Serena Williams' decision to end a 14-year boycott of the BNP Paribas Open has been warmly welcomed by her peers with good friend and rival Caroline Wozniacki saying it was "great for tennis".
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.
Spanish fourth seed Garbine Muguruza claimed her maiden Grand Slam title when she beat World No 1 and defending champion Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 in the French Open final on Saturday.
Defending champion Serena Williams was knocked out of the Australian Open by Daniela Hantuchova
A preview of the Ladies semi-finals at Wimbledon.
But matches between Venus and Serena are captivating, highly charged yet often disappointing affairs.
Serena Williams, brimming with confidence and self-belief with every match she plays, stormed into the semi-finals of the US Open on Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-3 demolition of Ana Ivanovic.
Venus and Serena Williams kept up their semi-final date with commanding victories over Vera Zvonareva and Anastasia Rodionova respectively at the WTA Tier II Bangalore Open on Friday. Venus won 6-4, 6-3, while Serena was through at 6-1, 6-4.
Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard swatted aside an out-of-sorts Serena Williams 6-2, 6-1 at the Hopman Cup in Perth on Tuesday.
Serena Williams, coming off a double Olympic gold medal-winning performance in London, said she was feeling the pace of a hectic schedule after a lethargic display in her 6-3, 6-0 win over Urszula Radwanska on Thursday.
"I'd like to thank all of the fans who have been so supportive. I'll be back... better than ever," said the world number three.
Mauresmo overcame Paola Suarez while Serena thrashed Jennifer Capriati in the women's quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
After four days of play, the French Open was left without a Williams sister in the draw on Wednesday when former runner-up Venus joined 2002 champion Serena in making an early exit.
2004 champion Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium beat Hana Sromova 7-6, 6-1 to confirm her position as tournament favourite.
Johanna Konta earned the chance to fulfill a childhood dream when she advanced to an Australian Open quarter-final contest against Serena Williams by dismantling Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 6-4 on Monday.
World No 1 Serena Williams's 27-match unbeaten run ended with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat by Petra Kvitova in the Madrid Open.
The ruthless American needed less than an hour to defeat Sharapova 6-1, 6-1 and notch her 19th consecutive win over the Russian in what some charitably dub a "rivalry."
World number two Serena Williams raced into the quarter-finals of the Toronto Cup on Thursday with a 6-1, 6-4 demolition of Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko. Williams needed only 64 minutes on a blustery centre court to dispose of the world number 33 and restore a bit of family honour after the Ukrainian's sister Kateryna had knocked out older sibling Venus in the second round.
Defeat is never an option for Serena Williams, but the World No 1 came close to an embarrassing second-round exit at the French Open after an 'unprofessional' display on Thursday.
Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Wuhan and China Opens due to a persistent shoulder injury and is targeting a return to action in next month's WTA Finals in Singapore, the World No 2 said on Friday.
'Even though she's still playing arguably her best tennis, you have to wonder at a certain point how long that can keep up.'
Serena Williams has set a single-season prize money record on the women's tour by earning $6,545,586 in 2009, according to the Women's Tennis Association.
Top-seeded Serena Williams said on Friday that she was not sure about the state of her balky right shoulder but felt more relaxed entering next week's US Open than last year.
The 23-year-old studied at Harvard before turning professional on the tennis tour and Serena thinks he has got it all.
World No 1 Serena Williams and her sister Venus tried their hand at cricket with the Melbourne Renegades players on a hotel roof top on Thursday.
Serena Williams won her eighth Miami Open title with little trouble, enjoying a 6-2, 6-0 win over Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro in just 56 minutes on Saturday.
IMAGES from the PNB Paribas Open played at Indian Wells in California on Monday
The thought of playing a long match in the extreme Melbourne heat resulted in a sleepless night for Serena Williams, but the World No 1 need not have worried as she strode swiftly into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday.
The WTA Bangalore Open event will take place in February.
Serena Williams was bundled out of the Australian Open on Monday, losing her fourth-round match to Russian world number 56 Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-3 on a scorching day at Rod Laver Arena.
The defending Wimbledon champion avenged her French Open defeat with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Williams, a record 23-times Grand Slam champion, will be returning to the All England Club for the first time since giving birth to her daughter last September.
Simona Halep is emerging as one of the few players on Tour.
US won 4-1 against Argentina in the Fed Cup World Group II tie.
Serena Williams edged past Spain's Garbine Muguruza 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarters.
Images from Day 1 at the Australian Open.
She beat fellow-American Lindsay Davenport 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the final.
Serena Williams extended her winning streak to 29 matches when she beat Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarter-finals to continue her run towards a second French Open title on Tuesday.
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