Tennis News

Every week on wtatennis.com we’ll bring you 10 Things To Know about the week ahead – who’s playing, where and more. This week the Road To Singapore goes through a familiar stop off – and a brand new one.

1) Old and new.
The preparation for Wimbledon intensifies this week, with tournaments old an new on the calendar – the Aegon Classic Birmingham and the Mallorca Open. Birmingham has been a fixture of the grass court season since 1982. The Mallorca Open, on the other hand, is in its very first year.

2) The No.1 seed is making her Birmingham return.
Agnieszka Radwanska, the World No.3, is the No.1 seed this week. Traditionally, the Pole has elected not to play this week – in fact the only time she has ventured to Britain’s second city came in 2007 when she lost to Elena Likhovtseva in the second round.

3) And she has been handed a tricky start.
Saturday’s draw was not kind to Radwanska, pairing her with recently crowned ‘s-Hertogenbosch champion CoCo Vandeweghe. It was not the only eye-catching first-round match-up either: two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova takes on Lucie Safarova; Carla Suárez Navarro meets Elina Svitolina; and Karolina Pliskova faces Barbora Strycova.

4) The defending champion is back and ready to defend.
Last year Angelique Kerber won this event after coming out on top in a memorable final with Karolina Pliskova. It was also the first WTA title of her career on grass – the eight other titles have come on hardcourts or clay.

5) Kerber is trying to successfully defend a WTA title for the second time.
If she repeats at the Aegon Classic Birmingham this year, it will be Kerber’s second successful WTA title defense. The first also came this year, at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

6) Can a home favorite make a statement on grass?
Simona Halep’s withdrawal bumped British No.1 Johanna Konta into the final seeded slot. She opens up against Misaki Doi, before a potential second-round clash with former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki. Heather Watson, Naomi Broady and Tara Moore are also in the draw, facing Camila Giorgi, Daria Gavrilova and a qualifier, respectively.

7) Or is the stage set for one of the WTA’s young pretenders?
The WTA’s highest-ranked teenager Belinda Bencic enjoyed a sparkling grass court campaign 12 months ago, reaching the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and lifting the title in Eastbourne. Seeded No.4 this time, the Swiss has only recently recovered from a back injury and looking a tad rusty on her return in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Should she falter there are several other young guns capable of making a mark, including Madison Keys, Gavrilova and former Wimbledon junior champion Jelena Ostapenko.

8) Homecoming queen.
Garbiñe Muguruza is the star attraction at the inaugural Mallorca Open, where she will compete in her first match since being crowned Roland Garros champion.

9) Seamless transition?
The switch from clay to grass has not proved a problem in the past for Muguruza. Last year she followed up  quarterfinal appearance in Paris by reaching the Wimbledon final. She will expect to improve on her preparations, though – in 2015 she won a combined total of one match in Birmingham and Eastbourne.

10) Keeping good company.
Muguruza will be wary of another early exit after being paired with former Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens in the first round. There is danger lurking elsewhere in the draw, too, in the shape of fellow seeds Eugenie Bouchard, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Kristina Mladenovic.

NOTTINGHAM, England – Top seed Karolina Pliskova overcame Alison Riske in a rain-affected Aegon Open Nottingham final on Sunday to capture her fifth WTA title.

Afternoon showers pushed the start of play back a couple of hours, at one point even raising the possibility of a Monday final. When the clouds did eventually clear, Pliskova held her nerve to triumph 7-6(8), 7-5, in a fraction under two hours.

Just as she had in her quarterfinal victory over Ashleigh Barty, Pliskova was forced to come from set points down in the opening set tie-break, a feat that gave her added satisfaction.

“It feels good to win, especially after all those tie-breaks this week. All of those I was set point down, so I’m really happy that I made it and that I have the trophy in my hands,” Pliskova said. “Today there were parts of the match when I was better and parts when she was.

“I really needed my serve today and some aces got me out of some important moments. She has a great game on grass so I needed to be at my best today to get the win.”

Early on Pliskova threatened to run away with the contest, moving swiftly into a 3-1 lead. However, Riske, who went into the final on a nine-match winning streak having claimed the ITF Circuit title in Eastbourne last week, was never likely to go quietly.

Indeed, after breaking back in the sixth game she looked the more likely winner of the opening set, carving out three sets points at 4-5, then another three during a dramatic tie-break. The second set was equally frustrating for the American, who served for it at 5-4, only to see Pliskova reel off the final three games, completing her Houdini-esque escape with a wonderful crosscourt pass.

Not many better ways to seal a title! @KaPliskova hits a stunning pass to seal the #AegonOpen Nottingham title!https://t.co/ONEAghEKvq

— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) 12 June 2016

The Czech now makes the short trip west to further fine-tune her Wimbledon preparation at the Aegon Classic Birmingham. “It’s been a great week for me, I really didn’t count on having such early success on the grass so I am feeling good ahead of Wimbledon,” she added.

“I am just happy with the matches I have played, I have got some hours on the grass now and I can go to Birmingham and even if I don’t do anything there I have some matches under my belt ahead of Wimbledon.”

In the doubles final Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai got the better of No.4 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Yang Zhaoxuan, 7-5, 3-6, 10-7.

‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands – CoCo Vandeweghe overcame Kristina Mladenovic and the worst of the Dutch weather to recapture the Ricoh Open on Sunday afternoon.

Watch live action from ‘s-Hertogenbosch this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Despite contending with multiple rain delays, Vandeweghe maintained her composure to break in the penultimate game and wrap up a 7-5, 7-5 victory. Vandeweghe, who also won the title in 2014, follows in the footsteps of Justine Henin and Tamarine Tanasugarn as only the third player in the tournament’s 21-year history to win it on two occasions.

After serving herself out of trouble on more than one occasion, Vandeweghe produced a couple of smart backhand returns to manufacture the decisive break in the penultimate game of the second. A lengthy downpour stalled her momentum, and on the resumption she fell a break behind.

The American reached the final without dropping the set and maintained her flawless record by reeling off the final four games of the match.

“It was actually really difficult – we had three rain delay stops – so it was really difficult to get yourself back into the match and make sure you’re fresh and light and ready to go. Especially the last rain delay in he first set. I was really trying to get myself moving,” Vandeweghe said.

“I got myself in a bit of a pickle in the second set, but I battled my way out of it, and sometimes the name of the game is just battling through adversity and problems you cause for yourself.”

More to follow…

Ricoh Open Final Centre Court, noon

Watch live action from Sunday’s ‘s-Hertogenbosch final on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

[3] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA #32) vs. [6] CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #43)
Head-to-head: Vandeweghe leads 3-0
Final Fact: Vandeweghe has hit 22 aces en route to the final.

Much has been made of American tennis’ new-found love affair with clay. However, many of the country’s contingent on tour still long for the return to the faster surfaces.

Leading this vanguard is CoCo Vandeweghe. A booming serve, a penchant for taking the ball early and a willingness to move up the court make the Californian’s game ideally suited to the hard courts on which she was raised and the grass courts she has grown to love.

The latter is a surface that has brought her much joy, too; in 2014 at  ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Vandeweghe came through qualifying to lift her maiden WTA trophy, while at Wimbledon she left a trail of seeds in her wake to reach the 2015 quarterfinals.

On Sunday she returns to the ‘s-Hertogenbosch final, where she will take on Kristina Mladenovic. An accomplished doubles player – she recently won the Roland Garros title with Caroline Garcia and in 2014 reached the Wimbledon final alongside Timea Babos – Mladenovic’s all-court game makes her a danger on grass, as she proved in reaching last year’s Birmingham semifinals.

Mladenovic was impressive in upsetting friend and top seed Belinda Bencic in the semifinals, but will be hard pushed to derail the Vandeweghe juggernaut. Apart from in the second round against Nao Hibino, Vandeweghe is yet to drop serve and has barely looked like dropping a set. The American also has history on her side, having won all three of her previous meetings with Mladenovic, at Dubai, Osaka and in qualifying during her title run at ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Road To The Final
Kristina Mladenovic
First Round: d. Yaroslava Shvedova, 64 63 (1:32)
Second Round: d. [Q] Natalia Vikhlyantseva, 57 63 64 (2:02)
Quarterfinals: d. [Q] Elise Mertens, 75 63 (1:23)
Semifinals: d. [1] Belinda Bencic, 26 63 64 (2:04)

CoCo Vandeweghe
First Round: d. [WC] Indy de Vroome, 62 64 (1:16)
Second Round: d. Nao Hibino, 62 63 (1:07)
Quarterfinals: d. Evgeniya Rodina, 62 62 (0:59)
Semifinals: d. Madison Brengle, 64 62 (1:12)

BIRMINGHAM, Great Britain & MALLORCA, Spain – The official draw ceremonies for the Aegon Classic Birmingham and the Mallorca Open took place Saturday morning, and the stacked fields produced some exciting early matchups as some of the top players look to take their first steps on grass courts.

Click here to view the full Birmingham draw! | Click here to view the full Mallorca draw!

This year’s top seed at Birmingham is Agnieszka Radwanska. Last year, she skipped Birmingham in favor of Nottingham, but the Pole’s game loves the grass courts, and it was at this stage last year that Radwanska found her form and reignited a flagging season.

Radwanska has a tough road ahead if she looking to score her second title of 2016 at the Edgbaston Priory Club. Awaiting her in the first round is CoCo Vandeweghe, a big-serving American whose powerful game just clicks together on grass each season. Vandeweghe comes in to the matchup with plenty of matches under her belt too, having reached the final at the Ricoh Open.

If she gets past Vandeweghe, the top seed will face a qualifier in the second round, then potentially Caroline Wozniacki or Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals, two players against whom she’s got a steep losing head-to-head record. She could run into last year’s finalist Karolina Pliskova – who’s into the final in Nottingham this week – in a potential semifinal matchup.

And of course, potentially awaiting in the final is the No.2 seed and defending Birmingham champion, Angelique Kerber.

The German’s road to the final is similarly treacherous: if she gets past Peng Shuai in the first round, Kerber’s potentially up against dangerous youngster Daria Gavrilova and her penchant for knocking out Top 10 players on the big stage. Possible quarterfinal opponents include Carla Suárez Navarro and Andrea Petkovic, while a matchup with Simona Halep could come in the semifinals.

The host country is well represented at the Aegon Classic Birmingham, with four Brits in the main draw: Heather Watson, Johanna Konta, Tara Moore and Naomi Broady.

Although all eyes are on Johanna Konta, the World No.18 who keeps climbing up the ranks, it’s been Moore whose recent performance has left an impression. She’s fresh off an appearance in the quarterfinals of the Aegon Open Nottingham, and has been drawn against Konta in the first round.

Possible Birmingham Quarterfinals:
Radwanska vs Kvitova
Bencic vs Ka. Pliskova
Keys vs Halep
Suárez Navarro vs Kerber

Notable early round matches:
Radwanska vs Vandeweghe (round 1)
Konta vs Moore (round 1)
Safarova vs Halep (round 1)
Wozniacki vs Kvitova (round 2)
Petkovic vs Suárez Navarro (round 2)
Gavrilova vs Kerber (round 2)

In Mallorca, reigning French Open champion and top seed Garbiñe Muguruza is back in action in her home country at the inaugural Mallorca Open. She’s joined by the likes of Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bourchard, and Kristina Mladenovic as they seek to become the International-level event’s first champion.

Muguruza won’t get a moment to rest once she steps onto the court to play her first grass court match of the year, though, because in the first round awaits the seemingly indefatigable Kristen Flipkens. The Belgian amassed an impressive winning streak of 19-3 on clay, but fell in the first round at the Ricoh Open.

Should Muguruza advance past Flipkens, she sets up a possible quarterfinal clash Laura Siegemund, and her semifinal opponents could include Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Garcia.

Mallorca’s No.2 seed is former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic, whose road to the final is loaded with possible landmines. Right out of the gates she’s set to face Ana Konjuh, last year’s Nottingham winner, and if she advances to the second round she gets Francesca Schiavone. Her potential quarterfinal opponents are Yulia Putintseva, Daniela Hantuchova and Yaroslava Shvedova, and in the semifinals she could play 2014 Wimbledon finalist Bouchard or Sabine Lisicki.

Possible Mallorca quarterfinals
Muguruza vs Siegemund
Ivanovic vs Garcia
Bouchard vs Mladenovic
Putintseva vs Jankovic

Notable early round matches
Muguruza vs Flipkens (round 1)
Lisicki vs Mladenovic (round 1)
Schiavone vs Jankovic (round 2)

NOTTINGHAM, Great Britain – Karolina Pliskova and Alison Riske emerged victorious after a busy day of quarterfinals and semifinals action to book their spots in the final of the Aegon Open Nottingham.

With rain washing out the day yesterday, players had to complete both rounds on the same day to stay on schedule.

Top seed Pliskova was originally slated to play three matches today – two singles matches and a doubles semifinal with her sister Kristyna Pliskova – but didn’t have enough in the tank after singles.

“This morning I was thinking maybe I can have three matches today, with the doubles, but no, then we had to withdraw,” Pliskova said after her second match.

“It’s been a long time since I played two singles matches, maybe once in years, I don’t remember. But it just happened and you have to be ready for it.”

Up first for the Czech was Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, who was competing at the WTA level for the first time in two years. The Australian didn’t show any rust, and despite the defeat she kept the score line narrow 7-6(2), 7-6(7). In fact, she held set points in both sets before Pliskova edged out the victory.

Barty had only positive takeaways from her first WTA tournament since 2014.

“It’s nice to know that straight off the bat I can come in and compete with the best in the world,” she said. “That’s really good, this week’s been a massive bonus for us [me and my team]. Being able to get so many matches against quality players has been really good.

“It’s been great to be back on court at the WTA level, it’s obviously been a while since I played at this level. It’s just pleasing to know that straightaway I’m able to come back in and mix right in the fold.”

With one match already under her belt, Pliskova flew through her semifinal against No.4 seed Monica Puig in just 54 minutes, 6-2, 6-2. The Puertorrican, who bested Tamira Paszek in the quarterfinals earlier in the day, couldn’t keep up with Pliskova’s powerful serve; she was unable to break in three chances and allowed nine aces to zoom past unanswered.

“It would be nice to end the week with a win,” the Czech said. “So I’m just going to get ready for that. I had a tough day today, so hoping for nice weather tomorrow and even if I don’t get the trophy I still think it was a good week on grass, for a first week.”

Joining Pliskova in the final of the Aegon Open Nottingham is Riske, the unseeded American who notched back to back wins over Anett Kontaveit and Saisai Zheng to reach her second WTA final of the year.

“My first match was quick, because I knew that if I won I would have to play a second one,” Riske said after her semifinal match. “Both players were very tough, I had to be in it to the end. I’m looking forward to the final tomorrow.”

Despite an innocuous-looking score of 6-1, 7-5 against Zheng, the American faced almost let slip away the second set. She was up 5-2 and held match point two times as the Chinese player rattled off three straight games to level the score. Riske finally took her third match point, winning after an hour and 26 minutes.

Pliskova leads the head-to-head record against Riske with two wins to one.

‘S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands – It’s never easy to face a close friend on the tennis court, and it’s even harder to do so when a final is at stake. But that’s exactly what No.3 seed Kristina Mladenovic was asked to do and she delivered in emphatic fashion, coming back from a set down to defeat Belinda Bencic 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and reach her second career WTA final at the Ricoh Open.

Watch live action from ‘s-Hertogenbosch this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“It feels actually quite nice to play against her,” Bencic said after the match. “Obviously we are best friends, and it’s nice because it’s quite rare that you can have your best friend on the tennis circuit.

“We obviously expected to play each other someday, but we were both prepared.”

It was a familiar situation for the pair of former Junior World No.1s: just last year in this very stage, Bencic was the one to best Mladenovic in the quarterfinals on her way to her ‘s-Hertogenbosch final appearance. This year the pair met again, with a spot in the final up for grabs.

But even that wasn’t enough to drive the best friends apart, and they indulged in the usual selfies and pre-match banter on Twitter:

Thanks for taking the nicest picture b***?? tss ? and see ya tomorowww??❤️ https://t.co/4iqiaaCYyD

— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) June 10, 2016

As soon as they stepped onto the court at the Ricoh Open, they were all business. Bencic raced through the opening set, taking it 6-2 in just 33 minutes, but nonetheless a troubling pattern emerged early on: the Swiss brought up nine break point chances and only converted on two.

In the following set, Mladenovic relied on her serve to bail her out of trouble time and time again, and her court movement began to come together. The Frenchwoman stormed back to take the second set 6-3, then completed her comeback to reach her second career WTA final. Bencic will surely rue the missed opportunities: in the last two sets, she created eight break chances and didn’t convert once.

“It was definitely a very tough match, and a very tricky one,” Mladenovic said afterward. “As probably everybody knows, Belinda is my best friend on the tour and in real life. It’s a lifetime relationship. It’s not easy.”

But Mladenovic also acknowledged that despite having her best friend on the court against her, revenge was the one thing on her mind today.

“The funny part is that we have played each other just one time, exactly one year ago right here,” she said. “It was a close match, three sets like this, and she won it. I’m just glad to have taken my revenge.”

More to come…

? pic.twitter.com/EfZC2SOW8f

— WTA (@WTA) June 11, 2016

KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $780,900
Draw Size: 32 main draw/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, June 11 – Monday, June 13 
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, June 13
Singles Final: Sunday, June 19, 1.30pm GMT
Doubles Final: Sunday, June 19, after singles final

MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@BritishTennis – LTA handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #AegonClassic and #WTA.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska accepted one of the Top 10 wildcards, returning to tournament after a nine-year absence as top seed.
· Angelique Kerber is No.2 seed and defending champion. Two-time Wimbledon champion also in draw, taking up second Top 10 wildcard.
· Former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki plays in only her second tournament since Miami after recovering from an ankle injury.
· There have been 11 different champions in the past 11 years in Birmingham. There is just one returning champion in the field this year – Kerber (2015).
· Click here on Saturday to see the full draw (ceremony at noon).

WILDCARDS:
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL), Petra Kvitova (CZE), Naomi Broady (GBR), Tara Moore (GBR)

Minutes after her tough 7-5, 6-4 loss to Garbiñe Muguruza in the Roland Garros final, Serena Williams walked directly into her post-match press conference. She was as open and honest as she felt she could be after minimal time to process the match, the loss, and her emotions.

Q: Are you the type of person who can kind of let this match go quickly, or will you beat yourself up about it for a few days?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don’t really know right now. I’m just — obviously it’s not something I’m like, Oh, it’s over with. It’s definitely something I want to dissect and see what I can learn from that and what can I do to get better from it. That’s the only way to keep improving.

On Wednesday, Serena turned to social media to tell the world how she really felt. “I was pissed, I have to admit,” she said in a video posted by Uninterrupted. “I thought I could’ve played better, I thought I could’ve competed better, I thought I could’ve really done everything five times better. And I didn’t, and I was so pissed that I actually abandoned my rackets in France after maybe a few smashes of the racket bag.”

VIDEO: @SerenaWilliams on French Open loss: “I'm going to take a moment to be super honest … I was really pissed.”https://t.co/qJzaGOjrJZ

— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) June 8, 2016

Thankfully Serena’s speech did not end there. Not to worry, tennis fans. The World No.1 is already back on court preparing for her assault on Wimbledon, where she will once again be the defending champion and aim to match the Open Era record of 22 major titles.

Said Serena: “I’m out here [on court] by myself because sometimes by yourself is when the great things really happen.”

Here’s what Serena said in its entirety:

“So I’m going to take a moment to be super candid and super honest.

“After Paris, the final, which is great, you know, for everyone on this planet with the exception of me — I don’t do what everyone else does — I was really pissed, I have to admit. I thought I could’ve played better, I thought I could’ve competed better, I thought I could’ve really done everything five times better. And I didn’t, and I was so pissed that I actually abandoned my rackets in France after maybe a few smashes of the racket bag. I felt like if I was going to play that awful and that crappy, that maybe I don’t need rackets. Maybe I can just show up to a tournament, and maybe I can get to a final without playing great, and without practice.

“But obviously that doesn’t work and sometimes you have to work extra hard. So I’m out here by myself because sometimes by yourself is when the great things really happen.”