The week in sports: from Serena's engagement to the Dakar rally

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Tennis: former #1 Ivanovic retires

This file photo taken on May 24, 2016 shows Serbia's Ana Ivanovic serving to France's Oceane Dodin during their women's first round match at the Roland Garros 2016 French Tennis Open in Paris. /CFP Photo

Former world number one tennis player Ana Ivanovic announced on Wednesday that she was retiring from the sport. The 29-year-old Serbian-born player called it a “difficult decision” in a video post on Facebook, but said she could no longer perform to her own high standards “so it’s time to move on.” Ivanovic, who married German football player Bastian Schweinsteiger last year, reached the top of the women’s tennis ranking in 2008, the same year she won the French Open. But she slipped to 63 after being sidelined by injury since August.

Tennis: Serena engaged to Reddit’s Ohanian

Serena Williams appears as a special guest on the Italian TV show 'Che tempo che fa' in Milan, Italy on October 3, 2016. /CFP Photo

Big news from Serena Williams this week, and it involved neither rackets nor courts. The 35-year-old, currently ranked second in the world, announced her engagement to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. The two have been dating since 2015 and Ohanian proposed in Rome. Williams will be looking to beat Steffi Graf’s Open era record of most Grand Slam titles when she heads to Melbourne for the Australian Open later this month.

Best of: China’s volleyball player Zhu Ting among year’s best

China's Zhu Ting spikes a ball during the 2016 Rio Olympic women's volleyball tournament on August 20, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro. /CFP Photo

Unsurprisingly, US swimming star Michael Phelps, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, tennis player Andy Murray and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo all made it onto the top 10 list of best athletes of the year as selected by China’s Xinhua News Agency. The first woman and only Chinese on the list was 19-year-old volleyball player Zhu Ting, who helped China’s national team win Olympic gold and was voted most valued player in Rio last summer. Others in Xinhua’s top 10 included US gymnastics Olympic champion Simone Biles, Hungarian swimmer Katinka Hosszu and Ethiopian long-distance runner Almaz Ayana.

Cycling: British Olympic champion Wiggins retires

This file photo taken on July 9, 2012 shows overall leader's yellow jersey, Briton Bradley Wiggins, competing at the end of the ninth stage of the 2012 Tour de France cycling race ‍on July 9, 2012. /CFP Photo

British cyclist Bradley Wiggins, a five-time Olympic champion and 2012 Tour de France winner, announced on Wednesday that he was retiring from the sport. “2016 is the end of the road for this chapter, onwards and upwards”, Wiggins wrote in a post on Facebook. The 36-year-old Brit accumulated eight Olympic medals over his career. His retirement however comes amid doping allegations involving his former racing team, Team Sky.

Rally: Dakar gets underway in Paraguay

2017 Paraguay-Bolivia-Argentina Dakar rally - Departure Ceremony - Asuncion, Paraguay 01/01/17. Cristobal Andres Guldman Gonzalez of Chile rides his Kawasaki below the flag of Paraguay from the podium. /CFP Photo

Over 300 vehicles, 12 stages and 9,000 kilometers: the Dakar Rally got underway on Monday in Asuncion, Paraguay, with racers due to travel at least 450 kilometers per day to reach Buenos Aires by January 14. The route passes through Bolivia and will include sections above 5,000-meter altitude for the first time in the history of the Rally. Peugeot and Toyota are expected to lead the pack, with past winners like Stephane Peterhansel, Nasser Al-Attiyah, Nani Roma and Carlos Sainz again in the driving seat.