World No.8 Samantha Stosur won her first WTA singles title last year at the HP Open in Osaka and this year she won her first two matches with the score 6-0 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the $220,000 tournament.

The top-seeded Stosur defeated wildcard Sachie Ishizu in the first round and on Wednesday she beat another Japanese, Junri Namigata, firing three straight aces at one point in the match.

Stosur, who also won an ITF title in Osaka in 2001, is now 7-0 at the HP Open and will next face her third Japanese opponent in a row, either sixth seed Kimiko Daet Krumm or wildcard Aiko Nakamura. (photo: chascow)

Justine Henin has recovered from the right elbow injury sustained at Wimbledon in June and besides warming up for the 2011 season on tennis courts, she's dancing and singing on TV. The video clip above shows Henin's performance on a Belgian show Cap 48, which aired on Sunday.

As for scheduled tennis appearances, Henin's plans for 2011 have not been defined yet, but she will play an exhibition match against Kim Clijsters at the Diamond Games in Antwerp on December 9, 2010, and is also expected to play the Hopman Cup in Australia in January. (via Justine Henin's official website)

Never before had Caroline Wozniacki won a match at either the Tokyo or Beijing tournament, but this year the Dane won both in back-to-back weeks, earning the No.1 ranking on the way.

The final of the China Open in Beijing was postponed to Monday due to rain and top-seeded Wozniacki continued to consolidate her new top ranking by defeating the new No.3 and US Open and Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva 6-3 3-6 6-3. One break in the beginning of the deciding set gave Wozniacki a 2-0 lead and she held her serve and didn’t even give Zvonareva break opportunities until the winner’s trophy was hers. The China Open title earned Wozniacki 1000 points, as well as $775,500, which means she’s earned more than a million in prize money in two weeks.

The 20-year-old Wozniacki doesn’t seem afraid of success: "Everything is working for me at the moment. I've got to believe I can beat anyone. I feel in great shape and now I'm really looking forward to Doha."

Wozniacki has now won six Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles in 2010 and is the leader in the number of titles this season. Kim Clijsters follows her with four titles. Wozniacki is also leading other players in the number of matches won this season with 59. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

Serena Williams' expected comeback at the Generali Ladies Linz is not to be, as she suffered "a physical problem" which appeared in her last training session for the tournament. The American decided to undergo some more medical tests and later withdrew from the $220,000 Austrian event. Will the Munich restaurant foot injury keep Serena away from the Sony Ericsson Championships as well?

Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva are also not in action, but due to rain in Beijing which has postponed matches until Monday. Wozniacki and Zvonareva, top two seeds at the China Open, are playing the finals as the Dane overcame Shahar Peer in the semis 7-5 6-2, and Zvonareva beat home favorite Li Na 6-3 6-3.

Update: Serena said she restrained her foot because of training too hard and there is a possibility she will miss the rest of the season. (photo: sr_cranks)

The eight-woman singles field at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Championships is now wrapped up as world No.7 Jelena Jankovic and world No.9 Elena Dementieva became the last two players to qualify for the season-ending tournament which includes only eight players who had the best results during a tennis year.

It will be Jankovic's fourth successive appearance at the Sony Ericsson Championships. In 2008 and 2009 the Serb reached the semifinals which she both lost to Venus Williams who will not play this year. Jankovic's 2010 season has been highlighted by the Indian Wells title, the final of Rome and Roland Garros semis. Read more »

Luckily for Caroline Wozniacki, who is to become No.1-ranked WTA player on Monday, she didn't lose her first match since it became known she would replace Serena Williams on the top of the rankings, but rather confirmed her status, disputable as a lot of tennis fans would say, by beating former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals of the China Open. In the previous round Ivanovic managed to stay on track and defeat seventh seed Elena Dementieva after two tiebreaks.

In the quarterfinal against Ivanovic, Wozniacki took just three of 11 break point chances and, after winning a closely-fought first set, survived the Serb's late charge in the second set when she bettered her score from 5-2 down to 5-4 down. Even though Wozniacki pulled off the 7-6(1) 6-4 victory, there is place for concern about her health – she twisted her knee in the second set which left her motionless on the floor for a few moments.

Wozniacki's opponent in the semifinals will be No.16 seed Shahar Peer who defeated Timea Bacsinszky in the quarterfinals 7-6(4) 6-4. The other semifinal match will feature second seed Vera Zvonareva and home favorite Li Na. Zvonareva advanced with a 6-0 6-2 win over fifth-seeded Francesca Schiavone, while Li defeated Anastasija Sevastova 7-6(6) 6-3. The quarterfinal win in Beijing was Zvonareva's 45th win this season, and will ascend her to a career-high of No.3 in the new rankings on Monday. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)

On the same day it became known Serena Williams would lose her number one ranking to Caroline Wozniacki, it was announced that the American would return to the Tour for the first time since July. The tournament Williams is scheduled to play is the Generali Ladies Linz which starts on Monday, October 11.

Serena hasn't been playing competitive tennis because of a foot injury and surgery she had to have as a consequence of stepping on glass at a restaurant. Having been very selective as to which tournaments she would play and also because of the injury, Serena has approached the end of the 2010 season with only six tournament appearances (Sydney, Australian Open, Rome, Madrid, French Open, Wimbledon). However, her winning percentage is awesome: out of the six tournaments she has played so far this year, Serena has won two, and those were none other than Grand Slams.

Now that Serena is returning, Caroline Wozniacki’s top ranking could be short-lived, because Serena has qualified for the prestigious Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha as well. (source: ESPN, photo: © Neal Trousdale)

As of today it's certain that women's tennis will have a brand new world number one player when the rankings are refreshed on Monday, October 11th. As you must already know, it will be 20-year-old Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark.

The moment has been anticipated for a long time because of Wozniacki's consistency, and especially after she won the Tokyo tournament last week, when it became a fact that she would reach the top of the rankings if she advances to the quarterfinals of the following event in Beijing. Well, that's exactly what happened – Wozniacki beat Petra Kvitova 6-3 6-2 in the third round of the China Open, earning her impressive 56th match win in 2010.

Wozniacki, who started her professional career in 2005, will become the 20th player in the history of women's tennis to reach the top position in the rankings and will end Serena Williams' reign over the number one spot which will have lasted for 49 weeks, since November 2nd, 2009. The Dane has won 11 WTA singles titles, including five this season, and played the final of the 2009 US Open.

In the quarterfinals of the China Open Wozniacki will play former world number one Ana Ivanovic who won two tiebreaks to overcome seventh seed Elena Dementieva 7-6(2) 7-6(4). The two-set match featured a pair of tiebreaks even though Ivanovic served for the first set at 5-3, and even though Dementieva had a set point at 5-4 in the second set. (photo: Ralf Reinecke)