Interview with Venus Williams after retiring from her third-round match against Germany’s Andrea Petkovic at Australian Open. This is the first time in her career that Venus Williams retires from a match.

Q. What happened?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Um, I just obviously couldn’t play. I mean, just couldn’t move. Just too painful.

Q. We saw how debilitating it was two days ago when it happened. How has the last 24, 48 hours gone for you? Take us through that.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, the last 48 hours I did as much pain management and recovery that I could. I just hit some balls at 6:00 just kind of standing still. Just kind of warming up standing still and trying to give my best for the match. Read more »

Guys, just a quick reminder that Venus Williams is Conan O’Brien’s guest today on TBS. Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010.

An Interview With: Kim Clijsters (after her US Open semi-final 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory over Venus Williams)

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Could you talk about the backhand topspin lob and your decision to hit that shot there?

KIM CLIJSTERS: Um, I mean, I thought as long as I try, keep trying, I’ll have to make one. Because I think all of the ones I tried before she got to, so I think there were two there that were really important, which was the one where, the one she got to, the one that dropped in and I finished off with the forehand winner down the line. Then the next one was obviously the probably most important one where I broke. Yeah, I mean, you know, I don’t know. I mean, it’s instinct when you decide to do that, and it worked. I mean, it worked. It was an important point, and I’m happy to get through.

Q. Were you thinking about the wind on that shot? Were you thinking it might sit up in the wind a little bit? Read more »

Venus Williams’s outfit draws a lot of attention at this year’s French Open. One headline cracked me up: Venus Williams (and her outfit) advance. The lacy, see-through black dress that she designed has also made it to The New York Times.  The paper also runs a slide show called Tennis Fashion: Oxymoron where they showcase several of controversial outfits worn by tennis stars throughout the sport’s history, including Maria Sharapova’s tuxido-inspired get-up.

Do you wonder why Venus Williams was wearing Miami Dolphins T-shirt in her press conference today at US Open? The Williams sisters have to be admired not only for their tennis skills but also for their business and entrepreneurial skills. Only about ten days ago it was reported that the sisters planed to become limited owners of NFL’s Miami Dolphins, and Venus has already been promoting the team at the U.S. Open. Serena also famously uses Twitter to promote her business ventures, let it be her upcoming book or her appearance on Home Shopping Network.  Do you get bothered by Serena’s constant promotional tweets, or you love anything she tweets about?

Venus Williams’ interview after blowing world No. 1 Dinara Safina away 6-1, 6-0
Q. Was that one of your easiest passages through to a final?VENUS WILLIAMS: Yes, it was very successful for me. I was really pleased with my form. Of course, playing against the No. 1 player in the world, it’s exciting to play so well.

So, I mean, obviously I had to work hard for it, but I was able to do a lot of the right things today.

Q. Was it near perfect?

VENUS WILLIAMS: You know what, uhm, I don’t know if there’s such a thing as perfect for an athlete, but I felt happy with it. And I felt like my performance has been building each round better and better. So it felt good to play even better today.

Q. Today do you think you were 6?1, 6?Love stronger than Safina, or something happened to her? The score is very strange.

Read more »

You can’t miss any tennis match today. Look at the order of play today. All the big names are in action.

CENTRE - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Robin Soderling (SWE) [13] vs Roger Federer (SUI) [2]
2. Dinara Safina (RUS) [1] vs Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) [17]
3. Andy Murray (GBR) [3] vs Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) [19]

COURT 1 - SHOW COURT - 1.00 PM START

1. Venus Williams (USA) [3] vs Ana Ivanovic (SRB) [13]
2. Fernando Verdasco (ESP) [7] vs Ivo Karlovic (CRO) [22]
3. Tomas Berdych (CZE) [20] vs Andy Roddick (USA) [6]

COURT 2 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Elena Vesnina (RUS) vs Elena Dementieva (RUS) [4]
2. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) vs Serena Williams (USA) [2]
3. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) vs Radek Stepanek (CZE) [23]

COURT 3 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [8] vs Nadia Petrova (RUS) [10]
2. Dudi Sela (ISR) vs Novak Djokovic (SRB) [4]
3. Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) vs Gilles Simon (FRA) [8]

COURT 4 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Igor Andreev (RUS) [29] vs Tommy Haas (GER) [24]
2. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [9] vs Sabine Lisicki (GER)

COURT 18 - SHOW COURT - 12.00 NOON START

1. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [11] vs Melanie Oudin (USA)
2. Virginie Razzano (FRA) [26] vs Francesca Schiavone (ITA)

Ever wondered what Big Babe Tennis means? Check out this fun video that demonstrates why tall women dominate at Wimbledon.

Russia’s Vera Zvonareva has been named a “Promoter of Gender Equality” by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Zvonareva, who will take part in women’s leadership programmes through the UNESCO-Sony Ericsson WTA Tour partnership, has joined Venus Williams, Tatiana Golovin, Zheng Jie as well as Tour founder Billie Jean King as the fifth United Nations ambassador. Vera is also enrolled in the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she is studying for a graduate diploma in International Relations and Economics. She also blogs for a Russian sports site.

On this month’s edition of CNN Revealed, the cameras follow Venus Williams on court and behind the scenes at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha. You can check out the show times and the preview here.