Wearing a J. Mendel gown from the Resort 2013 Collection, Giuseppe Zanotti clutch, Jimmy Choo shoes and earrings by Lara Bohinc, Maria Sharapova showed up at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Wednesday night in Los Angeles to pick up her ESPY Best Female Tennis Player award. This is the 20th edition of the ESPY Awards and Sharapova has been named the Best Female Tennis Player for the fourth time (2005, 2007, 2008 and 2012). This year she beat Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova and Sam Stosur in the category.

Sharapova was also nominated for Best Female Athlete and Best Comeback Athlete, but Brittney Griner (NCAA/Baylor women’s basketball) won the Best Female Athlete award, while the Best Comeback Athlete was voted to be Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions).

Additional info: Before rushing to the ESPYs, Sharapova shot a new commercial for her sponsor Samsung Mobile. (source: Maria Sharapova's official website)

Serena Williams took her clothes off for ESPN in 2009, Vera Zvonareva posed naked for the magazine in 2011 and this year Daniela Hantuchova exposed her skin for the famous ESPN edition. At the ESPN Magazine's Body Issue 2012 party in Los Angeles, in her favorite California, the slim Slovak showed only her signature long legs, but you could see much more of her body in the magazine in her hands.

How did Daniela decide to pose naked for ESPN?

I'm always open to new opportunities, so I figured why not? I wanted to do it with class and not show too much of anything, but as an athlete, I'm pretty confident about my body, so I guess I'm not afraid of anything. Read more »

While we were enjoying Roland Garros and Wimbledon, sports clothing companies were already deep into thinking about how they could impress us this fall. While Nike and Maria Sharapova opted for light pink and black, cobalt and black are dominating the Adidas by Stella McCartney clothes this hardcourt season.  There are tanks, cap sleeve shirts, shorts, color-block skirts and other items, but Wozniacki will of course sport these two semi-fitted dresses with patterned mesh fabric bodice.

What do you think of the new dresses? I find this intesive shade of blue refreshing and I'm glad Stella has departed from the ruffles and fluffy designs. (via The Slice)

More coaching news in the Jelena Jankovic camp. Just two weeks after firing Zeljko Krajan, the 20th-ranked Serb has hired one of her former coaches Diego Ayala to help her out ahead of the US Open. Ayala is currently with JJ in Stanford, where she's No.4 seed and after a first-round bye faces Coco Vandeweghe, and then they will go together to San Diego next week.

World No.15 Dominika Cibulkova, who also used to work with Krajan and ended the collaboration in spring, has now named her hitting partner Peter Miklusicak as her new coach. The Slovakian is also in Stanford, seeded third, and after a bye in the first round she will face qualifier Erika Sema. (source: Tennis.com, photos: © Neal Trousdale)

Omair is known for his statistical contributions to Women's Tennis Blog, but as of Roland Garros he started doing post-Grand Slam awards, giving WTA players awards they deserved on the account of their performance. You will see how the tables are turning all the time – within just a month Serena improved from the Biggest Disappointment to Grass Empress, while Maria Sharapova downgraded from the Clay Queen to the Biggest Disappointment.

Serena Williams – GRASS EMPRESS

Serena Williams was coming off a first-round defeat at Roland Garros, her first ever first-round exit at Grand Slam, but she rebounded beautifully, reminding us that she still is the player to beat on grass. The American defeated three of the Top 4 players on her way to the Wimbledon 2012 title - Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals (world No.4 and defending champion), Victoria Azarenka in the semis (world No.2 and reigning Australian Open champion) and Agnieszka Radwanska in the final (world No.3). To top that off, Serena went on to win the doubles title as well, with sister Venus Williams.

Agnieszka Radwanska – FINESSE QUEEN

In today's game of power and big hitters, in making the Wimbledon final Radwanska showed us with her crafty play and her court sense that there still is room for finesse players. She did what neither Petra Kvitova, nor Victoria Azarenka managed to do, i.e. take a set off Serena Williams. Before Wimbledon, Radwanska was the only member of the Top 15 never to have made a Grand Slam semifinal, but she went one step better at Wimbledon making the final and falling in three sets to one of the best grass-court players ever. Read more »