Serena Williams, who held all four of tennis's grand slam titles for the second time in her career and won 53 of 56 matches in 2015, was named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine on Monday.
Serena Williams and Andy Murray had brief hiccups on the way to convincing victories at the US Open, each choosing different tactics to remain on track for a long ride into the year's final Grand Slam.
Serena Williams' decision to end a 14-year boycott of the BNP Paribas Open has been warmly welcomed by her peers with good friend and rival Caroline Wozniacki saying it was "great for tennis".
World No 1 Serena Williams overcame a wobbly start to open the defence of her Sony Open crown with a spirited 7-6(9-7), 6-2 win over Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova on Thursday.
The ruthless American needed less than an hour to defeat Sharapova 6-1, 6-1 and notch her 19th consecutive win over the Russian in what some charitably dub a "rivalry."
Venus Williams, inspired by the sight of younger sister Serena earlier in the week, stepped back onto the court alongside Jamie Murray in the mixed doubles thanks to a wildcard entry and promptly booked a spot in the second round.
Juan Martin del Potro suffered the first real upset and Victoria Azarenka had a big scare, but Serena Williams and Andy Murray eased through challenging ties to reach the last 16 of the Australian Open on Saturday.
"I'm drama, and I don't want to be drama," Williams said after reaching the fourth round with a ill-tempered 4-6 6-3 6-4 win over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
Serena Williams admitted that a bad back sustained during practice hampered her movement during her shock fourth round loss to Ana Ivanovic on Sunday, but refused to blame the injury for her stunning exit that blew the Australian Open wide open.
Images from the Australian Open matches played on Sunday.
Serena Williams won her 750th career match to stay on track for her ninth Miami Open title when she beat Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan 7-5 6-3 in the third round in Florida on Saturday. The world number one improved her career record to 750-125, seventh on the all-time list and just three match wins behind Lindsay Davenport's 753. Martina Navratilova sits atop the all-time list with 1,442 wins. The 34-year-old Williams will meet Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round. The 15th seed defeated France's Caroline Garcia 4-6 6-2 7-6(6). Unlike the last time they met, when Williams required 54 minutes and Diyas won just two games, the 22-year-old Kazak gave the American some trouble in the heat and humidity of Miami.
After feeling the full force of Garbine Muguruza's ferocious forehand and being made to scrap like a bloodied street fighter, Serena Williams has seen enough of the Spaniard to make a bold prediction -- soon she will be a Wimbledon champion too.
World number one Serena Williams was named WTA Player of the Year for a second time at a tour ceremony on Thursday. Williams, who did not attend the event, won the US Open last year and reached the Wimbledon final. She also claimed a gold medal with sister Venus in the doubles at the Beijing Olympics. In her career, the American has claimed ten Grand Slam titles and she was also the WTA Player of the Year in 2002.
Serena Williams weathered an early challenge from Russian Vera Zvonareva before the former World No 2 crumbled to lose 7-5, 6-0 in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday.
The triumph also lifted the 26-year-old back to the summit of the world rankings for the first time since August 2003 and this time she does not want to let go.
Rafael Nadal's absence from Indian Wells saw the 22-times Grand Slam champion slip out of the top 10 for the first time since 2005.
Former champion Serena Williams shocked the French Open crowd, and herself, by losing to Virginie Razzano in the first round on Tuesday, her earliest exit from a grand slam in the 47 appearances she has made in an outstanding career.
Images from Day 3 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday
Defending champion Serena Williams finished her last US Open tune-up in style by beating Romanian third seed Simona Halep 6-3, 7-6(5) to win the Western & Southern Open on Sunday.
IMAGES from Day 9 of the US Open, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York.
World No 1 Serena Williams comfortably beat 15-year-old CiCi Bellis.
The imposter who did turn up got dragged into a two hour 11 minute tussle in which she failed to convert 11 of the 12 break points that fell her way.
The Cincinnati Open claimed two more high-profile victims on Thursday with Grand Slam champions Li Na and Petra Kvitova crashing out, while Russian pair Maria Sharapova and Vera Zvonareva crunched their opponents en route to the quarter-finals.
A summary of sports events and sportspersons, who made news on Tuesday.
India's teen tennis sensation said it was good to know that she could match the six-time Grand Slam champion.
Osaka, the 2019 and 2021 Melbourne Park champion, has not played on the WTA Tour since the Pan Pacific Open in September, where she pulled out of her second-round match against Beatriz Haddad Maia in Tokyo due to illness.
The professional tennis circuit, which requires players to jet around the world, was forced into shutdown in early March as countries went into lockdown and closed their borders to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Serena Williams again showed the gaping chasm between her and the rest of the field when she retained her Wimbledon singles crown with a crushing 6-3, 6-2 win over Russia's Vera Zvonareva on Saturday.
Australia's Hewitt earned the accolade for the second year running, while American Williams was honoured for the first time.
Spanish fourth seed Garbine Muguruza claimed her maiden Grand Slam title when she beat World No 1 and defending champion Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 in the French Open final on Saturday.
World number one Serena Williams was battered into a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 submission by a fired-up Nadia Petrova in the third round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
Serena Williams, Simone Biles and Ted Ligety were among the finalists for United States Olympic Committee (USOC) male and female athletes of year honours announced on Thursday.
A despondent Serena Williams grudgingly faced reporters after her 7-6 6-1 defeat to top seed Justine Henin in Tuesday's quarter-finals of the U.S. Open, tears staining her cheeks after the bitter result.
Top ranked Serena Williams made a successful return to hard courts with a 6-3, 6-2 thrashing of former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in the second round of the Rogers Cup on Wednesday.
Images from Day 7 of the 2019 French Open in Paris on Saturday.
World No 1 Serena Williams has tormented Maria Sharapova for over a decade
Images from matches played on Day 4 at the US Open at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Thursday.
Johanna Konta earned the chance to fulfill a childhood dream when she advanced to an Australian Open quarter-final contest against Serena Williams by dismantling Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 6-4 on Monday.
The world number two said her near-misses initially left her deflated and sick of tennis, but she was now over the pain.
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