PERTH, Australia (AP) Sloane Stephens will join former champion John Isner on the U.S. team for the 2014 Hopman Cup, the annual international mixed team tennis tournament.
The 20-year-old Stephens, who upset Serena Williams in the Australian Open quarterfinals to start 2013, has improved 26 places in the rankings to No. 12 this year.
Isner won the 2011 Hopman Cup with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and combined with Venus Williams for the 2013 edition.
Petra Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion who won the 2012 Hopman Cup with Tomas Berdych, will be joined on the Czech team by veteran Radesk Stepanek for the Dec. 28-Jan. 4 event.
Under the competition format, eight teams are split into two groups for matches including men's and women's singles and mixed doubles. The winners of each round-robin group advance to a final.