Tennis News

BEIJING, China – Friday’s China Open draw placed Agnieszka Radwanska on a last 16 collision course with former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki.

Over the past fortnight, Radwanska and Wozniacki have crossed paths in Tokyo and Wuhan, and should both clear the opening couple of hurdles in the Chinese capital another showdown awaits. Wozniacki came back from the brink to win in Tokyo – where she went on to lift the title – before the Pole gained revenge this week in Wuhan to reduce her arrears in the career head-to-head to 5-9.

Radwanska, the No.3 seed, begins the calendar’s final Premier Mandatory event against Wang Qiang, with the winner of Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova lying in wait in the second round. Wozniacki, the 2010 champion, is unseeded and was paired alongside CoCo Vandeweghe first up. Victory over the big-serving American could see her meet No.13 seed Roberta Vinci. 

New Word No.1 Angelique Kerber begins her challenge against a qualifier, while No.2 seed and defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza faces Irina-Camelia Begu.

Muguruza has endured a disappointing second half of the season and is in need of a good run in Beijing to confirm her return to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Her hopes of doing so were done no favors by the draw, which placed Petra Kvitova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys in her quarter.

The prospect of meeting Kvitova in the third round will be particularly daunting, given her spectacular form in Wuhan, while Kuznetsova and Keys are both looking to secure a place in Singapore. Whoever is left standing after running this gauntlet is likely to face No.4 seed Simona Halep for a place in the final.

In the top half, Kerber finds herself in a section that also includes Barbora Strycova, Elina Svitolina and No.6 seed Venus Williams.

Draw @ChinaOpen is out. 1R highlights: Wozniacki-Vandeweghe, Pliskova-Safarova, Stosur-Zhang, Mladenovic-Jankovic. pic.twitter.com/Rsz6DFuCbl

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) 30 September 2016

WUHAN, China – No.3 seeds Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova reached their third final in four events together at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, defeating No.6 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-3, 7-6(6), and No.2 seeds Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan, 6-4, 3-6, 10-7, back-to-back to book a championship match against No.5 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova.

Watch live action from Wuhan on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Rained out on Thursday, Mirza and Strycova edged past Babos and Shvedova, who needed to win Wuhan to confirm their place in the WTA Finals, and recovered from a second set wobble to dispatch the Chan sisters to reach the championship match over the reigning US Open winners. Strycova has dealt with an especially busy week, having played two singles matches yesterday on her way to a quarterfinal finish.

“So we are obviously very happy to be in our third final together,” Mirza said after the match. “The schedule has been really tough – especially for Barbora – but we are fighting every point and every match and enjoying ourselves playing together.”

Mirza and Strycova first paired up en route to a winning week at the Western & Southern Open, and have lost just one match since then, taking the Toray Pan Pacific Open and winning three more matches in Wuhan over two pairs hoping to book their spot at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

By reaching final at @wuhanopentennis Mirza/Strycova move to No.11 on #RoadToSingapore Leaderboard. Can move to No.9 with title https://t.co/GZbcuGkWCF

— Kevin Fischer (@Kfish_WTA) September 30, 2016

The World No.1 qualified first for Singapore with former partner Martina Hingis back in May, but the results with Strycova put her new partnership up to No.11 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard; a win in the final over Mattek-Sands and Safarova would bump them up to No.9. Should Mirza qualify with both teams, the doubles threat could earn the right to play with either Strycova or Hingis – with whom she won the title last year.

Mattek-Sands and Safarova had to do double duty on Thursday, winning their second round and quarterfinal rounds in straight sets; the team was equally imperious on Friday against Christina McHale and Peng Shuai, winning, 6-4, 6-3. Playing their first tournament since winning their third Grand Slam title, team “Bucie” are on a nine-match winning streak and are currently in pole position make their second straight appearance in Singapore.

September has been marked by the US Open, but since we already voted for our NYC fashion favorites, let’s see who dominated the tennis fashion scene in the remainder of the month. Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog will show us the clothes that have ruled the courts this fall, following the final Grand Slam of the season.

Caroline Wozniacki won the Toray Pan Pacific Open title in what she called her favorite outfit of the year: the signal green adidas Barricade Dress Set. Designer Stella McCartney created this women’s tennis dress and shorts set with mesh shoulder straps and laser-cut holes to ensure both ventilation and style. Wozniacki not only lifted her first trophy of the season feeling like a queen in green, but she followed it up with her 500th career match win at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

Wozniacki completed her look with black and white adidas Stella Barricade Boost Shoes, whose seamless knit upper hugs Caroline’s feet, while boost™ is there to energize her movement.

Naomi Osaka‘s quirky young energy makes her and adidas one of the best tennis fashion matches, which we thoroughly enjoyed this month during the Toray Pan Pacific Open, as the 18-year-old Japanese spectacularly made her biggest WTA final at the Premier-level tournament in her home country.

Sporting the adidas Fall Pro Tank, featuring a statement contrast racerback with mesh insert, and the printed adidas Fall Pro Skirt, Osaka ensured a rise from No. 66 to a career-high of No.47 in the WTA rankings, beating two Top 20 players on the way.

Elsewhere in Asia, at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, Simona Halep showcased a wonderful pale version of the bold geometric print. The cute contrast flash red elastic waistband of her skirt perfectly matches the striking racerback of her predominantly white tank.

Right after the US Open, at the Coupe Banque Nationale, Oceane Dodin made the Top 100 for the first time in her career and became the first teenager to win a WTA title in 2016, all the while looking stylish in the black and volt Nike Fall Maria Premier Tank and Nike Fall Maria FLX Premier Short.

At the $2,288,250 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, Petra Kvitova eliminated world number one Angelique Kerber in one of this season’s most dramatic matches, wearing the striking Nike Winter Flex Victory Premier Skirt that wonderfully combines purple dynasty and bright mango colors in a gradient effect on all-around knife pleats. The skirt, available in two lengths, features a flat-front elastic waistband and built-in compression shorts.

The orange Nike Winter Dry Slam Tank, made of 92% Dri-Fit polyester, is a classic soft performance pique tank top, whose racerback and side slits allow optimal range of motion.

The two-time Wimbledon champion is rocking personalized speed-oriented Nike Zoom Vapor 9.5 Tour footwear. The shoe’s lightweight construction is accompanied by enough support and stability to allow confident on-court movement.

What are your favorite women’s tennis styles this fall?