(UPDATED) +NETCORDS: Stephens and Annacone split, Neil Harman caught plagiarizing, and Vaidisova practicing again

Busy day in the tennisphere...

- Soooooo lookie (up) there. If it isn't our old friend, the ex-Worm loving Czech lady baller who retired at the age of 20, Nicole Vaidisova. She was hugely talented, although I always thought her backhand technique was, er, funky. But Vaida had big wins and was on her way up before calling it quits. Then there was the marriage to Radek Stepanek. Let's not relive that one. Apparently she's back to practicing and feeling good: These last couple weeks Im finally able to serve with less pain then i have in over 3 years, it makes me hopeful and happy to see progress after struggling the last couple years with repeated surgeries,rehabs and setbacks..its one step at a time but finally getting a step closer..

- Remember when I mentioned there would likely be more baller-coach partnerships ending? Well...

Sloane Stephens splits with coach Paul Annacone via release from her management company. #wta
— Douglas Robson (@dougrobson) July 23, 2014

Release calls split after 8 months “amicable.” Annacone said they couldn’t get “desired consistency” which caused “doubt” & confusion."
— Douglas Robson (@dougrobson) July 23, 2014

You can read more here. 

- Speaking of coaching partnerships, Ana Ivanovic, who recently split with Nemanja Kontic, will be working with former baller Dejan Petrovic on a trial basis through the North American hard-court season. Here's an all-black look she posted on Instagram today for a photoshoot in Napa Valley. Innnteresting.

- Ben Rothenberg on what Neil Harman said to him after being busted for plagiarism: “As you can imagine, I’m utterly, utterly shocked by the whole thing. It’s left me numb.” He said he “had no idea of the extent to which I have unfairly used other people’s words.” Um, I'm not even going to go into how lame Neil's explanations are and how disingenuous his remorse feels. He's clearly in deep denial and reaching for any excuse to save face. There was no public apology when he was first confronted with the evidence - only when it was about to go public. What I really want to know is who at the All England Club will be held responsible for trying to keep it all quiet; for allowing the Wimbledon Yearbook to still be sold even though they knew sections were plagiarized; and for still giving Neil media access at Wimbledon this year even after the plagiarism was discovered? Somebody has some explaining to do. A MUST READ OBVI.

- Genie Bouchard covers the August issue of Elle Quebec

- John Tomic is disputing news from IMG Tennis that both parties agreed to end the partnership with his son, Bernie. On July 16, the sports agency tweeted that they "mutually ended" their relationship with Bernie and wished him "great success." Papa Johns was no having any of it. He told Fairfax Media that they had been looking to leave IMG for the last year-and-a-half, but the agency wanted compensation to cover any losses they would incur from losing Bernie. Uh-huh.

- Caroline Wozniacki's dog, Bruno, has its own jersey courtesy of adidas. Because dogs are awesome.

- Andy Murray has been posting a bunch of training photos and videos on his Facebook page (I found the vid below on drills without actually hitting a tennis ball particularly fascinating). You can see Amelie Mauresmo in some of the photos which some believe signifies Muzz's intention on keeping the partnership intact. Perhaps. There hasn't been a formal announcement yet, but according to The Telegraph "the fact that Mauresmo has travelled to Miami, breaking her habit of holidaying in Biarritz in late July, suggests that she is committed to the project over the longer term." Solid reporting, y'all. 

Post by Andy Murray.

UPDATE: According to Matt Cronin of Tennisreporters.net, Sloane has brought on Thomas Hogstedt as coach. He has worked with Maria Sharapova, Li Na, and Caroline Wozniacki among others. Speaking of others, wasn't he just with Daniela Hantuchova at Wimbledon? What happened - was it just for the grass-court season?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Paul Annacone

A lot of [top players] are creatures of habit. Roger isn’t so much. He knows what makes him successful, but he’s open to debate, to conversations about things that maybe he didn’t used to do. He’s very expansive in his thinking, so it won’t go undiscussed, for sure.

- Coach Paul Annacone on the question of a bigger frame for Roger Federer

So this quote by Coach Annacone is pretty significant. Clearly, Fed's open to the idea of a bigger frame. I wonder if they've already discussed it and he's just being vague or they're waiting for a certain point in the calendar to approach the idea. Either way, this change would be huge, to say the least. 

But, will it really help his game in the end or, more specifically, give him the ability to beat the top two ballers in the world, Rafael Nadal + Novak Djokovic? Because in most cases, he'll need to beat at least one of them to win a Slam. And we all know that's the only reason why he'd do it.

[Photo(s): Alex Livesey/Getty Images]

Roger Federer "looking to add someone", brings in Paul Annacone

Roger Federer sent the following update via his website:

Dear Fans

I've been looking to add someone to my team and I've decided to spend some days with Paul Annacone. As Paul winds down his responsibilities working for the Lawn Tennis Association, we will explore our relationship through this test period. Paul will work alongside my existing team and I am excited to learn from his experiences.

See you soon

Roger

My thoughts? Great move. The signs are glaring that a new perspective is needed in his game, and who better than someone with the vast experience of Paul Annacone? If you don't know, now you know.

But I hope he enjoys the sweltering heat of Dubai and has time to travel half way around the world. Darren Cahill couldn't do it and we all know what happened to him. Like, see ya.

What are your thoughts on this move by Fed? Do tell!