The Fed Cup weekend action determined the teams that will clash in the World Group semifinals set for April 20-21: Slovakia vs. Russia and Czech Republic vs. Italy.

Eleven years after helping Slovakia win the 2002 Fed Cup title, Daniela Hantuchova won both her singles rubbers against Serbia, which was short of Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, and helped Slovakia clinch a 3-2 victory. Those two losses include a walkover in doubles and Dominika Cibulkova's retirement with a calf injury against Vesna Dolonc, when the Slovak was leading 6-4 5-4.

Russia scored a 3-2 against Japan, when the triumphant doubles team of Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova defeated Misaki Doi and Ayumi Morita 6-2 6-2 in the deciding doubles. In singles, Kimiko Date-Krumm had lost both her singles rubbers, against Maria Kirilenko and against Ekaterina Makarova, while Ayumi Morita won both hers, against Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. Read more »

Those of you who follow Women's Tennis Blog on Twitter and Facebook and members of our Women's Tennis Fans group must have seen my tennis clothing update courtesy of Denise Cronwall, Miami-based designer recognizable for her romantic sports apparel with feminine lace and floral prints. Today I was having fun with photographer Marija Veljkovic, preparing material for reviews of the numerous items that Denise so generously sent me. Modeling is fun, especially when the photographer is your long-time friend. Read more »

At the age of 24, nine years into her pro career and 18 years after starting playing tennis, Hungarian star Agnes Szavay announced her retirement from the sport, eventually resigning to her chronic back injury. She gave up on a risky surgery on her broken vertebra (which could have involved bolts and screws in her healthy vertebrae), as it did not guarantee successful outcome, and after thorough consideration decided to officially stop playing competitively. A tennis academy and work with children is where Szavay sees herself in the future.

Last season Szavay entered just four events, including the Olympics, but each time she lost in the first round. Her last match was at the US Open, where she retired in the second set against fellow Hungarian Greta Arn.

Szavay won five WTA singles titles: Budapest in 2009 and 2010, Prague in 2010, Palermo and Beijing in 2009. Her highest singles ranking was No.13, reached in April 2008. Her best Grand Slam result was the quarterfinal of the 2007 US Open.

On a different note, maybe Szavay would like to update her biography info on the WTA's official website which states: "Most admires Lance Armstrong for his successful battle with cancer (his autobiography is her favorite book)". (photo: sr_cranks)

So far, photos of little Dinara Safina, Sara Errani, Monica Seles and Ana Ivanovic were my favorite WTA kiddie pics, but now I've come across baby Elena Vesnina and she surpasses the rest of the competition by far. Can anything beat this pic?

This year is a milestone for the now 26-year-old Vesnina, as even though her pro career has been largely successful and lasting over a decade, only a month ago did she manage to claim her first WTA singles title. It was at the Moorilla Hobart International, against Mona Barthel in the final. Perhaps Hobart is now added to her list of favorite cities which included Rome and Sochi.

Two more childhood photos after the jump! Read more »

In spring 2013, Maria Sharapova will probably wear a green version of her Australian Open Nike dress, which happened to be yellow and grey, just like the majority of Adidas clothes at the tournament. For spring tournaments, Adidas and Nike have taken different paths – Adidas' clothes for that part of the season will be predominantly blue, including those designed by Stella McCartney, while Nike chose green for their two most lucrative WTA names. Read more »

Now 31 and 32 years old, Serena and Venus Williams are still major forces in the tennis world, but even when they were 11 and 12, their father Richard knew that sporting success and million-dollar earnings were treasured in his daughters. Enjoy the above 20-year-old video of the sisters!

I would highlight the interview with Richard, when he predicts that Serena would grow into a more successful player than Venus, among other things due to her nature of being "like a pit bull", as once she gets hold of you she doesn't let go. I like to compare her to tornado, but her father was even more illustrative. As for Venus, Richard described her as having been born with four crucial qualities of a champion: being rough, tough, strong and mentally unbelievably sound. Read more »

Mona Barthel claimed her first Premier title at the Open GDF SUEZ in Paris, beating top seed Sara Errani in the final, while on the other side of the globe Maria Kirilenko celebrated her first title since 2008, surviving Sabine Lisicki in an epic PTT Pattaya Open final.

Unseeded at the tournament, Barthel eliminated fifth seed Roberta Vinci in the second round, third seed Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals, and in the last match the German was ahead in each set, but always struggled to close them out as Errani clawed back, from 3-5 to 5-5  in the first and from 2-5 to 5-5 in the second, before succumbing 7-5 7-6(4).

Barthel is projected to rise to a new career-high ranking of No.28. Here's what Errani said of her opponent, who hit 53 winners (50 unforced errors) to her 16 winners (18 unforced errors):

Mona serves so well, plays so well from the baseline and physically moves so well – I just couldn't beat her today.

In doubles, however, Errani had a reason to celebrate. As part of the No.1-seeded doubles team, with Roberta Vinci she routed No.2 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Liezel Huber in the final 6-1 6-1.

Meanwhile in Thailand, Maria Kirilenko improved on her last year's performance at the PTT Pattaya Open. Playing the 2012 final against Daniela Hantuchova, Kirilenko lost after three hours and 14 minutes, but this time, after multiple swings in the match, the second-seeded Kirilenko went all the way against fifth seed Sabine Lisicki for a 5-7 6-1 7-6(1) victory. Initially, Lisicki led 7-5 1-0, almost 7-5 2-0, before Kirilenko won 11 of the next 13 games and earned two match points, but Lisicki stole the momentum and won four straight games to lead again, 6-5 in the third set. Kirilenko then broke her at love and decisively won the tiebreak. Total match time: two hours and 37 minutes. (photos: Ralf Reinecke)

Rumors about the relationship between Victoria Azarenka and Redfoo have been out there for a while, especially after her recent breakup with Sergei Bubka. In a telephone interview for ESPN, with Vika by his side, Redfoo talked his love of tennis and music and in the end the interviewer was direct about whether he and Vika were officially a couple, and here's what Redfoo answered:

Yeah, I think so. It’s pretty out there. I hope so! We don’t talk about it that much, but if I saw her with another dude, I wouldn’t be happy about it. We just try to do our thing and have fun and laugh.

Read more »