HELLO! MAGAZINE LOVES: RAFAEL NADAL, OBAMA, PITT & TENNIS PLAYERS

At last! Ever since the Australian Open finished all I’ve been waiting for is HELLO! magazine’s list of the top “Personalities” of 2008. This list was compiled by a group of editors from the magazine’s 13 international publications around the world, who serve 12 million readers in 100 countries. Between them, they were looking for the top 100 most ‘influential, inspirational and well known” international public figures.

It’s no shock that Barack Obama, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Madonna and Prince Harry make up the top five, but tennis players make up a good chunk of the list, proving that our sport enjoys a strong international following. And some of the combinations are good for a laugh (as is the photo above, showing Rafa with at least 3 of HELLO! magazine’s top picks.)

Here’s how HELLO! ranks our tennis stars:

At # 11 Rafael Nadal is the highest ranked tennis player on the list and the second ranked sports star after David Beckham (natch!) who is #8 on the list. Michael Phelps (a self-proclaimed Rafanatic!) is just below Rafa at #13

Moving down the list . . .

Ana Invanovic is #25 (tied with Oprah - not bad!)

Novak Djokovic is #26 (tied with Vivienne and Knox Jolie-Pitt)

Jelena Jankovic and Marcos Baghdatis are tied at #33 (along with actor counterparts Sarah Jessica Parker and Daniel Craig)

Roger Federer is the last tennis star on the list (BOO!) at #34 (tied with Celine Dion and Gisele Bundchen), but he shouldn’t feel too bad since BFF and fellow sports hero Tiger Woods ranks one above dead-last at #35 (tied with Michael J Fox, of course!)

Click here for the full list.

I’m really surprised Andy Murray didn’t make it - he was robbed! Maybe the judges can’t tell him from Prince William? I’d also have liked to see Serena and/or Venus Williams on the list, considering they were so good last year. Oh, and I’m sure Maria Sharapova is pissed to have been looked over. And what about Fernando Verdasco, Marat Safin and/or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga? All are much hotter than Brad Pitt in my humble opinion.

Oh well, there’s always next year!

Photo: Bru Garcia/AFP/Getty Images

Baghdatis, Djokovic, Federer, Hello!, Ivanovic, Jankovic, Nadal