Gaytlsports.com

It might seem a little early to ponder plans for Labor Day and beyond. But it’s not and here’s why: Planning is already underway that will be of interest to tennis players and golfers.

Registration recently opened for the Peach International Tennis Championships, an annual event that draws more than 200 gay and lesbian tennis players to Atlanta over Labor Day Weekend. This year’s event, the 21st rendition, is set for Aug 29 to Sept. 1. Entry fees range from $96 to $132.

On Aug. 16, the Atlanta Team Tennis Association, which stages the Peach, is holding its annual variety show to benefit the tournament and AIDS Survival Project. Last year, more than 200 athletes from 21 states and three foreign countries took part in the Peach.

Later in September, the Women’s Outdoor Network will host the 1st Annual Best Ball Tournament to benefit the outdoor group, Pets Are Loving Support and the Feminist Women’s Health Center. The Sept. 20 event features four-person teams competing for the best total score in an 18-hole shotgun start. Registration is $75 for a single player and $300 for a team of four.

A week before the event, WON will host its annual picnic.

Robby, we hardly knew ‘ya.

Tennis hottie Robby Ginepri, who hails from Kennesaw, was booted from Wimbledon today in his opening round match against Chilean Fernando Gonzalez. It was González that defeated Ginepri on June 2 to oust him from the French Open, though at the time he was the last male U.S. tennis player competing.

The third set was once again close as Ginepri, unlike in his French Open loss to González, refused to be stream rolled. Playing the higher ranked Chilean to a near draw, Ginepri held his service until almost the very end. In the 12th game, however, González was finally able to seal the deal, scoring the break that would earn him passage to Wimbledon’s second round.

Earlier this month, Ginepri lost to Andy Roddick in the second round of the Artois Championships.

Photo: B. Queenborough, Prosport

Yes, yes. We know it’s a little too early to be considering plans for Labor Day Weekend. I mean, we haven’t even gotten through the Atlanta Pride Festival. (That, by the way, begins July 4.)

But in case you’re a planner, consider this: The Atlanta Team Tennis Association, the area’s gay tennis league, just opened registration for the Peach International Tennis Championships, its signature event set for Aug. 29 to Sept. 1. The tournament has divisions for just about everyone, from men’s singles to mixed doubles and events for those over 40. Fees range from $96 to $132.

More than 225 players took part last year, the event’s 20th anniversary. For more, read the Southern Voice sports column I wrote about it last August.

In other ATTA developments, there’s a social for women tonight at 7 p.m. The group has also scheduled its variety show for Aug. 16. The event raises funds for the Peach and AIDS Survival Project.

Lesbians looking for a relaxed way to stay active face two new summer options.

The ever-expanding Decatur Women’s Sports League opened its second season of bowling last week, while its tennis offering begins on Friday. The action is all for a good cause, as the league donates funds raised above its operating costs to the Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative. The league has donated more than $12,000 since its inception in 2007.

“Everyone has been so positive,” says founder Anne Barr. “It has just been a blessing all the way around. I am so happy about the league and everyone involved.”

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An aggressive Robby Ginepri wasn’t enough to fend off Andy Roddick in the second round of the Artois Championships at the Queen’s Club earlier today.

Roddick came from behind to eventually win the match 6-7, 6-1, 6-1 and come out on top in the battle between U.S. tennis hotties, ousting the resident Atlantan.

Roddick, the third seed, was given a bye through the first round at Queen’s Club and has not played competitively since pulling out of the Italian Masters with a back and shoulder injury last month. He looked rusty against the match-fit Ginepri, who beat another American, Vince Spadea, in the first round on Monday.

“Robby was really aggressive in the first set,” Roddick told the Guardian. “I found my feet in the second and went on from there.”

Enjoy video from the match after the jump. It includes several enjoyable shots of Roddick and Ginepri pulling up their shirts to wipe away sweat. Yeah, that means glimpses of their lean and muscled torsos. Ginperi’s got the goods over Roddick when it comes to abs. So at least he won that matchup today. (more…)

I’m a casual tennis fan, which means unless there are some hotties involved, I’m not interested.

So, I read with delight this morning that hometown hottie Robby Ginepri – fresh from going deep last week in the French Open – will face Andy Roddick in the second round of the Artois Championships in London this week.

Ginepri, from Kennessaw, defeated Vincent Spadea 6-4, 7-6 (4) in an all-American first round match on Monday. Roddick enjoyed a first-round bye.

Speaking of hotties, French Open champion Rafael Nadal also had a bye to the second round.

Ginepri was the last American male standing at the French Open, until losing to miss the quarterfinals. But he went deeper than any male U.S. tennis player since 2003.

Don’t miss the infamous Roddick booty shot after the jump.

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The summer of championships has arrived.

Several gay sports leagues hold international competitions in the coming weeks, chief among them is the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics Championships in Washington, D.C., later this month.

About four-dozen swimmers and water polo players from the Atlanta Rainbow Trout are headed to the competition, looking to better their performance from last year, when the organization overall took gold, the waterpolo team took bronze and several participants won individual medals.

And while the swimmers head to D.C., the Decatur Women’s Sports League is taking a less-competitive approach to offering its newest sport – tennis – and starting a second season of bowling. Bowling opened on Wednesday while tennis starts on June 13.

I talked with Sean Fitzgerald, the president of the Trout, and Anne Barr, the founder of the Decatur league, for my Southern Voice sports column this week. Read the full story.

The last American standing at the French Open has fallen.

Robby Ginepri, the hometown hottie who lives in Kennesaw, dropped his Fourth Round match against Fernando Gonzalez earlier today. Ginepri was the last male U.S. tennis player left in the tournament and the first to make it so far since 2003.

Now there’s more time for the pro jock, ranked No. 88 but likely to move up, to consider the lighter side of life, like why he chose Johnny Depp to play him in the movie about his life. That and other interesting tidbits are included in a Q&A with Ginepri on the French Open site:

Favourite food: A good steak; “cajun reby”.

The most stupid thing you’ve ever done: Drawing on people’s faces when they’re sleeping. I still do it (laughs).

First kiss: I was 13. Her name was Blair and it was on the school bus (smiles).

Catch up on Ginepri with these recent posts and reports on his loss today here and here. Hat tip to Kenneth in the (212) for photos of Ginepri from the French Open here and here.

Go, Robby, go.

Atlantan Robby Ginepri continues his quest in the French Open, now making the fourth round at the clay-court tournament and becoming the first American male to do that since Andre Agassi in 2003. Talk about keeping nice company.

Ginepri isn’t letting the pressure have an impact, at least publicly:

“Last guy standing. It’s a good feeling,” Ginepri says. “I would definitely like to have a lot of the other Americans still in the tournament, of course, but [I'm] really not trying to let that weigh on my shoulders. I’m going to just keep playing my game the way I have in the last three matches.”

Ginepri, 25, is ranked 88th and was a U.S. Open semifinalist in 2005 and recently made the U.S. team for the Beijing Olympics. It’s been fun to watch the tennis hunk’s playing comeback.

The French Open web site includes an interview with Ginepri from Day 7 of the French Open. The interview includes a link to a video interview as well. For recent quotes from the tennis stud, go here.

Photo: FFT 

Robby Ginepri, a professional tennis player from metro Atlanta, made it to the Elite Eight of “King of the Hardwood.” That hunky build, hard abs and furry chest has propelled him past Jeff Francoeur, another local pro jock in the contest, Tom Brady and Luke O’Donnell.

In this new round, Ginepri faces Brad Ausmus, a catcher for the Houston Astros. Ausmus holds his own in the hunk category.

But gay sports fans here should weigh two factors – Ginepri is the last of the Atlanta jocks in the competition (Falcons quarterback Joey Harrington lost in Round 2 voting) and anything related to the Astros should be enough for Braves fans to reject. That’s the team, after all, that always seems to knock the Braves out of post-season play. At least when the Braves played in the post season.

If you’re going to help Ginepri, hurry. As of this morning, he’s down in the balloting. Ausmus leads by eight votes, 28-20. There’s three other pairings to consider as well – Brady Quinn vs. Ben Cohen, Sean Lamont vs. Brandon Templeton and Dan Carter vs. Joe Mauer. Check out the Elite Eight photo gallery  before voting on the “Hardwood” site. You’ve got until Saturday.

If you still need convincing to go with Ginepri, check out some new photos of the shirtless hunk during a practice session last month. Thanks to Kenneth in the (212) for the revealing pics.