I had a number of topics in mind for my next column. I thought maybe I could start referring to Richard Gasquet as “Leconte 2.0” but then figured that was unfair to Leconte at this point. I thought about throwing my opinion into the ring on ways tennis could be better promoted in North America. I was considering looking at Novak Djokovic’s start to 2008. All of those topics and anything else that crossed my mind …

A business trip has gotten the better of me this week, so I apologize for being late on the topic of Justine Henin’s sudden retirement, but it really is the big tennis news of the week. And I was really stunned to learn of it.

If you had told me Henin would retire in two, maybe three years time I would have believed you. But to have retired as the world No. 1, on the eve of your French Open …

Statement of Larry Scott, CEO, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, in re Justine Henin Retirement Announcement:

“Justine Henin will be remembered as one of the all-time great champions in women’s tennis, and a woman who made up for her lack of size with a will to win and fighting spirit that was second to none. It is rare that an athlete leaves at the very top of her game in this day and age, but Justine has always played by her …

SWISS DAVIS CUP READY TO ROLL: Swiss Stan Wawrinka’s runner-up effort at the Masters Series-Rome puts him in the Top 10 for the first time, and the first time that two Swiss players have ranked in the Top 10 at the same time in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973).

MAURESMO FRENCH OPEN IN JEOPARDY?: Former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo was forced to withdraw from Berlin with a rib injury, with no exact date for her return: “I …

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., May 12, 2008 — The USTA, ESPN and Tennis Channel today announced a groundbreaking television and multi-platform partnership creating a summer-long “Open Season” for tennis featuring more than 400 national television hours for the US Open and the Olympus US Open Series — an increase of nearly 100 hours.

Commencing in 2009, ESPN and Tennis Channel will join CBS, and become the US Open cable television broadcasters for the first time. Under the new deal, the US …

Thanks to his impressive performance in Rome, Novak Djokovic is nipping at the heals of Rafael Nadal for that No. 2 ranking spot, and by this time next week he just might get it.

And the ramifications of such a ranking change are of importance, especially to Roger Federer. Hamburg is the final week before the seedings for the French Open are released, so if Djokovic does get the No. 2 spot this week he will carry that into the …

Disaster Series it sure has been. The last three singles matches in Rome have all ended abruptly in retirement. Last night in the final quarterfinal match Nicolas Almagro went no mas against Novak Djokovic retiring down 6-1, 1-0 with a banged up wrist.

Today, more of the same. Andy Roddick pulled the plug just three games in against Stan Wawrinka. Roddick cited back spasms and pain. A short while later it was Radek Stepanek-Hingis-Vaidisova’s turn to eject, withdrawing down 7-0 …

Now be honest, who would really have believed that after four days of tennis in Rome that Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Nikolay Davydenko and David Nalbandian would out and Andy Roddick and James Blake would still be in? There’s no one on the planet who would have thought that four days ago. No one.

But, it’s happened. Roddick and Blake are just a win – and a very winnable win – away from a semifinal meeting in a Masters Series …

As a tennis professional for over 30 years, I have used many analogies within my teaching programs to drive home a particular concept or stress a technical component to my students. Obviously, analogies are only helpful if the student can relate to the correlation offered, so it is important for any good tennis professional to have a wide range of analogies to meet the variety of students a pro might encounter.

Using other sports to connect a student’s understanding of …

Has there ever been a more forgotten former World No. 1 than Juan Carlos Ferrero? Just after the turn of this century Ferrero was not just the King of Clay, he was the King of Tennis, winning the French Open, reaching the US Open final and then a few weeks later finally ascending to the No. 1 Ranking. But then poof, just like that he’s gone.

Today Ferrero had his biggest win since his No. 1 days, beating the unbeatable …