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Vesnina Rockets Up WTA Rankings For First Top 20 Finish

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Elena Vesnina

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.115
Year-End Ranking: No.16 (Career-High No.16, 11/6/2016)
Season Highlights: Charleston RU, Doha, Eastbourne QF, Zhuhai RR
Best Major Result: SF (Wimbledon)

2017 Outlook

Things were certainly at their darkest before Elena Vesnina enjoyed a new dawn in 2016. Outside the Top 100 for the first time in over a decade, the Russian was forced to play qualifying at the Australian Open and dropped to a low of World No.122 just before February.

“I thought it’d be very difficult to get my ranking back, and I felt that I had to win a lot of matches,” the 30-year-old told WTA Insider at the US Open. “I think I did well mentally, not putting much pressure on myself, and I was saying to myself: ‘If you’re good, you’re going to be back. If you’re not that good, then that’s it.’ You have to prove yourself, that you deserve to be there. It was a very hard moment at the beginning of the year.”

From that tough moment, Vesnina earned her first Top 10 win since 2013 – defeating then-World No.3 Simona Halep in Doha – and reached the Volvo Car Open final as a qualifier. Those early results foreshadowed a fairytale run into the semifinals of Wimbledon, where she upset doubles partner Ekaterina Makarova and future WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova at the All England Club.

“It’s just amazing how tennis can give you these possibilities, because you can try, and try, and if you’re brave enough, you can achieve it. It doesn’t matter how old you are, but I definitely appreciate it more now, than if I’d gotten it when I was 20. I made the fourth round of the Australian Open when I was 19, and for me, it was like, ‘Wow, it’s like a miracle!’ But I didn’t realize how it happened.

“Now I’ve been working through so many tough moments, working on my game, and my mentality. What I achieved now, I understand more why big results happen.”

Even bigger results came to Vesnina in doubles – pairing with Makarova to take home Olympic gold and WTA Finals glory – but the veteran heads into 2017 at a career-high ranking, with a Top 10 debut firmly in her sights.

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Pliskova Clinches Singapore Double With Goerges, Rounds Out WTA Finals Doubles Draw

Pliskova Clinches Singapore Double With Goerges, Rounds Out WTA Finals Doubles Draw

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BEIJING, China – Unseeded and looming at the China Open, BNP Paribas Open finalists and Wimbledon semifinalists Karolina Pliskova and Julia Goerges recovered from a second set hiccup to score their first win over No.7 seeds Martina Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8. The win assured Pliskova of her qualification at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in both singles and doubles.

Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“I’d beaten Hingis just once, and we lost to them in Cincinnati. We’re really happy with the win; the super tie-break was tough,” Pliskova said after the match.

“It’s amazing; I’m already there for singles, so it’ll be great to be there in doubles as well.”

Pliskova and Goerges enjoyed a strong start before the former doubles No.1 rebounded with her new partner and fellow US Open semifinalist.

“I think overall, it was a good match with some good parts from both of us,” Goerges explained. “There were some sloppy games where they really gained confidence. We lost some tight points, but luckily won the first set on a deciding point; it was really a key to staying in the match because we’d really lost momentum.

“The second set, we were down 3-0 right away; we somehow came back but couldn’t manage to break CoCo’s serve again because she was serving pretty big. The match tie-break was up and down; we were 2-5 down, then 8-5 up.

“We served pretty big with two aces, which help in a match tie-break. We’re pretty happy to get through.”

For Goerges, it will also be her first appearance at the WTA Finals, a welcome surprise for a team comprised of two singles specialists.

“It’s very exciting; I must say! We didn’t plan it, because it was our first year playing together. We said we’d only play around 10 tournaments, and to qualify with eight pretty decent results is pretty special for us.

“Kaja will be going there for singles as well, but for me, it’s amazing to go to Singapore. It’s always been a dream, either in singles or doubles – hopefully one day I’ll get to go for singles too – but it’s exciting and a nice way to end the season.”

Goerges and Pliskova rounds out a stacked field full of talented teams; click here to learn more about the elite eight!WTA Finals: Get Your Tickets!

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Olympic Gold Medalist Puig Brings Tennis To Puerto Rico

Olympic Gold Medalist Puig Brings Tennis To Puerto Rico

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Make no mistake: Monica Puig was already a big deal in Puerto Rico before that Olympic medal was draped around her neck. But that Gold medal has shot her into the stratosphere of recognition back home. Now it’s time to bring tennis to Puerto Rico.

Puig staged her first exhibition last week in San Juan and by every metric, the Monica Puig Invitational was a blazing success.

The 24 year old became the first athlete to ever bring a Gold medal back to Puerto Rico, after beating Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the final of the Olympic tennis event. Her remarkable run, which saw her lose just one set and beat two reigning Grand Slam champions in Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza – not to mention two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova – was as inspiring as it was improbable.

Monica Puig 

The idea for the exhibition event came during Puig’s flight home. With no WTA tournaments currently staged in Puerto Rico, Puig told her agent Marijn Bal that she wanted a way to not only grow the sport back home but also give her family and fans an opportunity to see her play, not just this year but every year.

She wanted it to be an accessible event, affordable for a family of five to come and enjoy the atmosphere and the tennis. But most of all, she wanted it to be fun. Because if tennis is fun, there’s more of a chance the next Monica Puig might be sitting in the stands.

A lively party atmosphere dominated the Coliseu de Puerto Rico, as a packed crowd of more than 12,0000 fans created a Fed Cup atmosphere as their hometown hero took on Maria Sharapova last Thursday. There was dancing, there was laughter, and there was shot-making throughout the match, which Puig won 6-3, 1-6, 10-6.

“It’s been a really long time since I competed in front of fans, in front of spectators, to come out after so many months and compete in front of some of the most enthusiastic fans tonight….” an emotional Sharapova said to the crowd before being drowned out by cheers.

“I think tonight is a combination of a few things. First and most importantly it’s because of Monica. Without her career and without her path of what she achieved this summer at the Olympics none of us would be here tonight so a huge thank you. A huge thank you for the welcome.”

“Maria, before you go I just wanted again to thank you so much for coming to the first Monica Puig Invitational,” Puig said before addressing the arena in Spanish.

“Like I was telling you before and what I want all of Puerto Rico to know is the reason I invited Maria is because she is not only a great champion but a great ambassador to our sport. She has the values that represent a champion. She’s an amazing person, extremely funny, really really humble, and we’re going to work on the Spanish and the dancing, don’t worry!”

Maria Sharapova, Monica Puig

Puig hopes to make the event an annual exhibition, expanded over multiple days. This year, in addition to the exhibition itself, Puig and Sharapova also held a kids clinic, visited local dignitaries and VIPs. The event was organized in four months with Puig’s heavy involvement, as she and her agency IMG partnered with Ventana LLC, a local event promoter to implement Puig’s vision.

Puig’s personal sponsors, Universal Insurance, AT&T, Chrysler, and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company immediately answered the call to sponsor the event as well. In all, the exhibition served as a celebration of Puig’s journey to Olympic glory as well as a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped get her there.

Puig is currently doing her off-season training in Boca Raton and will start her season at the Brisbane International, which begins on January 1st.

All photos courtesy of Jimmie48 Tennis Photography.

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Azarenka Gives Birth To Baby Boy

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Not long after checking in with fans and friends on Tennis Channel, Victoria Azarenka announced the birth of her first child late on Monday night.

The former No.1 began the season winning three titles in Brisbane and the elusive Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami, but left the tour back in July after announcing her pregnancy. Azarenka took to social media to share her first picture as a mother on Twitter:

Her colleagues and fellow players extended their hearty congratulations to the two-time Australian Open champion on Twitter, as well:

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WTA Charities Dedicated To Global Philanthropic Efforts

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The WTA has announced the launch of WTA Charities, its first global philanthropic organization dedicated to making a positive social impact across the globe.

“I am very pleased to announce the formation of WTA Charities,” said Steve Simon, WTA CEO and Chairman. “This is an area that WTA has been actively involved in for years and we are now setting ourselves up to truly have a dedicated division for WTA and its members to make a lasting impact – in our tournament communities, by supporting our player’s charitable efforts and affiliations, along with our partner’s philanthropic initiatives.”

The WTA Charities Board of Directors has been established and will serve as advisors in the development and implementation of WTA Charities. The Board of Directors includes WTA CEO and Chairman Steve Simon, WTA Player Board Representative Dianne Hayes, WTA Tournament Council member Bob Moran, WTA Global Advisory Council member Jan Soderstrom and WTA alumnae Pam Shriver, Tracy Austin and Jennifer Capriati.

“WTA Charities is an important step for the WTA family to both leverage and focus our humanitarian efforts,” said Pam Shriver. “I have been involved in many charitable causes throughout my career and I’m so pleased to be a part of WTA Charities because we can be transformational in providing assistance and serving others with our global reach.”

WTA Charities’ various charitable initiatives will be introduced in January 2017 as the new season starts.

MISSION

The mission of WTA Charities is to be a social responsibility vehicle built on the WTA’s values to empower and provide for a better future. WTA Charities is dedicated to combining, strengthening and enhancing the community and charitable efforts of the WTA through its members (players, alumnae and tournaments), along with its partners.

PILLARS OF ACTION

There are 3 pillars of action within WTA Charities, each giving back in its own individual way:

1. Service – Directing community outreach and local efforts to give back to the communities that host WTA tournaments. Includes grassroots tennis programs that promote opportunity, personal achievement, self-esteem and respect.

2. Assistance – Aimed at providing assistance to those in need primarily through the WTA Assistance Program (WTAAP), helping members of the women’s professional tennis community who suffer from serious illness or other catastrophic loss.

3. Support – Reinforcing WTA member’s charitable initiatives through financial and promotional efforts and aligning with organizations that help advance lives through empowerment, equality and care for others.

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