Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Amelie Mauresmo, Maria Sharapova, Anastasia Myskina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, Venus Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Alicia Molik and Anna Kournikova.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that if you know more than half of the names on that list then you know more than the average person. You also may know that it is currently the Women's Tennis Association top 10 ranked players ... and a Russian model who claims to dabble in the sport.
If you only knew a few of the names on that list, don't feel bad. But more importantly, please don't give up on me and set your paper down. I'm here to tell you why there is no better time than now to start paying attention to tennis.
Yes ... tennis, that game where two or four players hit a yellow ball back and forth over a net; the sport where zero is not zero, it's love, the sport that has fallen off the map in the United States.
Let me start by saying that I hated tennis just as much as anyone else when I was growing up. What was the point of it? What was so hard about it? Just take out a racket and hammer the ball as hard as you can ... great. Then, a couple of summers ago, I tried to play it.
It was a hot summer day at the tour site in Cincinnati and I decided to try and play doubles with my buddies. That's when I realized you can't just hit the ball. I probably put a third of my shots into the stands. That was reason number one to start watching.
It's not as easy as it looks. If you've never tried to play, try once and then watch a match that includes one of the names at the beginning of this column-minus Kournikova of course. The things that they can do are mesmerizing once you realize how hard it is.
With the Australian Open on ESPN at all hours of the day all last week, I probably watched more tennis over nine days than I had in most of the rest of my life combined. What I saw was an insane amount of matches that went to a decisive third set.
I also saw another chapter written in what I hope is the next biggest rivalry on the court: Maria Sharapova vs. Serena Williams.
At No. 4 and No. 2 in the world respectively, Williams beat Sharapova for the first time in three matches.
Sharapova is a young, blonde, Russian-born yet American girl-next-door who has Kournikova's looks, but can actually play some tennis. She is also my future wife-she just doesn't know it yet.
Williams, the American who won five majors between 2002-'03, has struggled due to injury and personal reasons lately but with her Aussie Open championship is on her way back to number one. And to some, she's more appealing than Sharapova.
Their match was on last Thursday and-crazy as it sounds-I was nearly as excited about seeing it as I was the Illinois/Wisconsin game the night before. After all, I didn't know what the outcome of this match was going to be.
Although I was disappointed with the outcome, Serena's win just made me more anxious to see the next match.
But there are a flurry of other reasons: New superstars are on their way; officials are trying to decide whether or not to use a form of instant replay, and any player can win any week.
With four Russians, four Americans, an Australian and a French player in the top 10, the battles are heating up. For you ladies out there, there's a men's tour too. Give it a chance, people. Go out and play a match, then tune in to the next tennis tournament. Trust me, your eyes will be opened.
Oh, just because I know you're saying to yourself, I can't believe he's not bringing up whether or not that football player with the bum leg will play ... Badger cornerback Brett Bell will be back.
Eric Schmoldt is a junior planning to major in history. If you need a doubles partner reach him at ejschomldt@wisc.edu.
