Victoria Azarenka moved a step closer to securing the year-end No. 1 ranking with a 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 win over Germany's Angelique Kerber at the WTA Championships on Wednesday.
Serena Williams is now one match away from reinforcing her stranglehold on the women's game by holding all four grand slam titles at the same time, a feat she will achieve for the second occasion if she beats 20th-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in Saturday's final.
Factbox on Russia's Maria Sharapova who was banned until January 2018 on Wednesday after testing positive for the banned drug meldonium at this year's Australian Open.
Maria Sharapova pushed the envelope on 'winning ugly' as she squeaked past British qualifier Heather Watson 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the last 16 of the Pan Pacific Open on Tuesday.
The top seed can expect a tougher test against the fast-rising Indian.
Comeback queen Williams demonstrated that she still belonged among the elite as she annihilated Sharapova to win her eighth Grand Slam trophy.
Factbox on Maria Sharapova, who became the 10th woman to complete a career Grand Slam after beating Sara Errani to win the French Open title on Saturday.
Fifth seed Maria Sharapova averted an early exit on a sweltering day in Flushing Meadows. Updates from Wednesday's play.
Maria Sharapova has launched her own line of candy, titled Sugarpova, in New York.
French Open champion Maria Sharapova held her perch atop the list of the world's highest paid women in professional sports for an eighth consecutive year, according to an annual survey released by Forbes on Monday.
Images from day four of the Australian Open 2012 tennis tournament in Melbourne, on Thursday.
One has nothing to lose, the other is expected to win on Saturday. Even though Romania's Simona Halep is the higher seed, at four, Maria Sharapova is the household name, the face on the billboards and is playing in her third successive French Open final.
Kuznetsova won the battle of Russians to secure her first WTA trophy since triumphing in Bali in September 2004.
The Russian will play Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who beat Kazakh qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova in the second semi-final.
Maria Sharapova made up for lost time as she hurried into the third round of the French Open, while former champion Ana Ivanovic went down to Italian Sara Errani.
Maria Sharapova stood, looked at the players' box, slammed both of her fists down in celebration and let out an almighty roar of "Come on!"
Images from day two of the Australian Open 2012 tennis tournament in Melbourne, on Tuesday.
Take a look at the profile of Maria Sharapova who told a news conference on Monday she failed a drugs test.
Russian Maria Sharapova also cruised into the third round, brushing aside Bethanie Mattek 6-0, 6-0 at the Family Circle Cup.
Maria Sharapova happily admits that patience is not her strongest trait but the Russian will temper her expectations as she begins her Australian Open title campaign.
Photos from the Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
Eugenie Bouchard will spend Monday 'cramming' for one of the toughest exams of her fledgling career when she faces second seed Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
Novak Djokovic outclassed Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 to move safely into the Wimbledon third round on Wednesday.
Farrington said the type of game the Russian star plays suited Sania better than any other player's.
Maria Sharapova joined Serena Williams in making an early exit from the Australian Open on Monday but defending champion Victoria Azarenka swept into the quarter-finals with an 18th straight victory at Melbourne Park.
Picking up her racquet bag and marching straight out of Rod Laver Arena without a nod or a wave, Maria Sharapova's abrupt exit after her fourth-round loss to Dominika Cibulkova on Monday spoke volumes of her disdain for a forgettable Australian Open.
Top-seeded Maria Sharapova advanced to the semi-finals of the Amelia Island championships after a 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ukraine's Alona Bondarenko. The Australian Open champion will meet former world No 1 Lindsay Davenport. The American beat Hungary's Agnes Szavay 6-4 7-6, while Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova will play Alize Cornet in the other semi-final. Cornet beat Virginie Razzano 6-4, 6-2 while Cibulkova beat France's Amelie Mauresmo 6-1, 7-6.
Maria Sharapova swept aside any fears about her fitness with a ruthless 6-0, 6-0 victory over Olga Puchkova on Monday as a trio of top women progressed with ease on the first morning of the Australian Open.
Short of tournament sharpness in the build-up to the Australian Open because of injury, Maria Sharapova has found a novel way of playing herself into form -- roughing up the local boys.
Clay has long been Maria Sharapova's least favoured surface, but the Russian, who takes on Eugenie Bouchard on Thursday, is on the brink of reaching her third successive French Open final, a feat she has never achieved in the other Grand Slams.
Wimbledon king Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova endured jolting second-round losses to opponents outside the world top 100 in a freakishly dramatic 'Wednesday Wipeout' that saw seven players withdraw injured and the draw shredded.
Serena Williams beat Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the Family Circle Cup quarter-finals. The fifth-seeded American won the last eight points to set up a clash with Russian number two seed Maria Sharapova, who defeated Ukrainian Tatiana Perebiynis 7-5, 6-2.
Maria Sharapova fought back from a set down to oust China's Li Na 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 on Friday and claim a place in the last four of the Madrid Open.
The 20-year-old Russian is confident she can repeat her 2004 success at Wimbledon.
Paris is the fashion capital of the world and fans may want to copy the styles of Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal.
