Caroline Wozniacki's Practice Session In Dubai
Watch Caroline Wozniacki hit the practice court ahead of the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Watch Caroline Wozniacki hit the practice court ahead of the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
If there’s one thing that Serena Williams probably loves more than winning, it’s tacos.
Despite holding a record-tying number of Grand Slam titles and consecutive weeks at the WTA’s top spot, it’s tacos – not trophies – that are on her mind all day, every day.
Good thing for Serena that there’s a whole holiday dedicated to her favorite food: National Taco Day. But if you’re Serena Williams, clearly every day is National Taco Day.
Her love for tacos runs deep, as USA Today’s Nick McCarvel uncovered earlier this year.
Before she had her first taste of Grand Slam victory, Serena had already developed a taste for the delicious Mexican dish.
“I’m from Compton and there is a big mixture of cultures there,” Serena said before the US Open. “I grew up next to all of these Mexican families and we were close with them when I was little, we were friends. I think that’s where my love for tacos comes from.”
Whenever she’s not eating or thinking about tacos, Serena spends her free time lovingly photographing them for her Instagram account.
Serena’s been around the world and obviously has tried many a taco, but the quest for finding the perfect one is lifelong.
Happy National Taco Day, Serena!
Taco Talk With Serena:
Q: What’s your favorite taco place?
I never thought I would say this. But I found the best tacos in West Palm. I can't stop thinking about them. ?
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) September 17, 2016
Q: Who makes the best taco?
“I make the best taco,” Serena claimed. “Or my sister Lyn. If you ever watch my Snapchat, you know I don’t talk about my taco recipes.”
“I don’t taco about it.”
Q: What’s your favorite kind of taco?
DUBAI, UAE – No.7 seed Elina Svitolina took home her second title of 2017 – and the biggest one of her career – at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after defeating 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.
Playing in her first Premier 5 final, Svitolina showed no sign of nerves as she outhit the former World No.1 to claim the victory 6-4, 6-2 after an hour and 10 minutes.
“It’s very special for me [to win such a big tournament],” Svitolina said in her on-court interview. “I’ve played very amazing tennis this week and I’m happy it happened in Dubai.
“It’s the first trophy for me at such a big tournament, so it’s very special for me.”
“I dreamed for all my life to be in the Top 10” -@ElinaSvitolina pic.twitter.com/T4CooJ6Nw3
— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017
With the title, Svitolina will rise from WTA No.13 to No.10, making her the 120th player to make her Top 10 debut since the WTA Rankings were introduced on November 3, 1975.
“I’ve dreamed for all my life to be in Top 10. It’s a very amazing feeling to enter Top 10, and do it by winning the tournament! I’m very excited for the season and very excited I could win this tournament.”
The 22-year-old Ukrainian entered the matchup against Wozniacki with a 1-0 lead in the pair’s head-to-head record, with their only meeting coming last year in Miami where Svitolina came within two points of defeat before winning 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1).
This time in Dubai, it was a more comprehensive affair, with Svitolina injecting pace into her groundstrokes to break down Wozniacki’s rock-solid defense.
.@ElinaSvitolina captures @DDFTennis Title!
Defeats Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/TA3LibF8zn
— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017
A pair of inch-perfect passing shots left Wozniacki wrong-footed and gave Svitolina the lone break in the first set at 3-2. But the Dane refused to fade away, batting away a pair of Svitolina set points at 5-4 with some bold tennis – including a second-serve ace – to force the Ukrainian to serve it out.
Wozniacki let three break points slip by that would have leveled the score, and instead Svitolina held serve from 0-40 down to take the opening set.
Svitolina continued her momentum into the final set; after trading breaks to start, Svitolina played more aggressive to chip away at Wozniacki’s defense as the Dane’s unforced error count continued to build. Svitolina rattled off the last five games in a row to close out the match and biggest title of her career.
“It’s been a good two weeks, @DDFTennis is a special tournament for me.” -@CaroWozniacki pic.twitter.com/xVVyG0fmXK
— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017
Despite the disappointing loss, Wozniacki is taking away positive signs from her Middle East fortnight, which saw her reach back-to-back finals.
“It’s been a good two weeks for me – two finals, lots of matches,” Wozniacki said in her on-court interview. “Making another final here [in Dubai] is definitely great, and I’m already excited to be back.”
Another piece of good news for Wozniacki? The Dane is inching closer to her return to the WTA Top 10: with her run to the final she’ll move to No.14, and is defending just 145 points until the US Open.
BEIJING, China – No.4 seed Simona Halep overcame Yanina Wickmayer and the worst of the Beijing weather to take her place in the third round of the China Open.
Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
On a day disrupted by heavy rain, Halep made the most of a brief respite to swat aside Wickmayer, 6-2, 6-2. In the third round she will face Chinese No.1 Zhang Shuai.
After an even start, Halep took control of proceedings with a run of three straight games to close out the opening set. This grip tightened when Wickmayer threw in a couple of errors to surrender serve at the start of the second set, going on to wrap up victory after just 59 minutes.
Simona with a boom forehand! ?
Notice how she hustles to center of court afterward too.#ChinaOpen @Simona_Halep pic.twitter.com/xkUeEn5Y15— Tennis Captions (@tenniscaptions) 4 October 2016
Next she takes on her conqueror at this January’s Australian Open, Zhang. Unlike Halep, Zhang enjoyed the luxury of playing underneath the roof, eventually seeing off Alison Riske, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4), in a match lasting over two and a half hours.
Also advancing in the bottom half of the draw was Svetlana Kuznetsova. A semifinalist last week in Wuhan, Kuznetsova continued her good form by beating Misaki Doi, 6-1, 7-5.
The story of the tournament from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Serena Williams takes on Zarina Diyas in the third round of the Miami Open.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Angie Cunningham, the WTA’s former Vice President of Player Relations and On-Site Operations, has passed away after a long battle with Motor Neurone Disease.
A staunch campaigner in raising awareness of the disease, Angie died at her Melbourne home on Tuesday, surrounded by family.
As a teenager Angie was a leading junior player, going on to work at the WTA for eight years before moving back to Australia with husband Pat to raise their two children, Maggie and Sophie. In 2012, she was diagnosed with MND, but even as her condition deteriorated she continued the fight.
Not only fight the disease, for which there is no known cause, or effective treatment, but also to raise funds and awareness for other sufferers.
Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, Rennae Stubbs, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt were among those who rallied behind the cause, many of whom took to social media to mourn the passing of an inspirational figure in the tennis community.
My courageous friend Angie Cunningham lost her fight with MND last night. I miss u we will fight on @pattweetingham pic.twitter.com/7NmI7sjbVe
— rennae stubbs (@rennaestubbs) October 5, 2016
Motor Neurone Disease is a group of neurological diseases that affects the voluntary muscles in the body, which control activities like speaking, walking, swallowing and general movement. It progresses over time, causing debilitating disability and eventually death. The life expectancy is two to three years.
There is no known cause for the disease, although many sufferers are athletes. In the US the disease is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, after the famous baseball player who died from it.
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel is one of the players’ favorite WTA tournaments, and it’s easy to see why at beach paradise Acapulco.
Eugenie Bouchard & Monica Puig took to the beach with ATP’s Marin Cilic for a quick snap on the tournament hashtag sign.
Christina McHale and ATP’s David Goffin were on hand at the draw ceremony and trophy presentation.
Meanwhile, Andrea Petkovic joined Feliciano Lopez for an unforgettable experience.
The pair took in a hair-raising cliff diving show at La Quebrada, where divers jump more than 35 meters into the water below.
Check out that stunning view!
Bouchard and ATP star Juan Martín del Potro took a helicopter to another scenic location.
They visited Pie de la Cuesta, a picturesque beach a few miles away from Acapulco.
Bouchard and del Potro played a bit of beach tennis…
Looks like fun!
But it didn’t go too well for Bouchard!
Kristina Mladenovic and Heather Watson took to the Princess Golf Course with Robert Farah and Juan Sebastián Cabal for a different challenge.
They played a few holes of futgolf, hybrid of a golf and football.
Check out Watson’s skill with the football!
Mladenovic, the No.2 seed in Acapulco, is definitely enjoying the outing.
Afterwards, the players challenged each other to a bit of keepy-uppy!
An interview with Madison Keys after her third round win at the Miami Open
Angelique Kerber had a second shot of the day on Wednesday at the China Open.