Johanna Konta's Best Shots Of 2016
Johanna Konta hit a lot of hot shots on her way to making British tennis history in 2016, but which one her best shots of the year was your favorite?
Johanna Konta hit a lot of hot shots on her way to making British tennis history in 2016, but which one her best shots of the year was your favorite?
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Entry lists for the first week of 2017 are out – here’s where World No.1 Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and more are starting out the new season.
Petra Kvitova cut a troubled figure for much of 2016, searching in vain for the form that took her to two Wimbledon victories.
A quietly impressive summer on the North American cement suggested a corner had been turned, but even then few could have forecasted just how brilliant the Czech would be during the home stretch.
The catalyst came at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, where Kvitova inflicted the first defeat of Angelique Kerber reign as World No.1 in an absorbing third-round encounter.
Under the roof at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center, Kvitova set the tone in the first set, recovering from an early break to move 4-2 ahead. However, Kerber refused to wilt in the face of this baseline assault, fending off a set point with a trademark crouched backhand before pinching the tie-break when Kvitova sent a wild forehand long.
WOW! ?
41 shot rally!! #WuhanOpenTennis pic.twitter.com/T9Kzy9LERc
— WTA (@WTA) September 28, 2016
This ebb and flow continued into the second, the Czech edging her way ahead only to be reeled back in on each occasion. Eventually her persistence paid off, as she bludgeoned herself level before unleashing a fizzing backhand as she broke to love at the start of the decider.
It was an advantage she hung onto doggedly when Kerber staged an inevitable fightback. Somehow she held on, fending off 10 break back points – including seven in one game – as she dragged her weary body towards the finishing line. The drama continued until the very end, Kvitova spurning six match points until she managed to summon a forehand that even Kerber could not track down.
By the time Kvitova belatedly closed out her 6-7(10), 7-5, 6-4 victory, she had been on court for three hours and 20 minutes – the fourth longest match of the season.
Numbery numbers. #WuhanOpen #Kvitova pic.twitter.com/gxjAIFXTC8
— TennisTV (@TennisTV) September 28, 2016
“I won after playing a long time. I feel happy. But as well I feel tired, and the tournament is still going, so I don’t feel that satisfied. I think it was a great match from both of us,” Kvitova said in her post-match press conference.
“I really gave everything today. I think same as her. I think it was really about the few points. It was a great battle. So hopefully the fans enjoyed it as well. I did, for sure. I will feel it tomorrow definitely.”
If this epic ordeal had taken anything out of Kvitova, she hid it well. Over the following three days, Kvitova dismissed Johanna Konta, Simona Halep and then Dominika Cibulkova with increasing degrees of ease to capture the 18th title of her career.
Sabine Lisicki overcame Julia Boserup – and some tricky on-court conditions – on Tuesday to reach the second round of the Hawaii Open.
ROCK ISLAND, IL, USA – 21-year-old American tennis player Madison Keys hosted her first FearlesslyGIRL summit earlier today at the Rock Island High School in Rock Island, Illinois.
“Today was incredibly special,” Keys said. “To be able to launch my partnership with FearlesslyGIRL in my hometown and to meet so many amazing young women was an unforgettable experience.”
During the four hour summit in her hometown, Keys met hundreds of young women who attend Rock Island High School. She hosted a questions and answers session during which she shared her personal experiences with anti-bullying, building confidence, her relationship with fellow tennis players, and overcoming the pressure of being in the public eye. She also participated in group breakouts covering numerous topics relevant to young women today.
“I am so honored to be called a role model for young women and I take this role seriously as my goal is to help others through my own experiences and spread positivity.
“I want to thank my FearlesslyGIRL partner Kate and everyone at the Rock Island High School for making today possible. I look forward to keeping in touch with the young women I met today,” said Keys.
Keys became an ambassador for the internationally recognized leadership organization earlier this fall. FearlesslyGIRL is dedicated to empowering a generation of young women as well as their schools and communities and is 100% girl driven.
Check out the best photos from the event, courtesy of IMG and FearlesslyGIRL.
2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci each expressed their desire to continue playing tennis through the 2017 season.
Finishing inside the Top 20 for the fourth time in the last five years, Vinci spread the news on her official Instagram:
”I still feel like I have the desire and enthusiasm to try and do something in what is perhaps the thing I’m best at, playing tennis,” she said in quotes translated by Sports Illustrated.
“Now don’t start asking me if this will be my last year!!! See you in Australia.”
Vinci previously announced that she would make 2016 her final season, but began reconsidering her options as early as last winter, when she won the biggest singles title of her career at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and became the oldest woman in WTA history to make her Top 10 debut.
She told WTA Insider at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai that she would make her final decision over the off-season.
“I don’t want to say, ‘Yes, I’m continuing,’ and then in one week, I stop, or say, ‘No, I’m retired,’ and then after a week, you see a video of me practicing,” she said in October.
“If it’s yes, then yes. If it’s no, then no.”
The always-entertaining Schiavone took her fans on a more colorful journey through the off-season, launching a web series asking them to pick one of several careers she could pursue – tennis, of course, being one of them.
“Do you know something?” she asked in the video below [translated by Giulio Gasparin]. “This shirt doesn’t fit me. It’s not the right time to wear it. I like to work outdoors, grab a tool and hit some balls.
“No more glasses, no more elegant shoes… I want to go back to my trainers, I need them. I love to feel alive, I love to play tennis and this is my present to you: I don’t know for how long, but my present to you in 2017 is for playing tennis and it is a present to myself too!”
The final chapter in a memorable season came in Singapore as Dominika Cibulkova recovered from a rocky start to triumph at the season-ending showpiece.
It’s time to crown the 2016 WTA Shot Of The Year. It started with all the WTA Shot Of The Month winners and the fans narrowed it down to the four best, two from each group.
• Final Group voting opens Tuesday, November 22 and ends Monday, November 28 at 11:59pm ET
• The 2016 WTA Shot of the Year winner will be announced Tuesday, November 29
Final Group
January: Caroline Wozniacki
March: Agnieszka Radwanska
July: Simona Halep
September: Kirsten Flipkens
Group A Results
1. March: Agnieszka Radwanska (38%)
2. January: Caroline Wozniacki (30%)
3. May: Simona Halep (19%)
4. April: Monica Niculescu (10%)
5. February: Agnieszka Radwanska (4%)
Click here or below to watch Group A shots
Group B Results
1. July: Simona Halep (42%)
2. September: Kirsten Flipkens (27%)
3. June: Agnieszka Radwanska (19%)
4. October: Angelique Kerber (6%)
5. August: Agnieszka Radwanska (6%)
Click here or below to watch Group B shots
How it works:
Each Shot of the Month winner is placed into one of two groups.
The two shots from each group that received the most were placed into a final group.
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com.
Ekaterina Alexandrova upset defending champion and No.1 seed Caroline Garcia to win the Engie Open de Limoges on Sunday afternoon.
Keen not to be left behind by the latest social media craze, the Chan sisters – and an assembled cast of coaches, umpires and ball boys – gave a Taiwanese take on The Mannequin Challenge.