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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.
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.
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".
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
Images from Day 3 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A summary of sports events and sportspersons, who made news on Tuesday.
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.
India's teen tennis sensation said it was good to know that she could match the six-time Grand Slam champion.
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.
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.
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.
Australia's Hewitt earned the accolade for the second year running, while American Williams was honoured for the first time.
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.
Images from matches played on Day 4 at the US Open at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Thursday.
Images from Day 7 of the 2019 French Open in Paris on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic beat Casper Ruud in the French Open final to win a men's record-extending 23rd Grand Slam title.
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.
World No 1 Serena Williams has tormented Maria Sharapova for over a decade
Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic have won the last 11 Grand Slams between them and an incredible 54 since 2003.
Iga Swiatek, who beat American teenager Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-3 in Saturday's final at Roland Garros, went from being a largely unknown 19-year-old, ranked 54th in the world, to instant celebrity status after lifting her first Suzanne Lenglen Cup 18 months ago.
Under the lights on the stadium court, Williams smashed 39 winners to defeat Azarenka 7-5, 6-3 in a rematch of the 2016 final, which the Belarusian won.
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