Tennis News

ZHUHAI, China – Three of the four semifinal spots at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai could be decided as Elina Svitolina, Elena Vesnina and Sam Stosur take the court on Day 3. Preview all the singles action right here on wtatennis.com!

Thursday

Camellia Group

[13/Alt] Timea Babos (HUN #25) vs [12/WC] Zhang Shuai (CHN #28)
Head-to-head: Babos leads 1-0 (first meeting at tour level)
Stat: Zhang can advance to semifinals if she wins four games

The two lowest-ranked players at the WTA Elite Trophy will meet on Thursday with the same goal in mind, but facing very different scenarios. Last-minute singles alternate Timea Babos sits at the bottom of her group after suffering a straight sets defeat against Timea Bacsinszky, but she would have to pull off a massive performance in to advance to the semifinals. Her opponent, Zhang Shuai, needs to win just four games in order to clinch the Camellia Group semifinal spot. And considering the way China’s Zhang was able to leverage the support of her home fans in her 6-1, 6-1 thumping of Bacsinszky, Babos seems to be facing an uphill battle.

Azalea Group

[8] Sam Stosur (AUS #20) vs [11] Caroline Garcia (FRA #23)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Stat: Garcia owns a 1-7 record against Top 20 opponents in 2016

After suffering a straight-sets defeat against Britain’s Johanna Konta, Sam Stosur has one last shot to keep her semifinal hopes alive in Zhuhai. She’s up against Caroline Garcia and needs to win without dropping a set in order to stay alive in the Azalea Group. Stosur is more battle-tested than Frenchwoman, who is making her Zhuhai debut on Thursday, but she can’t afford another slow start against her big-hitting opponent.

“I’m playing another player I have never played before, so that’s I guess kind of unique these days out on tour,” Stosur mused in her post-match press conference. “I know that she plays aggressive tennis, got a big serve, really goes for it. She hits the ball hard.

“In a lot of ways it’s kind of similar to [playing Konta]. I need to, no doubt, get off to better starts. You can’t be giving these girls head starts by four games and expect to be able to come back every single time.”

Rose Group

[4] Elina Svitolina (UKR #14) vs [7] Elena Vesnina (RUS #19)
Head-to-head: Vesnina leads 2-1
Stat: Svitolina needs to win against Vesnina to advance to semifinals

Elena Vesnina is flying high after her doubles victory at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, but she’ll have to hit the ground running in her first singles match at Zhuhai. Her opponent, Elina Svitolina, has her work cut out for her; she needs to beat Svitolina in order to advance to the semifinals, but Vesnina could knock her out if she wins in straight sets.

“[Vesnina] of course really confident, I think, at the moment after winning doubles in Singapore,” Svitolina assessed in her post-match press conference. “I will try just to stick to my game. It’s a new match, new challenge. There will be new opportunities. I will try to create of course opportunities for myself.”

Semifinal Scenarios
Camellia Group: Zhang advances if she wins 4 games vs. Babos on Thursday
Peony Group: Winner of Strycova vs Kvitova (on Friday) advances
Azalea Group: Stosur (vs. Garcia on Thursday) needs to win in straight sets to keep chances of advancing alive.
Rose Group: Svitolina advances with a win over Vesnina on Thursday. If Vesnina wins in straight sets, then Svitolina is out, with Friday’s match between Bertens and Vesnina determining the group winner; Bertens would need to win in straight sets to win the group.

TOKYO, Japan – No.7 seed Christina McHale survived a late wobble to defeat Kateryna Kozlova and take her place in the second round of the Hashimoto Sogyo Japan Women’s Open Tennis.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

In her first match since a disappointing second-round defeat to Roberta Vinci at the US Open, McHale looked to have weathered to storm when she broke for a 5-3 in the deciding set. However, Kozlova had no intention of going quietly, promptly breaking back to ensure a tense finish.

McHale regrouped to force a tie-break and despite spurning two match points, closed out a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory after almost three hours on court.

Elsewhere, there were mixed fortunes for the draws other seeds as Zhang Shuai came through her own rollercoaster, while Kateryna Bondarenko and Madison Brengle fell at the first hurdle.

Taking on wildcard Eri Hozumi and the home crowd, Zhang recovered from a slow start to both the first set, then a second set whitewash before ultimately prevailing, 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-3.

Bondarenko, the No.8 seed, was edged out by Louisa Chirico, 6-4, 7-5, while No.5 seed Brengle lost the final four games to slip to a 6-1, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Jana Cepelova.

The remaining seeds will all be in action on Tuesday, including last year’s winner, Yanina Wickmayer and home favorite Misaki Doi, who begins her bid to become the tournament’s first Japanese champion against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. 

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Simona Halep faces a daunting challenge if she is to become the second player to successfully defend her crown at the BNP Paribas Open.

In the event’s 27-year history, only the great Martina Navratilova has won back-to-back titles. Halep’s hopes of following in these legendary footsteps were done no favors during Monday afternoon’s draw, which placed her in a treacherous top quarter.

All 32 seeds receive a first-round bye and Halep’s opening match will be against either Vania King or a qualifier.The mercurial Ekaterina Makarova, who famously upset Halep at the 2015  Australian Open, is seeded to be her third-round opponent.

Should she pass these early tests, then in all likelihood the Romanian will have to run the Williams gauntlet; Venus Williams is Halep’s projected fourth round foe, with top seed Serena Williams likely to be lying in wait in the quarterfinals. Only seven players have succeeded in beating both sisters at the same tournament, Jelena Jankovic being the most recent, at Rome in 2010. 

Twelve months ago, Serena made her much-publicized return to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and her move prompted Venus to follow suit. Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova are also in the top half, both of whom will be wise not to look too far ahead.

In a section that includes Svetlana Kuznetsova, Monica Niculescu, Heather Watson and last year’s runner-up, Jelena Jankovic, No.3 seed Radwanska’s most pressing concern will be the possible second-round banana skin against Dominika Cibulkova.

Keeping Kvitova company are Fed Cup teammate Lucie Safarova and fellow big-hitters Madison Keys and Sabine Lisicki. 

No.2 seed Angelique Kerber finds herself in the less threatening bottom half, although her recent Doha hiccup will surely safeguard against complacency.

Barring upsets, Kerber and Carla Suárez Navarro are set to lock horns in the last eight, while two of the WTA’s new kids on the block, Garbiñe Muguruza and Belinda Bencic, are the leading seeds in the other quarter.

Click here to see the full draw.

TOKYO, Japan – World No.107 Aliaksandra Sasnovich caused the first major shock of this year’s Toray Pan Pacific Open, knocking out No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova in straight sets.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Less than a fortnight after contesting the US Open final, Pliskova was brought down to earth with a bump, slipping to a 6-4, 6-2 defeat in little over an hour.

“I was expecting now to be going to Wuhan for the next tournament because I know Karolina is a really good player and I didn’t expect to win today,” Sasnovich said. “But you know it’s life and it’s tennis, the ball is round!”

Sasnovich’s reward for her maiden Top 10 win is a meeting with home favorite Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals.

“I have a lot of emotion. It was my first win over a Top 10 player, I’m really happy with it and looking forward to the next round,” she added.

Joining her there will be fellow qualifier Magda Linette, who saved two match points to defeat Yulia Putintseva, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

More to follow…