Tennis: Venus, Maria, Ana, Justine Nominated For ESPY Awards

The ESPYs gather the top celebrities from sports and entertainment to commemorate the past year in sports by recognizing major sports achievements. For the fifth consecutive year fans will determine the winners in 37 categories (excluding special awards), and four nominees are Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's very own, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, and nominated for two awards, Ana Ivanovic and Justine Henin.

The nominations are as follows:

Venus Williams: Best Championship performance (2007 Wimbledon)

Maria Sharapova: Best female Tennis Player

Ana Ivanovic: Breakthrough Athlete and Best Female Tennis Player

Justine Henin: Best Female International Athlete and Best Female Tennis Player

You can vote online at www.espys.tv and via mobile phone at www.espn.mobi. Voting runs until 11.59pm ET on July 12 and the ESPYs will be televised Sunday, July 20 at 9pm ET on ESPN and ESPN HD and will be hosted by Justin Timberlake.

Venus Williams is the only female athlete nominated for the Best Championship Performance award along with baseball player Josh Beckett, ATP No.2 and recent Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal and golfer Tiger Woods. Last year Maria Sharapova won the Best Tennis Player award and is a nominee again this year.
-- Courtesy Sony Ericsson WTA Tour