The young Venus and Serena Williams would wake up at 6:00 am to hit tennis balls before school.
Similar items from Venus and Serena Williams and Jennifer Capriati, a pair of Monica Seles' sneakers and a 1999 Wimbledon order of play sheet signed by finalists Steffi Graf and Davenport were also being auctioned.
The emergence of a new generation of tennis stars, led by Venus and Serena Williams, coincided with a series of foot and ankle injuries that saw Hingis slip down the rankings and eventually announce her retirement in 2002.
In 1996, for example, New Regency started investing in Puma, the German athletic footwear company, with the idea of cross-promoting the talent of such stars as Venus and Serena Williams on the court and on the silver screen.
Though Americans Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams and Serena Williams won the U.S. Open six times in the past 20 years, the only other female to claim victory at home was France's Mary Pierce, clinching Roland Garros in 2000.
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For instance, Serena and Venus Williams grew up in Compton, Calif.
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"I was really pleased the way I started, " said Ivanovic, who followed fellow former world No. 1s Serena and Venus Williams in exiting the tournament.
Stringers say Serena and Venus Williams along with Kim Clijsters are among the few top players left still playing with a full racket head of gut.
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Klitschko credits his relationship with his brother -- sometimes compared to that of the tennis world's champion sisters Serena and Venus Williams -- for his success.
Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters and Serena and Venus Williams each won at least five titles and 86% of their matches in the year after reaching the top.
The Williams sisters Venus and Serena are not playing, nor is Bank of the West Classic winner Marion Bartoli.
Meanwhile, Serena and her sister Venus Williams have aged, growing vulnerable to injury, disease and a cluster of younger opponents.
Defending champion Serena Williams and sister Venus remain on course for a semifinal meeting after both won to reach the quarterfinals.
The U.S. team is without the Williams sisters Serena and Venus as well as Australian Open semifinalist Sloane Stephens.
Dubai organizers expect the rest of the world's top-10 players to play, including Australian Open winner Serena Williams and her sister Venus, the defending champion.
The absence of the Williams sisters Serena and Venus proved crucial for the U.S., with Italy's greater experience proving the difference on the clay as they added a second Fed Cup to their previous victory in 2006.
The world's top eight players have been divided into two groups for this tournament, with the top two from each progressing to the semi-finals, although world number three Serena Williams and number five Venus Williams are absent this year through injury.
Clijsters, who won the U.S. Open in 2005, secured her place in the final after beating third seed American Venus Williams in the fourth round, 18th seed Li Na of China in the quarterfinals and defending champion Serena Williams in the semifinals.
With the win, the Belarussian joined Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova as the only active players who have won two or more major tournaments.
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