Tennis News

MADRID Spain – The seeds in the lower half of the draw will make their 2016 BNP Paribas debut on Saturday at Indian Wells, including 2016 Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.

Saturday, First Round

[12] Elina Svitolina (UKR #17) vs. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL #43)
Head-to-head: Svitolina leads 1-0 
Key Stat: Svitolina’s first Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance came last year on clay at the French Open.

A solid start to Svitolina’s season – one that saw her capture her fourth career title in Kuala Lumpur – came to a thudding halt in a rain-interrupted opening round loss to Alexandra Panova in Bogota. Nonetheless, the Ukranian youngster will look to rebound against 2009 US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer. Wickmayer reached the third round of the Miami Open, taking out Lucie Safarova en route, and her best result came in Acapulco, where she reached the semifinals – falling to eventual champion Sloane Stephens.

Both have yet to win a match on clay, but their only previous meeting came on the terre battue last spring, when Svitolina dropped four games on the Belgian en route to the quarterfinals of the French Open.

Svitolina is the steadier of the two, but the conditions in the Caja Magica could lend themselves better to the fiery Wickmayer’s aggressive play.

Pick: Svitolina in three

[16] Sloane Stephens (USA #21) vs. Teliana Pereira (BRA #84)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Stephens has gone on to win the title at every tournament in which she has won a match.

Sloane Stephens has had a season full of highs and lows to start 2016; despite earning three titles in Auckland, Acapulco, and Charleston, the American went out in the opening round of the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami. Stephens will try to get on another title-winning roll in her first match in Madird. Clay courter Teliana Pereira enjoyed a hugely successful season in 2015, one where she won her first WTA title in Bogota and earned a career-high ranking of No.43 last October.

Olympic pressure may be starting to get to the Brazilian, who lost her in the first round of her title defense to qualifier Catalina Pella in three grueling sets.

Pick: Stephens in two

Around the grounds: An all-Italian battle will take place on Court Manolo Santana as No.15 seed Sara Errani takes on Camila Giorgi, while Manhattan-born Spanish wildcard Paula Badosa Gibert opens the night session against Alizé Cornet. Badosa Gibert won last year’s junior French Open, perhaps an auspicious sign given how quickly 2014 champion Daria Kasatkina has come into her own in the year following her title run. In doubles, No.5 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic begin their quest for a third straight title against Anna-Lena Groenefeld and CoCo Vandeweghe.

RABAT, Morocco – Timea Bacsinszky saved some of her best tennis for Saturday’s final against Marina Erakovic; the Swiss star faced few problems against the former World No.39, 6-2, 6-1, to capture her first title of 2016 at the GP SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem.

Watch live action from Prague & Rabat this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Bacsinszky reached the semifinals of last year’s French Open, and appears to be settling into similar form after racing through Rabat – losing just one set in five matches. Against Erakovic, she played a near-perfect match over the course of an hour and seven minutes, winning 75% of the Kiwi’s second serve points without facing a break point off her own delivery. Her fourth career WTA title, the only WTA tournament in Africa Bacsinszky’s first on red clay – all three of her previous victories came on hardcourts.

It might not have been the ideal finish for Erakovic in the final, but it was still an awe-inspiring week from the qualifier, who had nearly dropped outside the world’s Top 200 due to various injuries. Taking out Fed Cup hero Kiki Bertens in three grueling sets, the 28-year-old jumps up nearly 60 spots to within spitting distance of the Top 100.

More to come…

MELBOURNE, Australia – The field for the Australian Open is starting to take shape after the initial acceptance list was unveiled earlier this week.

Monday marked the entry deadline for 2017’s first major, with Tennis Australia confirming the identity of 110 of the 128-strong draw. The remaining 18 will be made up of qualifiers and wildcards.

Defending champion Angelique Kerber will be joined by all her principal title rivals, including Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep and Dominika Cibulkova. The cut-off this year was No.107, with Patricia Maria Tig claiming the last berth.

Also Melbourne-bound will be Luksika Kumkhum and Lizette Cabrera, who have been awarded the first two wildcards.

Australian teenager Cabrera, who will be making her Grand Slam debut, made great strides in 2016, winning two ITF Circuit titles and rising nearly 800 places in the rankings. “It’s amazing news and a pretty surreal feeling. To be honest I’m probably still in a bit of shock, but I’m super excited to start playing,” Cabrera said.  “I think if I’m playing my best tennis you can always match it with any girls inside the top 100, so I want to try and win as many matches as I can which will hopefully help me play in more WTA tournaments in the future.”

Kumkhum, meanwhile, earned her spot by triumphing over Chang Kai-Chen in the final of the Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off. An ever-present at the Australian Open since 2013, Kumkhum, who upset Petra Kvitova several years back, is eagerly anticipating her return.

“I actually have played in the Australian Open since juniors,” she said. “And I don’t know why, I really like playing there in Melbourne, and had some good results too.

“I feel like at home every time being there, not far from Bangkok, the weather and everything, I think if someone gets used to hot weather, they will like Melbourne too.”

In one of the most significant coaching hires of the off-season, World No.10 Johanna Konta has brought on Wim Fissette as her coach to begin the 2017 season. Fissette was the long-time coach to Kim Clijsters and has recently worked with Simona Halep, Madison Keys, and Victoria Azarenka until her pregnancy leave last summer.

Konta is coming off a breakthrough 2015 season, which saw her win her first WTA title at the Bank of the West Classic, advance to her first major semifinal at the Australian Open, and surge from No.47 at the start of the season to become the first British woman to finish the season inside the Top 10 since Jo Durie in 1983. Her decision to split with coach Estaban Carrill was met with surprise, but Konta has landed one of the best coaches on tour in Fissette.

Known for his tennis acumen and amiable demeanor, Konta cited their positive chemistry in her decision to bring the Belgian on.

“He was the first coach I trialled and things are going well,” Konta told The Independent. “I guess he’s been on the Tour for quite some time, so I’m definitely looking forward to being a sponge and absorbing as much of his experience and knowledge through the years.”

Speaking to The Independent, Konta reflected on her sudden but mutual decision to part ways with Carrill, who had coached her through her meteoric rise over the last 18 months.

“But like with every relationship, I think there comes a point where changes need to be made, Konta said. “For both of us to keep evolving and keep getting better, it was definitely the right time. It gave me the opportunity to go into my pre-season with a new set-up so that I can then start my next season already in the swing of things.”

It has been an emotionally tough off-season for Konta after the death of her mental coach Juan Coto. Throughout her surge up the rankings, Konta, once a hot-headed, nervy player who struggled to close out matches, cited her work with Coto for her more grounded, simple approach to her game and career. Coto passed away suddenly in November.

“I know that Juan would be supportive of me continuously improving that area because it’s more than just tennis, it’s about my life,” Konta said. “He’s still very much a part of everything that I do, everything that I will continue to do in this sport and this career, and most likely beyond that as well. He has gifted me with an incredible amount of tools and habits that I still to this day am looking to improve, every single day.”

Konta begins her 2017 season at the Shenzhen Open, which begins on January 1st, and is scheduled to play the Apia International in Sydney as well to prepare for the first major of the season at the Australian Open.

Petra Kvitova could be back on a tennis court in six months, her surgeon said on Wednesday.

The two-time Wimbledon champion underwent surgery to repair severe lacerations and damage to her left hand and fingers after she was attacked in her home in Prostejov on Tuesday.

“Surgeon Radek Kebrle said that the operation on Petra’s left hand went very well, with no complications,” Kvitova’s publicist said in a statement.

“Petra will be on bed rest for 14 days, she will begin slow rehabilitation at around 6-8 weeks post operation. If that rehabilitation process goes well, Petra should be able to grip a racket for the first time (but not play tennis) at three months. The best-case scenario is that Petra will be able to return to the tennis court after six months.

“It is too soon to specify when precisely she can return to competition, but Petra is ready to do everything she can to get back competing at the highest level. Petra is happy with how the operation went and is in good spirits.”

Kvitova had ended the season ranked No.11 after a run to a second title of 2016 at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

MELBOURNE, Australia – The Australian Open has increased prize money to an historic high of $50 million, up 14% on 2016.  Men and women singles winners will each get $3.7m while a first round loser will receive $50,000.

“We are committed to further improving the pay and conditions on the international tennis tour to ensure every professional tennis player is properly compensated,” said Australian Open Tournament Director CEO Craig Tiley.

“It was especially important for us to increase the compensation for players in the early rounds and qualifying, and this year we have made some real gains. We are constantly reviewing ways to improve the life of every player on tour, not just the Top 100. This includes increasing prize money as well as removing as many costs as possible associated with playing our events.

“Our aim is to shift the break-even point for professional players, to ensure that tennis is a viable career option for the best male and female athletes in the world. We are also committed to equal prize money, equal exposure and equal opportunity for men and women.

“We are proud of our record in looking after the players, and will continue the push for increased prize money for professional players.”

The tournament’s prize money has more than tripled since 2001, when it was $13.9m, with a $10 million increase since 2014.

2016 Year-End World No.1 Angelique Kerber is the defending champion, having defeated then-No.1 Serena Williams in a thrilling three-set final Down Under. 

Round-by-round individual prize money for the Australian Open singles tournaments are as follows:

Karolina Pliskova

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.11
Year-End Ranking: No.6
Season Highlights: Nottingham, Cincinnati Champion, Singapore RR
Best Major Result: RU (US Open)

2017 Outlook

Everything you need to know about Pliskova’s season happened in the space of three weeks, where runs to the Western & Southern Open title and the US Open final changed the course of her season – and perhaps her career.

“This year, I’ve had some ups and downs while last year was more solid,” she told WTA Insider after stopping Angelique Kerber from ascending to No.1 in Cincinnati. “It was different, but this year I’ve played bigger tournaments and bigger matches. I won a few, lost a few, and this one is just the biggest of my career so far.

“I’m just happy that it happened this year, because so many people were saying this year has been so bad, and, ‘You have been playing so bad,’ and everything like this. So I’m just happy even for those people, that they can see I can still win something.”

The 2016 ace leader came into the US Open as an undoubted darkhorse, but surpassed all expectations as she saved a match point to defeat Venus Williams in one of the best matches of the year. She followed that win up with an even more emphatic victory over then World No.1 Serena Williams, becoming the eighth woman to beat both Williams sisters at the same tournament – the fourth at a Grand Slam.

“There is not more than to beat both sisters in one tournament in New York,” Pkiskova said after the semifinal. “I’m really excited about those two wins.”

Pliskova narrowly lost the final to Kerber, and finished 2016 by making her debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Czech youngster is eager to make even greater strides in 2017.

“With me, everything takes time,” she said in Singapore. “Next year maybe I will go out of the group. Right now I know how is it here to play. I got used to it, the system, and I’ll be more experienced next year.

Hopefully I’ll be back.”