Tennis News

STANFORD, CA, USA – Dominika Cibulkova defeated Misaki Doi at the Bank of the West Classic on Friday to tick off another major accomplishment in an already highly successful summer.

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The past few months have already brought Cibulkova significant moments on and off the court, and her 7-5, 6-0 victory over Doi confirmed that on Monday morning she will return to the Top 10 for the first time in over 18 months.

Cibulkova first broke into the Top 10 shortly after her run to the Australian Open final in 2014, staying there until Achilles surgery laid her low at the start of the following year. This star quality has been evident for much of 2016, a WTA-leading 37 wins, two titles and a Wimbledon quarterfinal appearance prompting a charge up the rankings.

Against Doi, it took a while for her class to shine through. But when the Slovak eventually acclimatized to her opponent’s frantic pace – and the sweltering conditions – she did so emphatically: a run of 11 straight games setting up a semifinal meeting with No.3 seed Johanna Konta.

“Today was really, really tough. She was playing fast from the first ball, but once I found out what I needed to do to win I was doing the right thing all the way through the match,” Cibulkova, who lifted the Stanford title three years ago, said. “I know the court, I know the balls, I know what I have to do to go all the way here.”

Like Cibulkova, Konta was forced to ride out some rocky moments against Zheng Saisai, recovering from a break down in the final set to win, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

“I think the level of tennis really took its toll on me – she made it incredibly tough to play the way I wanted to play – so I was very glad I was able to string some points together in the third set,” Konta said.

Elina Svitolina

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.20
Year-End Ranking: No.14 (Career-High No.14, March 7)
Season Highlights: Title at Kuala Lumpur, finals at New Haven & Zhuhai
Best Major Result: QF (French Open)

14 Days until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/DIIg2qWhUX

— WTA (@WTA) 18 de diciembre de 2016

2017 Outlook

Some players adhere to the policy of “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” but Elina Svitolina isn’t one of those people.

After a career-best season – which saw her rise to her highest ranking of No.14, upset two different WTA World No.1s, pocket a title at Kuala Lumpur and reach the finals at New Haven and Zhuhai – the always-improving Svitolina announced a new coaching team with the goal of getting herself past the final hurdles and cementing her spot at the game’s upper echelons.

A busy off-season schedule in 2015 stunted Svitolina’s progress earlier this year, but she learned her lesson and heads into 2017 with a clear objective:

“Of course, the main goal is to be Top 10,” Svitolina told WTA Insider at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “I’ll try to have a normal off-season this time, work really hard physically, and mentally. It’s all about the small details, so I’ll be trying to work on those and make little changes.”

Looking ahead to 2017, Ukraine’s No.1 player will start out the year rested and in prime position to make big gains. With just a handful of points to defend in the first two months of the year, Svitolina looks ever closer to a big leap into the WTA’s highest rankings.

WASHINGTON, DC, USA – Yanina Wickmayer made light of another sweltering day at the Citi Open to outplay Yulia Putintseva and reach her first final of 2016.

Watch live action from Washington DC, Bastad and Stanford this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

On an afternoon when temperatures in the US capital reached as high as 97°F, No.7 seed Wickmayer was intent on keeping her time on court to a minimum. Bristling with positive intent from the outset, the Belgian rode a fast start all the way to a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

“It was very hot but its been like that every day so far. I knew she was going to make me work for every single point and it would be tough out there,” Wickmayer said in her on-court interview. “I just tried to stay positive, stay implemented focused, go for my shots and stay aggressive.”

Wickmayer’s intentions were clear from the off, a couple of big forehands helping her break in the opening game. This lead was soon stretched to 4-0 and while Putintseva managed to pull back one of the breaks it was not enough to rescue the set.

The second followed a similar pattern, Wickmayer bossing the majority of exchanges to confidently advance to the 11th final of her career. There she will face Lauren Davis after she ended wildcard Jessica Pegula’s run with a 6-2, 6-3 win in the night session..

Before that, though, Wickmayer was back on court alongside Monica Niculescu, defeating Shuko Aoyama and Risa Ozaki, 6-4, 6-3 to book a place in the doubles final. “That’s what I work for, playing finals and holding the trophy at the end of the week,” she added. “It just feels great to be in the final here I’ve done really well in the singles and doubles so I’m really enjoying my time here.”

MONTREAL, Canada – Tennis Canada announced that Serena Williams is withdrawing from Rogers Cup due to shoulder inflammation.

Winner of three Rogers Cup titles, Serena reached the semifinals at the last two editions of the event.

“Due to inflammation in my shoulder, I unfortunately must withdraw from the Rogers Cup,” she said in a statement. “I was looking forward to competing in Montreal and I look forward to returning soon.”

“Of course, we are disappointed that Serena will not play in the tournament this year. The fans really enjoyed the time she spent in the city in 2014,” said Eugène Lapierre, tournament director of Rogers Cup presented by National Bank.

“Because this is an Olympic year, the players have very full schedules. Sometimes your body needs rest. We hope that Serena will recover quickly and wish her much success for the rest of the season.”

Serena Williams is forced to withdraw from #CoupeRogers due to inflammation in her shoulder. pic.twitter.com/J7vPz2Mzgv

— Coupe Rogers (@CoupeRogers) July 24, 2016