Charleston: Stephens Interview
An interview with Sloane Stephens before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
An interview with Sloane Stephens before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
The players of the Katowice Open were challenged to a number of exhibitions at the player party Sunday night, and first up was cooking. Things weren’t looking good for Donna Vekic…
… but with a little help from a professional chef she was able to create a sweet treat.
Turkish player Başak Eraydın’s snack went up in flames – but that was all part of the plan, of course!
After showing off their confectionary skills, the players took part in a keepy-uppy competition using their tennis racquets. Stefanie Voegele put up a good effort…
… while Camila Giorgi’s attempt was pretty dismal.
Everyone tried their hand at keepy-uppy and in the end it was Kirsten Flipkens (left) who emerged the winner, though Viktorija Golubic (right) also put up a good effort.
Of course, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (pictured here with Sportking Director Jakub Puchalski and Tournament Director Pawel Owczarz) is no stranger to the challenges of Katowice – she’s the defending champion looking to grab another title here in Poland.
Alizé Cornet, the No.4 seed, ran into fellow Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano at the party…
… while Polish local Magda Linette posed with an on-the-rise Russian, Elizaveta Kulichkova.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Victoria Azarenka is a Champion’s Corner veteran. With three titles already in 2016, including two of the biggest titles of the season at the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open, Azarenka has surged up the rankings from No.22 at the start of the year to No.5. With her title at the Miami Open on Saturday, Azarenka vaulted to No.1 in the Road to Singapore rankings and capped off a jailbreaking start that sees her back where she belongs and primed for a charge at the top.
WTA Insider caught up with Vika on the very short ride from Crandon Park Tennis Center to Crandon Park Beach for the traditional Champion’s photo, which involved drones, shouting photographers, and a little bit of champagne. With the first quarter in the books, Azarenka deserves some R&R. But she insists she’s as hungry as ever. Her next scheduled tournament will come at the Madrid Open, where she has made the final twice.
WTA Insider: What are you most pleased with about your last four weeks?
Azarenka: Really just day in, day out work. It’s been a really long month and to be able to contain this determination and that intensity throughout all the matches is definitely not an easy task. The last couple of days especially has been a lot of expectations and pressure from the outside to complete the Sunshine Double and so I’m very proud that I kept myself present, kept myself really focused and focused on the job before anything else.
Champagne taste and caviar dreams for @vika7 @MiamiOpen. pic.twitter.com/fCH9do3e2J
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 2, 2016
WTA Insider: You talk a lot about staying in the moment and how important that is for you; is that something you find difficult to do?
Azarenka: Once you understand it, it’s not that difficult, but to get to that point is just every day work. That’s what’s difficult. You just have to be willing to do that; if you are, that makes it easier.
WTA Insider: Now that the four weeks are over and there’s an opportunity to decompress, eat some pizza, can you give some insight into just how stressful it all was? How tense did you feel the last four weeks, or after Indian Wells with everything building up towards completing the sweep?
Azarenka: I didn’t feel too tense because I felt I did a really good job managing my time when I’m not playing. So that definitely helped me keep my composure and [stay] relaxed. Off the court, I tried to do whatever makes me happy. I didn’t feel stress but it was intense; it’s definitely been back-to-back [tournaments] and that makes it difficult. To make that switch from one [climate] to another was also not easy. But I felt good that I managed my recovery time very well.
How will @vika7 celebrate her Sunshine Double? “I’m gonna eat pizza. I can’t wait to eat pizza.”
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 2, 2016
WTA Insider: You strike me as someone who likes to be a part of the conversation. You’re now No. 1 in the RTS, No.5 in the rankings, and lead the tour in match-wins and titles. Do you want the expectations? Do you embrace it?
Azarenka: I don’t really look for expectations. I think that it creates a certain type of pressure, and for me pressure is something that I want to go after, something that I want to face, and the challenge I always want to face. I’m never going to be the type of person who runs away from a challenge, no matter how hard it is, because that’s what gets me excited and a hardened competitor.
But being a part of talks, I don’t listen to it that much, because it’s not interesting to me. Opinions, talks, it’s all more for people who are outside the sport. For me, I need to work and focus on my work, because it’s not going to happen if I don’t put the work in. Having that mentality, I appreciate the attention and everything but I don’t look for it. It doesn’t make me play worse or better. It’s irrelevant to me.
Azarenka on turning to “worst” surface clay: “Definitely very motivated for clay season. I’ve always [loved] proving people wrong.”
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 2, 2016
WTA Insider: Looking ahead to the clay court season. It’s not your best surface but you threw down the gauntlet in your post-match press conference about wanting to prove people wrong. Are you going to take more time off to train or are you looking more towards tournament play?
Azarenka: Definitely going to take a tournament preparation block to really put in some specific work for the clay court season off the court. Definitely there will be some adjustments going into the clay court season, that’s for sure. I don’t think you can ever change my game dramatically, but I think this year especially, I’ve already brought a lot more variety with a lot more power this year, keep working on my serve. Mastering the movement on clay will be important to me.
An interview with Lucie Safarova before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
On the latest episode of Dubai Duty Free Full of Surprises, Manny the French Bulldog makes a Miami cameo, while Timea Bacsinszky and Svetlana Kuznetsova show off impressive footwork.
ATLANTA, GA, USA – Venus Williams and Eugenie Bouchard will play an exhibition match at the BB&T Atlanta Open, an ATP 250 event, which takes place on hard court in Atlantic Station on July 22-30. The two players will take to the court in the women’s exhibition evening session on Stadium Court on Sunday, July 23.
“Atlanta has such a rich sports and tennis tradition and it’s been over 10 years since I’ve had a chance to play a match there,” said Williams. “I’m looking forward to hopefully playing in front of a big crowd that is also an enthusiastic tennis audience.”
Williams and Bouchard have played twice before with the head-to-head currently tied at 1-1. The American won their first meeting on hard court at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in 2013 while the Canadian took victory in their most recent encounter, at the Volvo Car Open on clay at Charleston in 2014. Both matches were extended to three sets.
“It’s exciting having the great American champion Venus Williams make her first trip to Atlanta in almost 15 years. She’s an inspiration to tennis fans and players around the world,” said Tournament Director Eddie Gonzalez. “Genie Bouchard is the perfect opponent for Venus, and Atlanta tennis fans will enjoy the professional brand of women’s tennis.”
Tennis legend @Venuseswilliams to play @geniebouchard in exo at #BBTAtlantaOpen!
More: https://t.co/RgRLcMIjNT
?️ https://t.co/nf1e7dae07 pic.twitter.com/XB9DwwjPhh— BB&T Atlanta Open (@BBTatlantaopen) March 6, 2017
All season long we’ve been challenging your favorite players to a skill test that you may not see on the courts, but needless to say, is a tough task – and it’s all right here on wtatennis.com.
The WTA Frame Challenge is a game of keepy-uppy using a tennis ball and any part of the racquet frame. We challenge players to see how many times in a row they can keep the tennis ball in the air, and capture it all on video.
Here’s how the WTA Frame Challenge Leaderboard stands:
48 Sam Stosur
28 Bethanie Mattek-Sands (watch it here)
24 Carla Suárez Navarro (watch it here)
15 Jelena Jankovic (watch it here)
12 Andrea Petkovic (watch it here)
10 Casey Dellacqua
10 Daria Gavrilova (watch it here)
6 Monica Puig (watch it here)
While Stosur is in the lead for now, it could all change when the next WTA star takes the challenge. Stay tuned…
Find all of the latest WTA Frame Challenge videos right here!
It’s time to vote for February’s WTA Player of the Month!
Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, March 10.
February 2017 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists
Kristina Mladenovic: The Frenchwoman’s star reached its highest peaks yet in February, kicking off the month with her maiden WTA title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. Mladenovic ended February in another final, finishining runner-up at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. In between, she scored her first Top 5 win of the season against Karolina Pliskova at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Karolina Pliskova: Speaking of Pliskova, the Czech powerhouse continued her winning ways, becoming the first woman to win multiple titles in 2017 at the Qatar Total Open, where she battled past Dominika Cibulkova and Carolina Pliskova and won four matches in three days.
Elina Svitolina: Svitolina built up an impressive, unbeaten, 13-match winning streak in February, winning her fifth and sixth WTA titles at the Taiwan Open and in Dubai to take home the biggest trophy of her career. The Ukrainian, 22, scored back-to-back wins over former WTA World No.1 Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki to break into the Top 10.
2017 Winners
January: Serena Williams
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
There have been several classic finals over 28 editions of the BNP Paribas Open. Dan Lucas looks back at three of the very best.
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her quarterfinal win at the Volvo Car Open.