FOUR of the top five U.S. women in the WTA singles rankings will skip the country’s Fed Cup final against the Czech Republic, including both Williams sisters and Sloane Stephens. Instead, the roster announced for the defending champions by captain Kathy Rinaldi on Oct. 31 includes No. 35 Danielle Collins, No. 48 Sofia Kenin and No. 63 Alison Riske in singles, along with Nicole Melichar, who is ranked 15th in doubles. No. 6 Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion and 2018 French Open runner-up, is sitting out the Nov. 10-11 matches on an indoor hard court at Prague, as are No. 15 Serena Williams, a 23-time major champion, and No. 40 Venus Williams, who owns seven Grand Slam singles titles. No. 16 Madison Keys, who lost to Stephens in last year’s final at Flushing Meadows, also will miss the Fed Cup final. (JKV)