By her own admission, Maria Sharapova knew little of Daria Gavrilova before stepping on court for their opening round encounter at the Miami Open.

Two hours and two sets later, this gap in her knowledge was no longer. Unfortunately for the No.2 seed, so too were her hopes of lifting the title.

Raised on the cement of the Bollettieri Academy in west Florida, success in Miami has proven surprisingly elusive for Sharapova, who has fallen five times in the final at her ‘home’ tournament.

Gavrilova, playing at Crandon Park for the very first time, dashed her hopes at a far earlier juncture this time around, wonderfully marrying defense with attack to shock her childhood idol, 7-6(4), 6-3.

When Sharapova’s final forehand sailed wide, the upset-hungry crowd roared its approval, launching Gavrilova into a celebratory leap. Nearly an hour later, she was still on cloud nine.

“I still can’t realize that it’s my dream,” Gavrilova said in her post-match press conference. “I have been dreaming about beating Maria since I was probably 12 when I saw her win Wimbledon, when she beat Serena. I was like ‘Oh, I really want to play her and beat her’. She was my idol. She’s obviously Russian. She was just huge in Russia.”

Ninety-five places separated the players on the tennis ladder, but it was clear early on that Gavrilova was in no way daunted by the challenge in front of her. If anything, she relished it, winning over the crowd immediately by running down every ball she could reach – and plenty she could not.

“I was actually surprised how many people knew my nickname,” she said. “A few people were saying, ‘Come on, Dasha! Let’s Go! You can do it!’ It was an amazing feeling.”

In a battle of shotmakers, the players racked up both winners and unforced errors in a tense opening set. Surprisingly, it was Sharapova that wavered at the critical moment, snatching at a presentable drive volley when trailing 5-4 in the tie-break.

Gavrilova made the most of this let off, closing out the set before surging 3-0 ahead in the second. Sharapova pegged her back to 4-3, but Gavrilova was not to be denied, breaking to love before serving out for a famous victory.

The 5’5” Gavrilova was a bundle of energy throughout and afterwards Sharapova paid tribute to her conqueror’s tenacity: “She runs a lot of balls down. I was committing a lot of errors off of those balls and not really staying patient, and maybe going for too many winners but not moving forward enough.

“Of course it’s a bit of a surprise. It’s the first round. I’m expected to win. But that’s why we play the matches – you still have to go out and win it, no matter if you’re the favorite. Today I didn’t.”

Two-time US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki began 2015 knowing she had a tough act to follow after a resurgent year that saw her become World No.1 Serena Williams’ closest rival over the final six months of the 2014 season. Reaching the final of her first tournament of the year at the ASB Classic, the Dane appeared ready for the challenge.

“I love to push myself to the limits,” she explained at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “That’s when I play my best tennis on the court.”

A favorite to go deep at the Australian Open, Wozniacki ran into fellow former No.1 Victoria Azarenka and fell in the second round. Dropping a second straight match to Azarenka in Doha, she bounced back to win her only title of the season in Kuala Lumpur, and parlayed that momentum into some of her best tennis at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.

“I had a good first half of the year. I was healthy and playing well and I played some of my best tennis, especially on the clay season. I played some great tennis.”

Reaching her third final of 2015, Wozniacki won a thrilling three-setter against top seeded Simona Halep, narrowly losing the final to Angelique Kerber.

A back injury interrupted her grass court season, and more bad luck would follow as the Dane prepared for what is typically her favorite time of year.

“In my first training back I hurt my calf, and US Open Series is the time when I love to play and where I normally play my best tennis.

“Not being able to do that was frustrating.”

Dropping a final set tie-break to an inspired Petra Cetkovska at the US Open, Wozniacki nontheless had a solid Asian Swing that allowed her to remain in contention for a second straight appearance in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global before losing to Kerber for a second time at the China Open.

Aspiring for stronger results in 2016, the former No.1 plans to create a schedule that she hopes will bring out her best tennis on the biggest stages.

“I think I’m just going to, yeah, try and peak at the right moments and make sure that I have enough matches under my belt for the Slams, but also that I don’t overdo myself.

“Obviously I want to win everything, but peak at the right moments.”

A consistent force for over half a decade, it’s safe to say that the 25 year old still has a few more peaks left in what has already been a glittering career.

HYDERABAD, India – Of all of the trailblazers in the history of women’s tennis, not many have blazed a trail bigger than Sania Mirza, who has become the first Indian woman to do everything from break the Top 50 to reach No.1 and go from winning WTA titles to the biggest of them all, the Grand Slams.

And the greatest aspect of Mirza’s legacy? She started from very, very humble beginnings.

The Hyderabad native recently sat down with CNN Open Court and discussed a wide variety of topics, including how she went from learning the game on courts made of cow manure to winning on the legendary lawns of Wimbledon; the pride she feels for bringing her success back to India; her tennis academy, which is already booming; and doubles partner Martina Hingis, who’s interviewed too.

Watch CNN Open Court’s feature interview with Mirza right here, right now on wtatennis.com:

On this Episode 8, Courtney Nguyen is joined by wtatennis.com Web Editor David Kane for a free-ranging discussion about the 2015 WTA Award nominees. But the conversation is about more than that. The awards are more of a jumping off point to discuss the season as a whole and the big storylines that drove it home: Serena Williams’ domination, the rise of Team Santina, the encouraging future of Russian tennis, and why it’s so difficult to unpack the individual seasons of so many top players, like Simona Halep, Flavia Pennetta, Maria Sharapova, Karolina Pliskova, and Timea Bacsinszky.

Subscribe to the WTA Insider Podcast on iTunes or any podcast app of your choice. New episodes every Monday.

– Serena Williams mourns the loss of a long-time friend: Serena’s four-legged companion Jackie-Lauralei passed away. Here’s what Serena wrote on Instagram:

“Today really is hard for me. My special friend in which I got at 17 (2 weeks before I won my very first Grand Slam) left me today. She was 16 years young and up until a few days ago was still sprinting. Her poor body gave out this morning and she had a way of telling me it was time for me to be brave and let her go. With my dad by my side we were able to say a loving goodbye. She was with me from 1999 until today and I miss her so much. I got out of the shower this afternoon and she was not there to lick my leg as she always did everyday to remind me how much she loved me. I feel so lucky to have such a special friend. Give your dog, cat, pet a big hug. #breakingheart #bff Jackie Baila Pete Williams I will miss you and your memory will live forever.”

– Andy Roddick on Serena Williams: Roddick pens an essay for SI.com making the case for why Serena is his 2015 SI Sportsman of the Year.

People will talk about the dominance – I don’t think anyone would argue that on her best day she is the best women’s player of all time – but she’s kind of developed this nuance to get through matches and win deciding sets. During the entire tournament at Roland Garros, she was sick and not at her best physically. But she still fought through mentally and won the title, adding to her Slam total and giving herself some chance at the calendar year Grand Slam. That was probably my favorite Grand Slam that she’s won. I don’t know that she would tell you that because it was probably grueling and terrible at the moment. But looking back, knowing how hard it is to be at your best when you’re under the weather, I think that was the most impressive win for me.

– Agnieszka Radwanska on CNN: The BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion sat down with Pat Cash after winning the biggest title of her career last month.

– Frozen: Looks like it might be a gym day for Simona Halep and Darren Cahill.

Don't forget to bring the balls for practice @Simona_Halep. I booked the court ? #romania ☃? #beautifulhere pic.twitter.com/Xitc43hUOi

— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) November 24, 2015

– Rough Day for Alla Kudryavtseva: The Russian was disqualified from her match against Nicole Gibbs at the Carlsbad Classic on Monday. Though it’s unclear what exactly happened, the Russian posted this heartfelt apology afterwards:

@AllaK11: To @WTA @queen_v21 @Gibbsyyyy and everyone who was following my match tonight….140 words ain't enough… pic.twitter.com/aQM9c0EiIZ

— Alla Kudryavtseva (@AllaK11) November 24, 2015

– Podcast Up for Travel Days: If you’re planning to be on the move for Thanksgiving in America, what better way to prepare than to load your phone with some podcasts to get your through the potentially trying times. It’s a perfect time to catch up on all the episodes of the WTA Insider Podcast you’ve missed

– Stay Warm, Bethanie: Bundle up, folks!

When you tell your hubby you need a blanket because you're cold and not feelin so good. @MirzaSania knows this face? pic.twitter.com/6395GvNcSj

— Bethanie MattekSands (@BMATTEK) November 24, 2015

Standards in women’s tennis fashion are on an all-time high, pushing brands to work day and night to stay competitive and deliver always-striking and ever more functional outfits. The 2015 season was highly prolific in terms of women’s tennis apparel and our fashion contributor Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog narrowed down the selection of clothes to those that made the greatest impact in the season behind us.

Serena Williams had a number of memorable outfits in 2015 and even Nike, Inc. President and CEO Mark Parker joined the design process for her US Open range of clothes entitled the Greatness Collection. The item that, however, beats all else is this yellow and pink eye-catching and powerful tunic that absolutely stole the show during the Australian Open and in which the American started her quest for the Calendar Slam by claiming the Melbourne title. Everyone was talking about this vibrant outfit with huge back cutout that goes all the way to the waist and even now, ten months later, it is still alive in our memory.

Lotto pushed the boundaries when it comes to what qualifies for sports clothing, going sexy and disco for most Agnieszka Radwanska’s dresses this year.

From the Pole’s provocative lace statement piece in many different colors (navy, red, blue, and black) and even more extraordinary shiny silver dress, to the very daring printed metallic dress with ruffled hem and thin criss-cross straps.

Prints are Venus Williams’ specialty and without hesitation the EleVen’s Ndebele pattern is the 2015 favorite. Inspired by the Ndebele South African tribe, this colorful zig-zag print is a wonderful marriage of lively colors and geometry, while dark side colorblocks provide the always-welcome slimming effect.

Even though Yohji Yamamoto’s Y-3 collection for the French Open campaigns of adidas’ top athletes was unarguably wonderful refreshment with its combination of powerful blacks and Hawaiian floral prints, looking back at the 2015 season, the brand’s spring and summer adizero groups of clothes edge the Japanese designer.

Adizero is the absolute perfect mix of modern style and sports design with ultimate use of technological advancements. The Adizero items a great choice for all those looking for one solid outfit that will be both trendy and functional for the long time to come. Be it in night flash with orange accents, or in flash red with vibrant green details, these ensembles get five stars in every aspect.

Garbiñe Muguruza always looked stylish during her stellar 2015 rise to number three in the WTA rankings, wearing a variety of adidas separates designed by Stella McCartney. From the peach romantic florals in the spring, to flirtatious laser cut open mesh skirt during the run to the Wimbledon final, and finally to the closing of the big season in the winter colorblock tank with a nice half-ellipse back cutout and dark grey paneled skirt.

Finally, Maria Sharapova deserves an honorable mention, even though some of her best outfits were barely exposed this year, such as the Roland Garros dress which was constantly covered by striped long-sleeve shirt and her black and white US Open dress that she wore only briefly in Wuhan. The Wimbledon dress is characterized by strategically-placed contrasting triangles that add a subtle element of visual interest, while also ensuring a figure-flattering dimension, and Sharapova looked wonderful in it, going all the way to the semifinals.

DUBAI, UAE – Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki, longtime Dubai Duty Free Global Brand Ambassadors and former World No.1s, had a magical night at the Dubai Airshow Dinner Gala earlier this month, watching the fastest-growing air show in the world, as well as one of the biggest singing sensations in the world, Katy Perry, who performed an exclusive concert for the guests at the gala.

Dubai Duty Free, who hosted Ivanovic and Wozniacki on the night, are the WTA’s longest standing partner – they’re also presenting partner of the WTA Pre-Wimbledon Party and the Year-End World No.1 Awards, which went to Serena Williams and Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza this year.

“For as long as I can remember, Dubai Duty Free has been one of the biggest supporters of women’s tennis. I am thrilled to continue my partnership with such a wonderful brand – we are now in our fourth year together,” Ivanovic commented. “As part of my role as their Global Ambassador I’ve taken part in many exciting activities and learnt a lot more about the culture of the region. I’m looking forward to coming back to Dubai in 2016 to compete for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title.”

Speaking of which, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships – which has attracted the top women’s players in the world since its inaugural year on the WTA calendar back in 2001, and will do the same in 2016 – was also honored last Monday, receiving a five-star rating by the Dubai Sports Council.

Here are some of the best pics from both of these events in Dubai, all courtesy of Dubai Duty Free:

Here’s Ivanovic and Wozniacki with Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of Dubai Duty Free:

Here they are with Salah Tahlak, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Tournament Director:

Here’s Tahlak receiving the award from Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai International Marine Club, along with Bernard Creed of Dubai Duty Free.