Also returning to the 15-man squad, which will also take part in the upcoming Asia Cup tournament before the March 8-April 3 World Twenty20, was all-rounder Angelo Mathews.
Williams came tantalisingly close to equalling the mark having reached the final in four majors since she returned from maternity leave in 2018.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 10 images.
United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania released a statement on Saturday wishing "warm greetings" to those celebrating Eid al-Fitr.
Another Indian national, who was among about 15 people held hostage in a popular Sydney cafe and later rescued, was also an Infosys employee.
Here's a glimpse of how the world welcomed 2016.
Australia stormed into the World Cup quarter-finals with a 64-run victory over Sri Lanka, fired by a spectacular maiden one-day international century from Glenn Maxwell at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
The Santina juggernaut rolls as the Indo-Swiss pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis overcame the Czech duo Andrea Hlav?kov and Lucie Hradeck in straight sets to win the Australian Open at the Rod Laver Arena on Friday. The World No.1 duo defeated their seventh seed opponents 7-6, 6-3 in under two hours to clinch their third title in Australia after winning in Brisbane and Sydney earlier this year. This was their third major (2015 Wimbledon and U.S Open) and twelfth doubles title together as Sania and Martina extended their winning streak to 36 matches. Images from Santina's title victory in Melbourne.
Long called upon to rescue his team from treacherous situations, Australia captain Michael Clarke could do little to save his close friend Phillip Hughes, but bore his grief quietly in a vital supporting role for his "little brother's" family.
Welcome to the crazy, crazy world of selfie-takers!
Australia cruised to a seven-wicket consolation victory in the day-night third Test on Sunday after dismissing South Africa for 250 and knocking off the 127 runs for victory for the loss of three wickets before dinner on day four. - Scorecard: There was a minor scare when, with 63 runs still required, Dave Warner was run-out for 47 and Usman Khawaja dismissed for a duck inside one over but there was never any real doubt that Australia would avoid a first ever 3-0 sweep on home soil.
The Australian team said they evacuated their building at the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro because of a fire in the basement on Friday, one week before the Games open.
Three years after his ignominious exit as Australia's captain in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal, Steve Smith has said he is keen and ready to lead the national side again if an opportunity came his way.
South Africa captain Faf Du Plessis admitted that it is normal to get distracted by the weekend's Indian Premier League auctions as the cash-rich T20 event 'plays a big part in their lives'.
Take a look back at the two politicos over the years.
Chinese weightlifter Zhou Lulu set a clean and jerk World record of 192 kilograms to win gold in the women's +75kg category at the Asian Games on Friday. Zhou added 2kg to Russian Tatiana Kashirna's previous mark, set last year in Poland.
Australia Davis Cup captain Hewitt says threatened by Tomic
The squad includes representatives from seven nations for the games, which will have international status, in Lahore on September 12, 13 and 15.
Australia got off to a terrible start when centre back Bailey Wright gave away possession with the second pass of the game, allowing Diego Souza to hammer home a low shot to groans from most of the 49,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
People across the world woke up to an early-morning call to celebrate the second International Yoga Day on Tuesday with much enthusiasm.
India continued their stranglehold in women's 4x400m relay event in the Asian Games as its quartet ran a brilliant race to win the gold for the fourth time on the trot in Games record time in the 17th edition in Incheon on Thursday.
He was a great Commander-in-Chief, but he was also a great dad and a great husband and these photos will surely give you some #familygoals.
The women's 4x400m relay quartet lived up to their expectations by clinching a gold after a brilliant race as India ended their athletics campaign with an impressive haul of 13 medals in the 17th Asian Games in Incheon on Thursday.
Usman Khawaja hit Australia's first century of the series and Peter Handscomb scored a half-century on debut as the hosts reached 307 for six with a lead of 48 at end of the second day of the day-night third Test against South Africa in Adelaide.
Sales of total electric vehicles in India are expected to be around 10 lakh units this year, equal to what was sold collectively in the last 15 years, mainly riding on the good traction witnessed by electric two-wheelers, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) said on Thursday. In 2021, the sales of electric two-wheelers (E2Ws) in the country jumped over two-fold at 233,971 units driven by a good traction of high-speed scooters as compared to 100,736 units in 2020, SMEV said in a statement. "We haven't seen better days than the last few months in the entire EV journey.
Bernard Tomic ground down Jack Sock 7-6(2), 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to level Australia's Davis Cup first round tie with the United States at 1-1 in Melbourne on Friday.
An armed gunman on Monday took several people hostage at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney and forced two people to hold what appeared to be a black flag bearing Islamic slogans written in Arabic in the store's window.
Brazil's Bruno Soares, fuelled by numerous cups of coffee, produced a doubles double on Sunday when he and Russian partner Elena Vesnina won the Australian Open mixed doubles title on Rod Laver Arena.
The golden couple of Holywood got hitched over the weekend.
"We've carried out the executions," an attorney general official told the Jakarta Post.
South Korea's Asian Games cricket experiment ended in defeat to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, but after their collection of baseball players and weekend enthusiasts took eight wickets off the Twenty20 world champions, coach Julian Fountain believes the sport could truly flourish here.
Tomic had to battle hard against the top seed, saving four match points in a tense final set before wrapping up the match in two hours and 15 minutes.
The world has come together to #prayforparis.
Rediff.com brings you some pictures that summarise the happenings in the sporting world in the week that was.
The inflation in the food basket spiked to 7.89 per cent in October 2019 as against 5.11 per cent the preceding month.
Reigning champion and top seed Angelique Kerber was knocked out of the fourth round of the Australian Open on Sunday, losing 6-2, 6-3 to American Coco Vandeweghe on Rod Laver Arena.
South Africa have not asked for quick pitches to be prepared for their four-Test series against Australia, which starts in Durban on Thursday, after the ploy backfired just over a month ago, captain Faf du Plessis said on Wednesday.
Maria Sharapova beat Ana Ivanovic in the final of the Brisbane International on Saturday in a display that bodes well for her chances at the Australian Open.
A risk-taker, she'll always be remembered for her unforgettable style and daring fashion choices as a First Lady.
Here's a look at some of the weirdest photos from out there!
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances