World No 1 Serena Williams overcame a dreadful second set to beat Germany's Sabine Lisicki.
Czech defending champion Katerina Siniakova fended off Maria Sharapova in a fiercely contested match at the Shenzhen Open on Friday to set up a final with world number one Simona Halep.
This will be her first appearance at the tournament since she was ousted in the second round in 2017.
A summary of Friday's tennis action from around the world.
Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas slayed another tennis giant on Saturday, saving a match point as he toppled big-serving Kevin Anderson 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(7) in a thriller to set up a Rogers Cup final against top seed Rafael Nadal.
'I think what Venus and her sister have given our sport is absolutely tremendous. The way they've elevated women's tennis is truly inspiring'
The unseeded Ostapenko, 20, downed Romanian third seed Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final, hitting a staggering 54 winners and taking her tournament tally to 299.
Naomi Osaka beat Jennifer Brady to win her second Australian Open title and fourth Grand Slam crown, extending her win streak to 21 matches.
Osaka also reached the final of the Western & Southern Open, which was held at Flushing Meadows this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but had to withdraw against Azarenka due to an injury.
Maria Sharapova is used to having to rebuild from scratch after suffering a string of debilitating injuries throughout her career, but the Russian is still surprised at how well she is playing in her latest comeback at the WTA Finals.
As Serena Williams sits out a fourth straight Grand Slam, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova will join Caroline Wozniacki in a quest for a major breakthrough in Australia.
A summary of Friday's play at Wimbledon.
Serena Williams returns to the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday
Penpix of the top women's contenders at the 2021 Australian Open
The women's singles is wide open, Arantxa said, but picked Halep as favourite.
Reactions to Novak Djokovic winning his 20th Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon
Pliskova will be guaranteed toppling Germany's Angelique Kerber if she prevails against Halep who would need to go on and take the title to seize the top ranking.
Top seeded Ash Barty overcame a slow start to defeat Maria Sharapova 6-4 6-1, while Simona Halep battled past Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6 7-5 6-4 in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday.
Czech Karolina Pliskova rose to the top of the WTA rankings without striking a ball on Tuesday as results at Wimbledon saw her overhaul Germany's Angelique Kerber.
Nadal, playing his first match since losing to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon semi-finals, fell behind 5-2 in the tiebreak before roaring back to prevail in his first career meeting with world number 53 Evans.
Serena Williams recovered from a set down to beat Australian Ashleigh Barty 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and book a place in the third round.
Former world number one Garbine Muguruza was beaten 7-5, 6-4 by Aryna Sabalenka in the China Open second round on Tuesday while an ailing Jelena Ostapenko lost 6-0, 6-0 to Wang Qiang.
Sam Stosur powered into the French Open quarter-finals with a 7-6(0), 6-3 win against Simona Halep in Paris on Tuesday, adapting better to damp and heavy conditions than her higher-ranked Romanian opponent.
Dowse said that the women's competition will see 10 former Grand Slam champions, including 23-time major winner Serena Williams, along with 81 of the top 100. In the men's event, seven of the world top ten are competing.
Multiple grand slam champion Maria Sharapova withdrew from the Brisbane International on Tuesday after suffering an arm injury in practise less than two weeks before the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic will begin his Australian Open title defence against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, while reigning women's champion Sofia Kenin meets wild card Maddison Inglis, following the draw for the year's first Grand Slam on Friday.
Images from Day 4 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday
This year's Australian Open will be allowed to admit up to 30,000 fans a day, around 50% of usual capacity, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Serena Williams faces her first seeded opponent at the French Open on Thursday and will hope to use her booming serve to beat Australian Ashleigh Barty in the second round.
Former world number one Serena Williams returns to Grand Slam action for the first time in over 15 months, when she goes up against Czech Kristyna Pliskova in the French Open first round.
Images from Day 1 at the Australian Open.
Sizzling hot Andy Murray roared into his seventh successive final with a commanding victory over Canadian Milos Raonic at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Saturday.
Karolina Pliskova overcame a slow start before beating Garbie Muguruza 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) in her opening match at the WTA Finals. In a contest between two former No. 1-ranked players, the third-seeded Pliskova struggled early adjusting to the nearly 5,000-feet altitude of Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city on Wednesday.
Images from Day 3 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Here are eight women to watch during the US Open which starts on Monday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
The seventh-seeded Bulgarian advanced to his eighth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Del Potro, who struggled with the intense heat in the closing stages of the one hour, 39 minute match.
IMAGES from matches on Day 9 at the French Open at Roland Garros
Five things to watch out for at the French Open on Tuesday.
Serena, a six-times champion in New York who is seeded 17th, will start her campaign against Polish world number 60 Magda Linette and could face Venus in the third round before a possible fourth-round showdown with Romanian top seed Halep.
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