Tennis News

SINGAPORE – Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova were in high spirits as they reflected on their win over Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, which made them the doubles champions at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

“We were coming here so motivated to have this trophy,” Makarova admitted in their post-match press conference. “We came so early, because two years ago we came quite late – we had just two days for practice.”

“Not enough,” Vesnina interjected.

“Yeah, we came one week before [this year’s tournament began], and were ready, and really wanted this trophy,” Makarova continued. “We’re so happy that we did it today.”

They were quick to pay tribute to their vanquished opponents, and the role they played in making the match such a special occasion.

“We [have] always had tough matches against Lucie and Bethanie,” Vesnina said. “We know that it has to be [a] good match from us and we have to… up our level of the game, because otherwise we won’t beat them. It was really good quality tennis today in the final.”

Vesnina and Makarova’s win meant that Sania Mirza finishes the year as Doubles World No.1. The champions wondered whether she might want to thank them for their part in her ranking – or whether she was still smarting from her semifinal loss.

“Congrats to Sania, by the way,” Vesnina said with a smile. “She should give us some gift, I think. We still beat her in the semifinal so she’s upset.”

The new champions were also keen to talk about why they think their partnership works – despite the two players being polar opposites.

“We are different a little bit, but I think that [the partnership] is working because we are different,” Makarova suggested. “Yeah, I’m more quiet and Lena is more –

“I’m talking all the time!” interrupted Vesnina, and her partner agreed. “She’s lefty; I’m a right-hander. Left-handed people, you know that they’re thinking with a different part of the brain and I’m thinking with a different [part of mine]. So that’s why we’re different, but we are still together.”

“Yes – but we are still good to each other,” Makarova added.

Unsurprisingly, the pair are planning a break between Christmas and New Year – but are expecting that they will reunite in January to begin their 2017 campaign.

“For sure we will play Australian Open together, yeah; maybe the tournament before,” Makarova confirmed. 

“Now we want to enjoy this moment. We want to have a holiday. She goes to Zhuhai, so her season is not finished yet. We wish you will all big good luck there -same way as here.

“Then definitely, yeah, we will be ready for Australia.”

SINGAPORE – Dominika Cibulkova has climbed to a career-high ranking of World No.5 after stunning Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-4, to win the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

The Slovakian began the tournament as World No.8 and looked set to make an early exit when she lost her first two round robin matches.

However, after beating Simona Halep to reach the semifinals, she recorded a victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova before upsetting the Australian Open and US Open champion to claim the title.

The win moves her up to fifth, leapfrogging Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza and Madison Keys, who were all eliminated at the round-robin phase.

Had Cibulkova won her first two round-robin matches, she would be just over 100 points behind Simona Halep, who remains as World No.4.

Kerber secured her status as year-end World No.1 thanks to Serena Williams’ withdrawal from the tournament and received her award in Singapore.

Meanwhile, in the doubles rankings, Sania Mirza hangs on to top spot despite her and Martina Hingis’ semifinal exit in Singapore.

ZHUHAI, China – Roberta Vinci was dressed all in black after her last match at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. She looked fondly on a second straight Top 20 season and was in no mood to mourn what she once said would be her last year on tour.

“It was a good year, for sure,” she told WTA Insider Wednesday night. “I had a great last year, and a lot of points to defend this year.

“The tour is always tough and the players are always getting stronger. You always have to stay in good body and mind. Playing every single tournament is tough, but I’m so proud of myself for this year.

“I’m a little bit tired, of course, because it was a long season. I’m sad about today, but happy that I finished this year.”

The lingering question was whether she had finished for good. The answer was more up in the air.

“Right now, I’m finished with this season and I want to go home. I’ll be taking two weeks off for sure, without tennis or anything. Then I’ll decide, if I’m still motivated, if I still want to continue at this level, and if I want to keep working. I don’t know if I want to, or if I’m just tired right now.

“If I want to stay on tour, I’ll have to work a lot. But I don’t know.”

Vinci first rang the retirement bell last November, announcing her intention to finish her career in 2016. She walked the statement back slightly after winning her 10th career title – the biggest of her career at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy – and becoming the oldest woman to make her Top 10 debut. Any decision the Italian veteran does make, she insists, will be final.

“I don’t want to say, ‘Yes, I’m continuing,’ and then in one week, I stop, or say, ‘No, I’m retired,’ and then after a week, you see a video of me practicing.”

Taking a less decisive tact is the famously flamboyant Francesca Schiavone. Vinci’s compatriot has started a web series asking Facebook fans whether she should continue her career, or perhaps follow a new path, all with her signature flair.

“It’s nice for the fans, but I won’t be putting out any videos because I want to decide my future! But Francesca is Francesca; it’s so funny.”

While she waits to make a decision, Vinci won’t regret confessing her initial intent to retire, feeling it helped her better appreciate the tour on which she’s played nearly two decades, and those who’ve watched her play.

“For me, it’s nice because they want to know my future. If I say I’m going to retire and someone is sad, it feels good because it means they really love me and my tennis.

“It’s normal for the fans and the journalists to want to know. Soon, I will let you know what is in my future.”

The immediate future sees the former World No.7 at home with friends and family, looking back on a pressure-filled season centered around defending the 1300 points she earned at last year’s US Open, when she ended then-No.1 Serena Williams’ Calendar Year Grand Slam bid to reach the final.

“I had a lot of pressure, especially at the US Open. In my mind, I was saying that this year will be tough. I didn’t know if I could even stay Top 50. Now, I’m in the Top 20, so my coach is happy and also I’m really happy about that.”

From shouting “60 points!” after her first round win, she made it all the way back into the second week for the fourth time in five years, falling to eventual champion Angelique Kerber.

“I was injured but I played amazing tennis; I won great matches there. I felt something special in New York; I’m always playing good there, be it final or quarterfinal. It’s an incredible tournament for me.”

Vinci described the year’s final major tournament in the present tense, just as she outlined the simple – yet life-changing – decision that stands in front of her.

“If it’s yes, then yes. If it’s no, then no.”

All photos courtesy of WTA Elite Trophy.