Nicole Vaidisova news

For a time it seemed Anna Chakvetadze was destined to become just another in the seemingly never-ending line of young female players who rose to sniff Grand Slam glory before fading quickly back towards oblivion.

When Chakvetadze reached the semi-finals of the US Open in 2007, it seemed the world was at her feet. Soon after she peaked at world number five and appeared set to lead the latest generation to challenge the dominance of the Williams sisters.

Nicole Vaidisova has married ATP World Tour star Radek Stepanek, the ceremony taking place Saturday, July 17, 2010 at the St. Vitus Cathedral, the Czech Republic's biggest church.

After her first round loss to Lucie Safarova at Madrid, Maria Sharapova will be hoping to hit the red clay running as top seed at the Internationaux de Strasbourg this week.

She'll have to: The three-time Grand Slam champion's opener is against fellow Russian Regina Kulikova, who has been working her way up the rankings this year and has the big game to threaten the former world No.1.

Palm Beach Gardens ace may be an author and Dolphins owner, but at 29 her competitive desire hasn’t waned

Perhaps father really does know best.

For years, Richard Williams, eccentric father/coach of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams, was criticized for not allowing his daughters to play junior tournaments. He encouraged them to pursue other interests, such as fashion school, interior design or owning a piece of the Miami Dolphins.

Jelena Jankovic has been where Caroline Wozniacki is now: a young, happy-go-lucky player with massive potential who easily puts losses behind her, convinced her next big win is just around the corner.

That's not today's J.J., who has struggled mightily to remain relevant on a WTA Tour that two-time U.S. Open champion and Tennis Channel analyst Tracy Austin calls soft on top, but with tremendous depth. But that is today's Wozniacki, who almost never shows a dark side, puts on a happy face and focuses each day on incremental improvement.

Two-time major semifinalist is content in watching fiance Radek Stepanek earn confidence-boosting win at BMW Tennis Championship Challenger in Sunrise

Instead of preparing for the upcoming Sony Ericsson Open, former tennis phenom Nicole Vaidisova was wrapped in a blanket sitting in the stands at the Sunrise Tennis Club cheering on her fiance, Radek Stepanek, the top seed at the BMW Tennis Championship Challenger Wednesday evening.

After her 6-2, 6-4 loss to the emerging Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in her opening match at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Saturday night, Ana Ivanovic was escorted away from Court 3 by a lone security person.

Exiting right behind her as she climbed the steps from the sunken court, I noticed something seemingly insignificant – a little “Ana” embossed on the side of the heel of her adidas tennis shoe.

Former Australian Open semi-finalist Nicole Vadisova has announced she is quitting tennis at the age of 20.

The Czech former world No.7's decision was announced by her stepfather and former coach Ales Kodat to the Czech daily Sport newspaper.

"Her agent told me last week... She's fed up with tennis and that's understandable. She started very young," Kodat said.

Sources say Nicole Vaidisova has retired at the age 20 and will marry fellow Czech player Radek Stepanek in July. 
 
A former top-10 player and winner of six WTA titles, the big-hitting Vaidisova reached the semifinals of the 2006 French Open and 2007 Australian Open before falling on hard times.

She went 11-17 in 2009 and will end her career ranked No. 176, well below her career high of No. 7 in May 2007. She is said to have tired of losing and lacks the desire to grind her way back

The 2010 tennis season will cherish wedding bells for some of it's most glamorous and talented players who graced the sport in their own unique ways.

Former WTA superstar Martina Hingis seems to have finally found the love of her life in longtime boyfriend Andreas Bieri, a 38-yr old Zurich attorney, who she got engaged to recently, according to the latest reports.

In an interview given to the 'Zisch' newspaper, Hingis said - "It's true: Andreas has made me a marriage proposal. I was totally surprised. Of course I accepted."

Tennis player wins first-round match is rarely a reason for much celebration - unless your name happens to be Nicole Vaidisova.

Few players have made such an impact so young as the tall Czech, but even fewer have dropped off the radar in such a spectacular way.

At the age of 18, Vaidisova had reached two grand slam semi-finals and two quarter-finals and risen to number seven in the world rankings.

Swiftly labelled the new Maria Sharapova, the striking 6ft blonde seemed destined for major honours at the very top of the game.

Heather Watson has taken her biggest scalp yet in senior tennis by beating former world number seven Nicole Vaidisova in the United States.

The 17-year-old from Guernsey beat Vaidisova 4-6 7-6 (12-10) 7-6 (7-4) in the first round of the Tangipahoa Tennis Classic in Louisiana.

Watson will face Australia's fifth seed Michelle Adamczak, who has a senior world ranking of 150, in round two.

The tournament is part of the second-tier ITF circuit.

Tennis player wins first-round match is rarely a reason for much celebration - unless your name happens to be Nicole Vaidisova.

Few players have made such an impact so young as the tall Czech, but even fewer have dropped off the radar in such a spectacular way.

At the age of 18, Vaidisova had reached two grand slam semi-finals and two quarter-finals and risen to number seven in the world rankings.

Swiftly labelled the new Maria Sharapova, the striking 6ft blonde seemed destined for major honours at the very top of the game.

Top-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova and second-seeded rising American Melanie Oudin were easy second-round winners Wednesday at the $220,000 Regions Morgan Keegan Championships & the Cellular South Cup tennis event.

Former world No. 1 and three-time major champion Sharapova drilled American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-1, 6-1 in just under one hour on the indoor hardcourts at The Racquet Club of Memphis.

Sharapova's next test will come from eighth-seeded Brit Elena Baltacha, who handled Canadian Valerie Tetreault 6-4, 6-4.

Number two seed  defeated fellow-American Alexa Glatch, 6-2, 6-2 in the Cellular South Cup in Memphis on Tuesday.

Karolina Sprem of Croatia upset No 4 seed Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4, and No 8 seed Elena Baltacha of Britain beat the Czech Republic's Renata Voracova, 7-5, 6-1.

Nicole Vaidisova, a former top 10 player whose ranking has dropped to nearly 200 in the world, advanced with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over American Laura Granville.