Aryna Sabalenka warmed up for the Australian Open by winning her first WTA title since May 2021 as she beat Linda Noskova in the Adelaide International 1 final on Sunday.

Sabalenka lost in all three of her final appearances in 2022, but she began 2023 in emphatic fashion and crowned a fine week with a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) triumph.

Noskova, who at 18 years and 43 days old became the youngest finalist of a WTA 500-level or above event since 2008, looked up for a scrap as both players threatened to break in the early stages.

But Sabalenka soon took the initiative with the match's first break to go 4-2 up thanks to a ferocious backhand, and she subsequently cruised to seal the set.

The teenager kept things tighter for much longer in the second and went close to tying the match as she found herself 5-4 up and at deuce.

But a tiebreak beckoned, and Noskova's pair of double faults helped Sabalenka open a 5-1 lead, eventually seeing out the win at the second time of asking with a powerful serve that gave her young opponent too much to do.

Sabalenka clinched her success without dropping a single set over the course of the week, something she will hope provides a springboard as she aims to improve on her previous best at the Australian Open, where she reached the fourth round in 2021 and 2022.

Coco Gauff won the third WTA title of her career as she warmed up for the Australian Open by sweeping past Rebeka Masarova in the final of the ASB Classic.

The 18-year-old was too good for Masarova throughout in Auckland, easing to a 6-1 6-1 victory in just an hour and 15 minutes on Sunday.

Gauff forced a break point in Masarova's first service game, and though the Spanish-Swiss player was able to rescue it, she was not so lucky in her next two as her ruthless opponent won the first set with back-to-back breaks.

That theme continued in the second as unforced errors from Masarova, who won just two out of 15 points on her second serve (13.3 per cent), saw Gauff break again immediately.

The American was then forced to save break points on her own serve but did so impressively as she rescued all 10 against her in the contest.

Masarova was able to get on the board again after saving another two break points, but that was as good as it got, with ultimately Gauff romping to victory in front of an impressed New Zealand crowd.

"It's been a great week for me, despite the rain," Gauff said, referring to tournament's frequent weather disruption, which also delayed the final and forced a pause at the end of the first set.

"It's my first title on hard [court] since I was 15, so I'm happy to do well on a surface that I love.

"It gives me a lot of confidence [ahead of the Australian Open]. You're never sure how your first week is going to go, but it's been a great week."

Four-time major champion Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the 2023 Australian Open.

The 25-year-old Japanese is a two-time Australian Open winner (2019 and 2021), but tournament organisers confirmed on Sunday she will not be adding to that tally in 2023.

No reason has yet been cited for Osaka's decision, although she has not played since pulling out of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September.

Osaka endured a difficult 2022 at grand slams, losing in the first round at both the French Open and US Open, while she was bundled out in the third round of last year's Australian Open and did not compete at Wimbledon due to an Achilles injury.

The former world number one's withdrawal follows that of men's top seed Carlos Alcaraz and seven-time major winner Venus Williams due to injury. 

Reigning women's singles champion Ash Barty has also since retired following her triumph in January last year.

Osaka is currently ranked 42nd in the world and will be replaced by Dayana Yastremska in the main draw.

Venus Williams has withdrawn from the Australian Open due to injury and Iga Swiatek's participation could be in doubt.

The American was given a wildcard for the first grand slam of the year, but suffered an injury setback at the ASB Classic this week.

Williams was beaten by Zhu Lin of China in the second round of the tournament in Auckland on Thursday and it was revealed on Saturday she will not play at Melbourne Park.

The 42-year-old, who has shown incredible longevity in her illustrious career, is a seven-time grand slams singles champion and winner of 14 major doubles titles.

Williams won four of her grand slam doubles crowns at the Australian Open and lost her two singles finals in 2003 and 2017.

Australian Kim Birrell has been awarded Williams' wildcard place nine days before the tournament gets under way.

Meanwhile, world number one Swiatek has withdrawn from the Adelaide International 2 next week due to a shoulder injury.

Swiatek was in tears after she was beaten by Jessica Pegula while representing Poland against the United States in the United Cup on Friday.

Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the Australian Open after suffering a leg muscle injury in training.

The 19-year-old world number one won the US Open last September and would have been among the favourites at Melbourne Park and one of the players capable of challenging nine-time champion Novak Djokovic.

However, Alcaraz announced he would not be fit enough in time to feature, with a problem with a hamstring leaving him sidelined for the tennis season's opening grand slam.

He wrote on Instagram: "When I was at my best in preseason, I picked up an injury through a chance, unnatural movement in training.

"This time it's the semimembranosus muscle in my right leg. I'd worked so hard to get to my best level for Australia but unfortunately I won't be able to play the Care A2+ Kooyong or the Australian Open.

"It's tough, but I have to be optimistic, recover and look forward. See you in 2024 @australianopen."

The Kooyong event is an exhibition tournament ahead of the major, and it is the Australian Open where his presence will be most sorely felt.

Alcaraz has emerged as the pick of the new generation of players, with his high-intensity game winning him a legion of supporters and bringing him a host of titles already.

He earned $7.6million and picked up five singles titles last season, including the first grand slam crown of his career in New York, ending the year with a 57-13 win-loss record and the ATP top ranking.

Alcaraz's compatriot Rafael Nadal is the defending champion in Melbourne, while Djokovic returns this year after being deported from Australia 12 months ago amid a vaccination saga.

Former world number one Ash Barty has revealed she is pregnant with her first child.

Barty surprisingly announced her retirement from tennis last March, just two months after she ended a 44-year wait for a home triumph at the Australian Open.

The 26-year-old, who won three grand slam singles titles during her career, revealed her pregnancy via an Instagram post on Friday.

"2023 set to be the best year yet. We are so excited for our new adventure. Origi already the protective big sister," Barty wrote, alongside an image of her dog Origi next to a pair of baby shoes. 

Barty's partner Garry Kissick also took to social media to share the news, posting a similar image featuring a baby-sized Liverpool kit with the caption: "Little Red, 2023".

Barty married professional golfer Kissick last July, six years after the pair met at the Brookwater Golf Club in 2016.

In addition to last year's Australian Open, Barty enjoyed singles success at Wimbledon in 2021 and the French Open in 2019, as well as winning the women's doubles title at the 2018 US Open alongside CoCo Vandeweghe.

Boris Becker has swiftly found work after his release from prison, with the German tennis great signed up for television commentary during the Australian Open.

The six-time grand slam singles champion, who took the Australian title in 1991 and 1996, will be part of German Eurosport's team for the season's opening grand slam.

That was announced by the broadcaster on Tuesday, with Becker to co-commentate on big matches and present a 'Matchball Becker' analysis segment twice a day.

Becker, 55, has worked for Eurosport in previous years, as well as being a regular on the BBC's coverage of Wimbledon, a tournament he won three times.

He was released from jail in December, eight months into a two-and-a-half-year sentence handed down as punishment for hiding £2.5million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts when he was declared bankrupt in 2017.

Becker, a former coach of Novak Djokovic, reportedly spent the first few weeks of his sentence at Wandsworth Prison in London before being moved to the low-security Huntercombe prison in Oxfordshire in May.

In an interview with Sat.1 after his release, Becker spoke of his experience, saying: "When the cell door closes, the whole world collapses. This is the loneliest moment I've ever had.

"There is only you with your thoughts. There's a carousel in your head, of course. You try to breathe calmly. I was afraid, I didn't cry.

"I believe I rediscovered the human in me, the person I once was. I've learned a hard lesson. A very expensive one. A very painful one."

Rafael Nadal is "not too alarmed" about suffering back-to-back losses ahead of the Australian Open following his latest United Cup defeat.

The Spaniard suffered a second successive reverse in Sydney, going down 3-6 6-1 7-5 to Alex de Minaur after falling to Cameron Norrie.

Nadal is set to go in search of a record-extending 23rd grand slam title later this month, having won in Melbourne in 2022.

Yet the 36-year-old is not getting hung up on his form, instead taking the losses as learning curves.

"I have two weeks before the Australian Open starts," he said. "I can't say the situation is ideal, but I can't say it's negative.

"I was playing good. I need hours on court, I need battles like this. Days like these two help. I need to keeping fighting.

"I'm not too alarmed, too negative about what happened. I think it was a real chance to lose these kinds of matches."

Nadal won the first set against De Minaur, and was a game away from victory in the decider before succumbing to a comeback.

"Alex played better in the crucial moments. That made the difference," Nadal said.

"I had my chances to win, but I made costly mistakes when I could not afford them. You can not win a match like this while doing that."

Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer, though a representative described the prognosis as "good".

Navratilova won 18 grand slam singles titles between 1978 and 1990, making her one of the most decorated players of all time.

She underwent successful treatment for breast cancer in 2010, but it has now been confirmed she is battling the illness again.

Navratilova said: "This double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I'm hoping for a favourable outcome.

"It's going to stink for a while but I will fight with all I have got."

Navratilova, 66, was due to travel to Melbourne this month to work on coverage of the Australian Open, a tournament she won three times.

But with her treatment due to start later in January, it has been confirmed she will not be in attendance.

A statement from a representative explained: "The prognosis is good and Martina will start her treatment this month.

"The cancer type is HPV and this particular type responds really well to treatment.

"Martina noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck during the WTA finals in Fort Worth. When it didn't go down, a biopsy was performed, the results came back as stage one throat cancer.

"At the same time as Martina was undergoing the tests for the throat, a suspicious form was found in her breast, which was subsequently diagnosed as cancer, completely unrelated to the throat cancer.

"Both these cancers are in their early stages with great outcomes.

"Martina won't be covering the Australian Open for Tennis Channel from their studio but hopes to be able to join in from time to time by Zoom."

Iga Swiatek warned rivals "I'm getting stronger and stronger in my mind" as she targets another memorable season in 2023.

The world number one enjoyed a dominant 2022 as she landed eight titles, including the French Open and US Open, while also embarking on a 37-match winning streak – the longest this century on the WTA Tour – and registering 22 'bagel' sets.

Swiatek made a winning start to her 2023 campaign at the United Cup with Poland earlier in the week, beating Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva 6-1 6-3 in Brisbane.

While acknowledging she must not become complacent this year and rely on past glories, the 21-year-old feels better prepared for the season with the Australian Open just a fortnight away.

"I feel more solid, and I feel more stability as well because last year, Adelaide was my first tournament with a new coach [Tomasz Wiktorowski], so that was my main focus," she said.

"This year, I have totally different challenges, so it's really hard to compare. But I feel like I had more time to actually work on some technical stuff at home, and hopefully I'm going to be able to use it in matches.

"I just think that it's going to be pretty easy for my head to compare everything to last year. And I feel like it's not really going to be helpful.

"Last year, it wasn't perfect, but sometimes when you win tournaments, all your head can remember is those good moments and that it went so smoothly.

"It wasn't like that, but I don't really want to go into those tournaments and be held back by my previous results. I want to treat it as new chapters, so I'm going to try to do that.

"But this is the biggest challenge I'd say, and we'll see how I'm going to go with that. Usually when I had goals like that, I had ups and downs, but I feel like I'm getting stronger and stronger in my mind, so maybe I'm going to be able to control that."

Rafael Nadal shot down questions over his potential retirement after losing to Cameron Norrie at the United Cup, saying he is "here to continue playing tennis".

As part of his preparation for next month's Australian Open, 22-time grand slam winner Nadal fell to a 3-6 6-3 6-4 defeat to Norrie as Great Britain seized a 2-0 lead over Spain in Sydney.

Norrie had not won a set against Nadal in their previous four matches, and the 36-year-old was asked afterwards how much longer he planned to continue before calling it a day on his historic career.

"Every time I come to a press conference, it seems like I have to retire," Nadal told reporters. "You're very, very interested in my retirement.

"At the moment, that's not the case. When this day comes, I'll let you know.

"But don't go on the subject of retirement because I'm here to continue playing tennis."

With just over two weeks until Nadal's Australian Open title defence gets underway, the Spaniard knows he will have to improve on his performance against Norrie, saying: "I need to be faster physically and a little more solid.

"There is a way to improve, but I have time before the Australian Open starts in two weeks."

While Nadal's shaky performance against Norrie could cause concern over whether he can defend his crown in Melbourne, he was keen to credit the British number one, stating: "He is a top player.

"He didn't impress me much because I know he is very good. He did a lot of things well, very solid, without mistakes, serving well. I can do things better and I need to."

Nadal will be in action again at the United Cup on Sunday, taking part in a doubles match with Paula Badosa against Daniel Evans and Harriet Dart.

Alexander Zverev recognised his game remains below expectations after ending a six-month competitive absence, but the German is unconcerned as he continues his recovery.

The two-time ATP Finals winner suffered a serious ankle injury during the semi-finals of the French Open against Rafael Nadal, ruling him out of the rest of the 2022 season.

Though he has played in a number of exhibition matches since, Zverev only made his competitive return to action on Saturday at the United Cup in Sydney.

There, he suffered a 6-4 6-2 straight sets loss to the Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka, though he was philosophical about his performance afterward.

"My tennis is far away from the level I want it to be," he said. "I think it is normal, not playing for seven months. There are things that are different than I'm used to.

"[Am I] concerned? Probably not. Physically, I'm not at the level that I have to be. This is not even a question. I'm getting tired a lot quicker than I did. I'm not as fast as I probably was.

"I don't think it will be a matter of tomorrow, [or] after tomorrow. It will be a few weeks until I'm back to the level I want to be."

Zverev, an Olympic gold medallist and US Open finalist, is anticipated to figure in next month's Australian Open, where he will be chasing a maiden grand slam trophy.

The German is focused on reaching full fitness rather than putting undue pressure on himself, though, adding: "I think it's tough to set expectations right now.

"It would be unrealistic and quite stupid for me to set the expectations towards winning or something like that.

"Of course, I want to win. Everybody wants to win. [But] for me, it's about getting back the form that I'm used to."

Novak Djokovic is hoping for a positive crowd reception at the upcoming Australian Open after his deportation prior to the 2022 tournament.

Djokovic is a nine-time Australian Open winner and will be looking to etch his name on the trophy once again in the first grand slam of 2023.

The Serbian was banned from playing at the most recent edition after he was deported due to his refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19, despite being initially granted a medical exemption.

As a result, Djokovic missed out on the opportunity to lift a record-extending 10th title, as long-time rival Rafael Nadal won the tournament in his absence.

There had been concerns over Djokovic's ability to play in Melbourne this time around, but a change in border entry rules means travellers are no longer required to provide evidence of their vaccination status.

The incident earlier in 2022 did not go down well with some sections of the Australian public, but Djokovic is hoping to receive a warm reception when he takes to the court in Adelaide and then Melbourne.

"I'm hoping everything is going to be positive," Djokovic said at a press conference. "Obviously it's not something I can predict.

"I'll do my best to play good tennis and bring good feelings and emotions to the crowd. This is what we do as professional athletes, we are also entertainers in a way. We try to make people feel good, have fun and go home and have good memories.

"Hopefully that's going to happen with me. I don't know how many matches I'll play but I'm hoping I can go all the way."

As well as the Australian Open, Djokovic's vaccination status also prevented him from competing at Flushing Meadows, and the memories of how he was treated still linger in Djokovic's mind.

The world number five explained: "Obviously what happened 12 months ago was not easy for me, for my family, team, anybody who is close to me. It's obviously disappointing to leave the country like that.

"You can't forget those events. It's one of these things that stays with you for I guess the rest of your life.

"It's something that I've never experienced before and hopefully never again. But it is a valuable life experience for me and something that as I said will stay there but I have to move on. Coming back to Australia speaks [to] how I feel about this country, how I feel about playing here."

Djokovic is drawing on his impressive record in Australia, as he prepares for the grand slam by taking part in the Adelaide International.

"It's great to be back in Australia," he added.

"It's a country where I've had tremendous success in my career, particularly in Melbourne. It's by far my most successful grand slam.

"The good memories and history I have on Australian soil gives me a lot of positive emotions and belief I can do it again and go far.

"I always have faith in myself and belief I can win every tournament I play in, with the career I've had I deserve to have that kind of mental approach."

Djokovic also confirmed he had split from physio Uli Badio after over five years of working together.

The 35-year-old will instead be using the services of Claudio Zimaglia, who most recently worked with Brandon Nakashima.

Novak Djokovic's imminent return to the Australian Open will be good for tennis, according fellow great Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic arrived in Australia this week and will compete in the first of two Adelaide International tournaments before the opening grand slam of 2023 begins on January 16.

In January this year, the 21-time grand slam winner was deported from Australia after being prevented from participating at the last edition of the event, having initially been granted a medical exemption to enter the country despite not being vaccinated against COVID-19.

There were concerns Djokovic would then be banned from entering Australia again, but a change in border entry rules means travellers are no longer obliged to provide evidence of their vaccination status.

While Djokovic's presence may represent a blow to Nadal's hopes of defending the title he clinched in the Serbian's absence last year, the Spaniard is pleased to see him taking part.

"Novak is here, it's good for tennis, probably good for the fans," Nadal said. "Let's see. [Having the] best players on court is always better."

Meanwhile, 22-time grand slam champion Nadal saw his former long-time rival Roger Federer retire this year, but he is not looking to follow suit despite being plagued by injuries in recent months.

Asked whether his upcoming appearance at the Australian Open could be his last, the 36-year-old said: "As a professional, you never know. Hopefully not.

"I mean, when you are at the age of 36, you never know when it's going to be the last one. It's obvious, but I don't like to talk about that because I am not in that mood now.

"I'm just focused on trying to play at the highest level possible and giving myself a possibility to keep being competitive, to fight for anything.

"That's my goal now, I'm not thinking about it being my last time here. If that's the last time, let's try to enjoy it as much as possible and try to create something special.

"I am happy doing what I am doing. I'm looking forward to still doing this."

Rafael Nadal is aiming to "recover positive feelings" ahead of launching his 2023 season at the inaugural United Cup.

The Spaniard became the most successful male player in grand slam history last season as he took his title tally to 22 after landing the Australian Open and French Open.

Only Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz (both five) won more events on the ATP Tour than Nadal (four) in 2022, but his campaign ended with early exits at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals.

The 36-year-old will return to action this week at the United Cup, where he lines up alongside the likes of Paula Badosa and Pablo Carreno Busta for Spain, before defending his Australian Open crown.

"The beginning of the season is always exciting," said Nadal, who plays Great Britain's Cam Norrie on Saturday.

"Even if I don't know how many seasons I have on the tour, the start of each year is always different.

"I have the highest motivation to try to start well. It's always important to start well for me, for the confidence.

"The past few months haven't been easy for me. I just try to have the right practice here before the tournament starts. Then of course, try to help the team.

"[The main thing for me now is to recover the positive feelings on court, being competitive. I hope to.

"I am ready to make that happen, but let's see. Only thing that I am focused now is to try to put myself in a competitive level."