Tennis already sets the bar with equal prize money paid to women and men at Grand Slam tournaments
The United States survived a fright from little Latvia on Saturday before winning 3-2 in a Fed Cup qualifier as Serena Williams suffered her first career singles loss in the team event. Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Slovakia, Germany, Russia and Belarus also moved through to the inaugural 12-nation showdown in Budapest.
Serena Williams did not need the help of a fan-filled Arthur Ashe Stadium to provide a lift during her 7-5, 6-4 win over the 96th ranked Kristie Ahn.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
A clash of generations will decide the US Open on Saturday with Serena Williams taking a fourth crack at Grand Slam history against teenager Bianca Andreescu, who was not even born when the American lifted her first Flushing Meadows trophy.
'I never imagined that a doll would be made on me. It feels great to be recognised by Barbie,' says the World Para-badminton champion who was also honoured by Time magazine.
The top-seeded Serb, who had not dropped a set in four matches since the round of 16 at the Australian Open in January, looked out-of-sorts throughout the 98-minute contest.
Halep's near-flawless display at the All England Club marked a spectacular return to form after her world ranking dropped from first to seventh between mid-January and July.
Rafael Nadal is in contention for the 'World Sportsman of the Year' award alongside six-time Formula 1 World champion Lewis Hamilton, six-time World MotoGP champion Marc Mrquez and six-time FIFA World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi.
Images from the second day at the US Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.
'She's always smiling. I mean, we try in our team to smile everywhere. We make so many funny stuff around the court. She likes it'
Fire-fighters went on alert as the mercury crept towards an expected maximum of 44 degrees Celsius (111 F), the highest since Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 that killed about 180 people in the southeastern state of Victoria.
World number two Rafael Nadal confirmed on Tuesday that he will not defend his US Open crown this year at Flushing Meadows as organisers released the singles entry list for the Grand Slam. Spain's Nadal had said in June that he had reservations about travelling to the U.S. amid the COVID-19 pandemic and he joins women's world number one Australian Ash Barty in skipping the tournament due to COVID-19 concerns.
Images from Day 7 of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Saturday.
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) said on Sunday it would undertake a review of its communication policies after a string of umpiring controversies at the U.S. Open.
Serena Williams has never been one to approach the net until it is time to exchange post-match pleasantries with an opponent but on Thursday she broke from tradition and it paid off with a trip to the U.S. Open final.
Images from Day 6 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Saturday.
Williams said the number 24 is becoming an obsession for the media who talk of little else
Images from Day 6 of the 2021 US Open in New York on Saturday.
The Canadian's win sets up a semi-final clash with Del Potro on Saturday that will pit power against power.
That is Murray's 46th ATP title.
Serena Williams crashed out of the Auckland Classic after fellow American Madison Brengle pulled off a 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4 upset in a see-saw second round contest.
The 27-year-old Romanian beat Sloane Stephens at Roland Garros to win her maiden Grand Slam title in June and will have spent 40 weeks at the top of the rankings by the end of the season.
Images from Day 1 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday.
Images from all the action on Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday
The professional tennis circuit, which requires players to jet around the world, was forced into shutdown in early March as countries went into lockdown and closed their borders to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
SSerena Williams swept past Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-0 on Thursday and into the final of the US Open to sit one win away from a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.
Roger Federer faced down local battler John Millman 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(8) in a five-set thriller on Friday night to reach the last 16 of the Australian Open. Defending champion Novak Djokovic thumped Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday to stay on course for a record-extending eighth title at Melbourne Park. Images from Day 5 of the 2020 Australian Open.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova avenged her US Open loss to Anastasija Sevastova with a 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-6(7) victory over the Latvian in the China Open first round on Saturday.
World number one Novak Djokovic was sensationally disqualified in the US Open fourth round on Sunday after striking a line judge with a ball following a point during the first set of his match against Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta.
Petra Kvitova was proud of her second-set fightback against Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open final, on Saturday, but was left ruing her inability to convert her chances in her loss to the Japanese.
"It's kind of hard to say because she -- there's nothing I did wrong on those match points," Williams told reporters after her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title ended.
Coach Patrick Mouratoglou claimed Serena Williams' fitness had since gone up a notch and Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles may well be in peril at the Australian Open.
Patrick Mouratoglou said he and Serena Williams had decided not to do any on-court coaching, even at the tournaments on the professional women's WTA circuit where it is permitted.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Images from the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday.
Images from Day 3 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Andy Murray took a step closer to a first title in arguably the toughest year of his playing career, grinding out a 3-6, 7-5 ,6-2 win over Ugo Humbert on Saturday to reach the final of the European Open in Antwerp.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
A summary of Tuesday's play at the French Open.
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