Birmingham: Kvitova vs Safarova
Petra Kvitova takes on Lucie Safarova at the Aegon International Birmingham.
Petra Kvitova takes on Lucie Safarova at the Aegon International Birmingham.
Long before the Olympic tennis event kicked off in Rio de Janeiro, Venus Williams toyed with the idea of sticking around for 2020, when the Olympics moved to Tokyo, Japan.
“We have to start looking at 2020,” she said at Wimbledon when asked about her successful doubles tenure with sister Serena. “That would be impressive. If you think this year’s impressive, hold on.
“That would be a blessing if we did play. I’m so grateful for each and every time we’ve had a chance to play and qualify. It’s been beyond our dreams. It means the world to us to play together.”
Venus and Serena have been the story of Olympic tennis since the two first paired up to win gold in women’s doubles back in 2000. Since then, the sisters have each amassed quite a haul, each taking gold in singles – Venus in 2000, Serena in 2012 – and earning three golds in women’s doubles in 2000, 2008, and 2012.
She narrowly missed out on a fifth gold medal in mixed doubles, winning silver alongside Rajeev Ram in Rio.
“Tokyo is about if I want to be there,” the five-time Wimbledon winner said in August. “If I want to continue to work as hard. It’s a lot of hard work. I have to want to do the work. So we’ll see.”
Her resolve appears to have solidified even more in the off-season, discussing the possibility of playing through 2020 on a soon-to-be broadcast program on the Hallmark Channel.
“I am targeting that to see if it’s possible to play there. While you’re out there playing, I love that challenge, I love the pressure, it’s all a privilege.
“If I can be out there, I will be.”
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Follow Garbiñe Muguruza as she walks us through her pre-party routine at the Mallorca Open.
Highlights from the first round action at the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
World No.6 Karolina Pliskova has split with her coach Jiri Vanek. The successful partnership began in 2014 and resulted in two career-best seasons for the 24-year-old Czech, who broke into the Top 10 in 2015.
Pliskova continued her rise in 2016, winning the biggest title of her career at the Western & Southern Open and advancing to her first Slam final at the US Open, where she lost in three sets to World No.1 Angelique Kerber. The announcement comes after Pliskova helped lead the Czech Republic to their fifth Fed Cup title in the last six years.
Like Pliskova, Elina Svitolina also announced her decision to split with longtime coach Iain Hughes; neither Pliskova nor Svitolina have named replacements.
MALLORCA, Spain – Daniela Hantuchova received an extra boost of Slovak power at the Mallorca Open, where she grabbed her first main draw win of the year and got the news that she’d been awarded a wildcard into Wimbledon.
Earlier this week a very special cheering squad made the trip to the Mediterranean: 12 Slovakian Miss Universe contestants travelled to Mallorca to enjoy a bit of world class tennis at the inaugural event. The contestants’ first stop on their tour of the Balearic Island? A meet and great with former World No.5 Hantuchova, whose own tennis has flourished on the Spanish grass courts this week.
Earlier in the week, Hantuchova grabbed her first main draw win of the year in the opening round of the Mallorca Open when she defeated Yaroslava Shvedova 6-1, 6-3. In fact, it was her first main draw win since last year’s Istanbul Open, where she defeated Turkish trailblazer Cagla Buyukakcay in the first round.
The Slovak’s spirited Mallorca victory also earned her an even sweeter prize: a main draw wildcard into Wimbledon, and a big career milestone.
This year’s Championships will be Hantuchova’s 60th appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam, putting her at No.8 in the elite list of players with the most appearances in the Open Era.
Open Era: Grand Slam Main Draw Appearances
71 Amy Frazier
70 Venus Williams
67 Martina Navratilova
64 Conchita Martinez
63 Ai Sugiyama
63 Serena Williams
62 Francesca Schiavone
60 Daniela Hantuchova
Hantuchova made her Grand Slam main draw debut over 15 years ago in the 2001 Australian Open, and she’s been a main draw staple ever since, only missing out on two occurrences (French Open 2008 and 2012).
Here’s a list of all the singles wildcards awarded so far for the 2016 edition of The Championships.
2016 Wimbledon Ladies Singles Wildcards
1. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
2. Marina Melnikova (RUS)
3. Tara Moore (GBR)
4. Laura Robson (GBR)
5. Katie Swan (GBR)
6. To be announced
7. To be announced
8. To be announced
No word yet on whether the Slovakian Miss Universe contestants will follow Hantuchova all the way to London.
Click here for a complete list of all the wildcards announced so far at Wimbledon.
Olga Govortsova knocked out former champion Vitalia Diatchenko to secure the first semifinal spot at the OEC Taipei WTA Challenger.
Last week, in honor of the Euro 2016 and Copa America kicking off, we asked tennis fans a big question: if WTA players were a national team, who would be in your starting lineup? After one week of voting, the results have been tallied up and we’re ready to unveil the Fan Voted WTA XI.
But first, let’s remind you who we chose for our official WTA starting lineup:
The WTA plays in a classic 4-4-2 formation, which means that along with a goalkeeper, we’re fielding four defenders, four midfielders, and two strikers.
Of course, fans had other ideas for which players would make the best team, so we put it to a vote.
After tallying up the numbers, here’s who made the cut in the Fan Voted WTA XI:
Here’s how it breaks down:
FORWARDS
We chose to play two of the most powerful attack-minded players in the game as our strikers, but it looks like fans wouldn’t take the field without starting the player with one of the best winning percentages in 2016: Victoria Azarenka.
We chose:
· Serena Williams
· Garbiñe Muguruza
The fans voted:
· Garbiñe Muguruza
· Victoria Azarenka
Though Azarenka also garnered a lot of votes as a potential defender, the overwhelming majority of fans voted her as a striker – and we can’t say we disagree.
MIDFIELDERS
Our midfield is packed with skillful and creative players, but fans were torn as to which playmakers they wanted in their Fan Voted WTA XI. In the end, here’s how the voting played out:
We chose:
· Agnieszka Radwanska
· Simona Halep
· Timea Bacsinszky
· Belinda Bencic
The fans voted:
· Simona Halep
· Agnieszka Radwanska
· Kristina Mladenovic
· Svetlana Kuznetsova
Fans voted for a mix of youth and experience by adding Mladenovic and Kuznetsova to the star duo of Radwanska and Halep. Though Halep was also voted as a potential defender, more fans thought she’d be a better fit in the midfield.
DEFENDERS
Our defenders are a rock-solid bunch of the most consistent, defense-minded returners and counter punchers in the game – here’s who made the cut in the Fan Voted WTA XI.
We chose:
· Angelique Kerber
· Victoria Azarenka
· Sara Errani
· Caroline Wozniacki
The fans voted:
· Angelique Kerber
· Dominika Cibulkova
· Sara Errani
· Elina Svitolina
Both back lines seem pretty impenetrable – which one do you think would stand up to the test?
GOALKEEPERS
In our WTA XI, we trusted our goal in the hands of Petra “Cech” Kvitova, but fans had a different player in mind for this position.
We chose:
· Petra Kvitova
The fans voted:
· Andrea Petkovic
Although she also grabbed a lot of votes as a defender, the vast majority of fans thought Petkovic would do a better job in goal. Do you agree with this substitution?
There’s your fan-voted WTA Starting 11! Do you agree with the fan vote or the WTA starting lineup? Which team do you think has a better shot at title-winning glory? Tweet us your thoughts – right here @WTA!
BIRMINGHAM, Great Britain – A handful of points from elimination to start the day, No.6 seed Carla Suárez Navarro won back-to-back matches on Friday to roar into her first career Premier-level grass court semifinal at the Aegon Classic, narrowly defeating No.2 seed and reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“It was really tough,” an exhausted Suárez Navarro said in her on-court interview. “Angie was fighting all the time, til the end. Every point was very tough; we had to fight five, six balls to win each point. But I’m really happy with the way I finished the match.”
Suárez Navarro began the day forced to resume her rain-delayed second round encounter with Andrea Petkovic, who had won the first set on Thursday. The Spaniard turned the tables on the former French Open semifinalist in dramatic fashion, winning a pair of tie-breaks to dispatch the German veteran, but her day wasn’t over yet as Kerber loomed later in the afternoon.
“When I play really aggressive, I can go into the net and finish the point. It’s much easier for me. Today, I was very good with my backhand and finished a lot of points at the net. I will try to play like this tomorrow!”
A solid doubles player, the Spaniard noted that she’s no stranger to doubling up during the week.
“When you play singles and doubles, sometimes you have to play two matches,” she said in her post-match press conference. “You spend a lot of time in the club. But a long time ago, I don’t remember that I play two singles in the same day.”
On her weakest surface, Suárez Navarro took it to the 2012 Wimbledon semifinalist, hitting 33 winners to just 23 unforced errors, and emerged victorious in a 36-minute opening set.
“All the time I go on court on grass I try to play aggressive, try to think that I can play good on grass.
“I’ve have good matches here, try to have also good matches in Eastbourne. Then the final test is Wimbledon, you know. Try to be ready for Wimbledon.
“At Wimbledon, all the players are there. The best players, you know. Women’s tennis right now is really close. All the matches are difficult.”
Kerber, who hit 38 winners and 25 unforced errors in her second match of the day (after defeating Australia’s Daria Gavrilova), was hoping to defend a title for the second time in 2016, and raced through the second as the Spaniard began to fade.
Wow! ? ? #AegonClassic https://t.co/o7U78rqLlM
— WTA (@WTA) June 17, 2016
But Suárez Navarro held her nerve in an epic deciding set, serving out a titanic final game that forced her to save three break points that, had Kerber converted, led to her second final set tie-break of the day.
“I had to fight and play my best tennis to beat the best players. But I really enjoyed the match-up today.”
A disconsolate Kerber looked for a silver lining following the disappointing defeat.
“I had few matches before Wimbledon. That was my goal. Of course, it was not the score I would like to have after this tough match, but still I think I’m finding my rhythm.
“I’m playing good tennis. Today was a close match, just one or two points decided the match. Carla won at the end. It’s always tough to play against her. We always have tough matches.
“That’s all I can say. I just take positive things from the week. I’m feeling good on grass. This is the positive thing I will take into Wimbledon now.”
Saturday’s semifinal between Suárez Navarro and Madison Keys not only determines who will reach the championship match, but also who reaches the Top 10. Keys won their only previous match back in 2013, but the American needed three sets to defeat the wily veteran.
“She serves really good and has a lot of confidence, so I’ll try to enjoy my game tomorrow and enjoy the match.”
When asked what she planned to do at the end of a long day, the Spaniard admitted she’ll be taking in some football and root for her home team.
“I have my physio here with me, so I’ll have a really good massage. I’ll also watch the Spanish team at the Euro Cup, so I’ll relax a little bit tonight!”
Earlier in the day, CoCo Vandeweghe won her eighth straight match with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Yanina Wickmayer, while Barbora Strycova won an entertaining two-setter against former Wimbledon semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova, 6-2, 7-5.
“Playing two matches today isn’t easy,” Vandeweghe said after her quarterfinal win. “We had a two-hour break and then to go out and compete again, because we both had full matches to play.
“We were facing the same conditions, which is good when you’re playing an opponent that is in the same predicament as you are instead of a fresh opponent that hasn’t played a match that day.
“I think I definitely have the confidence. There’s no reason I shouldn’t. I haven’t lost a match yet. That definitely helps in the big moments. I’m not panicking.”
Playing some of her best tennis of the year on grass, the American shrugs off notions that this is her best surface, pointing to the quantity of grass court tournaments – or lack, thereof.
“I’m not immune to social media. I’ve seen the stats, the SAP stats and whatever of me on grass versus other surfaces, so I only have one comment to that.
“They take a grass court season, that’s so small, there’s only three tournaments, excluding Wimbledon, to play, four if you include Wimbledon. So four tournaments out of the year I’m playing, those stats are taking off hard court that’s two-fourths of the year, and then clay that’s one forth of the year. I think those stats aren’t quite where I’d — I kind the scoffed at them a little bit.
“My stats would probably, if you took my best four hard court tournaments, I think they’d be up there as well.”
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— Carla Suarez Navarro (@CarlaSuarezNava) June 17, 2016
November 19, 2016
At the final Premier Mandatory event of the campaign, the China Open, Agnieszka Radwanska reclaimed the trophy she won five years earlier, while over in indoor halls of Europe, Dominika Cibulkova and Svetlana Kuznetsova sealed their spots at the WTA Finals.