The 2018 season is just weeks away, and already some top players don’t seem to be ready. Stan Wawrinka, who is recovering from a knee injury, and Milos Raonic who had a bad right calf, have both pulled out of the Abu Dhabi exo which is set to begin in eight days.

“Unfortunately I won’t be able to play in Abu Dhabi this year as I’m not ready yet to compete …

Once considered the 5th Grand Slam, the fledgling Miami Open will move to a parking lot in 2019 in Miami Gardens. After 2018, the IMG-owned event will be held in the parking lot of Hard Rock Stadium with a 14,000-seat center court inside the cavernous Maimi Dolphins football stadium.

“The Miami Open belongs in Miami,” said WME and IMG Co-President Mark Shapiro. “We’re grateful to have amazing partners in Stephen, the …

Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has announced a comeback to the game. The Frenchwoman abruptly retired just a month after winning Wimbledon in 2013.

She has since worked in TV broadcasting and we’ve seen her weight take wild fluctuations. But now, at age 33, she intends to return at the Miami Open in March.

“I am delighted to announce my comeback on the professional circuit of the @WTA next year
I …

Off topic posts go here.

Serena Williams has entered the Australian Open, the tournament announced.

Serena, who recently got married and give birth to a baby girl, hasn’t played since winning her 23rd Grand Slam at the event last year. But after so much time off and so many new things in her life, will the 36-year-old be ready?

“She has got her visa, she has entered, she’s practicing, and she probably just needs a bit more …

The big story in sports this weekend is Tiger Woods’ return to golf after 10 months. Woods is part of a 16-man exo field at the Hero Challenge in Nassau, Bahamas. And among the spectators was world No. Rafael Nadal, who’s an avid golfer himself.

Rafael Nadal out on the course watching Tiger Woods' final round in the Bahamas #HeroWorldChallenge pic.twitter.com/Mvr9aWmjaF

— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) …

In a new interview with the UK’s Independent, former No. 1 Marat Safin touched on the state of men’s tennis. Specifically, he was surprised to see that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are still on top, and that suggests the game isn’t that strong.

“If Federer and Nadal are still winning I think there’s something wrong,” Safin said. “I don’t see any upcoming superstars today.

“Players used to retire by the …

Stan Wawrinka met the media earlier today to announce his 2018 schedule. The Swiss who’s been out since Wimbledon with a knee injury, is set to return in Australia, site of his first Grand Slam title.

“Today, I’m working with my physio six days out of seven,” Wawrinka said. “The goal is to play the Australian Open, even if I’m not 100 percent. Having had crutches was hard, but the break …

Novak Djokovic announced the addition of the recently-retired Radek Stepanek to his coaching team, the Serb confirmed yesterday.

“Thanks for waiting patiently for the news about my new coach to join my team with Andre Agassi. I am very excited to share with you that Radek Stepanek will join our #NoleFam so let’s give him a warm welcome 👏#TeamDjokovic,” Djokovic posted on Facebook.

“Radek is one of my very close friends on …

Belgian David Goffin looked to cap off a best-ever year on tour, but it wasn’t to be.

Goffin won both his singles to put Belgium on the cusp of a first-ever Davis Cup, but a loss by Belgium in the doubles and two singles losses by Steve Darcis saw France lift the Davis Cup on Sunday 3-2 after a win in the final singles.

Tied 1-1 after the first day following wins …

Fresh off a surprise final a week ago in London at the ATP Finals, David Goffin will lead his underdog Belgian team into Lille to face a deep French squad on an indoor hard court.

Belgium, runner-ups in 2015, seek their first ever Davis Cup title while France bid for a 10th and first since 2001.

Joining Goffin will be Steve Darcis in singles and in doubles Belgium will lean on Joris …

The ITF announced several major changes in rules for the upcoming Grand Slam season and for 2019.

The Grand Slam Board approved the Australian Open’s request to use a 25-second serve shot clock for the 2018 event, similar to what the US Open trialed during qualifying in August. The current rule is 20 seconds to serve at Slams.

Also, seedings at Grand Slams will revert back to 16 starting in 2019. There …

Rumors have been swirling on the coaching already.

Novak Djokovic is said to be adding the recently retired Radek Stepanek to his coaching team next year, that according to Agassi’s old coach Darren Cahill. Over the weekend while commentating on ESPN, Cahill said he recently had dinner with Agassi and talked about Stepanek’s role which would be to primarily handle Djokovic’s non-Slam weeks.

Though nothing official, it sounds like this one …

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian were married Thursday in New Orleans. And in Serena style, it looked like quite the event.

…

Who would have believed none of the Top 5 from 2016 would finish in the Top 5 in 2017. But that’s how things unfolded this past season.

Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka all didn’t hit another ball after Wimbledon. And Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic were also bitten by the injury bug.

That left the door open for Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to return. And Grigor Dimitrov, Alexander Zverev, …