Tennis News

Carla Suárez Navarro

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.13
Year-End Ranking: No.12 (Career-High No.6, 2/29/2016)
Season Highlights: Title at Doha
Best Major Result: QF (Australian Open)

12 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/4HCCfhp92B

— WTA (@WTA) December 20, 2016

2017 Outlook

Having earned herself a place on tennis’ top table last year, 2016 saw Carla Suárez Navarro consolidate her place among the game’s elite. The Spaniard set the tone for a campaign characterized by its consistency in January, following up a semifinal in Brisbane by returning to the last eight of the Australian Open where her run was halted by an inspired Agnieszka Radwanska.

This good form continued as the tour moved to the Middle East, where she made the latest breakthrough of her career, lifting the prestigious Premier 5 Qatar Open. This result lifted her to a new high ranking of No.6 and while she was unable to scale her usual heights on the European clay, appearances in the second week at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open maintained this Top 10 status.

Suárez Navarro looked well-placed to cap off the year with a singles debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, but – just as 12 months earlier – it was not to be, injury ultimately curtailing her chances. 

“The season is from January to October. There were a lot of good things in the middle of the year,” coach Marc Casabó said following her withdrawal from the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “Going again to Asia being eight and with options to get into Singapore is a good note. And we should value the whole year as a whole. The blow is great because we all thought it would be there. But it’s been a growing season. “

A refreshed Suárez Navarro will begin 2017 in Brisbane, once more, lining up alongside eight other members of the Top 20.

Johanna Konta

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.47
Year-End Ranking: No.10 (Career-High No.9, 10/10/2016)
Season Highlights: Title at Stanford
Best Major Result: SF (Australian Open)

10 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/BLzBZliR05

— WTA (@WTA) December 22, 2016

2017 Outlook

Johanna Konta’s first off-season as a member of the Top 10 has been nothing if not eventful. Following the conclusion of a year that brought 46 wins, one title and a jump of 37 places up the rankings, Konta was rocked by the death of mental coach Juan Coto, a significant figure in her spectacular rise.

Soon after, the Brit split from long-term coach Esteban Carril, before teaming up with the well-respected Wim Fissette for a trial period at the National Tennis Centre at Roehampton. Fissette has an excellent record, having taken three of his previous charges to a Grand Slam final.

Konta will hope the new arrangement will elevate her game to the next level. “I guess he’s been on the tour for quite some time, so I’m definitely looking forward to being a sponge and absorbing as much of his experience and knowledge through the years,” she said in an interview with The Independent. “He’s been with Kim and some of the players I’m currently playing against. Again, it’s early days. I think there’s only so much that you can feel out in the training block, and then the year starts. That’s when you really feel how you get along.”

“I am a firm believer – and this applies to every single team member – that I’m looking for a partner. I like working together harmoniously. I like being involved in my own development, having my input. It’s basically about a partnership more than anything.”

The pair will begin this partnership at the season-opening Shenzhen Open, before rounding off preparations for the Australian Open at the Apia International Sydney.

Madison Keys

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.18
Year-End Ranking: No.8 (Career-High No.7, 10/10/2016)
Season Highlights: Title at Birmingham
Best Major Result: Fourth Round (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open)

2017 Outlook

Earlier this week, Madison Keys announced via social media that she would be missing 2017’s first showpiece event, the Australian Open, following off-season surgery to her wrist.

And while there will be inevitable frustration when she is kicking her heels back home in January, the American is certainly not in the doldrums. The reason for her upbeat mood is her other big piece of festive season news: the decision to reunite with former World No.1 Lindsay Davenport.

In 2015, under Davenport’s tutelage, Keys made her breakthrough on tour, reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open and quarterfinals of Wimbledon. These showings, and her athletic game and potent serve, earned plenty of rave reviews, as well as some favorable comparisons with Davenport and the Williams sisters.

Since then, she has done nothing to discourage these parallels with her illustrious compatriots, making regular forays into the second week of the majors. The 22-year-old’s recovery will prevent her from doing so again in Melbourne – a short-term setback which could well pay dividends down the line.   

“Three days after the year-end WTA Championships, I had minor arthroscopic surgery on my left wrist,” Keys said on Twitter. “The procedure was very short, did not involve any tendon issues and went very well.

“I just don’t want to rush back and need to take my time to be fully ready to perform my best on the court.”

The extra time training under Davenport’s watchful eye stateside is sure to help fine-tune her game. And such are the standards at the top of the game, she will need to scale new heights if she is to take the next step, namely, a place in the Top 5 and lifting some major silverware.

“I am very excited to be working with Lindsay again as she’s helped me reach great results in the past and we make an excellent team,” Keys added.

“While I’ve been training with Lindsay and at USTA in Orlando for a few weeks, I don’t want to rush back and need to take my time to be fully able to perform at my best on court.”

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Sloane Stephens is into her first WTA singles final on clay after the defending champion Angelique Kerber saw herself forced to retire, 6-1, 3-0, in the semifinals of the Volvo Car Open.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!

“It’s been a little tough out here but I’m happy to be through to the final,” Stephens said. “It’s sad that it had to be that way. It’s not the way I’d wanted it.

“I wish Angie a speedy recovery – she’s a really nice girl and a really great player.”

Stephens, who already has two titles in 2016 with wins at Auckland and Acapulco, took the first set after a dominating 24 minutes, outhitting a sluggish Kerber. The American scored 10 winners and hit just two unforced errors, while the out-of-sorts Kerber hit just seven winners to 10 unforced errors.

After consulting with the trainer and doctor, Kerber took the court again after a lengthy break trailing a set and 2-0. She was forced to retire from the match after one more game due to viral illness, sending Stephens into the Volvo Car Open final.

“When I was warming up this morning, I felt a little bit like something is wrong,” Kerber said afterwards. “I was thinking that when I’m going on court, the energy will come back and I will feel okay.But after the first few games in the first set I was feeling that, yeah, something is not good.”

Back into a WTA final, Stephens is putting a rough four-week stretch behind her. Despite the roaring start to her 2016 season that saw her claim two titles, she lost in straight sets at the last two tournaments she’s played before heading to the green clay at Charleston.

“Making a final is making a final, but I think there’s kind of a buildup to that,” Stephens said. “It wasn’t just because of today she wasn’t feeling well.I think the matches I played previously, like yesterday I was down a match point and things like that.

“Today I was just looking forward to getting out there, and the same I’ll do tomorrow, just looking forward to getting back on the court.”

Reach a first #VCO2016 final: ✔️
Make fans happy: ✔️
Smile like a toothpaste model: ✔️

Goals. @SloaneStephens pic.twitter.com/on1G8RwwNk

— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 9, 2016

Joining Stephens in the Volvo Car Open final is Russian qualifier Elena Vesnina, who’s into her first WTA singles final since 2013 after battling past Sara Errani 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

Vesnina had a tough 2015 season, recording 13 first-round losses (across all levels), but 2016 has seen her come up from the qualifying rounds to score consistent main draw wins. Playing in her first semifinal of the year, former No.21 Vesnina found herself up against Errani, a clay court heavyweight – seven of the Italian’s nine titles have been won on clay, along with 12 of her 19 finals appearances.

“I had some great memories from being in that final five years ago, and I knew that I can do that again,” Vesnina said. “But of course, I knew that it was going to be very difficult coming from the qualifying.I was just thinking match by match, to improve my game on the clay.

“I’m pretty impressed with my game level, today as well because Sara is a clay court specialist. She had most of her wins on this surface and she really understands the strategy on this surface.”

Errani applied her tried-and-true clay court prowess early on, breaking Vesnina’s serve to go up a 3-1 lead. Vesnina got the break back to level up the score at 4-4, and her sudden changes of pace gave the Italian trouble, winning the first set with a drop shot that barely edged over the net.

A drawn out battle at 3-3 in the second set changed the momentum for Errani, giving her a lead to take back the second set. In the decider, Vesnina was more focused and sharper on the big points; she created and converted more break chances – three conversions for five chances – than Errani.

“It’s going to be a little bit different match tomorrow against Sloane because Sloane is playing in a different style than Sara,” Vesnina said. “It’s going to be difficult to show the same level in the final, and in general in the finals it’s really difficult to show your best tennis.

“You need to be solid.You need to be consistent.You need to come on the court and you have to know what you have to do there.

“So you have to be ready, and hopefully tomorrow it will be a great match between me and Sloane.”

? ? ? pic.twitter.com/dCcUMulD3u

— WTA (@WTA) April 9, 2016