Vote: February Breakthrough Of The Month
Cast your vote now for February’s Breakthrough Performance of the Month – Jelena Ostapenko, Daria Kasatkina, Caroline Garcia, or Zheng Saisai?
Cast your vote now for February’s Breakthrough Performance of the Month – Jelena Ostapenko, Daria Kasatkina, Caroline Garcia, or Zheng Saisai?
Angelique Kerber
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.10
Year-End Ranking: No.1
Season Highlights: Australian Open, Stuttgart, US Open Champion – Brisbane, Wimbledon, Cincinnati, Olympics, Singapore RU
Best Major Result: Winner (Australian Open, US Open)
2016 was all about Angelique, as the German star rose up from No.10 in the world to capture a pair of Grand Slam titles and finish the year atop the WTA rankings. Hard to believe just 12 months ago.
“To win two [majors] right now and to be in one final at Wimbledon, that means to me everything,” she told WTA Insider in her Champions Corner interview in Flushing.
“To then be No.1, what I was always dreaming when I was a kid, that shows me I played a really consistent year. To be No.1 you have to play great, not one day or one week, you have to play very well a few months, and this is also incredible to me.”
A surprise finalist in Melbourne, Kerber stunned then-World No.1 Serena Williams, keeping the American from tying idol Stefanie Graf’s 22 major titles. She maintained a high level all year, reaching finals on all surfaces and winning silver at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.
“I’m feeling much more confident now in my skin and how I am. I think it’s because of my experience I know what’s happened, I know how to deal with pressure, how to deal with the things I have to do off court. That’s what gives me the confidence to dress up, speak, work, being how I am.
“Of course it takes a little while to get where I am, and it was really tough but really good.”
Looking into 2017, Kerber has to hit the ground running as top seed in Brisbane, the tournament where it all began last year. She’ll also have a Grand Slam title to defend right out the gate, but she and coach Torben Beltz were eager to kep working in the off-season, and do what needs to be done to extend her reign at the top of women’s tennis.
“I’m playing the best tennis in my career, but I’m trying to be better and better. I’m trying to motivate myself to be better in my matches and in practice. I will try to still play my best tennis in the next months.”
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Eugenie Bouchard continued her recent resurgence with a dominant second-round win over Kurumi Nara at the BMW Malaysian Open on Wednesday.
Watch live action from Monterrey & Kuala Lumpur this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Following a difficult 2015, Bouchard has been quietly playing herself back into form with encouraging showings at Shenzhen, Hobart and Doha. Against Nara she impressed once again, breaking four times to wrap up a 6-1, 6-2 victory.
“No match is easy. I was focused on every single point and I just tried to stay aggressive and that worked well today,” Bouchard said.
Struggles on the court and injuries off it precipitated a slide down the rankings for Bouchard. However, with the help of new coach Thomas Hogstedt – whom she teamed up with last autumn – the Canadian is relishing the rebuilding process.
“I’m on the right path, but I’m not expecting it to come in one day,” she added. “I know it’s a long journey and I had a lot of time off because of injury. It’s going to take a least a few months to get back to where I was, but I’m just trying to stay positive and focused on one tournament at a time.
“This is an opportunity to get more matches and that’s what I need right now, so I’m happy I got two here already and I’m looking forward to a couple more, hopefully.”
Rather than instigate a complete overhaul, Hogstedt, whose previous charges include Maria Sharapova, Li Na and Tommy Haas, is tinkering with his new pupil’s game.
“He thinks highly of my game and he really believes in my style of play. We’ve been working a lot on trying to stay low during the point, the footwork a little bit – I play my best when I’m in position for each ball. Some basic things like that, but it’s important to make sure everything’s as good as it can be – if you can improve something 1% it’s important because against the top players it makes a difference.”
There were contrasting fortunes for the other two seeds hoping to join Bouchard in the quarterfinals. No.3 seed Sabine Lisicki overcame a slow start to defeat Barbora Krejcikova, 7-5, 6-3, while former champion and No.7 seed Hsieh Su-Wei went down to Kristina Kucova, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
The two biggest WTA tournaments of the season just around the corner. The BNP Paribas Open kicks off next week, with the Miami Open to follow. With 2,000 points up for grabs in March, here are the storylines we’re keeping an eye on as tennis’ March Madness is set to begin.
Serena Williams back in action: The World No.1 has played just one event since the US Open, making the Australian Open final in January. She withdrew from the Middle East swing citing a flu, but assured reporters this week that she’s ready and raring to go.
Serena is the defending champion – an eight-time champion, to be exact – in Miami and made the semifinals in Indian Wells last year – when she played the tournament for the first time in 14 years. With a hefty lead in the rankings – she has a 3,545 point lead on No.2 Angelique Kerber – Serena’s spot at the top isn’t in jeopardy in March. But these next two tournaments offer a big opportunity for the women behind her to close the gap before the tour moves to clay.
Kickstarter in the desert: The first two months of the season have been a false start for more than a few top players. Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova have just two wins on tour so far. Garbiñe Muguruza showed signs of traction at the Qatar Total Open, but has tallied just four wins on tour.
North America was surprisingly fertile ground for Halep in 2015. But with little momentum coming into March, No.5 Halep could take a rankings hit if she can’t find her form. She’s the defending champion in Indian Wells and went on to make the semifinals in Miami. That’s 1,390 points to defend over the next four weeks.
By contrast, No.9 Kvitova has nothing but points to gain in March. This time last year she announced her decision to take a six-week break from the tour to recharge. This year she returns to Indian Wells without a coach, having announced a split with David Kotyza after the Australian Open.
This time last year I made a big decision to take a break. Now I couldn't be more excited to go back to Indian Wells pic.twitter.com/9zXfykUTJX
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) March 4, 2016
Venus Williams returns to Indian Wells: Following in her sister’s footsteps, Venus returns to Indian Wells for the first time since 2001. But this is not just a symbolic return. Back up to No.12, Venus comes into the tournament on a seven match win streak, after notching two wins at Fed Cup and capturing her first title of the season at the Taiwan Open.
As Venus wrote in her essay at the The Players Tribune, this is about tennis. “I’m looking forward to the amazing California grounds,” she wrote. “I’m looking forward to the top-notch WTA competition. And I’m looking forward to the fans – who played such an important role in helping to make last year so special. But most of all, I’m looking forward to playing tennis.
“Sounds simple – I know. But after almost 30 years of playing this sport, I’ve learned something. I’ve learned that, no matter what happens, or happened … or where you are, or where you’ve been … at the end of the day: tennis is tennis. It’s always, always tennis. And there’s nothing better.”
Victoria Azarenka looks to get back on track: Assuming she’s healthy – Azarenka withdrew from Acapulco with a left wrist injury – March could be a very good month for Vika. She’s still taken just one loss this season, to Kerber in the Australian Open quarterfinals, and she’s a former champion at both Indian Wells and Miami. Currently ranked No.15, she has just 130 points to defend this month.
Complete the sweep: How significant are Indian Wells and Miami? Complete the sweep and that’s 2,000 points in pocket, the same as winning a Slam. No one has completed the double since Kim Clijsters in 2005. But now that Serena is playing Indian Wells you have to give her more than a shot to complete the sweep, especially given her vice-like grip on Miami.
Young guns: While the veterans have been winning the trophies, the younger generation of players have shown ample signs of an impending insurgency. Belinda Bencic leads the way after making her Top 10 debut after making the final in St. Petersburg, while Sloane Stephens already has two titles, winning her second just last week in Acapulco.
Meanwhile, Eugenie Bouchard has put her 2015 season behind her, making the quarterfinals or better at three of her five tournaments. Daria Gavrilova, Madison Keys, and Daria Kasatkina are also ones to watch over the next four weeks.
Major rankings movement: With Monterrey and Kuala Lumpur still to finish, here is the Road To Singapore Top 10: Angelique Kerber, Carla Suárez Navarro, Agnieszka Radwanska, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Roberta Vinci, Johanna Konta, Belinda Bencic, Sara Errani, Jelena Ostapenko, and Zhang Shuai.
Raise your hand if you predicted that.
A little over 1,000 points separate No.1 Kerber from No.4 Serena, while less than 500 points separate No.5 from No.20. That extreme bunching means we can expect a significant amount of movement in the RTS this month.
Clean Slate: Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza return to their debut tournament after having their 41-match win streak snapped by Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina in Doha. Last year they went on to win their first three tournaments together at Indian Wells, Miami, and Charleston. Will it be more of the same this year?
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – One hundred and twenty-seven matches, 292 sets, 2680 games and 17,520 points over thirteen rainy, windy and occasionally sunny days. And that was just the singles. While numbers never tell the whole story, when it comes to the 2016 US Open, they certainly make for a good read…
8,628,207 – The $3,500,000 cheque Angelique Kerber received for picking up her second Grand Slam took her 2016 winnings to $8,628,207. Her previous best total annual total was $2,139,358 (2013).
65,797 – Hugh Grant, Anna Wintour and Vanessa Williams were among the 65,797 attending the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on the middle Sunday – a single-day attendance record.
309 – Serena Williams’ third-round win over Johanna Larsson was her 307th at a Grand Slam tournament, overtaking Martina Navratilova for sole ownership of the Open Era record. Two further victories, took her total to 309 – a number not matched by any player, male or female.
186 – However, Serena’s semifinal defeat to Karolina Pliskova meant that her was unable to overtake Stefanie Graf’s record of 186 consecutive weeks at No.1. Her replacement, Kerber, is the first German to hold top spot since Graf in March 1997.
182 – The number of minutes needed by Kateryna Bondarenko and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to win their second-round thrillers over Zheng Saisai and Kristina Mladenovic, respectively – the longest matches of the tournament.
126 – The speed in miles per hour of the fastest serve of the fortnight, hit by Serena.
81 – Serena’s 120mph bombs helped her win 81% of her first service points.
72 – At Wimbledon, Venus Williams matched Amy Frazier’s Open Era record of 71 Grand Slam appearances. The evergreen American moved out in front on her own when she stepped on Arthur Ashe to face Kateryna Kozlova. Sister Serena, though, is hot on her tail, taking her tally to 65 this fortnight.
52 – Jelena Jankovic has now played in 52 consecutive Grand Slams. The Open Era record of 62 is held by Ai Sugiyama.
46 – Caroline Wozniacki jumped 46 spots from No.74 to No.28 in the rankings after her run through to the semifinals.
34 – Kerber broke serve 34 times en route to the title.
33 – The longest rally of this year’s tournament was 33 shots and came in the second set of the second-round encounter between Elina Svitolina and Lauren Davis. Eventually it was Svitolina that emerged triumphant, although not before the pair had another epic exchange, this one lasting 32 shots in the fifth game of the third set.
22 – There were 22 Americans in this year’s singles draw – 12 more than any other country.
20 – At the start of the tournament there were 20 players aged 30 or older. By comparison, there were only eight teenagers.
16 – At just 16 years and 336 days old on the opening Monday of the tournament, Kayla Day was the youngest player in New York.
11 – Runners-up Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic won 11 consecutive sets in the doubles draw. They had the chance to make it a perfect 12 in the final against Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova only to be broken when serving for the match.
6 – The number of players at this year’s tournament who were yet to be born when Venus made her US Open debut in 1997: CiCI Bellis, Kayla Day, Sofia Kenin, Ana Konjuh, Naomi Osaka and Nadia Podoroska.
2 – Kerber is the first player not named Serena to win multiple majors in a calendar year since Justine Henin did so in 2007.
1 – Runner-up Pliskova was only one year old the last time a Czech player (Helena Sukova) reached a US Open final, in 1993.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Former champion Simona Halep is back in Shenzhen, stepping up her preparations for the year’s first major.
Elina Svitolina enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2016, knocking out two reigning World No.1s and reaching the final of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. But before playing her first match of the new year at the Brisbane International, the Ukrainian youngster tried out a brand new sport with a little help from the Brisbane Heat.
Well if tennis doesn't work out for you @ElinaSvitolina, maybe ??#BrisbaneTennis #BBL06 pic.twitter.com/4hnn4xvz8z
— #BrisbaneTennis (@BrisbaneTennis) December 30, 2016
Svitolina suited up to play cricket for the first time before turning the tables on the Heat, trading in the paddle for her racquet to serve at one of her temporary teammates.
First Ukrainian cricketer ?! Thanks @HeatBBL for having me ?? good luck tonight pic.twitter.com/t9xtj2S3cZ
— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) December 30, 2016
Check out the video from her exciting afternoon before the No.6 seed takes on Shelby Rogers in her second round match in Brisbane.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – USANA Health Sciences and the WTA have kicked off their third annual Aces for Humanity campaign in support of the USANA True Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide immediate and long-term assistance to suffering populations worldwide. USANA is a global nutritional company and has been a longstanding partner of the WTA since 2006.
Beginning with the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, every ace served at a Premier-level WTA event will translate into a donation for the Foundation. For every ace served by the nine USANA Brand Ambassadors – Caroline Wozniacki, Genie Bouchard, Madison Keys, Samantha Stosur, Sloane Stephens, Monica Puig, Zheng Saisai, and most recently Kristina Mladenovic and Alizé Cornet – the WTA will contribute $10 toward the campaign, while every ace served by any other WTA player will translate into a $5 donation.
Collectively, 430 aces were recorded by USANA Brand Ambassadors during last season’s campaign, with Keys leading the group with 138 non-returnable serves. Through this program and other charitable efforts, the WTA has contributed over $115,000 to the USANA True Health Foundation since 2011.
“One hundred percent of every dollar donated to the Foundation goes directly toward helping those in need of assistance,” said Deb Jordan, president of the USANA True Health Foundation. “The support we have received through the WTA and our Brand Ambassadors has allowed us to help millions around the world and we couldn’t be more grateful for their continued support and partnership.”
“I’m really impressed by USANA’s commitment to helping others and what the USANA True Health Foundation has accomplished over the past few years,” said USANA Brand Ambassador Caroline Wozniacki. “I’m proud to be part of this campaign and to help raise more awareness to their efforts.”
This year the program will also involve regular social giveaways, including autographed tennis balls and USANA product. For official rules, head to wtatennis.com.
“The WTA is proud to support the significant efforts of USANA’s True Health Foundation,” said Steve Simon, WTA CEO. “Through our partnership with USANA and the Aces for Humanity campaign, we are able to provide meaningful assistance to those in need, which is something we value greatly.”
#AcesForHumanity Fan Giveaway
It’s simple: before each WTA Premier tournament guess how many total aces will be hit.
First up is the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Last year there was a total of 460 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit in the desert this year.
How To Enter:
• Follow @WTA and @USANAFoundation on Twitter and before each WTA Premier tournament tweet the number of aces you predict will be hit during the whole tournament (Singles, Main Draw)
• Include the hashtag #AcesForHumanity
• Indian Wells deadline is March 9th at 11am PST
• The winner will be announced March 21st
Aces For Humanity is a joint WTA and USANA initiative that benefits the USANA True Health Foundation, which provides critical human necessities to those in suffering or in need around the globe.
For full rules on how to enter, click here.
It’s time to vote for August’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, September 16.
August 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists
Angelique Kerber: Angelique Kerber had a summer to remember, starting at the height of the Emirates Airline US Open Series. From the semifinals of the Rogers Cup, Kerber went to Rio for the Olympic tennis event, where she came away with a silver medal. Playing for World No.1 at the Western & Southern Open, she made it all the way to the final and went one better at the US Open to claim her second Grand Slam. The victory made her the first German woman to top the WTA rankings since Steffi Graf and the first lefty since Monica Seles. Oh, and she qualified for what will be her fourth appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Monica Puig: Puig became the first Puerto Rican athlete to win a gold medal when she shocked Kerber in the final of the Olympic tennis event. Her impressive run in Rio saw her upset the likes of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Laura Siegemund, and Petra Kvitova before winning an epic final over the soon-to-be World No.1.
Karolina Pliskova: Pliskova broke through in a big way this summer, halting Kerber’s quest to become No.1 in the final of the Western & Southern Open to win the biggest title of her young career. At the US Open, she became the fourth woman ever – and the first since 2009 – to beat both Venus Williams and Serena Williams in the same major tournament to reach her first Grand Slam final.
2016 Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
July: Simona Halep
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
A stellar cast has once again assembled for the season-opening Shenzhen Open. Find out what the players have been up to away from the court…