Tennis News

David Kane, Point: If Victoria Azarenka becomes the third woman in WTA history to achieve the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double, the two-time Australian Open champion will have shown her ability to succeed on two ends of the competitive spectrum. Her run to the BNP Paribas Open title saw Azarenka shine as the underdog, battling through a grueling three-setter with Karolina Pliskova in the semis to stun heavy favorite and World No.1 Serena Williams in the championship match.

By contrast, her fortnight in Miami has allowed her to play the alpha, likes of which we’ve rarely seen since her 26-match winning streak in 2012. Up against tricky opposition in Johanna Konta and Angelique Kerber – the woman who halted her initial early-season momentum en route to the Australian Open title – Azarenka has been largely unbothered, taking less than eight hours to win five matches in straight sets.

“I really didn’t wait for her to give me anything,” she said after beating Kerber. “I really went out there and took my opportunities, which was missing in Australia, where I wasn’t aggressive enough. I know we got broken both a lot of times, but my serve was really strong when it needed. That also made a difference.”

Svetlana Kuznetsova stands between Azarenka and the Sunshine Double; a deadlocked head-to-head dating back to 2007 belies the Belarusian’s recent dominance in their rivalry, winning four of their last five encounters. Their two Miami matches went the distance, with Azarenka’s 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 semifinal victory serving as the springboard to her career breakthrough and the first of her two Miami titles in 2009.

“She’s a very talented and diverse player. I know she has had her up and downs in her career, but she knows how to handle big stages. She is a two-time Grand Slam champion, so it speaks a lot.

“Seeing her coming back into her form, I know she’s always been a dangerous player, so for me it’s going to be really fun challenge to see also where we both are in a different timing of our career since we last played.”

Indeed, their last match was at the 2013 Australian Open, when Azarenka was on top of the world and on her way to defending her maiden major title. Both have had their share of ups and downs, but the Belarusian can handle a big stage as well – if not better – than the 2006 champion.

“It’s going to be really fun. It’s tough, but the final can be unpredictable and is the type of the match where you give it all.”

Courtney Nguyen, Counterpoint: Svetlana Kuznetsova has an uncanny knack for spoiling a coronation. To win her first major she stunned Elena Dementieva as a 19-year-old to win the 2004 US Open. Five years later she upended No.1 Dinara Safina in the 2009 French Open final to win her second major. This year at the Miami Open she ended eight-time champion Serena Williams’ 20-match win-streak at Crandon Park and on Saturday she has a chance to win her biggest title since 2009, re-enter the Top 10 for the first time in nearly six years, and stop Azarenka from completing the Sunshine Double.

If the 30-year-old Russian can pull it off we might as well christen her the Sunshine Stopper. When she won the Miami Open a decade ago in 2006, she did so by defeating Maria Sharapova in the final, preventing her compatriot from winning both Indian Wells and Miami that year.

Of course, 2006 was a long time ago in, what feels like, a galaxy far, far away. In the 10 years that have ticked by we’ve seen the incredibly talented but impossibly inconsistent Kuznetsova show up when we least expect it and go on a walkabout when we’ve penciled her through. This year she won her second tournament of the year at the Apia International Sydney at the height of the Australian summer. She then failed to win back-to-back matches until Miami. This is the whiplash-inducing career of Svetlana Kuznetsova in a nutshell.

Yet when she gets herself into the business end of tournaments, Kuznetsova has been more reliable than not. She has won her last two finals. Another fun stat cutting Kuznetsova’s way? The two biggest tournaments of the season so far have been won by the women who knocked Serena out of the tournament, as Kuznetsova did here.

But setting aside statistics and symmetry, Kuznetsova goes into Saturday’s final as the underdog and that’s a good thing. The pressure is firmly on Azarenka’s shoulders. Given her incredible start to the season and the quality players she’s beaten to build her 21-1 record, she’s expected to win on Saturday. That should allow Kuznetsova to play without pressure or expectations. And that’s the emotional climate she needs to play her best tennis.

“I didn’t feel going in that good shape going to the US swing,” the Russian said after her semifinal. “I was not feeling confident at all. After I had a loss in Indian Wells I tried to work a lot and training every morning a lot just to get confidence back, get my fitness.

“I’m doing better. I appreciate, and I am blessed I have my body to play so many years and to win against good players, top players. It’s great when things come together. Either way, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s a great week. I’m really pleased and happy the way I fight through all these tournaments and weeks and players.”

Listen to more thoughts from Kane and Nguyen on the Miami Open final in the latest WTA Insider Podcast:

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

As an athlete, top 25 doubles star Alla Kudryavtseva has long been in pursuit of physical excellence, but holds intellectual acument in equal standing, earning an online Bachelor’s of Science in Communications, her second degree and first at Indiana University East.

“I’ve always loved to learn,” she told WTA Insider from LaGuardia Airport on Monday. “I’m always trying to read and learn something, so I thought, ‘I’m doing all these things. Why don’t I try to get a degree?’

Kudryavtseva previously earned a degree in physical education back in Moscow, but was inspired to return to school by then-doubles partner Anastasia Rodionova, who is also at IU East studying business administration.

“Communications is a diverse degree, one that you can use in many different areas. I’m not quite sure what I want to do when I stop playing, so it just seemed like a good fit. Everything you do these days is with communications. Physical education was interesting at the time and very applicable to what I do as an athlete. I found this degree very applicable as well when it came to things like negotiations and persuasion, or even things like dissecting the news and what we see in media.

“It has been a really interesting journey and I learned a lot.”

“Alla was one of our finest students in the Communication Studies program and within the entirety of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences,” noted Ross Alexander, IU East’s Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. “Her professors consistently lauded her stellar work, professionalism, and the global perspective she brought to all her courses. She is among the very best we have at IU East.”

The former World No.56 had more than her share of setbacks in her final two semesters – inucrring an ACL injury just before finals – but perservered to receive her diploma on Tuesday at the Richmond campus’ Student Events and Activites Center. Through her various academic endeavors, this will be the first to have any proverbial pomp and circumstance.

“It has been a pleasure to host Alla on her first trip to the Richmond campus,” said IU East Chancellor Kathryn Cruz-Uribe. “We are honored to present her with her diploma. As an alumna, she will join a network of over 9,000 IU East graduates,” Cruz-Uribe said.

“I just turned 29, and from middle school to university, I’ve never been to an actual graduation ceremony,” Kudryavtseva admitted. “I always came to the office, picked up the diploma, and thank you very much!

“It’s difficult to be a student athlete; it takes a lot of discipline and commitment. No one is there to push you, so you’ve got to push yourself, and make sure you’re leaving appropriate time for assignments and reading. When grades start rolling in, that also adds stress, but luckily I’ve been a straight-A student, so I didn’t have to worry about anything.”

Kudryavtseva joins a growing cohort that includes former World No.1 Venus Williams, who became the first WTA player to graduate under the tour’s agreement with IU East. Current students include Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig, Sloane Stephens, and Arina Rodionova. Also earning her diploma later this month is Irina Falconi; the former Georgia Tech standout won her first WTA title earlier this year in Bogota, and credited Lisa Grattan of the Women’s Tennis Benefits Association (WTBA) as one who encouraged her to return to the online classroom.

“Once I heard about how good of an opportunity it was, I realized I had to jump on it,” she explained in an email. “I was motivated to go the moment I heard about it! I know that having a degree is something important to me, so I knew I wanted to get it done.”

Like Rodionova, Falconi is also studying business administration, a field the American saw as a natural selection for one already balancing the business of athletics.

“I like to think that I am already a running business. I wanted to really learn everything there is to know about running a sound business, making budgets, and marketing myself.”

A second set of deadlines can prove daunting to the already-overloaded athletes, but Falconi found a way to make the grade through her tenure at IU East. 

“When I started the program four years ago, WiFi wasn’t everywhere and wasn’t reliable, so there were a few late nights where I had to drive or walk to a coffee shop to make sure I submitted something before the deadline.”

Both Falconi and Kudryavtseva stressed the importance of education, arguing it helped give them a better sense not only of their future, but also their present.

“My capstone project was a 40 page paper on athletic retirements, and that was a very interesting topic to choose,” Kudryavtseva said. “I learned about all the difficulties athletes face: loss of identity, and how unprepared many are for what comes next. An athlete’s network can affects them a lot, because it gets to a point where everyone they know is somehow involved in their sport.

“That made me evaluate my own circle of friends and I realized just how many people I know have played or do play or are somehow connected to the WTA or even ATP tour or college tennis. When I was younger, I thought I’d want to disconnect from the tennis world when I retired, but getting older, I don’t think I want to. You learn so much over a 15 year career that I couldn’t have this level of expertise in any other field; it’d be a waste if I completely disconnected.”

“I know that tennis won’t last forever, so I knew that having a degree in my back pocket would benefit me in the long run,” Falconi added. “I think that some players may be a bit intimidated by the idea of online schooling, but if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish it!”

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

Walking along the cobblestone streets of Charleston, South Carolina often makes visitors feel like they’ve entered another century. Add that to the beautiful parks, open-air markets, and some of the best food in the United States and you will quickly understand why Charleston is one of the most visited cities in the United States.

With help from our guest contributor and former Volvo Car Open champion Samantha Stosur, this edition of the WTA Travel Guide lets you know where to stay, where to eat and what to do on your next trip to Charleston.

WATCH THE MATCHES

Just outside of downtown Charleston lies the charming Davis Island, home to the Family Circle Tennis Center and the 2016 Volvo Car Open. A WTA event since 1973, the Volvo Car Open boasts one of the most impressive former champions list of any tournament on tour, with previous winners including Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Serena Williams, and Angelique Kerber.

The 2016 Volvo Car Open runs April 2 – April 10, with qualifying on April 2 & 3 and main draw running from April 4 – 10. Matches start at 10 AM each day, with night sessions each night at 7 PM starting on April 5. For tickets, click here.

If you can’t make it to the matches this year, you’re in luck because the Volvo Car Open is proud to be able to provide live streaming from all outer courts and practice courts throughout the week through Stre.am.com. Click here to watch.

Known for the family-friendly environment, fan engagement initiatives, and cozy atmosphere that lets fans get up-close and personal with their favorite players, the Volvo Car Open is one of the players’ favorite stops during the season. For a list of all of the activities happening throughout the week of the tournament, check out the Fan Guide and the events page.

WHERE TO STAY

Settled in the heart of downtown Charleston, the Belmond Charleston Place is the perfect place to stay during your trip. With 435 guest rooms and suites, the Belmond Charleston Place combines historic charm with modern amenities, such as the award-winning Charleston Grill, rooftop pool, and spa. The central location makes it ideal for walking to restaurants, sights and nightlife.

WHERE TO EAT

Charleston boasts some of the best restaurants in the country and offers something delicious for everyone. While nearly impossible to choose the best, here are a couple of the WTA Travel Guide’s favorites:

For good ‘ole fashioned Southern hospitality and one of the best steaks you’ll ever have, head to Halls Chophouse. Family-owned and operated, Halls Chophouse is listed as Trip Advisor’s #5 best restaurant in the United States and each member of the staff makes sure each guest feel as welcome and special as possible.

Head to Basil for refined Thai food in a more trendy setting. Grab a table or sit up at the bar in front of the open kitchen to watch the chefs at work making specialties like Pad Thai or Basil Duck.

WHAT TO DO

The beautiful weather in Charleston lends itself to plenty of outdoor activities and exploring the city by foot. Named Charleston’s most visited attraction, and one of the oldest public markets in the United States, the Charleston City Market features 300 vendors selling everything from artwork to home goods to local cuisine. The market is open Monday to Sunday 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM. Also, stop by the market after dinner on Friday and Saturday from 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM for the night market.

If you’re looking for the perfect picnic spot or to see beautiful historic fountains, head over to Waterfront Park. Featuring floral displays, a great lawn area and plenty of sunshine, Waterfront Park is the ideal way to spend an afternoon.

SAMANTHA STOSUR’S FAVORITE SPOTS

Our guest contributor, Samantha Stosur, knows a thing or two about Charleston. After winning the title in 2010, Stosur has been a constant in the player field and ranks Charleston as one of her favorite stops on tour.

The city itself is one of my favorite cities in the States so I love to come back each year. The hospitality of the South really makes you feel welcome and makes me want to see as much of the city as possible and go to as many places as I can while I’m there.

The tournament is always so well supported. Crowds are great and they get into any of the matches – whether it’s qualifying singles, doubles or the main draw.

Make sure to eat at as many restaurants as possible. I love the food in Charleston, there are so many great places to pick from. My favorite restaurant is FIG. I’ve eaten there many times over the years and always love it. Andrew behind the bar makes a mean cocktail too so enjoy trying a creation from him. Unfortunately I have to wait until the end of the tournament to have a cocktail!

Also I enjoy the horse carriage tours. I’ve done it a few times and each time I hear something new about the city. It’s a great way to get around and explore.

I’d love to make it to Charleston at another time of the year to visit for a holiday.