Montréal: Muguruza Interview
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza before her opening round match at the Rogers Cup.
An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza before her opening round match at the Rogers Cup.
ZHUHAI, China – Sunday marked 100 days until the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, and the tournament rang in the start of an exciting countdown with the help of former World No.1 and Tournament Ambassador, Stefani Graf.
Graf took the role back in May, and couldn’t be more ready to help the WTA stars “Shine in Zhuhai” in what will be the final event of the 2016 season.
Check out the best photos from the event, which feature Tournament Director Peter Johnson unveiling Graf’s video announcement:
Photos courtesy of the WTA.
An interview with Roberta Vinci before her opening round match at the Rogers Cup.
Twelve months ago, Johanna Konta took the first steps on a journey up the tennis ladder that shows no sign of ending any time soon. A 16-match winning run, which began at a lowly ITF Circuit event in Granby, Canada, sent the Briton skyrocketing up the rankings and, more importantly, imbued her with a sense of belonging.
This past weekend, Konta proved once more that her place at tennis’ top table is very much warranted, outplaying Venus Williams in the final of the Bank of the West Classic to take home her maiden career title.
The result bumps Konta several quite significant places up the rankings from No.18 to 14. Not only is Konta now highly likely to be among the leading 16 seeds for the US Open, she is also the first British player since Jo Durie in October 1984 to be ranked inside the Top 15.
While her plentiful points haul from last summer means a further rise is no foregone conclusion, on current form few would put deep runs in Montréal, Cincinnati or the US Open beyond the 25-year-old. Konta currently lies 176 points behind 10th-ranked Dominika Cibulkova and a good showing at any of the summer hardcourt events could well see her become the fourth Brit (after Virginia Wade, Sue Barker and Durie) to crack the Top 10.
Konta, though, is not player to make a significant move last week.
Dominika Cibulkova (+2, No.12 to No.10): One of Konta’s victims in Stanford was the in-form and newlywed Cibulkova. The semifinal defeat, though, failed to end her summer honeymoon – the 185 points gained confirming a return to the Top 10 for the first time since January 2015.
Laura Siegemund (+8, No.40 to No.32): Not so long ago Laura Siegemund and her fellow German Angelique Kerber existed in very different worlds on tour. Now, following a title run in Bastad that pushed her up to No.32 in the rankings, Siegemund could very well be seeded alongside her compatriot at the upcoming US Open.
Yanina Wickmayer (+8, No.44 to No.36): Yanina Wickmayer was hot in Washington DC. Literally. It was hard not to be with temperatures in the capital threatening 100°F. However, Wickmayer wisely kept her time on court to a minimum, dropping just one set en route to her fifth career title. She is now at her highest ranking since April 2013.
Alison Riske (+20, No.78 to No.58): While Riske was unable to complete her rousing comeback to defeat Venus in the Stanford semifinals, victories over seeds Varvara Lepchenko and CoCo Vandeweghe ensured the tournament remained a highly encouraging one. She is now closing in on returning to the Top 50 for the first time since last September.
Katerina Siniakova (+13, No.92 to No.79): Former junior No.2 Katerina Siniakova’s progress up the senior ranks has come in fits and starts. In Bastad, the Czech took a significant step in the shape of a maiden WTA final, a result that edged her 13 places closer to a Top 50 debut.
An interview with Angelique Kerber before her opening round match at the Rogers Cup.
Playing at her home tournament in Montréal, Eugenie Bouchard led a USANA workout this weekend at the Rogers Cup.
An interview with Barbora Strycova after her win in the first round of the Rogers Cup.
The 2016 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open and continued in Stanford at the Bank of the West Classic, where every ace hit by a WTA player at Premier-level events translates into a donation to the USANA True Health Foundation, whose mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those who are suffering or in need around the world.
For every ace hit by any player the WTA donates $5, and for every ace hit by a USANA Brand Ambassador, it’s $10.
USANA Brand Ambassadors Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic, Madison Keys, Monica Puig, Sloane Stephens, Zheng Saisai, Alizé Cornet and Caroline Wozniacki hit six of the 160 aces at Stanford – raising a grand total of $830 throughout the week. Cornet hit two aces.
Read more about the campaign here and see below to find out who’s hit the most aces so far!
#AcesForHumanity Fan Giveaway
It’s simple: before each WTA Premier tournament guess how many total aces will be hit.
Next up is the Rogers Cup in Montréal. Last year there was a total of 245 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit this year.
How To Enter:
• Follow @WTA and @USANAFoundation on Twitter and before each WTA Premier tournament tweet the number of aces you predict will be hit during the whole tournament (Singles, Main Draw)
• Include the hashtag #AcesForHumanity
• Eastbourne deadline is July 26 at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced August 1st
Aces For Humanity is a joint WTA and USANA initiative that benefits the USANA True Health Foundation, which provides critical human necessities to those in suffering or in need around the globe.
For full rules on how to enter, click here.
An interview with Petra Kvitova after her win in the first round of the Rogers Cup.
STANFORD, CA, USA – We Konta believe it!
Johanna Konta joined the winner’s circle, winning her first WTA title at the Bank of the West Classic. And she did in impressive fashion. To win the title, Konta knocked off the top two seeds in Dominika Cibulkova and Venus Williams and she’ll move to No.14 on Monday.
Hear Jo talk about her meteoric rise over the last 12 months — she was ranked No.126(!) this time last year — and her mouth-watering plans to celebrate her career milestone.
(Spoiler alert: It will be animal style.)
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