World No 1 Serena Williams was handed the best possible draw for her WTA Finals title defence with the 33-year-old American grouped with two injury doubts and avoiding the in-form players.
Williams, who played an exhibition match last December in the United Arab Emirates, where she lost to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, said in addition to working on her serve and returns, she needs to manage her time better now that she has her daughter in tow.
"(Novak) has said that he views this as a private matter for him. We would love to see Novak here, he knows that he'll have to be vaccinated to play here."
The 37-year-old knows that if she wants to hoist the Rosewater Dish for an eighth time, she needs to improve in all departments.
Tennis star Serena Williams says she is concerned about the Zika outbreak ahead of August's Rio Olympics, but has faith in the support team dealing with worries about the mosquito-carried virus.
Penpix of the top women's contenders at the 2021 Australian Open
From Serena Williams's record triumph at the Miami Masters to gravity-defying moves of figure skaters, Rediff.com has it all snapped right here...
The latest tennis rankings have been announced by the ATP and WTA
'She's a fighter on the court. She's playing really great, especially on the grass. She's attacking that ball really well. She doesn't let anything limit her'
As Russian Maria Sharapova and American Serena Williams get ready to slug it out in their big-ticket semi-final, records and history tells us who has had the upper hand.
Images from Day 4 of the 2021 French Open in Paris on Wednesday.
Medvedev suffered a jarring early exit from the Canadian Masters last week but overcame some initial problems in a tricky tie against Shapovalov to edge both sets and book a meeting with American Fritz.
The president of the Russian Tennis Federation Shamil Tarpischev has been fined $25,000 and banned from the women's tour for a year after referring to Serena and Venus Williams as "the Williams brothers" on a television chat show last week.
Naomi Osaka faces Zheng before possible meeting with Coco Gauff
Serena Williams had to dig deep to fend off Latvian challenger Jelena Ostapenko as she wrapped up Friday's play at the Fed Cup in Seattle with a hard-fought victory that gave the United States a 2-0 advantage. Williams' experience and savvy ways showed in critical moments against the 22-year-old Ostapenko as she prevailed 7-6(4), 7-6(3) in a match that took one hour and 46 minutes.
As the fans head toward Flushing Meadows, tennis stars gear up with ground-breaking styles to rule the courts.
'I really like the way he plays, mixes in the slice, the dropshot, volleys really well. There's so many things I like from his game. Hopefully I can keep working on those and become just like him'
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka took advantage of an error-prone display by Serena Williams to win her second BNP Paribas Open title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the final at Indian Wells in California.
A look at the top women's contenders at the 2020 French Open.
Serena Williams' bid for a rare calendar-year Grand Slam came to a shuddering halt at the U.S. Open on Friday when the three-times defending champion suffered a stunning 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci.
Naomi Osaka now gets to test her mental strength against a revitalised Victoria Azarenka, who stunned Serena Williams in Thursday's other blockbuster semi-final.
The Serena Williams vs Andy Murray match might have to wait as focus shifts on Novak Djokovic vs Li Na match.
Paths to the final in the women's singles at the U.S. Open (prefix denotes seedings)
Naomi Osaka is also the first woman to win a second Slam immediately after her first since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 but her meteoric rise has been followed by a distinct dip ahead of Roland Garros.
The Murray bothers last played together at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and were a prolific partnership when Britain won the Davis Cup in 2015.
IMAGES from the Australian Open matches played on Friday.
Sumit Nagal immediately set his sights on Thiem who has reached two French Open finals, losing both to Nadal.
Images from all the action on Day 9 at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday
Her coach Patrick Mouratoglou believes she is now ready to matching Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slams.
Since having a child and returning to the WTA Tour Serena Williams's focus has been split between raising a family and work.
An outcry over the whereabouts of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai escalated on Friday as the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) said it was prepared to pull its tournaments out of China if they were not satisfied with the response to her sexual assault allegation.
Serena Williams allowed herself a few moments to enjoy her sixth Wimbledon title before thoughts turned to New York and the elusive calendar year feat.
Angelique Kerber said her dreams came true in just over two hours on Rod Laver Arena on Saturday when she upset defending champion Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Australian Open.
Both will play their second-round singles matches on Thursday.
Serena Williams squandered four match points and blew a 5-1 lead in the decider to fall to seventh seed Karolina Pliskova 6-4 4-6 7-5 in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
Serena Williams, who has a history of blood clots and pulmonary embolisms, said she has concerns over travelling to New York and is living in a rented house instead of the official players' hotel as a precaution.
Bumble began in 2014 as a dating platform for women to start discussions with potential male partners. The company is aiming to promote newer functions, Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz, which help women find friends and build business networks, alongside dating.
Rediff.com lets you into the party zone...
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.
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