After triumphing at the Brisbane International, Serena Williams took off to Melbourne and has been there this week, seriously preparing for the Australian Open. But you know that WTA stars always do more than just practice and tennis. Yesterday in Melbourne, the American launched the Nike Training Club app that provides various workout plans with multiple difficulty levels and presented her Australian Open dress - Nike Women's Grand Pleated Knit Dress.  Read more »

Last year our great contributor John Bolan merged his courage and talent for tennis predictions and shared with us as early as in January how he thought the season-ending WTA Top 10 would look like. And that wasn't all. He asked you to join him in predictions and James, the reader who turned out to be the best predictor, was awarded an autograph of a WTA star.

John Bolan receiving autograph of Victoria Azarenka

As we all enjoyed the little project, we decided to repeat it this year. John has made his 2013 predictions (I have to say that he sent me the finished article way before New Year's Eve and before the WTA action started, but I was a bit slow in putting it up together!), and you are more than welcome to comment on John's picks, to share your own Top 10 selection in the comments below this article and then we get to wait for the season to finish to see how we all fared. The best predictor will win an autograph of a Top 10 WTA player, so there's even an incentive to take some time and employ your foretelling skills! Now I'm giving the word to John!

It isn't easy to predict the Top 10 players for 2013 this early, but these are my choices for the end of 2013:

1. Maria Sharapova
2. Victoria Azarenka
3. Agnieszka Radwanska
4. Serena Williams
5. Li Na
6. Caroline Wozniacki
7. Samantha Stosur
8. Petra Kvitova
9. Sara Errani
10. Angelique Kerber

I have tried my best to keep personal preferences out of my thoughts while choosing these players. Instead, I checked out the most recent head-to-head matches, the number of tournaments played the past two years and injury reports. Injuries always have a big effect on the outcome of the Top 10. Vera Zvonareva and Andrea Petkovic are not included because they remain out of action and will not play in Australia this year. Read more »

Serena Williams simply continued the momentum from 2012 and breezed to the Brisbane International title, her 47th career title, the most among active WTA players. Varvara Lepchenko was her victim in the first round (6-2 6-1), Alize Cornet in the second (6-2 6-2), Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals (6-4 6-3) and then after a semifinal walkover when Victoria Azarenka withdrew with an infected toe, Serena had just a 51-minute work against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final.

From 2-all in the first set, the third-seeded Williams took seven straight games and quickly went all the way to a 6-2 6-1 victory and $162,987 in prize money.

Pavlyuchenkova, who upset No.6 seed Petra Kvitova and No.4 seed Kerber earlier in the tournament, was playing her first Premier final, but against the super-experienced Serena there was nothing she could do. Here's what Pavlyuchenkova said to Serena after the match:

I always feel like I don't know how to play tennis when I play against you!

I'm sure she's far from the only one with that problem.

In the off-season, Serena and Pavlyuchenkova practiced together in Mauritius as part of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy training camp.

Serena has now won 52 of her last 54 matches! (photo: sr_cranks)

Awaiting Serena Williams in the Brisbane International semifinals, Victoria Azarenka had a lot to fear, considering her 0-5 record against the American in 2012 and 1-11 all time, but her bigger enemy turned out to be a bad pedicure. Her big toe got infected so much that it was too painful to move and she had to withdraw from the tournament half an hour before her semifinal was scheduled to start.

Azarenka has struggled with the problem for about ten days. Eventually, she had to have a part of her right toe nail removed and she didn't have enough time to recover for the semifinal, plus, she didn't want to endanger her title defense at the Australian Open.

Serena is now through to the final of the Premier-level Brisbane International, where she will face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who stopped lucky loser Lesia Tsurenko, first-time WTA semifinalist, with a 4-6 6-1 6-2 win. Serena has won 51 of her last 53 matches! Plus, she's 3-0 against Pavlyuchenkova. (photo: sr_cranks)

Serena Williams had to undergo surgery on both her big toes as a treatment for "a chronic foot disorder which involved minor procedures on both of her great toes". So as not to hamper the recovery process, Serena will not play the Thailand exhibition against Victoria Azarenka, scheduled for December 29th in Hua Hin. Li Na will be her replacement.

Last year Azarenka also played the Hua Hin exhibition when she defeated Caroline Wozniacki. Serena is expected to open her 2013 season at the Brisbane International. (source: ESPN, photo courtesy of Fiji Water)