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Vote: July Breakthrough Of The Month

Vote: July Breakthrough Of The Month

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BOTM

July was defined by four breakthrough players who brought some impressive performances on and off the court. Which one soared the highest?

Have a look at the nominees for July Breakthrough Performance of the Month and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, August 5.

July 2016 WTA Breakthrough Performance of the Month Finalists:


Johanna Konta: The British No.1 continued her breakthrough season at the Bank of the West Classic, winning her first title with an epic three-set win over former World No.1 Venus Williams. Konta’s win over Venus was her second of 2016, and put her in shouting distance of becoming the first British woman to reach the Top 10 since Jo Durie in 1984. Playing at the Rogers Cup, Konta reached the quarterfinals and fell one match shy of that Top 10 debut, but is nonetheless at a career-high ranking of No.13 following a strong summer.

Viktorija Golubic: Golubic rang in the inaugural Ladies Championship Gstaad with a home winner in Switzerland. Knocking out French Open semifinalist Kiki Bertens in three sets, Golubic not only captured her first title but also made her Top 100 debut. 

Laura Siegemund: The German had a full circle moment at the Ericsson Open in Bastad. Six years after making her WTA main draw debut in Sweden, Siegemund capped a successful clay court season with her first title in Bastad, defeating Czech youngster Katerina Siniakova in straight sets.

Kristina Kucova: Kucova became the first qualifier to reach the semifinals of the Rogers Cup since Zi Yan in 2007, turning the tables on Canada’s own Eugenie Bouchard and halting Johanna Konta’s Top 10 dream en route to the final four. A former US Open girl’s singles champion, Kucova at long last made her Top 100 debut.


2016 Winners:

January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko

March: Nicole Gibbs

April: Cagla Buyukakcay

May: Kiki Bertens

June: Elena Vesnina

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

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Champions Corner: Halep

Champions Corner: Halep

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MONTRÉAL, Canada – It wasn’t a “Perfect 10”. But it was close!

Simona Halep won her 10th consecutive match and her second straight title on Sunday, beating Madison Keys, 7-6(2), 6-3, to win the Rogers Cup. It capped off a strong week for the Romanian, who became the first woman since Martina Hingis in 2000 to make the final of both the singles and doubles at the Rogers Cup  – Halep and her partner Monica Niculescu lost to Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.

The title run in Montréal  moves Halep up to No.3 in both the rankings and the Road to Singapore, where she has qualified the last two years. But perhaps the most impressive takeaway from Halep’s week was her ability to run through gauntlet of top players, losing just two sets all week. She beat No.2 Angelique Kerber, No.9 Madison Keys, No.10 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No.17 Karolina Pliskova and Daria Gavrilova. That’s not an easy path to any title.

Equally impressive was Halep’s ability to turn matches around. Though she lost just two sets, she went through stretches where she looked on the verge of coming undone mentally. Against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals she came out nervous and fell behind 0-4 quickly. She went on to win the next two sets 6-1, 6-1. Against Kerber she lost six consecutive games after building a commanding lead. She would win the last six games to close the match.

The key for the turnarounds? A broader perspective. That’s something her coach Darren Cahill preached throughout the week during their increasingly rare coaching timeouts.

“Actually when he says I have to look at the big picture, it makes me more relaxed and I can easily do my job on court…. The on-court coaching [timeouts] were a little bit tough. I had many emotions. I was nervous when I spoke. I was too negative I think these two days. But he said he understands because I’m tired. So all good.

“But, yeah, it helps me when he’s more relaxed than me and he just shows me that I have a good game and it’s good if I practice everything for the future, not just for the tournament. So it’s good.”

Simona Halep

Fighting through the fatigue was a big win for Halep. Injury and illness derailed the start of her season and the first six months of the season were about rebuilding her strength, fitness, and endurance to where they should have been in January. Playing both singles and doubles exhausted in Montréal, but she battled through it.

“In the morning, I moved the practice,” Halep said after the final. “I had at 11:00 and I moved it at 12:00 because I couldn’t move. I said it’s good to practice just before the match, to be warm, to go on court and see how I can be.

“But I think doubles help me to exercise my return and also the serve. So I take it everything like positive things and just enjoying. Today was just in my mind that is the last match of the tournament and I have to leave everything on court.”

WTA Insider sat down with Halep after the final to recap her winning week in Montréal.

WTA Insider: What does this week mean to you?
Halep: It means a lot because it’s a big tournament, and it’s my second final in a row here. The first one, I couldn’t finish it; I was very sick and I had to stop. But here, I also had nice support from the crowd, and that makes it more special. It’s one of my biggest tournaments that I’ve won, so it’s nice. I want just to enjoy the moment, even if I’m tired! I want to enjoy it.

WTA Insider: You played singles and doubles this week. How different did that make your entire tournament?
Halep: It was very different because I’m not used to playing doubles. I got a little bit tired in the end. But it also helped me to play some doubles matches because I practiced the return, the serve. That helped me a lot in singles; I had tough opponents there. It’s been a great week in both singles and doubles. I am dead, but I have a few days break, and I will be fresh again for Cincinnati.

WTA Insider: What’s it like playing doubles with Monica?
Halep: It’s not easy because she’s very motivated for every ball, and I’d get tired a little bit. But it’s nice because we had a lot of fun and she knows doubles; she’s into it all the time, every second. It’s been good, and hopefully we will play together at one tournament or another.

Simona Halep

WTA Insider: Talking about your game, what is the thing you’re most pleased with this week?
Halep: The serve, first of all. Then, I hit the balls pretty strong and pretty good. I had good angles, and I moved really well. I ran, like a marathon.

WTA Insider: Do you think that’s the best you’ve moved all year?
Halep: Yes, because I have the best feeling from my body now. Strong legs, and I don’t get tired during the matches, so that’s a big plus. I think everything went very well for me this week, and I improved a lot in every single part of my game.

WTA Insider: You played a lot of different types of players – a big hitter like Madison, athletes like Kerber and Kuznetsova – which match made you most proud to win?
Halep: I think the most difficult match was today with Madison, because you don’t get a rhythm. You’ll get some winners where you can’t even see the ball, let alone touch it. It was an unpredictable match, where I didn’t know what to expect point by point. So that makes more stress for me when I’m not sure what I have to do next point. I’m a person that likes to have it in my mind what I have to do. The match with Kerber was also tough, because I had to run, but every match was difficult in one way or another. But I had good wins, and tough opponents, so it makes it more special and tougher.

WTA Insider: Why do you get mad at yourself when you might be leading in the score, and it doesn’t seem like a moment when you should be negative?
Halep: My physio Dragos is new and he doesn’t know tennis very well. He asked Darren during the match where I had a set and 5-0, ‘Why is Simona angry at this moment?’ I don’t know how to answer, because it happens. It’s coming from inside where I get frustrated because I’ve missed a ball. I always want perfection. I know that doesn’t exist, but I’m looking for it a lot anyway. I don’t know if I’ll ever find out why I do this, but if I do, I will change it because I really want to change this and be more patient and positive with myself.

Simona Halep

WTA Insider: Has your opinion or thought process when it comes to the US Open Series changed over time?
Halep: I think I play better tennis on hardcourts here at the US Open Series because the courts are faster and I started to play well on this surface. I feel more confident because I had a great result last year at all the tournaments, so I’m looking forward to the next tournament because I feel confident that I can win some more matches. I just have to be careful with my body, to take a rest and recover, and then to work again.

WTA Insider: With the Olympics this year there is now a two week break. Is it weird to have a two-week break before the next event? Your schedules are usually so regimented.
Halep: Every year is usually the same, so it’s a bit weird, but it’s good to have an extra week, to be honest. I have time to recover, and take a break. I didn’t have one after Wimbledon because I played at home, so that was a bit tough. Something changed, so we just have to adjust, and take it like it is and think positive things and be relaxed.

WTA Insider: Having had a slow start because of the injuries you had, you’ve been on the outside or on the bubble of the RTS. How much is qualifying for the WTA Finals a goal for you?
Halep: It’s goal to go to Singapore every year. I knew at the beginning of the year, or even the first half of the year, that it was going to be tough to qualify again. But now I think I’m close. It’s going to be a new experience there. Hopefully I can do better than last year. I have great memories from 2014. I like the court there, and the atmosphere. I just have to do my job until Singapore and then go there, because it’s one of the goals every player has.

WTA Insider: This week in Montréal, have you had any special routines throughout the week?
Halep: I had the same breakfast every morning for the 10 days at the hotel. Scrambled eggs and a chocolate croissant. At lunch, plain pasta with chicken – very boring. In the evening, I’d have a fish I don’t normally eat, but this week I had it every day. Cheesecake for dessert every night, and that worked pretty well.

WTA Insider: I guess playing doubles means you could afford a few extra calories.
Halep: I have dessert every day, never miss a day. It makes me feel better.

Simona Halep

WTA Insider: Good to know that you can eat cheesecake and chocolate croissants and still win a Premier tournament.
Halep: That’s good!

WTA Insider: Looking forward, do you know what you plans are between now and Cincinnati?
Halep: I will stay in the US to practice. I just have to enjoy myself a little bit; I’m tired and need more energy to go ahead to the next tournament. I’m not going home because it’s too far and I don’t want to chance having jetlag. It’ll be a long trip for me, but it’s going to be nice because I’m enjoying my time more now in the US.

WTA Insider: You said in your press conference that you’ll probably have three or four days off, depending on how good of a negotiator you are.
Halep: I am pretty good! I got four already! Today, Darren said I could even take five, but four is ok (laughs).

WTA Insider: So if Simona Halep has four days off…
Halep: Sleeping the first two days, and then to the spa for beauty salon and nails, everything. I like to spend hours there. Then I will go visit something in the city where I’ll be and then shopping, because I promised myself that the doubles prize money will go towards shopping. I have enough, and it’ll take me more days now (laughs).

Hear more from Halep in the latest episode of the WTA Insider Podcast:

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Vandeweghe Olympic Blog: Episode 1

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

CoCo Vandeweghe is in Rio with Team USA – go behind the scenes of their Opening Ceremony outfit fittings with Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and more!

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Insider Podcast: Sweet Win For Simona

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MONTRÉAL, Canada – Simona Halep capped off a strong week in Canada by winning her third title of the season, beating Madison Keys, 7-6(2), 6-3, to win the Rogers Cup. Her win over Keys extended her current win streak to 10 matches and moves her up to No.3 in both the rankings and the Road To Singapore leaderboard.

Hear from Halep as she discusses her week in Montreal, her plans for the upcoming weeks without the Olympics, and why she never, ever, skips a good dessert.

On doing double duty: “It was very different because I’m not used to playing doubles. I got a little bit tired in the end. But it also helped me to play some doubles matches because I practiced the return, the serve. That helped me a lot in singles; I had tough opponents there. It’s been a great week in both singles and doubles. I am dead, but I have a few days break, and I will be fresh against for Cincinnati.”

On managing frustration on court: “My physio Dragos is new and he doesn’t know tennis very well. He asked Darren during the match where I had a set and 5-0, ‘Why is Simona angry at this moment?’ I don’t know how to answer, because it happens. It’s coming from inside where I get frustrated because I’ve missed a ball. I always want perfection; I know that doesn’t exist, but I’m looking for it a lot anyway. I don’t know if I’ll ever find out why I do this, but if I do, I will change it because I really want to change this and be more patient and positive with myself.”

On the summer hardcourts: “I think I play better tennis on hardcourts here at the US Open Series because the courts are faster and I started to play well on this surface. I feel more confident because I had a great result last year at all the tournaments, so I’m looking forward to the next tournament because I feel confident that I can win some more matches. I just have to be careful with my body, to take a rest and recover, and then to work again.”

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn or on any podcast app of your choice to ensure you never miss an episode when they go live. Reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.

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Olympic Memories: Atlanta

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Twelve years after tennis was relaunched as an exhibition event during the 1984 Los Angeles Games, the sport returned stateside for the centenary Games in Atlanta…

Atlanta, United States, 1996
Stone Mountain Tennis Center
Hardcourt

Now appearing in its third consecutive Games, tennis was beginning to come of age as an Olympic sport by the time it arrived in Atlanta. And by the time the flame had died out above the Centennial Stadium, one of the game’s bright young things had completed her own rite of passage.

Aside from an injured Steffi Graf, all the big names were present in Atlanta. America’s Monica Seles topped the seeds and after a stellar year was many people’s favorite for gold at the recently completed Stone Mountain Tennis Center.

However, by the time the business end of the tournament had arrived, it was another American who was podium bound and winning the hearts of the American public.

Up until then, Lindsay Davenport was known as the big-hitting Californian who had struggled to convert her prodigious talent into titles that mattered. Still just 20 by the time the Games rolled around, Davenport had been a near-permanent fixture in the Top 10 for two years, but still only had a handful of minor titles and Slam quarterfinals to show for her efforts.

Yet at an Olympics where so many of her compatriots were shining on the track and in the pool, Davenport couldn’t help but be inspired, producing some of the best tennis of her career to defeat Anke Huber, Iva Majoli and Mary Joe Fernandez to reach the final.

“For the last two weeks, I’ve been hearing “The Star-Spangled Banner” so much for the other athletes,” Davenport said after defeating Fernández. “And only last night did I really think I could hear it for myself.

“I realized that actually when Michael Johnson was on the stand, and Dan O’Brien. I thought, ‘I want to hear that song so badly now.'”

And hear it she did.

Taking on the tour’s toughest competitor in Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, the old Davenport may have succumbed to the pressure. The Atlanta version came out fighting like a lion.

With neither player able to break serve, the first set went to the tie-break. Davenport moved ahead, 6-4, only to let Sánchez-Vicario back into it with a backhand that sailed wide and a lob that drifted long.

The American responded with a strong serve and deep volley to go back ahead before taking the set with a touch of good fortune when a backhand drive hit the tape and trickled over.

From here there was no looking back; Davenport secured two early service breaks in the second and soon after was serving out for an emotional 7-6(6), 6-2 win.

“This means everything for me,” Davenport said. “No matter what else happens in my life, I’ll always be a gold medalist.”

——

Olympic Memories: Barcelona
Olympic Memories: Seoul

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WTA Stars Ready For Rio

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – The tennis Olympians are making their way to Rio for next week’s Summer Olympic Games. While first ball won’t be hit until Saturday, the WTA stars are arriving early to acclimate to their new and exciting surroundings and have the chance to explore the city.

Check out what some of your favorite players have to say about their Rio arrival on Twitter:

Kiki Bertens earned her spot onto her country’s Olympic team after her inspiring run to the French Open semifinals, but the Dutch powerhouse still has some packing to do…

Galina Voskoboeva will headline the Kazakh team in both singles and doubles, and is giving fans an in-depth – and bilingual! – look into the Rio experience on her official Facebook page:

The Olympics won’t be complete without Svetlana Kuznetsova, but the Russian admitted to having some difficulty securing a flight from the Rogers Cup – where the two-time Grand Slam champion reached the quarterfinals – but appears to have sorted out her travel issues after a short stay in New York City:

UPDATE: Kuznetsova is on the ground with Team Russia in Rio!

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Ranking Watch: Halep Climbs North

Ranking Watch: Halep Climbs North

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Simona Halep was ranked as low as No.7 after lingering Achilles and nasal issues hijacked the first three months of the season, but the Romanian is back to her best ranking in nearly six months, up to No.3 on both the WTA rankings and the Road to Singapore leaderboard thanks to her Rogers Cup victory.

“Here I won matches with top players,” Halep said after winning her 10th straight match, having come to the Rogers Cup with a title in Bucharest. “That makes me more happy and relaxed that I have a good level of tennis in this moment.”

One off from a career-high ranking of No.2 Halep aims for a strong second half of the season, one that will help her qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global for a third straight season.

“It’s a goal to go to Singapore every year,” she told WTA Insider in the latest Champions Corner. “I have great memories from [reaching the final] in 2014. I like the court there, and the atmosphere. I just have to do my job until Singapore.”

Madison Keys also made a big leap thanks to her runner-up finish in Montréal, returning to the Top 10 at No.9 and moving back into the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.

Who else made gains after a thrilling week up north?

Svetlana Kuznetsova (+1, No.11 to No.10): The Russian veteran moved back into the Top 10 after reaching the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup, pushing Halep to three sets.

Johanna Konta (+1, No.14 to No.13): Konta fell one match shy of making her Top 10 debut, but still had a solid week in Montréal before falling to Cinderella story Kristina Kucova.

Kristina Kucova (+44, No.121 to No.77): Speaking of Kucova, the former junior US Open champion made her long-awaited Top 100 debut, knocking out Carla Suárez Navarro, Eugenie Bouchard, and Konta before the qualifier ran out of gas against Keys in the semifinals. Kucova became the first qualifier to make it that far at the Rogers Cup since surprise semifinalist Zi Yan in 2007.

Daria Kasatkina (+6, No.33 to No.27): The teenaged phenom continued her meteoric rise in Montréal, reaching the last eight and hitting a new career-high ranking.

Check out the latest Top 8 line-up on the Road to Singapore leaderboard:

RTS Leaderboard

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