World number two Aryna Sabalenka will not play at the Indian Wells tournament after testing positive for COVID-19, the 23-year-old said.
The 20-year-old is on the longest unbeaten run in the women's tour since Serena Williams bagged 34 victories in succession in 2013.
Steamrolls Dutch Rus to proceed to Round 2
Three-time US Open champion Djokovic, who comes into the tournament having won his fifth Wimbledon title, is followed in the seedings by 2017 winner Rafael Nadal.
With no standout favourite in the women's field, it could provide an ideal stage for American Serena Williams to finally end her quest for an elusive 24th Grand Slam title.
Tennis legend Serena Williams spent her first Christmas with her 3-month-old daughter, Alexis Olympia.
Key facts and records of American Serena Williams and Canada's Bianca Andreescu
The 36-year-old, talked about what she has been going through since giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia, who turns one this September.
Alexis Olympia Ohanian donned braids with white beads on them, just as her mother Serena did when she first won the US Open as a teenager in 1999.
It was Halep's second Grand Slam title following her triumph at Roland Garros in Paris last year.
The video shows Williams covering her breasts with her hands while singing the global hit song of an Australian Band, The Divinyls.
Venus Williams is a two-time mixed doubles winner at Grand Slams, triumphing at the Australian Open and Roland Garros in 1998.
There is no secret to beating Serena Williams, says her US Open semi-final opponent Victoria Azarenka, the only chance to win is to fight hard, execute well and remember the 23-times Grand Slam champion is never out of it, no matter the score.
Serena Williams returns to the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday
Will Smith, who had once portrayed the irreverent Muhammad Ali with such aplomb, brings the character of Richard Williams alive. The accent, the dialect, the body-language and the ever-present chip on the shoulder, observes Deepti Patwardhan.
Naomi Osaka ended Victoria Azarenka's dream run to claim her second US Open title in three years with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 comeback win on Saturday which cemented her status as the sport's leading light both on and off the court.
Serena Williams beat Germany's Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 to claim a seventh Wimbledon singles title and equal Steffi Graf's professional era record of 22 grand slam singles crowns on Saturday.
Serena displayed great mobility to win successive points after long rallies -- one of 21 shots, one of 13 -- and secure what proved to be a decisive break of serve.
Williams has just one professional tournament remaining before she drops the curtain on her historic career
Serena Williams likened the frustration she felt in Tuesday's shock defeat by Maria Sakkari at the Western and Southern Open to that of being stuck in a bad relationship.
Newly-engaged Serena Williams touched down in Auckland on Friday and quickly made her way to the court to hit some balls ahead of the start of her 2017 season.
'I grew up watching her. That's the reason why I play tennis'
As the first day's play got under way, she posted a video clip on Instagram of her pounding backhands on a clay court despite being absent from the tour since winning the Australian Open in January as she is expecting her first child.
Bollettieri founded the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in 1978. It was bought by the International Management Group in 1987.
Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki have been enjoying an end of season break in a luxurious resort in the Bahamas. Both have been showing their fans some flesh, via their Instagram accounts.
Eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who turns 40 this year, takes on Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in round one.
Djokovic left little doubt that he would also be there trying to win major number 23.
International Premier Tennis League founder Mahesh Bhupathi, one of India's most successful doubles player, confirmed the absence of the two star players.
IMAGES from the Women's Singles Final of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Saturday.
Halep, who won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon the following year, struggled for results last year due to injuries and reached only one WTA final, at the Transylvania Open, losing in her home tournament.
Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman and more than a dozen former US women's national team players have formed an ownership group to set up a professional women's soccer team in Los Angeles from 2022. The new team, which has yet to be named, was announced by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) on Tuesday.
Serena Williams has been fined $17,000 (13,156) for the code violations she received during the US Open final, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) said on Sunday.
Serena Williams faces her first seeded opponent at the French Open on Thursday and will hope to use her booming serve to beat Australian Ashleigh Barty in the second round.
Former world number one Serena Williams returns to Grand Slam action for the first time in over 15 months, when she goes up against Czech Kristyna Pliskova in the French Open first round.
Overpowers Svitolina to reach second straight US Open final
Eager to witness what many felt would be Serena Williams's final competitive match, thousands of fans poured into the Arthur Ashe stadium.
American tennis star Serena Williams rose early on Saturday to get ready for her friend Meghan Markle's wedding to Britain's Prince Harry with a gold face treatment mask and personal make-up artist.
In the men's singles draw five-time champion Novak Djokovic headlines the top half of the draw and shares a quarter with Russian No.5 seed and recent Halle finalist Andrey Rublev.
Serena Williams was the runner-up in Flushing Meadows each of the past two years
Italian Roberta Vinci crushed the world number one's hope of completing a calendar grand slam by reaching the women's singles US Open final for the first time in her career.
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