Coming in December

   I'm planning to write these stories, among others, in December:
   --A Spanish player is suspended for two years after a positive drug test during the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford in July.
   --A member of the Sacramento Capitals in World TeamTennis is engaged to a television star.
   --I play a set or two against a recently retired touring pro.
   --The pro reflects on career highlights and lowlights.
   --The top 10 Northern California tennis stories in 2013.

Gold River places 2nd in USTA League mixed doubles

    A team from the Gold River Racquet Club in the Sacramento area finished second in the USTA League 10.0 Adult Mixed Doubles National Championships.
   Gold River fell to Hilton Head Island, S.C., 2-1 in Sunday's final in Tucson, Ariz.
   Representing Gold River were captain Isabella Kling, Jeff Shin, Laura McGaffigan, Loren Harmon, Petra Wallace and Dave Hagiwara.

Roseville junior to play in elite European tourneys

   Keenan Mayo of Roseville in the Sacramento area recently earned berths in two prestigious junior tournaments in Europe in January.
   Mayo, 13, qualified for Teen Tennis in Bolton, England, and Les Petit As (The Little Champions) in Tarbes, France, by reaching the final of a playoff tournament in Boca Raton, Fla., last week.
   Mayo lost to Andrew Fenty of College Park, Md., 6-4, 6-2. Fenty's father, Adrian, served as the mayor of Washington, D.C., from 2007 to 2011.
   Past winners of Les Petit As include Rafael Nadal, Michael Chang, Martina Hingis and Kim Clijsters.
   Mayo won the boys 12 singles title in the USTA National Winter Championships last December in Tucson, Ariz., and ended the year ranked No. 1 nationally in the division.

Gold River Challenger champ signs with UCLA

Mayo Hibi, 17, of Irvine is ranked No. 232 in the world.
Photo by Paul Bauman

   Professional tennis can wait for Mayo Hibi.
   The 17-year-old Los Angeles-area resident, who won Challengers in the Sacramento area and Las Cruces, N.M., this year as an amateur, signed a letter of intent last week to attend UCLA.
   Ranked No. 232 in the world, Hibi is rated as the No. 1 recruit in this year's class by Tennisrecruiting.net. She won consecutive titles in the Las Cruces $25,000 Women's Challenger in June and the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger in July.
   Only 5-foot-5 (1.65 meters) and 117 pounds (53 kilograms), Hibi won the U.S. Open National Playoff in August to earn a wild card into women's qualifying at the year's last Grand Slam tournament. She lost to 13th-seeded Anastasia Rodionova, a former Sacramento Capital in World TeamTennis from Australia, in the second round but reached the junior girls semifinals in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
   Hibi plays for her native Japan but has lived in California since she was 2 1/2, first in the San Francisco suburb of Foster City and for the past 12 years in Irvine.             
   Hibi's father, a sales manager for a branch of a Japanese music company, taught her an old-school game featuring a one-handed backhand and occasional volleys.
   "My dad liked that style more than the modern game," Hibi said in July. "Since I'm not going to be 6-foot tall like Maria Sharapova, since I'm going to be one of the shortest and smallest players on the tour, my dad knew I had to do something different from everyone else to become one of the top players like Justine Henin. She (had) an all-court game."
   UCLA is coached by Stella Sampras Webster, the older sister of Pete Sampras.
   The Bruins won their only NCAA women's tennis team title in 2008 with the help of sophomore Yasmin Schnack of Elk Grove in the Sacramento area.
   UCLA reached the semifinals of this year's NCAAs, losing a 4-3 heartbreaker to Texas A&M in Urbana, Ill. The Bruins' Chanelle Van Nguyen led Ines Deheza 4-2 in the third set of the deciding match at No. 4 singles before falling 6-3, 6-7 (9), 6-4. The Aggies then lost to Stanford in the final.
   The UCLA men's team features freshman Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont, a suburb of Oakland.
   Other signings -- The Cal men added William Griffith of Fresno and J.T. Nishimura of San Jose.
   Griffith is ranked third and Nishimura 44th in this year's class by Tennisrecruiting.net. They played doubles together in the USTA Boys 18 National Championships in August, reaching the semifinals.
   The Cal women signed Australian Lyann Hoang, who won a bronze medal in the 2010 World Junior Teams Competition in the Czech Republic. She has captured seven national junior doubles titles and one in singles.
   Lani-Rae Green, from Kekaha on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, became the first member of the UC Davis women's class. Green has earned eight varsity letters in four sports (tennis, cross country, swimming, and track and field).  

New rankings, calendar

PRO RANKINGS

     Following are this week's world rankings of professional players with Northern California ties (change from last week in parentheses):

Men

   Bob Bryan, 35 years old, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.

   Mike Bryan, 35 years old, 1998 NCAA doubles champion from Stanford -- Career-high No. 1 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Mardy Fish, 31 years old, Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis (2012-13) -- No. 376 in singles (-1), No. 127 in doubles (no change).
   Bradley Klahn, 23 years old, 2010 NCAA singles champion and 2011 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 98 in singles (-1), No. 146 in doubles (-2).
   Scott Lipsky, 32 years old, 2002 NCAA doubles runner-up from Stanford -- No. 31 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.
   Sam Querrey, 26 years old, San Francisco native, Capitals (2012-13) -- No. 46 in singles (no change), No. 218 in doubles (+2).
   Ryan Sweeting, 26 years old, Capitals (2012-13) -- No. 660 in singles (-1), No. 1,091 in doubles (+5).
   Dmitry Tursunov, 30 years old, trains at Gorin Tennis Academy in Sacramento suburb of Granite Bay -- No. 29 in singles (no change), No. 138 in doubles (+1).

Women

   Mallory Burdette, 22 years old, NCAA singles runner-up in 2012 and NCAA doubles champion in 2011 and 2012 from Stanford -- No. 139 in singles (+2), No. 671 in doubles (-1).
   Nicole Gibbs, 20 years old, NCAA singles champion in 2012 and 2013 and NCAA doubles champion in 2012 from Stanford -- No. 185 in singles (-5), No. 428 in doubles (-12).

   Macall Harkins, Redding resident -- No. 279 in doubles (-3), No. 672 in singles (-12).
   Raquel Kops-Jones, 30 years old, 2003 NCAA doubles champion from Cal -- No. 23 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.

   Megan Moulton-Levy, 28 years old, Capitals (2013) -- No. 56 in doubles (no change), unranked in singles.

   Maria Sanchez, 24 years old, Modesto product -- No. 176 in singles (-1), No. 144 in doubles (+1).

   Taylor Townsend, 17 years old, Capitals (2013) -- No. 192 in doubles (-2), No. 355 in singles (-1).

TV SCHEDULE

  No tournaments scheduled.

CALENDAR

   Dec. 9-15 -- Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships, boys and girls 18s and 16s, Plantation, Fla., www.orangebowltennis.org. 

   Dec. 17-23 --  Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship, boys and girls 14s and 12s, Coral Gables, Fla., www.juniororangebowl.org.

   Dec. 27-Jan. 1 -- USTA National Winter Championships, boys and girls 14s and 12s, Tucson, Ariz., http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=122724.  

   Dec. 27-Jan. 2 -- USTA National Winter Championships, boys and girls 18s and 16s, Scottsdale, Ariz.,  http://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=122192

   Jan. 13-26, 2014 -- AUSTRALIAN OPEN, Melbourne, www.australianopen.com. Defending champions: Novak Djokovic, Victoria Azarenka, Bob Bryan-Mike Bryan, Sara Errani-Roberta Vinci, Jarmila Gajdosova-Matthew Ebden.

   Jan. 14 -- College spring season begins. Pacific men at Stanford, 1:30 p.m. 

   Jan. 31-Feb. 2 -- Davis Cup, first round, Great Britain vs. United States in San Diego, www.daviscup.com.

   Feb. 8-9 -- Fed Cup, first round, defending champion Italy vs. United States in Cleveland, www.fedcupcom.

   Feb. 26, 2014 -- Champions Shootout (Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Jim Courier, James Blake), 7 p.m., Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, Calif.,  www.powersharesseries.com.

   March 3-16, 2014 -- BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, Calif., www.bnpparibasopen.com. Defending champions: Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Bob Bryan-Mike Bryan, Ekaterina Makarova-Elena Vesnina.

Serena -- who else? -- picked as WTA Player of Year

Serena Williams had one of the greatest years in
women's tennis history. 2012 photo by Paul Bauman

   There hasn't been this little suspense since the Harlem Globetrotters last played the Washington Generals.
   After one of the best seasons in women's tennis history, Serena Williams was named the WTA Player of the Year for the second straight time and fifth overall on Friday.
   Also, Italians Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci were chosen as the WTA Doubles Team of the Year for the second consecutive time.
   Williams collected 78 match wins, the most since Kim Clijsters won 90 in 2003, against four losses. Her 11 WTA titles, including her second French Open and fifth U.S. Open, were the most since Martina Hingis won 12 in 1997. Williams' first French Open crown came in 2002.
   Williams earned $12,385,572 in prize money, shattering the previous record of $7,923,920 set by Victoria Azarenka last year, and became the oldest world No. 1 in February at age 31. The Los Angeles-area product turned 32 on Sept. 26.
   "The French Open was probably the thing that stands out most," Williams -- also the Player of the Year in 2002, 2008 and 2009 -- said on the WTA's web site. "I really wanted to win that for a number of years now, so that was definitely something exciting. Being undefeated on clay was pretty exciting, too. So my results on clay this year definitely stand out.
   "Overall, I'll remember the wins, but I also want to learn from my mistakes so I don't repeat them."
   Only two other women have been named the Player of the Year at least five times: Steffi Graf (eight) and Martina Navratilova (seven).
   Williams skipped the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford this year after winning the title in 2011 and 2012.
   The Doubles Team of the Year was less clear-cut than the singles award, as four different teams won Grand Slam titles. But Errani and Vinci, in addition to capturing the Australian Open, ended the year as the top-ranked pair.
   Neither has played in the Bank of the West Classic.
   Friday's announcements complete this year's WTA awards. Eugenie Bouchard of Canada was selected as the Newcomer of the Year on Wednesday. Alisa Kleybanova of Russia and Simona Halep of Romania were honored as the Comeback Player of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year, respectively, on Thursday.

WTA PLAYER OF THE YEAR
(Since 1995)

1995--Steffi Graf, Germany
1996--Steffi Graf, Germany
1997--Martina Hingis, Switzerland
1998--Lindsay Davenport, United States
1999--Lindsay Davenport, United States
2000--Venus Williams, United States
2001--Jennifer Capriati, United States
2002--Serena Williams, United States
2003--Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium
2004--Maria Sharapova, Russia
2005--Kim Clijsters, Belgium
2006--Amelie Mauresmo, France
2007--Justine Henin, Belgium
2008--Serena Williams, United States
2009--Serena Williams, United States
2010--Kim Clijsters, Belgium
2011--Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic
2012--Serena Williams, United States
2013--Serena Williams, United States

WTA DOUBLES TEAM OF THE YEAR

(Since 1995)

1995--Gigi Fernandez, United States, and Natasha Zvereva, Belarus
1996--Jana Novotna, Czech Republic, and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Spain
1997--Gigi Fernandez, United States, and Natasha Zvereva, Belarus
1998--Martina Hingis, Switzerland, and Jana Novotna, Czech Republic
1999--Martina Hingis, Switzerland, and Anna Kournikova, Russia
2000--Serena Williams and Venus Williams, United States
2001--Lisa Raymond, United States, and Rennae Stubbs, Australia
2002--Virginia Ruano Pascual, Spain, and Paola Suarez, Argentina
2003--Virginia Ruano Pascual, Spain, and Paola Suarez, Argentina
2004--Virginia Ruano Pascual, Spain, and Paola Suarez, Argentina
2005--Lisa Raymond, United States, and Samantha Stosur, Australia
2006--Lisa Raymond, United States, and Samantha Stosur, Australia
2007--Cara Black, Zimbabwe, and Liezel Huber, United States
2008--Cara Black, Zimbabwe, and Liezel Huber, United States
2009--Serena Williams and Venus Williams, United States
2010--Gisela Dulko, Argentina, and Flavia Pennetta, Italy
2011--Kveta Peschke, Czech Republic, and Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenia
2012--Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, Italy
2013--Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, Italy

Cancer survivor named WTA Comeback Player of Year

Alisa Kleybanova returned to the WTA tour after
missing almost all of two years with Hodgkin's
lymphoma. Photo by Paul Bauman

   Rising to No. 185 in the world might not seem like much of a comeback.
   But only one other winner of the WTA Comeback Player of the Year award, which began in 1987, is as deserving as Alisa Kleybanova.
   The WTA announced the 2013 honor today, along with Simona Halep of Romania as the Most Improved Player.
   The organization's awards will be completed on Friday when the Player of the Year, surely Serena Williams, and Doubles Team of the Year, likely Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci or Peng Shuai and Su-Wei Hsieh, are named. The first honor, Newcomer of the Year, went to Eugenie Bouchard of Canada on Thursday.
   Five months after Kleybanova reached a career-high No. 20 in February 2011, the 5-foot-11 (1.81-meter), 159-pound (72-kilogram) Russian revealed that she was suffering from Hodgkin's lymphoma (cancer of the lymph glands).
   Kleybanova, 24, is the second player to win the comeback award after overcoming cancer. American Corina Morariu, a former Sacramento Capital in World TeamTennis who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001, earned the honor the following year.
   Kleybanova sat out for almost all of two years, undergoing chemotherapy and radiation in Italy, and dropped out of the rankings. She returned in May, winning a $10,000 Futures tournament in Landisville, Pa.
   In the third tournament of her comeback, Kleybanova reached the quarterfinals of the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women's Challenger in the Sacramento area in July. She lost to former top-100 player Ivana Lisjak of Croatia 0-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2) in 108-degree (42-degree Celsius) heat.
   Kleybanova then returned to the major leagues of women's tennis, playing in four tournaments and the Fed Cup final. She lost in the first round at Toronto, reached the second round at Cincinnati and the U.S. Open and advanced to the quarterfinals in her native Moscow.
   Kleybanova knocked off then-No. 17 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain in the second round at Moscow before losing to eventual champion Halep.
   Russia, playing without its top 11 players in the Fed Cup final on Nov. 2-3, lost to full-strength Italy 4-0 on clay in Cagliari, Sardinia. Kleybanova dropped her only match, 6-1, 6-1 to the seventh-ranked Errani.

"I know things are always going to be up and down. I'm not expecting to win everything and come back to the Top 20 so quickly. But I'm ready for the journey," Kleybanova said after her Fed Cup defeat to Errani. "I'm really happy to be back. I've been through enough tough things already. I'm feeling great physically now, I know what I need to work on, and I got my ranking up pretty quickly already this year.
"I just have to stay positive about things, have a nice off-season, train hard, stay healthy, stay away from injuries, and just have a good preparation over the next weeks to get ready for the new season.
"And after that, I hope to play the 2014 season from the first month to the last month."
- See more at: http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/3544165/title/comeback-player-of-the-year-alisa#sthash.O13A6rI7.dpuf

   "I know things are always going to be up and down," Kleybanova said after losing to Errani. "I'm not expecting to win everything and come back to the top 20 so quickly. But I'm ready for the journey.
   "I'm really happy to be back. I've been through enough tough things already. I'm feeling great physically now, I know what I need to work on, and I got my ranking up pretty quickly already this year.
   "I just have to stay positive about things, have a nice offseason, train hard, stay healthy and just have a good preparation over the next weeks to get ready for the new season. And after that, I hope to play the 2014 season from the first month to the last month."
   Halep, 22, earned the first six WTA singles titles of her career from June through October, jumping from No. 58 in the world to a year-end No. 11.

WTA COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR
(Since 1995)

1995--Monica Seles, United States
1996--Jennifer Capriati, United States
1997--Mary Pierce, France
1998--Monica Seles, United States
1999--Sabine Appelmans, Belgium
2000--Iva Majoli, Croatia
2001--Barbara Schwartz, Austria
2002--Corina Morariu, United States
2003--Amelie Mauresmo, France
2004--Serena Williams, United States
2005--Kim Clijsters, Belgium
2006--Martina Hingis, Switzerland
2007--Lindsay Davenport, United States
2008--Zheng Jie, China
2009--Kim Clijsters, Belgium
2010--Justine Henin, Belgium
2011--Sabine Lisicki, Germany
2012--Yaroslava Shvedova, Kazakhstan
2013--Alisa Kleybanova, Russia

WTA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER

(Since 1995)

1995--Chanda Rubin, United States
1996--Martina Hingis, Switzerland
1997--Amanda Coetzer, South Africa
1998--Patty Schnyder, Switzerland
1999--Serena Williams, United States
2000--Elena Dementieva, Russia
2001--Justine Henin-Hardenne, Belgium
2002--Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia
2003--Nadia Petrova, Russia
2004--Maria Sharapova, Russia
2005--Ana Ivanovic, Serbia
2006--Jelena Jankovic, Serbia
2007--Ana Ivanovic, Serbia
2008--Dinara Safina, Russia
2009--Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium
2010--Francesca Schiavone, Italy
2011--Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic
2012--Sara Errani, Italy
2013--Simona Halep, Romania