Serena williams
Serena Williams drops out of WTA top 50
The 40-year-old played just six tournaments in 2021 and none since her tearful Wimbledon first-round exit with a leg injury ended the 23-time Grand Slam...
Despite the coronavirus and the restrictions that came with it, sport continued in 2021. It delivered its thrills and spills and served to take our minds off the fact that life was happening under some very strange circumstances.
The Serbian had cast doubt on whether he would defend his Melbourne title next month, refusing to reveal whether he was inoculated against coronavirus, a requirement to play.
Haji Mohamed Dawjee was relieved to find out that Venus and Serena Williams were executive producers of 'King Richard', a movie about their father starring Will Smith.
'King Richard' plots the improbable rise of Serena and Venus Williams, from training on crumbling, gang-riddled Compton tennis courts to becoming all-time sporting greats.
The American superstar is frustratingly marooned on 23 Grand Slam titles, one short of the all-time record held by Margaret Court.
Williams, who has not played since a tearful first round exit at Wimbledon when she hobbled off court during the first set against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, is a six-time winner in New York.
Serena Williams returned from receiving medical attention but called it a day at 3-3 and walked off Centre Court in tears.
Serena, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, is still one shy of Margaret Court's Grand Slam singles record of 24.
The Olympics have already been delayed by a year and organisers have been forced to introduce strict measures to fight COVID-19.
The 39-year-old Williams, still one short of Margaret Court's all-time record for most Grand Slam singles titles, lost 6-3, 7-5 to Kazakh 21st seed Elena Rybakina, while Federer withdrew as a precaution to protect his body for Wimbledon.
Rybakina is the latest in a long line of players to have gone Kazakh in recent years.
World number four Aryna Sabalenka, who was the highest-seeded women's player still in the tournament, was dumped out by Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Friday's early action.
The 39-year-old Williams, who has been one short of Margaret Court's all-time record of most major trophies since 2017, brushed off a second-set blip to win 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.
The 39-year-old Williams has already seen two of her likeliest title challengers, who have both beaten her in major finals in recent years, either fail to start the tournament or pull out in unprecedented circumstances.
Naomi Osaka has revealed that she's been struggling with bouts of depression and anxiety since the US Open in 2018 and will now be taking some time away from the game.
Naomi Osaka pulled out of the French Open after being threatened with disqualification for declining to speak to the media.
Having slipped to number three in the world, it was always likely that Nadal, the 13-time champion, would face top-ranked Djokovic before the final
The 39-year-old Serena Williams will continue to warm up on clay at the Emilia-Romagna Open which starts on Sunday before the French Open in Paris on 30 May.