Petra Kvitova

World number three Casper Ruud cruised past Thiago Monteiro in straight sets but it was in vain as Norway crashed in their mixed teams United Cup tie against Brazil in Brisbane on Jan. 1.

After the Brazilians won both opening singles rubbers on Dec. 31, Ruud's 6-3, 6-2 victory brought his country back into contention.

Petra Kvitova compared the atmosphere created by Greek Maria Sakkari's supporters on Rod Laver Arena to "a soccer match" but cut through the noise and battled back from a set down to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, world number three, on Tuesday advanced to the second round of the women's singles event at the Australian Open tournament, the first Grand Slam of the year, after defeating American Jennifer Brady 7-5 (5) 6-1. Seed number 4 Halep, 28, prevailed in an hour and 36 minutes, dominating the second set after a very balanced first one.

Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has climbed one spot advancing to the third position in the world ranking of professional tennis players (Women's Tennis Association - WTA), released on Monday.

He will begin the new week as the 57th rocket in the world, writes NOVA TV. 

Grigor Dimitrov retreated with four more positions in the world rankings and will start the new week as the 57th rocket in the world. The best Bulgarian tennis player dropped out last week at the start in Atlanta, where he lost against  World No. 405 Kevin King.

 Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, world number one, advanced to the women's singles final at the 2,874,299-USD Western & Southern Open tournament in Cincinnati (Ohio), after defeating Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 6 -3 6-4 in Friday's semis.

Halep, 26, had a consistent play and prevailed in an hour and 16 minutes over 20-year-old Sabalenka, world number 34.

Romania's Simona Halep further tops the WTA ranking, 1,225 points clear of world No. 2, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.

This is Halep's 33rd week at the top of the world ranking (17 weeks straight) and next Monday will see her overcoming Germany's Angelique Kerber, who spent 34 weeks as WTA leader, placing her 12th in an all-time record.

Twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova withdrew from the Brisbane International with a viral illness on Jan. 1.

Turkish player Çağla Büyükakçay will take on Shelby Rogers at the French Open on May 31 after beating Croatia's Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in straight sets on May 28. 

The world's 155th-ranked player won 6-3, 6-3 against her 35-year-old rival, who is a full 133 spots ahead of her in the world rankings.

"I'll face another tough rival," Büyükakçay told Anadolu Agency after the win. 

Bulgaria's top female tennis player Tsvetana Pironkova has prevailed against Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko in the first round of the Apia International Sydney tournament on Sunday. 

Pironkova defeated Tsurenko 7-6; 6-2 to move to the second round of the tournament held in Sydney, Australia.