IMAGES from Day 4 of the matches played at the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
Aryna Sabalenka will aim to take a huge stride towards a third Australian Open title in four years when the Belarusian top seed clashes with Ukraine's Elina Svitolina on Thursday in a semi-final simmering with geopolitical tension.
The Congress party has announced VD Satheesan as the next chief minister of Kerala, ending days of speculation. The decision was revealed at a press conference in New Delhi.
The closing ceremony of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad featured stars like Ricky Martin, but viewers at home complained about poor audio quality during the broadcast.
Stanislas Wawrinka started the run at last year's US Open, followed by a 35-year-old Federer at Melbourne Park and Rafael Nadal in Paris.
Together, the two young stars have now claimed seven out of the last eight Grand Slam titles.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka began her 2026 campaign with a thumping victory at the Brisbane International on Tuesday while her "Battle of the Sexes" opponent Nick Kyrgios fell short on his return to singles action after nearly a year out.
Players from the Philippines and Hong Kong will be on the schedule for the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time this week, as the U.S. Open sees the impact of an increasingly global game.
...And Alcaraz continues hat-trick quest
Naomi Osaka battled past Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the Australian Open second round. Later, Osaka apologised at her press conference, calling her on-court comments 'disrespectful'.
India is set to compete in the Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania Group I ties, aiming for promotion to the 2026 play-offs. Despite a setback with Shrivalli Bhamidipaty's withdrawal, the team hopes to capitalise on home advantage.
Sunday's showdown between four-times Grand Slam champion Sabalenka and former world number 13 Kyrgios is seen by many as entertainment, but critics believe it risks undermining women's tennis by trivialising decades of progress toward equality.
Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina beat Martin Hingis and Italy's Flavia Pennetta 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to capture the U.S. Open doubles title on Saturday, denying the Swiss a return to the Flushing Meadows winner circle for the first time in 16 years.
Serena Williams beat her sister Venus 6-4, 6-4 in the Australian Open final on Saturday to win her 23rd grand slam singles title and become the most successful tennis player in the open era.
The 43-year-old, whose longevity is a talked about tale in world tennis, said the line-up that Spain has presented for the Davis Cup tie against India is a must watch for every single budding athlete in the country.
Stanislas Wawrinka will bid to break the 'Big Four' strangle-hold on Grand Slam silverware after edging Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 7-6(4) in the first semi-final.
It will be an all-American quartet in the last eight at Melbourne as fourth seed Amanda Anisimova beat China's dark horse Wang Xinyu in their fourth round match on Monday.
The French Open is elevating its total purse at Roland Garros to about $63.7 million, an increase of 5.21 percent compared to last year.
Czech Katerina Siniakova and Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands claimed the Wimbledon mixed doubles title on Thursday, defeating Britain's Joe Salisbury and Brazilian Luisa Stefani 7-6(3), 7-6(3).
Flattens Faria in 2nd round to advance in Melbourne
Divya Deshmukh not only became the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women's World Cup, she also instantly secured the prestigious Grandmaster title.
Carlos Alcaraz completed a thrilling comeback to capture his fifth Grand Slam title at the French Open on Sunday, drawing level with his childhood idol Rafael Nadal's tally at the same age.
Yuki Bhambri progressed to his maiden Grand Slam semi-final by advancing to the last four of the US Open men's doubles event with New Zealand partner Michael Venus.
Aravindh Chithambaram defeated D Gukesh at the Prague International Chess Festival, while Jorden van Foreest maintains his lead in the tournament.
Hans Niemann quite literally made a splash on Wednesday, winning an underwater chess exhibition as festivities opened for the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Finals in Cape Town, where the world's elite players gathered ahead of the main competition.
'This has been a special week for me. To be playing at this level and in the semifinals of a Slam is a big moment.'
Carlos Alcaraz powered into his third successive Australian Open quarter-final, beating Tommy Paul in straight sets in a match interrupted by a medical emergency.
The four-times Grand Slam champion, who is eyeing her third Australian Open trophy when the tournament begins on January 18 at Melbourne Park, was pushed harder in the next set but edged ahead again at 5-4 to wrap up the win on serve.
The World No 1, who extended his hardcourt winning streak to 26 matches, will play against Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals.
World number two Jannik Sinner survived a stern test from Joao Fonseca on Tuesday to reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals.
Gauff is a fan favourite in Melbourne
'Doesn't matter what the head-to-head looks like. It's always a new match, always a new battle.'
Struggling Swiatek will open her campaign against Slovakian Rebecca Sramkova.
Novak Djokovic admitted reality was beginning to bite after the Serb was unable to bridge a 15-year age gap in a Wimbledon semi-final drubbing against Italian Jannik Sinner on Friday.
While Jannik Sinner and French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz have won the last seven major titles between them, the Italian cautioned against complacency and pointed to the strength of competition in the ATP Tour.
Iga Swiatek arrives at the US Open with her sights set on a seventh Grand Slam title and a potential return to World No. 1 to cap what she calls a remarkable year of redemption following "the worst experience of my life".
Iga Swiatek demolished Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in just under an hour to clinch her first Wimbledon title and fifth Grand Slam crown overall.
Mboko, currently ranked 85th in the world, became the first Canadian to defeat three former Grand Slam champions in a single WTA event in the Open Era, with victories over Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina.
World No 1 Williams, 33, could not practise on Friday, still suffering from an illness that left her coughing and spluttering during her three-set semi-final win over Swiss Timea Bacsinszky.
Novak Djokovic fights past Aleksandar Kovacevic to reach the last 16 at Indian Wells Open, setting up a clash with defending champion Jack Draper.
