Should the 30-year-old three-time Rome champion, ranked 211 in the world, reach the semi-finals, she would almost certainly earn an automatic Wimbledon main draw slot ahead of the May 22 rankings cut-off date.
Canadian youngster Eugenie Bouchard is the latest tennis player to catch the fancy of fans, while regulars on the circuit, like Ana Ivanovic, Caroline Wozniacki and Daniela Hantuchova, still continue to be the top attractions.
Serena Williams clinched the year-end World No 1 ranking for the fourth time without hitting a ball on Friday after Maria Sharapova, the only woman with any chance of overtaking her, was eliminated from the WTA Finals.
Halep finds groove to reach Prague semi-finals.
Kenin, Andreescu to be part of team event in Charleston in June
Rafael Nadal will have his work cut out when play begins next week, not on the Caja Magica's three red dust courts, but on gaming consoles.
Maria Sharapova will probably have to win 10 matches to claim a second Wimbledon title this year after deciding on Friday not to request a wildcard for the championships.
Eleven years after their first meeting in the Australian Open final, Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will take a trip down memory lane on Thursday to renew their rivalry in the second round in Melbourne.
After the 'lingerie' outfit during the Wimbledon, Nike is back with fluorescent yellow gear for players, both male and female.
Photos of Day 5 of the Australian Open being played in Melbourne
Images from the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday.
'If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were born.'
Madison Brengle filed a lawsuit against the Women's Tennis Association and the International Tennis Federation on Monday seeking damages for injuries she says were caused by the repeated drawing of blood for anti-doping tests.
Petra Kvitova will start the defence of her Wimbledon title next week with no competitive grasscourt practice after pulling out of the Aegon International at Eastbourne where she was top seed.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
Key facts and records of American Serena Williams and Canada's Bianca Andreescu
Top tweets from the second day's play at the French Open featuring John Peers, Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki and Kristina Mladenovic:
BNP Paribas Open chief executive and tournament director Raymond Moore provoked outrage with controversial comments he made before the women's and men's finals at Indian Wells, and later issued an official apology.
Maria Sharapova's comeback from a doping ban will include an appearance at the Rogers Cup in August after the former world number one was granted a wild card by the organisers of the Toronto tournament on Tuesday.
The United States survived a fright from little Latvia on Saturday before winning 3-2 in a Fed Cup qualifier as Serena Williams suffered her first career singles loss in the team event. Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Slovakia, Germany, Russia and Belarus also moved through to the inaugural 12-nation showdown in Budapest.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
Indian tennis stars enjoyed a successful start in the US Open as veteran Leander Paes entered the mixed doubles second round while Rohan Bopanna also won his opening tie in the men's doubles event in New York.
Serena Williams may have been second best at the French Open on Saturday but the American has moved ahead of fellow tennis player Maria Sharapova to top the women's earnings list in sports, according to Forbes Magazine. Williams ended the Russian's 11-year reign as the world number one women's money earner in sports by hauling in $28.9 million in combined prize money and off-field earnings over the past 12 months, the magazine said on Monday. Sharapova, who lost some sponsorship money after announcing she had tested positive for the recently banned substance meldonium at the Australian Open in January and is provisionally suspended, holds second spot at $21.9 million.
IMAGES from the matches played on Day 4 of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Thursday
Canada's Denis Shapovalov said he would flat out refuse to go on court if forced to compete in poor air quality and believed other leading players at the tournament will similarly decline to risk their health.
The 28-year-old Belarusian returned to action in June, after the birth of her son Leo last December, and had been hopeful that legal arrangements could be worked out to allow her to compete in the August 28-September 10 grand slam in New York.
Andrea Petkovic battled back to advance to the semi-finals at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina on Friday while Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka upset yet another seed with a victory over Sara Errani.
The 19-year-old's triumph, which came in her US Open main draw debut and against the undisputed queen of the sport, was the latest step in a meteoric rise for Andreescu and it dominated front pages across the country.
A clash of generations will decide the US Open on Saturday with Serena Williams taking a fourth crack at Grand Slam history against teenager Bianca Andreescu, who was not even born when the American lifted her first Flushing Meadows trophy.
Czech Petra Kvitova won the Aegon Classic in Birmingham on Sunday after fighting back to beat Australian Ashleigh Barty 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Twice winner Maria Sharapova and reigning champion Flavia Pennetta advanced to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, though in sharply contrasting fashion.
The level of media coverage surrounding Maria Sharapova's return to tennis from a doping suspension has been a key factor in the five-time Grand Slam winner being offered wildcards to events, men's world number one Andy Murray has said.
Konta, Sharapova fall at Rogers Cup in Toronto
The Australian Open started with a bang and the stars weren't hard to miss, as most of them were seen wearing loud colours at Melbourne Park.
Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu's Indian Wells triumph was not shown on television in her home country but that did not dampen the excitement across a nation where the future of women's tennis is suddenly looking as bright as ever.
Slaving away in the gym might just be a waste of time for many, for one in every six persons doesn't get any benefit from it in shedding weight or toning the body.
The signs that things were going horribly wrong for Roger Federer were laid bare at Roland Garros.
Here is a Factbox on Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, who beat American Venus Williams 7-5, 6-0 to win her first Wimbledon singles title on Saturday:
Images from matches played on Day 4 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Thursday
World No 1 Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams advanced safely to the next round of the US Open on Saturday but the women's draw saw yet another big upset as Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova was sent packing by a 145th-ranked qualifier.
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