Elena Rybakina put on a brilliant performance to defeat favourite Aryna Sabalenka 64, 46, 64 and lift her first Australian Open trophy.
Paul must overcome defending champion Alcaraz in the quarter-finals to keep his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title alive.
Olympic champion Zheng powers into French Open third round
Images from Day 1 of the 2025 French Open in Paris on Sunday.
Images from Day 10 of the 2025 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Tuesday.
Naomi Osaka tumbled out of the Berlin Open first round on Tuesday
Jasmine Paolini became the first Italian woman to win the Italian Open in 40 years when she beat American world number three Coco Gauff in the final.
French Open champion Gauff is in line for a clash with fellow American Jessica Pegula.
Sabalenka, Keys reach Wimbledon third round with contrasting victories.
Italian Cocciaretto stuns Pegula in big Wimbledon upset; Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen was beaten by Czech Katerina Siniakova.
Daniil Medvedev jumped for joy in an uncharacteristically emotional celebration after holding off young Frenchman Arthur Fils for a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(7) win amid gusting winds on centre court in quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, on Thursday.
-German veteran Tatjana Maria defied the odds to move into the biggest final of her career when she stunned second seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-3, 7-6(3) at the Queen's Club Championships on Saturday.
American lucky loser Reilly Opelka put up an intense battle to stun top seed Daniil Medvedev 7-6(5), 7-6(5) and reach the Libema Open semi-finals in Den Bosch on Friday.
Twice champion Iga Swiatek walloped Czech Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Versatility is essential and it has come to the fore for Sabalenka in recent tournaments, where she has used not just her brutal strength to put opponents on the back foot but also applied a touch of finesse to leave them wrong-footed.
IMAGES from the French Open played at Roland Garros, in Paris, France, on Sunday.
Four-times Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, who is gearing up to defend the French Open title later this month, fired off 24 winners in a strong performance to seal victory.
As the 2025 French Open looms, all eyes may be on reigning champions and top seeds - but lurking just beneath the surface are several players quietly building momentum, ready to crash the party in Paris. From seasoned champions finding renewed form to rising stars with something to prove, here are four dark horses who could shake up the women's singles draw at Roland Garros.
Pain free Vondrousova getting old magic back on grass
Aryna Sabalenka opened her bid for a third straight Australian Open title with an easy victory over Sloane Stephens on Sunday.
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka overwhelmed American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 to win the Miami Open on Saturday, relying on her usual play-book and powerful forehand to win an eighth WTA 1000 title.
Zheng's win improved her record at the Pan Pacific Open to 8-1, with the 22-year-old having lost in the 2022 final to Liudmila Samsonova in her only previous appearance in the tournament.
Jasmine Paolini's exit means only one of the top five women's seeds -- world number one Aryna Sabalenka -- will be in the third round. It is only the second time that this has happened in the professional era after Wimbledon 2018.
Novak Djokovic won 12 of the last 14 games of his match against Lorenzo Musetti to crush the Italian 6-2, 6-2 and move into the quarter-finals of the Miami Open in his best performance since the Australian Open.
13 of the men's seeds fell at the first hurdle -- a Wimbledon record since 32 seeds were introduced in 2001.
Iga Swiatek continued her bid for a fifth French Open title when the Polish fifth seed overcame Romania's Jaqueline Cristian to reach the Roland Garros fourth round.
Czech Barbora Krejcikova on Sunday called for respect and professionalism in sports media as she hit out at "unprofessional" remarks made about her appearance during a broadcast on the Tennis Channel.
Aryna Sabalenka is the red-hot favourite at Melbourne Park, where another victory would give her a fourth major title and widen the gap in the rankings to Poland's Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff of the United States.
Aryna Sabalenka claimed her third Grand Slam title after winning the Australian Open twice.
China's Zheng Qinwen reached the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Riyadh after claiming an impressive 6-1 6-1 win over Italian fourth seed Jasmine Paolini on Wednesday.
Jannik Sinner begins his Australian Open title defence against Nicolas Jarry while women's champion Aryna Sabalenka takes on 2017 U.S. Open winner Sloane Stephens
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev will play Brandon Nakashima as the former finalist looks to end his long wait for a maiden Grand Slam title.
Here is what you need to know about the year's Australian Open:
China's Zheng Qinwen beat a struggling Elena Rybakina 7-6(4) 3-6 6-1 in a grueling WTA Finals group stage match on Monday, notching her first career win over the Kazakh in their third meeting.
IMAGES from the French Open matches played at Roland Garros on Wednesday.
Zheng Qinwen saw off a spirited challenge from Diana Shnaider to secure a hard-fought 7-6(5), 6-3 win in their Pan Pacific Open semi-final on Saturday and set up a title clash against American Sofia Kenin.
Factbox on Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka, who beat China's Zheng Qinwen in the Australian Open final on Saturday
Those deep runs have left her better equipped to handle the pressure at the business-end of the majors.
Coco Gauff fought back from a set down to beat Spain's Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the China Open in Beijing on Saturday.
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