Li Na announced today that her ailing right knee is not fit enough for the hardcourts this summer, so the Australian Open champion has withdrawn from Montreal, Cincinnati and the US Open.

On Facebook, she posted, “I wanted to let all of my great fans know that unfortunately I am going to have to withdraw from the upcoming WTA events in Montreal and Cincinnati, as well as the US Open. Since …

Rafael Nadal’s second half to 2014 has begun under a dark cloud. Today the World No. 2 announced that a right wrist injury suffered yesterday in practice will prevent him from playing in upcoming title defenses in Canada (Toronto) and Cincinnati.

“Unfortunately I injured my right wrist yesterday during practice and after the tests I have undergone today in Spain, including an MRI, and checking with my doctors, I will …

Serena Williams returns to the courts tonight in Stanford for the first time since her mysterious retirement in doubles at Wimbledon on July 1.

Serena, who’ll face Karolina Pliskova, says she’s now healthy after the suffering the viral illness.

“I feel really good. I feel really happy to be here,” the 32-year-old Serena said. “I’ve worked out really hard – running, swimming, jumping in the ocean, hoping no sharks will come …

WTA star Sabine Lisicki lived up to her “boom, boom” nickname last night in Stanford by cracking the fastest serve ever recorded for a female tennis player. Radar and stats company IDS officially confirmed Lisicki’s history-making blast at 131mph which breaks Venus Williams’s previous best serve speed of 129mph.

The record serve didn’t help Lisicki. Not only did her opponent, Ana Ivanovic, return it (though it was out), the Serb went …

Rafael Nadal gave his name to a special soccer match yesterday in Manacor. The “Rafael Nadal Trophy” was at stake between FC Inter and Serverense. The match, however, ended in a 1-1 tie.

At the event Nadal told reporters that despite his strong standing in the rankings, that Novak Djokovic, not him, is the favorite to finish the year No. 1.

Nadal also added that his happiness doesn’t depend on …

According to a tweet, former American No. 1 Andy Roddick wanted to make a comeback at the US Open playing doubles with friend and fellow 32-year-old Mardy Fish. But their apparent bid was denied because since retiring Roddick has been out of the drug testing program.

The new comes from USA Today’s Doug Robson:

Per source, @andyroddick and @MardyFish tried to enter #usopen dubs but couldn’t

…

Serena Williams returns to the tennis courts this week in Stanford where she’ll be the top seed in a loaded WTA field. The World No. 1’s appearance is her first since her surreal retirement from the doubles a month ago at Wimbledon.

Earlier today, the 32-year-old Williams who is felling better again spoke publicly for the first time about the incident that made international headlines.

“I was really, really sick,” Serena …

Isner Repeats as ATP Atlanta Champ

Top seed John Isner showed he is the king of the tiny ATP tournaments on Sunday, defeating unseeded Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-4 to successfully defend his title at the BB&T Atlanta Open.

It was Isner’s second title this year and ninth career, all coming at ATP 250-level events. “This is my favorite time of year,” said the 29-year-old Isner. “I consider myself fortunate that this event …

BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC
Stanford, Calif.; Surface: hard

Seeds: Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka, Ana Ivanovic, Dominika Cibulkova, Carla Suarez Navarro, Andrea Petkovic

Floaters: (WC) Venus Williams, Sabine Lisicki, Sam Stosur, Coco Vandeweghe, Monica Puig, Caroline Garcia

Notes: Solid field with four Top 10ers and two unseeded Slam champs…The Top 4 seeds receive opening round byes, with tough starts for (5) Ivanovic vs. Lisicki, (4) Azarenka after a bye likely …

Andy Murray had some fun yesterday during another round of his “#AskAndy” Q&A on the popular social media site Facebook. The Scot who hasn’t won a title since his Wimbledon title a year ago, fielded and “answered” a wide range of questions from his worldwide fan base.

A sample:

Allen Bell: Do you ever listen to Ska music? If so, what bands do you like?
Andy Murray: i have never heard of …

Li Na has is one of the most popular female athletes in all of Asia. And earlier today one her sponsors, Nike, recognized the accomplishments of the 2-time Grand Slam winner by naming a building at the apparels maker’s new headquarters in in Shanghai, China.

“It brings me so much happiness to have my name appear on a Nike building, on the headquarters of Nike Greater China, no less,” she said …

Following her second Wimbledon triumph earlier this month, the celebrity status of Petra Kvitova continues to grow worldwide and in her home country of the Czech Republic. And on Wednesday the 24-year-old met the man at the top of the food chain in her homeland, President Milos Zeman.

The 4th-ranked Kvitova starts a busy stretch in North America that will see her in Stanford, Montreal, Cincinnati, New Haven and then the …

With nothing but cement between now and the end of the season, can Roger Federer overcome an 2,085 point deficit and finish 2014 ahead of his rival Rafael Nadal for just the second time this decade on the ATP rankings?

July 21 Race standings:
1 Djokovic, Novak 7,250
2 Nadal, Rafael 6,645
3 Federer, Roger 4,560

Let’s weigh the data.

The case for Federer:
– He’s historically far better on hardcourts than Nadal – Federer has 53 …

Under supervision of Dr. Richard Berger, popular Juan Martin del Potro is back hitting 2-handed backhands again. Almost four months after surgery on his left wrist, the Argentine was hitting balls yesterday in Rochester, Minn, where he underwent the procedure in late March.

He wrote on Facebook, “I have great news to share! Four months after the surgery I hit my first few backhands and my doctor Richard Berger was …

American Sloane Stephens officially announced yesterday that she and coach Paul Annacone have split.

“Based on the conversations Paul and I had after Wimbledon, we both feel like it would be a good idea for me to have a fresh start leading into the summer hardcourt swing,” said Stephens who didn’t name an immediate replacement. “I’ve learned a lot over our past eight months together and now just need to …