Oudin replaces injured Stephens

Sloane Stephens is pulling out of the US Fed Cup team's upcoming first-round matches against Italy because of a strained abdominal muscle. Melanie Oudin replaces Stephens on the US roster for the Feb. 9-10 matches on indoor red clay at Rimini, Italy. Stephens, currently ranked a career-high 17th, was hurt during her run to the Australian Open semifinals last month. She says she's ''terribly disappointed'' to miss the Fed Cup. Oudin, a 2009 US Open quarterfinalist, joins Fed Cup rookies Varvara Lepchenko and Jamie Hampton, plus doubles specialist Liezel Huber. The highest-ranked American, Serena Williams, hurt her back in a quarterfinal loss to Stephens in Melbourne. Italy is expected to be led by Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.