Bethanie Mattek-Sands
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Nassau, Bahamas - Not content to let their male counterparts
enjoy all the fun in the sun in The Bahamas, this year’s Mark Knowles Celebrity Invitational charity event from December 2nd to 5th has
drawn 3 repeat female participants; Anna Lena
Groenefeld, Sabine Lisicki and Olga
Savchuk and a new face, U.S. Federation Cup team heroine,
Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands is one of the
brightest tennis stars on the WTA Tour and at the perfect age of just
26, she is the future of American tennis.
Mattek-Sands has been
playing some of the best tennis of her career having reached an all
time high singles ranking of #37 by the start of her 2009 season. Despite
battling some injuries throughout 2009, she is currently one of the
top players not only for the USA, but around the world in both singles
and doubles. In 2009, Bethanie and her partner, Petrovic beat the Williams
Sisters in a 3hr 18min battle in the 3rd Round of Roland Garros. Mattek-Sands
and Petrova were one of only two teams to beat the Williams Sisters
in all of 2009. These captivating performances allowed her to climb
to a career high #17.
Bethanie was born March 23, 1985 in
Rochester, Minnesota to Tim and Heidi Mattek who currently reside in
Boca, Florida. Mattek-Sands began playing tennis at
age 5 and trained at the world famous Evert Academy and played her
first pro event at just 14yrs old (1999.) Mattek-Sands’s outgoing,
fun and carefree personality has won her fans worldwide both on and
off the court. She is also known for an adventurous sense of fashion
with her on court attire and the unique personality she has brought
to the game of tennis. Bethanie recently married former college athlete
and Phoenix businessman, Justin Sands, in a private beach ceremony in
November 2008. She currently trains and resides in Phoenix, Arizona.
Throughout her career, Mattek has accumulated
eight (8) Sony Ericcson WTA Tour Doubles Titles; five (5) ITF Women’s
Circuit Singles Titles; and three (3) ITF Women’s Circuit Doubles
Titles.
Mattek-Sands
became the first American to win consecutive live matches -- fourth
singles and then doubles -- to close out a Fed Cup tie since the best-of-five
format was adopted in 1995.
Anna-Lena Groenefeld Photo: MarkDaCunha.com
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Anna-Lena
Gröenefeld
has a current
Singles ranking #63 and Doubles
ranking #14. She had an outstanding junior career:
In 2002 she was the Singles Champion of both the Belgium and Frankfurt
International Championships
and a finalist at the Orange Bowl. In July 2003, she won the Apple and
Eve Newsday Long Island Classic, held in Woodbury, New York, defeating
Bethanie
Mattek in the final. She
is an accomplished doubles player winning the French Open title and
reaching the finals at Wimbledon. As a result of her tennis successes in
2003,
Gröenefeld had achieved the Junior World ranking of #1 in singles and
doubles. She received the
German Tennis Award in 2008 as "Professional Female
Player of the Year".
She was the winner of the 2009 Wimbledon Mixed
Doubles crown alongside Mark Knowles
In March 2010 she injured her left foot
which kept her out of competition until July 2010.
Has singles wins over Daniela Hantuchova,
Alize Cornet and with doubles partner, Patty Snyder, has won several
ladies doubles titles.
Anna-Lena is coached by Dirk Dier. Her mother is Marie-Louise (teacher); and her father is Hans (surgeon). She was introduced to tennis
at age 5 by father and brother. Anna-Lena graduated
from Nordhorn High School in June 2001, and her favorite tournament is Roland
Garros. Her other sports interests include handball, and basketball.
Sabine Lisicki
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Sabine
Lisicki
has a Current Singles ranking
#178
. She finished 2009 ranked
#23 then injuries plagued her through 2010 starting in Indian Wells
and Miami and she did not get back into tournament play until August
2010. Sabine is a
member of the German
Fed Cup Team, 2008-09.
Coached by father,
Dr Richard Lisicki; she also works with Darren Cahill / Adidas. Sabine was Introduced to tennis at age 7 by her father at a
club after school. Her favorite shot is the serve; and she likes all surfaces (because
they all bring something different to the game). She speaks German, English,
Polish, and her favorite book is Lance Armstrong's autobiography. Sabine likes
listening to pop and R&B music, reading and athletics. She is self-described
as happy, a hard worker and someone who laughs a lot.
Olga Savchuk Photo: MarkDaCunha.com
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Olga Savchuk
has a Current Singles Ranking
#149 Doubles #62
. She was born in Donetsk,
Ukraine on September 20th, 1987 and now is a resident of Nassau, Bahamas.
She plays right-handed and is an up and coming force on the WTA tour.
Winner of 3 Doubles titles and member of the Ukrainian Federation Cup
Team.
Olga is
coached by Tomasz Iwanski. Father, Nikolay and mother, Elena. She began playing at age 7 and she speaks Russian, Ukrainian, English. Olga likes spending time with family and friends, resting on the beach,
reading, dancing. Her favorite tennis players are Federer, Graf, Sampras;
and she also admires Michael Phelps.
The
Professional Tennis Exhibition
will be held at the National Tennis Centre, Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre
at 3.00 p.m. on Saturday
4th December. Admission: Adults $10 and
Children Free. Students in school sports shirts Free.
The annual
hit with the Pros will take place with junior players
selected by Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association at the Exhibition on
4th
December at the National Tennis Centre ending with an autograph session with
the pros.
The major sponsors to date include:
Atlantis Resort & Casino, MDC-Partners, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch
Private Bank & Trust; Pictet Bank & Trust Ltd; Serenity Point,
Abaco; The Balmoral; The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation; American
Airlines; Everkey Global Fund, Odyssey Aviation, Mark Holowesko,
The Bahamas Weekly, and The Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture.
The proceeds of the event will go to
aid local children’s’ charities. To date over $500,000 has been distributed to
various charities.
Tickets are now on sale
at the National Tennis Centre, Atlantis Tennis Centre, Village
Squash Club, H.G.Christie Ltd. and Lyford Cay School or telephone 242-359-2542.
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