Iga Swiatek started the defence of her Qatar Open title by taking less than an hour to beat Danielle Collins on Wednesday.

Playing for the first time since she was knocked out of the Australian Open by Elena Rybakina in the fourth round last month, normal service was resumed by the domineering world number one in Doha.

The top seed brushed Collins aside in only 53 minutes, racing to a 6-0 6-1 victory to march into the third round.

Collins only won four points as she suffered the misery of a first-set bagel, an inspired Swiatek taking the opener in only 21 minutes.

Swiatek's run of games won was ended at nine when Collins got on the board at 3-1, but the Pole broke for a fifth time before serving it out for an emphatic victory.

The 21-year-old three-time grand slam champion, who made only six unforced errors, will do battle with Belinda Bencic for a place in the quarter-finals.

Bencic beat two-time champion Victoria Azarenka 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to take her place in the last 16, storming back from 4-1 down in the second set when she appeared to be on her way out.

Second seed Jessica Pegula saved two match puts as she dug deep to beat Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 2-6 7-5 to set up a meeting with Beatriz Haddad Maia, who beat Daria Kasatkina in straight sets.

Fourth seed Coco Gauff got the better of Petra Kvitova 6-3 7-6 (8-6), while Veronika Kudermetova and Maria Sakkari also made it through.

Belinda Bencic continued her impressive run of form this season with a straight-sets win over Viktoriya Tomova in the opening round of the Qatar Open.

The seventh seed triumphed at the Abu Dhabi Open last week to add to her Adelaide International 2 success from January and is now seeking another title in Doha.

Bencic eased to a 6-0 6-1 win against Bulgarian qualifier Tomova and will face two-time tournament winner Victoria Azarenka for a place in the quarter-finals.

Maria Sakkari also advanced on Tuesday, overcoming Zheng Qinwen 6-2 3-6 6-3, as did fellow seeded player Daria Kasatkina with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 win against Rebecca Marino.

Zheng may have suffered an early exit, but last season's WTA Newcomer of the Year produced the shot of the tournament with a winning tweener en route to taking the second set.

Petra Kvitova, another two-time winner in Qatar, defeated Zhang Shuai 7-5 6-2, while Danielle Collins beat Elise Mertens 6-4 7-6 (8-6) and will now face top seed Iga Swiatek.

Second seed Jessica Pegula will take on Jelena Ostapenko, meanwhile, after the Latvian proved too strong for Madison Keys in a 7-5 6-2 victory.

Veronika Kudermetova saved five match points as she beat Danielle Collins to reach the Adelaide International 2 semi-finals before Belinda Bencic knocked Caroline Garcia out.

Sixth seed Kudermetova showed great defiance to defeat American Collins 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 on Thursday.

Kudermetova fended off five match points when serving to stay in the tournament at 6-5 down in the second set and duly forced a tie-break.

Collins, runner-up to Ash Barty in the Australian Open final last year, took a 3-0 lead in the breaker, but back came her Russian opponent to level the match.

The world number nine dominated the deciding set to seal a meeting with Bencic in the last four.

Eighth seed Bencic got the better of WTA Finals champion Garcia 6-2 3-6 6-4.

Garcia broke straight back after going 3-1 down in the final set, but Bencic broke for the fourth time in the match to go through.

Paula Badosa and Daria Kasatkina will contest the other semi-final after beating Beatriz Haddad Maia and Petra Kvitova respectively. 

Elisabetta Cocciaretto saved two match points as she came from a set down to beat Bernarda Pera 5-7 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the Hobart International. 

The 21-year-old Italian will now face 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who also stormed back to defeat Anhelina Kalinina 4-6 6-3 6-1.

Lauren Davis and Anna Blinkova will do battle in the other semi-final following wins over Wang Xinyu and Yulia Putintseva respectively. 

Petra Kvitova defeated Elena Rybakina in the pick of the first-round matches at the Adelaide International 2 on Monday.

Two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova hit 21 winners to 12 unforced errors on her way to a 6-3 7-5 win against reigning SW19 champion Rybakina in a match lasting 87 minutes.

Belinda Bencic, a defeated finalist in this tournament in 2021, also advanced with a 6-3 6-4 win against former world number one Garbine Muguruza to maintain her positive form.

Fellow seeded players Beatriz Haddad Maia and Danielle Collins beat Sorana Cirstea and Karolina Pliskova respectively to book their places in the last 16.

At the Hobart International, favourite Marie Bouzkova saw off Jacqueline Cristian 7-6 (7-2) 6-3, while Lauren Davis defeated Sloane Stephens 6-2 6-2 in an all-American clash.

Dan Evans helped Great Britain reach the last eight of the inaugural United Cup as his 6-3 1-6 6-3 win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas decided the team's Group D tie against Spain.

Rafael Nadal's shock defeat to Cameron Norrie – coupled with Katie Swan's win against Nuria Parrizas-Diaz – put Spain 2-0 down in the best-of-five tie ahead of Sunday's action.

World number 13 Paula Badosa put them back into contention with a hard-fought 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 win against Harriet Dart, but Evans gave Britain an unassailable lead by battling past Ramos-Vinolas, recovering from a dismal second set.

Having topped Group D, Britain will face the Croup C winners – the United States, Germany or the Czech Republic – for a semi-final place on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Hubert Hurkacz doubled up to help Poland past Kazakhstan, teaming up with Iga Swiatek in the mixed doubles after beating Alexander Bublik.

Hurkacz beat Bublik 7-6 (8-6) 4-6 6-3 in just over two hours before Magda Linette overcame Zhibek Kulambayeva 6-2 6-1.

With Poland's first win in the competition secure, world number one Swiatek helped Hurkacz put the icing on the cake with a 6-3 6-4 victory against Kulambayeva and Grigoriy Lomakin.

The Czech Republic also enjoyed a fruitful day as two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova downed Laura Siegemund in straight sets to seal the team's win against Germany, but Casper Ruud was less fortunate, with Norway losing their tie against Brazil despite his success against Thiago Monteiro.

Maria Sakkari sealed victory for top-seeded Greece over Bulgaria in the United Cup with a straight sets win over Viktoriya Tomova.

Team-mates Stefanos Tsitsipas and Despina Papamichail had already won their matches on Thursday, and Sakkari's 6-3 6-2 triumph gave Greece an unassailable 3-0 lead.

Michail Pervolarakis was defeated by Dimitar Kuzmanov in the final singles match between the nations, but Tsitsipas and Sakkari teamed up to earn Greece a 6-4 6-4 success in the doubles encounter to end on a high.

World number 16 Matteo Berrettini helped Italy topple Brazil by overcoming Thiago Monteiro 6-4 7-6 (9-7).

That gave Italy a 2-1 lead, and Lucia Bronzetti finished the job by demolishing Laura Pigossi in straight sets, with Brazil powerless to overturn the deficit despite Berrettini and Camilla Rosatello's defeat in the doubles match.

US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe clinched a win for the United States over the Czech Republic after opponent Tomas Machac retired with an ankle injury with the score at 6-3 2-4.

Petra Kvitova had defeated Jessica Pegula 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in the third singles match to give Czech Republic hope, but Tiafoe's win settled the contest before Pegula and Taylor Fritz joined up for success in the doubles.

Great Britain were 3-2 victors over Australia despite a pair of defeats on day two in Sydney.

Cameron Norrie's triumph over Nick Kyrgios' replacement Alex De Minaur on day one had helped Great Britain to a 2-0 lead over the hosts, and Harriet Dart prevailed over Maddison Inglis to wrap up the victory.

Dan Evans was then beaten 6-3 7-6 (7-3) by Jason Kubler before Dart and Jonny O'Mara fell to defeat in the doubles, but Great Britain's strong start saw them through.

France and Switzerland completed 5-0 sweeps of Argentina and Kazakhstan respectively, with Caroline Garcia winning both her singles and doubles matches in straight sets while Stan Wawrinka saw off Alexander Bublik 6-3 7-6 (7-3).

The top seed in action on Tuesday at the Guadalajara Open made it through her opening match unscathed as Maria Sakkari defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-4.

Sakkari is one of the players needing a strong result in the tournament to break into the top-eight of the world rankings to qualify for the upcoming WTA Finals, entering the week at 10th, but only needing to make up one spot, with number eight Simona Halep out due to injury.

With her victory over Kostyuk, Sakkari avoided notching four consecutive losses for the first time this season, and will likely only need one more win to move into WTA Finals contention.

Her next opponent appears to be world number 16 Danielle Collins, who had no issue dispatching American compatriot Caroline Dolehide 6-4 6-1 to book her second-round fixture against Magdalena Frech after the Polish qualifier beat Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-4.

World number seven Daria Kasatkina also should be locked into the WTA Finals after cruising past China's Lin Zhu 6-1 6-2, while 18th-ranked Beatriz Haddad Maia's season is over after a disappointing 7-5 6-2 upset loss to Katerina Siniakova.

Petra Kvitova needed to reach the final to have a chance of qualifying, but after a strong first set she fell 3-6 6-2 6-0 against Canada's Bianca Andreescu. In a good day for the Canadians, Eugenie Bouchard also beat Kayla Day 7-5 6-3 as the former world number five fights her way back up the rankings after a long injury layoff.

Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto defeated Russia's Anastasia Potapova 6-2 6-1, while Latvia's top talent Jelena Ostapenko cruised past America's Lauren Davis 6-1 6-3.

Madison Keys was too strong for Magda Linette in a 6-3 6-3 triumph, and in an all-Czech matchup, Marie Bouzkova downed Tereza Martincova 6-2 7-5.

Croatia's Donna Vekic eliminated Brazil's Laura Pigossi 6-4 6-1, and Italy's Martina Trevisan showed why she is top-30 in the world with a convincing 6-4 6-3 straight sets win against Japan's Nao Hibino.

In the last match of the night, world number 10 Caroline Garcia survived an early scared to come from behind and defeat Rebecca Marino 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-5).

Victoria Azarenka has booked a clash with the top seed of the Guadalajara Open after defeating Elina Avanesyan 6-4 6-2 in Monday's opening round.

In the last event of the season before the WTA Finals, Belarus' Azarenka was too strong with her return game for her Russian opponent, winning 53 per cent (32-of-60) of her return points while capitalising on five-of-seven break point opportunities to earn a shot at world number eight Paula Badosa.

While Azarenka has no chance of qualifying for the WTA Finals – with only the top-eight players in the rankings making it through – Belinda Bencic is one of the players who can sneak in with a great result this week.

Needing to make the semi-finals to have a chance, she got off on the right foot with a 7-5 6-7 (10-12) 6-3 win against Leylah Fernandez in her opening match.

Petra Kvitova can also qualify if she reaches the final, and she started without issue, defeating Bernarda Pera 6-3 7-5.

Ekaterina Alexandrova had an outside chance of claiming a WTA Finals spot if she won this tournament, but she was the victim of the day's biggest upset, falling 6-4 7-6 (10-8) to Camila Osorio.

At 22nd in the world, Liudmila Samsonova is the lowest-ranked player in the field with a mathematical chance at qualification, but she is a step closer after handling Kaia Kanepi 6-1 7-5.

Despite Fernandez's earlier loss, it was a strong day for the Canadians, with Bianca Andreescu proving too good in her 6-2 6-4 victory against Jil Teichmann, and Rebecca Marino also only needed two sets to defeat Ann Li 6-2 7-6 (7-2).

China's Lin Zhu came from a set behind to beat France's Alize Cornet 3-6 6-3 6-4, while Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk had a much quicker result in her 6-1 6-3 triumph over Belarus' Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

World number 34 Elise Mertens had no problems in one of the biggest mismatches of the day as she defeated world number 185 Asia Muhammad 6-3 6-2, and Sloane Stephens needed only 54 minutes to advance 6-0 6-2 past Linda Fruhvirtova.

In the last match of the night, Mexico's top chance Fernanda Contreras Gomez was eliminated by Alja Tomljanovic 6-2 6-1.

Home favourite Ons Jabeur was on the end of a big upset at the Jasmin Open on Friday as the world number two was eliminated by Claire Liu in the quarter-finals.

Jabeur saw off Ann Li and Evgeniya Rodina in straight sets to reach the last eight, but Liu – ranked 73 in the world – came out on top 6-3 4-6 6-4.

Liu is now into her second semi-final of the season and will face Elise Mertens, who defeated Moyuka Uchijima 6-0 3-6 6-4 in the final match of the day.

Second and third seeds Veronika Kudermetova and Alize Cornet will meet in the other semi after beating Diane Parry and Tamara Zidansek respectively in straight sets.

At the Ostrava Open, meanwhile, tournament favourite Iga Swiatek reached her 10th semi-final of the year with a 6-4 6-4 victory over qualifier Caty McNally.

Swiatek needed nearly two hours to seal her 59th victory of the season – just one short of tying Caroline Wozniacki, the most recent female to hit 60 wins in a calendar year (2017).

She will now face Ekaterina Alexandrova, who proved too strong for Tereza Martincova in a 6-1 4-6 6-1 victory.

Another grand slam winner in Barbora Krejcikova earlier beat Alycia Parks 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 on home soil to maintain her positive form, a week after triumphing at the Tallinn Open.

Awaiting her in the semi-finals is Elena Rybakina following the reigning Wimbledon champion's 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory against Petra Kvitova.

Iga Swiatek is through to the quarter-finals of the Ostrava Open after Ajla Tomljanovic retired hurt in their second-round match on Wednesday.

The world number one had won the first set 7-5, but her Australian opponent was forced to concede at 2-2 in the second.

Swiatek is now the female player with the most wins in a single year (58) in the last five seasons. Former world number one Ash Barty recorded 57 victories in 2019.

The second seed in Ostrava is out after Paula Badosa was beaten 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 by Petra Kvitova in front of a delighted Czech crowd, while Elena Rybakina is also through to the last eight after coming from behind to win against Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-5.

Wednesday's two other matches saw more success for Czech participants as Karolina Muchova beat seventh seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4 6-4, while Barbora Krejcikova defeated Shelby Rogers 6-2 6-2.

There was less Czech joy at the Jasmin Open in Tunisia, where Katerina Siniakova was beaten 7-5 6-2 by Claire Liu.

Elsewhere, number three seed Alize Cornet eased past Harriet Dart 6-3 6-4, Elise Mertens came from behind to beat Despina Papamichail and Diane Parry went through against French compatriot Lucrezia Stefanini after the latter retired hurt in the second set.

Rafael Nadal says it has been "an honour and a privilege" competing with Roger Federer after the 20-time grand slam winner announced his retirement on Thursday.

In a statement posted on social media, Federer confirmed his "bittersweet decision" to call time on his top-level tennis career after next week's Laver Cup in London.

Federer won 20 grand slam titles across a legendary 24-year career, a trophy tally in majors that only Novak Djokovic (21) and Nadal (22) can better.

The 41-year-old has not competed since Wimbledon 2021, after which he underwent a third knee operation, but Nadal had hoped his fellow great would never retire.

"Dear Roger, my friend and rival. I wish this day would have never come. It's a sad day for me personally and for sports around the world," Nadal posted on his Twitter account.

"It's been a pleasure but also an honour and privilege to share all these years with you, living so many amazing moments on and off the court."

Nadal, who will team up with Federer and Djokovic as part of Team Europe's all-star cast at the Laver Cup, added: "We will have many more moments to share together.

"There are still lots of things to do together, we know that. For now, I truly wish you all the happiness with your wife, Mirka, your kids, your family and enjoy what's ahead of you."

Federer has spent 750 weeks in the top 10 of the men's singles rankings, an undefeated number for a male player since they were first published in 1973.

The Swiss has also won more men's singles main draw matches in grand slam tournaments than any other player in the Open Era (369).

As he brings down the curtain on his remarkable career, several other players paid their respects to one of the sport's all-time greats. 

"Some of Fed’s numbers are laughably impossible to top (23 straight slam semi-finals, for instance)," John Isner posted on Twitter. 

"But his impact on tennis far exceeds what he accomplished on court. Thanks for everything, RF."

Seven-time grand slam winner Petra Kvitova added: "Roger, you have always been such a huge inspiration to me. Your elegance, your grace, your beautiful game. 

"I have always held you in the highest regard and want to congratulate you for an amazing career. Tennis won’t be the same without you! Thank you."

Petra Kvitova fended off home favourite Madison Keys to reach the Western and Southern Open final and secure a return to the world's top 20.

The two-time Wimbledon champion battled to a 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-3 victory in two hours and 18 minutes, saying the match had been "mentally so tough".

Both players had taken significant scalps to reach this stage, with Keys knocking out world number one Iga Swiatek and Kvitova ousting Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur.

Kvitova reached semi-finals at Cincinnati in 2012 and 2018 and lost three-set battles on both occasions, but this time she came good in the decider to earn a first final appearance at the event and a 40th overall in her WTA career.

The 32-year-old Czech slipped an early break adrift in the opening set before fighting back to force a tie-break. She came from behind in that, too, to level up at 6-6, only for hard-hitting American Keys to win the next two points, the first with a sizzling backhand winner.

Kvitova sensed she was still firmly in the match, however, and surges to 3-1 in each of the next two sets provided the platform to fully turn around the contest.

A 12th WTA 1000-level final awaits her, and she will go to 20th in the rankings should she lose Sunday's final and up to 15th if she carries off the title.

Kvitova said of her win: "It was incredibly tough. I expected it would be tough, but I didn't expect it that tough. Madison played unbelievable.

"She played an amazing tie-break, but I tried to keep going, be there and be a little calmer than before and wait for the chances. It was an incredible match, and I'm really happy that I made it somehow.

"I don't really care about the ranking. Being in the final, that's more important, and that's why I'm playing tennis: to be in finals and fighting for a trophy."

She awaited the winner of the second semi-final between Aryna Sabalenka and Caroline Garcia.

A tremendous performance from Petra Kvitova saw her ease past Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets 6-3 6-2 to win the Eastbourne International on Saturday.

Reigning champion Ostapenko had not dropped a set on the way to the final, but could not halt Kvitova, who was making her first appearance in a final in 2022.

The former world number two – and two-time Wimbledon champion – made a strong start, breaking Ostapenko early on and racing to a 3-0 lead in the first set.

Ostapenko, the Latvian number eight seed, faced eight break points in the opening set, saving seven, but she was unable to force any of her own as Kvitova comfortably served out to move ahead.

Kvitova was hitting the ball with immense power, particularly on returns, but Ostapenko showed initial improvement in the second set with her first serve accuracy, which had been down at 55.9 per cent in the first.

However, it was not enough to keep her opponent at bay as some more fierce returning from Kvitova saw her break in the third game of the second set.

Ostapenko finally threatened to break the Czech's serve, but was unable to take any of the five break points she earned in a game that lasted more than 12 minutes.

Her first serve dropped off again, which allowed the relentless Kvitova to take full advantage, breaking for a second time before serving for the championship and sealing her first-ever Eastbourne title.

It was Kvitova's 29th triumph on the WTA Tour, but her first since March 2021. Her last success on grass had come in Birmingham four years ago.

Reigning Eastbourne International champion Jelena Ostapenko will go up against Petra Kvitova in 2022 Saturday's final.

Ostapenko won as a wildcard in 2021, and the world number 14 confirmed her place in this year's showdown by overcoming Camila Giorgi on Friday.

She is the first female player to reach back-to-back finals in Eastbourne since Caroline Wozniacki in 2017 and 2018.

The Latvian, who is also going to compete for the doubles title, prevailed 6-2 6-2 and will now go up against Kvitova. The pair have faced off eight times previously, with each player winning four matches.

It is Kvitova's first appearance in a final in 2022, with the former world number two – and two-time Wimbledon champion – having ended Beatriz Haddad Maia's winning streak.

Haddad Maia won in Birmingham last week and Nottingham the week before, but her run came to an end at 12 matches, with Kvitova triumphing 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

"For me, a final after almost a year [without one] will be great, so I’m glad already," said Kvitova, who was a runner-up at Eastbourne in 2011 and last reached a final on grass in Birmingham four years ago.

"Jelena loves to play here, obviously, we saw it, she has a really great game for grass."

Meanwhile, at the Bad Homburg Open, 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu reached her sixth career final courtesy of a walkover against Simona Halep.

The Romanian withdrew from the semi-final clash with a neck injury, which will worry the 2019 Wimbledon champion ahead of the season's third grand slam at the All England Club.

"I am sorry that I had to withdraw today before my semi-final match," Halep said in a statement.

"But unfortunately I woke up this morning with a blocked neck and this is not allowing me to perform to the best of my ability."

Andreescu will face Caroline Garcia, who saved a match point before going on to beat fellow Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 7-6 (11-9) 3-6 7-5 to reach an 11th tour-level showpiece.