LAFAYETTE, La. (AP)—Tennis player Chanda Rubin’s house burned down during an intense thunderstorm, and lightning was a likely cause, Lafayette fire officials said Thursday.

The 1990s tennis star was home but got out safely when the fire broke out shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday, and nobody was hurt, Assistant Chief Jerry Delhomme said.

He said lightning may have touched off the fire, which started in the attic. Investigators were to return in daylight.

Numerous calls from Rubin’s alarm system, neighbors and Rubin herself came in within a few minutes of each other, starting at 9:07 p.m., he said.

Delhomme said trucks were at the house within minutes, and firefighters stayed for two hours.

Rubin won seven singles titles on the WTA Tour and reached as high as No. 6 in the rankings in 1996. Her deepest run at a Grand Slam came that year, when she reached the semifinals at the Australian Open.

She was unseeded but won the Eastbourne International tournament in 2002. Her last singles titles were in Eastbourne and Madrid in 2003, according to the WTA website.

It said the 34-year-old withdrew from a half-dozen tournaments this year because of a variety of injuries. She won only one match in the seven events she did appear in.

BERLIN (AP)—Former fourth-ranked Nicolas Kiefer of Germany has announced his immediate retirement from professional tennis.

The 33-year-old Kiefer said on his website Thursday that he wants to spend more time with daughter Mabelle Emilienne, who was born in August.

Kiefer, who rose as high as No. 4 in the world rankings in 2000, won six tournaments and reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2006.

He represented Germany in the Davis Cup and teamed up with Rainier Schuettler to win the doubles silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Rafael Nadal has swept a host of year-end awards for his dominating season but other players have fared poorly in annual accolades.

Nadal has been voted the Spanish athlete of the year in a poll by El Pais and the Spanish athlete of the decade by Marca. In addition to recognition from Spanish newspapers, Nadal was also named L’Equipe Champion of Champions in France and won the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year in Britain. He was voted European Sportsman of the Year in a poll of 25 news agencies in Europe, beating out F1 champion Sebastian Vettel.

Roger Federer, meanwhile, came in third place for Swiss sportsman of the year, behind gold medal-winning ski jumper Simon Ammann and alpine wrestler Kilian Wenger. Federer was, however, voted the international athlete of the decade in Marca‘s poll.

Despite leading Serbia to Davis Cup victory, Novak Djokovic was not voted the Balkan athlete of the year, coming in behind Bulgarian wrestler Stanka Zlateva, who won gold in the world and European women’s 72 kg championships.

Kim Clijsters was voted AP’s female athlete of the year last year after winning the U.S. Open, but though she was again victorious in Flushing Meadows, this year’s award went to skier and tennis fan Lindsey Vonn. Serena Williams was the highest-ranked tennis representative, coming in fourth. Clijsters did win Belgian sportswoman of the year.

No tennis players made the top five for AP’s male athlete of the year, which went to New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

But Wimbledon quarterfinalist Yen-Hsun Lu did find himself voted Taiwan’s man of the year in a poll which saw the country’s president finish third.

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The Bondarenko sisters will continue to play Fed Cup, according to the vice president of the Ukraine tennis federation.

While Alona is sidelined after knee surgery, Kateryna is expected to take part in the country’s first-round tie against Switzerland.

The sisters had earlier announced that they would no longer be taking part in the competition.

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The charity exhibition matches played by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in Zurich and Madrid last week have raised almost $4 million so far.

The day after the match in Zurich, Federer announced that the event had raised $2.5 million for his foundation to support projects in Africa.

On Thursday, Nadal’s foundation said the Madrid event brought in $1.32 million, a figure that will increase once pieces of the court have been sold off. A small portion of the surface on which the match was played is being offered for sale, packaged in a clear plastic box signed by Nadal.

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Dinara Safina has declared herself healthy ahead of the new season after spending much of the past year dealing with back problems.

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Andy Roddick says he is back at full fitness for the first time since coming down with mononucleosis in the spring.

“I think it’s the first time I’ve felt right since last May, so when you are fit it takes a lot of the mental pressure off,” he said, speaking to reporters in Brisbane. “You feel like you can play any way you want so I feel fresh and I feel enthused and ready.”

After starting the season with a 26-4 record, the American pulled out of his first and only claycourt warmup event with what turned out to be the first signs of the virus and went 22-14 for the rest of the year, also retiring in Shanghai with injury.

Getting back to full strength in the middle of the season was a challenge. “You train hard and you get hurt in training coming back. You don’t train you rest and you try and come back and your body is not right and it shows,” he said.

Justine Henin says she is still not “100 percent” as she prepares to return to competition for the first time since injuring her elbow at Wimbledon.

“I am not feeling free of all the pain, but I am going in the right direction,” she said, speaking to reporters in Perth ahead of the Hopman Cup next week. “I am working very hard on it and I spend two hours every day on my rehabilitation.

“Now step by step I can improve, but it will probably take a few more weeks and maybe months before I can be 100 percent.”

As a result, the former No. 1 is downplaying her chances in Melbourne.

“No one is dominating women’s tennis, there are a lot of ups and downs, Serena is not going to be there so it is going to be wide open, but I don’t consider myself one of the biggest favorites,” she said.

Last year, Henin reached the Australian Open final in her second tournament since returning from an 18-month retirement.

A steady stream of players are now making their way to Australia and Asia, ready to begin their warmups for the Australian Open.

Initially worried that his scheduled flight to Australia would be cancelled because of snowy weather in the United States, Andy Roddick has arrived in Brisbane and reportedly headed to the practice courts shortly after.

Maria Sharapova has arrived in Auckland ahead of next week’s event in the new Zealand capital.

Sharapova, who recently ended her racquet deal with Prince and has been playing with a blacked out racquet for some months (reportedly Head), has also changed her shoes. “For the first time in six years, I have a new nike shoe,” Sharapova wrote on her Facebook account. “…it is really the best tennis shoe I have ever used.”

Caroline Wozniacki is in Bangkok, where she will play an exhibition against Kim Clijsters before heading to Hong Kong for an exhibition tournament there. “It is very cold in Europe now. The weather here is fine and I love it,” she said.

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