan.

It is all about me, reads Serena Williams‘ bikini. Defending Australian Open champion shows off her trim and toned look in Perth. Six kilograms lighter thanks to a rigorous off-season training regime, Serena Williams is in her finest shape of recent memory. Physically, at least! As to her emotional state, Serena has reveled in her blog that she is nursing a broken heart and has found solace in a book called “Who Moved My Cheese.” Serena has previously been linked to director Brett Ratner, rapper Common and an actor named Jackie Long.

She writes in part:

You just start dating a guy. He likes you, you like him. You guys want to spend every second together. Read more »

Gossip sites are reporting that U.S. tennis star Serena Williams is dating rapper and actor Common (real name is Lonnie Rashid Jr.). The new couple was spotted at Venus Williams’ new EleVen fashion line launch party.

The 35-year-old Common, who was linked to singer Alicia Keys, hit the charts on the number 1 spot earlier this year in the American music charts with his CD “Finding Forever.” You can currently see Common in the movie thriller American Gangster. You can check out Common’s new video “I want you” on YouTube. The video also features Alicia Keys and Kanye West.