American tennis great Serena Williams has been granted a wildcard to play singles at this year's Wimbledon, marking her highly anticipated return to the tournament after a four-year absence.
Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova raced to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australian Daria Gavrilova to defend her Kremlin Cup title in Moscow on Saturday and secure a place at the season-ending WTA Finals.
Tennis legend Serena Williams is set to make her highly anticipated return to Wimbledon, facing Australia's Maya Joint in the first round.
Factbox on Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, who beat Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the Australian Open final to win her second Grand Slam title on Saturday:
British tennis players faced a dismal start to Wimbledon, with 11 home players, including top hope Katie Boulter, crashing out in the first round. Boulter suffered a surprising defeat to Grand Slam debutant Tyra Caterina Grant, adding to a record number of British exits on the opening days. While Katie Swan secured a much-needed win, the overall performance has been disappointing for the host nation.
Wimbledon begins June 29 with Serena Williams returning after four years, Novak Djokovic chasing a 25th Slam, and a reshaped field after Carlos Alcaraz's injury.
Angelique Kerber showed more passion in the media centre than on the court when she crashed out of last year's WTA Finals, the German angered by the format and frustrated by her inability to win the set off an eliminated opponent she needed to advance.
Serena Williams shook off the rust and a feisty challenge from Serbia's Ana Ivanovic to open the defence of her WTA Finals title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the opening match of the elite eight-player tournament on Monday.
'I've played injured most of the year -- whether it was my elbow, my knee, or in the finals moments after a certain match in Flushing, my heart' 'I'm a fierce competitor and I want to compete as well as I can, for as long as I can'
Venus Williams gained revenge for her Wimbledon final defeat by Garbine Muguruza when the American advanced to the last four of the WTA Finals with a gutsy 7-5 6-4 victory over the Spanish world number two on Thursday.
Caroline Wozniacki claimed the biggest title of her career after the Dane staved off a ferocious Venus Williams fightback to take a 6-4, 6-4 triumph in the WTA Finals title showdown at a captivated Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
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.
Ana Ivanovic recovered from her opening loss to race to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over an out-of-sorts Eugenie Bouchard on Wednesday, putting the world number seven back into the mix for a WTA Finals last-four berth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza on winning the season-ending WTA Finals women's doubles title, calling it a 'proud accomplishment'.
Aryna Sabalenka overcame a slow start to defeat Elena Rybakina in the Indian Wells final, showcasing her mental strength and adaptability.
Serena Williams destroyed Romania's Simona Halep 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday to win the WTA Finals championship in Singapore, proving once again why she remains the most formidable force in women's tennis.
Halep became the first Romanian to reach the summit of the women's rankings when she beat French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the semi-finals of the China Open in Beijing, a feat she feels is the high point of her career to date.
The claycourts of Roland Garros were transformed into a complex geopolitical chessboard on Tuesday as they produced a French Open semi-final lineup featuring a number of emotionally charged matches in the shadow of Russia's war in Ukraine.
New Melbourne queen Rybakina happy to find highest level again
Agnieszka Radwanska rallied past an exhausted Garbine Muguruza to book her place in the WTA Finals title decider on Saturday with a 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5 victory over the Spanish prospect in a classic encounter.
Indian ace Sania Mirza and her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black ended the season and their partnership on a remarkable high by clinching the WTA finals women's doubles title with a comprehensive triumph in the summit clash in Singapore.
Maria Sharapova made light of her long injury layoff by advancing to the last four of the WTA Finals with an unbeaten record in round robin play after the Russian breezed past Flavia Pennetta 7-5, 6-1 on Thursday, and booked a surprise passage to the semi-finals for Agnieszka Radwanska.
Novak Djokovic begins his quest for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title at the French Open, while Alexander Zverev hopes to finally break through and win his first major. The tournament starts amid tensions over prize money and player influence.
American Stephens stayed calm and saw off an increasingly agitated Angelique Kerber in the winner-takes-all night match to complete round-robin play with a spotless 3-0 record after she wrapped up a 6-3, 6-3 victory against the German.
Former world number one Karolina Pliskova is confident that splitting with coach David Kotyza will not be a hindrance as she attempts to go it alone over the home stretch of the season, leading up to the WTA Finals in Singapore next month.
Aryna Sabalenka is looking to complete the coveted 'Sunshine Double' after her triumph in the Indian Wells final over Elena Rybakina.
Spain's Garbine Muguruza moved to the brink of the WTA Finals last four with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Angelique Kerber on Wednesday after Petra Kvitova opened her account with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over fellow Czech Lucie Safarova.
Holder Elina Svitolina will face world number one Ash Barty in the end-of-season WTA Finals showpiece on Sunday after they got past Belinda Bencic and Karolina Pliskova respectively in the semi-finals at Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre.
Simona Halep crushed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday to join Serena Williams in the championship decider at the WTA Finals.
Indian ace Sania Mirza and Switzerland's Martina Hingis entered the semi-finals of the WTA Finals after beating Taiwanese combination of Hao-Ching Chan and Yung Jan Chan 7-6 (12-10) 7-5 in Singapore on Friday. The Indo-Swiss pair will be pitted against the winner of the match between top seeds Caroline Garcia-Kristina Mladenovic and Bethanie Mattek-Sands- Lucie Safarova. It was a hard-fought two sets where both the teams held their service game till they reached 5 games all. It was in the 11th game of the first set that Sania and Hingis were broken. But the joy of their opponents was shortlived as they broke back in the very next game to take the first set into a tie-breaker.
Halep sustained the injury last month while training for the Wuhan Open, where she lost in the second round. She then retired midway through her opener in Shanghai.
Elina Svitolina was tested by China's Wang Xinyu in the Auckland Open final on Sunday but came through 6-3, 7-6(6) to kick off her new season with her 19th WTA title.
Janice Tjen is the first Indonesian woman since Angelique Widjaja in 2002 to win a WTA Tour singles crown.
World number eight Mirra Andreeva warmed up for the Australian Open with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 victory over fellow teenager Victoria Mboko in the Adelaide International final on Saturday to claim her fourth WTA Tour title.
Svetlana Kuznetsova dug deep into her reserves to overcome Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 in their WTA Finals round robin opener on Monday, the late-arriving Russian upsetting the defending champion in a thrilling encounter.
Serena Williams stole the show at Queen's Club on Tuesday as the American icon made her eagerly awaited return to competitive action nearly four years after her last match.
Coco Gauff is showing strong form ahead of the French Open, presenting her with a significant opportunity to secure another Grand Slam title.
Iga Swiatek showcased her dominance at the Italian Open, defeating Jessica Pegula in straight sets to advance to the semi-finals.
The Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) has criticised the French Open's prize money structure, supporting players' demands for a fairer share of revenue and broader structural changes in tennis.
Sabalenka primed for Rybakina rematch with eyes on third Australian Open crown
