Tennis News

The season behind us offered everything — from tennis fashion extravagance to classic sporty designs, from retro pieces to experiments with modern trends, from neutral colors to vibrant tones. Let’s give the word to our fashion contributor Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog and see which outfits are the most memorable from 2016.

1. Serena’s Nike crop tops

In the last two decades, Serena Williams has made a profound mark on tennis fashion with her daring outfits and in her 21st pro season the American continued to push the boundaries.

Williams made a style bang at the first Grand Slam of the season, rocking a vibrant yellow Nike crop top, functionally and aesthetically enhanced by an open hole mesh at back and rounded side vents, and a super lightweight skirt, whose Breathe material gave an additional twist to the all-around pleats.

In Indian Wells and Miami, Williams showcased an omega blue version of the mind-blowing outfit, continuing to show how well crop tops work in tennis fashion.

2. adidas’ zebra print

One of the most memorable collection of the season is definitely Adidas’ Roland Garros “zebra”. Designed by Japanese Yohji Yamamoto, who found inspiration in dazzle painting used for ship camouflage in World War I and World War II, the Y-3 collection was the talk of Roland Garros with its eye-catching black and white print bringing a sense of movement and fluidity.

The fearless designer went for the bold print all the way, so not even the shoes from the collection calmed down the look.

3. Serena’s Wimbledon whites

Brands usually make their designs stand out with busy patterns, but Wimbledon’s all-white clothing rule always forces tennis apparel companies to find ways to create outstanding designs that don’t rely on the power of color and Serena Williams’ Nike dress for the grass-court Grand Slam is a perfect example of how a few well thought-out details can make a simple clothing piece outstanding.

The American’s Wimbledon dress stole our hearts with its elegant half turtleneck, flirty tiered pleated skirt and classic sporty racerback.

4. Venus’ EleVen Prism collection

Venus Williams likes to challenge her competition with prints and her Prism collection for the US Open was the most beautiful colorful design of the year. Introducing fall, the EleVen Prism Chela Dress features the season’s cool tones, but vibrant colors of summer are also there to lift our spirits for a tough match or training.

5. adidas’ US Open geometric prints

Adidas closed the season with what is in my opinion an overall best collection of 2016, inspired by the New York City skyscrapers. The collection’s main features include the triangular print, a perfect ratio of bright colors to cooler tones, and specific racerback design. What adidas did with absolute success here is offer a lot of variety, with the collection’s leitmotifs present in every clothing item.

Angelique Kerber climbed to the world number one ranking at the US Open wearing the adidas Fall Pro Tank in flash red and the adidas Fall Pro Skirt, whose geometric print represents the world’s most famous cityscape.

Simona Halep paired a tech steel version of the adidas Fall Pro Tank with the adidas Fall Pro Short, whose white mesh layer makes it the most spectacular tennis shorts we’ve had in recent years.

Ana Ivanovic rocked this gorgeous adidas Fall Pro Dress, which stands out with the way its colorblock racerback design is executed.

6. Stella McCartney’s soft color palette

The season’s best tennis clothes in pale colors were from Stella McCartney’s summer collection. Soft yellow and lilac, subtle floral print and hexagon-shaped laser-cut details characterize the separates sported by Andrea Petkovic, Caroline Wozniacki and Garbine Muguruza. Another lovely item from the collection is the adidas Summer Stella McCartney Tour Dress promoted by Wozniacki.

7. New Balance’s vibrant sportiness

The best youthful sporty look of the season included the New Balance Spring Tournament Tank, unique for its spaghetti straps with an Y-back, matched with the New Balance Spring Reversible Skirt or the New Balance Spring Tournament Skirt. Heather Watson and Nicole Gibbs energized the courts with their juicy orange combined with azalea.

8. Fila’s Heritage collection

Fila was very prolific in 2016 and they even launched a colorful collaboration with Marion Bartoli, but their best collection happened late in the season, at the US Open, featuring Jelena Jankovic’s and Yaroslava Shvedova’s Fila Heritage Stripe Dress, a harmonious marriage between modern blurred stripes and retro feel brought by the simple cut and red head tie.

Karolina Pliskova made her first Grand Slam final in the basic Fila Heritage Racerback Tank and the Fila Heritage Skirt.

Which style is your 2016 top choice?

MADRID, Spain – When the quarterfinals begin at the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday, half of the tournament’s final eight will be flying the Romanian flag with pride. While it’s no surprise to see 2014 finalist Simona Halep in the mix, Romania’s alpha is joined by Irina-Camelia Begu, qualifier Patricia Maria Tig, and wildcard Sorana Cirstea in a tournament owned and operated by Romanian legend Ion Tiriac.

It seems the Bucharest Open has come a couple of months early.

“It’s a Romanian tournament, I can say,” Halep said with a laugh after her strong 6-2, 6-3 win over Timea Bacsinszky. “I feel [at] home here. I feel good always. I have great memories from 2014. I just try to make it best tournament for myself. I try just to enjoy it, because I like it very much.”

Halep is the only seed left in the draw and will face Begu on Thursday, ensuring Romania will have a representative in the semifinals. Begu has never been further than the quarterfinal stage at a Premier Mandatory, while Halep made back-to-back quarterfinals in March in Indian Wells and Miami. The two have played three times with Halep winning all six sets, but they have not squared off in over four years.

“I expect a tough match,” Halep said. “She plays well on clay. Last year she did quarterfinals here, so [that] means that she likes the court.

“I know her pretty well, since long time ago, but officially we didn’t play too many matches. It’s a big challenge for me tomorrow.”

The big surprises in the draw were Cirstea and Tig. Cirstea has made good on a wildcard into the tournament to make her first Premier Mandatory quarterfinal. The former No.21 has not lost a set in three matches, beating Jelena Jankovic, Danka Kovinic, and Laura Siegemund to join her compatriots among Madrid’s Elite Eight.

“I think that’s amazing,” Cirstea said. “Four girls in the quarterfinals means half of the girls are Romanians, which I think is impressive coming from a country like Romania. I think everyone knows we don’t have a system or anything. We were each separate and trying to find a way. I think it’s amazing that we are one of the biggest forces now in tennis.”

At 26 years old, Cirstea is the oldest of the bunch. “We grew up together,” she said. “I played Simona when I was eight years old. “We both had short hair, we were very boyish. Our parents were there [pushed up] against the fence [watching]. It’s funny how we all grew up together and now to be all here is really impressive.”

“Patricia is younger but I remember her skinny legs when she was 14 when we went to a winter camp together. She was this quiet girl. We’ve known each other for a very long time. I’m happy to see all of us here and all of us succeeding and having a good run.

“I think it shows if you really have character and if you really want this and you work hard, you can do it.”

With her run to the quarterfinals, Cirstea will return to the Top 100 for the first time since January 2015 (read more about her journey back here). Not bad for a player who was ranked No.248 last November and has played ITFs for most of the year. On Thursday she’ll play Dominika Cibulkova, who got past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets.

Last but most assuredly not least is 21-year-old Tig, the most improbable quarterfinalist of them all. Ranked No.134, Tig has racked up an impressive list of wins this week as a qualifier, beating Nicole Gibbs and Maria Sakkari in qualifying, and then Daria Kasatkina, Sloane Stephens, and Madison Keys for the biggest result of her career.

“I’m feeling unbelievably happy,” Tig told WTA Insider. “It was a great week for me. I didn’t expect this to happen. But since I was working so hard, I think sometimes you don’t know when you get rewarded.”

Before this week, Tig’s best result came last year when she made the final in Baku. Her successful qualifying campaign here put her into the main draw of a Premier Mandatory for the first time in her career and she’s on the verge of breaking into the Top 100.

“Actually when I first came here I felt so good being here. I had a feeling that everything was going to be fine. I had a first practice which was going good. I thought, “OK I just have to go on the court and play the best I can for every point and don’t expect anything.'”

Tig’s straight-set win over Gibbs in the first round of qualifying gave her the belief that she could compete with the top quality field in Madrid. On Thursday she’ll find out how her game stacks up against a Slam champion in Sam Stosur, who defeated Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets to make the quarterfinals.

“I mean I was watching her for 10 years playing on TV,” Tig said. “I really like her and her game. She’s a really top player. She’s going to make me do some stupid things but I’m going to try not do them,” she said with a laugh.

“I cannot say anything about the match because I’m not expecting anything. I just want to go on court and just play the best I can and whatever is going to happen I will be so happy with it anyway.”

All photos courtesy of Getty Images and Mutua Madrid Open.

April was packed with plenty of amazing shots – we narrowed it down to the five best.

In the end it was Monica Niculescu who, ironically enough, was on the wrong end of last month’s honors when Agnieszka Radwanska hit her shot of the month at the BNP Paribas Open. This time, it’s the Romanian veteran who got to shine in her thrilling three-setter against Petra Kvitova at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.

Showing off her signature slice forehand, Niculescu sets up the point brilliantly before striking a stab backhand down the line against the two-time Wimbledon winner – taking home this month’s top votes.

Click here to watch all of April’s finalists.

Final Results for April’s WTA Shot Of The Month

1. Monica Niculescu (79%)
2. Angelique Kerber (9%)
3. Sara Errani (5%)
4. Laura Siegemund (5%)
5. Caroline Garcia (2%)

2016 WTA Shot of the Month Winners

January: Caroline Wozniacki
February: Agnieszka Radwanska
March: Agnieszka Radwanska

How it works:

Five shots are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com