Tennis News

SINGAPORE – Friday marks 100 days until the start of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, and following an exciting, unpredictable and historic first half of the season all is still to play for.

The Road To Singapore leaderboard has started to take shape, with faces fresh and familiar occupying, while defending doubles champions Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza became the first to book their place at the season-ending finale.

At present Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza, Serena Williams, the winners of 2016’s first three Grand Slams, and Victoria Azarenka, who competed the rare Indian Wells-Miami double, are the mid-season pacesetters on the leaderboard. However, with defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska and the in-form Dominika Cibulkova among those in pursuit, there will be plenty of jostling for position as the tour heads for the hardcourts of North America. 

“It has been a truly exciting year for women’s tennis and as we mark 100 days out from the WTA Finals, we have seen different champions crowned at each of the first three Grand Slams this year. The Road to Singapore has never been more thrilling and this is testament to the current depth of the women’s game, as we look to the future of outstanding players rising up the ranks,” said Melissa Pine, Vice-President of WTA Asia-Pacific and Tournament Director of the WTA Finals.

Hingis and Mirza are not the only big names to confirm their place in Singapore: former champion Chris Evert will return as official event ambassador for the third consecutive year. In her role, Evert will work with players and other ambassadors including Martina Navratilova and Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario to promote and raise the profile of the event and the sport in the region.

“As WTA Finals ambassador for the past couple of years, I’ve seen the event grow, and with it, the popularity of tennis in the region,” Evert said of her role. “This has been a great year for women’s tennis and there is so much to look forward to in the coming months on the Road to Singapore as we head towards the big finale. The strength and level of competition have been simply amazing, and I’m looking forward to an exciting eight days of tennis in October!”

This has not been the only off-court development either. To coincide with the 100-days countdown, the second phase of ticket sales was launched, opening up single-session tickets to all matches, including the semifinals and final. Admission to single sessions will range from $16 to $226, and can be purchased on WTAFinals.com.

Not long after winning her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, Serena Williams met up with a player who knows plenty about what it takes to win in Melbourne.

Victoria Azarenka won back-to-back major titles in Australia back in 2012 and 2013, but sat out the first Grand Slam of 2017, having given birth to son Leo in late December.

Serena and Azarenka have played some of the best matches in the last few years, including a thrilling three-setter in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships. Their most recent encounter came last spring, where Azarenka got the upper hand to win the first leg of her Sunshine Double at the BNP Paribas Open.

Off the court, however, it’s all love:

I always enjoy our meetings on and off the court! Always love for @serenawilliams #manymoretocome pic.twitter.com/xyJBGVpCLz

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) February 4, 2017

The Belarusian remains optimistic of a comeback, writing on social media that she hopes to extend her rivalry with the World No.1 on the court in the future.

Azarenka has undoubtedly remained plugged into the sport even from afar, congratulating Serena on her seventh Australian Open title on Twitter not long after the final:

Miss Serena @serenawilliams 23 quite a magic number! Bravo!!! Congrats to Venus as well and your family and your team!

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) January 28, 2017

STANFORD, CA, USA – Venus Williams’ serve has brought her plenty of wins and plenty of accolades down the years.

At the 2007 US Open, it also brought her a record, as she hit the fastest serve of all time. Williams’ delivery, clocked at 129mph, set a record that stood for seven years until it was bumped off top spot by Sabine Lisicki’s 131mph howitzer at Stanford’s Bank of the West Classic.

Williams herself is in action in Stanford this week. And while recapturing the title she won in 2000 and 2002 will be top of the agenda, recent form suggests that Lisicki’s mark could come under threat.

At Wimbledon, Williams enjoyed a welcome return to winning ways, reaching her first major semifinal since 2010 and putting the All England Club’s speed gun through its paces along the way…

Wimbledon
1. Serena Williams – 124.0mph / 199.6kph
2. Sabine Lisicki – 122.0mph / 196.3kph
3. Venus Williams – 121.0mph / 194.7kph
4T. Yaroslava Shvedova – 119.0mph / 191.5kph
4T. CoCo Vandeweghe – 119.0mph / 191.5kph

2016
1. Serena Williams – 127.0mph / 204.4kph (Indian Wells)
2T. Lucie Hradecka – 123.0mph / 197.9kph (Indian Wells)
2T. Venus Williams – 123.0mph / 197.9kph (Miami)
4T. Timea Babos – 122.0mph / 196.3kph (Indian Wells)
4T. Sabine Lisicki – 122.0mph / 196.3kph (Wimbledon)
6. Naomi Osaka – 121.8mph / 196.2kph (Roland Garros)
7. CoCo Vandeweghe – 121.mph / 194.7kph (Indian Wells)
8T. Madison Keys – 119.9mph / 193.0kph (Australian Open)
8T. Océane Dodin – 119.9mph / 193.0kph (Roland Garros)
8T. Polona Hercog – 119.9mph / 193.0kph (Australian Open)

All-Time
1. Sabine Lisicki – 131.0mph / 210.8kph (2014 Stanford)
2. Venus Williams – 129.0mph / 207.6kph (2007 US Open)
3. Serena Williams – 128.6mph / 207.0kph (2013 Australian Open)
4. Julia Goerges – 126.1mph / 203.0kph (2012 French Open)
5. Brenda Schultz-McCarthy – 126.0mph / 202.7kph (2007 Indian Wells)
6. Nadiia Kichenok – 125.5mph / 202.0kph (2014 Australian Open)
7. Lucie Hradecka – 125.0mph / 201.2kph (2015 Wimbledon)
8. Anna-Lena Groenefeld – 125.0mph / 201.1kph (2009 Indian Wells)
9T. Ana Ivanovic – 124.9mph / 201.0kph (2007 French Open)
9T. Denisa Allertova – 124.9mph / 201.0kph (2015 Australian Open)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Svetlana Kuznetsova will be looking to end her runner-up jinx when the Russian heads to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on February 19.

The 31-year-old, who is currently enjoying a rich vein of form having recently retained her Moscow title as well as reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, has climbed into the top ten in the world rankings for the first time since 2010.

Talking to the Gulf News, Kuznetsova says she is in a confident frame of mind approaching a tournament in which she has been the bridesmaid on three previous occasions, losing out to Justine Henin in 2004, Elena Dementieva in 2008 and Caroline Wozniacki in 2011.

“People see me differently now because I’m a Top 10 player again,” she admitted. “Players will only see you by the ranking, and ranking reflects everything. You can’t cheat the ranking, that’s for sure. All players want to beat me.

“Of course, everyone expects good tennis from me and that can be hard to deal with. But I feel confident, I feel happy and healthy. Those are the main things and I love the game. I enjoy it.

.@SvetlanaK27 is happy to get the win in her hometown! ? pic.twitter.com/myRumeFCIW

— WTA (@WTA) February 1, 2017

“I would love to take some of the consistency into this season. In the last few years, I haven’t been so good,” she added. “I was always there, but couldn’t quite flip the switch. I would love to stay with the switch on, because it’s the key for me.

“I feel that I’m playing as well as the best in the world, and I have a chance to beat them and be ranked among them everywhere I go. It’s a great feeling because I worked really hard to be there.”

The WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships runs from 19 February. Click here for tickets.