Highest-paid female athlete Maria Sharapova plans to visit Chernobyl, perhaps after Wimbledon next July, as a United Nations goodwill ambassador.

Sharapova's family was one of many affected by the nuclear catastrophe that took place 21 years ago. Her father and her mother fled the city of Gomel in Belarus — about 80 miles north of Chernobyl — shortly before the future tennis star was born in Nyagan, Siberia. Read more »

Third seed Ana Ivanovic clinched her second title of the year beating fourth seed Nadia Petrova in the final of the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles. The Serb won 7-5 6-4 to continue the form that took her to the French Open final and Wimbledon semis this year.

Ivanovic’s powerful serve and impressive forehand were on display once again. Petrova was stunned: "She just rips it off without thinking. Sometimes I think she has no idea where it's going to go but, compared to other players, it's by far the best forehand out there." And remember what Jelena Jankovic said about Ana’s serve after their semifinal match? Read more »

World No.5 Ana Ivanovic extended her head-to-head superiority over Jelena Jankovic to 4-1 defeating her 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in an all-Serbian semifinal at the East West Bank Classic.

The Ivanovic vs. Jankovic match was a real thriller in which Ana showed her fighting spirit, and off course, her powerful serve, shooting 12 aces. I think that the best thing about Ana is that she plays point by point, which enables her to recover when she’s losing. In the Saturday’s semifinal, the 19-year-old fought off two match points, and came back from near-defeat on numerous other occasions throughout the match. She was as fantastic as in the Wimbledon quarterfinals against Nicole Vaidisova. Congratulations! Read more »

I can’t believe it! Just when I thought that Hingis was the driving-force of Stepanek’s fantastic form and spectacular results (the Czech plays better than ever, as if he’s in top 10!), I hear that they have broken off their engagement. What a disappointment!

"Radek asked me to pass on a message announcing that he and Martina Hingis have split up, they will remain good friends," a spokesman for the ATP said on Saturday.

The pair became engaged last November when Stepanek proposed to Hingis in Prague. (via Reuters, photo via: ACE 2007 > tennis)

Maria Sharapova is added to the never-ending list of Toronto withdrawals. The reason is that she has played too many matches lately, and she needs to rest for the US Open.

Sharapova’s withdrawal was more or less expected; here’s what the Russian said on her website: “As I previously indicated to the Rogers Cup, I entered the event on the basis that my participation depended on my health and performance during the course of the summer. This is the reason that I asked the tournament not to include me in their advertising, which to their credit they did not do. “

Still, four of the world's top five women's tennis players are coming to Toronto.