Tennis News

Agnieszka Radwanska moved one step closer to a sixth straight appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

After reaching the final four of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, the 2015 champion moved back into the Top 4 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, bolstering her qualification chances as the Asian Swing gets underway. Switching places with US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova, either woman could lock up spots in Singapore with strong results at this week’s Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

Pliskova reached the third round in Wuhan after a straight sets opening round win over Lucie Safarova, while Radwanska makes her Wuhan debut on Tuesday against Ekaterina Makarova.

Also into the third round of Wuhan is Simona Halep, who is ranked No.3 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard. Depending on other results, Halep could clinch her spot in Singapore should she reach the final – or perhaps the semifinal – in Wuhan. Halep is looking to qualify for the WTA Finals for a third straight year, having finished runner-up to former No.1 Serena Williams.

Tokyo champion Caroline Wozniacki rocketed up 13 spots to No.20 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, but the former No.1 faces an uphill climb should she aspire to make it back to Singapore for the first time since 2014. After winning her first title of the season in Tokyo, the Dane would likely have to win three more titles in Wuhan, Beijing, and Moscow to have a hope of qualifying – though her chances remain solid of making a second straight appearance at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

Click here to check out the full Road to Singapore leaderboard

WUHAN, China – It was always going to be a big week for Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears. The Americans qualified for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last year, and earned an important victory as they aim to return, knocking out Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova, 6-3, 2-6, 10-8, in the second round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

“We’ve probably played at least a thousand 10-point tie-breaks,” Atawo said after the match. “They never get any easier, but if you can find a way to relax, it can help in the big points. We were able to do that today, where we were able to hit the shots when we wanted to in the important moments.”

Watch live action from Wuhan on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Recovering from losing the second set, the unseeded Americans triumphed in the match tie-break to book a last eight encounter with either Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan (ranked No.6 on the RTS leaderboard) or Slovenians Katarina Srebotnik and Andreja Klepac, who are ranked No.13.

“If we could make them play, we felt like we were in control,” Atawo said. “We just had to get that first ball in, and when we connected, it was really good.”

Atawo and Spears entered the week at No.10 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, and have had to overcome tremendous fierce opposition just to reach the second round, defeating No.9 Xu Yi-Fan and Zheng Saisai.

“It’s huge motivation, because we’ve been close the last three years, and it’s good experience. But we want to be back in Singapore, and we’ll do whatever it takes to get back there – so long as it’s legal!” Spears said as the pair laughed.

With today’s results, Atawo and Spears move into the No.9 spot and now trail Georges/Pliskova by just 575 points; to crack the Top 8 in Wuhan, they will need to win the title, thus unseating Goerges and Pliskova on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.

Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka moved up to No.5 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard after winning the Coupe Banque Nationale, and kicked off their Wuhan campaign in similarly dramatic style; the Czechs ousted Olga Savchuk and Wang Yafan, 4-6, 6-2, 10-4.

On the outside looking in – at least with new partner Barbora Strycova – is World No.1 Sania Mirza. Mirza has already qualified for Singapore with former Co-No.1 Martina HIngis, but has been making a strong push for a second qualification bid, winning a second title with Strycova at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

In need of another big result in Wuhan, the No.3 seeds came back from a set down to beat Gabriela Dabrowski and María José Martínez Sánchez, 3-6, 6-3, 10-5.

MIAMI, FL, USA – Winning the Miami Open trophy after a rollercoaster two weeks of action was hard enough, but Johanna Konta’s work wasn’t done yet – there’s always the traditional champions Key Biscayne photo shoot.

After a quick chat with WTA Insider on the way to the shoot, Konta was ready to relax and pose in front of a throng of photographers as she celebrated the win at Cape Florida Light, Key Biscayne’s iconic lighthouse.

Here’s a few photos of Konta with the Miami Open trophy, all courtesy of Getty Images:

MONTERREY, Mexico – Hundreds of Monterrey locals got a chance to be up close with the WTA’s biggest stars as the Abierto GNP Seguros put on a colorful display at one of the city’s most popular avenues, San Pedro de Pinta.

World No.1 and Monterrey top seed Angelique Kerber joined Donna Vekic in a mini-tennis exhibition match, before covering each other – and the crowd – in colorful powdered paint.

The pair even took to the stage afterwards, joining a local band to sing some tunes at Monterrey’s weekly festival.

Check out the best photos below, courtesy of the Abierto GNP Seguros!

Petra Kvitova and Dominika Cibulkova will meet in the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan final with a lot more than just the trophy on the line.

Earlier this week, Kvitova scored a win over current WTA World No.1 Angelique Kerber in the third round at Wuhan, which, arguably, could be considered the WTA match of the year. Kvitova entered the week at No.21 on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard. With an 11-1 record in Wuhan – she was the inaugural winner in 2014 – Kvitova will move to No.12 by reaching the final this week and will be either 897 points outside of the Top 8 – or within 582 points.

If Kvitova, a finalist at the 2014 China Open, could complete a Wuhan-Beijing double, she would vault into the Top 8 and be in position to qualify for the WTA Finals for the sixth straight year.

Cibulkova, who missed four months due to surgery on her Achilles last year, will move to RTS No.7 by reaching the Wuhan final as she attempts to qualify for the WTA Finals for the first time in her career. She can move as high as No.6 on the Leaderboard overtaking French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza if she wins the title.