Why New Zealand pulled out of tour match in Sydney on Day 2
US Open champion Stephens again ended former world number one Victoria Azarenka's hopes of a fairytale comeback by beating her 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in an afternoon encounter, while French Open champion Ostapenko beat unseeded American Danielle Collins in the nightcap, staving off a set point en route to a 7-6(1), 6-3 triumph.
Sixth seed Andy Murray may feel the most aggrieved of the top contenders in the men's draw.
Challengers to Serena Williams' throne have proved as fickle as a Paris spring and as the year's second grand slam starts the veteran American is again seemingly in a league of her own. The 34-year-old's charge to overhaul Margaret Court's record 24 grand slam singles titles may have stalled since she chalked up major number 21 at last year's Wimbledon. But after fine-tuning her claycourt game by winning last week's Italian Open she will begin the defence of her French Open title as the strong favourite. With twice French Open champion Maria Sharapova suspended pending the findings of an anti-doping hearing after she tested positive for Meldonium in Australia this year, the list of players capable of toppling a fully firing Williams is short.
Images from Sunday's action at the Australian Open.
Reigning champions Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been named top seeds for the Australian Open starting on Monday.
Rajneesh Gupta lists some amazing coincidences in cricket -- a feature guaranteed to amuse you in these anxious times.
Hopes that Serena Williams would end a 13-year boycott of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells were dashed on Friday when the World No 1 said she would not be competing in the event "after careful consideration".
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu will start as overwhelming favourite to clinch the top prize in women's 48kg category at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast next month.
With Mumbai's iconic Liberty cinema reopening for movie lovers, the spotlight is now on the city's famous Art Deco theatres.
Serena Williams took some coaching advice from a fan during her fourth round match.
Formula One team Sauber lost their appeal on Thursday against a court verdict that ruled in favour of Dutchman Giedo van der Garde's bid to drive for them.
Naomi Osaka continued her stunning run of form with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the first round of the Miami Open on Wednesday, the latest big win for the 20-year-old Japanese player.
20 years ago this week, India and Australia played one of the greatest Test matches in cricket history. Sreehari Nair relives the sound and the fury of that unforgettable game at the Eden Gardens.
IMAGES from matches played at the Miami Masters in Key Biscayne, Florida
In-form Victoria Azarenka battled past an ailing but determined second seed Angelique Kerber to set up a Miami Open final showdown against Svetlana Kuznetsova with a 6-2, 7-5 victory on Thursday.
Milestones in the progress of Chinese women's tennis after Li Na, the first Asian to win Grand Slam singles titles, announced her retirement from the sport on Friday.
Sloane Stephens was keen to swat away any references to a controversial clash against Victoria Azarenka at last year's Australian Open as the American advanced to a possible fourth-round clash against the two-times champion on Monday.
Images from Day 1 of the US Open in New York, on Monday.
'Everyone thinks it was a money-related issue, but it wasn't'
A refreshed Roger Federer's clinical demolition of Jarkko Nieminen in his first match of 2014 suggested he could be a factor in the first major of the year.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 16 images.
Top seed Serena Williams and her older sister Venus led a foursome of American women into the Australian Open fourth round on Saturday.
Mumbai is one of the most liveable cities in the world.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand started his campaign at the Bilbao Final Masters with a crushing win over former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine in Bilbao, Spain.
Following Serena Williams's 19th Grand Slam title, here is the list of Australian Open women's singles champions since the event began in 1922 (Australian unless stated)
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.
'When a newspaper says that Karnataka leads in corruption, one must also know it means Karnataka leads in patronising corruption.' 'You can't be corrupt without me succumbing to your corruption.'
Avid cyclists, newspaper vendors, milkmen and courier boys have come together to protest against West Bengal government's ban on cycles from city roads, reports Debaleena Sengupta.
Moments that shaped the world from the week that was
Roger Federer boasted of his fitness, Maria Sharapova felt a bit rusty and Andy Murray berated himself but all three eased into the second week of the Australian Open with third round victories at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
'It is vital that objects such as the Harihara -- and collections from South Asia generally -- remain here,' the British Museum tells Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.
Here's your weekly digest of the craziest stories from around the world.
'I can tell you the case that hurts me the most is the one in which the little boy is forced to sign the Kohinoor over.' 'You take a mother away from a child, you surround him with grown ups speaking a different language, you tell him he must sign this over or else...'
'The year in pictures' treks across the globe, looking back on the moments that shaped 2016. From the United States presidential race, to demonetisation in India to the refugee crisis, the news has kept pouring in. Here are our top 50 moments from the world.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud "bang" from inside the venue.
Categorising the original settlements of gaothans and koliwadas as slums, the authorities in Mumbai are keen to develop them into commercial complexes. The residents are unwilling to cede their rights. Ranjita Ganesan reports
Strategy Guru Roopa Unnikrishnan decided to go Mobile Only when she and her family took a recent vacation.
In spite of being wounded in battle, Lieutenant Colonel A B Tarapore fought for six days before meeting a hero's death on the battlefield in the 1965 war. A legend in the Indian Army, he is the highest ranking officer to be awarded the Param Vir Chakra.
Besides a great idea, it takes pluck, and some luck, to get going.
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