The newly-crowned Australian Open champion will play at the Bangalore Open, from February 12-18.
"She played some incredible points on match point, she reminded me a bit of myself," said Williams after the match.
Serena Williams faces the player she will replace next week as world number one, Victoria Azarenka, in the final of the Qatar Open after overcoming Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-2 in Doha on Saturday
The veteran American set up a showdown with Romanian former world number one Simona Halep in Saturday's final.
The real Serena Williams finally turned up at the French Open on Saturday in pursuit of a 22nd Grand Slam singles title but it was to no avail as she lost to a tenacious opponent who beat her at her own power game.
American ace said Sania has a solid game for her age.
Serena Williams has been vulnerable this Grand Slam season but unbeaten in the year's first three major championships.
Halep finds groove to reach Prague semi-finals.
Australian great Margaret Court won 24 grand slam singles titles, one ahead of American Williams, who confirmed she was pregnant on Wednesday and will sit out the rest of the season.
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.
Coco Gauff claimed the biggest win of her young career on Friday with a stunning upset of defending champion Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open to reach the fourth round. Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams also lost their respective matches earlier in the day. Images from Day 5 of the Australian Open played at Melbourne Park on Friday.
Serena Williams, unable to defend her 2009 and 2010 titles last year due to a freak foot injury, found herself dive-bombed by crickets that made merry on a balmy evening at Rod Laver Arena.
Russian Anastasia Myskina scraped past Israeli teenager Shahar Peer 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the third round of the Amelia Island Championship.
Serena Williams regained her composure after smashing her racquet and being on the brink of defeat to beat Caroline Wozniacki 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) on Saturday and reach the title match at the WTA Finals.
Serena beat Meghann Shaughnessy while Sharapova beat Dinara Safina to move into the Los Angeles Open semi-finals.
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.
Williams, dubbed the Australian Open favourite by Bouchard shortly after the match, is vying for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title
Mauresmo overcame Paola Suarez while Serena thrashed Jennifer Capriati in the women's quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
Sharapova beat Lindsay Davenport while the defending champion beat Amelie Mauresmo in the women's singles semi-finals at Wimbledon.
Dinara Safina made a scrappy start to her Beijing duel with Serena Williams for the world number one spot by beating Italian Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the $6.6 million China Open on Sunday.
2004 champion Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium beat Hana Sromova 7-6, 6-1 to confirm her position as tournament favourite.
Williams's last Grand Slam victory came 18 months ago at Wimbledon, and her form and fitness since returning to the tour after an eight-month layoff have been inconsistent.
World No. 1 Serena Williams has been top-seeded for the U.S. Open where she will be seeking to win the women's singles title for a third consecutive year, the United States Tennis Association announced on Wednesday.
"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.
Five times Cincinnati winner Roger Federer blunted Andy Murray's attempt at a comeback, while women's World No 1 Serena Williams roared to victory as they moved into the semi-finals at the Western & Southern Open on Friday.
With a heavy rain expected to hit Flushing Meadows later in the day, Serb Jankovic relied on her trademark dogged retrieving to beat Russian Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-4 before the muscular Williams swept away Dinara Safina 6-3, 6-2 in the women's singles semi-finals at the US Open.
World No 1 Serena Williams suffered one of the heaviest defeats of her long and illustrious career as she was humbled 6-0, 6-2 by Romanian Simona Halep at the WTA Finals on Wednesday.
Australia's Samantha Stosur employed a huge serve, hard forehand and deft backhand slice to upset Wimbledon champion Serena Williams 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the Stanford Classic on Friday.
Women's No 1 Serena Williams remained on track for her 60th career title as she powered past Peng Shuai 6-2, 6-3 while Rafael Nadal launched the defence of his Madrid Open title.
World number one Caroline Wozniacki might have been better off asking Serena Williams about how to win the biggest tournaments instead of seeking guidance about relationships.
The glittering evening attracted royalty as well as movie stars, entertainers and a worldwide television audience estimated at 320 million.
Russian Sharapova pulled out because of a hamstring injury while Serena is still down with flu.
Serena Williams' bid for the Italian Open was squashed in her first match on Tuesday when the American second seed lost 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 to Swiss Patty Schnyder. French Open champion Ana Ivanovic beat Italian Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-4 and seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia had a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win over Slovak Daniela Hantuchova.
Serena Williams battered Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon on Tuesday, seizing on moments of weakness from the Russian to ram home her advantage.
Serena Williams, who has dropped to 172nd in the world after being sidelined for almost a year with injury and illness, has opted to use an injury-protected ranking to gain entry into the US Open, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) said on Wednesday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances