Tennis News

The opening service games of the season have been full of surprises, but with her booming delivery, World No.45 Timea Babos has been holding comfortably thus far in 2016.

“It’s my strongest shot,” she told WTA Insider before her first round match at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme. “I like to play aggressive tennis, and it helps to be aggressive with a good serve.”

Babos has hit a tour-leading 76 aces through 12 matches, a stat that has helped her halve her ranking in a matter of weeks – shattering a former career-high of No.59 – and earn big wins over the likes of Sara Errani and Eugenie Bouchard.

“So far, it’s all working really well because I’m improving and enjoying my tennis a lot. I’m so motivated, and it’s all just getting better and better.”

The former junior prodigy has always excelled in doubles, winning three girl’s doubles majors with Sloane Stephens and finishing one match shy of Wimbledon glory in 2014 with Kristina Mladenovic. A strong season with the Frenchwoman – one that included a rare win over Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza – booked the heavy-hitting Hungarian her debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last fall.

“The atmosphere was unbelievable; all of the luxuries and spectacle there are definitely worth working towards. I was really excited, proud and honored to be there, and I think it was a good experience.

“I’m still learning a lot, day by day at my age. I’m only 22, so it’s been a good process and I’m ‘processing’ in every way. It can be motivating – although I think I’m already pretty motivated,” she added with a laugh. “But it can just motivate me that much more, that it’s really worth the work every day knowing that, if you work hard, you can reach the highest levels.”

Babos’ brush with the big stage in Singapore left her with renewed determination to restore the balance between her disparate singles and doubles rankings, opting to further extend her season by playing pair of WTA 125K Series Tournaments in Asia – winning one in Taipei.

“Last year we had big goals in doubles. Obviously, I also had goals with singles, but Singapore was one of the main focuses. During the year, I couldn’t play all the singles tournaments I would have wanted because of doubles, and it wasn’t easy to make a good schedule with my singles ranking and with my doubles ranking combined.

“After Singapore, I thought it would be good to finish the year strong and try to make it easier to schedule tournaments from the beginning of the year. Thankfully everything went well, and it’s true: it’s a lot easier to make a schedule when you have a better ranking in both!”

She took that momentum into a productive (albeit unusually truncated) off-season with longtime coach Thomas Drouet – who led Marion Bartoli through a victorious Wimbledon fortnight in 2013 – and rang in the New Year with a run to the semifinals of the Shenzhen Open.

“We had our two-year ‘anniversary’ – if you could call it that – on the 19th of February, and it’s going really, really well. I enjoy working with him and I’ve learned a lot; he’s worked with top players before and has had many good results. He’s helped me a lot to improve every day, and we enjoy our job together.

“We like to step on court every day, even if it’s seven in the morning or 10 at night. Whenever we’re on court, we just try our best to improve.”

The improvements have been particularly evident on serve, which has evolved from a strength to a true weapon, the cornerstone of an all-out offensive strategy.

“We changed my technique a little bit, and it’s working out well. I’m more consistent with my first serve percentage, and more accurate with my spots. This is my strength, and my most confident shot. If I really trust in it, I can build my game around it, so I think it can give me a good base.”

Holding serve nearly 80% of the time, Babos draws inspiration from World No.1 Serena Williams as she grows more adept at using the shot to stand up to high-pressure situations – saving 65% of all break points faced this season.

“If you look at Serena, she might not always at her best from the baseline, but her serve is so unbelievable that it can cause trouble for everyone, and it also takes her out trouble. It can be an important shot.”

Hers has been key to this vein of consistency, as the big server comes to Monterrey with back-to-back wins at all but one of her tournaments in 2016 – the Australian Open, where she reached the second round for the first time in her career.

“I wasn’t consistent enough, and this is what was missing from my game last year. Since October, I’ve moved up about 40 spots in the rankings, which is definitely a big improvement. I’ve had consistent results so far this year – nothing huge, but still more consistent as I continue to work a lot on both the physical and mental aspects of my game.”

This week in Monterrey represents a return to where it all began for Babos, who burst through a window of opportunity to capture her first title in back in 2012, upsetting former No.1 Ana Ivanovic en route to the quarterfinals 12 months later as the defending champion.

“I was last in because Serena pulled out at the last minute. The day before I didn’t even know I’d be competing, and then all of the sudden I was in the main draw, going on to win the singles. The year after I won again, in doubles.

“Every year I have good fun here, and I have good memories. I just like the place; there is a little bit of altitude, which I really, really like. I also love the food, especially guacamole! This is one thing that makes me happy every day that I can have it.

“It all comes together, and so I’m really happy to come back and play here because of the good memories I have.”

Memories of her time atop the junior rankings – where she peaked at No.2 back in 2010 – also propel her forward as she and her former rivals continue to make strides on the WTA circuit.

“Our age group is actually one of the strongest of the past couple of years. We have so many good players born in ’93 and ’94. I won Grand Slams with Sloane, and played a lot with Kiki. I also played so many matches against Genie and the Pliskova sisters.

“I think it’s very good to always have these girls around. It gives a little bit of motivation to see that, if one of us can do well, then why not the other?”

Success is still very much an abstract concept for Babos, even as she finds herself quickly catching up to the rest of her cohort. But a positive mindset might be all she needs to start serving notice on the game’s biggest stages.

“My goal is to stay humble, to work hard and try my best every time I step on court, and to have fun. I really believe that if all that happens, I can have my good results and everything will happen how it should.

“I’m going to try the best I can and then we’ll see what happens.”

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

NEW YORK, NY, USA – The skies were blue, humidity nearly non-existent, and there was even a rainbow on Sunday afternoon as newly-crowned US Open champion and soon-to-be World No.1 Angelique Kerber returned to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the traditional Champion’s Photo Shoot.

Kerber was exhausted but beaming, walking the grounds with the air of a woman who believes in her bones that she is not only playing the best tennis of her career, but that there’s an even better version of herself and her game past the horizon.

WTA Insider caught up with Kerber to discuss what lies ahead.

WTA Insider: It’s been less than 24 hours since you got your hands on the US Open trophy. You must be tired.
Kerber: I am a little bit tired but also exhausted, excited, everything. After last night, it’s just the best feeling right now. To go home with my Grand Slam title again, my second one in one year, and of course with No.1, it means a lot to me. I’ll just try right now to enjoy every moment and everything that I did in the last few weeks.

WTA Insider: Three Grand Slam finals, two Slam titles, and World No.1. Which one of those accomplishments amazes you the most?
Kerber: Actually I think the Grand Slam titles first, because that’s always something I was always working so hard for, to win the major titles. To win two right now and to be in one final at Wimbledon, that means to me everything.

To then be No.1, what I was always dreaming when I was a kid, that shows me I played a really consistent year. To be No.1 you have to play great, not one day or one week, you have to play very well a few months, and this is also incredible to me, actually.

WTA Insider: I remember speaking with you on a couch when you qualified for your first WTA Finals back in Istanbul. At the time you didn’t seem convinced that you were one of the eight best players in the world. Take me back to that time, that breakthrough, and what it felt like then when you were trying to be comfortable with being a good player.
Kerber: When I reached my first Top 10 and also my first WTA Finals, being with the best players of the world at the end of the year, of course I was a little bit not sure what happened. I didn’t have the experience. It was everything new for me. I had to get used to everything.

Right now, years after, I learned a lot. I think I was growing as well. I was growing every year. I improved my tennis, I improved my personality and everything. This gives me so much confidence as well because I can look back and I can say I was learning. I was learning every year and this is what makes me proud. I took the chance to be now where I am. Finally I am still the same person because I am still Angie like I am a few years ago. This is what also for me really important, to stay how I am.

WTA Insider: When I see you now, you seem very calm and comfortable in your own skin.
Kerber: I’m feeling much for confident now in my skin and how I am. I think it’s because of my experience I know what’s happened, I know how to deal with pressure, how to deal with the things I have to do off court. That’s what gives me the confidence to, you know, dressing up, speaking, working, being how I am. Of course it takes a little while to get where I am, and it was really tough but really good.

WTA Insider: You mentioned the word pressure. What’s the most high-pressure match you feel you’ve played?
Kerber: To be honest, this match this year in Australia, the first round, that was a match where I was feeling a lot of pressure because last year I lost in the first round. I put so much pressure on myself. I didn’t want to lose in the first round.

This is maybe from this year one of the matches where I remember my pressure was really high. After the win when I was also match point down, I was feeling like ok, the pressure was gone. I won the first round and now I can go for it. So for this year I can say this was the match.

WTA Insider: When we talk about your career, there are three matches that always come up. That Australian Open match is one. The match against Victoria Azarenka here, that you lost. The match against Lucie Safarova in Singapore, that you lost. Talk about how important it is to learn from your losses.
Kerber: This is really important to learn from your losses but also as well, learning from your wins. After every match you have to sit down and think what I did good and what I did wrong. I learned a lot from really tough and close matches that I had in the past, especially the last years when I played so many great matches against great opponents.

This year, I had confidence because I knew that I could play good matches because they’re always tough but I have to go the last step and just go for it. That gives me a lot of confidence and maybe a little bit less pressure.

WTA Insider: You’re the World No.1 now. We’ve seen in the past that players who get to No.1 get comfortable with their game and don’t want to make changes. It’s too risky. How does your game get better from here and can you motivate to take those risks?
Kerber: No, I think my motivation is really high, especially right now after this title in New York. I will still try and improve my game because I know that I can still improve my serve and improving a few things on my game. It’s what I will try and do over the next few weeks and in my pre-season for next year. There are still a few things that I know I can do better. That gives me a little bit of confidence to know that I can still play better, maybe a little bit more aggressive, moving better, because there is still a little bit percent where I can go for it.

WTA Insider: So we haven’t seen Peak Angelique Kerber yet?
Kerber: We will see. Of course I’m playing the best tennis in my career, but I’m trying to be better and better. I’m trying to motivate myself to be better in my matches and in practice. I will try to still play my best tennis in the next months.

Kerber will next play at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and China Open during the upcoming Asian Swing. Hear more from Kerber and coach Torben Beltz in the latest WTA Insider Podcast:

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

1. Can Simona Halep turn her 2016 around with a title defense? 

It has been a rough season thus far for Romania’s Simona Halep; beginning the year ranked No.2 in the world, Halep has lost five of her last six matches – though she earned a big three-set win playing Fed Cup at home against Petra Kvitova.

“I lost a few matches at the beginning of the year and I lost my confidence a little bit,” she said after unveiling a mural of herself as the BNP Paribas Open defending champion, “but those were because I was sick and couldn’t practice. Now I’m healthy and I feel great and I’m waiting to start the tournament.”

Watch @Simona_Halep unveil her #BNPPO16 mural! ????? pic.twitter.com/YKJN8sVSCg

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 7, 2016

Halep hasn’t played her best tennis of late, but she rarely needed her A game during last year’s title run, relying on an indomitable fighting spirit to recover from a set and a break down to defea former No.1 Jelena Jankovic in the final. Practicing with coach Darren Cahill, the Romanian was joined by a pair of tennis legends in Andre Agassi and 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf.

“It was a great experience; they gave great advice and I really want to thank them for helping me. I need to change my thoughts to be more like big champions.”

Opening against a qualifier or Vania King – who is on the way back from a back injury that kept her off the court for most of 2015 – in the second round, the No.5 seed has a tough road back to the final, potentially facing No.10 seed Venus Williams and World No.1 Serena Williams before the semifinals. But Halep sounds in good spirits, enjoying the perks of being the defending champion.

“I went to the locker rooms and there were no more lockers left for me. But they said I have a special room where the champions are, so I went there and I felt very special. For a minute I felt very special in my mind!”

2. Can Venus cap her return to Indian Wells with a quarterfinal face-off with sister Serena?

Speaking of the Williams sisters, Serena leads the field and opens against a qualifier or Irina-Camelia Begu following a first round bye. The American is playing her first tournament since the Australian Open, where she roared into the final only to be stunned by Angelique Kerber – who is seeded second in Indian Wells.

With Kristina Mladenovic, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and reigning Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships winner Sara Errani all in her section, look for Serena to shake off the rust early in the hopes of winning her first BNP Paribas Open title since 2001.

Venus has rebounded from her slow start in Australia (where she went 0-2 in Auckland and Melbourne) with an emphatic run to the Taiwan Open title. The No.10 seed also enjoys a bye into the second round of her first appearance in Indian Wells since 2001, and could start her tournament against a qualifier or Brazil’s Teliana Pereira. The elder Williams hasn’t beaten Halep since 2013, but the American leads their overall head-to-head 3-1 – something to remember should they meet in the round of 16.

Venus and Serena thrilled the US Open crowd in their most recent encounter; a repeat in the quarterfinals could be a highlight of the fortnight.

3. Can Kerber cruise into her third final of 2016?

Angelique Kerber endured a hiccup in her first WTA match since winning the Australian Open, dropping out to Zheng Saisai at the Qatar Total Open, but the German could well be back to her best in the California desert. At the bottom of the draw, her second round match-up will be one of a pair of powerful Czechs: Denisa Allertova or Petra Cetkovska.

Seeded to face fellow Australian Open semifinalist Johanna Konta in the third round, Kerber has most of the season’s most consistent performers in her quarter, with a potential quarterfinal against Doha’s champion Carla Suárez Navarro or Sloane Stephens, the only woman to win multiple titles in 2016 with wins in Auckland and Acapulco. Also in her section is Ana Ivanovic – who could open her tournament against the winner of Camila Giorgi or Julia Goerges – and Karolina Pliskova, who struggled through the Middle East swing after leading her country to a Fed Cup win over Romania.

Kerber made back-to-back semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open in 2012 and 2013, but didn’t win a match in either of her last two appearances; still feeling the kind of confidence that took her to a maiden Grand Slam title, the veteran will be eager to buck the trend.

4. Can Agnieszka Radwanska fulfill her big title potential?

Radwanska has largely been the one to beat since last year’s US Open; the Pole has won four titles since September – including the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global – and reached the semifinals of the Australian Open.

Despite turning heads in a thrilling three-set win against Roberta Vinci in the quarterfinals of Qatar, the crafty Radwanska showed worrying signs of fatigue – be it physical or mental – in her flat semifinal loss to Suárez Navarro the next day. To make it through a two week tournament, the World No.3 will have to leave the extended highlight reel at home, especially with a potential rematch with Serena Williams looming just before the finals weekend.

When they played in Australia, Radwanska had few answers for a Serena playing at her peak, but the Pole will do herself no favors by getting in epic grindfests with Dominika Cibulkova (her potential second round opponent) or any of the seeds in her section: Monica Niculescu, 2015 finalist Jelena Jankovic, or Apia International Sydney champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. 

5. How well can the kids table tread water during adult swim?

No.7 seed Belinda Bencic is the highest ranked of three 18-year-olds in the Top 50, but any one of the young stars can cause a stir over the next two weeks. Opening against either 21-year-old Nao Hibino or 22-year-old wildcard Lauren Davis, the reigning Rogers Cup champion is in an interesting quarter anchored by fellow youngster and 2015 Wimbledon finalist Garbiñe Muguruza – who is seeded No.4 – but peppered with a mix of new and familiar faces.

Bencic is seeded to play Daria Gavrilova, who is up to a career-high ranking of No.33, and could play one of BMW Malaysian Open champion Elina Svitolina or St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy winner and oldest Top 10 debutante, Roberta Vinci.

A third round match-up of veritable veterans is also on the menu as former No.1s Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki are projected to face off following their opening rounds, with Muguruza a possible fourth round opponent. Azarenka is playing just her second tournament since her shocking Australian Open loss to Kerber, but her first since withdrawing from the Abierto Mexicano Telcel with a left wrist injury.

Daria Kasatkina is the other top ranked teen; the young Russian sits in the same section as Suárez Navarro and the same quarter as Stephens, who might end up with a blockbuster second round against former No.5 Eugenie Bouchard – should the Canadian win her first round against a qualifier. Opening against two-time champion and wildcard Daniela Hantuchova, Kasatkina hasn’t paid too much attention to where her rapid rise has left her in the rankings, and is excited to make her Indian Wells debut.

“I don’t care, really; I just go and play every match and I don’t watch the rankings. I just play. I’m getting some experience and every tournament and every match is helping me.”

One of the younger stars looking to kickstart her season is Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. The Slovak made her first Premier-level quarterfinal at last summer’s Western & Southern Open and was an alternate at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. On hand for the draw ceremony, Schmiedlova hopes to start small and end up with something big.

“I didn’t have a really great start of the season, and I just really want to get back and play some more matches, win something to get more confidence now. I’m practicing a lot so I hope it will show up on the courts. I didn’t have big goals here; I just want to play good and show what I can do.”

The Favorites:

– Serena Williams: When she is at her best, she is unquestionably the best in any draw. The World No.1 shook off the disappointments from the end of last year to play some of her best tennis in Melbourne, and with six weeks of rest should be primed for another deep run in Indian Wells.

– Angelique Kerber: Capable of playing consistent tennis, the German will have to shift into a more aggressive mindset the farther she goes in the draw – particularly against Stephens or Suárez Navarro in the quarterfinals. Whether this is indeed a new Kerber may become apparent fairly quickly depending on her result here.

The Next Best Things:

– Agnieszka Radwanska: Radwanska hasn’t faced any early upsets in a while, and should she stay fresh heading into the later rounds, the No.3 seed could be make it into the final – but how things shake out in the Williams/Halep quarter may still determine where she finishes.

– Carla Suárez Navarro: The Spaniard impressed in the Middle East and assumed the role of the alpha to great success in Doha. Suárez Navarro has beaten Kerber on hardcourts before, and as she looks to break into the Top 5, will need to continue proving herself with big wins as she rockets up the rankings.

– Simona Halep: A confidence player, Halep may be feeling a bit more pressure after taking a look at her draw, but not being expected to defend her title may free her up, and if her time with Graf was half as inspiring as it was for Kerber last spring, the Romanian may have a fortnight to remember. 

Dark Horses:

– Belinda Bencic: The teenager has had a flying start to 2016, and despite stumbling in the Middle East, the Swiss star has shown a champion’s mettle that tends to be rewarded with big titles.

– Sloane Stephens: With two titles already under her belt, Stephens is suddenly in search of a deep run at a major tournament – something that used to be her calling card. Should she get past Bouchard, the American has all the tools to succeed on this surface.

– Victoria Azarenka: Struggles with injury keep her lower on the list than she might have otherwise been given her stellar run to the Brisbane International title, but it will be interesting to see how Azarenka recovers from that loss in Melbourne; given how things panned out, the two-time Australian Open champion might feel she let an opportunity slip by. The next few weeks will undoubtedly be a big test for the Belarusian.

First week spoilers:

– Barbora Strycova (vs. Andrea Petkovic, second round)

– CoCo Vaneweghe (vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova, second round)

– Bethanie Mattek-Sands (vs. Elina Svitolina, second round)

– Zhang Shuai (vs. Caroline Wozniacki, second round)

Click here to see the full draw.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.