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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – Former No.1 Venus Williams continued her progress at the Australian Open, moving into the third round in Melbourne for the 13th time in her career after a comfortable win over Stefanie Voegele.

In contrast to her grueling first-round battle against Kateryna Kozlova, Venus never really looked under pressure against Voegele, easing through in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.

“Today was a good day, a little less hot first thing in the morning, so it was good to get it in, you know, and have a win early,” Venus told press after her victory.

The Swiss qualifier, ranked No.112 in the world, looked decidedly out of her depth on Rod Laver Arena against the former No.1. A tentative start from Voegele allowed the American to open with a double break of serve and rocket to a 3-0 lead.

Venus Williams

With the early nerves out of the way, Voegele managed to grab one of the breaks back with a crisp backhand passing shot, but she wasn’t able to wrench the advantage out of Venus’ grasp. Venus stayed aggressive to wrap up the first set with ease, and continued her form into the second, breaking twice to seal the match in barely over 80 minutes.

The No.13 seed will face either Duan Ying-Ying in the third round after the Chinese player outlasted Varvara Lepchenko 6-1, 3-6, 10-8.

“I don’t know anything about her,” Venus admitted. “I have never seen her play. Zero, like zero. So I’m going to have to see how it goes.

“Like, maybe get a scouting report in the warm-up when we hit the five minutes and kind of see how it feels.”

This is Venus’ 17th appearance at the Australian Open – joint-most among active players, tied with her sister Serena Williams – and with No.4 seed Simona Halep out of the tournament in a first round stunner, Venus’ side of the draw gives her ample opportunity to continue on and make a deep run.  

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Notes & Netcords: March 7, 2016

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

THE WINNERS

Heather Watson roared back from a set down to dispatch Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, to win her third career title at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme.

“I don’t know where to start,” Watson said. “I’m extremely happy today. I was nervous coming into the match, and I’ve never beaten Kirsten before – she’s a great player who really makes you work for it.”

With Johanna Konta also reaching the quarterfinals in Monterrey and Naomi Broady matching the effort in Kuala Lumpur, it was the largest contingent of British women in a WTA quarterfinal in one week since 1978 (Eastbourne).

Read the Monterrey final match recap here.

Elina Svitolina survived a stormy Sunday final against an inspired Eugenie Bouchard to capture her fourth career title at the BMW Malaysian Open, 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5. Winning in Kuala Lumpur brings Svitolina up to a career-high ranking of No.14, and back into the Top 15 for the first time since last summer.

“It was a long day,” Svitolina said after the match, which was interrupted by rain four times. “Emotionally, I’m really exhausted now.”

Read the Kuala Lumpur final match recap here.

GAME, SET, MATCH: WTA Insider

Game: Heather Watson avoids disaster to win the Abierto Monterrey Afirme.

Things weren’t looking bright for Watson when she landed in Monterrey. She was on a string of three tough three-set losses, her tennis bag was literally being held together by a safety pin, and she lost half her laundry. Sure enough, there she was in the first round struggling against Misaki Doi and about to succumb to full-body cramps.

But she found a way to get the 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 win and went on to lose just one more set en route to her third career title. All this with her mother Michelle serving as her coach – both on and off court – throughout the week. This was the most impressive title run of the week, with the No.84 Watson knocking out No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki and No.4 seed Caroline Garcia in straight sets.

Heather’s mother Michelle had never been courtside for Watson’s first two title wins. She couldn’t have asked for a better present on Mother’s Day.

Set: Elina Svitolina gets her junior Wimbledon revenge.

In a rematch of the 2012 Wimbledon junior final, Svitolina outlasted both a rain-interrupted final and a resurging Eugenie Bouchard 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5 to win her first title of the season at the BMW Malaysian Open. The No.2 seed took a wildcard into the event, and though she struggled to get past four players ranked outside the Top 130 to make the final, she saved her best for last against Bouchard.

It was a strong week for both finalists, though Bouchard was undoubtedly disappointed to come so close to her first title since 2014 – she served for the match at 5-4 in the third only to get broken. She has already made two finals this year and didn’t drop a set in Kuala Lumpur until the final. The consistency and decision-making has improved tremendously since last year, though her struggle to remain healthy on-court continues. She complained of dizziness during the final but played through against medical advice.

“The medical staff also strongly advised me not to continue during the second set but there was no way I was going to retire in a final,” she told TheStar.com. “I think I gave it my all and I fought well. Now I just need to go on to my next tournament and do well there.”

Match: Dry spell or oasis?

The tour now turns to two of its biggest events of the season at this week’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California before hitting the opposite coast at the Miami Open. With so many questions lingering about the state of the Top 10, all eyes are on the desert to see whether the tour’s elite can offer some stability after two unpredictable months.

Read more about what to expect during March Madness here.

RANKING MOVERS
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of March 7, 2016.

Heather Watson (GBR), +31 (No.84 to 53): Watson gave her mother the best Mother’s Day gift she could ask for this week. As her mum looked on in the stands, Watson clinched the third title of her career at Monterrey and made biggest ranking jump of the week, vaulting up to No.53.

Naomi Broady (GBR), +20 (No.96 to 76): Broady made her second WTA semifinal of her career at Kuala Lumpur and jumped 20 spots to a career high ranking of No.76.

Kirsten Flipkens (BEL), +14 (No. 73 to 59): Flipkens is back into the Top 60 after a stellar run in Monterrey, which saw her reach her first final since 2013. 

Eugenie Bouchard (CAN), +10 (No.52 to 42): With a final appearance in Kuala Lumpur – her second final of the year – Bouchard continues her upward trend back up rankings with a spot inside the Top 50.

Elina Svitolina (UKR), +5 (No.19 to 14): Svitolina captured the title in Kuala Lumpur and took home an even sweeter prize: a brand new career-high ranking of No.14.

Read Ranking Watch for in-depth analysis of this week’s ranking jumps.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

BNP Paribas Open
Indian Wells, USA
Premier | $6,134,605 | Hard, Outdoors
Wednesday, March 9 – Sunday March 20

Miami Open
Miami, USA
Premier | $6,134,605 | Hard, Outdoors
Tuesday, March 22 – Sunday, April 3

TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES

1. Serena Williams – Indian Wells, Miami
2. Angelique Kerber – Indian Wells, Miami
3. Agnieszka Radwanska – Indian Wells, Miami
4. Garbiñe Muguruza – Indian Wells, Miami
5. Simona Halep – Indian Wells, Miami
6. Carla Suárez Navarro – Indian Wells, Miami
7. Maria Sharapova – Miami
8. Belinda Bencic – Indian Wells, Miami
9. Petra Kvitova – Indian Wells, Miami
10. Roberta Vinci – Indian Wells, Miami
11. Flavia Pennetta – (retired)
12. Venus Williams – Indian Wells, Miami
13. Lucie Safarova – Indian Wells, Miami
14. Elina Svitolina – Indian Wells, Miami
15. Victoria Azarenka – Indian Wells, Miami
16. Sara Errani – Indian Wells, Miami
17. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Indian Wells, Miami
18. Ana Ivanovic – Indian Wells, Miami
19. Karolina Pliskova – Indian Wells, Miami
20. Jelena Jankovic – Indian Wells Miami

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:

An-Sophie Mestach (BEL) – March 7, 1994
Petra Kvitova (CZE) – March 8, 1990
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (CRO) – March 9, 1982
Belinda Bencic (SUI) – March 10, 1997
Stefanie Voegele (SUI) – March 10, 1990
Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) – March 12, 1981
Andreja Klepac (SLO) – March 13, 1986

 

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Vote: August Breakthrough Of The Month

Vote: August Breakthrough Of The Month

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

AUG BTOM

August was defined by three breakthrough players who brought some impressive performances on and off the court. Which one soared the highest?

Have a look at the nominees for August Breakthrough Performance of the Month and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, September 16.

August 2016 WTA Breakthrough Performance of the Month Finalists:

Karolina Pliskova: After losing in the first or second round in 14 of her first 17 major tournaments, Pliskova broke through in a big way at the US Open. In her first Grand Slam second week, she saved a match point to defeat No.6 seed Venus Williams in a final set tie-break, and backed up that win by becoming the fourth woman to beat both Venus and top seed Serena Williams at the same major tournament. The win took her into her first Grand Slam final, where she fell in three dramatic sets to Angelique Kerber.

Anastasija Sevastova: The Latvian is playing better than ever in her second career. Coming back from an 18-month retirement at the start of 2015, Sevastova stunned No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium and knocked out Johanna Konta to reach the quarterfinals for her best Grand Slam finish.

Ana Konjuh: Three years after winning the girl’s singles title at the US Open, 18-year-old Ana Konjuh was the young starlet of the 2016 tournament. Upsetting No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, Konjuh avenged a heartbreaking loss at Wimbledon – where she injured her ankle after having three match points – and enjoyed her best-ever Grand Slam result, reaching the last eight.

2016 Winners:

January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs
April: Cagla Buyukakcay
May: Kiki Bertens
June: Elena Vesnina
July: Kristina Kucova

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

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Happy International Women's Day

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Today is International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate women’s achievements throughout history and across nations.

IWD has been celebrated on March 8 since 1977, when the United Nations proclaimed the date as a time to reflect on progress made for women’s rights, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.

The WTA marked the date with the #MySuperwoman campaign, and the stars of the WTA also took to Twitter to celebrate International Women’s Day 2016. 

Here’s what they had to say:

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Venus Issues Statement On WADA Hack

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Venus Williams has issued the following statement in response to Tuesday’s hack on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s databases, which led to the public release of her confidential medical data:

“I was disappointed to learn today that my private, medical data has been compromised by hackers and published without my permission. I have followed the rules established under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program in applying for, and being granted, ‘therapeutic use exemptions’.

“The applications for TUEs under the Tennis Anti-Doping program require a strict process for approval which I have adhered to when serious medical conditions have occurred. The exemptions posted in the hacked report are reviewed by an anonymous, independent group of doctors, and approved for legitimate medical reasons. I am one of the strongest supporters of maintaining the highest level of integrity in competitive sport and I have been highly disciplined in following the guidelines set by WADA, USADA, the ITF and collectively the Tennis Anti-Doping Program.”

Travis Tygart, CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency also issued a statement denouncing the hack and supporting the athletes.

“It’s unthinkable that in the Olympic movement, hackers would illegally obtain confidential medical information in an attempt to smear athletes to make it look as if they have done something wrong. The athletes haven’t. In fact, in each of the situations, the athlete has done everything right in adhering to the global rules for obtaining permission to use a needed medication. The respective International Federations, through the proper process, granted the permission and it was recognized by the IOC and USADA.”

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Zhang Topples Osaka In Tokyo

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

TOKYO, Japan – No.6 seed Zhang Shuai ended Naomi Osaka’s hopes at the Japan Women’s Open Tennis with a straight set victory in their second-round clash on Thursday.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Making the most of fast starts to both sets, Zhang completed a 6-3, 6-2 win in style, firing a wonderful forehand winner into the corner.

This year Osaka has started to deliver on her boundless potential, but against Zhang was unable to find the consistency to match her shotmaking. She netted a forehand to fall an early break behind and despite reducing her arrears to 4-3 was unable to rescue the first set.

Zhang continued to play the steadier tennis in the second set, punctuating her metronomic groundstrokes with occasional moment of inspiration; with Osaka serving at break point down in the second game, Zhang soaked up a series of heavy-duty groundstrokes before arrowing a pin-point forehand onto the baseline.

Another break soon followed as she confidently set up a quarterfinal meeting against Varvara Lepchenko.

Elsewhere there were contrasting fortunes for Zhang’s fellow seeds, Yulia Putintseva and Christina McHale.

To the delight of the crowd Kurumi Nara produced one of her best performances of the year to swat aside No.3 seed Putintseva and keep live homes of a Japanese champion. McHale, the No.7 seed, was made to work considerably harder, coming within two points of defeat against qualifier Rebecca Peterson before pulling through, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(4).

“It was a very tough match, very physical – the points were very long – so I’m really happy to have won and be moving on to the next round,” McHale said.

Fellow American Alison Riske continued her impressive progress through the draw, easing past Misaki Doi’s conqueror, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-3, 6-1, while Viktorija Golubic defeated last year’s finalist Magda Linette, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – On Day 5 of the Australian Open, the favorites took care of business. The two surprises of the day came from Anastasia Pavluchenkova knocking out No.11 seed Elina Svitolina and Sorana Cirstea continuing her good form to beat Alison Riske and advance to her first Round of 16 at a Slam since the 2009 French Open.

Here’s what you missed:

The Top Half Round of 16 is set for Sunday.

No.1 Angelique Kerber vs. No.35 CoCo Vandeweghe
No.78 Sorana Cirstea vs. No.7 Garbiñe Muguruza
No.116 Mona Barthel vs. No.17 Venus Williams
No.27 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. No.10 Svetlana Kuznetsova

Mona Barthel’s long road back.

The German’s talent has never been a question. With a fluid backhand that can take the ball down the line with remarkable precision and disguise, the 26-year-old hit a career-high of No.23 in 2013. But she came into Melbourne having to qualify for the main draw, with a ranking that plummetted to No.116 after an undiagnosed illness derailed her 2016 season.

“Nobody knew what it was exactly,” Barthel said. “Starting around here last year when I got back home I just couldn’t do anything. Walking 100 meters was totally exhausting for me. It was a really tough time. Tennis wasn’t really a part of it, I was just trying to get back to live a normal life. I really didn’t know if I could return.

“It was a tough year for me. I was really sick for a long time. It took me a lot of time to come back and feel physically good again. I think since December I felt a lot better and could practice a lot more and get the hours on the court. I’m just physically much fitter than I was before and that helps me mentally because I know I can play the long rallies and go for three sets.

“It was mentally tough because if you don’t have a diagnosis you don’t know if it’s coming back. It was tough sometimes on court. I just didn’t know where my body was, if I could trust it again. But it’s much better now.”

Barthel needed all her reserves to get past another solid performance from Ashleigh Barty, coming back from a break down in the third to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The win puts Barthel into her first Round of 16 at a Slam where she’ll face Venus Williams.

“She’s a great player. If she’s on, she’s playing unbelievable. But I won six matches in a row. Nothing is impossible.”

Svetlana Kuznetsova plays another marathon in Melbourne.

It was six years ago that Kuznetsova played her part in setting the record for the longest women’s match at a Slam, eventually succumbing to Francesca Schiavone here in Melbourne in 4 hours and 44 minutes. The No.9 seed didn’t have to go that far this time, but she needed 3 hours and 36 minutes to get past Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 5-7, 9-7. Kuznetsova rallied back from 0-3 down in the final set to nip Jankovic in the end.

CoCo Vandeweghe swags past Eugenie Bouchard.

In the most anticipated match of the day, Vandeweghe came back from a break down in the third set to beat Bouchard 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in a top-quality battle between two big hitters. The win puts Vandeweghe into her first Round of 16 at a hard court major and she’ll get a chance to pull off the upset over No.1 Angelique Kerber on Sunday.

One thing is for sure: Vandweghe will not be short of confidence. The American was asked whether her win over Bouchard ranked high on her list of career victories and Vandeweghe dismissed the idea.

“Actually, not that high now that I think about it,” she said, smiling. “I think there are different moments in my career that I have, my short career, that I enjoy, different wins for different reasons.

“I think probably my favorite match that I won — well, I probably have to say tournament, is probably my first WTA title would be my favorite. Then after that, I had a really good run at Montreal where I beat Jankovic and Ivanovic back to back, and that was the first time I ever beat two — I believe they were top 10, both of them, at the time, first time I had ever done that.

“So this one isn’t that high for me. It was kind of expected, in my mind, to get the win and to get the victory and to move a step closer to achieving what I want to achieve for this year and also this tournament.”

Venus Williams doesn’t age.

The 36-year-old has now made the second week at four consecutive Slams and has done so in seven of her last nine majors. On Friday she lost just one game to Duan Ying-Ying, sealing the match in under an hour.

Kristyna Pliskova has a surprising admirier.

The Czech couldn’t do much against Kerber, losing 6-0, 6-4 in 55 minutes. But she certainly caught one Gladiator’s attention:

Quote of the Day: “It wasn’t a horrible trip.”

Bouchard leaves Australia with a lot of positives, having found some consistent form to make the Sydney semifinals and come within a few games of the Round of 16 here.

“Obviously, deep down, always expect more, but, you know, I couldn’t expect too much, considering I trained for a month, and it’s the first, you know, really good training I got in a while, first time I got a good break in a while, first time I trained well in a while,” she said.

“It’s kind of like a restart process. I can’t expect too much at the beginning. It wasn’t a horrible trip.”

The Barty Party is over.

It was a great tournament for Barty, who will jump to around No.150 after the tournament. “I think if you would have asked me 12 months ago if I was going to be in the third round of the Australian Open, I would say, Mate, you’re kidding,” Barty said. “Obviously it’s disappointing tonight that we couldn’t execute what we wanted. But still a very positive week.”

Now we’ll just end it on this:

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