Miami: Kerber Interview
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.
HONG KONG/TIANJIN/LINZ – The Road to Singapore kicks into high gear as three spots remain in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Who will join Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, and Karolina Pliskova among the tour’s Elite Eight? Six of the seven women still in Singapore contention battle it out at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, the Tianjin Open, and the Generali Ladies Linz…
Click here to check out the most updated RTS scenarios.
1) The Road to Singapore leaderboard heats up.
Johanna Konta flipped the script on the RTS leaderboard by reaching the biggest final of her career at the China Open. The result brought the Brit up to No.8 – bumping Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova down to No.9. Konta is the No.3 seed in Hong Kong, while Cibulkova took a wildcard in Linz; the two begin their weeks against Naomi Broady and Belinda Bencic, respectively.
2) Kuznetsova shoots for Singapore from Tianjin.
The Russian reached the semifinals of Wuhan – saving a match point to defeat China Open champ Agnieszka Radwanska en route – but will likely need to win the tournament this week and play either Moscow or Luxembourg to remain in contention. Radwanska clinched her return to the WTA Finals last week, and is top seed in Tianjin.
3) Muguruza next in line.
French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza looked like a lot to secure her place in Singapore earlier in the Asian swing, but tough losses over the last few weeks bring her qualification hopes down to the wire. Top seed in Linz, Muguruza opens against Cagla Buyukakcay, and could play No.3 seed Madison Keys in the semifinals.
4) Keys also aims for WTA Finals debut.
Speaking of Keys, the American has a tough opener against former Linz finalist Camila Giorgi, but has enjoyed a solid swing through Wuhan and Beijing – reaching the semifinals of the latter – and should feel comfortable on Austria’s indoor courts.
5) Call on Carla…
Carla Suárez Navarro narrowly missed out on qualifying for Singapore last year, and heads into the final stretch of the season ranked No.10 on the RTS leaderboard; the Spaniard is seeded No.4 in Linz and opens against Mona Barthel.
6) Pavlyuchenkova out to defend Linz trophy.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ended her year on a high, winning nine straight matches to win in Linz and reach the final of the Kremlin Cup. The Wimbledon quarterfinalist recently parted with coach Dieter Kindlmann, and opens against US Open quarterfinalist Anastasija Sevastova as the No.5 seed.
7) Vesnina gets Rogers rematch.
Elena Vesnina came into the French Open having reached the Volvo Car Open final as a qualifier, but fell in the second round to eventual quarterfinalist Shelby Rogers. Seeded No.3 in Tianjin, Vesnina plays Rogers to start the week, and is in Radwanska’s half of the draw.
8) Jankovic on tough title defense.
Jelena Jankovic stunned Singapore hopefuls Venus Williams and Angelique Kerber to win the title in Hong Kong last year, and may well have to replicate the feat this year as the No.7 seed. The former No.1 is projected to play Venus in the quarterfinals and Kerber in the final.
9) Kerber edges closer to clinching Year-End No.1.
Finalist last year in Hong Kong, World No.1 Angelique Kerber is top seed after bowing out in the third round of Beijing to Elina Svitolina, and opens against Maria Sakkari.
10) Find out where you can watch the action from Hong Kong here!
Caroline Wozniacki reflects on her performance at the Miami Open.
An interview with Svetlana Kuznetsova after her win in the semifinals of the Miami Open.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Relive the game-by-game updates of the 2016 China Open final as former champ Agnieszka Radwanska took on history-making Johanna Konta.
Check out Johanna Konta’s shot of the day against Venus Williams at the Miami Open.
The 2016 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open and continued in Beijing for the China Open, 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 Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic, Madison Keys, Monica Puig, Sloane Stephens, Zheng Saisai, Alizé Cornet and Caroline Wozniacki hit 32 of the 312 aces in Beijing – raising a grand total of $1,820 throughout the week. Keys hit the most with 23 aces.
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 Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Last year there was a total of 106 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit 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
• Beijing deadline is October 18 at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced October 24th
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.
Johanna Konta has the shot of the day on Saturday at the Miami Open.
LINZ, Austria – Dominika Cibulkova kept alive her hopes of reaching the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global with a routine 6-1, 6-2 victory over Belinda Bencic in the first round of the Generali Ladies Linz.
The World No.8 is currently ninth in the road to Singapore, with three places remaining unclaimed, and took a wildcard in Austria to boost her chances of qualification.
The No.2 seed skipped into a first-set lead, breaking the 19-year-old in her opening service game. She was pegged back immediately, but did not drop a game for the rest of the first set, which she claimed 6-1 at a canter.
Cibulkova did not waste any time in the second set, either. Breaking in the first game, she sped to a 2-0 lead before breaking again to go 4-1 ahead. Bencic enjoyed a brief comeback, halving the deficit to 4-2 but the 27-year-old immediately restored her cushion and claimed the second set 6-2.
“It was a really tough draw, most of the times when wildcards play each other, it should be easier than this. It was a really tough one and I was prepared for a big battle today,” the Slovak said of being drawn with Bencic.
“I was playing solid, I did nothing extra; I was playing solid and really fast. I was just playing really good tennis from the first point to the last.”
Reacting to comments from her opponent that she “killed her”, Cibulkova responded: “I wouldn’t say ‘I killed’ her, she’s a great player, so I would say I won a lot of very important points and that made a difference. It just shows that I was really strong mentally today.”
Cibulkova will face Annika Beck in the next round for a place in the quarterfinals.
WTA stars at the Volvo Car Open were in for a treat at the Charleston player party, hosted at the South Carolina Aquarium.
Players received customized, spray painted hats…
…looks like Zhang Shuai is a fan!
Players grabbed photos together….
…while a lot of party goers wanted one with Venus Williams!
2012 finalist Lucie Safarova was also in attendance.
One of the main attractions is Charleston’s iconic Candy Bar, featuring all blue candy.
But even more iconic than the Candy Bar? Andrea Petkovic and Jelena Jankovic’s moves on the dance floor.
The pair always bust a move at the Charleston player party!
But they weren’t the only ones – Abigail Spears jammed out too.
Elena Vesnina hung out with the Darias – Daria Kasatkina and Daria Gavrilova.
Jelena Jankovic and a friend posed for a quick photo.
The doubles players Katerina Srebotnik and Spears also snapped a selfie.
A good time was had by all at the always-enjoyable Charleston player party!