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Twitter Reaction: Kerber Claims US Open

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

After the world was done holding its breath throughout a tense final, the tweets came pouring in for US Open champion Angelique Kerber and finalist Karolina Pliskova.

Check out some of the best tweets, right here on wtatennis.com!

First up, here from the woman herself, who took time from her various post-win duties to post this celebratory message:

 Some of Germany’s biggest sports stars at home and abroad took to Twitter to celebrate Kerber’s achievement, including NBA star Dirk Nowitzki, F1 pilot Nico Rosberg and a whole host of World Cup winning soccer players.

Of course, the WTA’s stars and legends were also tuned in to the final, and they had plenty of words for both of the finalists after the match.

Here are the best messages from Kerber and Pliskova’s WTA peers:

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10 Things: Indian Wells

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Every week wtatennis.com brings you 10 Things To Know about the week – who is playing, where and much more. This week the Road To Singapore heads to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California…

1) Venus Williams makes a long-awaited Indian Wells return.
Former No.1 Venus Williams will play the BNP Paribas Open for the first time since 2001; the seven-time Grand Slam champion wrote about her thoughts on coming back to Indian Wells in the Players Tribune. Venus recovered from a tough start to 2016 with a decisive title run at the Taiwan Open.

2) Could Steffi Graf be a secret weapon for defending champion Simona Halep?
Simona Halep enjoyed an impressive fortnight at last year’s event, roaring back from a set and a break down to oust former No.1 Jelena Jankovic for the biggest title of her career. The Romanian has endured a tough run thus far, struggling with an Achilles injury and early round losses at the Australian Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, and the Qatar Total Open. Halep has since gone back to the drawing board, practicing in Las Vegas with coach Darren Cahill and getting the opportunity to hit with 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf and husband, former ATP No.1 Andre Agassi. Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber credits a hit with Graf with turning her season around; might the same work for Halep?

3) Serena and Kerber lead the seeds.
Speaking of Kerber, she and fellow Australian Open finalist Serena Williams will be seeded to face one another in yet another big-time final, should the two each make it that far. Williams has not played since Melbourne, while the German lost her opening round match in Doha to Zheng Saisai as the top seed. Joining sister Venus in California, Serena made her return to Indian Wells last year, reaching the semifinals.

4) An opening for Agnieszka Radwanska?
World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska has been all but unstoppable since last fall, winning titles in Tokyo, Tianjin, and finishing the 2015 season with the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global title. Opening 2016 with another title in Shenzhen, Radwanska has performed consistently on the game’s biggest stages, reaching the semifinals in Australia and Qatar. How will the Pole perform in Indian Wells? Her best finish was back in 2014, where she defeated Jankovic and Halep to reach the final.

5) All eyes on Muguruza, Kvitova.
Big hitters Garbiñe Muguruza and Petra Kvitova have all the firepower to tear through the Indian Wells draw, but do either have the consistency and physical fortitude to survive the two week tournament? Muguruza has shown signs of improvement with a run to the quarterfinals in Doha, but Kvitova remains in search of the kick start to her season. With no points to defend in either Indian Wells or Miami, will the two-time Wimbledon champion play pressure-free tennis in the desert?

6) Crunch time for Carla Suárez Navarro.
The Spanish veteran impressed many with her week in Doha, winning her second career title and standing up to the pressure of being the overwhelming favorite against 18-year-old upstart, Jelena Ostapenko. Suárez Navarro enters a part of the season with plenty of points to defend – having reached the finals of both Miami and Rome – and will look to build on the momentum she’s carried through the first six weeks of the season in the hopes of capping another career-high ranking and entrance into the Top 5.

7) Can the Italian veterans build on Middle East momentum?
Roberta Vinci made history as the oldest woman to make her Top 10 debut a mere days after turning 33 by winning the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. A week later, Sara Errani won the biggest title of her career in Dubai. In a year of young guns, the veterans continue to rack up the titles; could either make a deep run in the desert?

8) The WTA*Teens look to steal the spotlight.
Belinda Bencic capped her stunning six months with a Top 10 debut of her own – despite falling to Vinci in the finals of St. Petersburg. The 18-year-old reversed a slow start to 2015 with a solid finish in Australia, and will look to do damage in Indian Wells. Fellow 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina reached the semifinals of St. Petersburg, and is coming off of back-to-back Grand Slam third rounds at the last two hardcourt majors. Will another youngster make waves?

9) SanTina starting over.
Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s 41-match winning streak came to an end at the hands of Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina in Doha, but there are few reasons to dismiss the Co-No.1s as they head into the tournament that started it all for Santina. The reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open champions played for the first time at Indian Wells and went on a 14-match streak through from there to Miami and Charleston. With other teams like Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching, Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia, and Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka all playing solid tennis to start the season, the women’s doubles draw promises to be as interesting as the singles event.

10) Find out where you can watch live action this week.

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Makarova & Vesnina Qualify For Singapore

Makarova & Vesnina Qualify For Singapore

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Elena Vesnina, Ekaterina Makarova

SINGAPORE – The Russian team of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina has qualified for this year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

Makarova and Vesnina are set to make their third appearance as a team at the WTA Finals in Singapore. The pair reached the final on their debut appearance in 2013, and fell in the opening round in 2014. The Russians also qualified for the year-end event in 2015, but had to withdraw due to an injury to Makarova.

“Congratulations to Ekaterina and Elena on qualifying for the BNP Paribas Finals Singapore presented by SC Global,” said WTA CEO Steve Simon. “This team is a favorite in any tournament, and we are thrilled to welcome them back to Singapore.”

Makarova and Vesnina began their partnership in 2012 and together have won seven titles, including two Grand Slams at 2013 Roland Garros and 2014 US Open. This year the Russian duo began the year as a team at the Mutua Madrid Open in April, where they reached the semifinals. The pair continued their success by clinching back-to-back titles at the Rogers Cup in Montréal and the Gold Medal at the Rio Olympics. In addition, they reached two finals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome and Roland Garros. As a result, they have earned the third slot in the doubles field at the WTA Finals Singapore.

“It’s definitely very exciting to qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore,” said Vesnina. “It was our goal when we started playing, started winning matches and started winning good tournaments, we knew that we wanted to be there. We were there two years ago and we really liked it. Last year, unfortunately, we couldn’t go because of the injury. It’s an amazing tournament – we have some great memories from there and we’re really looking forward to being there.”

“The WTA Finals is such a great tournament – and for our first year when we came out on the court, it was a full stadium for doubles,” added Makarova. “It was so fun to play out there and the fans are so excited and supportive. The whole organization and the country, it’s nice to be there.”

The current Road to Singapore Leaderboard as follows (as of September 12, 2016):

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Bouchard Begins Québec City Quest

Bouchard Begins Québec City Quest

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

QUÉBEC CITY, CANADA – No.1 seed Eugenie Bouchard closed out the first round at the Coupe Banque Nationale with a solid victory over Mandy Minella, 6-3, 6-4.

CiCi Bellis

Earlier in the day, CiCi Bellis scored her first win as a professional tennis player in a hard-fought battle against American qualifier Danielle Lao. She needed seven match points to close out her final service game, but she got the job done 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 after two hours and twenty minutes.

“I knew Danielle was playing well – I mean, she passed qualies and beat someone really good in the first round,” Bellis said after the match. “I knew it was going to be a tough one, I’m just glad I got through.”

Yesterday, Bellis announced that she was turning professional after a summer of great results, including a third-round appearance at the US Open. Now into the quarterfinals of the Coupe Banque Nationale, it looks like

“I feel really confident after my summer of WTA tournaments and then the US Open,” Bellis explained. “I think it was time. It was an easy decision to make – I’m was very excited about it.”

Bellis will face another American in the quarterfinals after Jessica Boserup knocked out No.7 seed Evgeniya Rodina 6-4, 6-3.

A pair of qualifiers also made their way to the quarterfinals after Lauren Davis defeated No.8 seed Samantha Crawford 6-4, 6-1 and Tereza Martincova defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

More to come…

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WTA Breakthrough Of The Month: Pliskova

WTA Breakthrough Of The Month: Pliskova

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Karolina Pliskova

Karolina Pliskova had a thrilling finale to her summer hardcourt swing, backing up her biggest-career title at the Western & Southern Open with a run to a first Grand Slam final at the US Open.

“I’m so proud of myself,” she said after a narrow loss to Angelique Kerber in the championship match. “If someone would tell me I’m going to play finals in this tournament before two weeks I would take it.”

Pliskova ends her head-to-head series with the new World No.1 at 1-1 after winning their Cincinnati meeting and keeping Kerber from taking the top spot until her triumph in Flushing. She also became the fourth player ever to defeat both Williams sisters at the same major tournament. Saving a match point against No.6 seed Venus Williams, the Czech powerhouse stunned top seed Serena Williams in straight sets in her first semifinal.

“I’m just gonna take it tournament by tournament and try to play the game what I was playing last three weeks. I think I really did a good job. I improved in a lot of things, especially the game what I have been playing, not only against the players which are under me, but with the top players which are in front of me.

“I think that’s the key how I can, you know, be even better than I am.”

Hear more from Pliskova on her breakthrough run on the WTA Insider Podcast:

Up to a career-high of No.6 and in pole position to make her debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, Pliskova is your Breakthrough Player of the Month!

Final Results for August’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month

1. Karolina Pliskova (64%)
2. Anastasija Sevastova (18%)
3. Ana Konjuh (18%)

2016 Breakthrough Performance Of The Month Winners

January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs
April: Cagla Buyukakcay
May: Kiki Bertens
June: Elena Vesnina
July: Kristina Kucova

How it works:

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

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Defending Champ Jankovic Wins In Guangzhou

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NGUANGZHOU, China – No.2 seed Jelena Jankovic faced few problems in a 6-2, 6-1 rout of hometown favorite You Xiaodi to reach the second round of the Guangzhou International Women’s Open.

Playing her first tournament since the US Open, Jankovic lost just five points behind her first serve and saved four of five break points faced throughout the 66 minute match, which the Serb told press was tougher than the scoreline indicated.

“There were a lot of tough points, and I think my young opponent played very well,” she said in her post-match press conference. “She has a great game and great potential. A lot of games were really close. Though I didn’t play my best tennis, I’m happy to get through, so I hope to keep improving and get even better.”

Jankovic had a strong end to her season in 2015, winning here and in Hong Kong to qualify for the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, and despite an injury-riddled season, still has big goals for her week in Guangzhou.

“I would like to play one match at a time, but my goal is to win the tournament. It won’t be easy because every tournament is tough and everyone is playing well, but I will try my best to achieve it.”

Up next for the former World No.1 is Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson, who dispatched local wildcard and former junior No.1 Xu Shilin, 6-3, 6-1.

“In general, I’ve loved coming to China for so many years. I’ve had quite a lot of success in this part of the world. I’d like to do well again, and so I’ll try my best to have a great Asian Swing and end my season on a positive note.

“But I’ve had a lot of injuries, two ruptures in my shoulder, and this is only my second tournament after a long time. I will try to fight and regain my confidence, get stronger, and get better with each match I play in Asia.”

Jankovic even managed to have some fun before the tournament began, sharing images from the player’s party on her official Facebook page:

Earlier in the day, 2013 Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki triumphed over lucky loser Kwan Yau Ng, 6-2, 6-0, while Lesia Tsurenko defeated qualifier Junri Namigata, 6-4, 6-1. Runner-up in Tokyo’s International event last week, No.7 seed Katerina Siniakova bowed out to young Estonian Anett Kontaveit, 6-1, 6-1, while champion Christina McHale was forced to withdraw from Guangzhou due to a right shoulder injury.

Top seed Sara Errani played the last match of the night against China’s Han Xinyun.

More to come…

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

When younger sister Serena beat her in the final of the Australian Open, Venus Williams was quick to praise her.

“Your win has always been my win and I think you know that, and all the times I couldn’t be there, wouldn’t be there or didn’t get there, you were there,” the 36-year-old said. “I’m enormously proud of you – you mean the world to me.”

Now in a new interview she’s emphasised that – saying that Serena is one of her heroes.

Venus Williams, Serena Williams

Asked by Citizens of Humanity about the people she most admires, Venus answered: “Definitely my mom and my dad, and Serena is a huge hero for me. I think all my heroes are close to home, because those are the ones that motivated me through the tough times.”

She added: “The best advice [Serena] ever gave me in terms of tennis or even life is, you have to show up, so why not compete? You have to be there. You can’t run away from it, so why not compete? That was the best advice ever. I try to apply that daily.”

On her legacy, the seven-time Slam winner said: “I’m definitely a very in-the-moment person, so I would just like to be remembered as a person who loved the game and gave back to the game and gave back to life.”

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