Serena Williams has gone 3-2 in matches that all lasted three sets and have taken a toll on her weary legs.
While trying to surpass Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles might be one of the reasons she pushed herself to get back on court despite all her complications in childbirth, she also wants to see if she recover her pre-pregnancy form.
As the 2025 French Open looms, all eyes may be on reigning champions and top seeds - but lurking just beneath the surface are several players quietly building momentum, ready to crash the party in Paris. From seasoned champions finding renewed form to rising stars with something to prove, here are four dark horses who could shake up the women's singles draw at Roland Garros.
Olympic champion Serena Williams suffered her first loss in nearly three months on Friday as she was knocked out of the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, falling 6-4, 6-4 to Germany's Angelique Kerber.
Elena Dementieva overpowered Serena Williams 6-3, 6-1 at the Sydney International on Thursday to set up an all-Russian final against Dinara Safina.
The new Da da ding Nike ad, featuring actor Deepika Padukone, has gone viral. It has been appreciated by most but panned by some, and despite the mixed reviews it has nearly crashed the internet.
Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman and more than a dozen former US women's national team players have formed an ownership group to set up a professional women's soccer team in Los Angeles from 2022. The new team, which has yet to be named, was announced by the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) on Tuesday.
Two-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka advanced to the US Open final for the second time in her career with a 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-3 victory over big-hitting Jennifer Brady.
'Nike came up with this idea right when I decided I was going to come back. And so it's kind of interesting how it all tied into the wedding and, you know, then I felt a little awkward!'
'If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids,' said Maria Sharapova firing the first volley at Wimbledon title rival Serena Williams, taking aim at the American's personal life.
'All the superlatives and beautiful words that you can think of she deserves it.'
The 2002 and 2003 champion was shown the door by Jill Craybas in the third round at Wimbledon.
Serena will not be in the US team for the Tokyo Olympics
Serena Williams returned to Indian Wells on Friday after a 14-year boycott due to racist abuse she suffered in the 2001 final and got her bid for a third BNP Paribas Open title off to a winning, though somewhat error-prone, start.
Nastase was also heard to call her and British No. 1 Johanna Konta "f****** b******" during the Davis Cup competition being held in Constanta, Romania.
47-year-old Martina Navratilova and Lisa Raymond were also picked in the U.S. team for their Fed Cup first-round tie against Slovenia.
Serena Williams may have been second best at the French Open on Saturday but the American has moved ahead of fellow tennis player Maria Sharapova to top the women's earnings list in sports, according to Forbes Magazine. Williams ended the Russian's 11-year reign as the world number one women's money earner in sports by hauling in $28.9 million in combined prize money and off-field earnings over the past 12 months, the magazine said on Monday. Sharapova, who lost some sponsorship money after announcing she had tested positive for the recently banned substance meldonium at the Australian Open in January and is provisionally suspended, holds second spot at $21.9 million.
Victoria Azarenka thinks her rivalry with Serena Williams is making her a better player and is looking forward to renewing it over the next four weeks at the Brisbane International and the Australian Open.
The cartoon has been blasted by numerous athletes, celebrities, journalists and activists
World No 1 Serena Williams overcame a dreadful second set to beat Germany's Sabine Lisicki.
Serena Williams is spending time with her daughter and sharing adorable photographs.
Serena Williams, who had come into the first Grand Slam since in Auckland claiming her first title since becoming a mother, suffered an error-strewn 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-5 defeat by China's Wang Qiang in the third round at the Australian Open on Friday.
Wimbledon champion Serena Williams advanced to the Stanford Classic final after she crushed Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday and will meet fellow American Coco Vandeweghe who made her first WTA final after she overpowered Yanina Wickmayer 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
Here's a peek at the stars who came out to cheer the tennis stars...
The American ace beat Vera Zvonareva while US Open champion Kuznetsova accounted for Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals of the China Open.
Three-times winner Serena Williams moved into the Toronto Open second round after beating Spain's Nuria Parrizas Diaz on Monday
World No.1 Serena Williams has refuted any hints of match-fixing in women's tennis. World tennis was rocked on Monday by allegations that 16 players who have been ranked in the top 50 had been repeatedly flagged to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) over suspicions they had 'fixed matches' in the past decade. The media reports created a stir at the Australian Open, with players expressing surprise at the allegations. "When I'm playing, I can only answer for me, I play very hard, and every player I play seems to play hard," women's world number one Serena Williams told reporters.
World No 1 Serena Williams cruised into the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Lucie Safarova on Thursday but the Montreal tournament lost two of her potential title rivals when Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova were knocked out.
Serena Williams came away with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Angelique Kerber in the first round of the US Open.
Seven-times champion Serena Williams and Germany's Angelique Kerber will clash in the Ladies singles final at Wimbledon after registering easy victories in the semi-finals on Thursday. While Serena had things her way in a 6-2, 6-4 demolition of Germany's Julia Georges, Kerber beat Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3.
The seventh seeded Russian beat the American ace in the quarter-finals of the Amelia Island championship.
The second seed beat Mary Pierce of France 6-3, 6-1 at the Amelia Island WTA championship in Florida.
Defending champion Serena Williams was knocked out of the Australian Open by Daniela Hantuchova
The fourth-seeded Belgian will meet compatriot Kim Clijsters in the women's French Open final.
When is comes to adding glamour to the Oscar party in Hollywood out sportsperson were not far behind. Have a look...
Serena Williams is a year short of spending a quarter of a century as a professional player but the learning has never stopped for the 23-time Grand Slam winner.
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