Tennis News

THE WINNERS

Monica Puig made Olympic history for Puerto Rico on Saturday night, becoming the island’s first ever gold medalist after a rollercoaster win over World No.2 Angelique Kerber, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Puig has been the surprise of the Olympic tennis event, playing the best tennis of her career to reach the gold medal match and dealing out upsets to the likes of French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova along the way.

She now stands as the first athlete – male or female – to bring home a gold medal to Puerto Rico, ending a 68-year drought dating back to the island’s first appearance at an Olympic Games.

“This is for Puerto Rico. This is definitely for them,” Puig said. “They’re going through some tough times right now, and they needed this. I needed this.

“I think I united a nation. I just love where I come from.”

Read the full match recap | WTA Insider Live Blog: Game-by-game analysis

Four years after pairing up for the first time ahead of the Olympic tennis event in London, No.7 seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina strike gold in Rio, taking out No.5 seeds and World Co-No.1 Martina Hingis and countrywoman Timea Bacsinszky, 6-4, 6-4.

“It’s incredible,” Vesnina said after the match. “Ever since I was a little girl, I was watching the Olympic Games, and it was such a dream just to come here and get a medal for Russia, for my country and in front of my dad. We’ve been through so much, and yet we were so good today.

“We stuck together and we believed til the end that we could win. It’s just incredible, I still can’t believe that we won the gold. It’s the best moment in my career, I swear!”

Makarova and Vesnina came to Rio having just won their first title of the season at the Rogers Cup, but not before enduring a nightmarish travel itinery that nearly left them late for the Opening Ceremonies. Once there, the Russian duo took care of business in efficient style, running through five wins without dropping a set over the opposition.

Read the full match recap here.

In a thrilling encounter between two tough American teams, Bethanie Mattek-Sands partnered Jack Sock to take out four-time gold medalist Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram, 6-7(3), 6-1, 10-7 and win gold in mixed doubles of the Olympic tennis event.

“I’m still pretty emotional,” Mattek-Sands said after the match. “I think, going into this final, we knew the American national anthem was going to be played either way, but I was actually kind of surprised I was so emotional. It’s my first Olympics, first time being up on the podium. It’s hard to describe it in words, but I’m so excited having this guy next to me, we played awesome. It was a lot of fun this whole week.”

Read the full match recap here.

RANKING MOVERS
There were no WTA ranking points awarded at the Olympic tennis event for the week of August 15, 2016.

Click here to view the current rankings.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

Western & Southern Open
Cincinnati, USA
Premier | $2,503,250 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, August 15 – Sunday, August 21

Connecticut Open
New Haven, USA
Premier | $695,900 | Hard, Outdoor
Sunday, August 21 – Saturday, August 27

US Open
New York, USA
Grand Slam | $ TBA | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, August 29 – Sunday, September 11

TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams – Cincinnati, US Open
2. Angelique Kerber – Cincinnati, US Open
3. Garbiñe Muguruza – Cincinnati, US Open
4. Simona Halep – Cincinnati, US Open
5. Agnieszka Radwanska – Cincinnati, US Open
6. Venus Williams – US Open
7. Victoria Azarenka
8. Roberta Vinci – Cincinnati, New Haven, US Open
9. Madison Keys – New Haven, US Open
10. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Cincinnati, New Haven, US Open
11. Dominika Cibulkova – Cincinnati, New Haven, US Open
12. Carla Suárez Navarro – Cincinnati, US Open
13. Johanna Konta – Cincinnati, New Haven, US Open
14. Petra Kvitova – New Haven, US Open
15. Timea Bacsinszky – Cincinnati, New Haven, US Open
16. Samantha Stosur – Cincinnati, US Open
17. Karolina Pliskova – Cincinnati, New Haven, US Open
18. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Cincinnati, New Haven, US Open
19. Elina Svitolina – Cincinnati, New Haven, US Open
20. Barbora Strycova – Cincinnati, New Haven, US Open

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:

Chan Yung-Jan (TPE) – August 17, 1989
Johanna Larsson (SWE) – August 17, 1988

CINCINNATI, OH, USA – One of the biggest events of the US hardcourt swing begins in full force on Monday. It’s the Western & Southern Open from Cincinnati and we’re previewing Day 1’s enticing match-ups on wtatennis.com.

Monday, First Round

Center Court
Sara Errani (ITA #32) vs. CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #33)
Head-to-head: Errani leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Monday’s winner faces fourth-seeded Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round.

American CoCo Vandeweghe will try to continue the momentum she built during the grass court season when she faces Italy’s Sara Errani on Center Court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Monday. It won’t be easy. Vandeweghe has won 12 of her last 15 WTA-level matches, but she has only played two matches since Wimbledon, winning one and losing one at Stanford. Vandeweghe will have to hit the mark early and often to avoid getting dragged into too many protracted rallies against the super-fit World No.24 from Bologna. It was Errani who won the only career meeting between the two at Wimbledon, but that was just over four years ago and the 24-year-old Vandeweghe has evolved since then, particularly after pairing with coach Craig Kardon last season. Errani reached the round of 16 at the Olympics, but she has only managed a 7-9 record against the Top 50 this season.

Pick: Errani in three

Ana Ivanovic (SRB #25) vs. [Q] Donna Vekic (CRO #121)
Head-to-head: Ivanovic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Ivanovic has won seven of her last nine matches at Cincinnati, losing only to Serena Williams.

It has been a fantastic year on a personal level for former World No.1 Ana Ivanovic, marrying German footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger this July, but in order to make it a fantastic year professionally Ivanovic requires a summer resurgence on the US hard courts. After dropping a three-setter to Carla Suárez Navarro at the Olympics the Serb has now lost three straight and is barely hovering above the .500 mark for the season at 15-14. The 2014 Western & Southern Open runner-up will open up with a winnable contest against 20-year-old Croatian Donna Vekic. Long on promise, the former World No.62 has struggled to string together victories and will make her Cincinnati debut in the midst of a nine-match WTA-level losing streak.

Pick: Ivanovic in two

Grandstand
Caroline Garcia (FRA #30) vs. [Q] Daria Gavrilova (AUS #47)
Head-to-head: Gavrilova leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Garcia recorded her only career Top 5 win at Cincinnati last season.

A pair of highly-touted 22-year-olds will clash for the first time in a WTA main draw – they met five years ago on the ITF Circuit – on Monday in Cincinnati, as Caroline Garcia and Daria Gavrilova are set to lock horns in the second match on Grandstand. Garcia has lost four of six since winning her first career grass court title at Mallorca, but she is back at the scene of her first career Top 5 win, which came last season over Petra Kvitova during a quarterfinal run here at Cincinnati. The Frenchwoman doesn’t lack for talent, but consistency has been a limiting factor ever since she cracked the WTA’s Top 50 a little over two years ago. The same could be said about her opponent of late. Gavrilova’s breakout season came in 2015, and she’s done a solid job of maintaining a Top 50 ranking this season, but she has managed only two quarterfinals in 15 events this campaign.

Pick: Gavrilova in three

By the numbers…
400 – Both Andrea Petkovic and Lucie Safarova have a shot at winning their 400th WTA match at Cincinnati this week.
19 – The age of Jelena Ostapenko, the youngest player in this year’s draw. The Latvian will face Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Grandstand on Monday.
0 – Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza is appearing at Cincinnati for the third time but is still searching for her first victory. She will face the winner of Vandeweghe versus Errani after a first-round bye.

CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Olympics have come to a close and the Emirates Airlines US Open Series resumes as the tour heads into the final Grand Slam tournament of 2016; who will strike gold at the Western & Southern Open?

1) The draw is out.
The main draw has shifted a bit as bronze medalist Petra Kvitova has pulled out; Elina Svitolina moves from World No.1 Serena Williams’ section to become the No.17 seed – check out the draw right here!

2) This is the last chance for most to find their game before the US Open.
For the majority of leading names, Cincinnati represents the final opportunity for match practice ahead of the US Open – the final major of the year begins on August 29.

3) Sixteen of the Top 20 players in the world are in Cincinnati.
It’s a Grand Slam-quality field led by all three major champions in 2016 – Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, and Garbiñe Muguruza. Rogers Cup champion Simona Halep and BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion Agnieszka Radwanska are also in attendance.

4) Serena shoots for a third straight Cincinnati title.
Coming off a disappointing early loss at the Olympic tennis event, Serena will try to reverse her fortunes at a tournament she’s won the last two years; in 2015, she knocked out Simona Halep in two tight sets, and would like a third Cincinnati crown to cement her US Open preparation.

5) The World No.1 is in play.
Taking a late wildcard into the Western & Southern Open, Serena has control over the top spot; should she reach the quarterfinals, she guarantees to extend her 183 straight weeks atop the WTA Rankings through the US Open. Should she lose early and Kerber takes the title, it would be the Australian Open champion who would become the first German since Stefanie Graf to reach No.1. 

6) …and Kerber has a tough road to the final.
In the same half of the draw as Halep, Radwanska, and a red-hot Johanna Konta, Kerber could face Barbora Strycova – who knocked her out in Madrid – before the quarterfinals, and French Open semifinalist Kiki Bertens (who beat her in Paris) by the last eight.

7) Serena’s road is hardly simpler.
The 22-time Grand Slam champ could renew her rivalry with Christina McHale, who took her to three sets twice in 2016, and could face No.12 seed Timea Bacsinszky or No.7 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals.

8) Belinda’s back!
Belinda Bencic was lighting up the WTA tour this time last year, but back and wrist injuries have beset her since making her Top 10 debut. Seeded No.13 in Cincinnait, she is projected to face No.8 seed Dominika Cibulkova by the third round.

9) The Santina Split is official.
With World Co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza playing apart for the first time this season – Hingis with CoCo Vandeweghe and Mirza with Strycova – French Open champs Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic are top seeds in a stacked doubles draw – check it out here!

10) Find out where you can watch the action from Cincinnati here!

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a thrilling encounter between two tough American teams, Bethanie Mattek-Sands partnered Jack Sock to take out four-time gold medalist Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram, 6-7(3), 6-1, 10-7 and win gold in mixed doubles of the Olympic tennis event.

“I’m still pretty emotional,” Mattek-Sands said after the match. “I think, going into this final, we knew the American national anthem was going to be played either way, but I was actually kind of surprised I was so emotional. It’s my first Olympics, first time being up on the podium. It’s hard to describe it in words, but I’m so excited having this guy next to me, we played awesome. It was a lot of fun this whole week.”

After disappointing results in singles and doubles with sister and fellow four-time Olympic Gold medalist Serena Williams, Venus and Ram were late additions to the mixed doubles squad and played incredible tennis to reach the final. With Venus hoping to become the first tennis player to win gold medals in all three disciplines, they took the first set over Mattek-Sands and Sock, a team playing their first Olympic Games.

But Mattek-Sands and Sock are experienced doubles players in their own right, each a former Grand Slam champion in mixed doubles. Roaring through the second set, they recovered from a 3-6 deficit in the match tie-break to clinch the gold medal.

Big waves from Bethanie, Jack????

?Gold Mattek-Sands/Sock??
?Silver Venus/Ram??
?Bronze Hradecka/Stepanek??#Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/ogk1BEkyhv

— Nick McCarvel (@NickMcCarvel) August 14, 2016

“I was feeling pretty down and out after singles, but I just wanted to enjoy the experience and get the most out of it,” said Sock, who fought off a bout of walking pneumonia to win medals in mixed and men’s doubles with Steve Johnson. “To come away with two medals, one being gold, I’m speechless. It’s a surreal moment for both of us.

“I had a blast with Bethanie all week; she definitely carried me through every match, but it was a ton of fun and it’s going to be something I have with Bethanie for the rest of our lives.”

Overcoming multiple injuries in the latter part of her career, Mattek-Sands was understandably emotional in her post-match interview.

“After a couple of hip surgeries and all of the months I’ve been out where you’re watching all of this happen on TV. Standing on the podium, I was just thinking of everything I’ve gone through to be here.”

Gracious in defeat, Venus nonetheless took home her fifth Olympic medal in her fifth Olympic appearance, and took great pride in being part of an all-American Gold medal match.

“It’s been an honor to play at so many Olympic Games. We’ve had a blast this whole tournament and it was awesome to see two US teams on the podim. We’re just on Cloud 9 today.”

Ram echoed his partner’s sentiment.

“It’s fantastic. To play the final against our teammates, it was a great match and they were just a little better than us. It was just an unbelievable experience to play with Venus at the Olympics and get a medal.”

#Gold for #USA in mixed doubles! @BMATTEK & @JackSock d. V Williams/Ram 67(3) 61 [10-7] at #Rio2016 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/0NcNxGRukD

— ITF Olympic Tennis (@OlympicsTennis) August 14, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Four-time gold Olympic medalist Venus Williams is going for a record breaking fifth medal at the Olympic tennis event in Rio after booking a spot into the final of mixed doubles with partner Rajeev Ram. The pair will take on Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack sock in the all-American final.

“I’m used to doing this with Serena so it’s such a crazy feeling doing it with someone else,” Williams admitted after the match. “It’s like a wild emotion, to feel what I feel with Serena. I never thought that would happen.”

Williams and Ram had to fight back from a set down against Indian superstars Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna to make it into the final. They came back to dominate in the match tiebreak, rattling off eight points in a row to take the match 2-6, 6-2, 10-3.

Williams is going for a fifth gold medal, which would set a new record for most medals in Olympic tennis. By virtue of reaching the final, she’s already guaranteed a medal, making her the first tennis player to medal in all three tennis events (along with her singles and doubles medals in Sydney 2000).

“It is what you are hoping for and I gotta be honest I was secretly hoping to be in this position when we both got in,” Venus said. “I think we both were, if we admitted it.

“We kept saying we don’t know what’s going to happen, we’ve never played together, but then the thought of ‘Oh my God this just happened’. I don’t know, it’s so surreal.”

They’ll take on fellow Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock in the final after the pair edged past the Czech duo of Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stepanek, 6-4, 7-6(3).

When Monica Puig clinched the gold medal for Puerto Rico at the Olympic tennis event, her historic win was felt around the world. Even her social media rallying cry, #PicaPower, became a worldwide trending topic after she took the first set and for hours afterwards.

Here’s the best moments from Twitter as the world celebrated the Puerto Rican’s incredible victory.

First up, here’s how they lived the final moments of the match in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, Puig’s birthplace.

Downtown, Hato Rey @MonicaAce93 ???? #PicaPower pic.twitter.com/7ZTStNeXA6

— Juan Mata (@juanitoesnu) August 13, 2016

Puig even got a personal congratulations from Alejandro Javier García Padilla, the governor of Puerto Rico.

¡Oro! ¡Muchas gracias @monicaace93! #PicaPower #Rio2016 #PUR #PUR #PUR pic.twitter.com/m9teWBac5P

— Alejandro (@agarciapadilla) August 13, 2016

 The party wasn’t contained to the island, though, as dozens of Puerto Rican celebs around the world – everyone from Ricky Martin to Lin-Manuel Mirana – and superstar athletes like baseball star Yasiel Puig, weighed in on the history-making achievement.

.@MonicaAce93 estamos contigo Boricua #PicaPower #PUR

— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) August 13, 2016

Hoy, sin duda alguna, mi Puerto Rico es la isla más feliz del mundo. #GRACIASMONICA ???? @MonicaAce93 #PUR

— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) August 13, 2016

Que orgullo !! Nuestra primera medalla de oro. Felicidades a mi Boricua @MonicaAce93 #PicaPower #OlimpiadeRio2016 #puñeta ??????

— Amaury Nolasco (@amaurynolasco) August 13, 2016

LET'S GO PUIG ! Get that #Gold?Keep it in the family ? @MonicaAce93 ??#Rio2016 #PuigforGold #PuertoRico #Olympics pic.twitter.com/aOT3zPq4Fh

— Yasiel Puig (@YasielPuig) August 13, 2016

Happy for @MonicaAce93 She's the best #VivaPuig #GoldenPuig pic.twitter.com/qO5KATRsHM

— Yasiel Puig (@YasielPuig) August 13, 2016

GANAMOS!!! ??? PRIMERA MEDALLA DE ORO PARA PUERTO RICO! ORGULLOSO DE @MonicaAce93 #MonicaPuig #PicaPower #TeamLeJuan pic.twitter.com/dba2EY0hHZ

— LeJuan James (@LeJuan__James) August 13, 2016

Lin-Manuel Miranda, writer of the Broadway hit ‘Hamilton,’ even live-tweeted the final moments.

PUIIIIIIIIIG

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) August 13, 2016

?? Pride level right now: A coquí singing Preciosa

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) August 13, 2016

FIRST GOLD FOR ??
Everyone at Casa Miranda is bawling.
PA'LANTE @MonicaAce93!!!!!

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) August 13, 2016

?? pic.twitter.com/oJastw7EYB

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) August 13, 2016

Her big win also moved the tennis world, as Puig’s peers on the WTA and beyond took to Twitter to send the 21-year-old their congratulations.

Here’s what the players and legends had to say:

Congratulations @MonicaAce93 for this amazing achievement?✨And congrats to @AngeliqueKerber @Petra_Kvitova ??????History made?

— Elena Vesnina (@EVesnina001) August 14, 2016

So many feels! Mainly tears! ?? Great job @MonicaAce93 ! https://t.co/Z61hlln8ph

— Irina Falconi (@IrinaFalconi) August 13, 2016

Not many tennis matches make me teary but that one certainly did ??amazing tennis @MonicaAce93 so well deserved ?? #rio2016 #GoldMedalMoment

— caseydellacqua (@caseydellacqua) August 13, 2016

And I am not stunned easily!!!! Congrats to @MonicaAce93 and Coach Todero on a Cinderella story @Rio2016_en

— Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) August 13, 2016

That was an insane performance from @MonicaAce93!! Puerto Rico's first Gold medal in ANY sport. Brilliant! #MonicaPuig #Rio2016#tennis

— Anne Keothavong (@annekeothavong) August 13, 2016

@MonicaAce93 incredible!!!! You are a superstar!!!actually you have a gold medal ????? #PicaPower so so happy for you

— Jarmila Wolfe (@tennis_jarkag) August 13, 2016

@MonicaAce93 congratulations! Brought tears to my eyes… Congrats to @AngeliqueKerber for an other great achievement this year.

— Kim Clijsters (@Clijsterskim) August 13, 2016

MONICA!!!! So happy for you chica @MonicaAce93 ❤️??????? couldn't have happened to a nicer girl! ?

— Heather Watson (@HeatherWatson92) August 13, 2016

@MonicaAce93 well done. You showed that nothing is impossible as long as you believe. So deserved! #congratsgirl

— Kirsten Flipkens (@FlipperKF) August 13, 2016

Monica Puig of Puerto Rico wins the gold in tennis- wow- nobody saw that coming-perhaps not even Monica herself-:)-congrats!!!!

— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) August 13, 2016

Congratulations @MonicaAce93 on winning Puerto Rico's first ever Gold Medal. Hope it's life changing for you

— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) August 14, 2016

You gave me goosebumps @MonicaAce93 !! Congratulations to you and your team on an unreal week ?? ! #Gold pic.twitter.com/sIam3Pp2xr

— Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) August 14, 2016