Dokic, who sprang to prominence at Wimbledon in 1999 when she stunned world number one Martina Hingis in the first round, said she has been suffering with mental illness and nearly resorted to suicide on April 28.

Alize Cornet won hearts at the Melbourne Park after giving an emotional tribute to former player Jelena Dokic during a post-match interview after her victory against Simona Halep in Australian Open fourth round

The week-long Hong Kong Tennis Open in September 2014 will be played in Victoria Park, the city's major downtown green space, and there are hopes of attracting the international stars of women's tennis.

Allaster, chairman and CEO of the Women's Tennis Association, said female competitors would be quite happy to play for as long as the men if asked by the Grand Slam tournaments.

Another inductee was Australian legend Long, who is now 94 years old and won a total of 19 Grand Slam titles between the 1930s and 1950s. Hall of Famer Rod Laver accepted Long's award on her behalf.

Williams did not commit a double fault but took full advantage of 12 by Camila Giorgi to win 6-2, 6-3 after 82 minutes in her first match since capturing the WTA Miami crown last Saturday by beating Maria Sharapova in the final.

The US Tennis Association (USTA) boosted the base prize money for this year's US Open by $4.1 million beyond the $4 million jump announced last December, raising the total to $33.6 million compared to $25.5 million in 2012.

Japan's Ayumi Morita edged closer to winning her first ever WTA title after reaching the semi-finals of the BMW Malaysian Open on Friday.

The 31-year-old twisted her ankle twice during her three-set loss to Victoria Azarenka in Melbourne.

The fierce-hitting 22-year-old Czech has now won eight of her 10 career titles at Premier or Grand Slam level, a statistic which says something about her capacity for delivering when it matters most.