Serena Williams is pulling out of the United States' Fed Cup semifinal against Russia because of injuries sustained during her fourth-round victory at Wimbledon when she strained her left calf and hurt her left wrist and thumb. Williams will be replaced by Meilen Tu.

On Tuesday, the eight-time Grand Slam singles champion also pulled out of next week's Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Ohio.

Russian team had some withdrawals as well: world No. 2 Maria Sharapova won’t play at this weekend’s Fed Cup due to her shoulder injury, and Russian media reported that world No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova would pull out, too.

Serena and her older sister Venus were part of the four-player team announced June 27 by U.S. captain Zina Garrison, along with doubles specialist Lisa Raymond and teenager Vania King. (source: ESPN)

After a loss to Justine Henin in the quarterfinals, injured Serena Williams announced that she pulls out of doubles.

"I've sprained my thumb and can't really hit backhands," said world No. 8 Williams.

The Williams sisters were an unseeded pair in the doubles, and the fact that they have withdrawn gives Spanish eighth seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual a second round walkover. (via Reuters)

In a thrilling quarterfinal match, top seed Justine Henin beat seventh seed Serena Williams 6-4 3-6 6-3.

Both Henin and Williams were magnificent; we were enjoying a real battle of nerves. But after all, the better player came out as a winner. There is no doubt Serena is a tough opponent and we can’t forget her great achievements, but the one better at the moment is definitely the Belgian.

Note: I don’t think Serena was affected by her injury since she moved very well.

Justine Henin is unquestionably a favorite for the trophy. Now that she has overcome Serena Williams, probably her most difficult obstacle, she is highly likely to complete a Career Slam.

Henin’s next opponent No. 18 seed Marion Bartoli of France shouldn’t be a big challenge, despite her fantastic performance (more than anything her fourth round victory over third seed Jelena Jankovic).

Everyone except Serena Williams was annoyed by today’s continual rain in Wimbledon. If there hadn’t been rain delay in the middle of her fourth round match against tenth seed Daniela Hantuchova, Serena would have had to say goodbye to Wimbledon. But since the rain gave her a much needed break, she was able to recover from her injury and come back to defeat the Slovakian 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-2.

After the former champion had sealed the victory she looked at the sky and blew a kiss in gratitude toward the weather.

Here’s what Williams said after her fantastic win: Read more »

In the fourth round match against tenth seed Daniela Hantuchova, Serena Williams was doing pretty well winning the first set 6-2; after Hantuchova recovered at the start of the second set and moved into a 5-2 lead, seventh seed Williams leveled to 5-5.

But then something agonizing happened – while simply walking along the baseline Serena strained her left calf really badly and fell to the ground. While receiving medical treatment she shrieked in pain. It was really stressful to watch her being hopeless like that. Read more »

The ESPY Awards is an annual sports awards event created and broadcast by American cable television network ESPN. The winners are decided by fans that can vote online. The 15th ESPYS are held on Sunday July 15th at 9PM ET at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles and will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and LeBron James.

You can vote for many athletes in various categories, but I’ve singled out only female tennis players

In the Best Championship Performance category the only tennis player in the race is Serena Williams for her more than fantastic performance at the 2007 Australian Open — she entered the championship unseeded, defeated five top 20 players on her way to the title, and lost only five games in the final against Maria Sharapova.

Best International female athlete: Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova are two tennis players in the category.

Who is the Best Female Tennis Player in you opinion: Justine Henin, Jelena Jankovic, Maria Sharapova, or Serena Williams?

Tenth seed Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova is prepared to improve her score over two-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams.

The last and only time the two players met at Wimbledon was in the 2002 quarterfinals and the American won in straight sets 6-3 6-2. Five years later, Hantuchova is ready for a different outcome since she’s no longer cowed by the reputation of her opponent.

"I think I need to step up my game to beat her but I'm looking forward to the match. I think I've got a good chance," said world No. 12 Slovakian. Read more »

On a rain-interrupted first day of Wimbledon, top-seeded Justine Henin and seventh-seeded Serena Williams eased into the round two.

Justine Henin of Belgium needed just 55 minutes to beat Argentine qualifier Jorgelina Cravero 6-3 6-0.

The 25-year-old Belgian took the opportunity following her victory to dismiss suggestions that she was considering a retirement in two years time due to injuries. Read more »