Russian Vera Zvonareva, Czech Petra Kvitova and Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova -- names that are barely household names in their native towns let alone in the wider world -- earned their golden tickets to the semi-finals after a day of topsy-turvy tennis at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Top seed Maria Sharapova overcame a second-set wobble to beat Tsvetana Pironkova 7-6, 6-7, 6-0 and reach the Wimbledon third round.
Fourth-seeded Venus Williams outpowered Bulgarian Tatiana Poutchek 6-1 6-2 to move into the second round of the Istanbul Cup on Tuesday.
French Open champion Li Na retired injured from her first-round match against Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova at the Paris Open on Tuesday.
Russian Vera Zvonareva beat unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in the semi-final on Thursday. She will now face defending champion Serena Williams in the summit clash.
Sixth seed Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia, eighth seed Francesca Schiavone of Italy and India's Sania Mirza moved into the second round of the $1.3 million Qatar Open on Monday.
Serena Williams was forced to dig deep to secure a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 US Open quarter-final victory over unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova on Wednesday, keeping alive her latest bid for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title.
Victoria Azarenka's career has been a rollercoaster ride since she since she returned to the tour in 2017 after taking time off to have her son, Leo. After three years away from the WTA Tour following the birth of her son Alexander, Tsvetana Pironkova, playing in her first event since 2017, claimed a shock upset at the US Open.
Juan Martin del Potro continued his encouraging buildup to the Australian Open by reaching the semi-finals of the Sydney International on Thursday, but women's contender Petra Kvitova was stunned by a Bulgarian qualifier in the last four.
Top seed Ana Ivanovic crashed out of the Italian Open in her first game on Wednesday, losing 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova.
Former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro underlined his status as a dark horse for next week's Australian Open by hammering Dmitry Tursunov to reach the final of the Sydney International on Friday.
Sam Stosur powered into the French Open quarter-finals with a 7-6(0), 6-3 win against Simona Halep in Paris on Tuesday, adapting better to damp and heavy conditions than her higher-ranked Romanian opponent.
Serena Williams said the work is never done for mothers who are also professional tennis players following her victory over fellow mom Tsvetana Pironkova in the US Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.
British 13th seed Johanna Konta felt 'embarrassed' after recovering from a health scare at a humid US Open on Wednesday to claim her place in the third round with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win over Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova.
- At 18 years and 109 days, Bencic is the youngest player to win a premier-level title since Caroline Wozniacki won in New Haven almost seven years ago - Uzbek Istomin wins men's title
Serena Williams sounded a warning for her fellow Australian Open contenders with a sleek win
Serena Williams showed glimpses of what lies in store for rivals this season
Stanislas Wawrinka had to dig deep to beat Borna Coric at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Wednesday and conceded his thoughts had been far from tennis over the past few days.
IMAGES from Day 8 of the matches played at the US Open at Flushing Meadows on Monday
Novak Djokovic continued his Wimbledon preparations by beating American Donald Young 6-2, 7-6(9) on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Aegon International tournament at Eastbourne.
Former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro stepped up his comeback from another wrist surgery by toppling top seed Fabio Fognini at the Sydney International on Wednesday.
Fans spent more time looking at the murky Parisian sky than watching tennis on Tuesday as French Open organisers were accused of "not caring about the players" after the event was disrupted by more rain following the previous day's washout.
Images from Day 5 of the French Open in Paris on Thursday.
Top seed Andy Murray could meet Roger Federer or Kei Nishikori in the third round, while Serena faces tricky Belinda Bencic in opening round
Images from Day 3 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros in Paris on Tuesday
PHOTOS from day four of the Wimbledon championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Thursday.
Images from matches played on Day 4 at the US Open at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Thursday.
Images from Wednesday's matches at Roland Garros
US Open champions Marin Cilic and Serena Williams kicked off their China Open campaigns with straight sets victories against battling underdogs on Monday, but Rafael Nadal suffered defeat in a rare doubles outing on his return from injury.
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