Billie Jean King would love to head to the tennis court at the White House after she receives the Medal of Freedom. But the tennis great hasn't hit balls for nearly a year and needs two knee replacements before she can play again. King is among 16 honorees who will receive the Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama on Aug.

Billie Jean King would love to head to the tennis court at the White House after she receives the Medal of Freedom. But the tennis great hasn't hit balls for nearly a year and needs two knee replacements before she can play again. King is among 16 honorees who will receive the Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama on Aug.

President Barack Obama will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 16 people, including political ally Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, tennis legend Billie Jean King and Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. The White House announced the list of recipients Thursday. The medals are the first to be awarded by Obama and they represent the country's highest honor for a civilian.

Roger Federer reportedly wants to play in Switzerland's Davis Cup playoff against Italy in September. Severin Luethi, part of Federer's coaching team, said the top-ranked player told him in May and again at Wimbledon that he intended to play in Italy. "Nothing is definite yet, but there's a good chance that our best players will be there," said Luethi in Wednesday's...

French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has pulled out of next week's L.A. Women's Tennis Championships due to a foot injury. The hard-court tournament, to be held from Aug. 3-9, announced Kuznetsova's withdrawal on Tuesday. She also missed the event last year. The fifth-ranked Kuznetsova's departure still leaves 10 of the world's top 15 women in the field, including No.

Former top-10 player Tim Mayotte has been hired as a U.S. Tennis Association national coach. Mayotte will be based in Boca Raton, Fla., and work with players in the USTA player development program. He is one of 17 national coaches. Mayotte played professionally from 1980-90, reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1982 and the Australian Open in 1981.

Top-ranked Dinara Safina won her 12th WTA tournament on Sunday, rallying to beat defending champion Sara Errani of Italy 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-5 at the Slovenia Open. It was the first loss at the tournament for the fifth-seeded Errani. Safina, the first top-ranked player to compete at the Slovenia Open, lost to Venus Williams in the Wimbledon semifinals.

The Washington Kastles have won their first World TeamTennis Pro League championship, beating the Springfield Lasers 23-20 on Sunday night. The Kastles were led by Leander Paes, the league's male MVP, who teamed with Scott Oudsema to win the men's doubles and with Rennae Stubbs to win the mixed doubles.

Robby Ginepri didn't exceed his expectations by winning the Indianapolis Tennis Championships simply because he didn't have any. The unseeded Ginepri, ranked No. 95 in the ATP rankings, won his third career singles title on Sunday by upsetting No. 3 seed and fellow American Sam Querrey, 6-2, 6-4, in the final of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships.

Nikolay Davydenko won his first title of the year on Sunday, beating Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-2 in the German Open final. The second-seeded Davydenko captured the 15th title of his career and became the first Russian to win the clay-court tournament. Mathieu, the 13th-seeded Frenchman, was playing his first final of the year.

Andrea Petkovic of Germany captured her first WTA Tour title on Sunday, beating Ioana Raluca Olaru of Romania 6-2, 6-3 at the Nuernberger Gastein Ladies. The 98th-ranked Petkovic has won eight titles on the lower ranked ITF circuit, but had never before reached a WTA quarterfinal. "I was hoping to land my first title here," she said.

Defending Bank of the West Classic champion Aleksandra Wozniak came out of the qualifying tournament to win her first career WTA Tour title last year. She's in the main draw this year but has the likes of Wimbledon champion Serena Williams and former Grand Slam champion Venus Williams in her path this year.

Roger Federer is playing a different kind of doubles. Tennis' top-ranked player became a father for the first time when his wife, Mirka, gave birth to twin girls Thursday. "I have some exciting news to share with you," Federer said on his Web site and Facebook page. "Late last night, in Switzerland, Mirka and I became proud parents of twin girls." They are named Charlene Riva...