NAIROBI — US tennis star Serena Williams said on Wednesday she planned to help to build one new school every year in parts of Africa where education is beyond the reach of most children. The women's world number one has helped in the construction of schools in Kenya, Senegal and South Africa, as well as providing student grants and has joined in the fight against the killer disease, malaria, in Ghana."It is my goal to open many schools for thousands of children who do not have the opportunity to get good education. I plan to do one every year," said Serena, at the end of her whirlwind three-day tour of Kenya where she opened a second school in Makueni, some 150 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Nairobi.
During her first trip to Kenya in November 2008, Serena commissioned her first school in the same region where, according to the national census statistics, 63.2 per cent of the local population live below the poverty line and most of the households are dependent on relief food due to severe drought conditions. "Without education, life is going to be very difficult. My parents always stressed the importance of getting an education and I hope I am bringing to fruition their word by opening this school to the community of Wee," Serena said.
More on Serena's visit: Game, Set and Serena Williams is here
Ms. Williams will officially visit Kenya for three days next week to inaugurate a school built using her funds and several other partners. The School named the Wee Secondary School is in Makueni District in Eastern Province. The school was built through partnership between Hewlett Packard the world's largest technology firm and Build African Schools initiative - an American non profit making organization. As part of its commitment, HP will set up a digital computer laboratory by equipping the school with , computers, printers, internet connectivity and facilitate the training of the local teachers and students.
During her last visit to the country (about 14 months ago), Ms. Williams inaugurated the Serena Williams Secondary School which is a few Kilometres from the new school. According to the Organizers of the visit, HP and BAS, Ms. Williams will check the progress of the previous school and hold a one hour teaching session with the students of both institutions. Build African Schools and HP have joined together since 2004 to help children in Africa have access to education. By building schools and equipping them with electricity, computers and other teaching aids.
NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams has pulled out of an exhibition at Madison Square Garden because of a left leg injury. Williams announced her withdrawal from the BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup on Thursday. She'll be replaced in the four-player field by former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic. The 12-time Grand Slam singles champion was to face Kim Clijsters on March 1 in what would have been their first meeting since Williams' infamous tirade during the semifinals at the 2009 U.S. Open that drew a record US$82,500 fine. The leg injury has forced Williams to miss tournaments in Paris and Dubai. Williams' sister, Venus, will play Svetlana Kuznetsova in the other semifinal at the one-night event in New York.
Any chance of another one of those sister acts at this year's Barclays Dubai Duty Free Women's Open was blown late on Thursday after world number one Serena Williams officially announced that she won't be making the trip to Dubai due to a leg injury. For a tournament that had attracted as strong a field as any Grand Slam it meant a huge blow, especially after world number two Dinara Safina had earlier said she would not be making the trip.
And the announcement deprived the competition of a possible showdown between the two Williams — Serena and Venus. Tournament Director Salah Tahlak was left ruing Serena's withdrawal, but was realistic enough when he pointed out the depth of the field. "We still have 16 of the top 20 players in the draw," Tahlak stated.
Until the withdrawal of second-ranked Safina due to a back injury, the women's draw was arguably one of the best seen in recent times — all the top 10 women had confirmed their presence at the $2 million (Dh7.34 million) tournament, now ranked as a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Premium event.
The younger of the two Williams has the edge over her sister with a 13-10 head-to-head record during their 23 career meetings. In 2009, the two played each other five times with Venus triumphing just once at the semifinals of the Barclays Dubai Duty Free Women's Open.
However, despite the loss of Serena, the field is still sturdy and includes Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, the top seed here, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Victoria Azarenka, Elena Dementieva, Jelena Jankovic, Agnieszka Radwanska and the Chinese pair who made history by powering their way into the semifinals in Australia — Na Li and Jie Zheng. Hoping there will be no further injuries and withdrawals, the player line-up still looks good enough for a healthy and competitive tournament with Venus trying to defend her title while an army of younger players challenge her.
- Article courtesy of Alaric Gomes, Senior Reporter (Gulf News)
Serena has enrolled in the Palm Beach Nail School. Serena is truly one of the hardest working women in the business! Is there anything this girl can't do. (lol). This should serve as an inspiration and reminder that you can do whatever you set your goals to do, big or small. Like NIKE says, "just do it." Check out the article, courtesy of GlobalGrind.
Two-time Laureus winner Serena Williams is nominated for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award after winning two Grand Slam titles in 2009. Also short-listed are swimmers Federica Pellegrini and Britta Steffen, athletes Shelly-Ann Fraser and Sanya Richards, and US ski racer Lindsey Vonn.
(The Washington Post) - The sporting world's most famous siblings, Venus and Serena Williams, will represent Washington this summer under a deal unveiled Thursday that makes them teammates on the city's World Team Tennis squad, the Washington Kastles. The 2009 champion Kastles drafted Serena Williams and then traded for Venus. Though they won't play in the same match, each will make one home appearance at Kastles Stadium this July.
In addition, Serena, who claimed her 12th major title last month in winning the Australian Open, will also play road matches against the New York Sportimes, New York Buzz and Philadelphia Freedoms. Venus, a five-time Wimbledon champion, will play road matches in Philadelphia and St. Louis. Andy Roddick (Philadelphia), Martina Hingis (New York Buzz) and Lindsay Davenport (St. Louis) were chosen with the three top picks in the league's 2010 draft Thursday. Shortly before the draft, Kastles owner Mark Ein engineered the trade with Philadelphia that added Venus Williams to the roster. The season runs July 5-25.
Her history of nearly impossible escapes at the Australian Open is nothing short of staggering. In 2003, she rallied from 1-5 down in the final set against Kim Clijsters in the semifinals, saving two match points to win that match, and then took her first title over her sister Venus in three hard fought sets. Two years later, Serena was getting destroyed by an inspired Maria Sharapova, losing the first set badly. Sharapova served for the match in the second set, served for the match again in the third set, and had three match points altogether. Williams somehow won that match and beat Lindsay Davenport in the final.
She quickly and irreversibly took the initiative and an instant role reversal took place. Azarenka was now on her heels and forced to react to the power and intensity of Williams. Serena released a cavalcade of winners and spectacularly potent and accurate shots.
Williams made it back to 4-4 in a hurry. Azarenka kept her composure, made it into a tie-break, and took a 3-1 lead in that sequence. Williams answered the alarm bell again, winning six of the next seven points to reach one set all. She came through 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, and then served terrifically in a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1) win over Na Li.
The BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup in New York will also feature a semifinal match between French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and seven-time Grand Slam titlist and 2009 Wimbledon runner-up Venus Williams. The $1.2 million one-day event will feature three matches, a pair of one-set semifinals and a three-set final at MSG. For ticket information, visit The Garden.
