Serena Williams is now one match away from reinforcing her stranglehold on the women's game by holding all four grand slam titles at the same time, a feat she will achieve for the second occasion if she beats 20th-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in Saturday's final.
Venus Williams will try to become the oldest woman to win Wimbledon for 109 years on Saturday although, ominously for her the last time a 37-year-old reached the final, it was a Spaniard who ruined the script.
World number one Serena Williams kept her Wimbledon title defence on track on Sunday, downing Germany's Annika Beck 6-3, 6-0 with a crushing display of power and booming serves to chalk up her 300th grand slam victory.
Serena Williams outplayed Maria Sharapova to claim the 2015 Australian Open championship in straight sets on Saturday.
With a career Grand Slam of major titles and a sweet-making business, Maria Sharapova dismissed the idea of staying at home and having a drink.
The London-based organisation did not give any reason for the cancellation, but said it would continue to support sports charity projects in Brazil. Rio state authorities also did not explain why the event would not take place as planned.
Challengers to Serena Williams' throne have proved as fickle as a Paris spring and as the year's second grand slam starts the veteran American is again seemingly in a league of her own. The 34-year-old's charge to overhaul Margaret Court's record 24 grand slam singles titles may have stalled since she chalked up major number 21 at last year's Wimbledon. But after fine-tuning her claycourt game by winning last week's Italian Open she will begin the defence of her French Open title as the strong favourite. With twice French Open champion Maria Sharapova suspended pending the findings of an anti-doping hearing after she tested positive for Meldonium in Australia this year, the list of players capable of toppling a fully firing Williams is short.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
Germany's experienced Angelique Kerber stands in the way of the 36-year-old American and an eighth, and arguably most impressive, All England Club singles crown which would see her match Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles.
Jana Novotna was a true winner but it was the misfortune of the brilliant Czech, who died on Monday aged 49, to always be recalled for one of sport's most famous and heart-rending meltdowns despite her collection of 100 tennis titles.
Serena Williams said it was a 'great feeling' to surpass Steffi Graf as the most prolific grand slam champion of the open era at the Australian Open on Saturday and was not prepared to put a number on the haul of titles she might end up with.
The US Open is the biggest tournament in America's tennis calendar. Enough reason for the big personalities from Hollywood, former tennis champions and other celebrities to catch their favourite tennis stars in action.
A rampaging Madison Keys completed an American sweep of the US Open women's quarter-finals on Wednesday, dismissing Estonia's Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-3 to guarantee an American champion at the year's final Grand Slam.
Following is a list of biggest shocks in women's tennis after Italian outsider Roberta Vinci, ranked 43rd, beat world number one Serena Williams in the US Open semi-finals on Friday to deny the American a chance to complete a calendar year Grand Slam.
Leander Paes has experimented with 100 different players.
Top-seeded world number one Williams overpowered Russian left-hander Ekaterina Makarova 6-1 ,6-3, unleashing her daunting firepower against the 17th-seeded Russian. Wozniacki advanced when China's Peng Shuai broke down in scary distress due to heat illness and retired in the second set, while trailing 7-6(1), 4-3.
World number one Serena Williams survived a mid-match meltdown to beat Czech Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2 to win the French Open on Saturday, her 20th Grand Slam singles trophy.
The world number 181 is the first mother since 1980 champion Evonne Goolagong to reach the Wimbledon final.
Maria Sharapova's dreams of a sixth Grand Slam title were ended by Serena Williams and her wrecking ball serve in the Australian Open final on Saturday, but the Russian was adamant she would someday have the American's measure.
Serena Williams enters the Australian Open as a strong favourite to lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup but is all too aware that a sixth Melbourne Park title has now eluded her for five years.
A staggering number of athletes across sports seem to have found their best game in their 30s, 40s.
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.
Sania Mirza says it is tough to have a better year than 2015 but she will strive hard to at least match the achievements of this season, in which she won two Grand Slams and also became world number one in individual doubles rankings.
Soon after he won his historic US Open title, Paes said more than technique it is his never-say-die spirit that has got him success.
Australian great Margaret Court won 24 grand slam singles titles, one ahead of American Williams, who confirmed she was pregnant on Wednesday and will sit out the rest of the season.
'Ms Williams has had multiple on-court implosions in the past and got penalised for them, too.' 'She cried sexism this time perhaps because she knew the atmosphere was ripe for it,' notes Shuma Raha.
India's former Davis Cup captain Akhtar Ali discusses the secret behind Leander Paes's success with Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com.
A patient Roger Federer weathered a second set storm from Grigor Dimitrov before slapping down the Bulgarian challenger 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open and clinch his 300th win in Grand Slams.
List of Australian Open women's singles champions since the event began in 1922 (Australian unless stated):
On a high after winning the WTA Finals doubles crown and a clutch of prestigious titles this year, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza says she is now bracing up for the International Premier Tennis League where she would play in the same team as World No 2 Switzerland's Roger Federer.
The older Serena Williams gets, the more dominant she becomes. At 33, an age when most players start to fade, her grip on women's tennis looks as secure as ever.
Serena Williams destroyed Romania's Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday to win the WTA Finals championship in Singapore, proving once again why she remains the most formidable force in women's tennis.
It was Kristyna's first win over a top-five ranked player and she will go on to play fellow Czech Barbora Strycova in the quarter-finals.
With five of the top 10 in the current rankings aged 28 or older, form suggests another pair of seasoned campaigners could contest the title match at the French Open, which starts in Paris on Sunday.
Indian Aces, comprising heavyweights Roger Federer and retired Pete Sampras, pummeled Singapore Slammers 26-16 for their second straight victory in the IPTL.
World number four Petra Kvitova sealed the Fed Cup title for the Czech Republic with a thrilling win over Germany's Angelique Kerber, giving her country its third success in the premier team tournament in women's tennis in the last four years.
List of Wimbledon women's singles champions:
List of Australian Open women's singles champions since the event began in 1922 (Australian unless stated):
The Swiss great is looking to win a 102nd tour-level trophy and move closer to Jimmy Connors' record of 109.
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