Eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who turns 40 this year, takes on Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in round one.
Sharapova was granted a wildcard entry to the last Grand Slam of the season but received a tough first-round draw in the shape of Romanian Halep.
Halep withdraws from Western & Southern Open with injury.
The 23-year-old Kazakh, whose previous best performance in a Grand Slam was reaching the quarter-final at the French Open last year, would like TO create history on the hallowed turf of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Simona Halep has been in red-hot form and the absence of top-ranked Australian Ash Barty, who won her maiden Grand Slam in Paris last year, and US Open champion Naomi Osaka, will boost her chances further.
Czech Karolina Pliskova rose to the top of the WTA rankings without striking a ball on Tuesday as results at Wimbledon saw her overhaul Germany's Angelique Kerber.
World No 1 Serena Williams comfortably beat 15-year-old CiCi Bellis.
A look at the top women's contenders at the 2020 French Open.
Garbine Muguruza outclassed former finalist Simona Halep in straight sets to enter the final of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday. Meanwhile, Sofia Kenin sent world number one Ash Barty spinning out of the Melbourne Park semi-finals 7-6, 7-5 on Thursday, crushing Australian hopes of a first home-grown champion at the Grand Slam in 42 years. The 21-year-old Kenin showed her frustration at times, throwing her racquet on court, but managed to hang in and saved three breakpoints to hold for 3-3 and eventually force a tiebreaker.
Top seed Simona Halep was pooled with grand slam winners Maria Sharapova and Flavia Pennetta in a formidable looking Red Group for the end-of-season WTA Finals on Friday.
Sharapova, making her return to top-flight tennis after serving a doping ban, defeated Romanian Halep 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to move into the 2nd round of the final major of the year.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the Wimbledon Champions at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Thursday
Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki face a 'humongous' match that could define their careers when they face off in Saturday's Australian Open final, says former champion Mats Wilander.
'I will put everything I have Saturday on the court'
Former men's champion Mats Wilander believes third seed Muguruza now looks like the most likely champion, having not dropped a set and thrashing Maria Sharapova on Wednesday.
Roger Federer gained a measure of revenge against Wimbledon nemesis Kevin Anderson, beating the South African 6-0, 6-4 at the Miami Open on Thursday to set up a mouthwatering semi-final against a player barely half his age.
Top seed Simona Halep came back from a set down for the third time in the tournament to beat Kazakhstan's rising star Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) to win the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for the second time on Saturday. In a battle that lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours, the match came down to a tiebreak where two shots that went agonisingly wide for Rybakina eventually decided the title in front of a noisy crowd that constantly chanted Halep's name.
Angelique Kerber was forced to dig deep in her WTA Finals opener before the German world number one battled past Dominika Cibulkova 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-3 in a high-class baseline slugfest at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
Photos from the matches played at the Miami Open on Tuesday
World No 1 Serena Williams was handed the best possible draw for her WTA Finals title defence with the 33-year-old American grouped with two injury doubts and avoiding the in-form players.
Angelique Kerber, who will reclaim the world number one ranking on Monday, breezed to a 6-2, 6-1 second-round victory over fellow German Andrea Petkovic at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday.
Second seed Caroline Wozniacki came through a late wobble to reach the Australian Open final for a first time with a 6-3, 7-6(2) victory over Belgian Elise Mertens on Rod Laver Arena on Thursday.
World number one Rafael Nadal set a new record of winning 50 consecutive sets on a single surface by beating Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals.
Nadal produced a rich vein of form as he thrashed Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to clinch his fourth Canadian Masters 1000 title at the Rogers Cup
IMAGES from Day 6 of the French Open, at Roland Garros, on Friday.
Serena Williams brushed off some serving troubles before cruising to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Elina Svitolina on Saturday and will meet Simona Halep in the Western & Southern Open final.
Former world number one Garbine Muguruza was beaten 7-5, 6-4 by Aryna Sabalenka in the China Open second round on Tuesday while an ailing Jelena Ostapenko lost 6-0, 6-0 to Wang Qiang.
IMAGES from the matches played at the PNB Paribas Open at Indian Wells on Sunday
Images from Tuesday's matches at the Australian Open.
IMAGES from matches on Day 9 at the French Open at Roland Garros
India's Leander Paes and his German partner Alexander Zverev went down to the Spanish duo of Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez in a men's doubles first round match to bow out of the Cincinnati Open.
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