Tennis News

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – The BNP Paribas Open gets underway on Wednesday, with an in-form Heather Watson and a couple of Americans on the comeback trail in action.

Wednesday, First Round

Stadium 1
[WC] Heather Watson (GBR #53) vs. Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ #NR)
Head-to-head: Watson leads 1-0
Unsurprisingly, Johanna Konta has dominated British tennis in the opening months of 2016. Last week, though, Heather Watson moved out of the shadows to lift the third WTA title of her career, at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme. Most impressive was the manner of her victory in México, taking the initiative to defeat Caroline Wozniacki, Caroline Garcia and then Kirsten Flipkens in a high-quality final.

Next stop is Indian Wells and an unfamiliar foe. Galina Voskoboeva missed the best part of two years recovering from a serious foot injury, making her return at an ITF event in February. The Kazakhstani has completed just a handful of matches since then and is using her protected ranking of No.72 to step up her competition in the desert. Watson won her only previous meeting against the Kazakhstani, an extremely tight three-set battle three years ago in Memphis, and in light of recent accomplishments will expect to repeat the result.

[Q] Taylor Townsend (USA #379) vs. Vania King (USA #202)
Head-to-head: Townsend leads 1-0
Two years ago, Taylor Townsend looked ready to deliver on her boundless potential, reaching the third round of the French Open and breaking into the Top 100. But since then, things have not exactly gone to plan for the former junior No.1, injury, coaching reshuffles and a loss of form sending her tumbling down the rankings.

Such has been Townsend’s fall, she needed to win eight matches to earn a spot in the main draw. Having negotiated her way through that minefield, the American, who does not turn 20 until later this spring, meets Vania King. Like Townsend, King is also on the comeback trail, a productive spell on the ITF Circuit leaving her on the cusp of the Top 200. The match is be third on Stadium 1 and with defending champion Simona Halep awaiting in the second round the winner is likely to be rewarded with another prime time slot.

Around the grounds…
Dominika Cibulkova attempts to set up a second-round blockbuster against Agnieszka Radwanska when she takes on Katerina Siniakova. Also on court are Barbora Strycova and CoCo Vandeweghe, who face Kiki Bertens and Aliaksandra Sasnovich, respectively. 

Elina Svitolina has moved into the Top 10 of the WTA rankings on the back of her sensational victory last week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The new WTA World No.10 moved up three places from No.13, overtaking Britain’s Johanna Konta and becoming the first Ukrainian ever to break into the Top 10.

Speaking after her straight-sets win over Caroline Wozniacki, the 22-year-old said: “It’s big relief, because I knew that if I was going to win this match, I would be in the Top 10. There was extra pressure.”

So happy with a @WTA tittle number 6️⃣ ?????????? @DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/GNXMnrP9IH

— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) February 25, 2017

Svitolina’s rise – the only movement in the Top 10 – is reward for a run of 12 straight victories, which have seen her lift two titles already this year. Her win in Dubai follows success at the Taiwan Open in Taipei and she is now looking to defend her title at the Alya WTA Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, where she is the No.1 seed. Her streak also includes successive Fed Cup wins.

Here are more of the biggest ranking moves this week after Dubai and Budapest:

Timea Babos +6 (No.33 to 27): Hungary’s Timea Babos climbed to No.27 thanks to her success at the Hungarian Ladies Open on Sunday. The 23-year-old entered the tournament with an 0-5 win-loss record in 2017, and rediscovered her best tennis to beat Lucie Safarova in a three-set thriller in Budapest and claim her second WTA title.

Wang Qiang +16 (No.76 to 60): China’s Wang Qiang continues her steady rise up the rankings, backing up her appearance in the Shenzhen quarterfinals in January with a stunning run to the quarterfinals in Dubai. She posted wins over Jelena Ostapenko and Kristina Mladenovic, two Top 50 players, along the way.

CiCi Bellis +14 (No.70 to 56): 17-year-old Cici Bellis’ dream run to the Dubai quarterfinals – her first ever Premier 5 quarterfinals – have rocketed the American to No.56, her career-highest ranking. Bellis backed up her first round upset of No.17 seed Yulia Putintseva by completing the shock of the tournament over World No.6 Agnieszka Radwanska in the round of 16.