Puig Named Best Female Athlete Of The 2016 Rio Olympics
Monica Puig’s unlikely run to winning Puerto Rico’s first Olympic gold medal inspired the world, and now she’s received the ANOC Award for Best Female Athlete at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Monica Puig’s unlikely run to winning Puerto Rico’s first Olympic gold medal inspired the world, and now she’s received the ANOC Award for Best Female Athlete at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
The WTA’s longtime queen of hot shots Agnieszka Radwanska was back at it again in 2016, bringing out all the magic from her bag of tricks – watch all her best shots of the year right here!
Angelique Kerber’s stunning maiden Grand Slam victory in Melbourne set the tone for a rollercoaster 2016 WTA season, but she wasn’t the only name to make her mark Down Under as Victoria Azarenka, Monica Puig and Svetlana Kuznetsova highlighted the first few weeks of WTA action during the Australian Swing.
The Rise of Angelique Kerber
Following a career-best season in 2015 – where she picked up four titles and finished the year at No.10 – Angelique Kerber stayed on course in Australia, but even she had no idea what was to come.
After being blown off the court by an inspired Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Brisbane International and being forced to withdraw from the Apia International Sydney in the second round due to a gastrointestinal illness, the German went straight to Melbourne for the first Grand Slam of the year.
Kerber, who’d she’d previously never advanced past the fourth round of the Australian Open – saved match point in her first match against Misaki Doi and went on to put together a clinical run to the final, where she locked horns with Serena Williams.
She stunned the tennis world by defeating the then-World No.1 in a thrilling three sets and lifting her maiden Grand Slam title, ending a 17-year major title drought for German tennis and cementing her place at the top.
Vika’s Red-Hot Australian Summer
Australia has been Victoria Azarenka’s home away from home for several years, but this time it was in Brisbane, not Melbourne, where the two-time Australian Open champion made her mark.
Starting the year ranked No.22, Azarenka tore through the draw at the Brisbane International without dropping a set. In fact, the Belarusian lost just 17 games en route to the first title of the year, a feat which still stands as the fewest games lost in winning a WTA title in 2016.
She went on to reach the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, her best result there since 2014, and picked up another two titles before succumbing to injuries – a back injury in Madrid, a right knee injury during the French Open – and finally putting an end to her season following the announcement of her pregnancy.
Puig and Kuznetsova Foreshadow 2016 Brilliance
In Sydney, a pair of surprising names who reached the final at the second Premier-level event of the year.
Puerto Rican qualifier Monica Puig, then ranked No.94, reached the second WTA final of her career after posting wins over a trio of Top 30 players, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Samantha Stosur and Belinda Bencic (via retirement). She faced Svetlana Kuznetsova, who’d just pulled off her biggest win since 2009 over No.2-ranked Simona Halep in the semifinals.
Even though Kuznetsova went on to drop just two games in her dominant victory over Puig, the pair’s surprise run to the Sydney final served as a preview for what was in store for Puig and Kuznetsova later in the season.
Elsewhere, Agnieszka Radwanska continued where she left off at the 2015 WTA Finals, returning to the home of her best tennis in Asia and picking up a title at the International-level Shenzhen Open. Sloane Stephens also took home the ASB Classic in Auckland and Alizé Cornet won in the Hobart International.
– Photos courtesy of Getty Images
Océane Dodin continued her fine late season form with a hard-fought win over Alexandra Cadantu in the first round of the Engie Open de Limoges.
Former World No.1 Amélie Mauresmo ended her fourth year as French Fed Cup Captain by leading her country into its first final since 2005 – back when the two-time Grand Slam champion herself played for the team.
Mauresmo announced that she wouldn’t continue at her post in 2017, however, due to personal reasons:
.@AmeMauresmo : “Pour raisons personnelles, je vais quitter mon poste de capitaine. J'attends un 2e enfant.” #fedcup
— FFT (@FFTennis) November 14, 2016
The news that she is expecting her second child was met with mixed emotions from the talented squad of players, including Caroline Garcia, Kristina Mladenovic, Alizé Cornet, and Pauline Parmentier. In her four years as Captain, Mauresmo took from the precipice of Fed Cup zonal relegation into a championship weekend in Strasbourg, which they narrowly lost to the Czech Republic in a decisive doubles rubber.
Mauresmo’s team took to Twitter to express their appreciation for their fearless leader:
Cap @AmeMauresmo, un grand MERCI pour tout ce que tu ns as apporté ces 4 dernières années, ns avons grandi à tes côtés. Tu vas nous manquer! pic.twitter.com/rx8iVUtZ3A
— Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) November 14, 2016
Dur réalité mais quelle belle aventure merci a cette magnifique equipe et ce staff de rêve #lovemyteam #lastpicalltogether #triste pic.twitter.com/JYuIgQZS8I
— pauline parmentier (@ppauline86) November 14, 2016
MERCI à tous du fond du cœur pour votre soutien inconditionnel! Malgré la défaite, ce we et toutes ces émotions resteront inoubliables ??❤️ pic.twitter.com/TbcBdpujHc
— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) November 14, 2016
Tout est possible ! A demain tous ensemble #TeamFranceTennis pic.twitter.com/GIPy9DduHM
— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) November 12, 2016
Mauresmo’s fellow former No.1 and 2016 International Tennis Hall Of Fame Inductee Justine Henin also announced the coming birth of a second child, with the due date expected for early next year:
Henin has been working with rising WTA talent Elina Svitolina since the start of 2016; the Ukrainian youngster has since defeated a pair of reigning World No.1s in Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber, and reached the final of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
COMPTON, CA, USA – Former World No.1s Venus Williams and Serena Williams returned to their hometown of Compton, California last weekend to strengthen childhood ties to the city where they first played tennis.
“You always remember those places, like where we went to elementary school, the courts we practiced at, even our old home,” Venus told the LA Times. “And just places you used to go. And of course things change over time. Places move. Shops close. Streets change. But it’s still the same place.”
The Williams sisters made use of their eponymous charity fund to bestow a five-year endowment on what will be the Yetunde Price Resource Center, which will help those affected by violence and trauma. The center was named for their eldest sister, who was killed in 2003.
“We definitely wanted to honor our sister’s memory because she was a great sister, she was our oldest sister and obviously she meant a lot to us,” Serena said. “And it meant a lot to us, to myself and to Venus and my other sisters as well, Isha and Lyndrea, that we’ve been wanting to do something for years in memory of her, especially the way it happened, a violent crime.”
Saturday was dedicated to the refurbishing of Lueders Park tennis courts henceforth known as the Venus & Serena Williams Court of Champions.
Check out a full interview with the Williams sisters here, along with some of the best photos from the weekend below:
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
LONDON, Great Britain – Heather Watson is coming off a career year that saw her earn hometown glory at the Wimbledon Championships in mixed doubles and win another WTA title in Monterrey.
Sitting down with Elle Magazine UK, the Brit had a no holds barred discussion about the differences between singles and doubles, getting into the right pre-match mindset, and how she injects her personal style into her on-court kits.
“In terms of mixed doubles, it’s a whole other ball game,” she said of her Wimbledon win with Henri Kontenin. “Personally, it’s just fun and I think that’s down to having had some incredible partners, which makes a big difference.
“I think I need to bring more of the mindset of ‘it doesn’t matter what the outcome is I’m just going to do what I need to do’, into my singles more.”
Watson also played mixed doubles with countryman Andy Murray, who went on to clinch the ATP World No.1 ranking earlier this fall.
“Andy is an incredible athlete. He’s so competitive, hardworking and so nice to be around. He’s not what people think he is. I find him quieter, very chilled and more relaxed off the court.”
Check out the full interview with Watson right here at ElleUK.com.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Former champion Vitalia Diatchenko sprung an upset on the opening day of the OEC Taipei WTA Challenger, holding her nerve to knock out No.2 seed Naomi Broady.
In a tense final set, World No.533 Diatchenko twice served to stay in the match before ultimately prevailing, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(3).
Making a mockery of her lowly ranking, the Russian withstood a final set fightback – and 15 aces – from Broady to register only her sixth win of the season.
Diatchenko, who received a wildcard into the WTA title at a 125K Series event, is currently on the comeback trail following an injury-ravaged couple of seasons. Two years ago, she reached a career-high No.71 following victory in Taipei, but since then major operations on her anterior cruciate ligament and Achilles have halted this charge.
Next up will be Miyu Kato, who overcame doubles partner Eri Hozumi, 6-4, 7-6(7). Also advancing were Olga Govortsova, who knocked out No.5 seed Risa Ozaki, 6-1, 6-3, and Dalila Jakupovic, a 7-6(4), 6-1, winner over wildcard Lee Ya-Hsuan.
The first round continues on Tuesday, with Maria Sakkari, Marina Erakovic and 2013 winner Alison Van Uytvanck among those in action.
It’s time to crown the 2016 WTA Shot Of The Year!
Each WTA Shot Of The Month winner has been placed into one of two groups:
• Voting for Group A and Group B will close Sunday, November 20 at 11:59pm ET
• The two shots from each group that receive the most votes will then be placed into a final group
• Final Group voting opens Monday, November 21 and ends Monday, November 28 at 11:59pm ET
• The 2016 WTA Shot of the Year winner will be announced Tuesday, November 29
Group A
January: Caroline Wozniacki
February: Agnieszka Radwanska
March: Agnieszka Radwanska
April: Monica Niculescu
May: Simona Halep
It’s time to crown the 2016 WTA Shot Of The Year!
Each WTA Shot Of The Month winner has been placed into one of two groups:
• Voting for Group A and Group B will close Sunday, November 20 at 11:59pm ET
• The two shots from each group that receive the most votes will then be placed into a final group
• Final Group voting opens Monday, November 21 and ends Monday, November 28 at 11:59pm ET
• The 2016 WTA Shot of the Year winner will be announced Tuesday, November 29
Group B
June: Agnieszka Radwanska
July: Simona Halep
August: Agnieszka Radwanska
September: Kirsten Flipkens
October: Angelique Kerber