Garbiñe Muguruza's Practice Session In Dubai
Watch Garbiñe Muguruza hit the practice court ahead of the start of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Watch Garbiñe Muguruza hit the practice court ahead of the start of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
From the youngest Grand Slam champion ever to the original “Serena Slam,” take a look back at ten WTA stars winning the Happy Slam for the first time.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – With the latest WTA rankings comes the news of the official seeding list for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Three of the World’s Top 4 are set to compete, including defending champion and four-time Olympic Gold medalist Serena Williams, reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber and French Open winner Garbiñe Muguruza. Sydney Gold medalist and fellow four-time Gold medalist Venus Williams rounds out the Top 5.
Check out the full list of seeds below:
Singles
(1) Serena Williams (USA #1)
(2) Angelique Kerber (GER #2)
(3) Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4)
(4) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #5)
(5) Venus Williams (USA #6)
(6) Roberta Vinci (ITA #8)
(7) Madison Keys (USA #9)
(8) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10)
(9) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP #12)
(10) Johanna Konta (GBR #13)
(11) Petra Kvitova (CZE #14)
(12) Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #15)
(13) Samantha Stosur (AUS #18)
(14) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #19)
(15) Elina Svitolina (UKR #20)
(16) Barbora Strycova (CZE #21)
Doubles
(1) Serena Williams / Venus Williams (USA)
(2) Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)
(3) Chan Hao-Ching / Chan Yung-Jan (TPE)
(4) Garbiñe Muguruza / Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP)
(5) Timea Bacsinszky / Martina Hingis (SUI)
(6) Andrea Hlavackova / Lucie Hradecka (CZE)
(7) Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina (RUS)
(8) Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci (ITA)
Highlights from all the second round action on Day 3 of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Canada’s No.1 Eugenie Bouchard definitely shows her own style on the tennis court, but now it’s her off-court style that caught Vogue’s eye. The American fashion magazine named her as one of the five most stylish Olympic athletes to watch in Rio, and it’s no surprise why.
Here’s how the magazine described Genie’s famous street-style:
“With her all-Nike wardrobe, tennis ace Eugenie Bouchard displays plenty of style on the court, but during her off days she ditches the sporty gear for streetwise fashions. Often showing up in the kinds of limited-edition items that fashion insiders covet, Bouchard’s accessories game is on point. With a collection that includes Nike x Liberty trainers and straight-off-the-runway Chanel clutches, Bouchard understands the value of a statement piece.”
Click here for the full list of Vogue’s most stylish Olympians, and while you’re at it check out a couple of Genie’s best style moments, courtesy of her Instagram account:
DUBAI, UAE – Lauren Davis secured a quarterfinal spot in her debut appearance at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, staging an impressive comeback to beat Ekaterina Makarova 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
“I love playing here – it’s my first time here in an amazing city…just the atmosphere here is so great,” the delighted American said in her on-court interview.
“I’m really happy with my persistence, resilience and how I handled myself despite losing a few games in a row.”
Comeback queen! ?@LaurenDavis93 comes from a set behind to beat Makarova 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 and reach @DDFTennis Quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/EpCGOYoSFb
— WTA (@WTA) February 22, 2017
It was an inconsistent display from both players. Makarova made the initial breakthrough in a seesaw first set, but Davis was resurgent in the second, combining exquisite use of the forehand with grit to get herself back on level terms, as her opponent’s game utterly collapsed.
The Russian took an eight-minute bathroom break before the decider, but it did not help her regroup; she remained lackadaisical when it came to capitalising on break points in the final set.
The 23-year-old American took advantage, wrapping up the match in one hour and 57 minutes. Her reward will be a last-eight clash with either Christina McHale or Elina Svitolina.
HOBART, Australia – Eugenie Bouchard battled past fellow former Top 10 player Dominika Cibulkova on Friday to reach the final of the Hobart International, her first WTA final since Wuhan in 2014.
The unseeded Bouchard, who had already taken out No.8 seed Alison Van Uytvanck and No.2 seed Camila Giorgi in the last two rounds, won the first set in just 22 minutes and was up a break four times in the second but ended up having to go to a third to edge the No.3-seeded Cibulkova, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
“I’m just happy I got through today,” Bouchard said. “The first set was a great level for me – I can’t remember the last time I played that well. Now the important thing is to keep that consistency. It was hard to keep it up – it’s another lesson I’ve learned, to control my emotions a little bit better.
“I don’t think I held serve in the second set, which is absolutely disgusting – I’m so disappointed in myself for that. But she was really putting pressure on me with her returns out there today.”
The 2014 Wimbledon finalist and former World No.5 has now won six of seven matches to start 2016.
She knew she was feeling good coming into Hobart – she spoke about it in her pre-tournament presser.
“I’m feeling pretty good. I wouldn’t want to play if I was somewhat prepared, so I worked really hard in the off-season to catch up a little bit,” Bouchard said. “I’m just so happy to be back on the court. That’s the most important thing – I’m so grateful and excited to be back playing on the tour again.
“I just love the feeling of playing tennis,” she added. “When you’re forced not to do something you really love, you realize you truly love it, and, for me, I realized how much I truly missed it.”
The other semifinal took place later in the afternoon and lasted 53 minutes, as No.7 seed Alizé Cornet held all seven of her service games and broke five times to beat Johanna Larsson, 6-1, 6-1.
Though Cornet is the higher-ranked of the two, No.42 to No.47, Bouchard leads the Frenchwoman in their head-to-head series, 2-1, winning their last two meetings in a row in straight sets, as well.
Cornet does have more experience in WTA finals though, going 4-5, while Bouchard is 1-3 lifetime.
Simona Halep completed her best month of the 2016 season with a second title in three weeks at the Rogers Cup – knocking out the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova, Angelique Kerber, and Madison Keys en route to her third title of the season.
“I mean, I’m tired. It’s normal,” she told press after the final. “I had so many matches here, tough matches, also emotional. Was not easy.”
Coming to Montréal after a winning week at home in Bucharest, Halep did double duty in Canada, playing singles and doubles with partner Monica Niculescu – reaching the final of both events with a win over reigning French Open champions Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in the latter.
“I had a lot of confidence coming here that I won five matches in a row in Bucharest.
“It was tough to come from the clay court to the hardcourt. But if I have confidence, I can play my game easy and I can win matches.
“Here I won matches with top players. That makes me more, like, happy and relaxed that I have a good level of tennis in this moment.”
Here more from Halep in the latest WTA Insider Podcast:
A good level might be an understatement for the young Romanian, who will ride a 10-match winning streak into the Western & Southern Open, a tournament where she reached the final in 2015. By her side will be coach Darren Cahill, whom she credits with her steady return to the form that took her as high as No.2 in the world.
“It helps me when he’s more relaxed than me; he just shows me that I have a good game and it’s good if I practice everything for the future, not just for the tournament.”
Back into the Top 3 for the first time since February, Halep did more than enough to earn her the mantle of July’s WTA Player of the Month!
Final Results for July’s WTA Player Of The Month
1. Simona Halep (84%)
2. Venus Williams (9%)
3. Johanna Konta (5%)
4. Madison Keys (2%)
2016 WTA Player of the Month Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
DUBAI, UAE – No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska’s Dubai campaign was cut short in the round of 16 after suffering one of the biggest upsets of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships against 17-year-old CiCi Bellis.
“I didn’t feel good from the beginning. I didn’t play really great, and I was trying everything. I did what I could today,” Radwanska told press after the defeat.
She added, “For me it was really hard to control the ball and make the angles. And also, my serve didn’t work at all. In those kind of tight matches, you need those things. When you don’t have it and you’re struggling pretty much from the beginning, then you have a problem.
“I was really struggling myself. I was really focusing on myself today, but I just wasn’t good enough.”
First Top 10 Win!
17 year old @CiciBellis99 knocks out 2012 champ Radwanska 6-4, 2-6, 6-2! #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/ggGOaQUEDO
— WTA (@WTA) February 22, 2017
Despite playing against an unseeded teenager, experience told Radwanska to be wary, especially with the way Bellis had climbed the rankings and made a name for herself toward the end of last season.
“I never really think of the seeds or unseeded players,” she explained. “In today’s tennis, we don’t have ‘easy draws’ or ‘open draws.’
“Maybe you can say this from an outside [point of view], but on the court, there’s nothing ‘open.'”
Radwanska had only words of praise for Bellis, who is the youngest member of the WTA Top 100 and the youngest player to defeat a Top 10 opponent since Belinda Bencic posted back to back wins over Angelique Kerber and Jelena Jankovic at the 2014 US Open.
“Very solid. Very consistent. She can really play good rallies with good intensity, and I think that’s a really good thing for that kind of young player. I think she was the best today.”
Putting the loss behind her, Radwanska plans to stop by her home in Poland for a couple of days before making the trip to California for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
MELBOURNE, Australia – On Friday, USANA & the WTA “celebrated” in Melbourne to a crowd of over 1,100 Associates – up a few hundred Associates from last year – at USANA Australia Celebration. Hometown favorite and 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur was joined by fellow USANA players Sloane Stephens and Zheng Saisai.
As part of a three-day event taking place at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, Stosur participated in an autograph session with the Associates, while Stephens and Zheng were on stage to speak about their career, motivations, and how USANA supplements have aided them in their athletic endeavors.
USANA is the Official Vitamin & Supplement Supplier of the WTA, and over 170 Athletes – including 8 out of the Top 10 and 15 out of the Top 20 use USANA products. Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, Genie Bouchard, and Madison Keys are among several USANA ambassadors, and 2016 marks the 10th Anniversary of the USANA-WTA partnership.
Check out some photos from the celebratory event:
All photos courtesy of USANA.