Konjuh & Vekic Host WTA Charities Clinic In St. Petersburg
WTA Charities brought together Ana Konjuh, Donna Vekic and dozens of young Russian players and wheelchair tennis players for a Masterclass Clinic at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
WTA Charities brought together Ana Konjuh, Donna Vekic and dozens of young Russian players and wheelchair tennis players for a Masterclass Clinic at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Watch finalists Kristina Mladenovic and Yulia Putintseva’s practice sessions at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Highlights from all of Saturday’s semifinals action at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Not long after winning her record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, Serena Williams met up with a player who knows plenty about what it takes to win in Melbourne.
Victoria Azarenka won back-to-back major titles in Australia back in 2012 and 2013, but sat out the first Grand Slam of 2017, having given birth to son Leo in late December.
Serena and Azarenka have played some of the best matches in the last few years, including a thrilling three-setter in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships. Their most recent encounter came last spring, where Azarenka got the upper hand to win the first leg of her Sunshine Double at the BNP Paribas Open.
Off the court, however, it’s all love:
I always enjoy our meetings on and off the court! Always love for @serenawilliams #manymoretocome pic.twitter.com/xyJBGVpCLz
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) February 4, 2017
The Belarusian remains optimistic of a comeback, writing on social media that she hopes to extend her rivalry with the World No.1 on the court in the future.
Azarenka has undoubtedly remained plugged into the sport even from afar, congratulating Serena on her seventh Australian Open title on Twitter not long after the final:
Miss Serena @serenawilliams 23 quite a magic number! Bravo!!! Congrats to Venus as well and your family and your team!
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) January 28, 2017
Elina Svitolina talks through her win over Mandy Minella in the semifinals of the Taiwan Open.
St. Petersburg champ Kristina Mladenovic is within striking distance of the Top 30 while Russian teenager Natalia Vikhlyantseva made her Top 100 debut; who else moved up the WTA rankings?
Peng Shuai talks through her win over Lucie Safarova in the semifinals of the Taiwan Open.
Elina Svitolina roared into the Top 8 of the Road to Singapore leaderboard thanks to her victory in the Taiwan Open.
Cruising to the title, the top seed beat Peng Shuai, 6-3 6-2 in Sunday’s final in Taipei City. The success moves her up from No.17 all the way up to No.8.
“I’m No.13 in the world,” she said after the final. “So you expect players higher in the rankings to be able to raise their level in tight situations. It happened today at a good moment.”
Should Svitolina maintain this current form, the youngster could find herself making her debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Ukrainian barely missed out on a spot among the Greatest Eight last year, but made up for the disappointment by reaching the final in her first appearance at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
Over in Russia, Kristina Mladenovic’s stunning success in the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy has seen her rise 339 places to No.13 in the Road to Singapore.
The 23-year-old was awarded 470 ranking points for her thrilling 6-2 6-7(3) 6-3 win over Yulia Putintseva on Sunday, her first WTA title secured in her fourth final. Her defeated opponent moved into the Top 20 – up to 18th from 64th.
“The wait was definitely worth it,” said Mladenovic after her win. “To clinch my first WTA final here, especially at a Premier event, I feel really happy right now.”
Click here to check out the full Road to Singapore leaderboard.
Kristina Mladenovic talks through her performance in her semifinals victory at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Kristina Mladenovic left it all on the court to capture her first WTA title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, dispatching Yulia Putintseva in three epic sets.