Tennis News

It all came together for Petra Kvitova at the end of a long and grueling season.

Struggling with consistency and splitting with longtime coach David Kotyza, Kvitova caught fire after winning an emotional Bronze medal at the Olympic tennis event, roaring to her first title of 2016 at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and finishing the season on a high with the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai crown. She was later part of the Fed Cup team that took home its fifth victory in the last six years, in a nail-biter against France.

Kvitova took home one last honor before 2017 in the form of the the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award, her fourth in a row.

The Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award is awarded to the player who conducts herself in a manner fitting of a professional sports figure and observes the rules of fair play, shows respect for others and is gracious on and off the court. This award has been voted on by players since 1978 and has recognized athletes including Kim Clijsters, Elena Dementieva, Ana Ivanovic, Lindsay Davenport, Chris Evert and Evonne Goolagong-Cawley.

As she has done in Fed Cup, Kvitova has also earned this honor five of the last six years.

Last summer in Washington DC, Sloane Stephens finally delivered on her boundless potential, lifting her maiden WTA title – and the monkey from her back. Intent on making up for lost time, the young American’s mantelpiece is starting to get rather crowded.

After beating Elena Vesnina in the final of the Volvo Car Open, Stephens now has three titles to her name in 2013 alone. The silverware collected in Auckland, Acapulco and Charleston has taken Stephens to the brink of a return to the Top 20.

The 23-year-old’s success in Charleston led to a jump from No.25 to No.21 in the rankings – her highest position since the summer of 2014. And with relatively few points to defend in the build-up to the French Open she has a good opportunity to improve upon her previous best raking of No.11. 

If she is rise further still, the next challenge is replicating this Charleston form at the majors. During Stephens’ initial breakthrough on tour, she suffered from the opposite problem – in 2014 she reached the fourth round or better at all four Grand Slams, only to flatter to deceive away from the big stage. 

Stephens’ victim in the final, Vesnina, is no stranger to major success, lifting the French and US Opens in doubles. Despite turning 30 later this year, the Russian has no intention of becoming a doubles specialist, something she proved with wins over Belinda Bencic and Sara Errani this past week.

This run resulted in a rankings jump from No.85 to No.51. Throw in her impressive showings in Doha and Miami, and Vesnina’s ranking has improved over 60 places this year.

Vesnina, though, is not the only player on the charge:

Dominika Cibulkova (+15, No.53 to No.38): Dominika Cibulkova has had a number of false dawns since returning from a serious Achilles injury last year. In Katowice, she finally made her big statement. After a first-round scare against Carina Witthoeft, the Slovak improved with each match, outplaying Camila Giorgi in the final to lift her first title since 2014.

Yulia Putintseva (+8 No.61 to No.53): Yulia Putintseva learnt her trade at Moscow’s legendary Spartak club, and she now looks ready to follow in the footsteps of her fellow alumni, such as Anna Kournikova, Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina. Wins over Venus Williams and Sabine Lisicki helped the Kazakhstani to the quarterfinals, the 100 points picked up in Charleston also takes her to a career-high No.53 in the rankings.

Francesca Schiavone (+11, No.101 to No.90): One of Cibulkova’s victims, Francesca Schiavone, played some typically imaginative tennis to win a couple of rounds and continue the momentum heading into the clay court season.

Pauline Parmentier (+12, No.113 to No.101): While Parmentier was unable to maintain her electric start to defeat Cibulkova in the Katowice semifinals, victories over Magda Linette, Naomi Broady and defending champion Anna Karolina Schmiedlova ensured the tournament remained a highly encouraging one. She is now within touching distance of the Top 100 for the first time since last May.

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.12
Year-End Ranking: No.15 (Career-High No.9, 5/16/2016)
Season Highlights: Title at Rabat, SF at Miami
Best Major Result: QF (French Open)

15 Days until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/OBNhWd6KB3

— WTA (@WTA) 17 de diciembre de 2016

2017 Outlook

Is it still called second season syndrome when you’ve been on tour for 12 years?

After a meteoric rise in 2015 – which saw her start the year ranked around the Top 50 and end with two titles, two finals, a Grand Slam semifinal, and a Top 10 ranking – Timea Bacsinszky’s season this year looked to have hit a plateau.

After a lingering knee injury led to a frustratingly slow two months, the Swiss player still put together a run to the Miami Open semifinals – knocking out big names like Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep along the way – then backed it up with a title in Rabat, quarterfinal in Rome and a return to the French Open quarterfinals.

And while she did reach her career-highest ranking of No.9 back in May, Bacsinszky admits that 2016 didn’t end up being all it could be.

“This year was kind of particular because started it with a bit of delay,” she told WTA Insider at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “And I was trying so hard to come back, because it’s tough to be Top 10 and ending up losing quite easily in the first few tournaments of the year.

“The will to do well was there, but really I didn’t have enough in my hands and enough in my legs. Mentally, I was prepared, so I just looked forward and told myself, ‘It’s going to come. Sooner or later, it’s going to come.'”

Looking ahead to 2017, Bacsinszky will be looking to translate all of that desire into results and bring her trademark creative style onto the big stage. With a second consecutive Top 20 finish under her belt, the Swiss will be eager to keep rising and prove she belongs among the big names.

BOGOTÁ, Colombia – After a rainy day in Bogota, defending champion and No.2 seed Teliana Pereira fell to Argentine qualifier Catalina Pella 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) in the first round of the Claro Open Colsanitas.

Pereira, who became the first Brazilian to win a WTA title in 27 years when she won her first singles title here in 2015, seemed primed to make another deep run when she quickly took the first set off her 23-year-old opponent. But a three-hour rain delay halted the match just as Pella won the second set, breaking up Pereira’s rhythm and allowing Pella the time to find her nerve.

“I was so, so, nervous,” Pella said after the match. “It was really tough also because she has a lot of experience – I don’t.”

After coming back from the delay at 2-1, 40-40 in the final set, Pella’s inexperience showed as she hit a double fault to give Pereira a break opportunity, which the Brazilian took handily. Pella later squandered another lead – this time at 5-3.

“I felt totally paralyzed,” Pella said. “My mind was telling me that I should do the same, stay the same, but my legs and my body were empty. I was just too nervous.”

Despite her lack of experience on the big stage, No.274-ranked Pella kept her cool when it mattered most, dominating Pereira in the tiebreak and ousting the defending champion in two hours and twenty minutes.

The rest of the seeds in action advanced to the next round: No.5 Irina Falconi, No.6 Tatjana Maria and No.8 Anna Tatishvilli eased past their first round opponents in straight sets.

However, the extended rain delay left several matches rescheduled, including the struggle between No.1 seed Elina Svitolina and Alexandra Panova. After dropping the first set to the Russian 7-5, Svitolina came roaring back in the second. She looked set to stage her comeback, rolling to a 5-1 lead, when the rain halted play.

Dominika Cibulkova

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.38
Year-End Ranking: No.5 (Career high, Oct 31)
Season Highlights: Titles at Katowice, Eastbourne, Linz and WTA Finals, Final at Acapulco, Madrid and Wuhan
Best Major Result: Quarterfinals (Wimbledon)

5 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/S2j5gG7chp

— WTA (@WTA) December 27, 2016

There are few players who’ve had a busier season than Dominika Cibulkova had in 2016.

Whereas some players peak at the right times – an Asian Swing renaissance, a red-hot US hardcourt summer – Cibulkova did it all season long and on every surface.

She reached the final in Acapulco (outdoor hardcourts), won at Katowice (indoor hardcourts), final in Madrid (clay), title in Eastbourne (grass), final in Wuhan (outdoor hardcourts), and titles at Linz and the WTA Finals (indoor hard).

But despite her continuously stellar results, which earned her a spot in Singapore’s Greatest Eight, Cibulkova admitted that she’s always struggled with self-belief.

“I was never that kind of player that came on tour and was winning tournaments,” Cibulkova told WTA Insider in Singapore. “I always needed, you know, proof. I needed to beat a Top 20 player, a Top 10 player – I was taking small steps to get where I am now.”

It all came together at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, where her qualification came down to the wire, where beat the odds to advance in the group stage, and where she defeated the World No.1 Angelique Kerber to claim the biggest title of her career.

“I always thought that winning a Grand Slam was something unreal, it’s impossible,” Cibulkova said afterwards. “But by winning [the WTA Finals], I want to achieve another dream, and that’s winning a Grand Slam.”

With her self-belief through the roof, surely Cibulkova now has all the proof she needs to know that she belongs at the top among the game’s biggest names.

BRISBANE/AUCKLAND/SHENZHEN – The new year has barely begun, but the 2017 WTA season has begun in earnest, with a trio of tournaments taking place across the globe. World No.1 Angelique Kerber is one of four Top 10 players at the Brisbane International, while 22-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and sister Venus Williams take to the ASB Classic in Auckland. Farther north in China, defending champion and World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska is the top seed at the Shenzhen Open, drawn opposite to Simona Halep.

Check out the biggest storylines in the first week of the 2017 season:

1) Angelique Kerber begins her defense of top ranking.
The two-time Grand Slam champion ended her breakthrough season as No.1 in the world, and heads back to Brisbane to begin taking on challengers to her throne atop the sport. Kerber could open against wildcard and comeback kid Ashleigh Barty after a first round bye, with the likes of Eugenie Bouchard, No.6 seed Elina Svitolina, and No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova all looming in the top half of the draw.

Excited to finally return to Australia ?? with @ThaiAirways. See you Down Under ? #TeamAngie #IflyThai pic.twitter.com/O7jM0tlUZn

— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) December 30, 2016

2) Kerber could book a Singapore rematch with No.2 seed Cibulkova.
The 2016 season ended with Dominika Cibulkova stunning Kerber to win the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Up to a career-high ranking of No.5, the Slovak is seeded No.2 in Brisbane, and will open against either Laura Siegemund or Zhang Shuai after a first round bye. No.5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, and No.7 seed Elena Vesnina are all in her half.

3) Kuznetsova aims to keep up late-season momentum.
Speaking of Kuznetsova, the Russian bookended her 2016 with titles in Sydney and Moscow, the latter helping her book the final ticket to Singapore. Kuznetsova begins her first season in the Top 10 since 2010, and opens against young American Louisa Chirico.

4) Serena returns in Auckland.
Over in New Zealand, World No.2 Serena Williams plays her first tour-level match since the US Open at the ASB Classic. As the top seed, Serena takes on Pauline Parmentier in the first round, and could play No.4 seed Barbora Strycova in the semifinals.

5) The Williams sisters doubles feature.
On the other half of the draw is Serena’s sister Venus, a champion in Auckland back in 2015, who opens against local wildcard Jade Lewis. Along with the hopes of an all-Williams final, Venus and Serena are set to play doubles together for the first time since the Olympic tennis event.

6) Wozniacki opens against good friend Nicole Gibbs.
Caroline Wozniacki narrowly lost to Venus in Auckland’s championship match two years ago, and the former World No.1 aims to build on the late season surge that took her from World No.74 all the way back into the Top 20. Wozniacki drew Nicole Gibbs in her first round; the two spent a week together over the off-season to play an exhibition event:

Beautiful island ✅
(Nearly lethal) drone ✅
Amazing people ✅ pic.twitter.com/V2DBmz8PJO

— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) November 18, 2016

7) Radwanska kicks off title defense against hometown favorite.
Agnieszka Radwanska kicked off 2016 on an impressive winning streaking, winning the Shenzhen Open and roaring into the Australian Open semifinals. Hoping to begin 2017 in similar style, the Pole needs to get past wildcard Duan Ying-Ying, with last year’s runner-up No.8 seed Alison Riske looming in the quarterfinals.

8) Halep takes on Jankovic to kick off her season.
On the other half of the draw is 2015 champion Simona Halep, who has the unenviable task of taking on a former No.1 in Jelena Jankovic to start her season. Jankovic suffered through an injury-addled 2016 season, but showed off some solid tennis last fall, reaching a final in Guangzhou.

Favourite #Christmas song? @JoKonta91 tackles our Christmas quiz! pic.twitter.com/M6OJxve1mb

— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) December 24, 2016

9) Can Jo Konta make new milestones?
Johanna Konta is the third Top 10 player in Shenzhen, and the Brit plays her first tournament since hiring new coach Wim Fisette. Konta scribbled her name throughout the record books in 2016, and aims to continue at that high level in her first match against Cagla Buyukakcay.

10) Mirza pairs with No.1 rival Mattek-Sands in Brisbane.
The top doubles stars converge on Brisbane, with World No.1 Sania Mirza playing with former partner Bethanie-Mattek Sands. Mattek-Sands fell one match shy of unseating Mirza for No.1 in Singapore, losing in the final to Brisbane’s No.2 seeds Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova. In an ironic twist, the American has a shot to take No.1 again this week, but will need Mirza’s help to do it – by winning the title. 

BRISBANE, Australia – No.6 seed Elina Svitolina opened her 2017 season with a comfortable straight sets win over Monica Puig, easing into the second round at the Brisbane International.

Svitolina is enjoying a career-high ranking of No.14 and, with a new coaching team behind her, has already seen the benefits in the New Year. She needed an hour and 17 minutes to complete her 6-3, 6-3 victory over the Olympic champion.

Perfect passing shot from @ElinaSvitolina! ? #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/6qHlQKCV2G

— WTA (@WTA) January 2, 2017

Puig showed flashes of her world-beating form throughout the encounter, but played overly aggressive, trying to end the points too quickly and was waylaid by her own unforced errors. She hit 36 errors to Svitolina’s 17 over the course of two sets, compared to 13 winners against Svitolina’s 15.

Svitolina rode out the assault and replied with her brand of pace and defensive skills, breaking twice in each set and never looking to be in too much trouble.

.@ElinaSvitolina slides past Puig 6-3, 6-3 in @BrisbaneTennis first round! pic.twitter.com/1mtZSewJWD

— WTA (@WTA) January 2, 2017

Awaiting Svitolina in the second round is Shelby Rogers, who opened her Brisbane account yesterday with a win over Eugenie Bouchard, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.

More to follow…

STUTTGART, Germany – 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci served out a tense first round encounter with former Top 10 player Ekaterina Makarova on Wednesday, dispatching the Russian, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4.

Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Vinci and Makarova had played five times before, with the latter winning their most recent encounter at last year’s Australian Open, but it was Vinci who took the early initiative following three straight service breaks to start the match, racing out to a 5-2 lead in the first set tie-break and converting her first set point shortly thereafter.

“It was a tough match; Makarova is a great player, a difficult player with the left hand,” Vinci said after the match.

The second set featured six service breaks as Makarova recovered from losing serve to start to take a 5-3 lead in the hopes of leveling the match, ultimately breaking the No.6 seed to even out the contest.

“The court is fast, and I was a set and 3-1 with a lot of chances to go 4-2, but I lost the second set. The beginning of the third, I stayed focused, didn’t think about the second set, played aggressively because the court is fast, and it’s not easy to defend.”

Undaunted, Vinci promptly took an early lead in the decider and never looked back, clinching the win on her ifrst match point. In all, the match was quite high-quality affair, with each woman hitting over 40 winners and just around 30 unforced errors; the Italian veteran provided the cleaner hitting of the two with 44 winners to 31 unforced while Makarova struck 40 winners and 33 errors of her own.

Vinci also struck six aces to her unseeded opponent, who couldn’t find any aces in her arsenal on Wednesday, striking three double faults instead.

Cheeky cross-court backhand winner from @Roberta_Vinci! #PTGP https://t.co/93BoP5nmUg

— WTA (@WTA) April 20, 2016

“I’m happy because I played two bad matches in Fed Cup, so now here it’s nice to come and win this match.”

Vinci next plays 2011 champion Julia Goerges; the ASB Classic finalist outfoxed Alizé Cornet, 6-4, 6-0, to reach the second round in one hour and 16 minutes.

Karolina Pliskova won a more topsy-turvy firts round on Court 1; playing last year’s French Open finalist Lucie Safarovs, Pliskova edged past her countrywoman, 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-5, in well over two and a half hours.

The big-serving Czech dynamo snuck off with an opening set of 12 straight service holds, and held off a late surge from Safarova, who won her first set of 2016 and recovered from a 5-3 deficit in the final set.

In the last match of the day session, Andrea Petkovic outsteadied Kristina Mladenovic to win a fourth straight encounter agains the French youngster, 6-2, 6-4. Completing the round of 16 line-up, Petkovic will next take on top seed Agnieszka Radwanska.

First set ? @JuliaGoerges

Wins the opening set vs Cornet 6-4! #PTGP https://t.co/9HvNtA26Hi

— WTA (@WTA) April 20, 2016