Wildcard Harriet Dart was probably surprised, therefore, when she looked up to see the Duchess of Cambridge sat in the front row of seats on Court 14 on Tuesday.
Images from Day 1 of the 2022 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in Flushing Meadows, New York, on Monday.
Wildcard entrant Sharapova returned to action this week following her 15-month ban, but has looked like she never really went away in winning her three matches so far without dropping a set.
Serena and Venus Williams usually get top billing at the Miami Open but this year there is another sister act vying for thespotlight with world number one Naomi Osaka showing older sibling Mari the ropes.
Maria Sharapova withdrew from the Rogers Cup with a sore left arm on Thursday, putting the five-time grand slam champion's US Open participation in doubt.
Zverev's brother Mischa Zverev was also eliminated, going out 6-3, 6-1 to David Ferrer in the first round, while Kei Nishikori eased to a 7-5, 6-2 win over Taylor Fritz to secure a place in the third round.
Images from Day 8 of the 2021 US Open in New York on Monday.
'This will be my first trip to Eastbourne, I have heard great things about the tournament'
Indian tennis legend Leander Paes is set to play his last tournament on home soil as he was on Saturday handed a wild card entry in doubles for the third edition of Tata Open Maharashtra, beginning in Pune from February 3. The 46-year-old Paes and his partner Australian Mathew Ebden will face the pair of Divij Sharan and New Zealand's Artem Sitak in the first round.
Caroline Wozniacki outlasted Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a dog fight of a semi-final at the Pan Pacific Open on Saturday to end the Pole's reign at the Ariake Coliseum.
The Scot lost 6-4, 6-4 to Richard Gasquet in his first singles match since January before saying he had turned down a wild card into the men's draw at the year's final Grand Slam.
Four-times Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters, due to make her professional comeback after a seven-year hiatus, said she will be selective in picking the tournaments she plays to give her time to focus on her children. A mother of three, the 36-year-old Belgian announced plans in September to come out of retirement for a second time. But her return, initially scheduled for January, has been pushed back due to a knee injury.
Images from Day 3 of the Wimbledon tennis championships played in London, on Wednesday.
Wildcard entrant Gaurav Bidhuri's remarkable run at the World Boxing Championships ended with a bronze medal on Thursday after he lost his semifinal clash to American Duke Ragan in Hamburg.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 2022 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Monday.
Maria Sharapova's love for tennis has only grown stronger during her 15-month doping ban, the five-times Grand Slam winner has said as she continues her comeback from the suspension.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
'Lifting this trophy makes me feel like I have achieved that the dream that I had when I began my Jhalak journey.' Teriya Magar wins Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova has been invited to play at the Madrid Open in May, which takes place less than two weeks after her 15-month doping ban expires, tournament organisers said on Wednesday.
Indian equestrian Fouaad Mirza is yet to decide which one of his two horses will accompany him to the Tokyo Olympic Games and said he will pick the one carrying the best form leading up to the time of submitting the entry later this month.
The tournament is the first in five months since the Tour was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Martic said she felt the effects of not playing competitive tennis for so long.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Roger Federer's decision to withdraw means Switzerland can no longer take part in the nation-based event on January 3-12
Former world number one Maria Sharapova crashed out of the Stuttgart Grand Prix semi-final in her first event back after a 15-month doping suspension, losing to France's Kristina Mladenovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday.
The former world number one, who is easing his way back to full match fitness after a career-saving resurfacing procedure in January, saved all four break points he faced and dropped only six points on his first serve.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the Wimbledon Champions at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Thursday
Serena Williams survived another scare to beat older sister Venus 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday in the latest instalment of their reluctant on-court sibling rivalry to reach the quarter-finals of the inaugural Top Seed Open in Lexington, Kentucky.
Halep, the beaten finalist in the French Open last week, is the latest top player to pull out from the event after Czech world number three Karolina Pliskova opted to rest her injured elbow ahead of Wimbledon.
Images from Day 1 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday.
Third seeds Leander Paes and Andre Begemann secured a close 4-6,6-4,10-8 win over Oleksandr Nedovyesov of Kazakhstan and Denys Molchanov of Ukraine to enter the semifinals of the doubles event at the ninth edition of the Tashkent ATP Challenger at the Olympic Tennis School in Tashkent. Paes and Begemann came back from being 2-4 down in the Match tiebreak to wrap the issue after Leander's splendid court craft to level scores.
Coric, who had failed to win a match in his last two appearances in Beijing and Shenzhen, saved two break points at 3-3 in the second set and clinched the first four games of the decider to record his 32nd match win of the season.
The 20-year-old Korda, son of 1992 runner-up Petr, had enjoyed a dream run in his first Tour-level event on clay and was up against his idol -- the man he named his cat after.
Shefali Jariwala enters Bigg Boss 13.
Images from Day 6 of the 2022 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
Women's Tennis Association Chief Executive Steve Simon has defended the wildcard entry awarded to former world number one Maria Sharapova.
The lack of an effective Indian boxing federation has damaged the competitiveness of the sport and contributed to the decline of boxing in the country, women's Olympic flyweight bronze medallist MC Mary Kom said on Tuesday.
A final decision is expected by March based on the hosting and COVID-19 contingency proposals received from bidders.
Twice Grand Slam champion Hewitt said last month that he had banned Tomic from playing in the Davis Cup and cut all ties with the player after receiving physical threats against himself and his family from his compatriot, including blackmail.
Peace has broken out in Jelena Dokic's war of words with the Australian Open after she apologised for lashing the Grand Slam tournament when she was overlooked for a wildcard entry this year. Former world number four Dokic, who together with her firebrand father Damir has endured a rocky relationship with Australian tennis officials for years, most recently hit out over a perceived lack of support.
