from The Times.co.uk

Stefan Edberg had wonderful variation on his backhand and Times readers have spoken: the six-times grand slam winner has won the vote for best backhand in tennis history.

The Swede, who twice won Wimbledon, swept 43 per cent of the vote holding off competition from Stan Wawrinka, who was backed by 34 per cent of voters. Other nominees Andre Agassi (13 per cent), Andy Murray (nine per cent) and Garbiñe Muguruza (one per cent) were left trailing.

Edberg’s backhand was nominated by Boris Becker, the six-times grand slam champion who faced Edberg in no fewer than four grand-slam finals, and many of the voters were in agreement with the German.

Times reader Lucy Hickmet wrote at the thetimes.co.uk: "Aesthetically, Edberg had the nicest backhand I have ever seen, and to Becker’s point, he had a lot of variations, including touch shots such as the lob."

from ATP World Tour.com
by Craig O'Shannessy

Infosys ATP Beyond the Numbers proves the Swede was more than a serve-volley expert in his stellar 1991 season

Stefan Edberg was a masterful server. He was an even better returner. The 1991 season is a distant 26 years ago, but the numbers the cool, calm and calculated Swede put up that year on the returning side of the game still greatly impress to this day.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Edberg’s 1991 season highlights a player who conquered the year­end No. 1 ranking primarily on the return side of the equation. The 1991 season was the first year complete statistics were recorded in tennis, providing an interesting snapshot of what was going on in our game more than 25 years ago. It is subsequently the initial year recorded in the year­end No. 1s ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS, powered by the Infosys Information Platform.

We remember Edberg as an accomplished serve­volley player who also attacked the net behind his ultra­flat forehand and heavy slice backhand. His pinpoint volleys were majestic, and his stoic, imperturbable demeanor was a delight to watch.

Stefan Edberg's forehand volley at the 1993 Australian Open

from Reuters

It was John McEnroe who summed it up best. "You did it old school," he told Mischa Zverev after the German had beaten Andy Murray on Sunday.

Zverev's stunning upset of the top seed in the fourth round of the Australian Open was indeed a throwback to the days of the 1980s, when sticking to the baseline was something reserved only for clay courts.

"It was really impressive to watch," Pat Cash, who won Wimbledon in 1987, told reporters on Monday.

"To see a guy serve-volley on second serve and beat the world number one, who is allegedly one of the best returners and best passers of all time, and just get knotted up and not even able to hit a passing shot."

by Mauro Cappiello

More than 20 years after Stefan Edberg’s retirement from tennis, his official profile on the ATP World Tour website is finally correct.

Right on his birthday, I managed to make myself heard by the ATP on an incredible mistake that was still there in the “Bio” section of his page.

Believe it or not, until four days ago, Stefan was only acknowledged 8 and not 9 Grand Slam trophies between singles and doubles. His last title, clinched in 1996 with Petr Korda in the Australian Open doubles event, had been left out of his record, probably lost in the digital translation of his biography edited by Bud Collins.

The Australian Open has started yesterday and, as announced a few months ago, the tournament has got a new logo that, after 21 years, replaced the "serving man", according to many modelled on Stefan Edberg's service action.

From a quick poll conducted by Huffington Post Australia, though, a great majority of fans are not enthusiast about the new branding image of the event, that was heavily criticized on the social networks as soon as it appeared last early October.

Contacted by The Huffington Post Australia, Nick Davis, general manager of Landor, the agency that designed the new logo, said that a negative reaction was expected.

The European School of Economics shared on its official Facebook channel a clip of the event in which Stefan Edberg received a special Sportsmanship Award last September 10th in Florence.

The Swede had been invited by ESE president and founder Mr. Elio D'Anna to the gala dinner held at Palazzo Borghese to celebrate the graduated students for academic year 2016. Stefan's daughter Emilie has herself attended the school in 2013.

In his acceptance speech, Stefan recalled his first career title, won right in Italy at the Cuore Cup in Milan in 1984. Then he talked about his current activities in Sweden and about his coaching experience with Roger Federer.

From next year, Milan will be the home of a new season-end ATP event dedicated to the young generation, called Next Gen Masters. The top seven ranked under 21 tennis players plus a wild card will compete at the Fiera Milano venue from November 7th to 11th for the title of best junior of the year.

The news was given yesterday in a media conference in London, during the ATP World Tour Finals, by ATP World Tour CEO Chris Kermode, joined by 18-year-old American Frances Tiafoe and Stefan Edberg.

A short promotional hd video made by Swedish filmmaker Kristoffer Davidsson for Adidas at the Södra Climate Arena and shared on Vimeo shows how Stefan Edberg's elegant motion on court has just stood the test of time.

Still at 50, Stefan playing is a joy to watch. It's a shame that, since he quit his job as coach of Roger Federer, he has never appeared in public tennis displays...

His appearance at the Necker Cup this week has been out of fans' reach, who couldn't see anything either live or on tv, and his name is not in the field for next year's edition of the Kings of Tennis.

from Dagens Nyheter
by Nils Palmgren
translated into English by Mauro Cappiello

Stefan Edberg with Robin Soderling and the 2016 winners of the SE foundation schoolarship: Maria Petrovic, Ross Weibull and Cajsa Henneman

At the Stockholm Open the crowd cheers a 18-year-old Michael Ymer. But the reality for Swedish young tennis is anything but light. This year not one of the national teams managed to qualify for the European Championship games. “There is total darkness,” says the outgoing Davis Cup captain Fredrik "Fidde" Rosengren.

The place is the Royal Tennis hall's VIP section, and the scene will take the former world number one Stefan Edberg on the stage. Among the former Swedish star’s mingling crowd there are players and even those who never became anything, plus parents, coaches, sponsors and representatives from the Tennis Federation.

It’s the 20th anniversary of the Stefan Edberg Foundation and this evening he will hand out 25,000 crowns (€ 2,577) to two 14 year olds and 50,000 crowns (€ 5,155) to two 16 year olds. To assist him former world number four Robin Soderling and Sofia Arvidsson, with a number 29 best ranking. Both have themselves received money from Stefan Edberg's hand. ­

“I wanted to give something back. Tennis has given me so much,” explains Stefan Edberg on the background of his foundation. ­ “Sure, you can always write a check and say ‘go ahead, do something.’ But I wanted to do something more long term. From 2017, the scholarship totals will also increase to 50,000 and 100,000 crowns (€ 10,310), respectively. ­ It is very costly to travel and start playing tennis today. Above all, the cost starts to escalate in the 16 ­year­ old category and therefore we want to give something extra,” says Stefan Edberg.

by Mauro Cappiello

Less than a month after announcing a change in the event logo, the Australian Open uploaded a new profile image on the tournament social channels that replaced the traditional “serving man”, the brand image that had been representing the first Major of the year since 1995.

A new dark silhouette, reminding of Novak Djokovic just like the old one reminded of Stefan Edberg, holds the two initial letters A and O, on a light-blue background. What people on the social media immediately thought was that the Open had presented the new logo. And they didn’t like it…