Tennis News

WUHAN, China – No.3 seeds Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova reached their third final in four events together at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, defeating No.6 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-3, 7-6(6), and No.2 seeds Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan, 6-4, 3-6, 10-7, back-to-back to book a championship match against No.5 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova.

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

Rained out on Thursday, Mirza and Strycova edged past Babos and Shvedova, who needed to win Wuhan to confirm their place in the WTA Finals, and recovered from a second set wobble to dispatch the Chan sisters to reach the championship match over the reigning US Open winners. Strycova has dealt with an especially busy week, having played two singles matches yesterday on her way to a quarterfinal finish.

“So we are obviously very happy to be in our third final together,” Mirza said after the match. “The schedule has been really tough – especially for Barbora – but we are fighting every point and every match and enjoying ourselves playing together.”

Mirza and Strycova first paired up en route to a winning week at the Western & Southern Open, and have lost just one match since then, taking the Toray Pan Pacific Open and winning three more matches in Wuhan over two pairs hoping to book their spot at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

By reaching final at @wuhanopentennis Mirza/Strycova move to No.11 on #RoadToSingapore Leaderboard. Can move to No.9 with title https://t.co/GZbcuGkWCF

— Kevin Fischer (@Kfish_WTA) September 30, 2016

The World No.1 qualified first for Singapore with former partner Martina Hingis back in May, but the results with Strycova put her new partnership up to No.11 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard; a win in the final over Mattek-Sands and Safarova would bump them up to No.9. Should Mirza qualify with both teams, the doubles threat could earn the right to play with either Strycova or Hingis – with whom she won the title last year.

Mattek-Sands and Safarova had to do double duty on Thursday, winning their second round and quarterfinal rounds in straight sets; the team was equally imperious on Friday against Christina McHale and Peng Shuai, winning, 6-4, 6-3. Playing their first tournament since winning their third Grand Slam title, team “Bucie” are on a nine-match winning streak and are currently in pole position make their second straight appearance in Singapore.

The WTA’s all-star cast battle it out for wins, titles and ranking points all year long – but who is getting the most clicks? This week, wtatennis.com will count down the Top 50 Most Popular Players Of 2016.

Next on the list will be No.20 to No.11! Find out who made the cut…

20. Martina Hingis (SUI)
The third act of Hingis’ Hall Of Fame career brought six more doubles titles – including the Australian Open – alongside Sania Mirza in 2016, and a whole raft of new fans.

19. Belinda Bencic (SUI)
Hingis’ one-time protégé Bencic is proving to be another hit with tennis fans across the globe, despite an injury-hit season.

18. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
Ivanovic also ensured an ongoing fitness battle in 2016, but it does not appear to have affected her status in the hearts of the tennis-following public.

17. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
Kuznetsova’s resurgence was one of the feel-good stories of the year, titles in Sydney and Moscow securing a return to the Top 10 and WTA Finals.

16. Petra Kvitova (CZE)
After a slow start, Kvitova turned on the style in Asia, providing a timely reminder of her undoubted brilliance with dominant triumphs in first Wuhan then Zhuhai.

15. Madison Keys (USA)
Keys’ star continued to rise in 2016, victory on the lawns of Birmingham helping her crack the Top 10 for the first time.

14. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
The ever-popular Wozniacki continues to factor at the business end of tennis’ showpiece events, as she proved by reaching the semifinals of the US Open.

13. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
There has never been any doubting Cibulkova’s ability, and with her Achilles problems now a distant memory she made good on her potential by winning Katowice, Eastbourne, Linz and, most memorably, the WTA Finals.

12. Venus Williams (USA)
Even in the twilight of her wonderful career, Williams remains as popular as ever, giving her fans reason to cheer at the Rio Olympics when she teamed up with Rajeev Ram to win mixed doubles silver – her fifth medal at the Olympics.

11. Maria Sharapova (RUS)
To the delight of her army of loyal followers, Sharapova will make her much-anticipated return to action in spring 2017.

Come back to wtatennis.com on Friday for No.20 to No.11 on the list…

BEIJING, China – The BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global is just under three weeks away, and with just three of the Top 8 players have already been determined in singles – while four teams have qualified in doubles – the China Open will be a crucial battleground for those aiming to earn enough points to book their ticket to Singapore.

The conclusion of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open saw Simona Halep become the third woman to qualify for Singapore after her run to the semifinals. For the Romanian, it marks the third straight year she has qualified for Singapore, having reached the final on her 2014 debut.

In doubles, darkhorses Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova flipped the script in Wuhan by clinching their spot at the WTA Finals by winning the doubles event over a surging Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova. Mirza and Strycova remain outside the Top 8 since forming at the Western & Southern Open, and will need a strong result in Beijing to have a hope of crashing a party the World No.1 herself is already set to attend with former partner, Martina Hingis.

As the China Open enters its third round, defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska is a win away from returning to Singapore and making her eighth WTA Finals appearance in the last nine years after knocking out Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets. Currently into the second round in Beijing, Karolina Pliskova could also make her WTA Finals debut by reaching the last eight.

2015 semifinalist Garbiñe Muguruza is very much in the hunt for a return to Singapore of her own, and could book her spot by reaching the final.

Click here to check out a full list of senarios, here for the updated Road to Singapore leaderboard and here to buy tickets for the WTA Finals!

If there’s one thing that Serena Williams probably loves more than winning, it’s tacos.

Despite holding a record-tying number of Grand Slam titles and consecutive weeks at the WTA’s top spot, it’s tacos – not trophies – that are on her mind all day, every day.

 Good thing for Serena that there’s a whole holiday dedicated to her favorite food: National Taco Day. But if you’re Serena Williams, clearly every day is National Taco Day.

Her love for tacos runs deep, as USA Today’s Nick McCarvel uncovered earlier this year.

Before she had her first taste of Grand Slam victory, Serena had already developed a taste for the delicious Mexican dish.

“I’m from Compton and there is a big mixture of cultures there,” Serena said before the US Open. “I grew up next to all of these Mexican families and we were close with them when I was little, we were friends. I think that’s where my love for tacos comes from.”

 
Whenever she’s not eating or thinking about tacos, Serena spends her free time lovingly photographing them for her Instagram account.

Serena’s been around the world and obviously has tried many a taco, but the quest for finding the perfect one is lifelong.

Happy National Taco Day, Serena!

Taco Talk With Serena:

Q: What’s your favorite taco place?

I never thought I would say this. But I found the best tacos in West Palm. I can't stop thinking about them. ?

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) September 17, 2016

Q: Who makes the best taco?

“I make the best taco,” Serena claimed. “Or my sister Lyn. If you ever watch my Snapchat, you know I don’t talk about my taco recipes.”

“I don’t taco about it.”

Q: What’s your favorite kind of taco?