Osaka and Serena through to Aus Open 2nd round

Serena Williams trains in Melbourne as officials announce that up to 30,000 spectators will be allowed to attend the Australian Open per day. About two weeks ago, the top stars are seen arriving in Adelaide ahead of flying to Melbourne to compete in the Australian Open.

Former Australian Open tennis champions Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka eased into the second round, after winning their respective opening matches of the tournament. There is a different feel to the event this year with several safety precautions in place.

Naomi Osaka is a "great thinker" said her coach Wim Fissette on Friday (February 19), the day after the Japanese star clinched her place in the Australian Open final after defeating American Serena Williams in straight sets.

Japan's Naomi Osaka celebrates her two set win against America's Jennifer Brady on Saturday, her fourth Grand Slam win. Osaka says she is setting her sights on the Tokyo Olympics after the win. "It would be my first Olympics and for it to be in Tokyo, of course it would be a dream," says the 23-year-old.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has pulled out of the tennis tournament citing mental health issues. Organizers had threatened to disqualify her for not attending press conferences.

The 23-year-old tennis champion is skipping the Grand Slam event to spend time with her family and friends. Fans have praised her for advocating for mental health at work.

An expert in sports psychology comments on Japan's Naomi Osaka and USA's Simone Biles speaking out about their mental health around the time of the Olympics.

The world No. 3 tennis player broke down in tears as she announced her decision to withdraw temporarily from the sport.

Defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka called the Novak Djokovic saga "unfortunate" and "sad" Saturday as players complained the scandal was overshadowing the opening Grand Slam of the year.

Serena Williams delivered an impressive physical performance in challenging conditions to return to winning ways at the Toronto Open on Monday and then said she can see the light at the end of the tennis tunnel in her career. Williams was forced to dig deep during her 6-3 6-4 first-round victory over Spain's Nuria Parrizas Diaz that saw the two women exchange blasts from the baseline in sweltering conditions on a hot and humid centre court.

Spaniard Rafa Nadal said Sunday that he hopes to return from an abdominal injury this week in the Cincinnati Open after not playing for more than a month.

It's rare that a world number one and defending champion is the warm-up act at the U.S. Open but that was the case on Monday (August 29) as Daniil Medvedev played second fiddle to Serena Williams, who takes to the court later having hinted the match could be her last.