Social Buzz: Mud, Glorious Mud
Serena Williams is at the beach – and Melanie Oudin is running through swathes of mud.
Serena Williams is at the beach – and Melanie Oudin is running through swathes of mud.
Check out the best shots of the week at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.
Petra Kvitova had some encouraging news for fans and followers on Monday, as the World No.14 penned an update on her road to recovery on Instagram.
Though it is unclear whether she will be ready to compete, steady progress in her recovery has seen the two-time Wimbledon champion enter the French Open.
“My name will appear on the entry list for Roland Garros tomorrow because, as the entry deadline approached, I had made good progress in my recovery process and I want to give myself every last opportunity to be able to compete at one of my favorite events,” Kvitova wrote.
“This unfortunately does not mean necessarily that I will be ready to play in Paris, but that I’m doing everything possible to give myself the chance and keep a positive mindset.”
Kvitova continues on her road back to tennis following a knife attack in her home last December, and her latest update is welcome news to the tennis community which has shown immense love and support for her across the world in the months since.
Great news! Hope this all goes well https://t.co/mfqgZY9iDA
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) April 17, 2017
In Monday’s post, Kvitova added: “There remains a long road ahead but I wanted to share this update with you. Thanks for your continued support and I hope to see you soon.”
First round action from Paris begins on May 28.
With this week’s WTA rankings used to determine the French Open entry list, former champion Francesca Schiavone headlines the week’s biggest movers and shakers.
Serena Williams will return to No.1 on the WTA Rankings, when they are released on April 24, 2017, when the points from last year’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart drop off.
Two-time defending Stuttgart champion Angelique Kerber will have an immediate chance to return to the top spot by reaching the semifinals of this year’s event, which takes place a week later this year due to a shift in the calendar.
As top seed in Stuttgart, Kerber, who has held the No.1 ranking for 25 weeks, will receive a first round bye, so will need to win two matches to overtake Williams.
|
2016 START DATES |
TOURNAMENTS |
2017 START DATES |
|
April 18 |
Stuttgart |
April 24 |
|
May 2 |
Madrid |
May 8 |
|
May 9 |
Rome |
May 15 |
|
May 23 |
Roland Garros |
May 29 |
|
June 11 |
Birmingham |
June 19 |
|
June 20 |
Eastbourne |
June 26 |
|
June 27 |
Wimbledon |
July 3 |
|
July 18 |
Stanford |
July 31 |
|
July 25 |
Montreal / Toronto |
Aug 7 |
The WTA Rankings are based on a 52-week, cumulative system with each players singles ranking determined by 16-best results; WTA Finals participants count points earned as the 17th bonus tournament.
For Williams it will be her 317th week at No.1, the third most in WTA Rankings history behind only Stefanie Graf (377) and Martina Navratilova (332).
ZHENGZHOU, China – It was straightforward work for Peng Shuai at the Biyuan Cup Zhengzhou Women’s Tennis Open as the top seed cruised past Shuko Aoyama, 6-1, 6-1.
In fact, all eight first-round matches played on Day 1 were concluded in straight sets.
That meant progress for second seed Wang Qiang, who beat Hiroko Kuwata 6-1, 6-1, and No.3 seed Duan Ying-Ying, who defeated qualifier Peangtarn Plipuech of Thailand by the same scoreline. Japan’s Nao Hibino, seeded fourth, beat compatriot Akiko Omae 6-1, 6-2.
The closest match of the day was between eighth seed Liu Fangzhou and Thailand’s Varatchaya Wongteanchai. The qualifier took the Chinese player to a first-set tiebreak, but eventually fell, 7-6(4), 6-2.
In the other clashes, Valentini Grammatikopoulou of Greece beat wildcard Xu Yi-Fan, 6-1, 6-3; Eri Hozumi of Japan beat qualifier Guo Hanyu by the same margin; and in the battle of the wildcards, Yang Zhaoxuan beat Tang Hao Chen, 6-1, 6-2.
Plenty of the stars have been relaxing over the Easter weekend – as best they can.
Andrea Petkovic isn’t impressed with the tweets she’s seen from a certain music festival.
There's no worse time or place to be on social media than Instagram during Coachella. We get it, you're a hippie! Now move along.
— Andrea Petkovic (@andreapetkovic) April 16, 2017
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina have been at the soccer to see Spartak beat Zenit 2-1.
Ole ole oleole Спартак вперед!!✊?#холодинакакая#спасибозашарф @spartak_se pic.twitter.com/9s85liaRhB
— A. Pavlyuchenkova (@NastiaPav) April 16, 2017
Spartak-Zenit⚽️Спартак-Зенит⚽️Ваши прогнозы?Уже 1-0 Спартак? pic.twitter.com/Gn25OgWDaT
— Elena Vesnina (@EVesnina001) April 16, 2017
Christina McHale went to a different ball game – to watch the Yankees play the Cardinals.
Beautiful night for some baseball ??. Let's go Yankees !!!! pic.twitter.com/aT7Wbfbe2p
— Christina McHale (@ChristinaMcHale) April 17, 2017
Julia Boserup is just enjoying a beautiful view in Denmark.
Enjoying a few days in Copenhagen .. ? Cherry blossoms in full bloom pic.twitter.com/DMygMERzwP
— Julia Boserup (@juliaboserup) April 16, 2017
And Naomi Osaka is considering developing her tennis skills even further.
Does anyone know if mixed doubles is hard? Also, any opinions on it? Getting a bit curious.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@Naomi_Osaka_) April 16, 2017
Watch this space…
Check out the champion’s shot of the day from the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.
Angelique Kerber and Svetlana Kuznetsova are just two of the stars who took to Twitter to send Easter greetings to fans.
Hsieh Su-Wei and Monica Niculescu are on a hunt for Easter eggs – who will win?