United States without Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens for Fed Cup final

Defending Fed Cup champions, the United States, will have to do without the services of their big-name players in the final against the Czech Republic.
Serena and Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys are all absent from the squad that will travel to Prague for next week’s final.
Captain Kathy Rinaldi has named an unfamiliar line-up with Danielle Collins the highest-ranked player at No 35.
Sofia Kenin (48), Alison Riske (63) and Nicole Melichar (No 15 in women’s doubles) are also included with Riske the only member to have previously played Fed Cup as she was part of the squad that won last year’s tournament.
The Czech Republic, meanwhile, have named a strong line-up that includes world No 7 Petra Kvitova and No 8 Karolina Pliskova, who both competed at last week’s WTA Finals in Singapore.
They will be joined by doubles No 1 Katerina Siniakova and No 5 Barbora Strycova.
The United States are looking to win the Fed Cup for the 19th time while the Czech Republic have won six of the last eight editions.
More from Tennis365:
Comment: The WWE may be coveting Serena Williams, but tennis needs her more
Can Andre Agassi help flailing Grigor Dimitrov to turn things around
Paris Masters betting preview: Novak Djokovic will be tough to beat
Novak Djokovic back at No 1 after Rafael Nadal pulls out of Paris Masters
Roger Federer explains why he turned down Saudi Arabia exhibition match
Latest
-
ATP Tour
Montreal draw: Daniil Medvedev set for nightmare opener against Nick Kyrgios
Taylor Fritz faces Andy Murray in one of the highlights of the first round.
-
Tennis Features
How much is tennis legend John McEnroe worth?
John McEnroe owns several properties and continues to do broadcasting work.
-
News
Los Cabos: Cameron Norrie eye on third ATP Tour title of 2022
The British number one battled to a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory in the semi-finals.
-
Tennis News
Citi Open: Nick Kyrgios marches on as Dan Evans is upset
Nick Kyrgios is chasing a repeat of 2019 and a first title since his last DC Triumph.
-
WTA Tour
Toronto draw: Stacked top quarter could be seeds graveyard
The Toronto Masters has no soft paths to glory.
-
WTA Tour
Citi Open: Emma Raducanu falls to Liudmila Samsonova
Fellow Brit Dan Evans also went down in Washington.
-
WTA Tour
Exclusive – Former British No 1 with an upbeat verdict on Emma Raducanu
Durie has backed the young Brit to find her form if she can steer clear of injuries.
-
Tennis News
Exclusive – Former British No 1 on whether Novak Djokovic should play at the US Open
Jo Durie believes it will be a ‘real shame’ if Novak Djokovic cannot play at the US Open.
-
WTA Tour
Naomi Osaka lauds Coco Gauff as a star on and off the court
Coco Gauff is already a big star according to Naomi Osaka.
-
WTA Tour
Emma Raducanu could climb to World No 8 in DC
A new career-high ranking might await Emma Raducanu next week.