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Sasnovich Beats Schmiedlova In Bucharest

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BUCHAREST, Romania – Aliaksandra Sasnovich snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova at the Bucharest Open on Monday.

Watch live action from Bucharest this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

A contest lasting nearly two-and-a-half hours eventually went the way of Sasnovich, who fended off a match point to knock out the defending champion, 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.

After a bright start, the match looked to be slipping away from Sasnovich when Schmiedlova romped through the second then opened up a 5-2 lead in the decider. However, the No.3 seed was unable to deliver the knockout blow, coming within a point of victory when serving for the match.

Liberated by the apparent hopelessness of the situation, Sasnovich threw off the shackles, unleashing a courageous forehand winner to reach the sanctuary of deuce, then breaking back when Schmiedlova sent a nervous second serve into the net. A few games later she had a match point of her own, firing an ace out wide to complete the escape.

“It was tough today because I had 5-2 in third set and I had a match point so it’s disappointing and really sad I didn’t win,” Schmiedlova said. “I need to win some matches and I just need to go from first round to second round, to do as many matches as I can.

“I was hoping to get back to it but it didn’t happen today but I hope it’s going to be better next time.”

Also advancing to the second round were Cagla Buyukakcay, who beat Kristina Kucova, 6-0, 7-5, and Vania King, a 7-6(4), 6-0 winner over Paula Kania.

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UNAIDS Names Bacsinszky Global Advocate

UNAIDS Names Bacsinszky Global Advocate

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

GSTAAD, Switzerland – UNAIDS has appointed Timea Bacsinszky, top seed at the Ladies Championship Gstaad, as a Global Advocate for Young People.

Bacsinszky will work to ensure that young people have access to the information and services needed to protect themselves from becoming infected with HIV and will encourage young people to get tested for the virus and seek immediate treatment if necessary to keep them alive and well.

“My generation has never known a world without HIV, but we have the power to change this for future generations,” said Bacsinszky. “Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 will require commitment and perseverance to get the job done and this will only happen if we break down the stigma that still surrounds HIV.

“In tennis we are all equal on court – no matter what our nationality, gender, religion, or sexual orientation is. It is just you and your opponent. The rules of the game are the same for both players. Working with UNAIDS made me realize that in many countries, young people living with HIV/AIDS do not have equal rights and opportunities.

Timea Bacsinszky

“Oftentimes, young people do not have access to relevant HIV prevention services, voluntary HIV testing, affordable treatment, and high quality care and support services. Or else, the fear of stigma and discrimination discourages them from disclosing their HIV status, which undermines their ability and willingness to access and adhere to treatment.

“If we want to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 we need to change this and I want to be part of that change – by lending my voice to spread the word about the needs of young people most affected by HIV, promoting HIV testing via social media channels and engaging young people in the AIDS response.”

Bacsinszky is supporting the UNAIDS #ProTESTHIV campaign, which encourages young people to become actively involved in promoting HIV testing and linkage to care and treatment services. People can find more information at protesthiv.org.

Timea Bacsinszky

“Timea Bacsinszky’s energy and dedication on the tennis court are very clear,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “These are valuable qualities that will help to mobilize young people to join the global movement in response to HIV and become the generation to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.”

There are 36.7 million people living with HIV globally, 3.9 million of whom are young people aged 15 to 24. Young people are especially vulnerable to HIV infection. In 2015, there were an estimated 670 000 new HIV infections worldwide among young people aged 15 to 24, with young women accounting for 58% of new infections among this age group.

UNAIDS is the main charitable beneficiary of the Women’s Tennis Association Ladies Championship Gstaad in 2016.

All photos courtesy of the Ladies Championship Gstaad.

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

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.”

Eugenie Bouchard

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.”

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

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.

POTM


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

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Angelique Kerber says the boldest decision she ever made came when she was 17 and decided to play tennis professionally.

Her comments reflect the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day: ‘Be Bold For Change’.

“The toughest decision I made was when I was 17, and I decided to start to play tennis [professionally],” she reveals in an exclusive WTA interview. “I was not able to get through to the university and of course when you are 17 years old that’s always a tough decision, because you don’t know how far you can get and what’s happening the next year.”

Angelique Kerber

It was very much a decision that paid off for the 29-year-old, who enjoyed the best year of her career in 2016. In addition to finishing the year at No.1 in the WTA rankings (making it five years in a row in the Top 10), there was double Grand Slam success at the Australian Open and US Open, plus a WTA win in Stuttgart.

On top of that, there were finals at Brisbane, Wimbledon, Cincinnati and the year-end BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, and a silver medal at the Olympics in Rio.

International Women’s Day falls on March 8 every year, and celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

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Quotable Quotes: Venus Returns

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

What did the top seeds have to say on Day 1 of the Bank of the West Classic? Venus Williams, Dominika Cibulkova, Johanna Konta, and CoCo Vandeweghe all shared their thoughts on their seasons thus far, the Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the wedding fever that’s gripped the WTA tour…

Venus Williams

On her break after Wimbledon:
It was a short break, but I’m happy for it because I played a lot of matches where I had to wait three weeks to play, so I’m hoping this will help me keep my momentum and continue to play well.

On the physicality of adding doubles to the schedule:
The doubles is a lot, but it’s what we wanted. We were thrilled ot have been out there and hope to play more toghether this year. If we could play double severy tournament, we would, but it’s a test, and I think I stood up pretty well to it.

On her memories of making her WTA debut in Stanford and nearly beating Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the second round:
I remember being pretty nervous in the warm-up, but once I got into the first game, I wasn’t nervous anymore. I have no idea how I won the match; I had no strategy, and zero understanding on how to win a match. But I guess I was good enough; I would love to see a replay of that match. I always believed I could win any match, but I didn’t know how to win that second match, especially when you’ve almost won the match and then you don’t win another game. I remember more than anything that she took a bathroom break, and after that I didn’t win another game. So, it was a pretty good strategy against a youngin’. But after a while, I got the hang of it.

On being a mature figure on the tour:
I’m pretty much the most mature on tour. There aren’t a lot of people older than me, but I take it as a compliment because I love being out here. It proves you don’t have to go until you’re good and ready. When I’m good and ready, I’ll be gone, but now is not the time.

Dominika Cibulkova

On delaying her honeymoon to the end of the year…
Everybody’s asking, ‘What are you doing here? You should be on your honeymoon!’ But it’s the middle of the season and I’m a professional athlete, so I can’t just go on a honeymoon. We were really happy that we found a date, but we’ll have a honeymoon after the season.

On shifting from Wimbledon to her wedding…
I came home on Wednesday and for two-three nights, I didn’t sleep well because I was so excited about the wedding. I didn’t relax too much, and on Monday I was just so tired, so I took a couple of days off. I talked with my coach and he asked me if I was motivated to play [Stanford], and I said, ‘Of course, because I’m motivated to get into the Top 10.’ It’s a great opportunity.

On American wildcard Caterine Bellis, who defeated her in the first round of the 2014 US Open as a 15 year old:
I haven’t seen her too much since then. I don’t remember too much from the match because I was really nervous and put too much pressure on myself. I’d had a great start to the season that year and at the US Open, I wanted to get points to qualify for Singapore. I was just so stressed and couldn’t play good tennis, but she was playing really good there. For her age, she was playing great. I think this is the first time she’s playing a WTA tournament, so we’ll see. She’s still young.

Johanna Konta

On Andy Murray and Heather Watson’s Wimbledon wins:
It was really exciting. We had the TV on at home and I got to watch Andy and also Heather in the mixed doubles. I’m sure it made the atmosphere that much more electric.

On managing a hectic second half of the season:
It does make the schedule that much more busy because of the Olympics, and it’s that much more important to stay healthy and as fresh-minded as possible, but I’m really looking forward to the challenge. It’ll be my first Olympics, and it’ll be my first time playing here, Montreal and Cincinnati, so I have a lot of firsts coming up. I’m really looking forward to enjoying my time in the US and on this side of the world. I really love this part of the season; I have a lot of good memories in terms of tournaments I’ve played and results I’ve had. In terms of staying fresh, it’s just about being able to switch off when you can, even just little parts of the day, watching an episode of Game of Thrones.

On the one year anniversary of her rise:
I’m playing some of the best events in the world now, and I’m very grateful and happy for that. But in terms of myself, I’m very much the same, same goals and ideals, and desire to keep going. It’s not too surprising because I lived through it. It’s not like I went to sleep and woke up and all this happened. It was a constant battle and constant fight on every single match that I played. I was very lucky to play them and to win a lot of them. I’m trying to keep pushing on; hopefully the best is yet to come.

On what she’s looking forward to most at the Olympics:
It’s really strange because I’m super excited about how it sounds, but I have no idea what to expect. Everyone I’ve spoken to, the first thing they say is, ‘It’s not like any event on tour, it’s not like any other tournament.’ So right now, I’m really tense, like ‘Oh my god, what to expect? I don’t know!’ But I’m really looking forward to the Athlete’s Village. I’m really looking forward to seeing all the disciplines, how they train and eat. I’m going to be one of those weirdos that just stares at everyone. So I’m really looking forward to just being a part of it.

CoCo Vandeweghe

On how she spent her post-Wimbledon break:
Nothing I was supposed to get done got done. I was supposed to get my phone fixed; it had a crack in it since January. I managed to do it the day I was leaving. But hopefully I can express a little bit of the tan I was working on at the beach. I spent time with friends, went to a concert. I played a little golf, but mostly just vegged. Hopefully the week I spent at home will help keep me rejuvenated and excited to play through the summer.

On missing out on a singles spot at the Olympics:
I’m a singles player. Bethanie Mattek-Sands and I were talking about playing together, but it was up to the USTA, so it wasn’t set in stone. They could have said no. It was disappointing for me to miss singles, and now to see players pulling out because I wanted it so bad and they don’t want it as bad as I do. Whatever reasons they have are their own, but I can’t wrap my head around it.

On Serena Williams:
I think Serena is an amazing athlete and an amazing tennis role model for all players. She’s one of the greatest players of all times. I think Serena should definitely be praised for all of her accolades on and off the court. She’s definitely a role model for all players to look up to.

On the court surface at Stanford:
I did pretty well at Wimbledon and the grass court season with quick courts, so I think it definitely suits my game more than it goes against it. The practice courts here are pretty fast, and I’ve been practicing well, but we’ll see on the day. Perfect practice makes perfect play, so all I can do right now is focus on my practice and routines to get me ready and raring to go.

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