Tennis News

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Petra Kvitova will take to the green clay of Charleston for the first time as the Volvo Car Open announced that she’s adding the tournament to her 2017 schedule.

“I’m very excited to play in the Volvo Car Open for the first time,” Kvitova said. “I’ve heard what a wonderful city Charleston is and the Volvo Car Open is a great tournament, so of course I’m looking forward to April.”

Can't wait to finally play at this great tournament! https://t.co/mwUJgzfee7

— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) 13 de diciembre de 2016

“We have been pursuing Petra to enter Charleston for more than four years,” said Eleanor Adams, Tournament Manager. “To say we are excited is an understatement! Petra’s left-handed game and serve are perfectly suited for our courts. The fans will be amazed by her talent, fierceness and gracious personality – we can hardly wait!”

The two-time Wimbledon champion will be in good company on the green clay, joining Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Madison Keys, Johanna Konta, Sloane Stephens, Monica Puig and Elena Vesnina at the largest women’s-only tennis tournament in North America.

Click here to visit the tournament’s official website for more information and tickets options.

Caroline Wozniacki

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.17
Year-End Ranking: No.19 (Lowest ranking No.74, Aug 29)
Season Highlights: Title at Tokyo, Hong Kong
Best Major Result: SF (US Open)

19 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! ? pic.twitter.com/IiR9929uR0

— WTA (@WTA) 13 de diciembre de 2016

2017 Outlook

Caroline Wozniacki’s Year-End Ranking of No.19 – just two spots below her Week 1 Ranking – belies the rollercoaster season that the Dane experienced in 2016.

Maybe another stat can paint a better picture: Caroline Wozniacki held a 13-14 win-loss record this year before the US Open; from New York until end it was 21-3.

After an impressive run to the ASB Classic semifinal in Auckland in January, Wozniacki’s season was derailed by injuries and she was sidelined for the entire clay court season. Her ranking took a beating after suffering a disappointing string of first and second round defeats, plummeting to its lowest point at No.74 in August.

But whether her ranking was inside the Top 20 or outside the Top 70, one thing stayed the same: Wozniacki’s self-belief never wavered.

“I never doubted that I could come back and make it here, because I’ve worked too hard my whole life on my fitness to keep my body in shape,” Wozniacki said in Hong Kong. “I was like, ‘It’s going to be okay, where it’s going to be a month, two months, four months.’

“I knew eventually I would be back.”

Wozniacki, no stranger to setbacks and comebacks, recovered empathically and put together a stunning run to the US Open semifinals, then backing it up in Asia with titles at the Toray Pan Pacific Open and Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open.

Looking ahead to next season, the former World No.1 is right where she wants to be. Finally fit and healthy and with a paltry 488 points to defend between Week 1 and the US Open, Wozniacki can expect to continue her rise into 2017.

After a career-best 2016 season, Elina Svitolina will start 2017 with a new team led by Gabriel Urpi, along with coaching consultant Thierry Ascione and hitting partner Andrew Bettles.

Urpi is an experienced coach who worked with former No.1 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario during two of her four Grand Slam runs, 1994 Wimbledon winner Conchita Martinez, and Flavia Pennetta, helping her become the first Italian woman to crack the Top 10 back in 2009.

Both Urpi and Ascione are former ATP players, while Bettles was a hitting partner for 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic.

Oliver Fawls will continue on as Svitolina’s fitness coach; the Ukrainian youngster credited Fawls throughout her successful season, one that saw her defeat both reigning World No.1s in Serena Williams (Olympic tennis event) and Angelique Kerber (China Open), reach a career-high ranking of No.14, and reach the final of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

Soon after her big week in Zhuhai, Svitolina announced the end of her two and a half year partnership with Iain Hughes.

Barbora Strycova

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.42
Year-End Ranking: No.20 (Career-High No.19, 8/22/2016)
Titles Won: 0 (Dubai, Birmingham RU)
Best Major Result: 4R (Australian Open)

The countdown is on! ?

Only 20 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! ? pic.twitter.com/1dpjHU6fYz

— WTA (@WTA) December 12, 2016

2017 Outlook

Barbora Strycova bounced back from a middling 2015 from the first week of the season, upsetting eventual French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza en route to the second week of the Australian Open. She followed that up with a run to the biggest final of her career, knocking out former No.1 Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Garcia at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

“It’s been the best year of my career because I learned so many things, and also because my ranking improved,” Strycova told WTA Insider at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “I was very consistent throughout the whole season, which was, for me, the most important thing.”

The Czech veteran brought her best tennis all all surfaces, pushing Agnieszka Radwanska in a thrilling third round encounter in Roland Garros, and making her second WTA final of the season on grass at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham. Her brightest moments came in national competitions, earning a Bronze medal at the Olympic tennis event with Lucie Safarova, and later leading the Czech Republic to its fifth championship in six years. 

“The Olympics was something I dreamed about. When we found out we were playing together, Lucie told me on the flight to the Rogers Cup, ‘Ok, we’re going to get a medal!’ I told her, ‘You’re joking; we’ve played together once, what are you saying?’ But then we did it; it was something incredible.”

Looking ahead of 2017, Strycova plans to prioritize fitness over the off-season so she may continue to balance her heavy schedules in singles and doubles (with new partner, World No.1 Sania Mirza).

Victoria Azarenka was the story of 2016’s first quarter. The two-time major champion and former World No.1 rocketed back up the rankings after several seasons of injuries and inconsistencies, winning three titles and becoming the first woman in over a decade to capture the elusive Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double.

By spring, however, the Belarusian was gone from the game, announcing that she would end her season due to a pregnancy. Azarenka has since been busy preparing for the birth of her first child, but nonetheless granted an interview with Tennis Channel to update fans on her life today.

“My pregnancy’s been a completely different experience from anything I’ve done before,” she says. “In theory, you know the process, but to actually go through it, you truly start to deeply understand the magic of it. It’s been quite a ride, I have to say.

“Tennis is my career, but there’s a different part of life. This was a blessing, a gift from God. I believe I still have a great opportunity to do what I love, as long as I love playing tennis. I do, and this is an opportunity to realize how much I love what I do.”

Azarenka has dedicated her time off to her studies, but has still found time to exercise, playing tennis up to the last six weeks of her pregnancy.

“I’m doing a lot of activities I didn’t have time to do before; being at home and sleeping in my own bed is really a luxury for a traveling athlete.

“I miss the fans. I miss that moment when you go on the court and it’s a go time. As a competitor, I have to find that edge in life. I’ve been able to translate that into my studies for now, but that competitive edge is definitely something I’m missing.”

Addressing the question of a comeback, she gave fans reason to be optimistic that she’ll be back on the court sooner, rather than later.

“I don’t feel I’m missing out on someting I won’t be able to do again. For me, it’s about getting to where I want to be and be back there again. That’s my ultimate goal.

“I don’t put any time frame on myself. I would love to make it as soon as possible, but give myself a reasonable time to fully recover and be ready. I’m not going to rush anything, and it’s hard to tell before the birth actually happens. So, we’ll see, but I’m confident that I’ll be able to play tennis again pretty soon.”

Check out the whole video courtesy of Tennis Channel below: