Indian Wells: Story Of The Tournament
The story of the tournament from the BNP Paribas Open.
The story of the tournament from the BNP Paribas Open.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – Nao Hibino is back into the finals of an event that kickstarted her career; the No.4 seed dispatched Denisa Allertova, 6-2, 6-3, to reach the Tashkent Open final for a second straight year.
“It’s unbelievable,” she said after the match. “I was nervous, and wanted to make the final at any cost. I focused on every point and it helped.”
Hibino cracked the Top 100 for the first time in her career by taking the title in Tashkent a year ago, and the Japanese star has held onto that momentum in 2016, reaching the final once more without dropping a set.
“I started my Top 100 journey in Tashkent,” she recalled. “I realized what I was trying in my game for the last year has started working here this week. I think the Tashkent Open is lucky for me; I like the courts here because they suit my game .
“I feel like this is my second home and would like to stay for longer. If possible, I could take back home the court from here!”
The ensuing transition onto the WTA tour had been a struggle; after winning Tashkent last fall, she went on a five match losing streak in the spring but showed signs of turning things around at the Olympic tennis event, where she upset Irina-Camelia Begu in the first round of Rio after reaching the quarterfinals in Florianopolis.
“I’ve had tough year on the tour,” Hibino said, reflecting of the time since winning her maiden WTA title. “I didn’t do well at all because it was tough playing very good players when I had no experience and didn’t get the results I was expecting.
Awaiting Hibino in the final is Kristyna Pliskova, twin sister to US Open runner-up Karolina. Pliskova came to Tashkent having already won a WTA 125K Challenger event in Dalian to start the month, and will be a favorite against Hibino, by the Japanesewoman’s own admission.
“I have played against Pliskova twice and have lost both times. I will be the challenger tomorrow, but I will be looking forward to break the Tashkent jinx of a player never having won the title for the second time by winning here tomorrow!
“I hope this second year as Top 100 player will be good one for me and I will have some good results.”
Pliskova was the first to make her Top 100 debut of the sisters, but has been on the outside looking in as Karolina rose to a career-high ranking and beat both Williams sisters to reach her first Grand Slam final. But even as Karolina turned heads in Flushing, Kristyna was plugging away in Dalian with the help of a new coach, and is now into her first WTA final.
“It feels great to be in my first ever WTA tour event final,” she said after beating Kateryna Kozlova. “It was a tough first set; she was playing well and didn’t give me many chances. It was also very cold, and so the balls were heavy. I’ve played her before and knew she’d make some mistakes. So, I waited for my chance; I called my coach at 2-5, and he pepped me up and told me to be calm. That helped me a lot.
“Before I came here didn’t have too many expectations beyond earning enough points so I can play the main draw at the Australian Open, but this result will take me to my highest ranking.”
Indeed, Pliskova is set to crack the Top 80 for the first time in her young career.
WTA Insider David Kane | Taking in the 2016 season from all angles, WTA World Feed commentator Mikey Perera weighs in on a year that has been full of surprises.
An interview with Belinda Bencic before the start of the Miami Open.
Women’s tennis is in full bloom in Zhuhai, China for the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai!
Elina Svitolina was ready to get going! She arrived first in Zhuhai, where she reached the semifinals last year.
She’s already got a huge fan club in Zhuhai too!
Also popular with the Chinese fans, Petra Kvitova and Zhang Shuai were on hand for the official draw ceremony.
Following the flowers theme, Kvitova and Zhang drew the players into four groups: Rose, Camellia, Peony and Azalea.
The court is ready at custom-designed and state-of-the-art Zhuhai Hengqin International Tennis Centre!
Timea Bacsinszky took the court against Zhang for the first match of the tournament!
Despite her best effort, Bacsinszky suffered a straights sets drubbing against China’s No.1.
Meanwhile, Svitolina had to mount an epic comeback, but after two Rose Group victories she’s through to the semifinals.
It wasn’t a good day in the office for singles alternate Timea Babos though. She bowed out after two straight sets losses.
Zhang delighted Chinese fans as she booked the first semifinal spot, winning the Camellia Group with a pair of dominating performances.
Despite falling in the group stage, Bacsinszky gave us the most memorable press conference moment when she donned a Chinese opera mask she received as a gift.
Will we see more of Roberta Vinci in 2017? The Italian veteran left her future up in the air after leaving Zhuhai with two group stage losses.
But the tournament continues, and there are still two semifinal spots up for grabs! The Azalea Group spot could go to Johanna Konta…
…unless her opponent Caroline Garcia defeats her and snatches it away.
In the Peony Group, Barbora Strycova hits the court looking for a semifinal berth…
…but she faces stiff competition from Kvitova, whose tennis has flourished in recent weeks during the Asian Swing.
An interview with Petra Kvitova before the start of the Miami Open.
ZHUHAI, China – Johanna Konta guaranteed that she will end the year ranked inside the Top 10 following Wednesday’s victory over Samantha Stosur at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
Four weeks ago, Konta became the fourth Briton in WTA history to reach the Top 10 when she finished runner-up at the China Open, in Beijing. By winning her opening round-robin match in Zhuhai, she will remain among the elite until the year’s end, becoming the first British player to do so for 33 years.
Jo Durie was the last to achieve the feat, when she finished 1983 ranked No.6, following in the footsteps of Grand Slam champions Virginia Wade (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979) and Sue Barker (1976, 1977, 1979).
Impressive! ??? https://t.co/aFXNFWKQd3
— Jo Durie (@Jodurie) November 2, 2016
For Konta, it is the latest accomplishment of a memorable campaign that has already seen her lift a maiden WTA title, in Stanford, and reach the semifinals of the Australian Open.
Last summer, a 16-match winning run, which began at a lowly ITF Circuit event in Granby, Canada, and ended in the second week of the US Open, sent Konta skyrocketing up the rankings and, more importantly, imbued her with a sense of belonging. Since then she has been a regular at the business end of tennis’ showpiece events, runs at Stanford, Beijing, Montréal, Eastbourne, Miami and the Australian and US Opens cementing her place at the WTA’s top table.
The 25-year-old has a work ethic rivalled by few on tour and unsurprisingly is now concentrating on taking the next step.
“I think [being in the Top 3] is what I dreamt of as a little girl. I dreamt of being No.1 in the world, being the best player out there,” Konta said after her win over Stosur. “I think you got to put also dreams aside a little bit separate just because you got to focus on the work and you got to focus on things that you can control. That’s the effort and attitude that I approach my job, what I do.”
Caroline Garcia takes on Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the first round of the Miami Open.
As we’re approaching the end of the season, tennis apparel launches are few and far between. Still, in the month of October we did have some tennis fashion releases, while some older designs reminded us just how good they are. Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog will give us an overview of the best clothes that graced the courts during the month highlighted by the $7,000,000 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
It’s been a while since Lacoste has launched a truly different design, but Dominika Cibulkova’s powerful and inspiring title run at the WTA Finals helped us better notice just how good the blue dress with orange built-in racerback sports bra suits the courageous Slovak. Every inch of the Lacoste Fall Racer Dress fits Cibulkova just right, so much that I thoroughly enjoyed watching the determined 27-year-old work the design that we’ve been seeing around the courts, in one form or another, through most of the year.
The sporty mini skirt and thick straps complemented Cibulkova’s 5’3″ frame perfectly, the peeking mango tree bra and 3D Lacoste script at mid-back reflect her drive and energy, while the mesh racerback overlay and white zipper create an absolutely winning look. What’s more, Cibulkova paired the dress with a classic white head tie, for an overall perfect blend of sporty, modern, retro and functional.
Before being stopped by inspired Cibulkova, Angelique Kerber confidently marched through the WTA Finals, wearing winter colors (white and light green), brightened by the vibrant coral contrast. The World No.1 opted for the white version of the adidas Fall Pro Tank, whose flash red racerback provides just the right amount of warm contrast, and the adidas Fall Pro Skirt, whose print is one of the best prints this season, and you know how tough the competition is.
The impression wouldn’t have been complete without the beautiful Adizero Ubersonic 2 shoes that offer confidence and stability even in ultra fast on-court movements.
Karolina Pliskova made her first appearance at the WTA Finals in style, wearing classic black and white hues from Fila’s Court Couture line characterized by feminine ruching, fashion-forward draping, and elegant, gold finishing touches. The Czech No.1 showcased the Court Couture Halter Tank, featuring a built-in bra and 30+ UV protection for the perfect melding of fashion and function, and the Court Couture Skirt, another timeless piece with classic contrasting colors.
Another player rocking the classic black and whites this October was Venus Williams, but the queen of prints used them to create a busy floral pattern, pairing it with solid colorblocks.
During her short campaign at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, Williams presented the EleVen Casablanca Glide Back Tank, a sleek black top featuring printed contrast elastic binding that enhances a feminine silhouette, and the EleVen Casablanca Triple Threat Skirt, equipped with EleVen Pro-Dri for moisture-wicking performance and superior breathability.
World No. 87 Carina Witthoeft lost in the first round of the Generali Ladies Linz as a qualifier, but in the fashion battle the German would have progressed much further at the tournament. Her purple Nike outfit consisted of the NikeCourt Maria Tank in color plum fog and the NikeCourt Maria Skort. The tank is made of stretch mesh fabric that provides stylish and breathable coverage. Carina decided to tuck the top in, not exposing split hems that offer a different, yet just as stylish look.
An interview with Serena Williams after her win in the second round of the Miami Open.