Vote: Social Fan Favorite Grand Slam & WTA Match
What was the best Grand Slam match you’ve seen all year? What about the best WTA match? Click here to vote!
What was the best Grand Slam match you’ve seen all year? What about the best WTA match? Click here to vote!
The WTA’s all-star cast battle it out for wins, titles and ranking points all year long – but who is getting the most clicks? This week, wtatennis.com will count down the Top 50 Most Popular Players Of 2016.
Next up on the list will be No.30 to No.21! Find out who made the cut…
30. Naomi Osaka (JPN)
Osaka is big in Japan – where she reached her first WTA final at the Toray Pan Pacific Open this year – but the teenager is quite popular on wtatennis.com, too!
29. Daria Gavrilova (AUS)
The Russian-born Aussie started the year by winning the Hopman Cup for Australia and ended it by reaching her first WTA final at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.
28. Barbora Strycova (CZE)
The always-energetic Czech earned her career high ranking of No.16 this year on the back of two finals appearances this year, at Dubai and Birmingham.
27. Laura Siegemund (GER)
Siegemund burst onto the scene this year in Stuttgart, where she reached her first WTA final in front of her home crowd, then went on to win the title in Bastad.
26. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP)
The famously consistent Suárez Navarro stayed true to form in 2016, finishing inside the Top 20 for the fourth year in a row after capturing her second career title in Doha.
25. Daria Kasatkina (RUS)
Russian teenager Kasatkina continued her meteoric rise in 2016; she finished the year at No.26, 45 spots higher than how she started, and reached a career high of No.24.
24. Elina Svitolina (UKR)
Defeating two reigning World No.1s, a career high ranking of No.14 and a fourth WTA title at Kuala Lumpur are the highlights of the ascendant Svitolina’s best season to date.
23. Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)
A busy spring saw the charismatic Swiss reach a career high ranking of No.9 after reaching the semifinals in Miami and capturing a title in Rabat.
22. Kiki Bertens (NED)
The young Dutch player capped off a career-best season with a title in Nurnberg and a run to the Gstaad final, finishing just outside of the Top 20.
21. Roberta Vinci (ITA)
The Italian veteran – who won the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy title this year – remains as popular as ever and her decision to play on in 2017 has delighted her many fans.
Come back to wtatennis.com on Wednesday for No.20 to No.11 on the list…
No.50 to No.41
No.40 to No.31
Angelique Kerber’s stellar 2016 season is earning her recognition from the editors of espnW, who have compiled their shortlist of honorees for this year’s IMPACT25.
IMPACT25 honors achievements not only from athletes like Kerber and US Olympic gymast Simone Biles, but also from influencers like Hillary Rodham Clinton and Leslie Jones.
Kerber finished 2016 atop the WTA rankings after a year of career breakthroughs, chief among them a pair of Grand Slam victories at the Australian Open and US Open, along with a silver medal showing at the Olympic tennis event, and a runner-up finish at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Click here to check out the full list of honorees on espnW.com.
MELBOURNE, Australia – The field for the Australian Open is starting to take shape after the initial acceptance list was unveiled earlier this week.
Monday marked the entry deadline for 2017’s first major, with Tennis Australia confirming the identity of 110 of the 128-strong draw. The remaining 18 will be made up of qualifiers and wildcards.
Defending champion Angelique Kerber will be joined by all her principal title rivals, including Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep and Dominika Cibulkova. The cut-off this year was No.107, with Patricia Maria Tig claiming the last berth.
Also Melbourne-bound will be Luksika Kumkhum and Lizette Cabrera, who have been awarded the first two wildcards.
Australian teenager Cabrera, who will be making her Grand Slam debut, made great strides in 2016, winning two ITF Circuit titles and rising nearly 800 places in the rankings. “It’s amazing news and a pretty surreal feeling. To be honest I’m probably still in a bit of shock, but I’m super excited to start playing,” Cabrera said. “I think if I’m playing my best tennis you can always match it with any girls inside the top 100, so I want to try and win as many matches as I can which will hopefully help me play in more WTA tournaments in the future.”
Kumkhum, meanwhile, earned her spot by triumphing over Chang Kai-Chen in the final of the Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off. An ever-present at the Australian Open since 2013, Kumkhum, who upset Petra Kvitova several years back, is eagerly anticipating her return.
“I actually have played in the Australian Open since juniors,” she said. “And I don’t know why, I really like playing there in Melbourne, and had some good results too.
“I feel like at home every time being there, not far from Bangkok, the weather and everything, I think if someone gets used to hot weather, they will like Melbourne too.”
Who’s your favorite player? Who had the best post on social media in 2016? Click here to vote!
Who’s your favorite player, what was your favorite match of the year and of course who took the best selfie this year? Click here to vote for those and many more!
This week wtatennis.com is counting down the 50 most clicked-on players, continuing with No.40 to No.31. Find out who made the cut…
Simona Halep finished a third straight season as a Top 5 player, and credits some of her game’s biggest improvements to work done with coach Darren Cahill.
“I am more aggressive, but not crazy aggressive,” the Romanian told Forbes’ Danielle Rossingh during the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. “More smart aggressive because I cannot stay all the time close to the baseline. I have to go out and back and come in many times.
“I think I improved in myself, my forehand is stronger. We worked on every shot and I think all my game is better now.”
Halep believes another key improvement has come on serve, specifically her ball toss.
“He told me to change it, to toss it lower, and I think it helps me. I feel like the timing is better.”
The results began to come in streams by spring, when she won her second Premier Mandatory title at the Mutua Madrid Open, owned by countryman and Romanian tennis legend Ion Tiriac.
15-Love: Try saying “foot fault” 5x fast. @Simona_Halep was more than up for the challenge in our super-sonic Q&A challenge. #USOpen #Halep pic.twitter.com/YEYKc9OKFB
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) December 5, 2016
“He helps me with advice, he talks with me,” she said. Tiriac gave her a wildcard into Madrid back in 2013, a move Halep says kickstarted her pro career.
“He’s into my tennis and always we have a good discussion, sometimes he’s coming to my practices.”
A lot of his advice centers around Halep’s ultimate goal of Grand Slam glory; the former World No.2 reached the French Open final in 2014, and will aim to take that career-best major finish one step further in 2017.
“He tells me that I have everything to win a Grand Slam, I have just to believe. It’s good to have such an important man in my life and in my career.”
Click here to read the full interview with Halep as she discusses her celebrity status in Romania and the rise of Year-End No.1 Angelique Kerber.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Petra Kvitova will spend the remainder of the off-season healing a stress fracture in her right foot, hoping to begin next season on schedule in Perth.
TAMPA, FL, USA – Venus Williams might be gearing up for the 2017 WTA season, but the former No.1 is already outfitted through 2018.
Venus – who is set to start the year in Auckland – took some time off from her busy off-season preparations to debut the latest collection of Eleven By Venus, called Casablanca, as well as reveal some long-term career plans.
“I design all of my collections in advance, so while we’re just debuting this season’s collection I’ve actually got everything planned through 2018,” Venus said, speaking at an EleVen event in Tampa where she was showcasing the new collection.
“We’ve got all our designs ready for next year and the year after.”
Her meticulous planning and commitment to EleVen has definitely showed, with her Prism collection that debuted at the US Open being named one of the Top 8 women’s tennis fashion moments of 2016.
“Last season’s collection, Prism, was inspired by a prism of light. Our inspiration was all the different colors in there, we covered the full spectrum – literally! And so Casablanca is what’s left over: the black and the white.”
“It’s just really classic motifs of black and white. When you think of the movie Casablanca, it’s a classic love story, it’s black and white. That’s really what we brought to this line, a real classic feeling. Black, white, and a little bit of red.”
While her off-court entrepreneurial spirit keeps her always busy, on the court the seven-time Grand Slam champion still has just one mission.
“To win every match! Hello!” Venus laughed, adding:
“I’ve been working hard in the gym and getting back on the court. I just love the game, I really do. I love the challenge. It’s been such a part of my life that it’s hard to imagine life without it.
“I’m just gearing up for 2017 like I’m sure everybody else is.”
Gearing up for 2017 and already outfitted for 2018 – Venus is halfway to her biggest goal: the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
All photos courtesy of EleVen By Venus