Russia's Dinara Safina said the players were unhappy with the changes being made to the 2009 WTA Tour schedule.
World number one Victoria Azarenka pulled out of the Pan Pacific Open citing chronic fatigue while Maria Sharapova was stunned by Samantha Stosur as the event lost its top two seeds on Thursday.
Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska declared it mission accomplished after clinching a 6-1, 7-6(1) victory over Elina Svitolina in the final of the Connecticut Open in New Haven on Saturday.
Sloane Stephens said she is ready to turn the page on a disappointing 2019 and shift her focus to climbing the world tennis rankings to qualify for next year's Tokyo Olympics.
Halep, who held the WTA year-end top ranking in 2017 and 2018, has not lost a set in her first week at Melbourne Park and was aggressive against Putintseva from the outset.
Comeback German girl Andrea Petkovic toppled top seed Nina Bratchikova of Russia while Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm shocked compatriot and second seed Misaki Doi to storm into the semi-finals of the WTA Indian Open in Pune.
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus will finish the year as World No 1 after a 7-6, 6-3 win over China's Li Na in her final round robin match at the WTA Championships on Friday.
IMAGES from the matches played on Day 10 of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, on Wednesday
The top seeds lost to the fourth seeded French-Slovak pair of Caroline Garcia and Katarina Srebotnik 5-7, 4-6, in 81 minutes.
China's Li Na made it a hat-trick of White Group victories, overpowering back-injury victim Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-1 on Friday to march through to the semi-finals of the WTA Championship.
Twitter lit up with reactions after Naomi Osaka defeated the American in a stormy final on Saturday:
World No 1 Novak Djokovic added to the sexism row, saying male tennis players should earn more money than their female counterparts as more people watch their matches.
The Tennis Point Exhibition Series in Germany is taking place without spectators, line judges and ball kids and there are no handshakes after the match. Players arrive alone and have their own designated space in the venue to prepare. Once on court they sit at opposite sides during the changeovers.
Top seed Simona Halep came back from a set down for the third time in the tournament to beat Kazakhstan's rising star Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for the second time on Saturday. In a battle that lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours, the match came down to a tiebreak where two shots that went agonisingly wide for Rybakina eventually decided the title in front of a noisy crowd that constantly chanted Halep's name.
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.
Miami is one of the favourite stops on the WTA Tour because of the city's hip, youthful vibe but the final of Sony Open on Saturday was more about the golden oldies as Serena Williams and Li Na took centre stage.
Sania Mirza and Cara Black cruised past Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears in just 52 minutes to seal a semi-final berth at the WTA Rogers Cup, in Montreal.
Sania and her American partner defeated Jidkova and Poutchek 7-6(4), 7-5 to romp home at the WTA Tier III event on Sunday.
The Russian proved too good for defending champion Mara Santangelo in the final.
A ruthless Sorana Cirstea took full advantage of Karolina Pliskova's patchy form at the China Open on Thursday, reaching the quarter-finals as she consigned the recently dethroned world number one to a 6-1, 7-5 defeat.
Li Na is destined for more grand slams and a place in the Hall of Fame after the Australian Open win cemented her position as the most influential female player of the last decade, said former great Chris Evert.
Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska used her wits to defeat world number two Maria Sharapova 7-5, 6-4 to win the Sony Ericsson Open final on Saturday and once again deny the Russian.
The second seeds beat the Russia's Elena Vesnina and Anastassia Rodionova in the final of the WTA Bangalore Open.
World number one Victoria Azarenka's 26-match winning streak finally came to an end on Wednesday with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat to France's Marion Bartoli at the Sony Ericsson Open.
The latest tennis rankings have been announced by the ATP and WTA
Sania Mirza could not cross the final hurdle as she missed out on making the singles main draw of the Miami WTA Premier event after losing in straight sets to American 10th seed Sloane Stephens.
Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina yet again ended runners-up to nemesis Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond, losing the WTA Indian Wells Premier event's summit clash in straight sets.
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki held off a spirited fightback by Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli to win her 14th WTA title with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory in the Indian Wells final on Sunday.
Having ended a successful year with victory in the WTA Tour Finals, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza has set her sights on becoming the doubles world number one next season.
Former champion Maria Sharapova's hopes of playing at this year's Wimbledon championships could hinge on a June 20 meeting of tournament organisers unless the Russian hits form in forthcoming events in Madrid and Rome.
French Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka has moved up five places to number four in the official ATP world rankings released on Monday.
Venus Williams was denied a chance to better her world record for fastest serve in women's tennis in absence of proper measuring technology at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
Fifth seed Simona Halep of Romania took advantage of an error-prone display by American Madison Keys to claim her 14th WTA title with a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory in the Rogers Cup final in Montreal on Sunday.
Caroline Wozniacki seems a certain starter for the Australian Open in Melbourne next week after a scan on the world number one's injured left wrist showed no serious damage.
Roger Federer warmed up for next month's Wimbledon championships by swatting aside David Goffin 7-6(2), 6-1 to win the Halle Open title for the 10th time on Sunday.
Andy Murray said he hoped the players and their family members who tested positive recovered soon and added that the tournament should not have gone ahead in hindsight.
Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov has been named Bulgaria's Athlete of the Year in a nationwide poll conducted by sports journalists while French Open runner-up Simona Halep won the award in neigbouring Romania.
Tennis already sets the bar with equal prize money paid to women and men at Grand Slam tournaments
A weary Caroline Wozniacki was sent packing from the WTA Championships after losing 6-4, 6-2 to powerful Czech Petra Kvitova in her final round-robin match on Thursday.
Agnieszka Radwanska has added 18 time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova to her coach staff.
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