Following is a list of American Serena Williams' 22 grand slam singles titles as she equalled Steffi Graf's professional era record with victory at Wimbledon on Saturday
The following is a timeline charting her rise to the top of the women's game:
Doctors operated on all five fingers of her left hand and she will not be able to exert pressure on the injured hand for three months to let repairs to tendons heal, Karel Tejkal, spokesman for the Czech Fed Cup team, said.
A summary of the matches from Day 9 at the French Open.
Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard swatted aside an out-of-sorts Serena Williams 6-2, 6-1 at the Hopman Cup in Perth on Tuesday.
Angelique Kerber displayed her grit and vaunted fitness as she battled back to beat France's Pauline Parmentier 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in scorching heat on Monday to reach the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open.
Images from all the action on Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday
Top seed Roger Federer reached the Halle Open semi-finals on Friday, beating defending champion Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4 and edging closer to a ninth title at the Wimbledon tune-up event.
And, since, pictures speak more than words, Rediff.com brings you images from these sporting events and others that made headlines in the week gone by.
He leads the men's seedings ahead of defending champ Roger Federer, with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov seeded third.
India's Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis battled past defending champions Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova to not only reach the semi-finals of the WTA Family Circle Cup but also secure the top place in the team rankings in the 'Road To Singapore'.
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black were halted in their stride by the world No 1 Italian pair of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in the women's doubles quarter-finals at the Australian Open in Mlebourne on Tuesday. The sixth seeds lost 2-6, 6-3, 4-6.
Croatia's Donna Vekic came from a set down to win the Nottingham grasscourt event in a pulsating final against Britain's Johanna Konta on Sunday to remind the tennis world why she was once considered one of the game's hottest prospects.
World number ones Serena Williams, aiming to complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam in 27 years, and Novak Djokovic have been named the top seeds for the US Open championships starting on Monday in New York.
Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Andy Murray were the big names to win on Monday and advance to the quarter-final of the Wimbledon.
Top seed Roger Federer will challenge for a ninth Halle Open title after reaching the Wimbledon warm-up event final with a 6-4 7-6(5) victory over rising Russian talent Karen Khachanov on Saturday.
It proved a happy Halloween for Czech Petra Kvitova after she made the most of coming back from the dead to set up a title-match showdown with Agnieszka Radwanksa at the WTA Finals.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic will face Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, the player who denied him a medal in London, in the opening round of the Rio Olympics after the draw was made on Thursday.
Defending champion Serena Williams reached the semi-finals of the Western & Southern tournament in Cincinnati but not before having her mettle tested in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over sixth-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic on Friday.
China's Li Na allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction after she advanced to her fourth Australian Open semi-final on Tuesday, mindful that an inquisition from coach Carlos Rodriguez earlier in the tournament had helped her get there.
Australia's Samantha Stosur failed to allay fears she could be heading for another early exit at her home Grand Slam with a scrappy performance in Hobart while a trio of big names tumbled out of the Sydney International on Monday.
The US Open reached an emotional climax on Sunday as the year's final grand slam paused amid heavy security before the start of the men's singles to remember those who died in the 9/11 attacks 15 years ago.
The signs that things were going horribly wrong for Roger Federer were laid bare at Roland Garros.
An ailing Serena Williams stayed on course for a 20th grand slam singles title as she came back from the brink to reach the final of the French Open with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win against Swiss power hitter Timea Bacsinszky on Thursday.
Serena Williams and defending champion Maria Sharapova remained on course for a heavyweight Madrid Open final.
A summary of Friday play at the French Open.
Top seed Serena Williams dropped the second set before bouncing back to beat compatriot Christina Mchale 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in second-round action at the Miami Open in Florida on Thursday.
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are top seeds at the major starting Monday
Serena Williams is a five-times Wimbledon champion but the American has surprisingly declared that she has "never really liked grass".
Angelique Kerber is the world number one in women's tennis yet it remains a title she has yet to grow accustomed to after her meteoric rise to the summit.
For all their success together, the red dirt isn't Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis' most favourite surface.
Challengers to Serena Williams' throne have proved as fickle as a Paris spring and as the year's second grand slam starts the veteran American is again seemingly in a league of her own. The 34-year-old's charge to overhaul Margaret Court's record 24 grand slam singles titles may have stalled since she chalked up major number 21 at last year's Wimbledon. But after fine-tuning her claycourt game by winning last week's Italian Open she will begin the defence of her French Open title as the strong favourite. With twice French Open champion Maria Sharapova suspended pending the findings of an anti-doping hearing after she tested positive for Meldonium in Australia this year, the list of players capable of toppling a fully firing Williams is short.
Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska's title defence at the Sydney International lasted just 92 minutes when she was dumped out of the second round by Bethanie Mattek-Sands on Tuesday.
Reigning champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been named top seeds for the Australian Open starting on Monday.
The Czech Republic defended their Fed Cup title on Sunday as Karolina Pliskova became the home team's hero with a starring performance in their thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Russia.
'Even though she's still playing arguably her best tennis, you have to wonder at a certain point how long that can keep up.'
Maria Sharapova knows the pitfalls of being a prodigy and after easing into the fourth round at Roland Garros the seasoned grand slam champion offered some sage advice to the new generation in women's tennis.
Madison Keys beat fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe for the second time in eight days with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory on Monday to reach the second round of the Cincinnati Open.
Roger Federer reached the Rogers Cup semi-finals on Friday after coming to the net early and often in a straight sets victory over Roberto Bautista Agut on a windy day in Montreal.
The lanky wild card kissed the Montreal court after completing a rousing 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) triumph as the 18-year-old became the youngest player to ever reach the quarter-finals of an ATP Masters 1000 event.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances