Tennis News

BEIJING, China – With her victory in the semifinals of the China Open, Great Britain’s Johanna Konta is poised to make her Top 10 debut when the WTA Rankings are updated on Monday, October 10th.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. But, yeah — actually I don’t know. I don’t know,” Konta laughed in her post-match press conference, at a loss for words at her achievement.

“I think because I’m so immersed in this tournament still, it’s obviously something that’s really humbling and really nice to hear.”

The 25-year-old Brit started the year with her shock run to the Australian Open semifinals and has continued to chip away at her ranking in workmanlike fashion.

She won her first title at the Bank of the West Classic, and has made the quarterfinals or better at nine events this season, including the Australian Open, Olympic tennis event, and two WTA Premier Mandatory events.

As a result, Konta will become the fourth woman to make her Top 10 debut this year after Roberta Vinci, Belinda Bencic and Madison Keys joined the club earlier in the season, as well as become the 121st woman overall to do so since the WTA Rankings were introduced on November 3, 1975.

Konta’s rise to the WTA’s Top 10 also ends a 32-year drought for British tennis; the last British woman to grace the Top 10 was Jo Durie, who made her debut the week of August 20, 1984.

Konta also adds her name to an historic and elite group, becoming just the fourth British woman to break the Top 10; only Virginia Wade (career-high of No.2), Sue Barker (career-high of No.3) and Durie (career-high of No.5) have done so previously.

In addition to entering the Top 10, Konta will move into the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard and is one step closer to qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

With the Formation World Tour wrapping up on Friday night, singer Beyoncé still had a few surprises in store for her fans at her final show at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

It’s not easy to steal the limelight away from the multiple Grammy-winning performer, but that’s what Serena Williams did when she joined her on stage.

Reprising her famous role in “Sorry,” from Beyoncé’s Lemonade album, Serena took to her throne and twerked away, much to the crowd’s delight.

Two legends, one stage.
Beyoncé + Serena Williams#FormationWorldTour #NewYork pic.twitter.com/Lhb5TxwnBf

— Formation World Tour (@FormationWT) October 8, 2016

Afterward, Serena posted these snaps to her Instagram page with the fitting caption “Not sorry.”

Serena, who is no stranger to joining mega-popstars on stage, wasn’t the only celebrity at the star-studded event, with the likes of Taylor Schilling, Adrienne Moore, Hugh Jackman, and Frank Ocean all in attendance last night, as well as Beyoncé’s husband, Jay-Z who joined her onstage shortly after Serena’s performance.

ZHUHAI, China – Asian No.1 Zhang Shuai has received a wildcard for the second edition of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

The wildcard is result of a highly impressive campaign, which has seen Zhang fly up the rankings. This week, the 27-year-old upset Simona Halep and Samantha Stosur en route to the quarterfinals of the China Open, a result which guarantees she will break into the Top 30 in Monday’s new rankings

Zhang, who contemplated walking away from tennis 12 months ago, began the season ranked No.133. However, at the Australian Open she ended her long-running Grand Slam hoodoo by making it through qualifying and into the quarterfinals.

The Chinese player’s sole WTA singles title came three years ago in Guangzhou, but she has threatened to add to her collection in recent weeks, reaching the semifinals in Seoul and Tokyo, following an encouraging third-round run at the US Open.

“We are delighted to announce Zhang Shuai as our singles wildcard at this year’s Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai,” Peter Johnston, the Tournament Director of Huajin Security WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai 2016, said. “She has been in fantastic form this year and throughout her career has been a great ambassador for women’s tennis in China. I am sure the fans in Zhuhai are going to welcome her here to see her compete against the best of the best on the WTA Tour.”

Zhang was equally excited about the opportunity: “It’s an honor to be awarded the wildcard for 2016 Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, especially as a Chinese player. I’m very happy to get to play in my homeland in front of all Chinese fans. I heard that last’s first edition of WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai was a great success. I can’t wait to play 2016 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai and meet the fans from Zhuhai there!”

BEIJING, China – Madison Keys held her nerve to win a dramatic quarterfinal encounter with Petra Kvitova at the China Open on Friday.

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

Leading by a set and a break, Keys looked to be easing into the semifinals. However, a spirited Kvitova comeback ensured the match went down to the wire, Keys eventually closing out a 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-6(5) victory after two hours and 41 minutes.

“I think I played a pretty solid first set today, then she raised her level. I just think at the end it became a couple of points here or there. I think I got my serve back on track a little bit,” Keys said. “I mean, really, it could have gone either way. It was really close.”

Madison Keys' record in 3 set matches:

2014: 6-10
2015: 7-8
2016: 17-5

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 7, 2016

Keys’ victory was all the more impressive given Kvitova’s recent form. In Wuhan, she dismantled a series of higher-ranked opponents to win her first title in 13 months, before seeing off Wang Yafan and Garbiñe Muguruza this week to extend her winning run.

In Keys, though, she found an opponent capable of matching her firepower. After the first seven games went with serve, the American carved out the first break point by whipping a forehand return onto the line. Kvitova double faulted to surrender the break and ultimately the set.

Kvitova came roaring back in the second set, recovering from 4-2 down to level the match on a tie-break. The decider followed a similar pattern, Keys making the early running only to be pegged back when the Czech won the latest baseline slugfest. This time, however, Keys refused to be overwhelmed, surviving a series of arduous service games to reach the sanctuary of a tie-break. Locked at 5-5, she finally found the knockout blow, hammering a backhand down the line before serving her way into a maiden Premier Mandatory semifinal.

“I definitely think I got frustrated. You know, it’s always tough when you’re serving for a set and you have a bad game,” Keys said. “Doing that a couple of times in a match is frustrating.

“But, you know, I think I did a really good job at staying focused and just trying to regroup and worry about the next point. You know, she made it really tough today. I’m just really happy that at the end I was able to get my serve back on track and get myself ahead in the tiebreaker.”

Keys moves on to face Johanna Konta in the semifinals, knowing that a run to the title would secure her a debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

“Jo is playing really well. I mean, at this point everyone’s trying to qualify, everyone’s trying to play their good tennis at the end of the year,” Keys added. “Pretty much whoever you play is going to be a tough match.”

BEIJING, China – Johanna Konta recovered from a nightmare start to defeat Zhang Shuai and end home hopes at the China Open.

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

After losing the first four games, Konta turned the match on its head to quieten the crowd and run out a 6-4, 6-0 winner. The result sets up a semifinal showdown with fellow BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global contender Madison Keys and also within touching distance of reaching the Top 10.

“Even though it was 12 games in a row, the scoreline was a lot closer,” Konta said. “Every single point was a really high level. I had to fight a lot at the end and I’m really happy to get through.”

In the previous round, Zhang upset Simona Halep for the loss of only three games. Against Konta she picked up from where she left off, delighting the crowd as a run of 13 straight points helped build an early lead.

Konta stopped the rot when Zhang sent a volley long to hand back one of the breaks. The following game she produced a couple of big serves to hold serve from 0-30, as the confidence began to course through her game.

In the ninth game she edged ahead, slapping a forehand winner after dragging Zhang ragged. Even a few interruptions from the crowd managed to derail the Briton, who served out to love before rattling through the second set. 

This summer, Konta was one win from reaching the Top 10 only to produce a subdued performance against Kristina Kucova. Judging by Keys’ showing against Kvitova earlier in the day, a repeat performance will end in further disappointment. 

The stakes are equally high for Keys – who will qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global by winning the title. Konta also remains in contention for a place in Singapore – victory over the American would edge her ahead of Dominika Cibulkova and into the eighth and final qualifying berth.

“I really do my best to not think far ahead and really not try to crave those sort of things,” Keys said when asked about a potential Top 10 debut. “I think if you live yourself into that, really bring your head out of your bubble, things become a bit more sticky, a bit more difficult to keep manage of.

“If it’s on the cards for me, great. If it’s not, it’s not. That’s okay, too. I’m really grateful for the journey that I’m having. However it pans out, it’s mine. Yeah, I’m just enjoying playing.”