Andrea Petkovic has a lower back stress fracture, which forced her to have an injury timeout during her 7-5 6-4 loss to Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round of the Apia International Sydrey, and will not play the upcoming Australian Open.

The tenth-ranked Petkovic would have been seeded No.10 at the Grand Slam. Last year the top German played the quarterfinals of three Grand Slams, including the Australian Open.

Petkovic’s withdrawal came just after Venus Williams confirmed she would have to skip the tournament due to her Sjogren's syndrome. (photo: sr_cranks)

On the steps of Victoria Parliament House in Melbourne 370 Australian Open ball kids posed in blue shirts with tennis balls in their hands. But there's one WTA player hiding in the crowd. Can you spot her? Who do you think it is? Click on "Read more" to see who the intruder is. Read more »

In a short statement on her website, Venus Williams announced an unfortunate piece of news that her comeback will be postponed until after the Australian Open.

The tennis star, suffering from an autoimmune disorder called Sjogren's syndrome, has been training and receiving treatment for several months, and although she has experienced noticeable progress towards top form, she will have to skip the first Grand Slam of the season. Williams’ return is expected in February.

Williams hasn't played since the US Open and has fallen to No.100 in the rankings. She was ranked 36th during the US Open. (photo: sr_cranks)

Images of Serena William's Rally Statement dress for the 2012 Australian Open have surfaced and from what we can see Nike will continue to take the path they've been following in the recent years for Serena – sporty dresses, pretty and simple designs in one predominant color.

I like how Serena looks in well-fitting dresses with few accessories in design (no ruffles, excess material and stuff) and in colors that are not bland. Striking green, blue, red, pink, etc. with touches of some other vibrant color for contrast, or even only black or white, perfectly suit Serena's skin tone and character.

Soon I will post a retrospection of all Serena's 2011 dresses, so stay tuned for more Nike fashion! In the meantime, check out outfits Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki are expected to wear at the first Grand Slam of the 2012 season. (source: DeShawn Besabella)

Dinara Safina updated her Twitter followers, i.e. "her sweet tweeties", on her upcoming tennis plans and the news is that her career is still on hold. We will certainly not see the 25-year-old Russian on the courts in the beginning of the 2012 season and at the Australian Open, and whether she will ever come back to tennis is still a big question. Read more »

Off-season is time for looking back on the tennis year behind, and we're doing that by our reflections and analysis, but it's also the time of preparation for the next year and sports designers are already working hard, actually numerous models that the WTA stars are expected to wear in 2012 have already leaked.

Maria Sharapova is expected to go for white with green details for the Australian section of the season. And that's not all – here you can see even more new Nike clothes.

As for Adidas, this week the brand launched their new Barricade 7.0 shoes and in the promo Andrea Petkovic showcased several pieces from the Adidas' new collection, in purple, light blue and red. I was confirmed that those are the designs we'll be seeing on the courts in 2012. Read more »

The word is out that Swiss Martina Hingis might play mixed doubles with Roger Federer at the 2012 Australian Open and that the pairing could also be active at the 2012 London Olympics.

Herald Sun, in the article entitled "Martina Hingis back for Australian Open", says that Hingis is understood to be contemplating a two-pronged involvement at Melbourne Park next year and Hingis is believed to be considering partnering Federer in mixed doubles.

What can be said with greater certainty is that the 31-year-old will be present in Melbourne to help launch the first veterans' event for women (women’s legends event).

Hingis retired for the second time in 2007 because of a series of injuries and health problems and she was also accused of doping when traces of cocaine were found in her blood. Hingis' two-year ban ended September 30, 2009. Roger Federer was supportive of his compatriot in those hard times.

Additional info: The 2012 Australian Open will be the 100th edition of the Australian men’s championship and it will be the richest tournament in Grand Slam history with the record prize money of $25 million. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

(click on the image above to watch the video)

By winning the 2011 US Open title, Samantha Stosur achieved a great thing for her career and for her home country of Australia, which is now giving back to its champion. The 27-year-old received a homecoming celebration in Gold Cost, her city of residence, and was handed keys to the city as a special honor.

Stosur used the opportunity to confirm participation at her home tournament of Brisbane International in January 2012, where she hopes to bring her US Open form. Then she will head to a quest for the Australian Open trophy.

It is a very exciting time for me and it is great to be able to come home and share what has been a huge achievement with my family and friends in Queensland. I don't get the chance to get home often so to have this time is very special.

Thanks to our reader, Gregoire, I am learning about Aravane Rezai’s interview for Le Figaro entitled "Between me and my father", where the world No.21 talks for the first time about the issues that happened with her father during the Australian Open. Rezai didn’t entirely reveal the exact nature of the clash, despite journalist's persistence, but my understanding is that she wants more independence in making her own choices. The unwelcome situtation hit her emotionally and she needed some time to recover. Things seem to be settling down now.

Gregoire translated the interview for us:

Journalist: Aravane, what happened in Australia and why did you withdraw from the Fed Cup and the Open GDF-Suez?

Aravane Rezai: In Australia, I had some problems with my family. These are problems that happen in all families. I decided to take a break after this little family problem. For me it was a big earthquake in the head. So I decided not to play Fed Cup and the Open GDF-Suez. I want to apologize to the girls of the France team for not having been with them. They know what situation I’m dealing with. I really enjoyed representing my country, but being only 20% was impossible. I thank the captain (Editor’s note: Nicolas Escude) have respected my choice. My apologies also to GDF-SUEZ, which has always supported me as a partner. But this break was important to me, and it will allow me to come back stronger. I intend to return to the tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, if I have a wild card, or otherwise in Indian Wells.

Journalist: Why do you not you expressed earlier?

Aravane Rezai: I wanted to speak earlier, in Australia, but the WTA, my managers and the organization advised me not to do so because they thought I was not ready psychologically. I feel better today. I took a little rest and a lot of things fall into place. I am in the healing phase. Read more »

For the first time in history, all Top 10 players in the WTA singles rankings are from different countries. As for continents, four of them are represented, with Europe being dominant, and Australia, Asia and North America all having one representative (I counted Russia as a European country). We are having Denmark, Belgium, Russia, Italy, Australia, United States of America, China, Serbia, Belarus, and Poland.

These post-Australian Open 2011 rankings are significantly different from the ones preceding the tournament. Only three Top 10 players haven't changed their positions: Wozniacki is still No.1, Jelena Jankovic stayed at No.8 and Victoria Azarenka at No.9.

Serena Williams, who missed the Grand Slam, fell from No.4 to No. 12. Li Na’s Australian Open runner-up position led her to a new career-high of No.7, while champion Kim Clijsters returned to No.2 for the first time since August 2006. Francesca Schiavone reached her all-time best of No.4, which is also the highest ranking ever for an Italian women's tennis player. Agnieszka Radwanska returned to the elite 10.

Names of the recently retired players, Justine Henin, Elena Dementieva and Tathiana Garbin, are not listed any more. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)