After months of endless buzz around her pregnancy, Russian tennis star Anastasia Myskina gave birth to a healthy baby boy early Tuesday, Russia’s tennis chief Shamil Tarpischev said. Interestingly, the baby named Zhenya shares the same birthday with Andre Agassi.

Myskina’s biggest accomplishment (aside from her son) was 2004 Roland Garros. She also holds 10 WTA tour titles and was ranked No 2 in the world in September 2004. Anastasia turns 27 on July 8th. Congratulations!

Russian tennis star and Goodwill Ambassador of the UN Development Program Maria Sharapova will visit Chernobyl this summer to draw attention to problems still facing the regions worst hit by the 1986 nuclear disaster. (Ria Novosti).

Maria Sharapova has made an appearance on CBS’ Late Show last night, where David Letterman presented her with a can of tennis balls with a bow on it. World No. 3 Sharapova was in New York to celebrate her 21st birthday. If you missed the show, you still can check it out at Down the Line.

The U.S. State Department has nominated Ana Ivanovic for its 2008 International Women of Courage Award. The award was created by the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in order to recognize achievements by outstanding women globally with a focus on recognizing women on the ‘front lines.’

What Ana Ivanovic has done to deserve this nomination? I checked Ana’s official website to see what she has done so courageous. In addition to reaching world #2 in the rankings, “in the past year Ana became a UNICEF ambassador for Serbia. Since her inauguration in September 2007 she has not only donated a considerable sum that has enabled 15 schools to join the “Schools Without Violence” programme, she has raised awareness about child safety through her off-court activities, which included writing a newspaper column that benefited UNICEF during the Australian Open.”

That’s a lot of achievement, and I am pleased to see that athletes are socially active. However, I don’t think this is enough to get nominated for the “International Courage Award.” Check out the previous two years’ recipients here and here to understand what exactly “being courageous” means to me.

What do you think? Does Ana deserve the nomination?

Anastasia Rodionova has to continue playing for Russia since it looks like her road to Australian citizenship is not going to be as easy as she has thought before. Rodionova, currently ranked 88th in the world, has been living in Melbourne since meeting partner Lorne Padman during the Australian Open three years ago. At this year’s Australian Open in January she was entered as an Australian player. However, a Russian sport site reports that the Australian authorities demand that she reside in the country at least two full years to be eligible for the Australian passport. Thus, ITF has informed her that she has to continue displaying the Russian flag next to her name in the tournaments.

AP has a story about how athletes are struggling on what position to take about the upcoming Beijing Olympics controversy.

Here is what some top tennis stars are thinking.

Roger Federer

Asked if he would wear a ribbon for Tibet or boycott the opening ceremony, top-ranked tennis star Roger Federer said: “No, not so far. I don’t think I will.”

“Honestly, I don’t know enough about the situation. I don’t know how much we athletes should be involved in this,” said Federer, of Switzerland. “It should be a celebration of sport and not using it for political reasons.”

C’mon Roger. You traveled the world. You pride yourself on being an open-minded person who enjoys learning about other cultures. Now all of a sudden you become modest about your knowledge on these issues.

James Blake

Fellow player James Blake believes any protest should not be an individual call.

“I don’t feel like it’s my decision to go and say, ‘I know what’s best for the entire country of China, I know what’s best for the entire Olympic team,’” the American said. “I think it should be a joint decision, kind of all-for-one decision, whether every Olympic team boycotts or we all go and we represent our country with pride.”

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Sony Ericsson Open in photos…

Russian tennis player Elena Vesnina (ranked 53rd) has joined her countrywoman Vera Zvonareva and blogs for Russian sport site Championat.ru. She talks about everything–Fed Cup, partying in Miami, playing doubles, and even taking a shower under flashlight due to a power outage in Amelia Island, and more. Check out Elena’s Google-translated blog here.