Two surprise Grand Slam final appearances have given Vera Zvonareva the world number two ranking and the confidence to go one better at the Australian Open, but remarkably, the Russian remains saddled with the 'dark horse' tag.
Images from day nine of the Australian Open 2012 Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, on Tuesday.
The Dane says it is just a matter of time before she reclaims her crown.
Caroline Wozniacki was dumped out of the quarter-finals of the Australian Open by Kim Clijsters on Tuesday and will lose her world number one position when new rankings are released next week.
Of the top 15 on Forbes' list of best-paid female athletes, 12 were tennis players. Indian badminton player PV Sindhu came in tied for 13th ($5.5 million), with Thai golfer Ariya Jutanugarn ($5.3 million) rounding out the top 15.
The women's draw for the Australian Open is resembling the march of the walking wounded, with more than a quarter of the top 25 ruled out or carrying injuries into the year's first Grand Slam.
Caroline Wozniacki seems a certain starter for the Australian Open in Melbourne next week after a scan on the world number one's injured left wrist showed no serious damage.
World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki arrived in Australia four hours before her match but shrugged off her less than perfect preparations to make a winning start at the Hopman Cup on Monday.
It was a meeting of legends and a rare photo op for all when Indian cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar met tennis great Roger Federer at Wimbledon on Saturday.
For Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki, there is a time for friendship and a time for business, and business does not get much more serious than a Grand Slam final.
Caroline Wozniacki revealed her mischievous side again at Wimbledon on Saturday as the world number one hijacked Novak Djokovic's pre-tournament press conference.
One French Open pundit this week described world number one Caroline Wozniacki as playing 'moonballing nonsense' and after the Dane and second seed Kim Clijsters crashed out, the women's game generally is under fire.
Samantha Stosur's win over world number one Caroline Wozniacki was not the only surprise for an unsuspecting crowd at the WTA Championships, where music, dance and even a frightened feline vied with the tennis for attention.
Caroline Wozniacki gained a valuable confidence boost ahead of next week's French Open when she beat last year's Roland Garros winner Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in their Brussels Open semi-final on Friday.
Francesca Schiavone set up a repeat of last year's French Open final against Samantha Stosur in the Italian Open quarter-finals as top seed Caroline Wozniacki also advanced to the last eight on Thursday.
A weary Caroline Wozniacki was sent packing from the WTA Championships after losing 6-4, 6-2 to powerful Czech Petra Kvitova in her final round-robin match on Thursday.
Caroline Wozniacki celebrated in defeat on Wednesday after injured Russian Maria Sharapova's withdrawal from the season-ending WTA Championships made sure the Dane would end the year as World No 1.
World number one Caroline Wozniacki defeated Serbia's Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-4 Saturday to set up a final meeting with Russian Elena Vesnina at the Family Circle Cup.
Former World No 1 Caroline Wozniacki dropped just one game against Kaia Kanepi in the lop-sided final of the Korea Open on Sunday for her first WTA title of the year.
Andrea Petkovic pulled off another upset at the Sony Ericsson Open on Tuesday, defeating sixth seed Jelena Jankovic to reach the semi-finals, while Kim Clijsters needed all her big-match experience just to stay in the tournament.
World number one Caroline Wozniacki suffered a surprise fourth-round defeat by Germany's Andrea Petkovic in the Sony Ericsson Open on Monday, falling victim to a smart strategy from her lower-ranked opponent.
World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, saw off a tenacious challenge from Lucie Hradecka to open the defence of her China Open title with a 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 first round victory on Monday.
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and 15th-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli advanced smoothly to the final of the Indian Wells WTA tournament with commanding victories on Friday.
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the semi-finals in Indian Wells on Thursday when her opponent Victoria Azarenka of Belarus retired because of a hip injury when trailing 3-0.
Serena Williams destroyed Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 in the US Open semi-finals on Saturday to join Australia's Sam Stosur in the final at Flushing Meadows. Stosur earlier earned her place in the championship decider with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 win over unseeded German Angelique Kerber.
Caroline Wozniacki's first match since losing the world No.1 ranking ended dramatically on Wednesday at the Dubai Championships when opponent Anna Chakvetadze collapsed on court while serving for the second set.
The top-seeded Dane defeated Czech qualifier Petra Cetkovska 6-4, 6-1 in the final to boost her confidence ahead of the US Open which starts on Monday.
An earthquake halted play and forced the evacuation of the New Haven Open on Tuesday but it could not stop world number one Caroline Wozniacki from romping to a 6-3, 6-0 second round win over Slovenia's Polona Hercog.
World number one Caroline Wozniacki suffered a shock exit from the Toronto Cup on Wednesday, falling 6-4, 7-5 to Italy's Roberta Vinci in windy conditions that played havoc with her game.
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki and former champion Maria Sharapova brought glamour and grit to the opening day of the Australian Open with first round victories on the Rod Laver Arena Monday.
The World No.1 Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki will begin their Australian Open campaign as the top seeds in the men's singles and women's singles respectively.
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams advanced to the Auckland Classic quarter-finals and kept alive the hopes of an anticipated final between the pair in dramatically contrasting circumstances on Wednesday.
World No 2 Caroline Wozniacki produced an erratic performance to fall 6-2, 6-3 to Alona Bondarenko in the second round of the Madrid Open on Tuesday.
Senior Associate Editor Bikash Mohapatra looks at an inglorious club of seven players who have been ranked No. 1 without a major title to their credit.
World number one Caroline Wozniacki suffered another Grand Slam nightmare as she was comprehensively beaten 6-1, 6-3 by Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova in Paris, on Friday.
Images from Day 4 at the French Open in Paris, on Wednesday.
A look at 10 sexiest female players at the French Open.
Maria Sharapova and Samantha Stosur signalled their return to form ahead of Roland Garros after setting up a final showdown at the Italian Open on Saturday.
French Open champion and home favourite Francesca Schiavone lost in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open on Friday as Samantha Stosur gained revenge for defeat in last year's Roland Garros final.
Federer, Djokovic headline Day 2 at Flushing Meadows
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