Tennis News

LONDON, Great Britain – Angelique Kerber’s win over Venus Williams in the Wimbledon semifinals presents her with an exceptionally rare opportunity – with Serena Williams awaiting her in a rematch of the Australian Open final on Saturday, she could pull off the rare feat of beating both Williams sisters at the same tournament.

Only seven players have achieved the feat before, with one of them doing it twice – full list here:

Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario
1998 Sydney
(d Serena in SFs & Venus in F)

Steffi Graf
1999 Sydney
(d Serena in 2r & Venus in QFs)

Martina Hingis
2001 Australian Open
(d Serena in QFs & Venus in SFs)

Kim Clijsters
2002 WTA Finals
(d Venus in SFs & Serena in F)

Lindsay Davenport
2004 Los Angeles
(d Venus in SFs & Serena in F)

Justine Henin
2007 US Open
(d Serena in QFs & Venus in SFs)

Kim Clijsters
2009 US Open
(d Venus in 4r & Serena in SFs)

Jelena Jankovic
2010 Rome
(d Venus in QFs & Serena in SFs)

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Venus Williams eased through a tense opening set against hometown favorite Jade Lewis, 7-6(2), 6-2, before being forced to withdraw from what would have been her second match of the day at the ASB Classic, citing right arm pain ahead of a highly anticipated encouter with Japanese youngster Naomi Osaka.

“I love this tournament and I’m really sad that I have to withdraw, but I’m happy to have had the opportunity to be here again this year,” the five-time Wimbledon winner said in a statement.

Impacted by adverse weather to start the tournament, Venus was scheduled to play a pair of singles matches on Tuesday after defeating Lewis to kick off the day session in Auckland. Lewis led by a service break three times in the opening set, holding a set point in the tenth game before fading in the tie-break and ensuing second set.

The win booked a clash with Osaka, who first the American after winning the Rising Stars Invitational at the 2015 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

“I wasn’t really talking,” Osaka said at the time. “I was just kind of creeping her out. But she’s really nice. I don’t remember what we talked about because I was really freaked out.”

Venus reached back-to-back finals at the ASB Classic in 2014 and 2015, winning the latter over Caroline Wozniacki in the final.

We regret to announce that @Venuseswilliams has had to pull out of the #ASBClassic Tournament due to injury. Updated Order of Play to follow pic.twitter.com/hc95EMuYAr

— ASB Classic (@ASB_Classic) January 4, 2017

BRISBANE, Australia – Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek-Sands have booked their spot into the Brisbane semifinals, but should they reach the final there could be more at stake than just the Brisbane International trophy.

Mirza has held the WTA Doubles No.1 Ranking since April 13, 2015, a total of 91-consecutive weeks (as of Jan 2, 2017), which includes 31 weeks as co-No.1 with Martina Hingis.

She faces a difficult task defending her top spot, though, as she will be defending 2,960 points during the Australian swing. Last year she teamed up with Martina Hingis to win titles at Brisbane, Sydney and the Australian Open.

This year in Brisbane, Mirza is the top seed along with her new partner Mattek-Sands, who currently sits at No.5 in the WTA Doubles Rankings. If they go on to win the title in Brisbane, Mattek-Sands will overtake Mirza for the No.1 WTA Doubles Ranking.

It’s not the first time that the American has come close to usurping her current partner’s top spot; last year at the WTA Finals, Mattek-Sands came within one win of climbing to No.1, but Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina dashed her hopes in the championship match.

Makarova and Vesnina, the No.2 seeds in Brisbane, are also through to the Brisbane semifinals and will play the winner of Irina Falconi and Shelby Rogers vs. Abigail Spears Katerina Srebotnik for a spot in the final. Mattek-Sands and Mirza await the winner of Andreja Klepac and María José Martínez Sánchez vs. Hsieh Su-Wei and Laura Siegemund.

Most Consecutive Weeks at WTA Doubles No.1 (As of Jan 2, 2017):
181 Martina Navratilova
145 Cara Black^{^}
134 Liezel Huber^{^}
91 Sania Mirza
73 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario

^ Black & Huber held co-No.1 Doubles Rankings for 127 weeks (Nov. 12, 2007 until April 18, 2010)

SINGAPORE – Friday marks 100 days until the start of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, and following an exciting, unpredictable and historic first half of the season all is still to play for.

The Road To Singapore leaderboard has started to take shape, with faces fresh and familiar occupying, while defending doubles champions Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza became the first to book their place at the season-ending finale.

At present Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza, Serena Williams, the winners of 2016’s first three Grand Slams, and Victoria Azarenka, who competed the rare Indian Wells-Miami double, are the mid-season pacesetters on the leaderboard. However, with defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska and the in-form Dominika Cibulkova among those in pursuit, there will be plenty of jostling for position as the tour heads for the hardcourts of North America. 

“It has been a truly exciting year for women’s tennis and as we mark 100 days out from the WTA Finals, we have seen different champions crowned at each of the first three Grand Slams this year. The Road to Singapore has never been more thrilling and this is testament to the current depth of the women’s game, as we look to the future of outstanding players rising up the ranks,” said Melissa Pine, Vice-President of WTA Asia-Pacific and Tournament Director of the WTA Finals.

Hingis and Mirza are not the only big names to confirm their place in Singapore: former champion Chris Evert will return as official event ambassador for the third consecutive year. In her role, Evert will work with players and other ambassadors including Martina Navratilova and Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario to promote and raise the profile of the event and the sport in the region.

“As WTA Finals ambassador for the past couple of years, I’ve seen the event grow, and with it, the popularity of tennis in the region,” Evert said of her role. “This has been a great year for women’s tennis and there is so much to look forward to in the coming months on the Road to Singapore as we head towards the big finale. The strength and level of competition have been simply amazing, and I’m looking forward to an exciting eight days of tennis in October!”

This has not been the only off-court development either. To coincide with the 100-days countdown, the second phase of ticket sales was launched, opening up single-session tickets to all matches, including the semifinals and final. Admission to single sessions will range from $16 to $226, and can be purchased on WTAFinals.com.

BRISBANE, Australia – The unseeded Alizé Cornet is through to the final at the Brisbane International after Garbiñe Muguruza was forced to retire due to injury.

“I was really focused on my match but I could tell [Garbiñe] was not playing like usual,” Cornet said in her post-match interview. “She was not running or hitting the ball as well as usual. But I was just trying to stay focused on what I had to do.”

The No.4 seeded Spaniard looked off from the start, her usually powerful groundstrokes lacking their bite. She struggled to hold serve in the opening game under Cornet’s all-court assault, fending off two break points.

But Muguruza was broken in her very next service game after a string of long rallies which saw her struggle to hit through the ball, and finally retired trailing Cornet 1-4, citing a right thigh injury.

.@GarbiMuguruza retires after being down 1-4.@AlizeCornet moves into the @BrisbaneTennis Final! pic.twitter.com/ydFI8tBXqA

— WTA (@WTA) January 6, 2017

“Of course, it’s not the way I wanted to get to the final but its part of the game,” Cornet explained. “We understand sometimes we have some physical issues. Tennis is more and more tough on the body.

“But well, it’s good for me because I will have a little bit of rest before the big final tomorrow.”

Aside from securing a spot into her second career Premier-level final, the win guarantees Cornet a seed at the Australian Open. The Frenchwoman’s ranking will rise as high as No.31 by virtue of reaching the final, and could go as high as No.26 should she take home the title.

Cornet awaits the winner between No.6 seed Elina Svitolina and No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova.

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)