My Performance: Kristina Mladenovic
Kristina Mladenovic talks through her performance in her semifinals victory at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Kristina Mladenovic talks through her performance in her semifinals victory at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Angelique Kerber takes on Madison Keys in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.
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.
MIAMI, FL, USA – On this special Dropshot Edition of the podcast, WTA Insider Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen and WTA Web Editor David Kane preview the Miami Open final featuring the hottest player in 2016 in Victoria Azarenka against resurgent Russian veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova. The match starts at 1pm EST on Saturday.
Can Azarenka make history by becoming the first woman since 2005 to complete the Sunshine Double by winning both Indian Wells and Miami? Or will history repeat itself, with Kuznetsova once again stopping a bid for the double by winning Miami. She did it once in 2006. A decade later, she could do it again.
Kristina Mladenovic had Sunday’s shot of the day at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova capped off a fairytale reunion on Sunday afternoon with victory over Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova in the final of the Miami Open.
In 2015, Mattek-Sands and Safarova came to the fore as one of the WTA’s outstanding pairs, winning the Australian and French Opens along the way. However, Safarova’s well-documented battle for fitness forced them to park their partnership for the opening months of the new campaign.
It did not take long for the spark between the two to reappear in Miami, a succession of potentially tricky opponents dispatched with increasing authority. In the final they were particularly impressive, breaking their opponents’ intimidating serves five times to round off a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Having sauntered through the draw without dropping a set, the No.3 seeds appeared on course for another remarkably straightforward victory when they took the first set and opened up a 4-2 advantage in the second. However, they were given a late scare when Babos and Shvedova drew level at 4-4 before eventually getting over the finishing line.
The result was particularly significant for Mattek-Sands, who, after triumphing in Indian Wells alongside CoCo Vandeweghe, now joins Martina Hingis and Natasha Zvereva as the third player to win both events in the same year.
Women's doubles champs Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova have a special message for their fans. #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/ZibcZlUNTN
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) April 3, 2016
A new UK-wide campaign to promote gender equality in tennis has just launched – and coach and former Great Britain Fed Cup captain Judy Murray is right behind it.
Murray, a strong supporter of women in tennis, is running ‘She Rallies’ in partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association, which aims to encourage more girls into tennis by providing more female coaches.
Girl gang. Me and my #SheRallies ambassadors after long day training at @DavidLloydUK Shady Lane. Thats not a typo ? pic.twitter.com/LKlfhrZpLy
— judy murray (@JudyMurray) February 4, 2017
The project launched last weekend with a conference in Birmingham attended by key figures from sport and business – and Murray urged them to get behind the scheme’s objectives.
@BritishTennis SE #SheRallies Ambassadors with Queen Bee @JudyMurray at the helm!! “Be the change you want to be” – we're ready ??? pic.twitter.com/w5QDTTGAur
— Jo Ward (@Jo_Ward33) February 6, 2017
“We have now trained a team of female ambassadors to go out and empower women and girls to play, compete and deliver tennis,” Murray told the audience.
“This is our first step to addressing the gender imbalance in our sport.”
The 2016 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open and continued over the last two weeks at the Miami Open, where every ace hit by a WTA player at Premier-level events translates into a donation to the USANA True Health Foundation, whose mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those who are suffering or in need around the world. For every ace hit by any player the WTA donates $5, and for every ace hit by a USANA Brand Ambassador, it’s $10.
USANA Brand Ambassadors Caroline Wozniacki, Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic, Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens, Monica Puig, Zheng Saisai and Alizé Cornet hit 34 of the 511 aces in Miami – raising a grand total of $2,725 over the fortnight.
Read more about the campaign here and see below to find out who’s hit the most aces so far!
#AcesForHumanity Fan Giveaway
It’s simple: before each WTA Premier tournament guess how many total aces will be hit.
Next up is the Volvo Car Open in Charleston. Last year there was a total of 241 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit in the desert this year.
How To Enter:
• Follow @WTA and @USANAFoundation on Twitter and before each WTA Premier tournament tweet the number of aces you predict will be hit during the whole tournament (Singles, Main Draw)
• Include the hashtag #AcesForHumanity
• Charleston deadline is April 6th at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced April 11th
Aces For Humanity is a joint WTA and USANA initiative that benefits the USANA True Health Foundation, which provides critical human necessities to those in suffering or in need around the globe.
For full rules on how to enter, click here.
An interview with Belinda Bencic before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber, a pair of former Volvo Car Open champions, traded the green clay for the sand at Charleston’s Iconic Photoshoot.
Against the backdrop of Charleston’s beautiful scenery, Petkovic and Kerber tried their hand at beach tennis.
Petkovic won Charleston in 2014 and Kerber in 2015, but how would they fare on sand?
Petkovic was confident in her beach tennis skills…
…and she gave defending Charleston champion Kerber quite a battle in their set of sand-tennis.
Charleston is known for a lot of things – delicious food, rich culture, historic architecture – but today it was its incredible nature on display.
Who will lift a second Charleston trophy? They both look ready for it after their iconic preparations.
After a fierce and scenic battle, the pair faced the press like true champions.
Despite being beach tennis rivals, the Germans are good friends off court as well as Olympic doubles hopefuls.
Charleston is a favorite stop on the tour for Petkovic and Kerber, pictured here with Bob Moran, Volvo Car Open tournament director.
With beach tennis under their belts, Kerber and Petkovic are all set to reclaim their titles in Charleston.