The Wimbledon Tennis Championships start today, making this a time of celebration for us sports-loving types. Even though legend Martina Navratilova retired last fall after winning her 59th career title (at the U.S. Open), she’ll be participating as a commentator for the BBC. Defending champion and out lesbian Amélie Mauresmo is one of the top contenders, though she’ll face tough competition from world number-one Justine Henin, number-two Maria Sharapova, and the always formidable Williams sisters.
This is also the first year that all women competitors will now receive the same prize money as their male peers, an equalization long due. Wimbledon started this year in traditional fashion, however, with a rain delay. (Organizers are planning a retractable roof for Centre Court, but it won’t be ready until 2009.)
The official Wimbledon site has live updates, a daily podcast, and all the other usual whizzy online accoutrements. Since this is a parenting site, though, I’ll also point out the U.S. Tennis Association and British Lawn Tennis Association’s resources for parents interested in getting their kids started with tennis.
Note to parents: both the USTA and the LTA have recently beefed up their training programs. The Evert Academy in Boca Raton is now taking applications, and the LTA’s head, Scott Draper, is aggressively trying to make their programs accessible, friendly, and successful for youngsters.