French Open runner-up Simona Halep was awarded a wildcard entry to feature at the Aegon International in Eastbourne next week, organisers said on Thursday.
The Canadian set the tournament alight with a scintillating, three-set win over Maria Sharapova on Tuesday after her outspoken comments about the Russian returning from her 15-month doping ban, including calling her a cheater.
World No 2 Rafael Nadal sailed into the quarter-finals of the China Open, his first tournament in 13 weeks, with a 6-3, 6-4 win over German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk on Thursday.
Fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki ousted defending champion Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
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.
Czech Karolina Pliskova stopped upset-maker Varvara Lepchenko in the semi-finals at the Bank of The West Classic in Stanford, California, on Saturday.
Wildcard Harriet Dart was probably surprised, therefore, when she looked up to see the Duchess of Cambridge sat in the front row of seats on Court 14 on Tuesday.
Former world number one Venus Williams salvaged a small bit of family pride when she fought back from a set down to see off Italy's Roberto Vinci 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(4)and reach the final of the Wuhan Open on Friday.
Serena Williams will miss next week's Qatar Open because of the flu, she said on Tuesday, marking the second consecutive tournament the world number one misses due to illness.
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.
In the women's draw, Angelique Kerber was knocked out in a 6-3, 6-1 defeat to Czech Katerina Siniakova while Coco Gauf won her first ever match on clay.
American Stephens stayed calm and saw off an increasingly agitated Angelique Kerber in the winner-takes-all night match to complete round-robin play with a spotless 3-0 record after she wrapped up a 6-3, 6-3 victory against the German.
Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu's Indian Wells triumph was not shown on television in her home country but that did not dampen the excitement across a nation where the future of women's tennis is suddenly looking as bright as ever.
Serena Williams crashed out of the US Open after losing in the semi-final to Karolina Pliskova costing her a shot at a 23rd Grand Slam title and resulted in her losing her record 187th straight week at number one.
Germany soccer coach, Joachim Loew, was recognised with an "Integration" award and former skipper Bastian Schweinsteiger a honorary service accolade at the BAMBI Awards in Berlin on Thursday.
Lucas Pouille crowned a glorious French charge at the U.S. Open on Sunday by ousting 14-times grand slam singles winner Rafa Nadal in a five-set thriller. The 22-year-old Pouille, seeded 24th, won a deciding tiebreak 8-6 to complete a 6-1 2-6 6-4 3-6 7-6(6) marathon victory and join compatriots Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils into the last eight at Flushing Meadows.
Venus Williams's bid for a 50th WTA title ended when she fell to Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva in the Round of 16 at the Volvo Car Open on Thursday, while Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber breezed into the last eight.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been named as top seeds for the US Open, which will commence from August 29.
Defending champion Simona Halep pulled out of Wimbledon on Friday after failing to recover from a calf injury she suffered last month, the world number three Romanian said.
Federer, Djokovic headline Day 2 at Flushing Meadows
Federer and world number one Nadal won the first three grand slam titles of the season as they came back to prominence with a bang, and nothing suggests their first-round opponents, American Frances Tiafoe and Serbian Dusan Lajovic, will bother them.
One year after shaking off a crippling foot injury to claim a stunning US Open victory, Sloane Stephens said her follow-up season felt just as good as the American prepares to play in next week's WTA Finals for the first time.
Other nominees for the prize are Angelique Kerber (Germany), Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic and Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark).
Defending champion Jelena Jankovic ousted fellow Serb Aleksandra Krunic to reach the Hong Kong Open third round on a rain-hit Wednesday with the other singles matches suspended. Jankovic, the seventh seed, took less than 90 minutes to seal a 6-4 6-3 win over Krunic, who made six double faults and was broken twice in the opening set. "She (Krunic) is a player who is very talented and I've known her a long time," Jankovic told reporters. "I used to be her mentor and now I play against her. It's amazing to see her grow up and come to this stage.
Of the top 15 on Forbes' list of best-paid female athletes, 12 were tennis players. Indian badminton player PV Sindhu came in tied for 13th ($5.5 million), with Thai golfer Ariya Jutanugarn ($5.3 million) rounding out the top 15.
American Serena Williams was third time lucky as she finally equalled Steffi Graf's long-standing record of 22 Grand Slam wins after defeating Germany's Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 in the Wimbledon final on Saturday.
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.
Venus Williams powered into the Italian Open quarter-finals on Thursday with a dominant 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory over fifth seed Johanna Konta.
Ana Ivanovic recovered from an awful start to beat Kaia Kanepi at the Brisbane International on Thursday and remain on track for a glamour meeting with Maria Sharapova.
Here is a list of US Open women's singles champions since the open era began in 1968:
Garbine Muguruza continued her dream debut at the WTA Finals by completing round robin play with a perfect 3-0 record to advance to the semi-finals after a hard fought 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Petra Kvitova on Friday.
India's Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis continued their domination in the women's doubles by winning their sixth consecutive title by lifting the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament, in Brisbane, on Saturday.
Karolina Pliskova warmed up for Wimbledon in the best possible fashion on Saturday by powering past Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-4 to win the Eastbourne title.
What happened on Day 3 of the French Open was more surprising. Two of the top five seeded women exited.
Images from Day 3 of the 2024 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Tuesday.
Fourth seed Angelique Kerber's bid for consecutive Grand Slam titles ended when 29th seed Dominika Cibulkova defeated the German 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the US Open third round on Saturday.
Serena Williams creates ripples with her latest outfit.
Britain's Johanna Konta withstood a fightback by Madison Keys and third seed Agnieszka Radwanska beat Ukraine's Elina Svitolina on Saturday to reach to the China Open final.
Defending champion Angelique Kerber battled her nerves and blew a match point in the second set before finally overcoming Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to reach the second round.
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