The 2008 Australian Open will be played on the new Plexicushion surface, as the old Rebound Ace surface was replaced, but lately there has been a lot of talk about the quality of the new surface. However, the latest news is that the new courts are fast and good enough. What the truth is, we’ll see when the tournament starts.

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Former world number two Anastasia Myskina is apparently pregnant, but at the moment without a man by her side.

In an interview for Russian newspaper Tvoi Den, Myskina revealed that she is four months pregnant and is due in May. Myskina has broken up with her most recent boyfriend, Russian hockey player Constantine Korneyev, and therefore was reluctant to talk about the baby’s father.

"That topic is closed. I’ll just say that I am not getting married in the near future. I am a single person. I don’t know about the baby’s gender yet, and I haven’t decided yet where I will give birth—in Russia or abroad," said Myskina, the 2004 French Open champion. (source: Tennis Info Blog)

Jelena Dokic had planned to return to tennis through the Australian Open, but she injured her thigh during the wildcard play-off. However, Dokic said the injury is not serious, and we will see her on the tennis court in January.

The injury struck after her first match at the play-offs, but Dokic didn't want to leave the competition. Read more »

Could you have recognized her? This is the current world No.4 when she was a kid.

Today, Ana Ivanovic’s official website has included many of her childhood photos. You simply must take a look! There is a photo from her eighth birthday, many photos from the seaside, etc.

My favorite is definitely this one. Hey, here she resembles her mother a little bit! This is the first time I'm noticing that.

China’s top-ranked singles player Na Li has been sidelined by a serious rib injury during a considerable part of the 2007 season, but the day has come that Na Li proclaims coming back to the sport. Finally!

Na Li, who hasn’t played tennis since the DFS Classic tournament in June, will play the Australian Women's Hardcourts tournament and the Australian Open as she sets her sights on Olympic glory.

"I can't tell you how much I missed tennis when I was out," said the 25-year-old, who has dropped 13 places to 29th in the rankings because of the injury. Read more »

The world's sixth-ranked player Anna Chakvetadze was robbed in her Moscow house on Tuesday, and now, as the time passes, we’re getting new information. Nina from Tennis Info Blog extracted a number of details from the Russian press.

The most shocking thing is that, according to Tvoii Den, the robbers told the tennis star: "Keep playing, we will be back!" What?

According to Anna and her family, the thieves were speaking Russian with Moldavian accent. It was obvious that they were very familiar with the house. There is a suspicion that the former construction workers of the house were involved, but no official information has been released on this yet.

Despite the horrible situation, Chavetadze is not intending to leave Russia. Also, she doesn't want to change her plans regarding tennis and is expected to travel to Sydney and compete in the Medibank International.

Former world No.4 Jelena Dokic’s plans of reviving her shattered career through the Australian Open seem far away right now as the Serbian-born Australian tennis player had to pull out of the wildcard play-offs.

Dokic was competing in the play-offs, hoping to earn a spot in the Australian Open main draw. Everything started well, with the 24-year-old winning her first three matches and reaching the quarterfinals. But then, trailing teenager Olivia Rogowska 6-3 3-1, Dokic was forced to withdraw due to a left thigh injury. Read more »

Oh my God, I still haven’t recovered from the scandal regarding supposed marriage plans of Nicole Vaidisova and Radek Stepanek, and now I hear that Anna Chakvetadze was robbed! It’s difficult to process so much shocking news in such a short period. Anyway, to get to the point — masked robbers broke into Anna Chakvetadze’s house in southwest Moscow early on Tuesday and stole money and valuables worth about five million rubles, or roughly $202,000. Luckily, Anna escaped unharmed. Read more »

It’s becoming difficult to keep track of all the honors Justine Henin is receiving. The world No.1 has been named the 2007 world champion by the International Tennis Federation, and has also won two awards in her native country.

Henin, who triumphed at Roland Garros and the US Open, has been named ITF World Champion for the third time in her career. The 25-year-old Belgian is women's world champion for the second year running, having also received the honor in 2003. Even though Henin admits that this season has been the best of her career (10 titles, 63-4 win-loss record, became the first woman to earn more than $5 million in a single year, etc.), she still believes that her best tennis is yet to come.

The other two awards Henin has received recently are Belgium's Athlete of the Year and Belgium’s Sports Personality of the Year. It's the first time for Justine to win Sports Personality of the Year, while she has been chosen as an Athlete of the Year for the third time (she has previously won in 2003 and 2006). The voting for this national trophy is done by the Belgian sports community, national press and media.

BTW: Take a look at the first photo of Justine Henin and her father after their reunion. (sources: Justine Henin's site, BBC)

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