The 2008 Australian Open is expected to have the best field in the tournament’s 103-year history, since only one of both top 100 ATP and WTA players won’t compete. That one player is world No.40 Vera Dushevina of Russia who was forced to withdraw due to a right-foot injury.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley is thrilled with the strength of the lineup.

"At this stage, it's the strongest field in the event's history and we're sure this will equate to one of the most exciting tournaments yet," said Tiley.

Don't forget that the women's field has four former singles champions in Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin, Amelie Mauresmo, and defending champion Serena Williams. The 2004 champion and world’s best-ranked player Justine Henin will be No.1 seed at the January 14-27 tournament. (via CBS Sports)

Former world No.4 Jelena Dokic plans to return to competitive tennis in 2008 and is hoping to revive her shattered career through the Australian Open.

Having no ranking points, Dokic’s way to the Australian Open won’t be easy. However, she is happy with her progress and has taken the first step by requesting a spot in the wildcard play-off. The winner of the play-offs is awarded a main draw wildcard into the Australian Open. Read more »

The day has come that one of the best tennis players ever considers a return to tennis action. Former world No.1 Monica Seles would like to make a comeback! Well, that is something I know many tennis fans have been eagerly waiting for.

"I certainly would not ever be able to do a full schedule again, because of the foot,” said the nine-time Grand Slam champion, "but I’m thinking about the Slams and about some of the better tournaments that lead into them."

"I won’t decide for sure until the beginning of the year, and the Australian is certainly not possible,” added the 34-year-old Seles, "But Miami – maybe."

The 2008 Sony Ericsson Open takes place in Miami, from March 26 – April 6, and we can hope that then we’ll see Monica Seles on court. (via Down the Line)

The Australian Open has made some steps to make the tremendous heat more bearable for the players. The tournament's heat policy has been amended so that when extreme conditions are declared matches in progress won't have to be immediately finished. Plus, there is a new surface that retains less heat. Read more »

Dear readers, I’m glad to inform you that the Women’s Tennis Blog has been nominated for the Best Tennis Blog of 2007 at the first annual Baseline Tennis Awards. Fans around the world can pick the best players, websites, innovations, media, and highlights of the 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season.

Other blogs nominated for the Best Tennis Blog of 2007 are Peter Bodo's Tennis World, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Player Blogs, WTA Backspin, while you can also vote for a blog that is not on the list. Just to inform you that the Best Tennis Blog of 2007 is the last category.

Voting will be closed at 12:00 AM ET on December 22, while the winners will be announced on January 1, 2008. If you want to give me a nice present for the start of the new year, vote for the Women's Tennis Blog. Thanks.

Well, this is not an everyday thing. I wrote about Justine Henin’s two recent TV appearances, and now I’ve come across an excerpt from Justine a star, a woman where she sings with French pop musician Pascal Obispo. Looking happy and content, the Belgian joined the singer in the performance of the title track to his smash 2006 album called Les Fleurs du Bien. Enjoy!

By the way, together with Venus Williams, Justine Henin has been nominated for the 2007 Academy Athlete of the Year presented by USA TODAY and MSNBC.