Tennis News

SINGAPORE – Dominika Cibulkova has been named the 2016 WTA Comeback Player Of The Year.

The Slovak was one of the brightest players on the tour in 2014 as she reached three finals, including the Australian Open, her first Grand Slam final appearance. Cibulkova, however, narrowly missed out on qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in 2014, and endured a frustrating start to the 2015 season. She elected to undergo surgery on her Achilles in February forcing her to miss three months of action. During her absence, her ranking dropped outside the Top 50.

But she didn’t stay there long, and in 2016 Cibulkova has rediscovered her form, returning to the Top 10 and qualifying for the WTA Finals in Singapore for the first time in her career thanks to tournament wins at the Katowice Open, the Aegon International Eastbourne and the Generali Ladies Linz.

#WTA Comeback Player of the Year?

Dominika @Cibulkova! pic.twitter.com/yXaXJwrfXe

— WTA (@WTA) October 21, 2016

Her achievements have been recognized as she received 26 votes for WTA Comeback Player Of The Year award, ahead of Anastasija Sevastova (12), Elena Vesnina (11) and Vania King (1).

WTA Comeback Player Of The Year Winners
2016: Dominika Cibulkova
2015: Venus Williams
2014: Mirjana Lucic-Baroni
2013: Alisa Kleybanova
2012: Yaroslava Shvedova
2011: Sabine Lisicki
2010: Justine Henin
2009: Kim Clijsters
2008: Zheng Jie
2007: Lindsay Davenport
2006: Martina Hingis
2005: Kim Clijsters
2004: Serena Williams

Complete listing of the historical WTA Awards.

SINGAPORE – The Elite Eight were placed into a pair of round robin groups at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Top two seeds Angelique Kerber and Agnieszka Radwanska headline the Red and White Groups, named for the colors in the Singapore flag.

Check out all the need-to-know information on where the Top 8 were placed:

#WTAFinals Groups

Red- @AngeliqueKerber, @Cibulkova, @Simona_Halep, @Madison_Keys
White- @GarbiMuguruza, @KaPliskova, @ARadwanska, Seed 8 pic.twitter.com/BINSO4QqxR

— WTA (@WTA) October 21, 2016

Red Group

(1) Angelique Kerber (GER #1)
~ 2016 Titles: 3 (Australian Open, Stuttgart, US Open)
~ 2016 Record: 59-17
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2016: Won Australian Open and US Open
~ WTA Finals history: 4th appearance in five years (2-7 record)
~ H2H vs Red Group: 12-9 (4-4 vs Cibulkova, 3-4 vs Halep, 5-1 vs Keys)

(3) Simona Halep (ROU #4)
~ 2016 Titles: 3 (Madrid, Bucharest, Montreal)
~ 2016 Record: 44-16
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2016: Quarterfinalist Wimbledon, US Open
~ WTA Finals history: 3rd consecutive appearance (4-4 record – 2014 finalist)
~ H2H vs rest of Red Group: 10-7 (2-3 vs Cibulkova, 4-3 vs Kerber, 4-1 vs Keys)

(6) Madison Keys (USA #7)
~ 2016 Titles: 1 (Birmingham)
~ 2016 Record: 46-15
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2016: R16 Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open
~ WTA Finals history: Making debut in 2016
~ H2H vs rest of Red Group: 5-9 (3-0 vs Cibulkova, 1-4 vs Halep, 1-5 vs Kerber)
~ Thoughts on her draw: “Everyone here has been playing really well and has had a great year. So, no matter who you’re playing, it’s going to be a tough match. We’re all looking to end the year on a high note.”

(7) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #8)
~ 2016 Titles: 3 (Katowice, Eastbourne, Linz)
~ 2016 Record: 50-19
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2016: QF Wimbledon
~ WTA Finals history: Making debut in 2016
~ H2H vs rest of Red Group: 17-20 (3-2 vs Halep, 4-4 vs Kerber, 0-3 vs Keys)
~ Thoughts on her draw: “It’s a tough group, but both groups are, and so it’s hard to choose one or the other! But it’s my first time here, and so I hope to have a good start, and we’ll see what happens.”

White Group

(2) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #3)
~ 2016 Titles: 3 (Shenzhen, New Haven, Beijing)
~ 2016 Record: 51-16
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2016: Semifinalist Australian Open
~ WTA Finals history: 6th consecutive appearance, 8th overall (9-12 record – 2015 champion)
~ H2H vs rest of White Group [with Konta]: 11-4 (2-0 vs Konta, 3-4 vs Muguruza, 6-0 vs Pliskova)
~ H2H vs rest of White Group [with Kuznetsova]: 13-16 (4-12 vs Kuznetsova, 3-4 vs Muguruza, 6-0 vs Pliskova)

(4) Karolina Pliskova (CZE #5)
~ 2016 Titles: 2 (Nottingham, Cincinnati)
~ 2016 Record: 42-20
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2016: Finalist US Open
~ WTA Finals history: Making debut in 2016
~ H2H vs rest of White Group [with Konta]: 8-8 (5-1 vs Konta, 3-1 vs Muguruza, 0-6 vs Radwanska)
~ H2H vs rest of White Group [with Kuznetsova]: 4-7 (1-0 vs Kuznetsova, 3-1 vs Muguruza, 0-6 vs Radwanska)

(5) Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #6)
~ 2016 Titles: 1 (Roland Garros)
~ 2016 Record:34-18
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2016:Won Roland Garros
~ WTA Finals history: 2nd consecutive appearance (3-1 record – 2015 semifinalist)
~ H2H vs rest of White Group [with Konta]: 6-8 (1-2 vs Konta, 1-3 vs Pliskova, 4-3 vs Radwanska)
~ H2H vs rest of Greatest Eight [with Kuznetsova]: 6-7 (1-1 vs Kuznetsova, 1-3 vs Pliskova, 4-3 vs Radwanska)
~ Thoughts on her draw: “Basically, I don’t really care who’s in my group, because all matches here are tough and a battle. I’ll just be prepared to fight.”

The eighth and final spot in the White Group will be filled by Johanna Konta or Svetlana Kuznetsova, if the latter wins the Kremlin Cup

——–
(8) Johanna Konta (GBR #9)
~ 2016 Titles: 1 (Stanford)
~ 2016 Record: 44-21
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2016: Semifinalist Australian Open
~ WTA Finals history: Making debut in 2016
~ H2H vs rest of White Group: 8-14 (2-1 vs Muguruza, 2-8 vs Pliskova, 4-5 vs Radwanska)

(8) Svetlana Kuznetsova (#9)
~ 2016 Titles: 1 (Sydney)
~ 2016 Record: 41-20 (entering Moscow SF)
~ Best Grand Slam result in 2016: R16 Roland Garros, Wimbledon
~ WTA Finals history: 6th appearance in singles (3-12 record – would be first appearance since 2009)
~ H2H vs rest of White Group: 13-5 (1-1 vs Muguruza, 0-1 vs Pliskova, 12-4 vs Radwanska)

Click here to relive an exiciting draw ceremony, broadcast on Facebook Live:

SINGAPORE – How did Angelique Kerber come away the winner of the three-set epic against Dominika Cibulkova in her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global opener?

On this installment of My Performance, Kerber explains how keeping a positive mentality – and staying aggressive – helped power her to victory in the two-hour-and-seventeen-minute thriller.

Another key to Kerber’s victory: her composure during the big moments, as SAP revealed in this Stat Of The Day.

SINGAPORE – Angelique Kerber needed three sets, but got the job done against No.7 seed Dominika Cibulkova, 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-3, to move into second place in the Red Group at the BNP Pairbas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

Relive all the action, including play-by-play analysis, stats, and quotes from the first match from Singapore!

BERLIN, Germany – Serena Williams became the first woman to win three Laureus Sportswoman of the Year Award on Monday.

The World No.1 enjoyed an incredible 2015 season, in which she earned her second Serena Slam and the first three legs of the Calendar Year Grand Slam at the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon. A wall-to-wall No.1 for the second time in her career, Williams finished atop the WTA rankings for the fifth time in her career. 

One of only three WTA players to take home the award, Williams has been nominated ten times, winning it in 2003 and 2010.

Williams had been tied with Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, who had also won the award twice.

The Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year is Serena Williams!

#LWSA16 pic.twitter.com/noODZ7vIWc

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) April 18, 2016

SINGAPORE – World No.4 Simona Halep always preaches the need to be “strong in the legs”. Turns out she’s not just talking about tennis.

A day after notching scoring a strong 6-2, 6-4 win over Madison Keys in her opening match at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, a relaxed Halep was back on the practice courts at Singapore Indoor Stadium. In addition to a more relaxed attitude, it seems the Romanian is picking up a few more Australian habits from coach Darren Cahill.

New recruit for @afl Women's League with @Adelaide_FC? Great outside speed ?? @Simona_Halep will be in Adelaide for December training ? pic.twitter.com/VTGH0v9rLU

— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) October 24, 2016

Did that land on the roof of the Marina Bay Sands? Not bad.

Interestingly, Cahill also confirmed Halep’s pre-season plan to train in Adelaide ahead of the start of the 2017 season. That’s a notable change to her past preferences, which have favored staying home in Romania. Halep has floated the idea of doing her pre-season outside of Europe and it’s a smart decision to opt for Australia. Not only is Cahill based there, but training in the Aussie heat can only help her chances at the Australian Open in January.

But meanwhile, there’s still work to be done. Halep faces World No.1 Angelique Kerber in the second round of group play on Tuesday. Halep can secure her spot in the quarterfinals if she can score a straight-set win.