Daily Racquet

Maria Sharapova Sweetens Her Game

Maria Sharapova has sweetened her game with the launch of her new premium candy line, Sugarpova and reveals a fun, fashionable  and sweet side of the four-time Grand Slam champion. Premium yet affordable, the line includes unexpected and fun types and shapes with playful names to match.

The collection consists of 12 varieties of candy and each unique candy flavor is represented by a bold and colorful pair of lips that represent the many fun-loving sides of their namesake creator: chic, flirty, silly, splashy, cheeky, sassy, spooky, smitten, quirky and sporty.

Depending on your mood and your opponent, you might want to keep some of these fun treats  in your bag and add them to your tennis arsenal.  If nothing else, you're sure to get a sugar smile from your opponent and friends.

Available online at Sugarpova.com.

Lavazza Adds Breakfast at Wimbledon Brew

Here's a great one for tennis and coffee fans — the limited edition Lavazza A Modo Mio Coffee Machine.

This specially designed Wimbledon model marks the second anniversary of Lavazza as the ‘Official Coffee of the Wimbledon Championships’ and features the signature Wimbledon colors and logo against a chic high-shine white finish. In addition to its trendy and colorful design,  it's compact and easy to use. And best of all, it comes with a free set of 4 Limited Edition Wimbledon espresso cups.

The Lavazza A Modo Mio machine is based on cutting-edge extraction technology which takes advantage of pressed coffee in the capsule and produces a full bodied and creamy espresso. Thanks to its steam arm you can prepare perfect lattes, cappuccinos and by adding hot water teas and other beverages too.

Breakfast at Wimbledon anyone?

Available online at the Wimbledon Store

Bobble Up!

If you want an endless supply of water to keep you hydrated and you don't want to pay a fortune, you might want to consider getting a bobble or two. That's right! We don't encourage getting just one of these colorful re-usable water bottles, we recommend several.

The Bobble and its filters come in six distinct colors. Each bottle has a built-in filter, so every time you fill it up - you get 18.5 ounces of BPA free water. Each filter works on approximately 40 gallons, or 150 liters, of water — so filters should be replaced every two to three months, depending on usage.

If that isn't enough to sell you on the Bobble, maybe this will — each bobble filter is the equivalent of 300 single-serve water bottles.

Enough said — it's time to Bobble Up!

Available online at Amazon.com.

A New Way To Gel On The Tennis Court

Power Bar Energy Blasts offer up a new way to gel on the tennis court — these gel bites offer up a  tasty blast of flavor and energy. These little bite-sized gels are the first energy chews fueled with PowerBar's C2 Max dual--source energy blend. The C2 MAX energy blend has the same glucose-to-fructose ratio shown in breakthrough studies to deliver 20-55 percent more energy to muscles than glucose alone. The other good news is that they contain no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.

Perfect for the tennis court — you can easily digest 1 or 2 during changeovers, they can stay in your bag without melting. You don't have to leave anything half eaten and they are Yummy! Gel Blasts are available in both Raspberry, a great source of Vitamin C and Strawberry/Bannana, with added caffeine.

Add a blast of energy and taste to your game with PowerBar Gel Blasts.

Available online at Amazon.com. 

Serve it up with style with the Lolita "Tennis" Wine Glass

Serve it up with style with the Lolita "Tennis" Wine Glass. Not only are they beautiful, fun and available in various colors and designs — each Lolita Wine Glass is hand painted and includes a unique recipe painted on the bottom of the glass.

Did we also mention that each Lolita Wine Glass ships in a Lolita Gift Box!

When the match is over, these wine glasses will provide a fun way to enjoy your favorite wine and toast the day — Cheers!

Available online at Lolitastore.com.

"Honey Deuce" Served Up At Flushing Meadows

It won't just be tennis that is served up at the 2009 US Open. GREY GOOSE will once again be serving up their signature Grey Goose Vodka cocktail, "Honey Deuce."

This is the second year that GREY GOOSE will partner with the USTA at the highest annually attended sporting event in the world with more than 650,000 spectators in attendance.

The refreshing "Honey Deuce" cocktails will be available for purchase in a souvenir cup that features previous U.S. Open champions at select bars on premise during the tournament.

For those of you who would like to experiment as a "Honey Deuce" mixologists at home, here is the recipe:

“Honey Deuce”

1 1/4 part GREY GOOSE® Original Vodka

2 parts fresh lemonade

1/4 part Chambord®

Frozen honeydew melon balls

Fill a highball or double old-fashioned glass with crushed ice.  Add GREY GOOSE Vodka and fill the rest of the cup with lemonade to a half inch below the rim.  Drizzle Chambord over the top.  Garnish with frozen honeydew melon balls.

Cheers!

Serve Up A Little Holiday Cheer With Wolf Blass Wines

Serving up a glass of Wolf Blass Wines at your holiday parties is perfect way to spread a little holiday cheer. 

Produced from fruit grown in vineyards across southeast Australia, the white wines of Wolf Blass are full of fresh fruit flavours - the rieslings are Australia's most awarded wines produced from this variety, and the chardonnays are exemplary of the very best Australia has to offer.

Our personal favorite — the soft velvety Merlot with its plum, cherry and chocolate characters enhanced by subtle creamy oak textures.

As a sponsor of the US Open Series, Wolf Blass Wines were served up at tennis matches throughout the summer as a sponsor of the U.S. Open Tennis Series. We should support those who support tennis and what better way to do that than with a nice glass of wine.

Cheers!

Figamajigs Hit The Sweetspot

Looking for that little energy pick-me-up before you hit the court? Or, how about something to just make you feel good?

Either way, you might want to give Figamajigs a try. This little chocolate covered fig bar will do the trick on both counts.

And, in case you didn't know, the fig, has long been known as “the fitness fruit” because of its combination of fiber, minerals, and nutrients that surpasses all other fruits. In this chocolate covered fig bar, you get the benefit of four grams of fiber as well as a healthy dose of antioxidants from the dark chocolate. If you go for the Figamajig with almonds, you get an additional gram of protein. Unlike most candy bars, this one is low in fat (only four grams), and does not contain high fructose corn syrup which is commonly found in nutrition/energy bars.

Since hitting the market in 2005, Figamajigs have been featured in Newsweek Magazine, made Prevention Magazines' list of the top 25 Best New Power Foods and Forbes top candy list.

Available online at figamajigs.com.

New ZYM Catapult Is Creating A Buzz

The new ZYM Catapult, the latest edition to ZYM's electrolyte portable hydration products is creating quite a buzz, both literally and figuratively.

The new berry‑flavored ZYM Catapult, which tastes as good as it sounds, adds B12 vitamins to the mix as well as 100 mg of natural Guaraná caffeine, resulting in a breakthrough portable hydration drink that fights off dehydration, fatigue, muscle pain, and lactic acid build-up.

ZYM Catapult combines convenience and portability — coming in a small plastic tubes containing 10-tablets — you can have them available in your racquet bag at all times. 

Literally the refreshing alternative to the traditional bottled choices. Zym's non-carbonated flavorful taste is always fresh and contains only one gram of sugar.

Just drop one of the tablets into your water and watch it dissolve.

Visit gozym.com. Available online at Amazon.com.

Add a Little Zing To Your Tennis Game

Have you been feeling a little sluggish on the tennis courts lately? Several Seattle nutritionists think they've come up with a nutrition bar that is deliciously different — the Zing Nutrition Bar. Not only does it taste good but it is guaranteed to add some energy and vitality to your game.

The group of practicing nutritionists wanted to find a good nutrition bar they could recommend to their patients. What they found with traditional nutrition and sports bars was that if a particular bar was nutritionally balanced, it left something to be desired in the taste department. On the other hand, if it tasted good, it was low in protein and fiber, or full of artificial ingredients, unhealthy fats and empty calories.

After failing to identify one product that was the perfect fit, the group decided to come up with their own — a bar that not only satisfies the taste buds but one that provides the exact nutrients they were looking for. Each Zing bar features a balance of high quality protein, fiber-rich carbs and healthy fats…all in an ideal ratio for sustained energy. Nutrition savvy individuals will be happy to know that there is no soy protein in any of the bars. Two are gluten-free and all three are wheat-free. There are no artificial sweeteners and no corn syrup derivatives. Another one of the big pluses of these all-natural energy bars is the protein content. Spend a few minutes in the energy bar aisle and you discover many bars don't have much protein, which flies in the face of nutritionists who typically recommend including protein in midmorning or midafternoon snacks for brainpower.

Our favorites are the Chocolate Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.

Don't delay — add a little Zing to your game.

Available online at zingbars.com