Hingis & Mirza Storm Into Round 2
Doubles co-World No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza stormed past Mariana Duque-Mariño and Teliana Pereira to extend their win streak to 31 and advance into Round 2.
Doubles co-World No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza stormed past Mariana Duque-Mariño and Teliana Pereira to extend their win streak to 31 and advance into Round 2.
MELBOURNE, Australia – No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska applied her clinical game against the Puerto Rican Monica Puig, overpowering her 6-4, 6-0 in the third round of the Australian Open.
Even though this was the first time she’s ever played against Puig, Radwanska knew to be wary of unseeded younger players, especially since they’ve already caused quite a few big upsets during the fortnight.
“As we see now the ranking, it sometimes didn’t really show the game, what the player actually showing,” Radwanska told the press before the match. “You play against the player, not the ranking.
“As we see, those players are beating top players here.”
Both Radwanska and Puig came through some tough second-round matches: Radwanska passed the test of a resurgent Eugenie Bouchard, and Puig fought for over two and a half hours against Kristyna Pliskova, who fired a record-breaking 31 aces.
When they took to the court under the roof at Margaret Court Arena, the two seemed evenly matched. Puig came out of the gates playing aggressively, keeping pace with Radwanska during a close first set until the Puerto Rican got the first break of the match at 3-4. But in the very next game when she had the chance to add to her lead, Puig flubbed an overhead into open court and handed the break right back to Radwanska.
After that, the World No.4 took control of the match and never let go, rattling off nine consecutive games in her trademark decisive fashion. Puig’s errors were her undoing – her flat groundstrokes misfired and coughed up 29 unforced errors compared to Radwanska’s 17.
“She started really well,” Radwanska said after the win. “Everything was just coming so fast and she was playing with an amazing intensity. I was really in big trouble that first set.
“In that second set I think I just find my rhythm, and I was serving much better as well.”
Radwanska is set to play Anna-Lena Friedsam, who overcame a 0-6 deficit to defeat No.13 seed Roberta Vinci 0-6, 6-4, 6-4. Radwanska leads Friedsam 1-0 in their head to head – the Polish player beat her in straight sets on her way to the title in Shenzhen.
Dominika Cibulkova
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.38
Year-End Ranking: No.5 (Career high, Oct 31)
Season Highlights: Titles at Katowice, Eastbourne, Linz and WTA Finals, Final at Acapulco, Madrid and Wuhan
Best Major Result: Quarterfinals (Wimbledon)
5 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/S2j5gG7chp
— WTA (@WTA) December 27, 2016
There are few players who’ve had a busier season than Dominika Cibulkova had in 2016.
Whereas some players peak at the right times – an Asian Swing renaissance, a red-hot US hardcourt summer – Cibulkova did it all season long and on every surface.
She reached the final in Acapulco (outdoor hardcourts), won at Katowice (indoor hardcourts), final in Madrid (clay), title in Eastbourne (grass), final in Wuhan (outdoor hardcourts), and titles at Linz and the WTA Finals (indoor hard).
But despite her continuously stellar results, which earned her a spot in Singapore’s Greatest Eight, Cibulkova admitted that she’s always struggled with self-belief.
“I was never that kind of player that came on tour and was winning tournaments,” Cibulkova told WTA Insider in Singapore. “I always needed, you know, proof. I needed to beat a Top 20 player, a Top 10 player – I was taking small steps to get where I am now.”
It all came together at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, where her qualification came down to the wire, where beat the odds to advance in the group stage, and where she defeated the World No.1 Angelique Kerber to claim the biggest title of her career.
“I always thought that winning a Grand Slam was something unreal, it’s impossible,” Cibulkova said afterwards. “But by winning [the WTA Finals], I want to achieve another dream, and that’s winning a Grand Slam.”
With her self-belief through the roof, surely Cibulkova now has all the proof she needs to know that she belongs at the top among the game’s biggest names.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – A day after missing out on the final, No.11 seed Petra Kvitova found redemption at the Olympic tennis event to claim the bronze medal with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 win over Madison Keys.
Follow all the action from the medals matches at the Olympics on WTA Insider’s Live Blog.
Despite a painful loss against Monica Puig in the semifinals yesterday, Kvitova in her country’s colors always finds another gear and her inspired performance brought home her first Olympic medal and the Czech Republic’s third medal overall in the 2016 Games.
“I’m still a bit emotional, so if I cry, sorry,” Kvitova said afterwards. “It means almost everything, definitely. Having a medal from the Olympics is one of the best things that’s happened in my career definitely, along with the two Wimbledon titles and winning Fed Cups and WTA.
“It’s definitely one of the best days today. I hope I’m going to celebrate it. I’m very proud that I could bring it to the Czech Republic.”
The match between the two big hitters was ultimately decided by a handful of points where Kvitova proved to play a tidier game than her younger counterpart. She struck 12 winners and 38 unforced errors to Keys’ 24 and 49.
Keys and Kvitova traded blows throughout the tightly drawn opening set. Where Keys was aggressive on the return to bring up a break point at 2-2 and painting a backhand down the line right onto the line just out of reach, Kvitova replied in kind with a gutsy mid-rally drop shot to see away the American’s chance.
An injection of pace from Keys brought up break points for a chance at the opening set at 5-4, but she let two slip by as Kvitova’s clutch serving bailed her out of trouble. Kvitova leveled it up, aided by a pair of backhand unforced errors from Keys, and rallied to take the first set.
Keys’ frustration visibly mounted with every missed opportunity – in her last match she was 0 for ten in break point chances against Angelique Kerber, and on Saturday the stretch continued another six opportunities went unanswered across the first and second sets.
The American got another chance as Kvitova’s first serve numbers had dipped considerably – from 73% in the first set to 54% in the second – and Keys pounced on the opportunity to finally get her first break and create a 4-2 lead. She quickly it carved up to take the second set 6-2.
But the tortuous match had another turn left as Kvitova’s rock-solid net work brought up an immediate break in the opening game of the deciding set. The Czech dodged break points of her own and got another lead for 4-0.
A nervy final game from Kvitova – which included a double fault at deuce after being up 40-0 – extended the American’s stay in the match, but Kvitova shut the door on her fourth try to claim the singles bronze medal for the Czech Republic.
Winning Feeling#Bronze ?? @Petra_Kvitova pic.twitter.com/ILHRyOArWm
— WTA (@WTA) August 13, 2016
More to come…
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a thrilling encounter between two tough American teams, Bethanie Mattek-Sands partnered Jack Sock to take out four-time gold medalist Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram, 6-7(3), 6-1, 10-7 and win gold in mixed doubles of the Olympic tennis event.
“I’m still pretty emotional,” Mattek-Sands said after the match. “I think, going into this final, we knew the American national anthem was going to be played either way, but I was actually kind of surprised I was so emotional. It’s my first Olympics, first time being up on the podium. It’s hard to describe it in words, but I’m so excited having this guy next to me, we played awesome. It was a lot of fun this whole week.”
After disappointing results in singles and doubles with sister and fellow four-time Olympic Gold medalist Serena Williams, Venus and Ram were late additions to the mixed doubles squad and played incredible tennis to reach the final. With Venus hoping to become the first tennis player to win gold medals in all three disciplines, they took the first set over Mattek-Sands and Sock, a team playing their first Olympic Games.
But Mattek-Sands and Sock are experienced doubles players in their own right, each a former Grand Slam champion in mixed doubles. Roaring through the second set, they recovered from a 3-6 deficit in the match tie-break to clinch the gold medal.
Big waves from Bethanie, Jack????
?Gold Mattek-Sands/Sock??
?Silver Venus/Ram??
?Bronze Hradecka/Stepanek??#Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/ogk1BEkyhv— Nick McCarvel (@NickMcCarvel) August 14, 2016
“I was feeling pretty down and out after singles, but I just wanted to enjoy the experience and get the most out of it,” said Sock, who fought off a bout of walking pneumonia to win medals in mixed and men’s doubles with Steve Johnson. “To come away with two medals, one being gold, I’m speechless. It’s a surreal moment for both of us.
“I had a blast with Bethanie all week; she definitely carried me through every match, but it was a ton of fun and it’s going to be something I have with Bethanie for the rest of our lives.”
Overcoming multiple injuries in the latter part of her career, Mattek-Sands was understandably emotional in her post-match interview.
“After a couple of hip surgeries and all of the months I’ve been out where you’re watching all of this happen on TV. Standing on the podium, I was just thinking of everything I’ve gone through to be here.”
Gracious in defeat, Venus nonetheless took home her fifth Olympic medal in her fifth Olympic appearance, and took great pride in being part of an all-American Gold medal match.
“It’s been an honor to play at so many Olympic Games. We’ve had a blast this whole tournament and it was awesome to see two US teams on the podim. We’re just on Cloud 9 today.”
Ram echoed his partner’s sentiment.
“It’s fantastic. To play the final against our teammates, it was a great match and they were just a little better than us. It was just an unbelievable experience to play with Venus at the Olympics and get a medal.”
#Gold for #USA in mixed doubles! @BMATTEK & @JackSock d. V Williams/Ram 67(3) 61 [10-7] at #Rio2016 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/0NcNxGRukD
— ITF Olympic Tennis (@OlympicsTennis) August 14, 2016
BRISBANE/AUCKLAND/SHENZHEN – The new year has barely begun, but the 2017 WTA season has begun in earnest, with a trio of tournaments taking place across the globe. World No.1 Angelique Kerber is one of four Top 10 players at the Brisbane International, while 22-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and sister Venus Williams take to the ASB Classic in Auckland. Farther north in China, defending champion and World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska is the top seed at the Shenzhen Open, drawn opposite to Simona Halep.
Check out the biggest storylines in the first week of the 2017 season:
1) Angelique Kerber begins her defense of top ranking.
The two-time Grand Slam champion ended her breakthrough season as No.1 in the world, and heads back to Brisbane to begin taking on challengers to her throne atop the sport. Kerber could open against wildcard and comeback kid Ashleigh Barty after a first round bye, with the likes of Eugenie Bouchard, No.6 seed Elina Svitolina, and No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova all looming in the top half of the draw.
Excited to finally return to Australia ?? with @ThaiAirways. See you Down Under ? #TeamAngie #IflyThai pic.twitter.com/O7jM0tlUZn
— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) December 30, 2016
2) Kerber could book a Singapore rematch with No.2 seed Cibulkova.
The 2016 season ended with Dominika Cibulkova stunning Kerber to win the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Up to a career-high ranking of No.5, the Slovak is seeded No.2 in Brisbane, and will open against either Laura Siegemund or Zhang Shuai after a first round bye. No.5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, and No.7 seed Elena Vesnina are all in her half.
3) Kuznetsova aims to keep up late-season momentum.
Speaking of Kuznetsova, the Russian bookended her 2016 with titles in Sydney and Moscow, the latter helping her book the final ticket to Singapore. Kuznetsova begins her first season in the Top 10 since 2010, and opens against young American Louisa Chirico.
4) Serena returns in Auckland.
Over in New Zealand, World No.2 Serena Williams plays her first tour-level match since the US Open at the ASB Classic. As the top seed, Serena takes on Pauline Parmentier in the first round, and could play No.4 seed Barbora Strycova in the semifinals.
5) The Williams sisters doubles feature.
On the other half of the draw is Serena’s sister Venus, a champion in Auckland back in 2015, who opens against local wildcard Jade Lewis. Along with the hopes of an all-Williams final, Venus and Serena are set to play doubles together for the first time since the Olympic tennis event.
6) Wozniacki opens against good friend Nicole Gibbs.
Caroline Wozniacki narrowly lost to Venus in Auckland’s championship match two years ago, and the former World No.1 aims to build on the late season surge that took her from World No.74 all the way back into the Top 20. Wozniacki drew Nicole Gibbs in her first round; the two spent a week together over the off-season to play an exhibition event:
Beautiful island ✅
(Nearly lethal) drone ✅
Amazing people ✅ pic.twitter.com/V2DBmz8PJO— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) November 18, 2016
7) Radwanska kicks off title defense against hometown favorite.
Agnieszka Radwanska kicked off 2016 on an impressive winning streaking, winning the Shenzhen Open and roaring into the Australian Open semifinals. Hoping to begin 2017 in similar style, the Pole needs to get past wildcard Duan Ying-Ying, with last year’s runner-up No.8 seed Alison Riske looming in the quarterfinals.
8) Halep takes on Jankovic to kick off her season.
On the other half of the draw is 2015 champion Simona Halep, who has the unenviable task of taking on a former No.1 in Jelena Jankovic to start her season. Jankovic suffered through an injury-addled 2016 season, but showed off some solid tennis last fall, reaching a final in Guangzhou.
Favourite #Christmas song? @JoKonta91 tackles our Christmas quiz! pic.twitter.com/M6OJxve1mb
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) December 24, 2016
9) Can Jo Konta make new milestones?
Johanna Konta is the third Top 10 player in Shenzhen, and the Brit plays her first tournament since hiring new coach Wim Fisette. Konta scribbled her name throughout the record books in 2016, and aims to continue at that high level in her first match against Cagla Buyukakcay.
10) Mirza pairs with No.1 rival Mattek-Sands in Brisbane.
The top doubles stars converge on Brisbane, with World No.1 Sania Mirza playing with former partner Bethanie-Mattek Sands. Mattek-Sands fell one match shy of unseating Mirza for No.1 in Singapore, losing in the final to Brisbane’s No.2 seeds Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova. In an ironic twist, the American has a shot to take No.1 again this week, but will need Mirza’s help to do it – by winning the title.
BRISBANE, Australia – No.6 seed Elina Svitolina opened her 2017 season with a comfortable straight sets win over Monica Puig, easing into the second round at the Brisbane International.
Svitolina is enjoying a career-high ranking of No.14 and, with a new coaching team behind her, has already seen the benefits in the New Year. She needed an hour and 17 minutes to complete her 6-3, 6-3 victory over the Olympic champion.
Perfect passing shot from @ElinaSvitolina! ? #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/6qHlQKCV2G
— WTA (@WTA) January 2, 2017
Puig showed flashes of her world-beating form throughout the encounter, but played overly aggressive, trying to end the points too quickly and was waylaid by her own unforced errors. She hit 36 errors to Svitolina’s 17 over the course of two sets, compared to 13 winners against Svitolina’s 15.
Svitolina rode out the assault and replied with her brand of pace and defensive skills, breaking twice in each set and never looking to be in too much trouble.
.@ElinaSvitolina slides past Puig 6-3, 6-3 in @BrisbaneTennis first round! pic.twitter.com/1mtZSewJWD
— WTA (@WTA) January 2, 2017
Awaiting Svitolina in the second round is Shelby Rogers, who opened her Brisbane account yesterday with a win over Eugenie Bouchard, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.
More to follow…
WTA Podcast Episode 15: Ker-Pow! Angelique Kerber wins the Australian Open
On this Episode 15, WTA Insider Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen recaps the stunning result Down Under, as New World No.2 Angelique Kerber became the first German woman to win a major since Steffi Graff in 1999, stunning No.1 Serena Williams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win the Australian Open.
Joining Courtney to discuss Kerber’s mind-bending run to her first major title as as well as the two weeks that were here in Melbourne, is Reem Abuleil, tennis correspondent for Sport360, a daily sports newspaper based in Dubai.
Finally, in the Champion’s Corner you’ll hear from the Kerber herself. She spoke to Nguyen a day after winning the title about what inspired her chilly jump into the Yarra River and how her work ethic and perseverance made the victory all the sweeter.
Kerber: “I think I’m a person that needs a little bit of time. Of course, I believed in myself, but I had a lot of up and downs in my career where I was thinking, is this the right way? Could I reach my goals? But I had a great team around me always telling me that, ‘You’re a great player and you’re practicing and working so hard. One day you will deserve it.’ I was trusting my team more than myself.”
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or any podcast app of your choice. Reviews are always helpful so if you like what you’re hearing, leave us a review. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.
Venus and Serena Williams kicked off the 2017 season in Auckland, but their first match at the ASB Classic went a little differently than usual as they took on a pair of rugby stars, the All Blacks’ Julian & Ardie Savea.
A sellout crowd gathered at the ASB Tennis Arena to watch the two sibling duos battle it out for a good cause.
Ardie gamely swapped out the rugby ball for a tennis racquet…
…while Julian opted for a jumbo racquet to even out the competition.
“I couldn’t stop laughing!” Venus said.
The brothers admitted to being “kind of star struck” before the event, which included No.3 seed Caroline Wozniacki.
After taking on the Savea brothers, the Williams sisters took to opposite sides of the court for a doubles face off.
Serena said: “I’ve never been in Auckland and so I’ve never had an opportunity to be first in the world to welcome in this New Year, so this is a new experience for me. The fact that I’m still having new experiences this deep into my career makes me feel really good.”
The siblings plus Wozniacki commemorated the match with a selfie with the ASB Tennis Arena crowd.
All the fun and games went toward a good cause, with $65,000 being raised to help with earthquake relief efforts for the people of Kaikoura.
Serena, Caroline and Venus are set to play their first matches of the season on Tuesday.
Serena will take on Pauline Parmentier, Caroline will take on Nicole Gibbs and Venus will take on New Zealand’s Jade Lewis.
When: This year’s Olympic tennis event begins on Saturday, August 6th, one week after the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada. The gold medal women’s doubles match will be played on Saturday, August 13th. The gold medal singles and mixed doubles matches will take place on Sunday, August 14th.
The Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio begins a day later on Monday August 15th. The US Open begins on August 29th.
Where: Unlike the 2012 Olympics, where the tennis event was held at the All England Club, the tennis event in Rio takes place right in the heart of the Olympics. The event will take place on hardcourts at the Olympic Tennis Centre in Barra Olympic Park. The Centre Court seats 10,000, with nine secondary courts ranging in 250-5,000 in capacity.
Defending champions: 2012 London Olympics results.
Singles:
Gold: Serena Williams (USA), Silver: Maria Sharapova (RUS), Bronze: Victoria Azarenka (BLR).
Doubles
Gold: Serena Williams/Venus Williams (USA), Lucie Hradecka/Andrea Hlavackova (CZE), Bronze: Maria Kirilenko/Nadia Petrova (RUS).
Mixed Doubles:
Gold: Victoria Azarenka/Max Mirnyi (BLR), Silver: Laura Robson/Andy Murray (GBR), Bronze: Lisa Raymond/Mike Bryan (USA)
Format: The women’s singles event will be a 64-player draw. The women’s doubles event is a 32-team draw and the Mixed Doubles will be a 16-team draw. Players are entitled to enter all three events if they qualify. There are no wildcards at the Olympics.
Singles: Best of 3 tiebreak sets (Note: Men’s final will be best of 5 tiebreak sets)
Doubles: Best of 3 tiebreak sets.
Mixed Doubles: Best of 3 sets (tiebreak in first 2 sets, match tiebreak in the third set).
No WTA ranking points will be offered.
Player Eligibility:
To be eligible for the Olympics, a player must be part of the final Fed Cup team at the time of the draw and be present at the tie a minimum of three times in the four-year Olympic cycle. One of those ties must occur in either 2015 or 2016.
Alternatively, a player may be part of just two ties during the Olympic cycle, provided one of those ties occurred in 2015 or 2016, if she (a) reaches the milestone of 20 weeks in her Fed Cup career (Francesca Schiavone, Sam Stosur, and Daniela Hantuchova qualify for this exemption) or (b) if a nation plays a zone group round robin event for at least three of the four years in the current Olympic cycle, a player from that country only needs to be nominated twice. For example, Caroline Wozniacki has played just one tie for Denmark in the current Olympic cycle, which means she needs to play in Denmark’s upcoming zonal tie to be eligible.
All athletes must be in good standing with their national tennis federation and the ITF. The ITF may also take into consideration the following special circumstances when determining a player’s eligibility: (1) a player is injured or otherwise unable to compete in any authorized tennis tournament for a minimum of six months; (2) A player only reaches a ranking level sufficient for Fed Cup selection by her federation during the latter part of an Olympic cycle; or (3) A nation has a large number of highly-ranked players resulting in strict competition for selection, or its Fed Cup selection policy limits the opportunities for singles players.
Player Entry Rules:
Singles entry: The Top 56 eligible players will be entered as Direct Acceptances based on their WTA rankings on June 6th, 2016. This does not mean the main draw cut-off is at No.56. In the event a player ranked in the Top 56 is otherwise ineligible, the next highest-ranked player will earn main draw entry.
Six Qualification Entries will be allocated by the ITF according to the following priority (“Qualification System”): 1) host nation (if no Brazilian qualifies via direct acceptance, the top-ranked player will be entered), 2) Regional Representation (if one of the six ITF Regions has no representation, the highest-ranked player from that region will be entered if they are in the top 300), 3) Gold Medalist/Grand Slam Champion (a maximum of two singles gold medalists and Slam champions will be entered if they are ranked in the top 200), 4) Universality (if any places remain they will be allocated to the next best ranked player from a National Olympic Committee (NOC) that has no representation in that singles event).
The remaining two places will be allocated by the Tripartite Commission.
Doubles and Mixed Doubles entry: 24 doubles teams and 12 mixed doubles teams will qualify directly based on their combined rankings. To determine their combined ranking for the purposes of entry, each player may use the best of their singles or doubles ranking. An additional eight doubles teams and four mixed doubles teams will be given entry based on the ITF’s Qualification System.
Automatic Top 10 Rule: Doubles players ranked in the Top 10 will earn direct entry so long as their partner has a recognized ranking, they are entered by their respective NOC, and their nomination does not bring the number of athletes for that NOC to more than 6 men/women.
For example, if Sania Mirza is still ranked in the top 10 on June 6th, she could choose any player from India as her doubles partner so long as they have a tour ranking and satisfy all other eligibility requirements. That’s a powerful tool given India has no singles player ranked in the Top 300 and no doubles player ranked in the Top 250.
This rule does not apply to the mixed doubles competition. For mixed doubles, entry is determined solely by a team’s combined ranking.
On Site Rule: In addition, any player entered in singles is automatically eligible for the doubles and mixed doubles events, though direct entry is not guaranteed.
National Team Composition:
A national team may consist of a maximum of six women per country, of which a maximum of four women may compete in singles, and a maximum of two doubles teams may compete in doubles.
If a country has more than four players eligible for direct acceptance into the singles event it must select its four highest-ranked eligible players based on the WTA rankings.
This rule impacts the heavily represented countries in the Top 50, including the United States (7 in the Top 60), Germany (7 in the Top 60), Czech Republic (5 in the Top 60), and Russia (5 in the Top 60). And that’s with more players pushing up from behind. For these countries, the race to qualify doesn’t just mean being Top 56, but being one of the top four players from your country. This is the race we’ll be keeping an eye on over the next five months.
A maximum of two mixed doubles teams from any country may compete in the mixed doubles event.
Full Qualification and Entry Rules can be found here.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.