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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – For the first time in eight years, there will be two Williamses in a major final. One was expected. The other wasn’t even sure she’d be able to get past the first round.

The first time Serena Williams and Venus Williams faced off on tour was here, in Melbourne in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open. That was 19 years ago. Venus won that day, 7-6(4), 6-1, but that match would kickstart a 27-match rivalry that would define both of their careers. On Saturday they will face off for the first time since the 2015 US Open quarterfinals, and it’s a match that few ever thought they’d see again in a major final.

“This probably is the moment of our careers so far,” Serena said, after her 50 minute win over Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the semifinals. “For me, I can definitely say for me. I never lost hope of us being able to play each other in a final.”

Serena has now made seven finals in her last 10 majors, and she’s a win away from breaking Stefanie Graf’s record of 22 major titles and returning to No.1. The World No.2 has not dropped a set all tournament and has navigated a difficult draw with ease. Gone are the signs of stress and anxiety that seemed to plague her at the Slams the last year.

“I think just going through that made me this way now, to be honest,” Serena said of her new relaxed attitude. “I think sometimes when you’re stressed out, you have to go through those moments. Everything creates a better you.”

So while Serena’s presence in Saturday’s final was to be expected – she is, after all, a six-time champion at Melbourne Park – big sister Venus has been the surprise. Earlier in the tournament, the seven-time major champion admitted that she was anxious before the start of the Australian Open given injury concerns. In her first tournament of the season at the ASB Classic, she was forced to withdraw after the first round due to right arm pain.

“I mean, honestly, all the signs didn’t look that way in Auckland,” Venus said of her successful run. “Of course, I dreamed of it because I definitely worked hard in the off-season. It was not a great start, I’ll just say that.

“But still I know I can play. You just have to try to figure it out if you can get it to line up all at the same time. That’s why you get out and you try. As long as you continue to try, you have an opportunity. That’s why I’m here.”

To make her first Australian Open final in 14 years, Venus had to dig deep to fend off the overwhelming firepower from CoCo Vandeweghe. In blasting winner after winner in the first set, the younger American was able to bully Venus around the court with her heavy hitting. Venus couldn’t stand toe-to-toe, power for power. And so she adjusted. She dug in. And used her brain and her speed to unwind Vandeweghe, who was playing in the biggest match of her young career.

“It felt very weird because I never do that,” Venus said, referring to her defense. “Also, at the same time, I’m versatile. I can adjust. I can do what I need to do to win a match. I feel comfortable when I’m uncomfortable at the same time. Even if I’m in a position where I don’t want to be at, it’s not going to throw me off.

“I want to dictate, but the way she was playing, it was almost impossible to do so. So it was just about trying to control the point in whichever way that was. If that meant that defensively I controlled the point, or I was able to get a little offense, whatever it was. I mean, just be the one winning the point at the end somehow.”

Indeed, after trying to outblast Vandeweghe in the first set, Venus began to go for less on her shots, using width and depth to get Vandeweghe uncomfortable. She cleaned up her errors. And most importantly, she had her best serving day of the tournament. Venus smartly handcuffed Vandeweghe with well-timed body-serves, and after seeing her second serve attacked in the first set, she decided to step it up.

“In the first set I served more conservatively,” Venus said. “In the second, I just decided I was going to go for more. It was just really a mentality at that point. I know she’s looking for a second serve. It’s important to try not to give your opponent what they want.

“As the match went longer, the bigger I went on the second. Thankfully I was comfortable doing that and executing it and just going in. It worked.”

In the end, the match was far more tense than the 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3 scoreline might indicate. Vandeweghe earned 13 break points but was only able to convert once.

Venus’ reaction on match point will go down as one of the most memorable, joyous, and redempting displays for the ages. One can only imagine what was flashing in her mind as the reality set in, that she was, for the first time since she was diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, back into a major final.

“I think why people love sport so much, is because you see everything in a line,” Venus said. “In that moment there is no do-over, there’s no retake, there is no voice-over. It’s triumph and disaster witnessed in real-time. This is why people live and die for sport, because you can’t fake it. You can’t. It’s either you do it or you don’t.

“People relate to the champion. They also relate to the person also who didn’t win because we all have those moments in our life.”

Venus’s ebullient celebration could serve as a Rohrschach test for any tennis fan. Do you see the 36-year-old champion, a woman who burst on the scene as a teenager over 20 years ago, showing her tenacity and quality to make a Slam final almost 20 years after making her first at the 1997 US Open?

Or do you see the player who fell out of the Top 100 after being diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder in 2011, who had every right to walk away from the game to pursue her other worldly pursuits, but battled back up to the top of the game by, seemingly, sheer force of will?

“I was always stressed out and worried if she would be okay and be able to play,” Serena said. “I would see her practice, she’d practice so well, do so well. I always felt like when she lost, I was almost surprised, kind of like, How did you lose, because you’re doing so well.

“At the same time I was like, Wow, it’s amazing that you’re even out here. I just really feel fortunate to have been there for the highs and the lows and everything.”

Serena is the favorite heading into the final. As Venus said, her younger sister doesn’t have many weaknesses to her game. While the match-up may look awkward from the outside — No.23 and the No.1 ranking on the line and you have to go through…your own sister? — Serena and Venus shrug it off. They’ve gone through this dance too many times to be distracted by the emotional resonance of their matches, whatever the stakes may be.

“After everything that Venus has been through with her illness and stuff, I just can’t help but feel like it’s a win-win situation for me,” Serena said. “I was there for the whole time. We lived together. I know what she went through. It’s the one time that I really genuinely feel like no matter what happens, I can’t lose, she can’t lose. It’s going to be a great situation.”

For Venus, it’s just about the tennis. “When I’m playing on the court with her, I think I’m playing, like, the best competitor in the game,” Venus said. “I don’t think I’m chump change either. I can compete against any odds. No matter what, I get out there and I compete.

“So it’s like two players who really, really can compete, then also they can play tennis. Then, okay, won’t be an easy match. It’s like I know that it won’t be easy. You have to control yourself, then you also have to hopefully put your opponent in a box. This opponent is your sister, and she’s super awesome.

“It’s wonderful.”

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ITF Issues Ruling On Sharapova

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The ITF has issued a ruling in the case of Maria Sharapova. An independent tribunal has found that Sharapova has committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation, and has therefore been imposed a period of ineligibility of two years, commencing on January 26, 2016.

“It is important at all times for players to be aware of the rules and to follow them,” says WTA CEO Steve Simon. “In this case, Maria has taken responsibility for her mistake from the outset. The WTA supports the process that the ITF and Maria have followed. The ITF has made its ruling and, under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, the decision may be appealed to the Court Arbitration for Sport. The WTA will continue to follow this closely and we hope it will be resolved as soon as possible.”

Sharapova released the following statement on her official Facebook page:

For more information, click here.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

After reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open, American CoCo Vandeweghe stopped by SportsNation to tell all about her breakout run in Melbourne.

Chatting with a round table that includes ESPN tennis analyst LZ Granderson, Vandeweghe discussed how she deals with mid-match frustrations – typically with a crack of a racquet – and how her on-court coordination doesn’t always translate off the court.

Plus, who inspired the 25-year-old to do the dab after defeating World No.1 Angelique Kerber Down Under?

Check out the full video right here on wtatennis.com!

 

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Garcia Mounts Mallorca Comeback

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

No.6 seed Caroline Garcia overcame a slow start and mounted a major comeback to beat Carina Witthoeft for a spot in the second round of the inaugural Mallorca Open.

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Champion's Corner: CoCo Vandeweghe

Champion's Corner: CoCo Vandeweghe

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The lush grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch proved to be fertile ground once again for CoCo Vandeweghe. The 24-year-old American lifted the trophy at the Ricoh Open for the second time in three years after beating Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 7-5 in the final on Sunday. Both of Vandeweghe’s career titles have come in Den Bosch, winning her first as a qualifier in 2014.

It was a frustrating clay season for Vandeweghe, where she went 1-3 and missed a big opportunity to challenge for a spot on the United States Olympic Team. Candid as always, the California native admitted she struggled with her motivation in Den Bosch — “I was just honestly a crabby person this week” –but she was able to work her through the draw without losing a set. The title moves Vandeweghe up to No.32, right on the bubble of being seeded at Wimbledon, where she was a quarterfinalist last year.

WTA Insider caught up with Vandeweghe after getting a much-needed title on Sunday.

CoCo Vandeweghe

WTA Insider: Congratulations. How does it feel to once again win the title at the Ricoh Open?

Vandeweghe: It’s a little bit different than your first title. Your first title is all exciting. It’s something you dreamed about always doing. It’s funny, coming into this tournament I was pretty much on a cool even platform the whole time. A common word that’s been thrown around wasI kept my composure together very well through the whole week. That’s not always easy to do especially coming from clay to grass, so it was a hard change.

WTA Insider: Did you go home after the French Open?

Vandeweghe: No, I actually went home after Rome, so just before the French Open, because I wanted to play all of the grass and honestly I was having a really difficult clay season. I had some really tough first round matches, one against Safarova, another one against Venus. I had 10 days on my hands before the French Open and I was like what am I going to do with 10 days in Europe? I’m going to go home. So I went back to California and came two days before the French and played. I was actually on the same flight as Lindsay Davenport and Justin Gimelstob, so I was coming in with the commentators.

WTA Insider: So you go to the French Open, obviously a tough loss second round loss there to Irina-Camelia Begu. What was your mindset going from clay to grass?

Vandeweghe: The clay was actually really disappointing. It was the last chance to make points for Olympics. I knew going in it was going to be my most difficult surface from any other surfaces that I play on. I was trying to do my best.

I had a really tough second round that could have gone either way. I honestly didn’t feel like I could lose it when I was playing, and when it happened and I lost it was like shock. I couldn’t put it into words. It was such a heart-breaking loss. I was really emotionally drained and physically too.

Luckily the next day I had doubles with Christina McHale and we played a match so I didn’t have time to wallow. So I got a win under my belt and then also had mixed doubles. So I had a lot more matches to play and compete at, which I think was beneficial for me mentally. To be there, still competing and figuring things out, getting my feet underneath me and my tennis game. Matches are always beneficial for anyone. When you’re playing a bunch of matches you’re going to feel more comfortable in your own skin on the court.

But the transition from clay to grass, I only had a day of practice out here before I played my match. The thing I focus on is definitely trying to make my swings as compact as possible, that’s first and foremost. Also getting my feet underneath me. I definitely worked through my fitness through the tournament, working on my stability, different things. So when I plant and move I’m sure-footed and moving well, which I think definitely shows on the grass when you’re able to hit and move and hit a good shot behind your movement.

WTA Insider: You didn’t drop a set. Pretty dominating week for you en route to the title. Did it look easier than it actually was?

Vandeweghe: Actually it was funny. Craig told me I didn’t lose a set and I was like “Oh, really? OK.” It wasn’t anything special. It was actually really not such an easy tournament for me mentally. I wasn’t mentally engaged for some matches and other matches I was. My second round match against Nao Hibino, honestly I went out there and I was just like I don’t want to play tennis today. It was just like that.

I think like everyone they show up to work and I don’t feel like working today. It happens to everybody and it’s just getting through those moments definitely I think are stepping stones to making yourself not only a better player but a better person out there on the tennis court. So it was day-by-bay, match-by-match, it was just trying to survive myself sometimes.

CoCo Vandeweghe

WTA Insider: How much of that is you just wake up on the wrong side of the bed, or that you’re thinking of other things? Are you able to isolate why you might feel like that on any given day?

Vandeweghe: Sometimes it is something maybe at home that happened the day before, during the tournament, or maybe it’s something to do with nothing completely relevant to tennis. For me it wasn’t any of those. I was just honestly a crabby person this week (laughs).

It was nothing going on at home. My mom was sending me videos of my puppy swimming in the pool and dumb things like that. My sister sent me pictures of her new haircut. So it wasn’t like I was getting any bad news at home or someone broke up with me. I was just a crabby person this week. I don’t know.

WTA Insider: It seems to have worked out Ok for you.

Vandeweghe: Yeah. It was actually nice to get on the court and play and compete. I used the fire that I had. Usually outside the court I’m pretty chill and happy go lucky, I guess you could say, maybe not openly in your face but definitely a relaxed individual.

But I think I used the piss and vinegar that I had in my stomach of just I’m so mad at today and the clouds being out, or the sky being blue, or whatever the reason was and transferred it to the court and just dismantled people at times.

WTA Insider: There was a swagger, an edge to you this week. Did you feel that?

Vandeweghe: Yes. It helps when you have confidence going into a tournament. Comparing the clay court tournaments to my grass court tournament season last year to this year, or even in previous years, there’s just no comparison. I excel on the grass. I excel on the hard courts. I haven’t figured out a scenario when I excel on the clay, which is something I’m always going to be battling with.

It’s not easy to play on your least favorite surface where you’re not rewarded for your good play. Or your good shots. You have to start over and rebuild the point. Here on the grass and hard courts it’s pretty simple. I get rewarded for what I do well and my game translates extremely well to both surfaces.

I felt confident after my first round match. I was super nervous going into my first round match. I was thinking about the wrong things, like I had such great results on grass and I have to keep it up and compete again. I put so pressure on myself to do well that I was really quite nervous in my first round match.

And also playing a local wildcard you don’t know what type of player they’re going to be. If they’re going to rise to the occasion of playing in front of their home crowd and just play out of their minds, or they’re actually a really good player, or if they’re going to crumble in the occasion. I’ve experienced it all in front of my own home crowd so you never know what’s going to happen.

So after I battled through that first round match it was just focusing on simple things. I mean, I played simple, stupid tennis, and that’s all it took to win.

CoCo Vandeweghe

WTA Insider: Do you have family in The Netherlands?

Vandeweghe: My family is actually in Belgium. I’m not Dutch. They came out yesterday for the semifinal. I saw some uncles, they drove their motorcycles from Belgium. I feel like I get a good welcome from the Dutch fans not only because I won the title but either they think I’m Dutch or the Belgians claim me for the week. I’ll take it either way. I’ll take the support.

WTA Insider: Different players react to winning a title differently. Either it relaxes them because it validates to them they’re playing good tennis, or it creates more pressure because the expectations are higher. How do you feel about it?

Vandeweghe: I mean I only have two other moments to build off of. I made the final in Stanford and I completely over-expected so much of myself immediately. I guess I got beat up a little bit afterwards. I went to the San Diego tournament straight after and got smoked first round and then I believe I didn’t play again until the US Open where I played Serena again int eh first round and I got absolutely trounced.

I mean the pressure I put on myself, Ok I made a final I should make another final the next week, I was just wet behind the ears and didn’t realize each tournament is different. There’s different adversities you face, there’s different highs, there’s different lows, you have to take it day by day. That’s kind of the fun thing about different tournaments and tennis in general. You play a different opponent every single day and whether it’s yourself or someone else who is your opponent that day, it changes.

The last time I won this title, I went immediately to Wimbledon and beat Muguruza again. And then the next round it all hit me of I just won a title, I’m tired, and everything like that, and I wasn’t able to nor did I have the experience to find it within myself to just manage through the match. That was my own fault.

But I think this tournament is in a different place. It’s the first tournament of the grass court season, so there’s two more tournaments ahead with Birmingham and Eastbourne. Who knows what will happen. But the big tournament you have to be ready for, that we’re all building towards, is Wimbledon. That’s what you have to focus on, how you’re going to be best prepared for Wimbledon.

WTA Insider: So are you leaving on a train or plane tonight to Birmingham?

Vandeweghe: Heck no. I’m going tomorrow morning on a plane. I can’t get up. I didn’t know if the rain was going to hold, I didn’t want to book a ticket and then cancel it and eat a bunch of money. So I was like I’ll go the next day on Monday. It’s kind of tour life I guess you could say.

WTA Insider: You win a title and in a couple of days you’re going to play top seed Agnieszka Radwanska in Birmingham. Such is life.

Vandeweghe: And worrying about baggage fees that I have coming up. (Laughs).

Listen to more of Vandeweghe’s post-match thoughts in the latest episode of the WTA Insider Podcast:

 

– Photos courtesy of Edwin Verhoef, Ricoh Open.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Kristina Mladenovic continued her stunning run at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy with another shock victory, this time in the quarterfinal over the reigning champion, Roberta Vinci, 6-1 6-4.

The unseeded world No.51 continued with the approach that had seen off Venus Williams in the surprise of the second round. She tore into the 33-year-old’s serve in the first set, winning all three of the Italian’s service games. Facing set point at 30-40 in the final game, Vinci produced a wonderful drop shot down the line from deep in the court to take it to deuce, but Mladenovic was undeterred and came through for a 6-1 win.

Vinci, facing Mladenovic for the first time since the 2015 US Open, faced break point once again at the start of the second set. This time, though, she proved more resilient and held for the first time in the match.

“Roberta is a big fighter,” said the 23-year-old of a more even second set, “and she is very smart on the court. She tried different tactics and almost turned it around in the second set. I’m happy I stayed calm and all the time responded with a game plan as well.”

The second serve increasingly proved key. Mladenovic won 50% of the points behind hers in contrast to 25% for Vinci and, although the French player served three double faults to her opponents’ one, it was that one that was crucial. A double fault from Vinci at 30-40 and 4-4 in the set gave the underdog the chance to serve for a meeting with Russia’s Natalia Vikhlyantseva in the last four.

Mladenovic grew more aggressive, coming forward more with the win in sight. Serving at 5-4 she rushed too quickly to the net and gave up three break points. However she showed great composure to save all three. In a tense finale, the pair went to deuce four times before, at the third time of asking, Mladenovic converted match point with a top-spin heavy cross-court winner to qualify for her third career Premier semifinal.

“We played against each other last year in Hertogenbosch on grass and I won in three sets,” she said of Vikhlyantseva. “I discovered this young lady there for the first time and I thought she had an amazing great quality and game and potential for the future. I’m not surprised at her improvement and her ranking climbing up.”

Meanwhile the defeated champion said: “It was a difficult match, a tough match. Kiki played incredible tennis first set. In the second set I started to play much better than in the first – a bit more aggressive – I had some chances to break her, but she played too good. I played so so – this is tennis! I’m happy I managed to make it back to the quarter-final.”

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Flipkens Stuns Muguruza In Mallorca

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MALLORCA, Spain – Kirsten Flipkens played some of her most solid, complete tennis to complete the biggest upset of the Mallorca Open, knocking out top seed Garbiñe Muguruza in straights sets for a spot in the second round.

Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

In her first match since winning the French Open and ascending to World No.2, Muguruza just couldn’t get comfortable on the new, faster surface and was struggling with her serve.

“I think it was very tough,” Muguruza said after the match. “I barely had time to actually practice and enjoy the tournament.

“I wanted to play Mallorca so much and I tried, but then I went to the court and obviously I couldn’t find my rhythm. Also, [Flipken’s] game matches grass very well. My performance today was just not what I wanted.”

The Spaniard looked poised to roll through early on in the first set, breaking in the first game and consolidating for a 2-0 lead. But No.61 ranked Flipkens would have none of it, rallying to break back and erase Muguruza’s lead.

Despite Muguruza holding five other break points during the course of the first set, it was the Belgian who broke once again, closing the first set 6-3 against the World No.2. Flipkens marched through the second, getting the decisive break at 3-3.

Muguruza never recovered, and her Spanish homecoming was cut short, 6-3, 6-4.

“I had so many opportunities coming to me that I couldn’t take, and she played really well during those big moments,” Muguruza said. “So the match started slipping away from me little by little.”

“It was great to be back here and playing in Spain, and especially in my first tournament [since the French Open] it was even more special. Hopefully next year it will be better.”

Flipkens’ game loves the faster surfaces: with today’s win over Mugurza, Flipkens notched her fourth career win over a Top 10 player, and her first since 2013, when she shocked the then No.8-ranked Petra Kvitova in Wimbledon. In fact, three of those four Top 10 wins have come on grass courts.

Up next for Flipkens is Monica Puig, who defeated Julia Goerges, 6-4, 7-5.

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – WTA Charities brought together Ana Konjuh, Donna Vekic and dozens of young Russian players and wheelchair tennis players for a Masterclass Clinic at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

With the help of two local coaches, Konjuh and Vekic took to the Sibur Arena to run through drills with the children, as well as give them pointers on their game.

Afterwards, the pair signed WTA inspirational quote notebooks as gifts for the wheelchair tennis players.

Check out the best photos from the WTA Charities event right here!

Donna Vekic and Ana Konjuh

Donna Vekic and Ana Konjuh

Donna Vekic and Ana Konjuh

Donna Vekic and Ana Konjuh

Donna Vekic and Ana Konjuh

Donna Vekic and Ana Konjuh

Donna Vekic and Ana Konjuh

Donna Vekic and Ana Konjuh

Donna Vekic and Ana Konjuh

– Photos courtesy of St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy

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