Reputations counted for little at the French Open on Thursday when Amelie Mauresmo, James Blake and David Nalbandian were toppled by opponents ranked outside the world's top 75.
Serena Williams was left all alone trying to crush an unlikely uprising on Wimbledon's hallowed lawns on Tuesday as sister Venus and Kim Clijsters suffered shock defeats in the women's quarter-finals.
The Belgian extinguished hopes of an all-Williams final by storming into the last four with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Serena.
So while Halep went about dominating Serena, here are some famous people who got a ringside view of the action
Tennis star Serena Williams recently shared a selfie, showing off her killer cleavage and curves in a beachwear.
Kim Clijsters advanced to her fourth US Open final after winning a titanic centre court battle against Venus Williams. Russia's Vera Zvonareva upset the tournament's number one seed Caroline Wozniacki.
Tennis fashion takes a new meaning altogether when we talk of fashion at the Grand Slams. The US Open is one stop where the ladies of the tennis world bring out their best outfits.
Roger Federer will begin his quest for a sixth consecutive singles title at Wimbledon with a first round match against experienced Slovak Dominik Hrbaty. Defending women's champion Venus Williams was paired with British wildcard Naomi Cavaday in Friday's draw at the All England Club, while women's top seed Ana Ivanovic will open against Rossana De Los Rios.
Andy Murray once again fills the prime time viewing slot on Centre Court late on Saturday, while five-time women's champion Venus Williams will have revenge on her mind against Carla Suarez Navarro.
Venus Williams cantered into the Australian Open third round and second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova also came through.
Seeing world number 50 Mischa Zverev and wildcard Denis Istomin upset the top two players in the world at Melbourne Park shows more players believe they can take shake up the established order and that can only be good for tennis, says Roger Federer.
Second seed Dinara Safina slumped out of the Dubai Tennis Championships in the second round on Tuesday after losing 6-4 6-2 to Virginie Razzano of France.
Images from day ten of the 2010 Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, on Wednesday.
Italy surged to their second Fed Cup title by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead over the United States in the final in Reggio Calabria, Italy, on Sunday.
The victory helped the Russian secure the eighth and final berth in the WTA's Tour Championships.
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza was handed a tough draw at the Beijing Olympics. She is drawn against Czech nemesis Iveta Benesova in the opening round. The men's doubles pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, however, got a relatively better deal. The 'Indian Express' will kicking-off their campaign against the French pair of Gael Monfils and Gilles Simons on Sunday.
Marat Safin threw a protective arm around his little sister Dinara on Wednesday after the Russian world number one was slammed for her wobbly performance in the first round of the US Open.
American fifth seed Serena Williams withdrew from her Italian Open quarter-final with French qualifier Alize Cornet on Friday because of a back injury, organisers said.
Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki hit the streets in Auckland to play some street tennis.
A brief look at the strengths and weaknesses of the leading contenders for the women's title at Wimbledon which begins on Monday.
Caroline Wozniacki is again engaged to another athlete!
Naomi Osaka faces Zheng before possible meeting with Coco Gauff
Australian Open organisers have attempted to defend their controversial decision to allow the third-round match between Lleyton Hewitt and Marcos Baghdatis to start at 11.47 pm on Saturday night.
Serena Williams scored an emphatic 7-6, 6-2 victory over her 29-year-old sister at Wimbledon to capture an 11th Grand Glam singles title.
Serena Williams celebrated American Independence Day by beating sister Venus 7-6, 6-2 to win her third Wimbledon singles title on Saturday.
He leads the men's seedings ahead of defending champ Roger Federer, with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov seeded third.
Three women in the field have topped the world rankings this season, incumbent Simona Halep and her predecessors Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova, but none of them have been able to kick on and cement their place as the tour's dominant player.
Sania Mirza's singles campaign at the Dubai Open ended when she was beaten 5-7, 2-6 by world No 24 Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in the second round on Tuesday.
Opportunity knocks for Serena Williams on the grass courts of Wimbledon next week when she faces a diminished field on her best surface at the famous All England Club.
Serena Williams remains on course for a record sixth win at the Sony Ericsson Open after beating sister Venus 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to set up a final meeting with 19-year-old Belarusian Victoria Azarenka. Azarenka defeated Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in Thursday's other semi-final to book her place in a top tier final for the first time.
Melbourne Park's first glimpses of Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal were brief on Tuesday but Serena and Venus Williams both gave full value at the Australian Open with their first round wins.
Rediff.com presents the early surprises at the year's first Grand Slam.
Serena Williams is third on the list of female Grand Slam title winners. She is one of only five women, after Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, to hold all four Grand Slam titles at same time.
Here is a player profile, a look at the form and records of American Madison Keys and compatriot Sloane Stephens ahead of Saturday's US Open final (prefix number denotes seeding)
The world number two was not invited by team captain Shamil Tarpishchev after she pulled out of last week's semi-final against the United States citing a shoulder injury.
Ana Ivanovic reached her second semi-final in two weeks by overcoming seventh seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 6-4 at the Linz Open on Friday. Although Pennetta came within two points of recovering the break as Ivanovic served for victory, the Serbian held on to set up a clash with third-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska.
The Russian Fed Cup team were hailed by the local media following their semi-final victory in the U.S. at the weekend, while the hosts were criticised for their choice of venue and the treatment of the visiting captain.
Nadia Petrova and Elena Vesnina beat Wimbledon champion Venus Williams and Lisa Raymond in the decisive doubles contest to give Russia a 3-2 win over the United States in their Fed Cup semi-final on Sunday in Stowe, Vermont.
