Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has been ruled out of the Russia-U.S. Fed Cup semifinal tie with a leg injury, leaving Russia with just three players: Elena Dementieva, Ekaterina Makarova and Alla Kudryavtseva.
The U.S. has named teenager Sloane Stephens as its fourth player, but she’s unlikely to see any live action.
In other Fed Cup semifinal news, the Czechs have chosen the relatively inexperienced Lucie Hradecka to face Italy’s top player, Flavia Pennetta, rather than opting for Petra Kvitova. The Italians will be favored in Rome, as they also feature Francesca Schiavone, who is coming off a title run in Barcelona. The veteran will play Lucie Safarova in the second match.
French captain Nicolas Escude has tabbed Pauline Parmentier as his second singles player over Alize Cornet and Julie Coin in their tie against Germany in their World Group Playoff. Parmentier will face Germany’s Andre Petrovic in the opening match, while France’s Aravane Rezai will make her Fed Cup debut against Tatjana Malek in the second singles match.—M.C.