Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza thank their fans after capturing the 2015 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global doubles title.
John Isner gives his take on what makes Novak Djokovic so hard to beat.
Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka and David Ferrer are set to kick off their Barclays ATP World Tour campaigns.
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The stars of the WTA stepped out for the NÜRNBERGER Gastein Ladies player party on Tuesday.
Sara Errani, the No.1 seed at the NÜRNBERGER Gastein Ladies, was among the guests at the party.
As was Julia Goerges, a former champion at the NÜRNBERGER Gastein Ladies, winning it in 2010.
Annika Beck, one of the leading WTA Rising Stars at the moment, also dressed up and stepped out.
Former Top 20 player Klara Koukalova with Lara Arruabarrena and Stefanie Voegele at the party.
There were a number of traditional farm house activities at the party – and Koukalova tried them out.
Including a cow milking simulator…
Beck tried the cow too…
So did Tamira Paszek…
And Austria’s own Patricia Mayr-Achleitner as well.
It was a gorgeous night in the beautiful mountain town of Bad Gastein, Austria on Tuesday night.
Stay tuned on wtatennis.com all week for all the latest from the NÜRNBERGER Gastein Ladies!
CONSTANTA, Romania – It was a fantastic year for Simona Halep – biggest title of her career at Indian Wells, first US Open semifinal and getting back to No.2 in the world – and finishing the year there for the very first time. But which one of those was the Romanian trailblazer’s personal highlight?
“Indian Wells of course – it was my biggest title,” Halep said. “Also I played really well in the summer – I did quarterfinals and semifinals for the first time at the US Open, and I played two finals before that, so even though I lost early at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, I’m happy with my season. I was feeling more relaxed and more confident, and I really started to enjoy every match on the court.
“Last year was a big year for me, but I think this year was better than last year.”
One could even say that her 2014 season was the reason her 2015 was so strong.
“I can say because of last year, this year I learned many things,” she said. “I learned how to play without pressure when I have to defend something, to defend points or the title. And I learned that if I’m relaxed and enjoying what I’m doing, it helps me concentrate better and I can win tough matches. Last year I played well, but this year I made a lot of improvements in my game, and in my life also.”
As one of the most popular players on the tour, and with such a big fan base from her home country, learning how to handle the pressure placed on her shoulders has been huge – but she’s doing it.
“In our country everyone is telling me that I have to win all the matches, but I’m not a robot. I’m a normal girl and a normal player. I have ups and downs. I can win a big match; I can lose a smaller match. So now I’m just trying to focus on what I have to do. I just want to play with full power, full of positive thoughts. I try not to think about what people are saying about my results or my tennis.
“I know Romanians want me to win every match, and it’s fine – I do everything I can to win them.”
So what will 2016 bring for ultra-talented Romanian? A first Grand Slam title, even No.1?
After the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, where she was the No.1 seed in Serena Williams’ absence, Halep talked about her plans for the off-season and hopes for 2016.
“I have many things to improve in my game. Right now I am pretty solid and confident in my game, but I want to improve more when I go into the court – I have to improve my net game. And my serve, too, but I’ve improved that a little bit already. And when I go from offense to defense, and the other way.
“Right now I want to take a holiday, of course, and I won’t think about tennis for a little bit, but then I’ll come back and work hard. I really want to get better; I want to do better next year.
“Then I will be stronger.”
Let's get better and stronger starting 2016? But let's see if my coach @darren_cahill agrees. Actually, it's too late to pull out anymore???
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) November 5, 2015
Agnieszka Radwanska sends thanks to her many, many fans after capturing the 2015 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global title.
There was a lot going on at the Sania Mirza Tennis Acadamy in Hyderabad, India on Wednesday…
Sania Mirza and Martina Navratilova – two absolute legends – were passing down some of their knowledge.
Navratilova is one of the all-time greats of the sport, a former No.1 in both singles and doubles.
The Czech-born American won 18 Grand Slam titles in singles, 31 in doubles and 10 in mixed doubles.
Mirza just won her first Grand Slam doubles title but already had three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.
The Indian trailblazer rose to No.1 in doubles earlier this year, the first Indian woman to be No.1.
She was presented a special gift from the WTA for the aforementioned rise to World No.1 in doubles.
The legendary pair also took part in a panel discussion at the Sheraton Hyderabad after the clinics.
Mirza isn’t just a trailblazer on the tennis court, she’s a major humanitarian off of the court.
Also there was Karman Kaur Thandi, who won the inaugural WTA Future Stars event in Singapore last year.
And Melissa Pine, Tournament Director of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
The whirlwind day wrapped up at night – stay tuned on wtatennis.com for much more from Hyderabad!
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Serena Williams, the queen of the WTA, glammed up and stepped out for the 2015 Glamour Women Of The Year Awards on Monday night, joining a slew of massive celebrities – including Selena Gomez, Reese Witherspoon, Caitlyn Jenner and Amy Schumer – at the event.
Here are some pics of our World No.1 slaying it on the red carpet, all courtesy of Getty Images:
Here are some pics of Serena with some of the greats, including Selena Gomez and Billie Jean King:
And last but not least, here are some of the other celebs who hit Carnegie Hall on Monday evening:
Selena Gomez
Amy Schumer
Caitlyn Jenner & Kylie Jenner
Reese Witherspoon
Billie Jean King
Jared Leto
Goldie Hawn
Viola Davis
Victoria Beckham (a.k.a. Posh Spice)
#FINALSHOWDOWN TIME – The star-studded Barclays ATP World Tour Finals gets underway on Sunday, led by World No. 1 and reigning three-time champion (four overall) Novak Djokovic. No. 3 Roger Federer, who has won the title a tournament-record six times, is the other former winner in the field. This is the seventh year the season finale is being held at The O2 in London. Djokovic is joined in the Stan Smith Group by No. 3 Federer, No. 6 Tomas Berdych and No. 8 Kei Nishikori. In the Ilie Nastase Group, No. 2 Andy Murray is joined by No. 4 Stan Wawrinka, No. 5 Rafael Nadal and No. 7 David Ferrer. All eight players are past participants in London. See page 7 for information on Day 1 singles and doubles match-ups.
THE GROUPS:
|
GROUP STAN SMITH |
PLAYER |
FINALS RECORD |
BEST RESULT |
APPEARANCE |
|
1. |
Novak Djokovic (SRB) |
23-9 |
W 2008, ’12-13-14 |
9th |
|
3. |
Roger Federer (SUI) |
48-11 |
W 2003-04, ’06-07, ’10-11 |
14th |
|
6. |
Tomas Berdych (CZE) |
6-10 |
SF 2011 |
6th |
|
8. |
Kei Nishikori (JPN) |
2-2 |
SF 2014 |
2nd |
GROUP STAN SMITH NOTES: This is 2nd time in 3 years both former champions (Djokovic, Federer) are in the same group. Djokovic-Berdych will play each for 5th time in past 6 years in RR (DNP in ‘13). Djokovic is 7-1 in RR openers & has won 37 indoor matches in a row since ’12 Paris 2R (l. to Querrey). Federer-Berdych meet for 1st time in season finale, 21st meeting overall. Federer is 10-3 in RR openers, Berdych 0-5 in openers. Nishikori, SF last year, is youngest (25) player in tournament.
|
GROUP ILIE NASTASE |
PLAYER |
FINALS RECORD |
BEST RESULT |
APPEARANCE |
|
2. |
Andy Murray (GBR) |
10-9 |
SF 2008, ‘10, ‘12 |
8th (w/d in 2013) |
|
4. |
Stan Wawrinka (SUI) |
4-4 |
SF 2013-14 |
3rd |
|
5. |
Rafael Nadal (ESP) |
13-11 |
F 2010, ‘13 |
11th (w/d in ’05, ’08, ’12, ‘14) |
|
7. |
David Ferrer (ESP) |
8-11 |
F 2007 |
7th (alt. in ’14) |
GROUP ILIE NASTASE NOTES: Murray & Nadal are 4-2 in openers while Ferrer is 3-3 and Wawrinka 2-0 in opening matches. Each player in the group has been a past SF-better with Nadal reaching final in 2010 and ‘13 and Ferrer in ’07. Nadal has a winning record against all three RR opponents (51-15 overall). Murray is a three-time SF and Wawrinka SF in 2013-14.
12-YEAR DOMINANCE – For the 12th consecutive season, the year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings has been held by one of three players – Djokovic, Federer or Nadal. Federer has finished No. 1 five years (2004-07, ’09), Djokovic four years (2011-12, ’14-15) and Nadal three years (2008, ’10, ’13). No other trio in the history of the Emirates ATP Rankings (since 1973) has held No. 1 for 12 years. This year’s tournament marks the sixth time that Djokovic, Federer and Nadal are all playing in the season finale field (Nadal withdrew four times).
FOUR IN A ROW? Djokovic is bidding to become the first player to win the season finale four times in a row in tournament history. Ivan Lendl is the last player to win three consecutive titles from 1985-1987, the year in which Djokovic was born. Lendl fell short of a fourth straight title with a runner-up in 1988 (l. to Becker). The Serb has won this title in 2008 (d. Davydenko), ‘12 (d. Federer) ‘13 (d. Nadal) and last year (W/O vs. Federer). He is one of five players to win the tournament four or more times in his career, joining Federer (6), Pete Sampras (5), Lendl (5) and Ilie Nastase (4), who also won three titles in a row from 1971-73.
30 & OVER FOURSOME – For the first time in tournament history (since 1970), there are four players over the age of 30 in the season finale: Federer (34), Ferrer (33), Berdych (30) and Wawrinka (30). The previous record is two players 30 & over in the year-end championship on 11 different occasions. The last 30 & over champion was Federer (30) in 2011.
SEASON TO REMEMBER – Djokovic comes into London with match winning streaks of 37 indoors, 22 overall this season and 14 at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Here is a look at Djokovic’s career-best stats in 2015:
DOUBLES GROUPS
|
GROUP ASHE/SMITH |
TEAM |
RECORD |
BEST RESULT |
|
1. |
Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan |
33-18 |
W 2003-04, ’09, ‘14 |
|
4. |
Jamie Murray & John Peers |
— |
TEAM DEBUT |
|
5. |
Simone Bolelli & Fabio Fognini |
— |
TEAM DEBUT |
|
8. |
Rohan Bopanna & Florin Mergea |
— |
TEAM DEBUT |
Group Overview: The Bryans are making their 14th Finals appearance and they are coming off their fourth year-end finale title. The Bryans have an 8-3 head-to-head record against the other three teams in the group, who are all playing in their first Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.
|
GROUP FLEMING/McENROE |
PLAYER |
RECORD |
BEST RESULT |
|
2. |
Jean-Julien Rojer & Horia Tecau |
0-3 |
RR 2014 |
|
4. |
Ivan Dodig & Marcelo Melo |
6-3 |
F 2014 |
|
6. |
Pierre-Hugues Herbert & Nicolas Mahut |
—– |
TEAM DEBUT |
|
7. |
Marcin Matkowski & Nenad Zimonjic |
—– |
TEAM DEBUT |
Group Overview: Rojer-Tecau are looking to break a winless record (0-3) while Dodig-Melo are looking to go a step further from their SF and final finishes the last two years. The other two teams are playing together for the first time although Matkowski and Zimonjic are past participants with other partners. Zimonjic won the title in 2008 & ’10 (w/Nestor), Matkowski runner-up in ’11 (w/Fyrstenberg).
BRYANS LEAD DOUBLES FIELD – Four-time Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champions Bob and Mike Bryan lead the doubles field. The Bryans have a narrow 65-point lead over No. 2 Jean-Julien Rojer & Horia Tecau. The Bryans are trying to finish No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Team Rankings for the seventh consecutive year and record 11th time in the past 13 years. This year they won a team-high six ATP World Tour titles in seven finals. They are the only former team in the field who has won the year-end title. Nenad Zimonjic, who won the title in 2008 and ’10 (w/Nestor), is the only other year-end finale winner in this year’s field. No. 3 and last year’s finalists Ivan Dodig & Marcelo Melo are the other former London participants. Melo has clinched No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings. No. 4 and first-time London participants Jamie Murray and John Peers are the fourth team in year-end No. 1 contention.
FIRST-TIME SUCCESS – In three of the last four years the eventual doubles champions were playing in their first Barclays ATP World Tour Finals as a team. In 2011, Max Mirnyi & Daniel Nestor captured the title and the Spanish duos of Marcel Granollers & Marc Lopez won in 2012 and David Marrero & Fernando Verdasco won in 2013. This year, there are five teams making their London debut :
(4) Jamie Murray & John Peers
(5) Simone Bolelli & Fabio Fognini
(6) Pierre-Hugues Herbert & Nicolas Mahut
(7) Marcin Matkowski & Nenad Zimonjic
(8) Rohan Bopanna & Florin Mergea
Tournament story of the 2015 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.