WTA Frame Challenge: Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Shvedova takes on the WTA Frame Challenge! Find out how well she did right here!
Yaroslava Shvedova takes on the WTA Frame Challenge! Find out how well she did right here!
Highlights from the semifinal action at the BNP Paribas Open.
Svetlana Kuznetsova takes on Venus Williams in the third round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Serena Williams renews her rivalry with Victoria Azarenka as they battle for the BNP Paribas Open title. Follow it all live right here!
An interview with Simona Halep after her win in the quarterfinals of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
No.3 ranked Angelique Kerber – along with the rest of the Miami Open’s top seeds – met the press at All-Access Hour on Tuesday ahead of the start of play.
“I have much more confidence inside of me. It feels a little bit different but at the end, I know that I need to go to work again, going on practice courts, working hard,” said Kerber on how she’s coping with the added pressure of being a Grand Slam champion.
Last year’s Miami Open finalist, Carla Suárez Navarro, is hoping to do one better this year and claim her first title at Crandon Park.
“Always when she’s in the tournament, she’s the favorite,” said Suárez Navarro on top seed Serena Williams, who defeated her in last year’s final. “She’s always the best because she always wants more.”
“It’s great to be around all these champions and great players, and it was very inspiring for me,” said Belinda Bencic, the youngest member of the Top 10. “That’s why I felt quite good here, and I’m starting to really feel like I’m a part of this whole thing.”
Defending champion Serena Williams has reached two finals this year, and the nine-time Miami Open champion hopes familiar ground will lead her to her first 2016 title.
For Williams, Miami is the closest thing to a home tournament: “This is the tournament that I’ve grown up coming to. Being a local it’s so easy for me to go home, come here, and it’s been just so great to tennis for decades.”
Though Simona Halep comes into Miami with no expectations, her objective is clear: “It’s tough to have expectations after three tough months this year. Always, when I go on court, I want to win the match. I fight for it.”
World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska, who’s made the semifinals or higher at every tournament since October, is hoping her consistent run of form will help to grab a second Miami Open title this year.
Petra Kvitova is happy to be back in Miami: “I missed it last year, and I’m very happy to be here again. I missed the tournament; it’s just beautiful up here.”
Petra Kvitova takes on Johanna Konta in the quarterfinals of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
The 2016 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells this year, where every ace hit by a WTA player at Premier-level events translates into a donation to the USANA True Health Foundation, whose mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those who are suffering or in need around the world. For every ace hit by any player the WTA donates $5, and for every ace hit by a USANA Brand Ambassador, it’s $10.
USANA Brand Ambassadors Caroline Wozniacki, Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic, Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens, Monica Puig, Zheng Saisai and Alizé Cornet (who did not play in Indian Wells) have hit 42 of the 489 aces so far – raising a grand total of $2,655 over the fortnight.
Read more about the campaign here and see below to find out who’s hit the most aces so far!
#AcesForHumanity Fan Giveaway
It’s simple: before each WTA Premier tournament guess how many total aces will be hit.
Next up is the Miami Open in Miami. Last year there was a total of 411 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
• Miami deadline is March 23rd at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced April 4th
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.
MIAMI, FL, USA – The Miami Open continues on Wednesday, with several youngsters taking center stage.
Watch live action from Miami this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Wednesday, First Round
Stadium
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN #45) vs. Lucie Hradecka (CZE #85)
Head-to-head: Hradecka leads 2-1
Eugenie Bouchard has largely left a disappointing 2015 season behind as the former World No.5 has already reached two WTA finals in Hobart and Kuala Lumpur this season. At the BNP Paribas Open, she edged past contemporary Sloane Stephens before narrowly losing to Timea Bacsinszky in the third round
Standing between the Canadian and a second round encounter with No.9 seed Roberta Vinci is Czech veteran, Lucie Hradecka. A top-ranked doubles player who reached the semifinals at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last fall, Hradecka has beaten Bouchard in two of their last three meetings, though the latter emerged victorious in Indian Wells one week ago. Blessed with a booming game, the former World No.41 could pose trouble for the otherwise aggressive Bouchard, but has won just one main draw match all year – an emphatic dismissal of Alison Riske just two weeks ago in the California desert.
Stadium
[WC] Catherine Bellis (USA #219) vs. Monica Puig (PUR #67)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Back in 2014, a then-15-year-old Bellis stole the hearts of the American public when she outlasted former Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova on an outer court at the US Open. The run ended three sets later against Zarina Diyas, but Bellis had become a star, and a name many like Monica Puig already know well.
Puig is a former junior prodigy herself, reaching the girl’s final at the Australian Open in 2011, and has been playing solid ball to start 2016. As a qualifier, she reached the final of the Apia International Sydney, upsetting Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals. Reaching the third round at the BNP Paribas Open last week, she held two match points against Daria Kasatkina, who went on to reach the quarterfinals. With the winner to play reigning Indian Wells winner Victoria Azarenka in the second round, Bellis and Puig provide a good look at the future of the women’s game
Also on court…
Caroline Garcia begins her tournament on the Grandstand, taking on Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, while Abierto Monterrey Afirme champion Heather Watson takes on Petra Cetkovska to kick off play on Court 1. Americans CoCo Vandeweghe and qualifier Samantha Crawford finish last on Court 1 while Dominika Cibulkova and Johanna Larsson are third on Court 2 following Irina Falconi and 2010 French Open champion, Francesca Schiavone.
MIAMI, FL, USA – Former World No.41 and doubles threat Lucie Hradecka earned her second WTA main draw win of 2016 in emphatic style, striking 29 winners to outlast 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Watch live action from Miami this fortnight on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Hradecka came into the match with a winning record over the Canadian, but Bouchard had won their most recent match at last year’s BNP Paribas Open. Winning 100% of her first serve points through the opening seven games, Hradecka nonetheless raced out to a 5-2 lead before nerves set in.
“I’m so happy,” she said after the match. “It was definitely a tough match. I started very well and then at the end of the first set, I started to be a little more nervy and tight.”
Hradecka held on for the first set, but Bouchard, who has already reached two WTA finals in 2016 (Hobart, Kuala Lumpur), was buoyed by the late momentum, breaking serve and withstanding pressure from the Czech veteran to level the match.
“When I had 5-4, I served well, but I made a lot of mistakes in the second set and my first serve was not there.”
Hradecka is no stranger to high stakes – especially in doubles, where she’s qualified twice for the WTA Finals with fellow Olympic Silver medalist Andrea Hlavackova.
“Sometimes it’s tough to combine singles and doubles, but for the moment, it’s combining easily!”
She survived serveral long games on serve in the decider before Bouchard buckled in the sixth game, double faulting on break point. The two-time Grand Slam champion made no mistake in converting her second 5-2 lead of the match, clinching the victory on her third match point.
Up next for Hradecka is No.9 seed Roberta Vinci, who reached the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open before a left foot injury forced her to retire down a set and a break to Magdalena Rybarikova.
“I’ve played against her a few times, but never beaten her. It will be a little bit different because she plays more slice and is very tricky. I have to be consistent in my game, and we’ll see.”
Earlier in the afternoon, Caroline Garcia won a battle of big hitters against Mirjana Lucic Baroni, winning, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3. 2014 Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova won her third straight match against Johanna Larsson, recovering from a set down to book a second round encounter with No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Christina McHale will be top seed Serena Williams’ opening round opponent; she withstood a tough battle against Misaki Doi, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Vania King’s comeback from a back injury continued when she pushed past a GI illness to defeat qualifier Lourdes Dominguez Lino, 6-4, 6-4, with former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki waiting in the next round. Irina Falconi and Yanina Wickmayer each earned two-set wins over Italians Francesca Schiavone and Karin Knapp, respectively, while big-serving Timea Babos eased past Anna Tatishvili, 7-6(2), 6-2.