The pair were joined by tennis stars Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Amelie Mauresmo, Mary Jo Fernandez, Pam Shriver and More to raise money for HIV/AIDS charities

The city of Cleveland holds special memories for Sir Elton John and Martina Navratilova.  Both were in Northeast Ohio yesterday for the 19th annual World Team Tennis Smash Hit charity event which was held at Public Hall last night. While most know of the enormous success they both achieved in their fields, few realize that Cleveland was a stepping stone in their achievements.  

Billie Jean King and Sir Elton John have selected their teams for Thursday’s 19th annual World TeamTennis Smash Hits presented by GEICO, held at Cleveland Public Hall.  King and John have split the event series so far, 9-9, with King pulling even last year in Washington with a 19-15 victory.
 
International Tennis Hall Of Famers Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe headline Team Billie Jean. Navratilova makes her ninth Smash Hits appearance, while McEnroe is playing for the fifth time. Boston Lobsters teammates Jan-Michael Gambill and Coco Vandeweghe also feature on King’s team.
 
Appearing for the seventh time, Andy Roddick leads Team Elton. The American is joined by three players making their event debut: Two-time Grand Slam singles champion Amelie Mauresmo, former doubles world No. 1 Mark Knowles and rising teenager Lauren Davis, who hails from Gate Mills, Ohio.
 
Tickets for World TeamTennis Smash Hits range from $25-$105 and can be ordered online at www.WTT.com/SmashHits or by calling 866/994-4436.  Corner reserved seats are $25, upper reserved seats are $40, and premium reserved are $65. A limited number of courtside seats are available for $105.  For group sales of 10 or more tickets, call 212/586-3444.  The Public Hall ticket box office opens at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
 

Serena Williams just can't keep her big mouth shut when she's upset on the court. Williams launched an angry verbal attack on an umpire during the U.S. Open final, calling her a loser and "unattractive inside."

Williams had received a code violation for yelling "come on" after battling to hang on to her serve during the start of her second set against Australian Samantha Stosur on Sunday. The ball hadn't yet reached Stosur, and under Grand Slam rules, a deliberate hinderance such as an intentional shout during a point sees the perpetrator lose the point.

Williams eventually lost 6-2 6-3.

Today she will learn whether her tirade will lead to a sanction after refusing to apologize for the outburst.

It's not the first time that Serena has gone off on a tennis official. In 2009, Williams infamously launched a verbal attack on a lineswoman at the U.S. Open, which cost her a point penalty and her semi-final against Kim Clijsters. That cost her a record $82,500 fine and got her put on probation.

On Wednesday, Venus Williams withdrew from the U.S. Open, revealing that she had been diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease which causes fatigue and joint pain.

While there is no known cure for the disease, it is rarely life-threatening and if managed correctly, it should not be career-ending for Williams.

Williams made the surprise announcement just hours before her scheduled second-round match against 22nd seeded Sabine Lisicki:

"I enjoyed playing my first match here and wish I could continue, but right now I am unable to. I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis and now focused on getting better and returning to the court soon."

Sjogren's Syndrome is a chronic disorder that causes insufficient moisture product in certain glands of the body. As many as four million Americans have the disease, which occurs when one's normally protective immune system attacks and destroys moisture-producing glands, including the salivary glands and tear glands. Other organs that are occasionally effected include lungs and bowels.

There is no cure for the disease, but it can be treated and controlled, with a goal of decreasing discomfort and reducing the harmful effects of dryness.

Tennis superstar Serena Williams was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital on Monday for emergency treatment for complications from an earlier pulmonary embolism, which is a blockage of an artery in the lung.

Williams' rep, Nicole Chabot, said that Williams developed the clot last week after she returned to Los Angeles from New York. Serena had been in New York to consult with doctors about an foot injury. She had reportedly cut her foot on a piece of glass at a restaurant in July and required two surgeries.

A pulmonary embolism is a blood clot that gets lodged in the lung, but that originated elsewhere. The most common source of pulmonary embolisms is deep vein thrombosis in the leg. If left untreated, the incidence of death is about 30 percent.

Williams would have been at risk for DVT due to her recent injury as well as her cross-country flight. Treatment likely included blood thinners and potentially embolytics, or drugs that break up clots. Both would increase her risk of hematoma, which is what she went to the hospital for on Monday.

Her publicist said:

Prior to the match-up of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, the longest tennis match in Wimbledon history lasted six hours and nine minutes. The longest in tennis history was in 2004 when Fabrice Santoro beat Arnaud Clement at the French Open after six hours and 33 minutes.The fifth set alone of the Isner-Mahut match is nearly six hours long itself, with no end in sight, making it the longest match in the history of tennis.

The two men have been battling it on court #18 for more than nine hours thus far, and have reached their 100th game in the fifth set.

As of 4:02pm ET, the two men were tied 58-58.

There are no more than 30 minutes of daylight left, and many are now wondering if the match will be delayed again and resumed tomorrow, or if it will be moved inside under the roof and lights. Thus far, there has been no word from the referee.

This historic moment in sports has occurred, surprisingly, in just the first round of Wimbledon. Whoever does eventually win will have a tough go in the next round, having already expended more energy on one match than most do in several rounds.

First week matches during the day are being televised on ESPN2 and ESPNU.

Update: The match has been suspended due to darkness for the second day in a row. It will be resumed tomorrow. The two are tied at 59-59.

Chagrin Valley Athletic Club and Glinzler Sports Management are proud to announce the return of the Ladies Cleveland Open, a USTA Pro Circuit event, to the Cleveland area for the second consecutive year. "We were offered the option to move the tournament from its fall lineup in the USTA schedule to June 20 - 27. We considered it very carefully and, in the end, we could not pass up the opportunity for two reasons: better promotion opportunity of the sport and economic impact to the area. The date change gives the tournament and the sport greater visibility because it is played in the summer with better weather conditions and when school is out. It also offers an opportunity for community involvement and economic growth to area hotels, restaurants and businesses," said Sebastien Glinzler, Tournament Director of the 2010 Ladies Cleveland Open.

For the second consecutive season, the Cleveland State men's tennis team will travel to Kentucky for a first round match in the NCAA Championship.

The official announcement was made on Tuesday afternoon on ESPNews when the entire 64 team field was released.

The match will be played on either May 14 or 15 at a time that will be determined.

Georgia Tech will play Binghamton in the other first round match at Kentucky with the two winners playing a second round match.

"We are excited to go back and get a chance to play a very good Kentucky team in the NCAA tournament," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "I felt like we competed with them last season, but we know that we will need everyone playing at a high level to get a win. I think the doubles point is going to be very crucial and if we can somehow win that, I think that will put a lot of pressure on them and give us some momentum.

"We know them well and I think the more times we play a team, the better we do."

The Vikings enter the tournament with a 20-6 overall record, including a perfect 7-0 in league matches. CSU defeated UIC, 4-0, on April 25 to capture its third straight Horizon League Championship.

Martina Navratilova has told People Magazine that she is battling breast cancer. The legendary tennis player says of the diagnosis:

"I cried," Navratilova told the magazine after finding out the news. "It knocked me on my ass, really. I feel so in control of my life and my body, and then this comes, and it's completely out of my hands."

Roger Federer dominated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open to advance to yet another Grand Slam Final. The Swiss star breezed 6–2, 6–3, 6–2 for the straight set victory.

“I am very surprised how the match went; I expected quite differently,” Federer told an ESPN after the match. “Tonight maybe was one of those days where he needed that first set so badly and maybe after that he sort of let his head hang a bit, and was a bit disappointed, and I took advantage of it.”