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10 Things You Need to Know About Garbiñe Muguruza

10 Things You Need to Know About Garbiñe Muguruza

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SINGAPORE – Last year’s semifinalist Garbiñe Muguruza returns to Singapore looking to end and an up and down season on a high note.

1. Twice is Nice.
Garbiñe Muguruza makes her second consecutive appearance in the Singapore singles competition following her debut last year, where she reached the semifinals after finishing 3-0 in round robin play.

2. Double Threat.
It will be her third consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals, having qualified first in doubles with compatriot Carla Suárez Navarro in 2014 and 2015 when they reached the final.

3. Rocking Round Robin.
Last year, she went 3-0 in the round-robin stage of the singles competition, losing to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals.

Garbine Muguruza

4. Fabulous in France.
Muguruza is the reigning Roland Garros champion, picking up her first-ever Grand Slam title by beating then-World No.1 Serena Williams in the final.

5. First Slam.
The Spaniard became the youngest first-time Grand Slam champion (22 years, 7 months) since Victoria Azarenka, who won the 2012 Australian Open aged 22 years, 6 months.

6. Breakthrough season.
Muguruza’s French Open win followed her brilliant 2015 season, when she finished the year as World No.3.

7. Early exits.
Her Slam record in the second half of 2016 has seen her signature peaks and valleys, losing to Jana Cepelova, 6-3, 6-2, at Wimbledon, and to Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, 7-5, 6-4, at the US Open – both in the second round.

8. Terrific on tour.
Muguruza nonetheless made semifinal appearances at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and the Western & Southern Open, plus quarterfinals at the Qatar Total Open , Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

9. Limping in Linz.
She has not had the ideal preparation for Singapore; she was forced to withdraw from a quarterfinal encounter with Viktorija Golubic in Linz after rolling her ankle.

10. Rankings rise.
She hit a career-high of World No.2 after the French Open – and will be ready to push on from her current slot of World No.6 as she looks ahead to 2017.

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Notes & Netcords: April 11, 2016

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

THE WINNERS

Sloane Stephens was a point from a one-set deficit against 2011 Volvo Car Open finalist Elena Vesnina, but the young American turned the tide in emphatic style, capturing her third title of the season, 7-6(4), 6-2.

“I just said to myself, ‘You have to fight for every point and compete.’ She’s a great player, so I knew I had to stay in every point,” Stephens said after the match.

“Obviously coming into here I have a lot of anxiety coming into this tournament because I’ve never done well here. I just thought, you know, I’m just going to go have fun. “I don’t have anything to lose. My life is great. It’s tennis. And this is what I do every week. So I kind of just changed my mindset, and that worked. So I should just do that every week.”

Read the full story and watch highlights here.

Meanwhile, Dominika Cibulkova captured her first WTA final since 2014 at the Katowice Open, taking out three-time finalist Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 6-0. Cibulkova was in her second final of 2016 – having narrowly missed out on the Abierto Mexicano Telcel title to Sloane Stephens.

“You have to go by small steps, and this is just a small step for me to get to where I want to be,” said Cibulkova, who missed much of 2015 recovering from an Achilles injury. “I proved that through the last matches – how I finished them – that I’m a really good player and this is how I want to play.”

Read the full story here.

GAME, SET, MATCH: WTA Insider 

Game: Sloane Stephens’ Premier Milestone.

From being match point down to Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals to tournament champion on Sunday, Stephens’ run to her biggest career title at the Volvo Car Open was as much of a rollercoaster as her 2016 season, which has been all about the boom or bust. Stephens has played six tournaments this year. In three she lost in her opening match (Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami), in the other three she went on to win the title (ASB Classic, Abierto Mexicano TELCEL, and Volvo Car Open). When Sloane Stephens wins, she wins in bunches.

Prior to this year, Stephens carried a dismal 1-5 record in Charleston, a frustrating clip given how much she loved the tournament, the city, and playing on clay. This year, Stephens knocked off three quality Top 40 players in Daria Gavrilova, Daria Kasatkina, and Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber (Kerber retired due to a viral illness) en route to the final, where she was pushed to the limit in the first set before defeating Elena Vesnina 7-6(4), 6-2.

Set: Dominika Cibulkova’s Slow Climb.

Cibulkova has been playing well above her ranking this year. More often than not she’s been the most dangerous unseeded player at the tour’s biggest events so far. Her romp to her first title since 2014 was no big surprise at the Katowice Open. Cibulkova dropped just one set all week and capped off her semifinal and final wins with second set bagels. This was a dominant and deserved week for Cibulkova, who is up to No.38 in the rankings.

Match: Angelique Kerber and Lara Arruabarrena put on a show.

It wasn’t a match many people saw, but Kerber’s 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3) win over Arruabarrena was some inspired stuff from both women, particularly the Spaniard. Ranked No.80, Arruabarrena looked to be primed for a quick exit after the first set, which was no surprise given her road to Charleston:

Arruabarrena found a way to raise her level and gave Kerber everything she had for the next two hours, as the two slugged it out on a cool night on the green clay. In the end it was Kerber’s resilience and experience that brought her over the finish line, but this was a performance to remember for Arruabarrena. It was one of the best matches of the year.

RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of April 11, 2016.

Elena Vesnina (RUS), +34 (No.85 to 51): Vesnina’s run to the final of the Volvo Car Open gives her the biggest ranking jump of the week and puts her within reach of the Top 50. Vesnina, a finalist in Charleston in 2011, had to play through qualifying just to reach the main draw.

Dominika Cibulkova (SVK), +15 (No.53 to 38): Cibulkova claimed her first title of the year – and her first since 2014 – at the Katowice Open this week and earned a 15-point ranking jump, putting her back into the Top 40.

Sloane Stephens (USA), +4 (No.25 to 21): Stephens grabbed her third title of the year at the Volvo Car Open and keeps inching higher and higher up the rankings – this week she’s up to No.21.

Daria Kasatkina (RUS), +3 (No.35 to 32): 18-year-old Kasatkina reached her first Premier-level quarterfinal on clay this week in Charleston, sending her up three spots to No.32. Even more significantly, the jump gives her a greater chance of being seeded at the French Open.

Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), +1 (No.3 to 2): Radwanska and Angelique Kerber continue their tug-of-war with the No.2 spot – they’ve traded it off four times in the last four ranking runs.


UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

Claro Open Colsanitas
Bogotá, Colombia
International | $226,750 | Clay
Monday, April 11 – Sunday, April 17, 2016

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Stuttgart, Germany
Premier | $693,900 | Clay, Indoor
Monday, April 18 – Sunday, April 24, 2016

TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams
2. Agnieszka Radwanska – Stuttgart
3. Angelique Kerber – Stuttgart
4. Garbiñe Muguruza – Stuttgart
5. Victoria Azarenka
6. Simona Halep
– Stuttgart
7. Petra Kvitova
– Stuttgart
8. Roberta Vinci
– Stuttgart
9.
Maria Sharapova
10. Belinda Bencic
– Stuttgart
11. Carla Suárez Navarro
– Stuttgart
12. Flavia Pennetta
13.
Svetlana Kuznetsova – Stuttgart
14. Venus Williams
15. Lucie Safarova – Stuttgart
16. Elina Svitolina – Bogotá
17.
Timea Bacsinszky
18. Karolina Pliskova – Stuttgart
19. Ana Ivanovic
– Stuttgart
20. Sara Errani


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

Elizaveta Kulichkova (RUS) – April 12, 1996
Richel Hogenkamp (NED) – April 16, 1992
Taylor Townsend (USA) – April 16, 1996

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On The Tour: WTA Physios

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

If Elaine Brady is on the court during a match, it usually means a player has called for a medical timeout. As one of the WTA’s primary healthcare providers since 2007, she is often a last resort between play continuing or ending in a retirement.

But her most important work is done away from the floodlights of a stadum court, as injury prevention takes much more time than the six minutes a medical timeout allows.

“Most work each day is aimed towards preventative strategies,” says Brady, who earned a degree in physiotherapy and a masters in orthopedic medicine. “That may be preparing an athlete effectively for her match and assessing injuries she’s already got.

“All the work behind the scenes in the training room, but we’re most visible when an athlete injures themselves on the court during the match and we’re called to court to treat them.”

Fans might not always be happy to see Brady on court, but the players are certainly grateful.

“They have to deal with me and my bad moods sometimes,” jokes Garbiñe Muguruza. “They take care of all my tapes every day, and I think they’re very important and I’m very thankful to have them at every tournament.”

Learn more about Brady’s line of work in the latest episode of On The Tour.

 

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Fast Or Slow? WTA Stars Debate Singapore Court Speed At All-Access Hour

Fast Or Slow? WTA Stars Debate Singapore Court Speed At All-Access Hour

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SINGAPORE – Most of the time, players tend to offer identical analysis of a tournament’s court speed. Clay is slower than hardcourts, which are, in turn, slower than grass and indoor courts. But within that hierarchy lies a maddening gradient of quick clay courts and slow hardcourts that can make it difficult to assess which court will favor a player on any given week.

Speaking at Saturday’s All-Access hour, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys, and Dominika Cibulkova were all asked to give their take on the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global’s Centre Court. The consensus was admittedly hard to gauge.

“I don’t remember last year, but I think it’s so slow,” Muguruza said. “It’s so slow. I think there’s going to be hard matches in that surface.

“But I love the court. It’s such a great show and environment, so we’ll put the effort there.”

Garbine Muguruza

Coming from the Generali Ladies Linz, Keys agreed that the court was slower than a player might find at the average indoor, but even that criticism is relative.

“They’re playing a little bit slower than what Linz was playing, but it was actually really nice to be able to go and play an indoor tournament and then come here. It feels pretty similar. The ball stays really low. Definitely a faster court, so I’m not complaining about that.”

Winning Linz to qualify for Singapore, Cibulkova thought it had less to do with speed and more to do with bounce, which will be crucial for the big-hitting Slovak to get her rhythm on Sunday’s first round robin match against Halep.

“I thought the surface would be pretty similar [to Linz], but it’s not. It’s very different. It bounces and it’s a little bit faster.

“So I still have to get used to it. It’s good that it’s at least indoor, that I don’t have to get used to indoor and outdoor.”

Runner-up in 2014, Halep pointed to the slowness of the court as one of the reasons why she liked playing at the WTA Finals, but Pliskova wasn’t sure the court played as slow as her colleagues insisted.

“I definitely wouldn’t say it’s fast, but it could be slower. I’ve played on slower surfaces so I was expecting it’s going to be even slower what I heard from last year from the girls.

“I would say it’s somewhere in the middle. For the serve I think it’s pretty fast, but when you play the rally it’s not that fast.

“Hopefully for the crowd they are going to see some rallies and good shots from the players.”

Agnieszka Radwanska

One would expect Radwanska, the defending champion, to have the definitive answer when it came to court speed. The Pole ultimately seemed as mystified as her peers, but if there’s one thing the shotmaker knows how to do on any surface, it’s improvise:

Q. You were here a couple days ago. One of earliest players here. Have you had a hit on court? Have the conditions changed from last year?
AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA: I think, of course, the surface is very similar [to last year]. It’s the same. I think it’s a bit faster because it’s already been used [this week]. But I don’t think it’s that slow as last year. That’s what I notice.

But, well, it’s always a little bit tough for us to play indoors. I think I just play one indoor tournament in Stuttgart and then here. It’s good to be here a couple days earlier to adjust to the conditions.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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Taiwan Open Moves To Taipei

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The WTA announced on Tuesday that the Taiwan Open will move to Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, from 2017. The Taiwan Open will take place starting January 30, 2017 on hard court at the 10,000-seat indoor stadium, the Taipei Arena.

Venus Williams won the inaugural event with Taiwan’s Chan sisters taking the doubles title. Williams’ victory at the inaugural 2016 Taiwan Open tournament in an exciting final against Japan’s Misaki Doi, was her 49th WTA title win. This year’s inaugural event, attended by almost 10,000 fans, let the world focus on Taiwan through global broadcast coverage and is set to become a major drawcard for Taiwan which has developed brilliant professional female tennis players like Su-Wei Hsieh, Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan.

The Taiwan Open attracts the support of the corporate sector, the media and fans, as well as creates an inspirational pathway for talented young national players who aspire to one day compete in world-class professional tennis and play in their homeland at the Taiwan Open.

Mayor of Taipei, Ko Wen-Je, stated, “On behalf of Taipei City Government, I am pleased to announce that Taiwan Open will be held in Taipei next year. We are committed to bringing the best events to our global city and the decision to move the event to Taipei demonstrates the city’s ability to attract the best international sport events. We look forward to working with the WTA and the tournament organisers to make this an event all of Taiwan can be proud of.”

The Taiwan Open offers USD 500,000 in prize money and is committed to attracting the world’s top tennis talent and to making this event one of the most prestigious WTA International tournaments on the women’s tennis global calendar. The move to Taipei will result in increased government and sponsorship investment and make the event accessible to a larger fan base.

“This is an exciting time for APG as we continue to support and expand the footprint of women’s tennis across Asia,” said Stephen Duckitt, Director – Tournaments, APG. “Tennis has grown considerably in this region over the past few years and we are looking forward to stage another world-class tennis event in Taiwan, and are proud to be hosted by the Taipei City Government next year.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Former WTA World No.3 (in both singles and doubles) Nadia Petrova has announced her retirement from professional tennis after a 19-year career.

“Tennis has given me so much,” Petrova told WTA Insider. “It’s given me a career, shaped me as a person, allowed me the opportunity to travel the world, make friends internationally and learn about many cultures. My opportunities have become endless and for that, I’m forever grateful.”

The 34-year-old from Russia concludes a career which saw her clinch 13 WTA singles and 24 WTA doubles titles, reach a Grand Slam singles semifinal, advance to two Grand Slam doubles finals and win the WTA Finals doubles title on two occasions.

Check out Petrova’s full statement below and click here to read WTA Insider’s exclusive interview with the two-time French Open semifinalist.

Tennis has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. It was pretty much everything I did on a daily basis and the little time I had off, I would spend with my loved ones. I suppose when the time comes to say goodbye, it becomes bitter sweet. It’s confusing, somewhat painful, scary yet also gratifying. I’ve decided to turn the page and move on to another stage in my life and I’m ready to do it. Tennis has given me so much. It’s given me a career, shaped me as a person, allowed me the opportunity to travel the world, make friends internationally and learn about many cultures.

My opportunities have become endless and for that, I’m forever grateful. My career has been great, obviously with highs and lows. We all know I was plagued with many injuries which made some of my calendar years challenging. Unfortunately that’s part of an athlete’s life and we all learn how to deal with that. We fall and then we get back up and keep going. Then there comes a time, no matter what you do, say or feel, nothing is ever enough. Your body lets you know it’s had enough. In 2013, when I lost my mother, emotionally I was a mess. On top of that, I was dealing with a hip injury which affected a good portion of the year. I made the decision to take some personal time to heal physically and emotionally. Hopefully that would help me once I decided to step back on court. In February 2014, I tried playing to see how I felt. My mind was still everywhere but on the court and my body was just not responding. It was painful. Painful because I felt useless and the player I was once, was no longer there.

I took more time and when I decided to start training again, my body felt good but once I was aggressively doing court work, it started to break down again. I had to start facing the inevitable and that was that my career had come to an end. To be able to compete at a high level with these top players, I had to be in the best shape and if my hip was not holding up, there was no way I could move on. After many failed attempts of trying to make a come back, I came to the realization that maybe it was time to turn the page and say goodbye to tennis competitively. I would be starting a new chapter in my life, exploring other interest and keeping myself occupied but most importantly spending my time with my loved ones. Making up for lost time.

I said to myself.. “I want to start a family, I want to be home more and I want to enjoy a lot of the things I never had time for while I was on the road”. So although it’s been unfortunate that I was unable to overcome this last injury and compete again, I’m excited for what’s to come and be a part of tennis in the future with other aspects of the sport. I’ve been blessed that Tennis has been such a huge part of my life professionally for the past 15 years. I want to thank every single one of you who has made it possible along the way. Whether that’s been sponsors, tournament staff, WTA, my travel team (which consisted of my coach, trainer, physio and manager), friends and family.. Thank you all. Last but not least MY FANS!! You have been my motivation, my back bone and the reason why I hadn’t given up sooner. Without fans, there wouldn’t be tennis. You all make the sport. Thank you all so much for believing in me and helping me through out my entire career.

Without any further delay, I’d like to make it known that I’m officially retiring from the sport. I plan to stay involved in tennis in the near future. I will be devoting a lot of my time to the sport through charity work which I will make known soon. I may no longer be competing but I will never be far from a court. My heart will always belong there.

Thank you all for making my career so memorable.

Nadia P

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Mitu Moves Past Wickmayer In Istanbul

Mitu Moves Past Wickmayer In Istanbul

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ISTANBUL, Turkey – The last first round match of the day ended in an upset as Andreea Mitu sent the No.2 seed Yanina Wickmayer crashing out of the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup, 7-5, 6-4.

Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Ranked No.113, Mitu doesn’t often play on the center court, but at the Garanti Koza Arena she didn’t allow the setting to intimidate her.

“It was strange for me to play on such a big court,” the Romanian said. “I am not that used to it so it feels different, but I am confident on clay.”

Mitu and Wickmayer stayed locked into a tense first set despite the No.2 seed bringing up two break points early on. It was Mitu that drew first blood at 6-5 to Wickmayer’s mounting frustration. The Romanian was about to serve for the set when the match was temporarily suspended while the roof closed due to rain. The delay did nothing to improve Wickmayer’s mood, and Mitu quickly took the first set.

Despite finding her composure to start off the second set, Wickmayer was broken twice in the third game and soon found herself facing match points with Mitu serving up 5-3. The Belgian was able to fight them off and stay alive in the match, but the Romanian took the match at her second opportunity to move into the second round.

“It was a good match, even though I never played her before and I struggled at the beginning,” Mitu said after the victory. “My forehand was not working that well, I made a lot of unforced errors so I need to improve that for my next match.”

Mitu moves on to play a familiar opponent: Swiss player Stefanie Voegele, who advanced 6-2, 7-5 over Turkish wildcard Ipek Soylu.

“I know Stefanie pretty well, we practiced together the other day,” Mitu said. “I expect I tough one!”

No.4 seed Kirsten Flipkens overcame a spirited start from Donna Vekic, fighting through exhaustion to make her way into the second round, 7-6(5), 6-4.

“It was a tough one,” Flipkens said afterward. “After Fed Cup it´s very hard because it takes a lot of energy playing for the team. Even though it´s Wednesday I am still pretty tired but I am very happy that I pulled it off.”

Flipkens goes on to play Kateryna Kozlova in the next round. The Ukrainian advanced past Alexandra Dulgheru in a tight three sets, emerging victorious 6-7(6), 7-6(3), 6-1.

Also into the second round are Greek qualifier Maria Sakkari, who backed up her upset of top seed Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova with a win over Hsieh Su-Wei 6-3, 6-4, and No.5 seed Danka Kovinic.

Andreea Mitu

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SYDNEY, Australia – Former champion Agnieszka Radwanska eased past qualifier Duan Ying-Ying and into the semifinals of the Apia International Sydney on Wednesday evening.

At last week’s Shenzhen Open, Radwanska saved three match points to defeat Duan in a tougher-than-expected season opener. This time around it was a far more straightforward outing, the No.2 seed completing a 6-3, 6-2 victory in an hour and 20 minutes.

“Sometimes you play people two or three weeks in a row, like Caroline and I had last year in Asia, but I’m definitely more happy with this performance than in Shenzhen,” Radwanska said in her on-court interview. “It’s another semifinal here, so I’m very happy with that.

“I was warming up at 4pm and it was still very hot, so I was a little bit lucky to play this evening. I was watching the first match here and it was unbelievably hot – the guys were playing amazingly.”

Despite the more hospitable conditions, both players made heavy weather of holding onto their serve early on. But after a succession of breaks, Radwanska finally put some daylight between the two, opening up a 5-3 lead before calmly serving out the set.

Unlike in Shenzhen, there was to be no Duan comeback, Radwanska rattling off the first four games of the second set to ease her way into the last four.

Radwanska lifted the title in 2012, and standing between her and a return to the final is marathon woman Barbora Strycova. Earlier in the day, Strycova withstood the worst of the midday sun to win an epic encounter against Caroline Wozniacki. “Like I said, she was playing unbelievable tennis and she’s really on fire. Last year she also played amazing tennis. I’m just expecting a good match and we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”

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