Twitter, the social media service that answers the simple question of “what are you doing” in just 140 characters, has become enormously popular over the past several months. Top players including Venus and Serena Williams have embraced it, and for the lower ranked players who normally do not receive as much media attention, it has given fans an opportunity to get to know them better.

While it has been widely accepted by fans as a favorable innovation, Twitter has received a mixed reception from the mainstream tennis press. Journalists have tentatively stepped into the waters of social media, seemingly uncertain how to navigate both traditional reporting and the confines of condensing a story into a character count approximately the size of a byline. Still, some have made the transition smoothly, such as TennisReporters.net’s Matthew Cronin, who routinely breaks news on Twitter at @TennisReporters.

The key to a successful Twitter profile relies heavily on personal interaction, a quality that tennis’ biggest personality has aced to her advantage. Serena Williams regularly holds Twitter “sessions” where she poses a question to her over 1.6 million followers and then takes time to reply to many personally. Serena’s success has quite possibly inspired other players to regularly interact with their fans, such as Svetlana Kuznetsova (a Twitter newcomer) and Victoria Azarenka.

Although she finds it hard occasionally to have time for Twitter, Caroline Wozniacki enjoys using the new technology.

“I like communicating with my fans and with people following me. I think it’s a great way to get an insight from like not just on the court, but also how it is behind the scenes,” Wozniacki said on Tuesday.

“I think it’s nice for the fans, and they are following and coming with comments. I think that’s the great way to do it.”

Tennis players are not the only ones noticing the potential of tennis Twitter interaction. Houston-based retailer Tennis Express, one of the leading tennis equipment suppliers in the nation, has made twittering a daily part of its business plan. From the news about sales and contests to tennis personalities making in-store appearances, @TennisExpress keeps fans informed.

One predicament has arisen with the advent of Twitter. Fans have suddenly found their favorite stars accessible—and often unfiltered. While relevant tweets are informative, updates from players can sometimes border on the mundane and pointless.

Bobby Chintapalli, a tennis fan and writer who says that she embraced tweeting at @bobbychin about tennis (women’s mainly) to avoid losing friends by talking about it so much, believes that Twitter has its pros and cons.

“For those of us in the tennis community – ardent fans, casual followers, players, tour insiders and media folks – Twitter’s come to be a sort of portal for all things tennis,” Chintapalli said Wednesday. “That could mean serious news, snark, just plain rubbish or something in between.”

But Chintapalli adds that regardless of whether it is noteworthy or not, the news has instant popularity.

“Of course it’s also become news itself, with players and others tweeting their thoughts on serious stuff or perhaps making silly comments that make headlines,” Chintapalli continued.

“Usually it’s nice to hear directly from players, but sometimes, for their sake and ours, we wish they had an internal filter or at least an external one (i.e., a PR rep doing the typing). Whether we’re listening in or weighing in though, many of us are increasingly starting here or eventually going here. That’s good and bad. Good in that we can convey and consume information quickly. Bad in that we can convey and consume nonsense quickly too.”

It may not be flawless, but one thing is certain—whether it is steakhouse recommendations from @VenusESWilliams or match statistics from the BNP Paribas Open’s official @BNPParibas, Twitter and tennis have equaled a perfect match for fans.

Follow @OnTheBaseline for live Twitter updates from the 2010 BNP Paribas Open at www.twitter.com/onthebaseline.

On the Baseline’s live coverage of the 2010 BNP Paribas Open is brought to you by Grand Slam Tennis Tours. Become a fan of Grand Slam Tennis Tours on Facebook to enter to win a trip to the US Open!

Indian Wells, CA-USA
March 10-21, 2010
$4,500,000/Premier
Hard/Outdoors

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Stadium 1 (from 12.00hrs)
1. Alisa Kleybanova vs. Jelena Jankovic
2. ATP: Mónaco vs. Ljubicic (NB 14.00hrs)
3. María José Martínez Sánchez vs. Samantha Stosur (NB 16.00hrs)
4. ATP: Berdych vs. Nadal (NB 19.30hrs)
5. Chan/Zheng vs. Peschke/Srebotnik

Stadium 2 (from 15.00hrs)
1. ATP: Nestor/Zimonjic vs. Cermak/Mertinak

On the Baseline’s live coverage of the 2010 BNP Paribas Open is brought to you by Grand Slam Tennis Tours. Become a fan of Grand Slam Tennis Tours on Facebook to enter to win a trip to the US Open!

Sharapova, who won earlier this year in Memphis and was looking forward to playing in Miami for the first time since 2007, was forced to withdraw after an MRI revealed a bone bruise on her right elbow. She is expected to miss 3-6 weeks of competition.

Safina, a three-time Grand Slam finalist and former World No. 1, has withdrawn from the event due to a back injury. Safina had played in every Sony Ericsson Open since 2003 reaching the quarterfinals in 2008, her best finish in Miami.

Despite the two withdrawals, the women’s field is highlighted by five-time champion and 2010 Australian Open Champion Serena Williams, seven-time Grand Slam Champion Venus Williams, 2009 French Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2009 US Open Champion Kim Clijsters, 2008 French Open Champion Ana Ivanovic, 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Elena Dementieva and 2010 Australian Open finalist Justine Henin.

Indian Wells, CA-USA
March 10-21, 2010
$4,500,000/Premier
Hard/Outdoors

ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010

STADIUM 1 start 12:00 noon
[5] A Radwanska (POL) vs [4] E Dementieva (RUS) – WTA
[15] J Isner (USA) vs [3] R Nadal (ESP) – ATP
[9] J Tsonga (FRA) vs [6] R Soderling (SWE) – ATP
Not Before 7:30 PM
[22] J Melzer (AUT) vs [7] A Roddick (USA) – ATP
[4] A Murray (GBR) vs N Almagro (ESP) – ATP

STADIUM 2 start 11:00 am
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs [21] J Monaco (ARG) – ATP
[20] I Ljubicic (CRO) vs [2] N Djokovic (SRB) – ATP
[29] V Troicki (SRB) vs [19] T Berdych (CZE) – ATP
[27] M Baghdatis (CYP) vs [18] T Robredo (ESP) – ATP
Not Before 7:30 PM
[18] J Zheng (CHN) vs [2] C Wozniacki (DEN) – WTA

STADIUM 3 start 11:00 am
[6] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) vs J Brunstrom (SWE) / J Rojer (AHO) – ATP
I Benesova (CZE) / B Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) vs [3] N Petrova (RUS) / S Stosur (AUS) – WTA
[6] B Mattek-Sands (USA) / Z Yan (CHN) vs [2] N Llagostera Vives (ESP) / M Martinez Sanchez (ESP) – WTA
Not Before 5:00 PM
M Llodra (FRA) / A Ram (ISR) vs [WC] M Lopez (ESP) / R Nadal (ESP) – ATP – Possible Court Change
J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) vs I Karlovic (CRO) / D Vemic (SRB) – ATP

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But all the deep thinking in the world won’t change the reality of the situation. The Williams sisters’ boycott of Indian Wells will forever be a mark on an otherwise utopian tennis event.

In 2001, at the epicenter of a media maelstrom that surrounded obstinate Richard Williams and his two supernova daughters, a wound was opened. The Williams family was treated with so much disdain – on their so-called home soil no less – that it pulled at the hearts of anyone who witnessed it. At the time, it wasn’t clear if the wounds could ever be mended. Sadly, 9 years later, it appears that they never will be.

That is where we stand today. The undeniably ugly truth of the incident and the hurt that it caused the family is undoubtedly still there, festering. Even as the Williams sisters have gone on to enormous heights, and Indian Wells has continued to garner a global following, it is there.

As much as we’d all like to see the Williams Sisters out there competing at Indian Wells (and more importantly acting as symbols of forgiveness and healing) the chances of that happening are about as thin as the lines of communication that currently exist between tournament director Steve Simon and the Williams family. Simon said last year that even though he’d love to see the Williamses back, he’d never beg a player to play. Meanwhile the Williamses are resolute – they don’t want to come back here and be reminded of the emotional angst that they endured.

So we have a stalemate. Maybe, given that all parties involved have moved on and are doing quite well on their own, thank you, it’s better to leave it alone. Maybe it’s better to keep it all swept neatly under the rug and keep moving forward with what needs to be done.

Is it?

No matter how many good intentioned people there are that want to see the Williams sisters come back to Indian Wells (yes, Richard can come too) because they believe that at its essence, the incident in 2001 was nothing more than an episode that became wildly blown out of proportion by the media and a few reactive ticket holders, there is no magic wand that can be waved to wipe away what actually happened. The ugly and completely unnecessary controversy following Venus’ last second withdrawal will always be a stain on the pages of Indian Wells lore.

And while many of us like to believe that changing the future – by eschewing personal hurt in the name of a higher purpose (what’s so funny about peace, love, and understanding?) – is the next best thing to changing the past, the odds of it happening are about as good as Serena calling a foot-fault on herself in a Grand-Slam final

In a perfect world this unfortunate controversy would never have happened: Venus wouldn’t have struggled with injury and withdrawn 10 minutes before her semifinal against Serena (perfect worlds don‘t have injuries). 15,000 tennis enthusiasts wouldn’t have felt cheated out of their chance to see a historic match between two young tennis phenoms, nor would they have acted in such a vulgar and unsympathetic manner (people behave properly in perfect worlds). Elena Dementieva wouldn’t have made her snide comments to the media about how Richard Williams decides who wins each time the sisters play (she later claimed to be kidding).

But the world is not perfect. In fact the world, as was proved at Indian Wells in 2001, is pretty messed up. The fact of the matter is that there will never be a legitimate excuse for the type of behavior that occurred when Richard Williams and his daughter Venus took their seats before Serena’s final that year. They were indiscriminately booed at, hissed at, and reportedly threatened.

As much as I’d like to see the gap bridged between Indian Wells and the Williams sisters, it is still hard for me to stomach the actual events that occurred, and therefore it is hard for me to envisage any real or lasting reconciliation between the two. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to be Serena, young and impressionable and just a 19-year-old at the time, or Venus, deemed by many to be culpable for the whole affair when she was probably just acting on the advice of doctors and her father, when the insults rained down from the crowd.

Why did tennis-loving Americans want to make it harder on these girls than it already was? Because they spent $50 on a ticket, and didn‘t get their full entertainment value for it? Is that all it takes to bring out the worst in people, or was there some sort of embedded bias against the Williams sisters from the start?

I wish we could say it was all water under the bridge, but this is clearly a case of there being no bridge over the water.

In a perfect world the tournament’s new owner, business magnate Larry Ellison, would recognize the opportunity that lies before him. He has already hit the ground running with his Hit for Haiti benefit, which showed just how humane the sport can be when it sets its mind to it. But if he really wants to make the Ellison era legendary for Indian Wells, he should seriously consider stretching a big fat olive branch over to the Williamses camp.

Haiti is a great cause, and Indian Wells is doing a commendable job by lending significant resources to it, but we’ve got scars that need to be healed right here in our own back yard.

And there’s never been a better time than right now, even in an imperfect world such as this.

Chris Oddo is a freelance tennis writer and blogger who is based in San Francisco, California. He is a regular commenter at OTB under the moniker The Fan Child. You can follow his blog at http://thefanchild.blogspot.com/.

On the Baseline’s live coverage of the 2010 BNP Paribas Open is brought to you by Grand Slam Tennis Tours. Become a fan of Grand Slam Tennis Tours on Facebook to enter to win a trip to the US Open!

According to TennisReporters.net’s Matthew Cronin, sources have said that Vaidisova plans to call it quits on her career and marry ATP Tour player Radek Stepanek in July.

Vaidisova, who is currently ranked at No. 176, reached a career high of No. 7 in May 2007. Over the past few seasons, her career has been stuck in a slump as her ranking has plummeted after strings of poor results.

Indian Wells, CA-USA
March 10-21, 2010
$4,500,000/Premier
Hard/Outdoors

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Stadium 1 (from 12.00hrs)
1. ATP: Murray vs. Russell
2. Nadia Petrova vs. Caroline Wozniacki (NB 14.00hrs)
3. ATP: De Bakker vs. Roddick
4. ATP: F.López/Verdasco vs. M.López/Nadal (NB 17.00hrs)
5. ATP: Federer vs. Baghdatis (NB 19.30hrs)
6. Carla Suárez Navarro vs. Alisa Kleybanova (NB 21.00hrs)

Stadium 2 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Marion Bartoli
2. ATP: F.López vs. Soderling (NB 12.00hrs)
3. ATP: Tsonga vs. Montañés
4. María José Martínez Sánchez vs. Yanina Wickmayer
5. ATP: Almagro vs. Blake (NB 16.00hrs)

Stadium 3 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Aravane Rezai vs. Elena Dementieva
2. Vera Zvonareva vs. Samantha Stosur
3. ATP: Gruel vs. Melzer
4. ATP: Robredo vs. Sela
5. Shahar Peer vs. Jelena Jankovic

Court 4 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Alicia Molik vs. Zheng Jie
2. ATP: Bellucci/Cuevas vs. Cermak/Mertinak
3. ATP: Brunstrom/Rojer vs. Berdych/Kohlschreiber (NB 14.00hrs)
4. ATP: Andreev/Korolev vs. Isner/Querrey

Court 6 (NB 14.00hrs)
1. Kirilenko/Radwanska vs. Peschke/Srebotnik (after suitable rest)
2. Black/Huber vs. Chan/Zheng (after suitable rest)

On the Baseline’s live coverage of the 2010 BNP Paribas Open is brought to you by Grand Slam Tennis Tours. Become a fan of Grand Slam Tennis Tours on Facebook to enter to win a trip to the US Open!

Clijsters’ upset was surprising, but not unexpected as Kleybanova has quickly developed into one of the most promising Russians rising through the ranks.

This year’s BNP Paribas Open has been a rocky road for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s finest stars. Venus and Serena Williams continued their customary absences, but with nearly a week to go before Sunday’s final, most of the top players in the world have already begun packing their bags for Miami’s Sony Ericsson Open.

Justine Henin was an early casualty, followed by top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. Maria Sharapova bade farewell last night, joined quickly by Azarenka and Clijsters today. In the middle of the chaos, other familiar names such as Daniela Hantuchova, Ana Ivanovic and Na Li have also exited in the draw.

Leading the charge into the fourth round of play is fourth seed Elena Dementieva, a player who has struggled to deliver her best tennis when it masters most. Here in Indian Wells, she has a golden opportunity to win her third title of the year. Jelena Jankovic, another perennial struggler, can also rebound from her slump with a good run in the desert. A slew of other players have the potential to go deep at this tournament including defending champion Vera Zvonareva, Samantha Stosur, Marion Bartoli, and of course, Clijsters’ vanquisher, Kleybanova.

When asked if she believes that the women’s game has more depth than when she first retired, Clijsters agreed.

“I really think so,” Clijsters said after her match. “I remember in the past when I used to go to Grand Slams, and I think my first two, three rounds, I think they were always kind of easy. I think now it’s definitely not the case anymore. Every match you really have to go out there and fight, and I think it’s something that is good for the sport.”

“I think it’s obviously a mental battle from the beginning, from the first round you play Grand Slams, those seven matches, it’s something that’s challenging,” Clijsters continued.

“It makes the players who are mentally ready and physically ready, it makes those stand out. And those are the ones at the end of the trip or end of the tournament will keep standing.”

On the Baseline’s live coverage of the 2010 BNP Paribas Open is brought to you by Grand Slam Tennis Tours. Become a fan of Grand Slam Tennis Tours on Facebook to enter to win a trip to the US Open!

Indian Wells, CA-USA
March 10-21, 2010
$4,500,000/Premier
Hard/Outdoors

Monday, March 15, 2010

Stadium 1 (from 12.00hrs)
1. ATP: Kohlschreiber vs. Djokovic
2. ATP: Ancic vs. Nadal (NB 13.00hrs)
3. Sara Errani vs. Jelena Jankovic (NB 16.00hrs)
4. ATP: Nestor/Zimonjic vs. Blake/Roddick
5. Alisa Kleybanova vs. Kim Clijsters (NB 19.30hrs)
6. ATP: Isner vs. Querry (NB 21.00hrs)

Stadium 2 (from 11.00hrs)
1. ATP: Monaco vs. Ferrero
2. Vera Zvonareva vs. Anastasija Sevastova
3. ATP: Garcia-Lopez vs. Bellucci
4. ATP: Berdych vs Verdasco
5. Victoria Azarenka vs. María José Martínez Sánchez

Stadium 3 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Samantha Stosur
2. Flavia Pennetta vs. Shahar Peer
3. Roberta Vinci vs. Yanina Wickmayer
4. ATP: Dabul vs. Ljubicic

Court 4 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Peschke/Srebotnik vs. Grandin/Spears
2. ATP: Aspelin/Hanley vs. Benneteau/Tsonga
3. Black/Huber vs. Amanmuradova/Kustova
4. Carla Suárez Navarro vs. Agnes Szavay

Court 6 (NB 15.00hrs)
1. Hlavackova/Hradecka vs. Petrova/Stosur (after suitable rest)
2. ATP: Ferrer/Montañés vs. Karlovic/Vemic

On the Baseline’s live coverage of the 2010 BNP Paribas Open is brought to you by Grand Slam Tennis Tours. Become a fan of Grand Slam Tennis Tours on Facebook to enter to win a trip to the US Open!

Indian Wells, CA-USA
March 10-21, 2010
$4,500,000/Premier
Hard/Outdoors

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Stadium 1 (from 11.00hrs)
1. ATP: Tsonga vs. Matosevic
2. ATP: Murray vs. Seppi (NB 13.00hrs)
3. Zheng Jie vs. Maria Sharapova (NB 15.00hrs)
4. ATP: Federer vs. Hanescu
5. ATP: Lu vs. Roddick (NB 19.00hrs)
6. Maria Kirilenko vs. Caroline Wozniacki (NB 20.30hrs)

Stadium 2 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Gisela Dulko
2. ATP: López/Nadal vs. Dlouhy/Paes (NB 12.30hrs)
3. ATP: Monfils vs. Greul
4. Kirsten Flipkens vs. Elena Dementieva (NB 17.00hrs)
5. ATP: Blake vs. Ferrer
6. Nadia Petrova vs. Peng Shuai

Stadium 3 (from 11.00hrs)
1. ATP: Clément vs. Baghdatis
2. Jill Craybas vs. Marion Bartoli
3. ATP: Korolev vs. Soderling
4. ATP: Nalbandian vs. Melzer
5. ATP: Russell vs. Andreev

Court 4 (from 11.00hrs)
1. Francesca Schiavone vs. Aravane Rezai
2. ATP: López vs. Mathieu
3. Mattek-Sands/Yan vs. Garbin/Jankovic
4. ATP: Berdych/Kohlschreiber vs. Bryan/Bryan
5. ATP: López/Verdasco vs. Ancic/Fish
6. ATP: Mello vs. Montañés

Court 5 (from 11.00hrs)
1. ATP: Tipsarevic vs. de Bakker
2. Elena Baltacha vs. Alicia Molik
3. Kleybanova/Schiavone vs. Benesova/Zahlavova Strycova (after suitable rest)
4. Dulko/Pennetta vs. Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez (after suitable rest)

Court 6 (from 11.00hrs)
1. ATP: Aspelin/Hanley vs. Kerr/Polasek
2. ATP: Karlovic vs. Almagro
3. ATP: Robredo vs. Stakhovsky
4. ATP: Sela vs. Stepanek
5. ATP: Nestor/Zimonjic vs. Butorac/Ram

On the Baseline’s live coverage of the 2010 BNP Paribas Open is brought to you by Grand Slam Tennis Tours. Become a fan of Grand Slam Tennis Tours on Facebook to enter to win a trip to the US Open!