Multiple grand slam champion Maria Sharapova withdrew from the Brisbane International on Tuesday after suffering an arm injury in practise less than two weeks before the Australian Open.
Defending champion Marin Cilic and unseeded Roberta Vinci were the first through to the quarter-finals of the US Open in New York, on Tuesday, and both needed to go the distance against tough French resistance.
Formula One teams and stakeholders failed to agree a fix for the sport's failed new qualifying format at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday and agreed instead to go away and consider a compromise by next Thursday.
Lewis Hamilton's world championship defence got off to a flying start on Sunday with a crushing victory for Mercedes in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as Formula One rivals succumbed to a farcical rash of reliability problems.
World number two Maria Sharapova, a stunning second-round loser at Wimbledon last month, has taken on eight-time Grand Slam winner Jimmy Connors as her new coach.
In-form Victoria Azarenka battled past an ailing but determined second seed Angelique Kerber to set up a Miami Open final showdown against Svetlana Kuznetsova with a 6-2, 7-5 victory on Thursday.
Felipe Massa said farewell to thousands of Ferrari fans in Italy on Sunday and received a trophy nearly as tall as him to celebrate his time with the Formula One team.
The Serena Williams show continued at the US Open as the world number one moved a step closer to a calendar Grand Slam on Wednesday, while Mardy Fish took a final Flushing Meadows bow as the curtain came down on the American's career.
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
American teenage sensation Coco Gauff became the youngest player to win a WTA title in 15 years as she beat former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the Linz Open final on Sunday.
Images from the third day at the US Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, in New York, on Wednesday:
Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes 1-2 at the top of the timesheets for the first free practice session at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday, while McLaren's hopes of a clean start were tempered by reliability issues.
Images from all the action on Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday
Long before Simona Halep's demolition job on Serena Williams at the WTA Finals, the Romanian was already winning over another of the game's greats.
'We need to retell this history from many different perspectives.'
No one can look as sexy as them in a suit (or briefs for that matter).
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Bahrain Grand Prix for the second year in a row on Sunday with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen back on the podium to deny Mercedes another one-two finish under the floodlights.
World number five Alexander Zverev continued his poor recent form as he crashed out of the Italian Open in the second round while Serena Williams had to pull out of the women's draw with a recurring knee injury.
IMAGES from the matches played during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, at Wimbledon in London on Thursday
The absence of expectant mother Serena Williams and a failure by any of the other top women to produce the kind of dominance the American seven-times champion has consistently delivered makes this year's Wimbledon the most open in years.
Maria Sharapova's mix of grit and power were enough to see off American teenager Sofia Kenin 7-5, 6-2 in the third round of the US Open on Friday.
Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday
The Briton lapped the Albert Park circuit in a searing one minute and 21.164 seconds to cross the line 0.664 seconds clear of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
IMAGES of the all the action from Day 1 of the Australian Open played at Melbourne Park on Monday
Mercedes are expected to wrap up the constructors' championship on Sunday with three races to spare, having won 12 of the 15 so far with eight one-two finishes.
Images from the matches played on Day 8at the Roland Garros on Sunday
Lewis Hamilton won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday to equal the late Ayrton Senna's tally of 41 Formula One victories and move 48 points clear of Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg with five races remaining.
From Cristiano Ronaldo picking up the third Golden Boot award of his career to Phoenix Suns cheerleaders, Rediff.com has it all snapped right here...
The 2009 champion who will next face Roger Federer, saved two match points in the fourth set of what was arguably the best of the tournament so far.
IMAGES from all the action on Day 8 the Australian Open on Monday
Photos from the English Premier League matches played across England on Wednesday
Maria Sharapova made it a remarkable 20 victories from 23 grand slam quarter-finals but was pushed all the way at Wimbledon on Tuesday by feisty American Coco Vandeweghe before emerging a 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-2 winner.
Images from Day 1 of the Australian Open, in Melbourne, on Monday.
From potential dark horses to former champions, here are the players who were knocked out of the Australian Open on Thursday
Plotting a path to the Australian Open has never been trickier or more uncertain. Even the best players are baffled about the best way to prepare for their annual trek Down Under.
India's star tennis player Sania Mirza says she has achieved everything in her path-breaking career and has 'nothing to prove' in her second innings, which is likely to begin by January 2020.
Coco Vandeweghe blasted her way into her first grand slam semi-final with a dominant display of power tennis to destroy French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-0 at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
'The heart still bleeds for the Brazilian who gave us the finest, most memorable start we've seen in Formula One for many a year,' says Raja Sen.
Nico Rosberg won the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix for the second year in a row on Sunday and denied Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton a first success in the homeland of his late hero Ayrton Senna.
Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen has renewed his contract with Ferrari and will race for them again next season, the Formula One team said.
