TENNIS PLAYER TAKEOVER: It all started with Venus Willams lobbing balls at Andy Brit on Ocean Drive Tuesday. The “impromptu” match took place on car rooftops decked out with specially built platforms so the players could get their game on. Doesn’t sound very “impromptu” to us. Sounds more like a low-budget PR stunt. Oh, Sony Ericsson Open, when times are tough, you do whatcha gotta do.
On Wednesday, instead of practicing to defend her No. 1 spot in women’s tennis, Williams made a little time to hock her new accessory line, Signature Statement for HSN, by revealing her jewelry and handbags at a pre-tournament press conference at Crandon Park. Williams was all too happy to tell the surrounding cameras about her job as a designer. “I think it helps me play better,” she said.
We get it, Serena. Have to keep that bank account full whether you’re on or off the court.
Legendary Boris Becker was spotted at Bella Rose this week. While not in town to play at the Open, he still managed to get his game on. Alongside Becker was an inebriated Dennis Rodman. And that doesn’t shock us one bit.
On to the meet-and-greet circuit. First, Andy Roddick made an appearance at Macy’s in Dadeland Mall to remind everyone that Lacoste sponsors him, in case you can’t see the tiny logo from the stands.
Over at Cole Haan in Merrick Park on Wednesday, Maria Sharapova, who will not compete in the Open due to an injury, made time for fans by shaking hands and signing autographs. We won’t question her M.O.—she’s the face of the line’s spring ’09 campaign—but we will question what she was thinking when we picked those shorts.
Sharapova was later spotted at the Sony Ericsson VIP party at LIV, where she was all decked out in something that looked like what your mom wore back in ’85.
REALITY CHECK: B.E.D. got a taste of “reality” (a term we’re using loosely here) when Ramona Singer of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York City” rolled into Ocean Drive magazine’s BEST Tennis Sony Ericsson Kickoff party Tuesday night. Like Williams, Singer also showed off her HSN jewelry line. (Are we sure it’s Sony Ericsson sponsoring this tennis deal and not Home Shopping Network?)
While we aren’t shocked by all the shameless self-promotion, we’re just a bit surprised the event didn’t pull in a more A-list crowd, like maybe Patrick Dempsey, who was spotted racing around at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.
MUSIC MAKERS AND TASTERS: The Forge got in on the WMC action with an opening night party on Wednesday that drew in one of the most interesting mixes we’ve seen yet. It was a little bit sporty with Michael Jordan and Mo Vaughn, a little bit electronic with Tiësto and a dash Wrestle Mania-ish with Hulk Hogan. We guess it’s like Madonna said: Music makes the people come together.
BOTTLE BLONDES: Pam Anderson jiggled into town with famed Heatherette designer Richie Rich Friday at the Fontainebleau. Rich presented his fall 2009 collection as part of Rock Fashion Week. The collection, which Soul Of Miami calls, "Marilyn Monroe meets Marie Antoinette at the roller rink," also latched on to Anderson's physique back in February, when Rich debuted it at the Waldorf Astoria in New York.
Considering the two's musical backgrounds—Anderson history of bedding and wedding musicians and Rich go at putting out an album last year—we couldn't think of a better time than WMC for them to come to town.
