Russia's Fed Cup captain Shamil Tarpishchev said Tuesday he is still hopeful that top players -- Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova -- will be available for April's Fed Cup semi-final against Slovakia.
"I need to study the playing schedules of our girls before starting to plan the line-up for the match with Slovakia," Sport Express daily quoted Tarpishchev as saying.
"Of course Sharapova would strengthen our team a great deal, but we should never forget about her personal interests. We must try to minimise any losses for those who are battling for the top places in the rankings."
Russia's top player Sharapova has played just three Fed Cup ties in her career so far, making her debut in 2008 to help satisfy Olympic Games qualification criteria.
After playing again in 2011, she also featured in the quarter-final win over Spain in 2012 in the run-up to the London Games.
Tarpishchev said that Sharapova had expressed her desire to play for Russia in this season's Fed Cup campaign, and that he had been keen to call her into his squad for the later stages of the competition.
"If Masha (Sharapova) has a relatively simple tournament schedule ahead without a series of top-class events in America we will call on her," he said.
"But otherwise the trans-Atlantic flights and time zone changes can seriously harden the battle for the top spot in the WTA rankings. We're not going make her life even tougher."
Tarpishchev said he had an agreement with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Vera Zvonareva, who had both said they were available to play for Russia this season, adding that he could also call Kuznetsova into his team if need be.
"It was very important for Svetlana (Kuznetsova) to improve her individual ranking at the beginning of the season and she asked me to release her from playing against Japan," Tarpishchev said. "She wants to be in the world's elite and we definitely respect her desire."
AFP
Tue Feb 12 2013
Prabowo takes up Indonesian presidency, vows to tackle corruption, other issues
Prabowo officially became Indonesia's eighth president on Sunday morning after he was sworn in during a ceremony at Indonesia's parliament.
Nepal's Sherpas deserve more, says teenager who scaled world's 14 tallest peaks
Sherpas are known for climbing skills that make them the backbone of mountain expeditions.
Prabowo takes up Indonesian presidency, vows to tackle corruption, other issues
Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto on Sunday took over as president of the world's third-largest democracy, vowing to combat internal issues
Inside the underground lab in China tasked with solving a physics mystery
China will soon collect neutrino data, aiming to unravel one of particle physics' biggest mysteries.
Millions in Cuba still without power as major outage persists
Millions of Cubans remain without electricity because of a prolonged outage at the main power plants on the island, Anadolu Agency reported.
Surge in Gaza violence increases famine risk, monitor says
About 1.84 million people across the besieged Palestinian enclave are living through high levels of acute food insecurity.
Israel pounds Beirut and Gaza after rockets hit Israel's north
A drone was launched at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's holiday home.
Elon Musk promises to award $1 mil each day to a signer of his petition
He awarded a $1 million check to an attendee of his event in Pennsylvania aimed at rallying supporters behind Donald Trump.
Former special forces commander Prabowo to take up Indonesian presidency
Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto will take over as president of the world's third-largest democracy after sweeping the country's election with policies like free meals for school children
Father of Malaysian Islamic banking, Abdul Halim Ismail passes away
His dedication and pioneering spirit played an important role in shaping the journey of Bank Islam as well as leaving a lasting impact on the development of Malaysia's Islamic finance industry.
Zayn Malik postpones US tour dates after One Direction bandmate Liam Payne's death
Payne, 31, died on Wednesday after falling from a third-floor hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires, shocking fans of the boy band.
Why voters in a handful of swing states will decide the US presidential election
The contest will almost certainly be decided by just tens of thousands of voters a tiny fraction of the populace in a handful of states.
INSIGHT - Sudan's war risks 'lost generation' of children
A devastating crisis is unfolding in Sudan, where the most vulnerable members of society children are bearing the brunt of the violence.
Who is Prabowo Subianto, incoming president of Indonesia?
A wealthy ex-general with ties to Indonesia's popular outgoing president and its dictatorial past, looks set to be its next leader.
Trump says he would impose tariffs on China if China went into Taiwan
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would impose additional tariffs on China if China were to "go into Taiwan,"
Iran's supreme leader says Hamas leader's death will not halt 'Axis of Resistance'
The "Axis of Resistance", built up with years of Iranian support, includes Hamas, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, the Houthi movement in Yemen, and various Shi'ite groups in Iraq and Syria.
Putin says Russia willing to seek compromises between Iran and Israel
Russia is ready to help seek compromises between arch-foes Israel and Iran, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, saying these would be difficult but possible.
What proposals will Russia push at the BRICS summit?
The proposal is also to establish a BRICS reinsurance company to allow uninterrupted shipment of goods and key commodities between members.
Indonesia's free meals plan in the spotlight as Prabowo readies for office
Prabowo calls the programme one of the main drivers of economic growth, eventually set to add an estimated 2.5 million jobs.
Astro AWANI's revamped English news website, AWANI International, launches on Oct 21
Astro AWANI's revamped English platform delivers in-depth global news and expert analysis to keep you informed on key developments.