The Gift That Left Sloane Speechless
Relive the moment that left Sloane Stephens speechless on the latest episode of Dubai Duty Free Full of Surprises.
Relive the moment that left Sloane Stephens speechless on the latest episode of Dubai Duty Free Full of Surprises.
On the latest episode of Dubai Duty Free Full of Surprises see Sloane Stephens’ rendered speechless at a bumper prize ceremony following her recent Volvo Car Open victory.
Spanish player Lara Arruabarrena is well known for her skills and touch on clay courts, but earlier this week she may have hit her best shot ever.
While trying out some trick shots and skills with the tennis ball at the Mutua Madrid Open, Arruabarrena’s coach captured a soccer-inspired trick serve that’s lighting up social media.
We’ll let you see it here for yourself:
Just another normal day practising some serves ? pic.twitter.com/rJ7tjXlchI
— Lara Arruabarrena (@laraarrua) April 25, 2016
We caught up with Arruabarrena when she arrived in Madrid this morning.
“I just did it for fun,” she told wtatennis.com. “I had never done such a thing, you know, first touching the ball with my foot to hit a serve.”
A friend of Arruabarrena’s saw the trick on Instagram and dared her try it out on the practice court.
“Can you imagine I did this in a match? I don´t think I can,” she laughed. “Maybe during the warm up.”
“Just another new way of practicing some serves.”
Arruabarrena’s trick serve might be impressive, but is it the best you’ve ever seen?
After all, earlier this year Yulia Putintseva hit a serve at the BNP Paribas Open that could rival Arruabarrena’s. Check it out:
New way to serve ??? pic.twitter.com/cwSNDtxmy5
— Yulia Putintseva (@Yulka1995P) March 17, 2016
And let’s not forget Elina Svitolina’s serve of the year at the 2014 China Open:
So what’s the verdict? Who hit the best trick serve? Vote here to have your say!
Madison Brengle had to borrow a racquet to take the WTA Frame Challenge, and even she was surprised at how well she did. Was it enough to take the lead? Find out here…
This weekend, the WTA’s finest will descend on the Spanish capital to battle it out for one of the most prestigious titles on the tennis calendar, the Mutua Madrid Open.
Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez Navarro will lead the Spanish challenge, knowing that success on home soil will earn them a place in the hearts of their compatriots forever. Even in victory, though, both will still have a long way to go if they are to match the feats of Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario.
Affectionately known as the Barcelona Bumblebee, Sánchez-Vicario lived up to her moniker, buzzing the width and breadth of the court in the dogged pursuit of tennis balls, none seeming too distant to be deemed a lost cause. Her unquenchable thirst for the fight brought her four majors during a 17-year career, spent almost exclusively at the pinnacle of the game.
In the latest episode of CNN Open Court, Sánchez-Vicario sat down with Pat Cash to discuss Spanish tennis, her legendary career and that nickname.
These WTA stars definitely know each other’s game, but can they spell each other’s name? Find out if your favorite players passed the WTA Spelling Quiz!
Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia take the Parking Challenge at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Lucie Safarova returned to winning ways by battling past Mariana Duque-Mariño at the J&T Banka Prague Open on Tuesday afternoon.
Watch live action from Prague & Rabat this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Since returning from the bacterial infection that blighted the end of her 2015 campaign and forced her to skip the Australian Open, Safarova has found wins hard to come by. In fact, the Czech had fallen at the first hurdle at all five tournaments since making her comeback.
When she dropped the opening set to Duque-Mariño, another disappointment looked on the cards. However, perhaps buoyed by the home crowd, the No.2 seed fought back to complete a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory in a fraction over two hours.
“I’m so happy because this is my first win this year in singles and obviously it means a lot,” Safarova said. “I was trying to be positive after coming back from this long sickness, but obviously it’s about the wins. That’s why I was so excited.”
Having dropped the first set, Safarova began her comeback midway through the second, a sliding drop shot in response to a net cord bringing the decisive break. She carried this momentum into the decider, breaking once more when Duque-Mariño sent a tired backhand long. The Colombian had her chances to get back into the contest, seeing several chances to draw level slip by in the sixth game as a relieved Safarova held on.
“I fought so hard and it wasn’t easy – I lost the first set but came back well in the second and played really well in the third,” Safarova added. “I hope to continue to play well here because the crowd was fantastic. It’s so nice to play in front of your home crowd and hopefully I can continue to do so for some more matches.”
Fellow Czech Lucie Hradecka is next up after she saw off doubles partner Andrea Hlavackova, 6-4, 6-1.
Victories for Barbora Krejcikova, Barbora Strycova and 2015 champion Karolina Pliskova provided further cheer for the locals on another chilly day. Pliskova began the defense of her title with a straightforward 6-, 6-3 win over Stefanie Voegele, while Strycova saw off Olga Govortsova, 6-3, 7-5, and lucky loser Krejcikova made the most of her second chance by upsetting No.7 seed Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-2.
Angelique Kerber takes the Parking Challenge at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
Angelique Kerber’s glorious homecoming in Stuttgart provided an emphatic answer to any lingering questions over her ability to wear the mantle of Grand Slam champion.
And strong showings on the clay over the coming weeks, at two of the calendar’s most prestigious stop offs, will further underline her status among the game’s elite, not to mention her championship credentials for the campaign’s second major, Roland Garros.
On the face of it, Kerber’s counterpunching game is ideally suited to clay, but surprisingly it was not until last April that she first lifted a WTA title on the surface. This triumph in Charleston was swiftly followed by another in Stuttgart, and her defense of this title rightly pushes her to the forefront of the contenders for the other major honors.
Up first is the Premier Mandatory Mutua Madrid Open. Staged at the Caja Mágica, the event’s recent honor roll is a Who’s Who of the game’s elite, with Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova leading the way.
Yet it is another name that arguably starts as favorite. While Kerber sits pretty atop the Road To Singapore leaderboard, Victoria Azarenka can lay claim to being the season’s most consistent performer.
The Belarusian, a WTA Finales ever-present between 2009 and 2013, looks well set to secure her return after a trophy-laden couple of months. Titles in Brisbane, Indian Wells and Miami have sent Azarenka shooting up the leaderboard, trailing Kerber now by fewer than 500 points.
With 1,000 up for grabs in Madrid, and a further 900 at the following week’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia, in Rome, there is ample opportunity for the early pacesetters to forge further ahead or get sucked back into the pack.
Among those eager to reel them in is Agnieszka Radwanska. By her own admission the Pole has never taken to clay, although a semifinal run in Stuttgart suggests that her fortunes on the surface may be about to change.
One player who is no stranger to success at this time of year is reigning Roland Garros champion Serena Williams. By her own very high standards, it has been a slightly disappointing start to the year for WIlliams, and her bid for silverware in the Spanish and Italian capitals is sure to be one of the more captivating storylines.
Click here to see the full Road To Singapore leaderboard standings heading into Madrid.