Canadian teenager Eugenie Bouchard swatted aside an out-of-sorts Serena Williams 6-2, 6-1 at the Hopman Cup in Perth on Tuesday.
The Indian teen sensation says the third round Australian Open match will be the biggest of her career.
Serena Williams made the most of a break in her match against 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova on Monday, when the Centre Court roof was closed after she threatened to sue organisers if she fell and injured herself on the slippery turf.
Fourth seeded Williams beat Serbian second seed Jelena Jankovic in straight sets to win her third US Open crown and ninth Grand Slam title.
Serena Williams has a simple plan as she enters the twilight of her career. One tournament at a time. Oh, and have some fun.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are among a number of players who will feature in an exhibition match ahead of this month's Australian Open to raise funds for bushfire relief efforts, organisers announced on Wednesday. All funds raised from the two-and-a-half hour event on January 15 at Rod Laver Arena -- called AO Rally for Relief -- will be donated to the relief cause with tickets priced at A$54 ($37.09).
The former world No.1 told organisers of the Perth event that she wants to concentrate on defending her title at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic took a first unsteady step toward completing the calendar-year Grand Slam on Tuesday as the Serb laboured into the second round of the US Open with a 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1 win over dashing Danish teenager Holger Rune.
Defending champion Thomas Johansson of Sweden is injured and won't be defending his title at the Australian Open.
Naomi Osaka announced her arrival on the big stage at the US Open on Thursday, beating last year's runner-up Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4 to reach her first Grand Slam final.
Serena Williams moved another step closer to a record-tying 24th career Grand Slam title with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 victory over Czech Karolina Muchova on Friday to reach the last 16 at the US Open.
The teenager stunned champion Serena Williams 6-1 6-4 in the Wimbledon final to become the first Russian to win a singles title at the championships.
Seven-time champion Serena Williams endured an unlikely scrap in her Wimbledon opener and will look to shake off more rust in the second round on Thursday when she faces another qualifier in 18-year-old Kaja Juvan.
Russian Sharapova pulled out because of a hamstring injury while Serena is still down with flu.
Caroline Wozniacki became the first Danish tennis player to be crowned world number one when she beat Czech Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the China Open on Thursday.
Factbox on American Serena Williams, who plays sister Venus in the final of the Australian Open on Saturday.
America's Serena Williams beat Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to win her fifth Wimbledon women's singles title on Saturday.
Serena Williams capped off a season to remember by capturing her fourth WTA Championship title with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Li Na on Sunday.
The American started her Australian Open title defence with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Jarmila Gajdosova in the first round.
Russia's Ekaterina Makarova etched her name into Australian Open folklore on Monday by stunning Serena Williams 6-2 6-3 in their fourth-round match to end the American's aura of invincibility at Melbourne Park.
Defending champion Serena Williams advanced to her fifth Australian Open final after a patient 7-6, 7-6 victory over China's Li Na Thursday.
The 43-year-old American, contesting the Wimbledon singles for a record 24th time, still retains the easy power that once made her the queen of Centre Court but succumbed 6-4, 6-3 after a nasty early fall hindered her movement.
Williams, a record 23-times Grand Slam champion, will be returning to the All England Club for the first time since giving birth to her daughter last September.
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka advanced to the Rogers Cup quarter-finals on Thursday to set up their first meeting since the American's infamous row with an umpire overshadowed last year's US Open final.
Having played just one tournament since mid-September due to various injuries and a recent bout of flu, Serena Williams is now itching to get back into competition with the Rio Olympics among her top priorities for the year.
Justine Henin and Serena Williams will square up in a battle of former champions at the U.S. Open on Tuesday, while Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic headline the action in the men's event.
Men's second seed Rafael Nadal starts against Israel's Dudi Sela while three-time champion Novak Djokovic faces American Tennys Sandgren.
'I'm an actress, model and an athlete. I put athlete third on my list,' the world No. 1 says.
Serena Williams's love affair with winning tennis tournaments, and Paris, began 14 years ago and the American's passion for both remains intense after winning the French Open on Saturday.
Serena Williams won her eighth Miami Open title with little trouble, enjoying a 6-2, 6-0 win over Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro in just 56 minutes on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic held off a Roger Federer fightback as he reached the final of the Australian Open for the fifth time in six years. Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska was taken apart 6-0 6-4 by the reigning women's champion Serena Williams.
Andy Murray is on the verge of crowning Britain's golden summer by ending one of the longest droughts in sport. Only the formidable figure of Novak Djokovic stands in his way of winning Monday's US Open men's final.
France's Alize Cornet beat a despondent Serena Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the semi-finals of the Dubai Championships on Friday in what the world number 26 described as the biggest win of her career.
Serena Williams crushed top seed Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-1 to reach the last eight.
Breeze though the outfits that caught the maximum shutterbugs at the final Grand Slam of the year.
Comeback queen Williams demonstrated that she still belonged among the elite as she annihilated Sharapova to win her eighth Grand Slam trophy.
Serena Williams edged past Spain's Garbine Muguruza 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the quarters.
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The past, present and future of women's tennis will all come together at the Australian Open on Thursday when Serena Williams and Justine Henin square off against Chinese opponents for a place in the final.
Venus and Serena Williams won the US Open women's doubles crown on Monday with a dominating 6-2, 6-2 victory over top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber.
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