Serena Williams feels "more at peace" with her decision to step away from tennis but remains "torn" as a comeback crosses her mind.

The 23-time grand slam winner appeared to call quits on her career at last year's US Open after defeat at the third round stage to Ajla Tomljanovic, repeatedly referencing "evolving" away from tennis.

In October, Williams declared she had not retired and labelled the chances of a return as "very high".

With the 41-year-old still confident she can compete at the highest level, Williams struggles with the repeated questions in her head of choosing between her sporting career and enjoyment of motherhood.

"I for sure feel more at peace now," Williams told E! "It's interesting. I think I feel torn because I'm still able to play at a very, very, very high level.

"With that being said, I always wanted to leave the game playing at a very high level. I also wanted to walk away when I'm healthy and have a quality of life.

"But I'm inch by inch leaning away, inch by inch embracing it. I was playing earlier when I first retired because it was hard to do it cold turkey.

"But lately, I haven't played so much. And I miss it. I'm like, 'Oh my goodness. I have got to get out there'. But it's hard for me to get out there.

"I did play the other day, and it's just like, 'There's no way I shouldn't be playing professional tennis'. Like, there's literally no excuse.

"But I mean, I guess there is an excuse, right? It's hard because when I'm playing I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm pretty good at this. I can continue to do this,' which not a lot of people can say."

Balance in life remains the key aspect Williams is trying to achieve, whether she returns to her beloved sport for one last dance or not.

"I've been playing tennis for literally my entire life," she said. "My entire being and knowing is just what I've done.

"So now, I'm inch by inch finding my way. Obviously, I love other businesses that I've done. But just inch by inch leaning into that and leaning into my family and leaning into just having fun.

"I think it's so important to do all those and still create that balance."

Victoria Azarenka breezed into the second round of the Qatar Open with an emphatic straight-sets defeat of Ipek Oz on Monday.

Playing her first match since losing to Elena Rybakina in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, Azarenka dispatched outsider Oz 6-1 6-1.

Azarenka, a two-time champion in Doha, only needed an hour and seven minutes to book a meeting with Belinda Bencic or Viktoriya Tomova.

The Belarusian broke twice in the first set and four times in the second, failing to hold just the once in a commanding display.

Eighth seed Veronika Kudermetova battled her way past Barbora Krejcikova, winning 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-5).

Karolina Muchov secured an impressive 6-2 6-2 win over Martina Trevisan in the opening first-round match of the day.

Belinda Bencic claimed the inaugural Abu Dhabi Open title after saving three championship points in a gripping comeback win against Liudmila Samsonova.

Second seed Bencic did not drop a single set en route to Sunday's final, but she fell behind to Samsonova and was on the brink of defeat when 6-4 down in a second-set tie-break.

The Swiss dug deep to take the game to a decider, however, and she prevailed 1-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 in a time of two hours and 48 minutes to win the eighth WTA title of her career.

World number nine Bencic, who was also victorious at the Adelaide International 2 in January, made a slow start against an opponent she had failed to beat in three meetings.

Samsonova broke Bencic in the second and sixth games of the opening set in a dominant start as she looked to make it 5-0 in championship matches on the WTA Tour.

Bencic improved in the second set, although a break of serve apiece meant it went the distance.

Eighth seed Samsonova looked good value to wrap up a straight-sets win when 6-4 up, only for Bencic to save both championship points, and likewise at 8-7.

Three points in a row saw the 25-year-old take the tie and level up the contest, which she went on to win with a couple of breaks in the deciding set.

Anastasia Potapova won the second WTA Tour title of her career with a straightforward win over Petra Martic in Sunday's final at the Linz Open.

The 21-year-old, who is set to reach a personal high of 31 in the world rankings on Monday, saw off her Croatian opponent in just an hour and 16 minutes, winning 6-3 6-1.

Potapova dropped as low as 124 in the rankings last year, but this week's success is another reminder of the Russian's promise.

Martic seemingly represents something of a good luck charm for Potapova – she also beat her en route to her first ever WTA title last year in Istanbul.

It did not always look like going in Potapova's favour, though, as she was broken right at the start and then only just held off Martic in her second service game.

Potapova then secured two breaks that helped her seal the first set, and after Martic won the first game of the second, the eventual champion reeled off six on the bounce to emphatically romp to victory.

Belinda Bencic breezed through to the Abu Dhabi Open final after a commanding 6-2 6-3 victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia on Saturday.

The world number nine, who is yet to drop a set this week, is into her second WTA final of 2023, having triumphed in Adelaide last month.

Haddad Maia arrived in the clash fresh from winning each of her previous six encounters with top-10 opponents, including her quarter-final victory over Wimbledon champion and Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina.

But the Brazilian had already spent almost eight hours on court in this event prior to this contest, in which Bencic dropped just five games on the way to wracking up her 11th win of the campaign – the joint-most on the WTA Tour alongside Melbourne winner Aryna Sabalenka.

She will play number eight seed Liudmila Samsonova in Sunday's final after the Russian defeated Zheng Qinwen 6-4 1-6 6-4.

After being edged out in the first set, Zheng responded to motor through the second and seemed to have the momentum going into the third, but Samsonova showed impressive resolve to see off three break points against her, before taking her first on match point.

At the Linz Open, top seed Maria Sakkari is out after going down 3-6 6-3 6-4 to sixth seed Petra Martic in a match that lasted over two and a half hours.

The Croatian will play Anastasia Potapova in the final after the number eight seed claimed yet another three-set victory this week to see off Marketa Vondrousova 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 and secure her fifth WTA final appearance.

Top seed Daria Kasatkina succumbed to a surprise quarter-final exit against Zheng Qinwen at the Abu Dhabi Open as Belinda Bencic marched into the final four.

Kasatkina was blown away in just 78 minutes by Zheng, who only dropped three games in her 6-1 6-2 upset of the world number eight.

Zheng, who defeated world number 12 Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday, executed her serve-and-volley approach expertly throughout, with the 20-year-old claiming the third top-10 victory of her career to reach her third tour-level semi-final.

Another Russian player stands between Zheng and a place in the final after eighth seed Liudmila Samsonova dispatched compatriot Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 6-3.

Bencic found form after edging a tough first set against qualifier Shelby Rodgers, who saw her run ended by a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 defeat.

Second seed Bencic will face Beatriz Haddad Maia in the semi-finals after the Brazilian railed to beat Elena Rybakina 3-6 6-3 6-2 less than 24 hours after beating Yulia Putintseva in a marathon three-hour encounter.

Meanwhile, top seed Maria Sakkari secured her progress to the last four at the Linz Open with a 6-3 7-6 (10-8) straight sets win over Donna Vekic.

The Greek will face off with Petra Martic next, while Anastasia Potapova faces the unseeded Marketa Vondrousova in the other semi-final.

Elena Rybakina roared through to the Abu Dhabi Open quarter-finals following a straight-sets victory over Karolina Pliskova on Thursday.

The Australian Open finalist, who was runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in Melbourne less than a fortnight ago, wrapped up a 6-4 6-2 win after just 69 minutes.

Looking to build on her momentum after reaching a second major final, the third seed broke the former world number one in the opening game of the first set and twice in the second.

Next up for the Kazakh is a showdown with sixth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, who edged out Yulia Putintseva 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-4).

Top seed Daria Kasatkina was forced to come from behind before eventually sealing her third victory over Jil Teichmann in as many meetings.

Last season's French Open semi-finalist has endured a mixed start to 2023. A finalist in Adelaide, she suffered a surprise first-round exit at the Australian Open.

It looked like Kasatkina's struggles would continue after losing the opening set 6-1, but she lost just two games thereafter to prevail a commanding 1-6 6-0 6-2 victor.

Elsewhere, Liudmila Samsonova reached her first quarter-final of the year after beating former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova 7-5 7-6 (8-6).

Over in Linz, Melbourne quarter-finalist Donna Vekic enjoyed a commanding 6-3 6-1 victory over Madison Brengle to book a last-eight clash with top seed Maria Sakkari.

There were also wins for sixth seed Petra Martic and Clara Tauson over Alison Van Uytvanck and Camila Giorgi respectively, but fourth seed Anhelina Kalinina was beaten in straight sets by Anna-Lena Friedsam.

Belinda Bencic stood firm to reach the quarter-finals of the Abu Dhabi Open while fellow favourites Anett Kontaveit and Jelena Ostapenko headed home.

Bencic clinched her second last-eight spot of the year with a 6-4 7-5 win over Marta Kostyuk, though the world number nine was pushed hard by the Ukrainian, who remains without a top-10 win in her career after failing to see through the second set from 5-3 up.

The second seed will next face Shelby Rogers, who advanced courtesy of a walkover following Kontaveit's retirement through injury after falling 4-1 behind in the pair's decisive third set. 

Kontaveit was not the only seed to fall, with Ostapenko slipping to a surprise 7-6 (12-10) 6-1 loss against China's Zheng Qinwen.

Fourth seed Veronika Kudermetova fared better, however, racing to a 6-1 7-5 win against Elise Mertens to keep her campaign alive. 

At the Linz Open, top seed Maria Sakkari cruised to a straight-sets success against Varvara Gracheva, while Anastasia Potapova battled to a 7-5 3-6 6-3 victory against Jule Niemeier.

Third seed Irina-Camelia Begu was the highest-ranked player to exit in the last 16 in Austria, suffering a 6-2 6-1 defeat against Danish 20-year-old Clara Tauson.

Ons Jabeur is taking some time out to undergo "minor surgery", she revealed on Wednesday.

Jabeur reached the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open last season but was unable to build on that strong finish to 2022 at the start of this year.

The Tunisian exited the Australian Open in the second round, having complained of a knee injury.

Jabeur said after her defeat to Marketa Vondrousova she would need "time to recover and get healthier", and she has not been seen on the WTA Tour since.

The Qatar Open was due to see Jabeur's return next week, but an Instagram post has now confirmed she will miss both that tournament and the subsequent Dubai Tennis Championships.

"In order to take care of my health situation, my medical team have decided that I need to get a minor surgery in order to be back on the courts and perform well," she wrote.

"I will have to retire from Doha and Dubai, and this is breaking my heart.

"I would like to say sorry to all the fans out there in the Middle East that waited for this reunion.

"I promise I will come back to you stronger and healthy."

Bianca Andreescu fell to Yulia Putintseva in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Open after making a swift return to action.

Andreescu, who has not won a title since her 2019 US Open success, looked to have returned to form at last week's Thailand Open, only to suffer an injury that forced her to quit her semi-final against Lesia Tsurenko while trailing in the second set.

The Canadian did not alter her schedule, however, and was back out on court to face Putintseva on Tuesday.

Despite twice leading by a break in the opening set, there was no repeat run to the latter stages for Andreescu, who went down 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.

"I think the first set was a really physical set, we played really, really tough rallies," Putintseva said. "I was feeling a little bit more confident in the second set."

Andreescu's compatriot Leylah Fernandez was also eliminated, losing to Shelby Rogers, but both seeds in action – Beatriz Haddad Maia and Liudmila Samsonova – advanced, along with Barbora Krejcikova and Karolina Pliskova.

At the Linz Open, top seed Maria Sakkari headed through with a 6-1 7-6 (8-6) defeat of Nuria Parrizas-Diaz, but number two seed Ekaterina Alexandrova went down to Rebeka Masarova in three sets.

Buffalo Bills co-owner Kim Pegula is recovering from suffering a cardiac arrest last June, but "where she ends up is still unknown".

American tennis star Jessica Pegula, the world number four, provided an update on her mother's condition in a long Players' Tribune article on Tuesday.

The five-time grand slam singles quarter-finalist revealed her sister, Kelly, saved their 53-year-old's mother live by giving her CPR after their father woke up to her going into cardiac arrest nine months ago.

Kim, co-owner and president of both NFL franchise the Bills and NHL team the Buffalo Sabres, is back at home and doctors are "blown away" by her "miracle" recovery.

She is, however, suffering from significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues and the family have come to the realisation that she is unlikely to resume her roles with the Bills and Sabres.

Jessica revealed that three months before her mother fell ill, her sister had decided to learn CPR.

She wrote: "Kelly called me one day and said she was going to get her CPR certification as a requirement for a job she wanted. I said: 'No way, I have been meaning to do that but haven't gotten around to it.”

"She relayed to me how nervous she was about it and hoped she passed the class. I remember her telling us what she was doing in our family group chat, and my mom even responded: 'Nice Kells! Now if we have a heart attack, you can revive us.'"

She added: "Today, my mom is still in recovery, and although it is the same answer every time someone asks me, it is true, she is improving every day. She is dealing with significant expressive aphasia and significant memory issues.

"She can read, write, and understand pretty well, but she has trouble finding the words to respond. It is hard to deal with and it takes a lot of patience to communicate with her, but I thank God every day that we can still communicate with her at all. The doctors continue to be blown away by her recovery, considering where she started, and her determination is the driving force of that."

Jessica was a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open last month, having been considering whether she should call time on her career.

She stated: "Suddenly, I went from 'Let's celebrate top 10 in the world' to 'Do I need to start thinking about my career after tennis a lot sooner than I thought?' 'Does my dad and family need help?' 'Maybe I should just go back to school and work for the family.'

"I am 28 and I take pride in being able to handle every situation thrown at me, but this was A LOT."

She was also hit hard by seeing Damar Hamlin collapse on the field while playing for the Bills last month.

"Then in January we came to some bizarre, messed-up, full circle moment." she wrote. "Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during the Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals. My stomach sunk because it felt like the exact same thing all over again."

Last year's French Open women's doubles runner-up continued: "It has been a tough year, but at the same time I feel lucky and blessed. I am thankful she is still with us when other families may not have been so lucky.

"That she even had a chance at recovery when the first week in the hospital seemed so dim. Thankful for the doctors that aided in her recovery. Thankful that she is now home, that she gets to watch the Bills, Sabres and my tennis matches. She never watched my matches before, because she got too nervous. Now she watches all of them.

"Thank you to the Buffalo community for your patience. I know you have wanted answers and it took us a while to get there, but it finally felt like it was time. Thank you to everyone who has respected privacy and shown me and my family tremendous support throughout this ongoing journey."

Number five seed Jelena Ostapenko booked a place in the last 16 of the Abu Dhabi Open with victory over Danielle Collins in three sets on Monday.

Ostapenko, looking to add to the fifth career title she won in Dubai 12 months ago, edged an entertaining contest 7-5 1-6 7-5 in two hours and 19 minutes.

Fellow seeded player Anett Kontaveit was also victorious on the opening day of the tournament, but only after battling back to beat Zhang Shuai 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.

Marta Kostyuk saw off Sorana Cirstea 6-2 1-6 6-2, meanwhile, and will now face second seed Belinda Bencic in the next round.

Elise Mertens is also through to round two, where Veronika Kudermetova awaits, after dominating Martina Trevisan 6-0 6-2.

In the first main draw match at the Linz Open, Sofia Kenin let an early lead slip to lose 2-6 6-3 6-4 to Jule Niemeier.

Fast-rising American Alycia Parks pulled off a stunning victory over world number five and home favourite Caroline Garcia in the Lyon Open final on Sunday.

Playing her first final on the main WTA tour, Parks earned a 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 win against last season's WTA Finals champion.

The Atlanta-born world number 79 won two titles at lower-tier WTA 125 events in December, triumphing in Andorra and the French city of Angers while many players were enjoying an off-season.

Yet this week has been a step up from that level, and 22-year-old Parks capped her run to the final by taking down the top seed and darling of the crowd.

"This title means a lot to me," Parks said. "France has a special part in my heart right now."

A to-and-fro tie-break in the opening set eventually went Parks' way after a stray forehand from Garcia.

A painful fall when running to her right on the baseline meant Parks needed medical attention early in the second set, but she was able to carry on.

Garcia tried to rouse the crowd after clinging to her serve in the eighth game to stay on level terms, and there were unsporting cheers for a double fault from Parks at the start of the ninth.

Yet Parks was not knocked out of her stride, with the player who stood 199th on the rankings at this time last year completing the biggest win of her career when Garcia sent down a double fault on match point.

Zhu Lin captured her first singles title on the WTA Tour with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Lesia Tsurenko in Sunday's Thailand Open final in Hua Hin.

Zhu, playing in her first Tour-level final at the age of 29, produced a polished display against the Ukrainian, who had toppled top seed Bianca Andreescu in the last four.

Tsurenko got off to a miserable start as Zhu broke in the first game, but she soon responded with a break of her own in a topsy-turvy opening set.

Six of the last seven games played in the opener resulted in breaks of serve, with Zhu coming out on top before taking charge in the second.

Zhu was in the ascendency after three successive breaks when she forced her first championship point with a big forehand winner to end an epic rally, though Tsurenko recovered to force yet another break as the momentum shifted again.

However, Zhu, who will move into the top 50 of the world rankings as a result of her successful campaign in Thailand, hit back once more before converting her third championship point with an emphatic forehand to seal her maiden title.

Alycia Parks will compete in her first ever WTA singles final after setting up a showdown against top seed Caroline Garcia at the Lyon Open.

The American beat Maryna Zanevska 6-3 7-6 (7-4) on Saturday, hitting 35 winners and 13 aces on the way to victory.

Parks has risen through the ranks in the last year, and explained how a laid back attitude has been the secret to her success in France.

"I think the key was just staying focused, and taking my time out there," Parks said after her win. "Every time I got ahead of myself, I would kind of lose points, so I would tell myself to slow down.

"This whole week, I'm kind of relaxed this week and just kept playing my game and doing me."

The 22-year-old will face Garcia on Sunday after she eased to a 6-2 6-2 win against Camila Osorio in just an hour and 12 minutes.

At the Thailand Open, Lesia Tsurenko will take on China's Zhu Lin in the final after the Ukrainian came past top seed Bianca Andreescu.

The Canadian retired hurt in the second set, though Tsurenko already led 7-5 4-0.

"The way [Andreescu was] playing every point, like she has an idea in every point, so of course she's an amazing player," Tsurenko said. "It was a big challenge for me to handle this, and I was just saying to myself that I have to keep fighting, and this is probably the main key that worked today for me."

Zhu defeated compatriot Xinyu Wang 6-2 6-4 to advance to Sunday's final.