Novak Djokovic, who won Wimbledon to take his major singles titles to 21, has opted not to be vaccinated against COVID-19. He said on Thursday he could not fly to New York for the year's final Grand Slam.
Maria Sharapova marched into the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open after crushing Australian Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-2 on Friday to set up a last four meeting with fellow-Russian Vera Zvonareva.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic is the top seed in the men's draw which includes five-times US Open champion and 17-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer as seventh seed - his first time the Swiss has been placed outside the top three in a Grand Slam in over ten years.
Olympic champion Andy Murray restored some order at the Western & Southern Open by cutting down South African giant Kevin Anderson to reach the quarter-finals on an upset-filled Thursday in Cincinnati.
Serb Jelena Jankovic has rediscovered her form in time for the U.S. Open, while compatriot and fellow former world number one Ana Ivanovic is still looking to turn her season round.
Kim Clijsters' brilliant comeback continued at the Cincinnati Open with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win over French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova on Thursday, but the Williams sisters both fell at the third round hurdle. Second seed Serena, struggling with a virus, lost 7-5, 6-4 to Austria's Sybille Bammer while in-form Italian Flavia Pennetta ended the hopes of third seed Venus with a 7-6, 6-4 victory.
Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week's Stanford Classic due to a thumb injury, organisers said on Thursday.
IMAGES from Day 8 of the action at the US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows in New York on Monday.
The tournament will take place in a quarantined setting from Aug. 31-Sept. 13 in New York. The Western & Southern Open, which was relocated from Cincinnati this year, will be held from Aug. 20-28 as a warm-up event for the Grand Slam.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the US Open played at Flushing Meadows in New York on Tuesday.
Former world number one Serena Williams continued her return to form with a convincing 6-3, 7-6 victory over Czech Lucie Hradecka in the first round of the Cincinnati Open Tuesday but showed signs of fatigue in her second set.
India's Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Strycova defeated unseeded pair of Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and Spain's Maria Jose Martina Sanchez 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 to enter the Toray Pan Pacific Open final, in Tokyo on Friday.
Venus Williams showed that, almost a year after her health scare, she has the stamina needed as she battled for two hours 23 minutes to beat Russia's Maria Kirilenko 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 at the Cincinnati Open on Tuesday.
IMAGES from matches on Day 4 of the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York on Thursday.
Karolina Pliskova overcame a slow start before beating Garbie Muguruza 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) in her opening match at the WTA Finals. In a contest between two former No. 1-ranked players, the third-seeded Pliskova struggled early adjusting to the nearly 5,000-feet altitude of Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city on Wednesday.
She will face the Serbian in the first round of Cincinnati Open in Ohio on Monday.
The female touch has brought a little more fun into the routine of former world number one Ana Ivanovic as she tries to claw her way back up the world rankings.
IMAGES from Day 6 of the 2023 US Open on Saturday.
There is a petition circulating to allow Novak Djokovic to play at the US Open but the Serbian appears likely to miss the entire North American hardcourt swing barring a sudden change in COVID-19 protocols in the United States and Canada.
Kim Clijsters's comeback gathered pace on Wednesday when the former world number one beat Swiss Patty Schnyder 6-2, 7-5 to reach the third round of the Cincinnati Open. Second seed Serena Williams, who holds three of the four Grand Slam titles, also advanced to the third round after overpowering Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-3, 6-2.
Kim Clijsters made a stunning return to tennis after a two-year absence when she beat world number 13 Marion Bartoli of France 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Cincinnati Open on Monday. The former world number one, who gave birth to her first child in February of last year, outplayed the former Wimbledon runner-up in one hour, 22 minutes.
The eight men to watch during the US Open which starts on Monday.
Naomi Osaka's management team told Reuters via email that she would be participating at Flushing Meadows.
Paes and Martin Damm beat Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner of the Czech Republic in the second round of the Cincinnati Open.
Venus Williams targets return for Indian Wells and Miami
The Indian ace, who broke into the top-50 this week, is suffering from a stomach pull
Djokovic says young rivals have awoken his inner 'beast'
Top seed Lindsay Davenport had little difficulty advancing to the semi-finals at the Cincinnati Open on Friday.
Former champions Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams have all entered next month's Western & Southern Open in New York, which will serve as a tune-up for the US Open, tournament organisers said on Wednesday. Organisers of the August 20-28 event, which was relocated from Cincinnati this year because of COVID-19, said defending champions Daniil Medvedev and Madison Keys are also among the initial entries.
Serena Williams's impressive return from injury ended when she lost 6-2, 6-3 to Russian Vera Zvonareva in the Cincinnati Open semi-finals on Saturday.
The third seeds beat the Chinese-Uzbek pair of Meng Yuan and Varvara Lepchenko in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open.
The seventh seeded Indo-Czech pair lost 6-7 (3-7), 2-6 on Centre Court last evening.
Patty Schnyder admitted that she found it difficult to read Sania's game during their quarterfinal at Cincinnati.
The Indian ace was beaten by the top seeded Swiss girl 6-7(7), 5-7 in the quarter-finals.
US Open, the final Grand Slam of the season, starts Monday, August 28, at Flushing Meadows in New York.
The 43-year-old Bopanna and 35-year-old Ebden, who claimed two doubles titles on the ATP Tour earlier this year, will next face the unseeded British pair of Jacob Fearnley and Johannus Monday on Sunday.
The match ended in 52 minutes as Williams played her forehand into the net.
Nadal's great rival and fellow 20-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer is also out of the US Open and will be sidelined for many months because he needs knee surgery.
Andrey Rublev made the most of Holger Rune's nerves to win a see-saw Monte Carlo final 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 on Sunday, as the Russian's talent was finally rewarded with a Masters title.
World number one Naomi Osaka will "probably" defend her US Open title, even if it means defying her doctor's orders.
