Less than four months after her return from maternity leave, Belinda Bencic made history by winning the singles title in the Abu Dhabi Open to become the first mother since 2023 to win a singles title on the WTA Tour.
The 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez showed a welcome return to form as she halted Kazakhstan's No.4 seed Elena Rybakina's return to action in the second round of the Cincinnati Open with a hard-fought 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 win here on Thursday.
Halep, who has won two Grand Slam titles -- French Open 2018 and Wimbledon 2019, was placed No.27 till the week of February 28.
Williams needs one more Grand Slam singles victory to equal Australian Margaret Court's all-time record of 24.
The fast-rising tennis star, who turns 21 on Sunday, has already become Japan's first Grand Slam singles champion.
"I'm feeling pretty good tonight. It's never easy, no matter what the scoreline says," Williams said.
Kasatkina, 21, managed just three winners in the match.
Williams' disclosure comes a week after she suffered the worst loss of her career in San Jose.
In other second-round action on Wednesday, American Danielle Collins defeated Vera Lapko of Belarus 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.
Muguruza, ranked seventh in the world, was a semi-finalist in San Jose last year, falling to eventual champion Madison Keys.
