Tennis News

Same name, same game? Not if you’re Daria Gavrilova and Daria Kasatkina, two of the most impressive young risers of the 2016 season.

Each have earned career-high rankings this year despite a fire and ice on-court contrast. Gavrilova’s boundless energy and big cuts at the ball have earned her big wins over Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep. Kasatkina’s steadier rise and smoother swings helped her begin the season by beating Venus Williams and Timea Bacsinszky.

Off the court, the pair are completely in-sync, finishing each others sentences and joking about everything from their first meeting on the singles court at last year’s US Open to their decision to play doubles this summer. Celebrate the one-year friendaversary of “The Dashas” – or Dasha and DashKa – courtesy of a chat with WTA Insider, held after their first round win over Gabriela Dabrowski and María José Martínez Sánchez:

Huge thanks to @CincyTennis for giving @DKasatkina and I a WC into doubles! pic.twitter.com/4nKfFodQtV

— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) August 15, 2016

On how they met…

GAVRILOVA: Well, I was meant to play Maria Sharapova…
KASATKINA: It’s a nice story! I got lucky loser.
GAVRILOVA: She got a lucky loser, and I only found out two hours before I was going to bed, and I was like, ‘Who is this girl?’ I had no idea.
KASATKINA: I knew her for a lot of years, and she didn’t remember.
GAVRILOVA: She was telling me that she and her brother both knew me.
KASATKINA: Short memory; it’s ok, Dasha!
GAVRILOVA: They were watching me when I was younger.
KASATKINA: Oh yes, we were big fans!
GAVRILOVA: After the French Open this year, we decided to play doubles together.
KASATKINA: No! I think at the end of the year, we’d already started talking about it…
GAVRILOVA: But at the time, I was set with Svitolina and she was playing with Vesnina. So we were thinking, ‘What are we going to do?’
KASATKINA: We started at Wimbledon.
GAVRILOVA: We did all right there.
KASATKINA: We did two rounds!

On becoming friends…

GAVRILOVA: First, we said hello to each other last year. After I lost to her, I came up and said, ‘Hey Dasha, good luck tomorrow!’ But she was so scared of me. She was shy.
KASATKINA: Because after the match, you went off the court and you started to scream at your coach.
GAVRILOVA: She was 18 and super new on tour. She was scared of everything…
KASATKINA: …And she was so experienced already.
GAVRILOVA: Our match was a big battle, and I had a few tough calls there.
KASATKINA: It was such big motivation for me; I had to take my chances.
GAVRILOVA: But I went up to her after the match because I’m kind of normal, I guess.
KASATKINA: And I was still under pressure, saying, ‘Thank you.’
GAVRILOVA: Now we practice more together with the doubles and stuff. But Montréal was our first singles practice. In Indian Wells, we still didn’t really know each other much. I don’t know when we started hanging out.
KASATKINA: I’m not sure either. Little by little.

@DKasatkina was very keen for some sushi ???? pic.twitter.com/aSeleaXKNm

— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) July 23, 2016

On whether they talk tennis…

KASATKINA: This year, I asked her what it’s like to defend points, because of Rome.
GAVRILOVA: I did all right there.
KASATKINA: You made it pretty good.
GAVRILOVA: But her coach is experienced, so he gives good advice.
KASATKINA: My coach, he is. He is.

On doubles strategy…

GAVRILOVA: Well, we know we’re good from the baseline…
KASATKINA: You mean good from behind?
GAVRILOVA: And at Wimbledon, it really works, you know, to just grind on the grass.
KASATKINA: Yeah, it really works. Spin the ball, kick serve.
GAVRILOVA: We probably do a lot more of standing across from each other at the baseline, more than other doubles teams.
KASATKINA: But now we’re starting to play more of a doubles game. More normal.

On beating doubles specialists in their first round…

GAVRILOVA: I’d played them at the French Open with Elina, so I kind of knew what to expect. Our coaches studied them a little bit. We knew what was coming, so we played to our strengths. Yesterday we practiced for two hours…
KASATKINA: Only doubles.
GAVRILOVA: We didn’t really have a chance to practice doubles. Before Montréal, we got a wildcard and didn’t have to do anything.
KASATKINA: Montréal? Cincinnati!
GAVRILOVA: Oh, Cincinnati, yeah.
KASATKINA: Before the Olympics, we didn’t play doubles because of that. So I played with a Russian player. Dasha had to play with Australian player.
GAVRILOVA: So in our first match Cincinnati, we didn’t know what was happening, or what to do.
KASATKINA: We played not so good.
GAVRILOVA: But now that we’re doing some doubles training, we’ll get our stuff together.

Dasha squared… love them! pic.twitter.com/T3BYQXXYp0

— James Peeling (@Moo_Tennis) September 1, 2016

On doubles helping singles…

GAVRILOVA: Well, after losing in the first round, we were really excited to be playing doubles!
KASATKINA: Hey, our singles matches were very good!
GAVRILOVA: No, we saw each other in the locker room. I think I finished just before her…
KASATKINA: I came into the changing room, and she was sitting, talking on the phone. I looked at her; she looked at me.
GAVRILOVA: We just gave each other a big hug.
KASATKINA: And time stops!
GAVRILOVA: We hugged for like 10 minutes, sitting there like, ‘Oh, man…’
KASATKINA: It was so bad, asking each other what happened in our matches.
GAVRILOVA: We were complaining like, ‘I worked so hard,’ and she was saying, ‘I did too.’ We didn’t talk about doubles though.
KASATKINA: We forgot about doubles.
GAVRILOVA: But we had dinner together – actually, she’d already had dinner, but we hung out after for a little bit.
KASATKINA: We had a little lemonade!
GAVRILOVA: We ordered lemonade, asking like, ‘There is no alcohol, right?’ So we had to have two lemonades.
KASATKINA: The lady comes and asks us what we want to drink; they had Sprite, and the lemonade.
GAVRILOVA: She told us it was French, and I was like, ‘It’s not champagne, right?’ They said no, and we were like, ‘Great!’

Follow Dasha on Twitter @Daria_gav, and DashKa on Twitter @DKasatkina.

Carla Suárez Navarro won the biggest title of her career on Saturday, beating 18-year-old Jelena Ostapenko 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 to win the Qatar Total Open. The title was Suárez Navarro’s second in her career and boosts her up to a career-high No.6 in the rankings – and No.2 in the Road to Singapore standings.

It was a busy but successful week for the Spaniard in Doha, who also made the doubles final with Sara Errani. The 27-year-old has once again started the season well, having made the semifinals at the Brisbane International, quarterfinals at the Australian Open, and capping off the first two months of the season with the big win in Doha. En route to the title, Suárez Navarro stunned No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals, 6-2, 6-0, avenging a straight set loss in Melbourne, and then rallied from a set down to stop Ostapenko’s precocious charge towards her first title.

WTA Insider caught up with Suárez Navarro after a long day of back-to-back finals, to talk about her her renewed sense of calm and ambition in 2016.

WTA Insider: So be honest: how tired are you?
Suárez Navarro: I feel really tired. I played five days, two matches every day, long days. But I’m really really happy.

Insider: I wanted to talk first about your mentality. The first set went by very quickly. What were you telling yourself after losing the first set 6-1?
Suárez Navarro: I started a little bit nervous. She played really fast and with no pressure. But when I finished the first set I just tried to listen to my coach, what he said to me. I just believed, I fought until the end. I had a really good comeback in the end.

Insider: It was a similar match to when you beat Daria Gavrilova at the Australian Open, when you lost the first set 6-0 but went on to win. What improvements have you made mentally that has helped you get through matches like this?
Suárez Navarro: I want to learn about all these matches. I lost in some matches the first set so easy. Sometimes it’s because my opponent played good, but sometimes it’s because I don’t start with the focus, the intensity that the match needed. Then I have to come back. Sometimes it’s not easy. I have to work with my mind, with my mentality, to try and start better in these kinds of matches.

Insider: When you play against a player like Ostapenko, who was hitting so many winners, I thought you would get more defensive in the second set. But you actually got more aggressive.
Suárez Navarro: Yeah.

Insider: That was surprising.
Suárez Navarro: It was a combination of both. I was at the back of the court, but I was also playing aggressive. I had to be there running and taking the time a little bit because she was playing fast and it’s not easy when they play fast to me. I stayed a little bit more in the back of the court but when I had to play aggressive I hit some really good points.

Insider: You said in January that your big goal for this year was to be more aggressive. Was today an example of that?
Suárez Navarro: Not at the first set, but I think in the final set I played really aggressive. With my backhand I played more aggressive than with my forehand. I felt more confident today at the end of the match with my backhand. That helped me win the match.

Insider: Last year you were incredibly consistent in the first half of the year. This year you said you wanted to focus more on the big tournaments. How successful have you been with that?
Suárez Navarro: I started really good in Melbourne. I had good matches there. I lost to Aga. I want to take the experience of last year to play better in the Grand Slams. The Grand Slams are really important tournaments and when you are in the Top 20, you want to win good tournaments, big tournaments. You have to be there. I think the key is working and practicing really hard.

Insider: What does winning Doha, the biggest title of your career, mean to you?
Suárez Navarro: It’s special. I lost three finals the last year and it’s my second title. It’s a good feeling. I feel good, I feel happy.

Insider: At the start of the year you said your goal was to get into the Top 5. You’re up to No.6 now. Do you feel like a Top 5 player right now?
Suárez Navarro: I feel really, really close. I know all the top players, I know if you want to be in the Top 5 you have to have good tournaments like this or like Melbourne to take points. Also, at the tournaments where there are all the top players, I know I’m close. But I know the year is very long. I want to take the experience of last year where I start really good but I lost confidence a little bit and I couldn’t end the year inside the Top 10. But I know the key and I know the things I have to do to be there. But I’m really excited about No.6 and I’m really close to No.5.

Insider: Do you think that experience paid off today against Ostapenko?
Suárez Navarro: Yeah, for sure. She’s young. I was young in my years and I know how you feel when you have to finish the match, no? It’s not easy in the final. For sure the experience was one of the keys of the night.

Insider: Are you going to give your sports psychologist a bonus for some of the work you guys have done together? It seems mentally you’re playing much stronger this year.
Suárez Navarro: Yeah (laughs). You have to take the experience and be stronger every day and every tournament. This is the way, this is the key. To feel good, feel healthy and stronger.

Insider: What are you going to do to celebrate?
Suárez Navarro: I don’t know (laughs}. Here, it’s too late. I will go to the hotel and try and have dinner there. Tomorrow I fly back home but I leave in the morning and I arrive in the night. It’s not an easy flight. I will celebrate tonight, but I want to sleep. My celebration will be on my bed.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

It’s time to vote for February’s WTA Player of the Month!

Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, March 4.

February 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists

Roberta Vinci: The 33-year-old Italian continued her career renaissance in February, all capped off when she became the oldest woman to make her Top 10 debut following a title run at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. No.2 seed in St. Petersburg, Vinci earned back-to-back wins over former No.1 Ana Ivanovic and top seeded Belinda Bencic, who recently became the youngest new member of the Top 10 in six years. A finalist at last year’s US Open, Vinci played some spectacular tennis through the Middle Eastern Swing, as well, narrowly losing a classic to World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska in Doha.

Sara Errani: Not to be outdone, Errani displayed vintage form through the Middle East Swing, winning the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships over Barbora Strycova in the final. Playing doubles with Carla Suárez Navarro, Errani also excelled on the doubles court, reaching the semis in Dubai and the final at the Qatar Total Open, losing to sisters Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan. Her run in Dubai brought her back into the Top 20 and her highest ranking since last August at No.17.

Carla Suárez Navarro: The Spaniard ended the Middle East Swing with a bang – and a win in Doha – defeating 18-year-old Jelena Ostapenko, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the final. Along with her solid doubles results, Suárez Navarro dropped just two games against Radwanska in the semifinals, and rocketed up to a career-high ranking of No.6. The veteran declared a Top 5 ranking to be her goal in 2016, and has nearly accomplished that feat in two months following a strong start to the season that also saw her reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. 

2016 Winners

January: Angelique Kerber

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Just over a month ago, Karolina Pliskova was ranked No.17 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard. Coming out of a career-best stretch of results this summer, the Czech powerhouse moved up a whopping 13 spots to find herself at No.4.

Pliskova fell agonizingly short of making a BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global debut in 2015, remaining in contention all the way until the last week of the season. Looking out of the mix by the middle of the Emirates Airline US Open Series, things turned around in a big way for the 24-year-old, who won the biggest title of her career at the Western & Southern Open and beat both Williams sisters en route to her first Grand Slam final at the US Open.

The Czech finished second to new World No.1 Angelique Kerber, who also reclaimed the top spot on the Road to Singapore leaderboard. Kerber captured her second Grand Slam title of the 2016 season in her third final appearance, and qualified for what will be her fourth appearance at the WTA Finals just before the start of the US Open.

Johanna Konta repeated her fourth round finish in Flushing, and moved up one spot to No.10 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard. Petra Kvitova moved up four spots to No.21 after her run into the second week.

In doubles, US Open finalists Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic moved up to the top spot, supplanting year-long No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. Both teams have already qualified for Singapore, and will be joined by No.3 team and Olympic Gold medalists Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. Read more about their qualification here.

Check out the full Road to Singapore leaderboard below: