Serena Williams lost to China’s Li Na in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, and consequently Jelena Jankovic will take over her No.1 ranking next week.

American Williams was defeated in an intense three-setter 0-6 6-1 6-4.

Williams only took over the top spot when she beat Jankovic in the final of the US Open three weeks ago. Since Justine Henin retired in May, as much as four players have held the No.1 ranking: Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams – and we know Henin’s coach Carlos Rodriguez is not pleased with such a state of women’s tennis.

The world No.30 Li also beat Serena’s sister Venus Williams to reach the semifinals at the Beijing Olympics. (photo via Yahoo)

Svetlana Kuznetsova and Daniela Hantuchova lost on the third day of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.

The fifth-seeded Kuznetsova was beaten by Patty Schnyder for the first time in more than three years. Schnyder advanced into the second round with a 6-4 4-6 7-5 victory over the Russian.

Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova, runner-up in Stuttgart in 2002, lost 6-3 6-2 in the first round to seventh-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia.

Schnyder, who is seeking her second title of the year after winning in Bali, will face Russian Nadia Petrova in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The Olympic bronze medalist Zvonareva will next face Marion Bartoli of France. (photo: hantuchova-daniela.com)

I was reluctant to write about Maria Sharapova’s alleged new boyfriend, too much gossip for me to handle — I mean, not even a week has past since Ana Ivanovic and Fernando Verdasco hit the blogosphere. But then, what the hack, everyone is talking about it, so why wouldn’t I.

Anyway, the latest news is that Sharapova is dating some guy named Charlie Ebersol, the son of Dick Ebersol, an executive at NBC who helped launch Saturday Night Live. The most interesting detail known about Charlie so far is that he survived a plane crash in 2004. Read more »