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Golding 'amazingly happy' with US Open win

  • Posted: Sep 12, 2011

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Golding ‘amazingly happy’ with US Open win

Britain’s Oliver Golding says he is “amazingly happy” after winning the US Open boys’ title with victory over the junior world number one.

The 17-year-old came from a set down to win 5-7 6-3 6-4 against his former doubles partner and top seed from the Czech Republic Jiri Vesely.

The 13th seed follows in the footsteps of fellow Briton Andy Murray who also won the boys’ title at Flushing Meadows back in 2004.

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Wimbledon Fashion Preview

Wimbledon Fashion Preview

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

We all love colorful prints and vibrant colors in tennis outfits, but isn’t it nice to get back to basics from time to time? Let’s hand it over to Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog and see the pure whites that tennis apparel companies prepared for Wimbledon 2016.

Nike

Serena Williams will try to defend her title in the NikeCourt Premier Dress, whose mock neck is a new aesthetic in the world number one’s tennis fashion. The skirt design is the continuation of Williams’ looks from the previous 2016 Grand Slams, while two tiers of pleats in the back add a special flash of style.

Nike

Eugenie Bouchard and other NikeCourt team athletes will wear the NikeCourt Premier Slam Dress, which means that skirt-top combinations are taking a back seat. Stunning power pleats that stretch all the way from the chest of this simple swing silhouette make this a truly unique piece that has daringly departed quite a bit from a classic tennis dress. When it comes to the much-talked-about length of the dress, Bouchard says that it’s perfect.

adidas

adidas’ Climachill collection is equipped with a trio of advanced technologies that provide an instant chilling sensation and lower the body temperature, an ideal choice for high temperatures.

Industry-first 3D aluminium-cooling spheres on the back and neck, the warmest parts of the body, have an immediate cooling effect on contact, mesh-like micro fibres take moisture away from the skin, and SubZero flat yarns containing titanium maximize surface contact with the skin, thus transferring the heat away from the body.

adidas

Stella McCartney’s adidas line stands out with the abundance of laser-cut holes that serve both as fashionable elements and as functional features that improve breathability. The collection’s supreme performance is supported by Climacool and Climalite heat regulation.

adidas

Caroline Wozniacki has the adidas Fall Stella Barricade Primeknit Dress ready for her Wimbledon campaign. Besides the stylish abundance of holes in the skirt, the dress is specific for its scoop neck and back and engineered mesh fabric in targeted breathability zones. Last year’s runner-up Garbiñe Muguruza is expected to wear one of the top-skirt ensembles from the London collection. One possible combination includes the adidas Stella McCartney Core Tank, which features a large mesh section at upper back, and the adidas Fall Stella McCartney Skirt, that includes exposed elastic waistband.

eleVen by Venus

Venus Williams’ EleVen Game Day Dress is a classy cap-sleeve item with very subtle details: a boomerang-shaped contrast binding at waistband and light silver company logo at center chest.

Lotto

Agnieszka Radwanska’s clean white Lotto look consists of the Nixia Dress made from lightweight fabrics that even the most demanding players feel comfortable in. The clean and elegant style combines technical and breathable materials with a large mesh back panel for added heat control and touch of femininity. The Stratosphere W shoes are designed to take your footwork to new heights, owing to their advanced cushioning and responsiveness, as well as maximum transpiration.

New Balance

New Balance’s WTA players, led by Heather Watson, will wear the white version of the popular Spring Tournament Dress, which captivates with its sleek strappy racerback and subtle functional details such as the “N” houndstooth burnout mesh back panel. The 996v2 tennis shoes are made for players that want a stable shoe which rises up to the challenge during sharp lateral movements.

Marion Bartoli

For the second Grand Slam in a row Fila’s Jelena Jankovic will exhibit Marion Bartoli’s tennis designs. The all-white Trophee collection contains six pieces of clothing created by the 2013 Wimbledon champion: a dress, a tank, two skort styles, a blazer, and pants. Details such as mesh inserts and a feminine flounce adorn the collection.

Fila

Other representatives of Fila will wear the Lawn collection which boasts a selection of tops, dresses and two different lengths of skorts. These Wimbledon whites are focused on waist-accentuating cut lines stylized with details such as curved seam lines, princess seams, and pintuck accents. The promo image shows Yaroslava Shvedova in the Fila Lawn Full Coverage Tank, which brings all the attention to the waist by a strategic use of pintuck detail at sides and peplum-inspired curved hem.

Lacoste

Lacoste’s designs are never too far from tradition and their Wimbledon collection is along those lines as well, although in these promotional photos of Elena Vesnina, Dominika Cibulkova and Christina McHale we can see that quite a bit of color is included in the clothes prepared for the grass-court Grand Slam, as each item has a pop of blue and fluo yellow colorblocking.

As we can see, even within Wimbledon’s strict clothing rules, there are limitless possibilities for unique and breathtaking designs.

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Lisicki's 52-Second Wimbledon Start

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, England – There are fast starts and there are fast starts. And Sabine Lisicki’s opening game at this year’s Wimbledon certainly falls into the latter category.

Three aces and another booming serve down the T saw Lisicki wrap up the opening game of her first-round match with Shelby Rogers in just 52 seconds.

The German, a finalist at the All England Club in 2013, barely slowed down as the match progressed, living up to her ‘Boom Boom’ nickname by hitting 19 winners and wrapping up a 6-1, 6-3 victory after a minute shy of one hour on court.

In the second round she will face Samantha Stosur, a 7-5, 6-3 winner over Magda Linette.

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WTA Stars Rally Around Charity

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

At this year’s Wimbledon, some of the most famous names in women’s tennis are once again lending their support to the StarCards charity auction, raising money for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London.

The WTA has been helping the charity since 2002, raising thousands of pounds. Among the lots at this year’s auction are items from Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Caroline Wozniacki and StarCards’ official celebrity supporter Ana Ivanovic, who has signed and donated her 2016 French Open player accreditation.

“With the tremendous support of the WTA we have raised over £100,000 for the charity, tennis fans around the world each year contact us in advance of to make sure they don’t miss out on the new collection. We are extremely grateful to the WTA and our official supporter Ana Ivanovic who help us every year to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity,” StarCards founder Paul Bretta said

The auction, held on the StarCards website, started on June 30 and will finish on July 10.

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Radwanska Dazzles Against Siniakova

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, Great Britain – No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska dug deep from her bag of tricks to see off Katerina Siniakova in a straight sets tour de force, needing just 63 minutes to advance to the fourth round 6-3, 6-1.

Radwanska put on a clinic on the No.3 Court against Siniakova, who at 20 years old was the youngest woman left in the draw. Against the big hitting Czech, Radwanska employed her famous ability of drawing out her opponent’s errors with her signature mix variety and anticipation, running Siniakova ragged all along the court.

The first set unfolded as a tightly-contested affair with Radwanska bringing up and converting the only break point for a lead at 4-2. She struck early on in the second set, frustrating Siniakova with a drop shot after pushing her out far behind the baseline.

Radwanska grabbed the second break of the second set at 4-1 when she fetched a wide-angled return with a vicious forehand loaded with sidespin, then calmly put away the next shot at the net. Siniakova was forced to hit one more ball as her would-be winners were returned time and time again.

Siniakova clawed to her first break point of the match at 5-1, but it was calmly brushed aside as the Pole looked locked in, breaking Siniakova once more and crushing a swinging crosscourt forehand pass to move on to the second week of Wimbledon for the eighth time in her career.

Cibulkova awaits Radwanska in the fourth round after the Slovak put away former finalist Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets earlier in the day.

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Vesnina Claims First Quarterfinal Berth

Vesnina Claims First Quarterfinal Berth

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, Great Britain – Elena Vesnina bested her good friend and doubles partner Ekaterina Makarova in a 5-7, 6-1, 9-7 thriller to make her way to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time.

The pair of unseeded Russians battled it out on Court No.3, weathering a mid-match rain delay during their two-hour-and-forty-seven-minute contest. Vesnina kept her margins cleaner, firing 52 winners to 30 unforced errors against Makarova’s 31 winners and 24 unforced errors. Vesnina was also ruthless at the net, winning 85 percent of her 26 net points.

With the victory, Vesnina also notched her first ever WTA-level win over Makarova, having lost in straight sets in each of their previous six encounters.

Next up for the Russian is Dominika Cibulkova, who edged past No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in an epic three sets earlier in the day.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Pavlyuchenkova Dashes Vandeweghe Hopes

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova knocked out last year’s quarterfinalist CoCo Vandeweghe in a commanding 6-3, 6-3 win. Pavlyuchenkova kept the American’s powerful serve in check throughout the match, allowing her just three aces and 49 percent of first serve points. She struck 13 winners to seven unforced errors against Vandeweghe’s 18 and 22.

The Russian, who’d previously never made it past the third round at the All-England Club, is now into the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for the first time.

Her reward? A matchup against defending champion and top seed Serena Williams.

“I just find out from my coach that I’m going to play the winner of Serena or Svetlana,” Pavlyuchenkova said afterward. “I have no clue actually what part of the draw I’m in and stuff like that.

“I’m still sort of like happy with the match I just won. It’s tough to talk about Serena or anyone.” 

Yaroslava Shvedova

Shvedova Books Venus Showdown

Yaroslava Shvedova, No.96 in the world, dealt a round of 16 upset to the No.28 seed Lucie Safarova, dispatching the Czech in a comfortable straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. With the win she moves into the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for the first time.

The Kazakh’s strong serving proved to be the difference; she fired off seven aces and won 81 percent of points behind her first serve. Shvedova also didn’t face a single break point all match long and converted on three of the thirteen chances she brought up against Safarova.

Up next, she’ll face the five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams for the first time.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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Insider Podcast: Steve Simon Interview

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, Great Britain – WTA CEO Steve Simon joins the WTA Insider podcast after a busy week of meetings in London to discuss the future of the tour and the changes coming down the pipeline. In particular, Simon breaks down the current discussion surrounding a possible change in the tour’s current circuit structure, the future state of the WTA’s broadcast and content business, and his vision for a tour that continues to push forward and grow to become a worldwide sporting power.

On his vision for the circuit structure:

“What I would like to see is a tour that provides clarity, which I’m not sure we have today. I’m not sure a lot of our fans know the difference between an International series event and a Premier series event. I would like to have a system where every event has a purpose and a meaning. Then we can begin to storytell from it and take our fans on tour for a year and understand why this event is happening and the relevance of it, and the relevance of the athletes, as opposed to being a faceless event, which I’m afraid happens too often.”

On the current state of the WTA broadcast business:

“I think it’s an exciting time because in 2017 we are embarking on a new broadcast agreement. The basis for this agreement is that we will now be producing every main draw singles match played, and every semifinal and doubles final played. So we’re going to go from producing approximately 800 matches a year to over 2,000, which is a significant jump. Through our partnership with Perform we will now have a global audience going into 2017 at record levels that we have never seen before. We’ll be entering the market at nearly 400 million people in our audience universe right away.”

On his desire to expand the tour’s competitive landscape:

“We’re very proud that we’re the No.1 professional women’s league and I think it’s well deserved. You don’t become No.1 because you didn’t produce and you should take a lot of pride in that. The next step from that from my perspective is we want to not just be the No.1 women’s professional tour, we want to compete with professional sports. What that means is that we’re now drawing the audience levels that are similar to other professional sports, and we need to grow our audience levels. They’re not at the levels that I want them to be at.”

On the state of play:

“We are in a transition now. We have Serena in the argument as one of the best players to ever play this game and other great champions that are with us. But when I look at what’s coming I’m just very excited about it. We can see the transition happening. We can see it in the results. Every week this year we’ve seen a lot of upsets. Well those upsets are consistently this new era coming through and challenging the existing stars and that’s very healthy.”

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or on any podcast app of your choice to ensure you never miss an episode when they go live. Reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.

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Serena Meets Duchess After SW19 Win

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, England – Moments after completing another regal performance at Wimbledon, the queen of tennis Serena Williams was rubbing shoulder with a very different type of royalty.

Making her annual homage to the home of tennis, future Queen Kate Middleton was alongside All England Club Chairman Philip Brook to witness Williams’ semifinal masterclass against Elena Vesnina.

And with the applause still rippling around Centre Court, the Dutchess was hot-footing it out of the royal box to get an introduction – and a selfie – with the World No.1.

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Serena Wins 10th ESPY Award

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA – Serena Williams’ phenomenal week got even more phenomenal on Wednesday night, as she won Best Female Tennis Player at the ESPY Awards for the eighth time in her career, having already been given the award in 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2015.

She was chosen over Angelique Kerber, Flavia Pennetta, and Garbiñe Muguruza for this year’s award.

Williams now has 10 total ESPY Awards – she was also named Best Female Athlete in 2003 and 2013.

Other WTA stars with multiple ESPY Awards are Sharapova (five), Venus Williams (four), Steffi Graf (three) and Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport (two each). The ESPY Awards started in 1993.

More to come…

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Azarenka Announces Pregnancy

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka has announced the exciting news that she is expecting her first child later this year.

While recovering from the knee injury that sidelined her for Wimbledon, Azarenka and her boyfriend found out they would soon be welcoming a new member to the family.

The former World No.1, who plans to return to the game at some point in the future, made the announcement on Facebook this Friday.

“The WTA Family extends its congratulations to Vika. There is nothing more special than becoming a parent and we look forward to having Vika with her family back on Tour and winning championships next year,” WTA CEO Steve Simon said.

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