What's that old saying? Once is a mistake, twice is a coincidence, three times is a trend? If that's the case, then Yanina Wickmayer's one-year suspesnsion for thrice failing to report her whereabouts to drug testing officials is a fair and legitimate penalty.

From the Associated Press:

Wickmayer said last month she has had trouble with her password in the computerized system overseen by the World Anti-Doping Agency. She also said registered mail at her home could not be signed off on because she was travelling to WTA tournaments.

Yes, Yanina, you're the only player who travels to tournaments and can't sign for registered mail. And that password excuse sounds like something I'd tell an ex-girlfriend whose emails I haevn't returned. 

Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. If it's the latter, then failing to report her whereabouts to officials three times is the height of stupidity. If she did, was she using illicit substances for recreation or to enhance performance?

The use of PEDs in tennis is almost certainly more widespread than anyone thinks. The game is thought of as "clean", but that's only because tennis has one of the worst drug testing plans in all of sports. As Bill Gifford described in a piece for Slate earlier this year:

The International Tennis Federation's testing program hasn't caught any significant drug cheats because it's practically designed that way. According to the ITF's own statistics, tennis's governing body conducted just over 2,000 drug tests last year. Even if you consider that this covers more than 1,000 ranked players, as well as wheelchair tennis players, it still sounds like a lot of testing. But look more closely, and you'll see some Jaws-size holes in the net.

Consider the timing of the tests. Nearly all of tennis's drug testing was conducted during competitions-major tournaments like the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon. But most doping activity occurs during training, not actual competition.

Sports like cycling and track and field-which have had far worse drug problems than tennis-figured out long ago that it's best to test athletes outside competition. But last year, tennis performed just 91 out-of-competition tests. The International Cycling Union, by contrast, did more than 2,000 such tests.

It's naive to think that the use of PEDs in tennis isn't more widespread than reported. The lax drug testing contributes to this perception, but so does the fact that use of these types of drugs wouldn't be clearly noticeable to fans and those in the tennis community. 

Players won't be bulking up like football and baseball players, so the telltale signs of use, like bigger muscles, increased head size and suspicious jumps in home run totals, aren't there. Wickmayer wouldn't be looking like a member of the 1988 East German women's swim team or seeing her serve speed jump 30 mph.

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Andre Agassi deserves every bit of the criticism he is receiving for using crystal methamphetamine and misleading authorities to weasel his way out of a positive doping test result. He has added to the growing disillusionment many have with stars who once were admired without hesitation.

However, Agassi does not deserve the criticism from players and outsiders who question his right to open up about the past. Rather, Agassi should be admired for revealing a dark secret he could have taken to his grave.

Athletes are ripped for refusing to address the past (e.g. Mark McGwire), but now also for revealing every painful detail?

Can't have it both ways. Someone should tell that to the players.

"To me it seems terrible," Rafael Nadal said. "Why is he saying this now that he has retired?"

Martina Navratilova's response was even harsher. It was "not as much shock that he did it," she suggested, "as shock he lied about it and didn't own up to it. He's up there with Roger Clemens, as far as I'm concerned. He owned up to it (in the book), but it doesn't help now."

Someone needs to brief Martina. Last time we checked, Mr. Clemens hasn't owned up to, well, anything, and probably never will.

Roger Federer -- who also joined in the criticism -- Nadal and, to some extent, the retired Navratilova depend on the sport's credibility for their livelihood. When that credibility is damaged -- and Agassi definitely left tennis with a black eye -- they are also damaged, and it's never clear what consequences will follow. That scares them.

It shouldn't. Nadal needs to have more faith in the fans. Fans don't assume the whole sport is dirty because of how one player behaved. They don't think it's totally clean, either. No sport is.

The sport will survive. If anything, Agassi's revelations may help tennis and its players. There will be those players in the future, facing pressures only they can understand, who might now avoid making the numerous mistakes he made. That is how we learn, not by keeping the truth hidden.

A player's parents may learn, too, that treating their talented son or daughter the way Agassi's father allegedly did may work in the short term on the court, but could harm them in life more than they could ever imagine.

It doesn't mean we should rush to give Agassi the Pulitzer or forgive his actions. He is no saint for coming clean. But he is no villain, either. He is, when you strip away the talent and packaging, a flawed man who is sharing those flaws.

Fans can appreciate that.

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To celebrate the 25th anniversary of John McEnroe's second-most famous tirade (this one will always be No. 1 ... seriously), Dave Seminara of The New York Times tracked down the chair umpire who was at the receiving end of one of the petulant star's tantrums. It's an interesting perspective to hear since normally all we get is McEnroe's side of the story. (He once said this was his most embarrassing tantrum.) 

Dr. Leif Ake Nilsson, now 66, was in the chair for McEnroe's match against No. 6 Anders Jarryd and recalls not responding to Johnny Mac because he didn't have an answer to his questions: 

Seminara writes:

"He totally lost his head," Jarryd recalled. "He was ready to lose the match."

Nilsson had issued McEnroe a warning in the second game of the match for firing a ball in anger at a spectator, so this second outburst cost him a point penalty. He lost his service game moments later; then steamed over to the sideline and smashed several glasses of ice water with a slice backhand that might have otherwise been a penetrating approach shot. He then sat down for a second before springing back up and taking a forehand swipe at the cups, sort of like a bowler attempting to salvage a spare.

"They were real glasses, not paper cups," Nilsson said.

McEnroe earned a $2,100 fine and a suspension of 21 days (which was for exceeding a pre-set fine cap, not for the outburst). Nilsson says he's seen McEnroe since then, but the pair have never acknowledged their infamous meeting.

And, no intrepid commenters, this is not at all similar to the Serena Williams incident. McEnroe may have been the pot calling the kettle black when he called Nilsson a jerk but, unlike Serena, Johnny Mac never threatened him with a tennis ball throat-stuffing.

Game Point is Busted Racquet's roundup of facts, figures and links about the tennis world.

Love -- Be careful, Gael Monfils (right). I'm pretty sure Michael Phelps got in trouble for a similar type of picture. Andre Agassi finds nothing wrong with this though. (Thanks to Down The Line for the heads up.)

15 -- Speaking of Agassi, the meth use drew the headlines, but perhaps the most shocking revelation in his upcoming book is that his famed mullet was actually a hairpiece. It's not shocking that he wore one, but rather that he chose to wear one that looked like this.

Before the 1990 French Open final, Agassi writes, his weave began to fall apart in the shower and he had to send his brother out to find bobby pins to keep it in place. Ahh, just like Rene Lacoste in 1925.

30 -- Maria Sharapova may be dating Los Angeles Lakers backup guard Sasha Vujacic. The two were said to be seen "cuddling" at a U2 concert in Los Angeles. Sharapova had previously been seen with Charlie Ebersol (son of NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol) and Adam Levine, the lead singer of Maroon 5. From a product of nepotism to frontman of a wimpy band to a guy best known as Kobe Bryant's valet, what would be the next logical progression? B-list actor? I wonder if Topher Grace is available.

40 -- Tommy Haas has the swine flu. He is reported to be feeling better and attributes his quick recovery to his fine physical form. On a totally unrelated note, here is a list of tournaments Haas has withdrew from in the past three years due to injury: Stockholm (2009), Shanghai (2009), Montreal (2009), Monte Carlo (2008), Indian Wells (2008), Wimbledon (2007), Rome (2007). 

Game -- It's shaping up to be a battle at the top of men's tennis in 2010 between Nike and adidas. Andy Murray will sign with adidas and begin wearing its clothes next year, joining Novak Djokovic and Fernando Verdasco and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The Scot had been with the British company Fred Perry since he turned professional and had hoped to stick with them through next year, the 100th anniversary of Perry's birth. But the money (five years, 10 million pounds) was too great to turn down. Now Murray joins adidas, which will hope to see a player wearing a three-striped logo hoisting some trophies in 2010 to make up for this year, when Nike players (Nadal, Federer, del Potro) swept the Grand Slams.

Andre Agassi's role as a humanitarian is beyond dispute, and there is no question that he and wife Steffi Graf are forces for positive change in society.

But as the dust settles on the remarkable revelations in Agassi's autobiography, including his use of the drug crystal methamphetamine, the motivation behind the book becomes ever more puzzling.

Agassi fans will vehemently argue that the eight-time Grand Slam champion penned his memoirs to unburden himself after years of secrecy - or even to provide a warning about the dangers of illicit substances.

Yet the controversial aspects of the book have done little for the image of tennis, from his sniping about greats such as Jimmy Connors to the admission of how he hoodwinked ATP authorities after testing positive for drugs.

The timing of the book's release seems to have been designed for maximum impact (and profit). Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it does appear to fly in the face of suggestions that Agassi's intentions here are simply public-spirited.

With an eight-year cutoff period in place, there is no chance of Agassi being stripped of any of his titles or prize money.

For all the good works Agassi has done, the release of this book will not go down as one of his greatest highlights. He deserves to be judged harshly for both the actions which broke the rules of the game and for the comments which damaged it, regardless of how much time has gone by.

Agassi's gain from this exercise will be the success of the book - he doesn't need a free pass from a forgiving tennis public too.

Drop shot

At a time when tennis' hierarchy is under scrutiny, the interminable wait for some action on Serena Williams' U.S. Open outburst rumbles on. As the two-month mark approaches, is it really too much to ask that an appropriate punishment is finally handed down? Williams is at last established as the clear world No.1 after winning in Doha last week, but the saga surrounding her rant at a line judge is leaving a stain on the women's game.

Clean winner

Ivan Ljubicic has endured a torrid few years with injury and patchy play, but he burst back to form in Lyon last week. The big-serving Croat was the only non-Frenchman in the quarterfinals but outlasted Michael Llodra for the championship.

Use your frequent-flyer miles

While the men are slugging it out in chilly Europe for the final spots in the Tour finals, the vacation destination of Bali in Indonesia is the place to be. The Tournament of Champions is an interesting concept - a season-ending event for the group of players just below the elite - and could catch on.

Last week's winners

St. Petersburg Open: Sergiy Stakhovsky
Bank Austria Tennis Trophy, Vienna: Jurgen Melzer
Grand Prix de Tennis, Lyon: Ivan Ljubicic
Sony Ericsson Championships, Doha: Serena Williams

This week's predictions

Davidoff Swiss Indoors, Basel: Roger Federer
Valencia Open: Nikolay Davydenko
Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, Bali: Samantha Stosur

It's been 51 days since Serena Williams threatened an official at the U.S. Open, yet there's still no word from the International Tennis Federation as to whether the 11-time Grand Slam champion will be suspended from any tournaments as a result of the tirade. The WTA's chief executive said three weeks ago that the investigation was "ongoing" and that a decision was expected by the end of the year. Our question: What's taking so long?

This isn't the Warren Commission. There aren't any grassy knolls or magic bullets or vague connections to Frank Sinatra. The lineswoman called a foot fault, Serena yelled, was assessed the point penalty and the match was over. That's it. From start to finish the incident took less than three minutes. Other than talking to Serena, the lineswoman and, perhaps, the chair umpire, what else is there to investigate? It's not like any new information is going to come to light.

With the WTA season completed, it may not seem like a big deal for the ITF to prolong the investigation now. (Even though, as stated above, there's no reason for them to.) But it's better for the organization to make a decision as quickly as possible. As wrong as she was, Serena doesn't deserve to be strung along for three months.

Waiting also could do damage to tournament organizers in Australia. The Open isn't going to see too much of an effect if Serena is suspended since those tickets will sell regardless. But Serena has already committed to a tournament in Sydney the week before. She will be the main selling point and organizers will doubtlessly be marketing the women's tournament around her. If Serena is barred from playing in the major, there's not much chance of her making the trip to Australia for a tune-up event.

Williams was fined $10,000 at the U.S. Open after the outburst, the maximum on-site penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. This current investigation was said to have begun that same night by Bill Babcock, the top administrator for Grand Slam tournaments.

It continues today. If the ITF has any sense, it won't continue much longer.

Game Point is Busted Racquet's roundup of facts, figures and links about the tennis world. Today's edition will be Agassi-free.

Love --  The picture above is of Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Nuria Llagostera Vives and a bunch of Spanish musicians after the women won the doubles title at the WTA's year-end Sony Ericsson Championships this weekend in Doha. I have no idea what those guys were going to do if Martinez Sanchez and Vives had lost. Maybe a little of this, but with la guitarra instead of el trombón.

15 -- With her win in the singles event at Doha, Serena Williams broke the single-season women's record for prize money, with more than $6.5 million earned in 2009. This reflects both well and poorly on the state of women's tennis. On one hand, Williams has earned more than any man did on tour this year (although that will likely change over the next few weeks since the men's season isn't yet over), a nice change from the past when there was a stark inequality in men's and women's prize money. On the other hand, the fact that Serena was able to best the mark by $1 million despite playing in only 18 tournaments (and not giving it her all in a few of those) says how little competition there was at the top in '09. 

30 -- Ahead of an exhibition he'll play against Todd Martin on Nov. 7, Pete Sampras gave an interview to the Atlanta Journal Constitution in which he discusses the future of American tennis and his thoughts on women's tennis (which come across as sort of sexist), but not a certain double-initialed rival and his use of substances that rhyme with Beth.

40 -- For the first time since his loss to Juan Martin del Potro in the finals of the U.S. Open, Roger Federer took the tennis court today. He won easily over a Belgian qualifier at the Swiss Indoors.

Game -- Alright, I can't get Sampras's thoughts on women's tennis out of my head. Here's the question and his answer:

Q: Do you watch women's tennis?

A: You can ask someone like Kobe [Bryant] if he watches the [WNBA Los Angeles] Sparks. If I have time -- I've got two kids -- to watch something, it's not going to be ladies' tennis. It's going to be basketball or football. Ladies' tennis, there's some great players, but it's not anything I'm interested in.

Is Pete really comparing women's tennis to the WNBA? That's a huge slap in the face. The WNBA is practically unwatchable (and, judging by the ratings, it's literally unwatchable too). Nobody mentions it in the same breath as the NBA. The only similarities are that there's a basket, a ball and hardwood.

Women's tennis, on the other hand, is just as, if not more, popular than men's tennis. They're on equal footing. To compare women's tennis to a fledgling league that hemorraghes money and is kept afloat only because David Stern is too stubborn to pull the plug is insulting ...  but not as insulting as saying "ladies'" tennis. Who's playing the game, Pete, your grandma?

Earlier today, Busted Racquet took an in-depth look at whether Andre Agassi's 1997 performance on the tennis court was as bad as it's been protrayed in recent days. (It was worse.) That got us wondering something else though: What was the press writing at the time about the flamboyant former No. 1 who was in the midst of a personal and professional free-fall?

Other than a tangentially interesting item about wife Brooke Shields getting stopped at customs for a narcotics search while arriving in France for the French Open (see below), there were no connections between Agassi and illicit drug use. However, there were many rumors circulating about the root of his problems: 

Doug Smith, USA Today -- July 23, 1997:

"Talk on the pro tour is that banking on an Agassi comeback would be a bad investment, mainly because tennis stopped being a high priority with him after his April marriage to actress Brooke Shields."

Tony Kornheiser, The Washington Post -- July 16, 1997

"Hey, tennis fans, if you can get through this afternoon without passing out from the heat, there's a treat for you tonight: Sadly, it's not rehydration. You get to see Andre "What's My Line?" Agassi.

You remember Andre, don't you?

Just two years ago today he was the No. 1 player in the world. He held that ranking for 30 straight weeks in 1995. Everybody thought his rivalry with Pete Sampras was going to be the heir to Borg-McEnroe.

Now Agassi is a part-time player. He dabbles in tennis the way rich, bored women dabble in pottery, building a studio on the back of the house.

Here's Agassi's complete record this year: 6-6.

We're in July now. Hell-o. Twelve tennis matches in seven months is ludicrous. Greta Van Susteren has played more tennis than Agassi this year. He skipped the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. What happened, did he forget to renew his passport? The official word is that a bad wrist has sidelined him since April. But he lost his first match in four straight tournaments in February and March.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but what the heck is the deal with this guy?"

Geoff Stead, The Sydney Telegraph -- August 27, 1997:

"Former pin-up Andre Agassi has been trashed by fans and fellow players after his walkout from a parade of champions at the US Open.

Agassi abandoned a centre court walk-by by 37 former Open champions because his name was accidentally skipped when the past winners were introduced at a dinner which preceded the event.

'When you've only won three titles, you don't turn your back on great players who have won four times as many,' said one player.

Agassi today responded to the criticism by suggesting there was more to the story - but declined to elaborate.

'There was a very unfortunate situation that arrived to my attention between dinner and the ceremony,' he said.

'There was nobody more disappointed than me not to be there.

'It was a tough call and I had to make it.'"

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By now we all know the story of Andre Agassi's admitted use of crystal meth, which he says stretched out over most of 1997. And it's long been known that Agassi's season, in which he dropped to No. 141 in the world rankings, was a disaster (due to injury and, apparently, the drug use). But just how bad was it? Remarkably, it was probably worse than you think.

Since most of the stories about Agassi's lost year have tended to focus on one especially bad tournament (Washington) and the fact that Agassi played in only one Grand Slam (the U.S. Open), it's easy to get the impression that he sat out most of the year and saw his ranking slip more due to inactivity rather than poor play. It didn't happen that way.

Agassi didn't play a full schedule by any means, but he did manage to play in 14 tournaments and he played pretty miserably, especially in a six-month stretch after Valentine's Day:

Agassi began the year by withdrawing from the Australian Open with an ankle injury, but returned to action in February in San Jose, where he lost in the semifinals to No. 39 Greg Rusedski. Then the wheels came off, as shown in the table above.

Over the next six months Agassi would go 1-8 in ATP Tour matches, a record which included five losses to players ranked below No. 75. He hit rock bottom in July, with two losses to Americans not even ranked in the top one hundred.

But though Agassi's ranking would continue to drop (from No. 33 in Cincinnati to No. 74 the next week and then all the way down to No. 141 by November), his play began improving the week after the loss to Kuerten. (The rankings seemed to be about two months behind Agassi's actual tennis low.)

In Indianapolis the next week, Agassi beat No. 5 Alex Corretja in the round of 16 and then managed to win three matches at the U.S. Open two weeks later, before losing to Patrick Rafter in four sets. It's a testament to his talent that even while in a personal hell, Agassi was able to make an impressive run in the year's biggest tournament.

After taking off for nearly two months following the Open (which is when his ranking hit its low), Agassi returned to play second-tier events on the west coast, winning one and losing another in the finals.

At the start of 1998 he was ranked No. 87. Agassi then lost a five-set thriller to Alberto Berasategui in the fourth round at the Australian Open. He "completed" his comeback two weeks later in San Jose, when he beat No. 1 Pete Sampras in the finals. By the time the U.S. Open rolled around that year, Agassi's ranking was back to No. 8 in the world.

After the jump, see Agassi's rankings odyssey in graph form.

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What is the rest of the tennis world saying about Andre Agassi's admission that he was a habitual user of crystal meth in 1997? Here's a rundown of the thoughts of some of the biggest names in the game, ranging from the forgiving (Andy Roddick) to the furious (Martina Navratilova):

Roger Federer: "It was a shock when I heard the news. I am disappointed and I hope there are no more such cases in future."

Rafael Nadal: "If the ATP covered for Agassi then I think that's dreadful. If they covered for the player and punished others for doing the same kind of thing then that would seem to me to be a lack of respect for all sportsmen ... Now that he is retired, he comes out and says this? It's a way of senselessly damaging the sport."

Serena Williams: "I don't even know what crystal meth is, so, you know, that's what my reaction to it is ... I haven't read anything about Andre Agassi's book. All I know is I have a book coming out. It's called 'On The Line'". [That's gold. -- ed.]

Venus Williams: "I'm sure his book will sell. But I can't say anything about Andre Agassi's life."

Andy Roddick: "Andre is and always will be my idol. I will judge him on how he has treated me and how he has changed the world for (the) better."

Former coach Nick Bollettieri: "I don't condone what he did - I've made mistakes too, but I've done more good than bad ... Let's look at what Andre has done, he funds a school for 400 kids from the inner-city. I know underneath he's a hell of guy."

U.S. Federation Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez: "It takes a lot of guts and courage to come out and say something that nobody would have really known about. Maybe people can learn from it and not make the same mistakes."

Martina Navratilova: "Shocking. Not as much shock that he did it as shock he lied about it and didn't own up to it. He's up there with Roger Clemens, as far as I'm concerned. He owned up to it (in the book), but it doesn't help now ... Andre lied and got away with it. You can't correct that now. Do you take away a title he wouldn't have won if he had been suspended? He beat some people when he should have been suspended."