Williams sisters to skip Fed Cup in LV

Victoria Sun

Friday, Nov. 10, 2000 | 2:01 a.m.

As expected, U.S. Fed Cup captain Billie Jean King announced the final two members of the team this morning.

What might surprise some is that sisters Venus and Serena Williams weren't the latest additions to the squad that will be competing in the semifinal tie against Belgium Nov. 22 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

Though the Williams sisters were heavily promoted as possible team members, King named Chanda Rubin and Lisa Raymond as the final representatives. They will join Lindsay Davenport and Monica Seles, who already were named to the team.

"We now have a strong team in place with Chanda and Lisa joining Lindsay and Monica," King said in a statement. "Chanda is playing well and has moved up to No. 11 in the rankings and Lisa is a great doubles player.

"With this foursome, we hope to defeat Belgium in the semifinals and reach the final the day after Thanksgiving."

The Williams sisters recently pulled out of the season-ending Chase Championships being held at Madison Square Garden. Venus cited anemia while Serena withdrew because of a foot injury.

Both sisters along with Davenport and Seles led the U.S. to the Fed Cup title last year.

"We were very much looking forward to the possibility of the Williams sisters playing on the team," Mandalay Bay spokesman Gordon Absher said. "Of course we're disappointed, but we also very much understand that they are very gifted professional athletes. They must look after their bodies if they're injured and they must look at the entirety of their career rather than just one match.

"Still, we have a great field and this is going to be a spectacular event for anyone who enjoys tennis."

Rubin, ranked No. 11 in the Sanex WTA Tour singles rankings, just won her third career title last weekend at the Bell Challenge in Quebec City, Canada. In Fed Cup, Rubin has a 4-2 singles record and a 1-0 doubles record.

Raymond, ranked No. 5 in doubles, captured her first career Grand Slam women's doubles title at the Australian Open with Rennae Stubbs.

The U.S. will play Belgium in a two-singles, one-doubles format starting at 4:30 p.m. The other semifinal between Spain and the Czech Republic will be played on Nov. 21 at the same time.

The final round tie will be a best-of-five match series, with two singles matches played Nov. 24 followed by two reverse singles matches and a doubles match Nov. 25.

ESPN2 will broadcast the Fed Cup World Finals on all four days of play.

Tickets for the event can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 474-4000 or the Mandalay Bay Box Office at (877) 632-7400.