Sharapova was granted a wildcard entry to the last Grand Slam of the season but received a tough first-round draw in the shape of Romanian Halep.
"I think she will win a Grand Slam. Which one and when I don't know, but definitely clay is a good surface for her."
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Romanian partner Horia Tecau's dream run came to an end in the mixed doubles event of the Australian Open on Sunday.
Maria Sharapova had given warning that she was ready for a three hour French Open final - and she was true to her word, stopping the clock at three hours two minutes to lift the trophy.
Sania Mirza and Cara Black eased past Gabriela Dabrowski and Alicja Rosolska to move to the pre-quarterfinals of the French Open women's doubles event in Paris on Saturday.
Seres said Indo-Romanian economic relations have been on an upswing in recent years.
Top seed Simona Halep was pooled with grand slam winners Maria Sharapova and Flavia Pennetta in a formidable looking Red Group for the end-of-season WTA Finals on Friday.
Simona Halep has moved back to the top five in the latest women's tennis world rankings issued by the WTA, after clinching her first title in over a year at the Madrid Masters.
A clinical Roger Federer took a confident step towards a fourth Miami Open title on Wednesday, easing past 13th-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-2 to book a spot in the quarter-finals.
Simona Halep produced a flawless performance to beat Serena Williams in last year's final but this week's cancellation of the grasscourt Grand Slam means she will not get to defend her title this summer.
Truly, a sight for lockdown-weary eyes. These mesmerising panoramic shots have been revealed as the winners and shortlisted entries in the 2020 Epson International Pano Awards. Organisers reported that they received 5,859 entries from 1,452 photographers in 96 countries this year, competing for the top spots in five categories, for several special awards, and for some of the cash prizes offered. Scroll down to see the shots the judges declared had the wow factor...
Images from Sunday's action at the Australian Open.
The top seeded Indo-Zimbabwean pair of Sania Mirza and Cara Black rallied from a set down to quell the challenge of Irina-Camelia Begu and Maria Irigoyen in the opening round of the WTA Portugal Open, in Oeiras, on Wednesday.
Images from Day 2 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros on Monday
Sania Mirza had no qualms in admitting that she and Horia Tecau were 'outplayed' in the Australian Open mixed doubles final, but said she had a great tournament and lost only to the best teams in the two events she participated in.
There were, however, no eye-catching major deals in the final 24 hours of transfer activity for European clubs which continues the trend of recent January windows.
The hard court, outdoor competition in Lexington, Kentucky, marked the WTA's first tournament in the United States since the coronavirus outbreak forced almost all sport into a long break earlier this year.
A first-half header by striker Armando Sadiku gave Albania a 1-0 win over Romania at Euro 2016 on Sunday and kept alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stages in their first major tournament. The result of a pulsating clash left the Balkan nation third in Group A on three points behind France and Switzerland, meaning that they are in contention to finish as one of the best four third-placed teams who will progress to the last 16. It also eliminated a toothless Romanian side who finished bottom on one point. A lack of cutting edge made them easy prey for the competition's rank outsiders, who thrived in an intense atmosphere in Lyon's new stadium.
Images from Day 2 of the 2022 Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Novak Djokovic remained on course for his first title of the season with a second round victory over Victor Hanescu 7-6, 6-2 at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday.
In only her second year on the professional tour, Eugenie Bouchard reached the semi-finals of the Australian and French Opens and is now a win away from living up her billing as the "next Maria Sharapova".
Simona Halep lost her chance to go on a court she likened to "a very nice hotel" after she checked out of Wimbledon early following a shock 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 defeat by 106th-ranked Slovakian Jana Cepelova.
Karolina Pliskova, a grand slam underachiever, took a big step towards shedding that unwanted label by sweeping past Croatian teenager Ana Konjuh 6-2 6-2 on Wednesday to roar into the semi-finals of the U.S. Open.
Top seeds Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis entered the final at the Madrid Open after a crushing 6-2, 6-0 victory over Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva on Friday. It is the second successive final for the Indo-Swiss pair following the runners-up finish in Stuttgart.
A look at the top women's contenders at the 2020 French Open.
Former Australian tennis player Mark Philippoussis has reportedly married an Australian model, after two broken engagements in the past.
Maria Sharapova recovered from a woeful start to overwhelm rising talent Simona Halep 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the Madrid Open and claim her 31st career title on Sunday.
Inter Milan midfielder Christian Eriksen scored his first goal for the club since last month's move from Tottenham Hotspur to set up a 2-0 win at Ludogorets Razgrad in their Europa League last 32, first leg on Thursday. Getafe pulled off a surprise 2-0 home win over last year's Champions League semi-finalists Ajax Amsterdam, while Manchester United were held 1-1 at Club Brugge in wet and windy conditions. Wolverhampton Wanderers' Diogo Jota scored a second successive hat-trick in the competition to lead his side to a 4-0 victory over Espanyol and Arsenal won 1-0 at Olympiakos Piraeus with a late Alexandre Lacazette goal.
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis saw off the challenge of Australian team of Casey Dellacqua and Samantha Stosur to move to the second round of the BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells. The top seeded Indo-Swiss pair defeated their rivals 6-3 7-5 in just 68 minutes in their opening round of the USD 6,844,139 hard court event. Sania and Martina saved four of the six breakpoints they faced in the match and broke their rivals five times in the tight contest. They next face local girl Vania King and Russia's Alla Kudryavtseva, who beat Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Czech Republic's Barbora Strycova 4-6 6-3 10-5. In the men's event, Rohan Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea, seeded fifth, are up against Spanish team of Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lpez in their first round of the USD 7,037,595 event.
American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, whose agonising on-court injury shocked Wimbledon, says she will need surgery and faces being sidelined from the game.
It's hard not to get skin tingles when you see these stunning images. They are winning pictures and shortlisted entries from the sixth annual International Landscape Photographer of the Year competition. More than 3,400 photos were entered into the contest from both amateur and professional photographers from around the globe. The shots feature everything from remote beaches to moody mountain ranges.
Simona Halep believes this year's French Open victory has helped justify her position as the women's world number one
England's keeper Jordan Pickford scored and saved in a shootout as they beat Switzerland 6-5 on penalties to finish third in the Nations League on Sunday
Swiss former World No. 1 Martina Hingis, a winner of five Grand Slam singles titles, headlined the International Tennis Hall of Fame's list of inductees for the 2013 class.
Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna, who will represent India at the Rio Olympics as a team, may clash against each other at the Wimbledon pre-quarterfinals as they have been drawn in the top half of the draw at the men's doubles event. Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea, seeded sixth, open their campaign against Croatian pair of Marin Draganja and Nikola Mektic.
Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea breezed into the pre-quarter-finals of the men's doubles at the Australian Open, beating Lukas Dlouhy and Jiri Vesely, on Friday.
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has withdrawn from the US Open due to a long-term knee problem, the United States Tennis Association said on Monday.
No, insists his little sister Arpita Khan.
Venus Williams powered into the Italian Open quarter-finals on Thursday with a dominant 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 victory over fifth seed Johanna Konta.
The 20-year-old, looking to become the first unseeded woman to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup since 1933, blazed her way to the final, hitting winners and errors with reckless abandon.
