Since new Davis Cup reforms have been introduced, India will not have to go back to the Asia/Oceania Group immediately.
Sania Mirza will lead the Indian campaign in the Fed Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II competition as selectors on Sunday named a six-member squad, which also has fast rising talent Poojashree Venkatesh.
Forced to go through the qualifiers to compete in the US Open due to low ranking, Sania Mirza has been drawn against Russian Ksenia Lykina as her first round opponent.
Controversial tennis star Nick Kyrgios has launched a fresh social media attack on Australian Olympic team boss Kitty Chiller before launching a Facebook poll to determine whether he should go to the Rio Games.
Giant-killer Yuki Bhambri rallied from two match-points down in the second set to score a thrilling 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over No 7 Roko Karanusic of Croatia in the final of the CCI-ITF US$15,000 Men's Futures tennis tournament at the Cricket Club of India, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
Somdev Devvarman's stay in the top-100 lasted just a week, as the Indian suffered a huge loss of 15 positions to find himself at 111th spot in the latest ATP rankings. In the WTA rankings, Sania Mirza's slide continued, The Indian ace found herself at No 153 after a loss of 15 places.
Somdev Devvarman remained static on 109 but Yuki Bhambri jumped 21 places to 404 in the latest ATP singles ranking list issued on Monday.
His recent success on the ITF circuit on Tuesday fetched teenage sensation Yuki Bhambri a place in the Indian Davis Cup squad for the crucial World Group play-off tie against South Africa scheduled September 18 to 20.
Tennis Australia will appeal the International Tennis Federation's (ITF) decision to confirm Chennai as the venue for next month's Davis Cup tie between India and Australia, citing security concerns, local media reported. Security worries have grown around sporting events in south Asia following the ambush on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in Lahore, Pakistan, by armed gunmen last month.
Sania Mirza missed out on winning her second title of the season after losing the final of the $1,00,000 ITF tournament in Taipei along with local player Hsieh Su-wei.
India's Sania Mirza overcame a fighting Meng Yuan in a three-setter to earn a shot at singles title of the US$ 50,000 ITF Challenger event in Lexington, United States. The second seed Indian beat sixth seed Chinese 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in the semi-final of the hard court event.
Eight-times Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi left the tennis world in a state of shock on Wednesday when he admitted using the recreational drug crystal meth and lying to men's governing body the ATP to escape a ban.
A spate of recent successes on the ITF circuit has fetched Delhi lad Yuki Bhambri a place in the Indian Davis Cup squad for the crucial World Group play-off tie against South Africa scheduled on September 18 to 20.
At the 2003 World Cup in South Africa and Zimbabwe, England forfeited their Pool A match against Zimbabwe for security reasons, while New Zealand forfeited their Pool B match against Kenya, also for safety concerns.
Tennis Australia has filed an appeal against the International Tennis Federation's decision to approve Chennai as the venue for next month's India-Australia Asia/Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie. The ITF will hear the appeal later this week and decide on Tennis Australia's request to shift the tie out of India on security grounds. It had cleared Chennai as the host city despite the Australian federation's concerns about coming to India.
Top seed Sania Mirza's quest for a second successive ITF title ended in disappointment as she squandered a one set advantage to go down to local favourite Stephanie Dubois in the finals of the USD 75,000 Vancouver Open.
Bopanna is justified in picking a partner of his choice since rules permit him to do so, but at the same time it holds true that even if Bopanna had ended up at No. 11 in the world rankings on the cut-off date, he and Paes, with their combined ranking, would have made the draw by a margin if not comfortably.
Preparing herself for the gruelling hard court season ahead, Sania Mirza advanced to the semi-finals of the USD 50,000 ITF Challenger tournament in Lexington, USA, after Lindsay Lee-Waters withdrew from the contest on Saturday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
France's Richard Gasquet has been cleared to return to the tour after testing positive for cocaine, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Wednesday.
'I find, in all this matter, a very unfair treatment... I don't know if I will be able to find the strength and the desire to play tennis again, after all this'
Embattled French tennis player Richard Gasquet, who tested positive for cocaine in March, said on Friday he had never knowingly used the banned substance.
AITA on sticky wicket after shift in venue
Sania Mirza and her Italian partner Francesca Schiavone crashed out of the doubles event of the US$ two million Cincinnati Open following a straight sets defeat against top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber. The unseeded Indo-Italian pair lost 4-6, 3-6 to the Zimbabwean-American combination in one hour and 14 minutes in the second round of the WTA event.
The Swedish tennis federation has been fined $25,000 and Malmo banned from hosting Davis Cup matches for five years after the city's authorities opted to play last month's tie against Israel behind closed doors. The ITF also said in a statement Sweden would have to pay an additional $15,000, which it would have received in gate receipts had the March 6-8 match been open to spectators.
The All India Tennis Association ruled out shifting the May 8-10 Davis Cup match between India and Australia from Chennai, saying proper security arrangements will be in place to hold trouble-free matches.
Competing in only her second Challenger event, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza clinched the USD 50,000 ITF title in Lexington, USA after an upset win over top seed Julie Coin.
Top seed Rushmi Chakravarthi of India bagged the doubles crown partnering Poojashree Venkatesha and later stormed into the singles final in the Federal Bank ITF Women's Tennis tournament in Angamaly (Kerala) on Friday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
Reigning Australian Open boys' champion Yuki Bhambri has pulled out of the French Open due to the ankle injury he sustained while playing doubles in an ITF Futures event in Kuwait last week. Yuki, who became the first Indian to win the Australian Open boys' singles and fourth from the country to claim a junior Grand Slam, said he had been advised by doctors to take rest for at least 15 days to recover from his injury.
Second seed Isha Lakhani and No 4 Rushmi Chakravarthi of India crashed out in the quarter-finals, in the Mother's Recipe US $10,000 ITF women's Futures Tennis Tournament on Thursday. On a dramatic day of upsets and a disastrous one for India, qualifier Moe Kawatoko of Japan shocked favourite Lakhani 7-5, 7-5 in an absorbing contest that lasted 100 minutes, while No 8 seed Chun-Yan He of China upset Chakravarthi 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) in 105 minutes.
Coming into the do-or-die match, Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes, with a combined age of 86, won 6-3, 6-7(9), 7-5 after two hours and 21 minutes against Pavic and Skugor, ranked 15 and 32 respectively.
World number ones Roger Federer and Ana Ivanovic head a strong field at the Olympic tennis tournament in Beijing next month. The International Tennis Federation , which released the entry lists for the men's and women's singles and doubles on Wednesday, said Beijing would witness the best lineup since tennis returned as a full medal sport in Seoul 1988.
Argentina will stage next month's Davis Cup final against Spain on an indoor court in the Atlantic resort of Mar del Plata, the International Tennis Federation said. The ITF said on its website (www.daviscup.com) that it had chosen Mar del Plata ahead of Cordoba, the other potential venue put forward by Argentina, for the November 21-23 final.
Indian tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi insists that his consistent presence on the pro circuit should not be considered preparations for the Rio Olympics.
Maria Sharapova will attend an International Tennis Federation anti-doping hearing in London on Wednesday, British media reported, with the Russian facing a possible ban of up to four years for failing a drugs test at the Australian Open.
As the credit crunch bites deeper into the global economy, tennis has so far managed to escape the effects of the crisis and it will be business as usual when the Australian Open begins on Monday. While Formula One, golf and soccer have all been hit by the financial downturn, tennis officials are adamant that only a world war, and not the current economic climate, would force the cancellation of one of its blue-riband events.
Here is a Factbox on Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, who beat American Venus Williams 7-5, 6-0 to win her first Wimbledon singles title on Saturday:
Rafael Nadal put in some late-night overtime to drag hosts Spain into the Davis Cup semi-finals but Novak Djokovic's hopes were dashed in excruciating fashion as Serbia bowed out on Friday.
World No 15 Marin Cilic is under the radar of the International Tennis Federation for failing a drug test during the BMW Open in Munich in April, it has been reported.
