Venus Williams, not Serena, on US Fed Cup team vs. Poland
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens will lead the U.S. Fed Cup team against Poland next month - but Williams' sister Serena is not on the roster.
The U.S. Tennis Association announced captain Mary Joe Fernandez's picks Wednesday.
CoCo Vandeweghe and doubles specialist Bethanie Mattek-Sands are also on the team that will play Poland on Feb. 6-7 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
The Poland-U.S. winner will advance to the World Group playoffs for a chance to move back into the competition's top tier in 2017.
Neither No. 1-ranked Serena Williams nor Poland's top player, No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska - opponents in the Australian Open semifinals - will participate.
The highest-ranked player on Poland's roster is No. 93 Magda Linette.
Venus Williams is ranked 10th, Stephens 26th and Vandeweghe 42nd.
