WTA Stars Host Federer-Nadal Viewing Party In St. Petersburg
Daria Gavrilova rallied the troops at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy to watch the Australian Open final; check out their reaction to championship point right here on wtatennis.com.
Daria Gavrilova rallied the troops at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy to watch the Australian Open final; check out their reaction to championship point right here on wtatennis.com.
It’s time to vote for January’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, February 3.
January 2017 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists
Serena Williams: Serena’s historic month came to its dizzying peak as she held aloft the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy after defeating sister Venus in straight sets to win the Australian Open. It was not only her seventh title Down Under, but also her 23rd overall, earning her the sole holder of the Open Era record she previously shared with Stefanie Graf. The win also returned Serena to No.1 on the WTA rankings and the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
Venus Williams: Not to be outdone, Venus served a bit of history herself, reaching her first major final since 2009 in Melbourne. It was her first Australian Open final in 14 years, and the American dropped just one set through six matches. Despite losing to Serena in the championship match, the elder of the Williamses still found herself at No.2 on the RTS leaderboard.
Karolina Pliskova: Pliskova began the year with a bang, winning the Brisbane International and roaring into her second straight Grand Slam quarterfinal. The Czech powerhouse won her first nine matches of the season and rose up to a career-high ranking of No.3.
Johanna Konta: The Brit also served notice to start 2017, winning her second career title at the Apia International Sydney. Under immense ranking pressure in Australia, Konta held her nerve to return to the quarterfinals.
2016 Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
July: Simona Halep
August: Monica Puig
September: Petra Kvitova
October: Dominika Cibulkova
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
No.5 seed Elena Vesnina avenged her Brisbane International loss to Alizé Cornet and advanced into the quarterfinals of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
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)
Elina Svitolina had Friday’s shot of the day at the Taiwan Open.
Top seed Elina Svitolina capped off a solid week in Taipei City with a fifth career WTA title, winning a decisive championship match against resurgent veteran Peng Shuai.
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
Kristina Mladenovic takes on Yulia Putintseva in the final of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Highlights from final round action at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
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.