Tennis News

The Winners:

A week off from the WTA tour meant many players scattered the globe to represent their countries in the Fed Cup. A number of young stars rose to the occasion, scoring big wins on the international group competition’s stage. See how Netherland’s Kiki Bertens, Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, France’s Caroline Garcia and the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova helped their countries book a spot in the Fed Cup semifinals.

Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap

Game, Set, Match: WTA Insider

Game: Ash Barty returns to tennis.

To see the overwhelming response to the news that Ashleigh Barty intends to end her 17-month hiatus and return to tennis is to be reminded of the 19-year-old’s special talent. A three-time major doubles finalist before she was even 18, Barty was still progressing towards a Top 100 breakthrough in singles when she chose to suddenly step away. In an exclusive interview with WTA Insider, the junior Wimbledon champion spoke about being the victim of her own success and the passion that pushed her to pick up a racket again.

Set: Tennis comes to (the other) St. Petersburg.

Things can get a little confusing when your company headquarters share the same name as a new tournament host. St. Petersburg, Russia is the host of a new Premier tournament this week, with a draw that includes Belinda Bencic, Roberta Vinci, Caroline Wozniacki, and Ana Ivanovic. Given the young Russian talent currently in the ranks, having a second tournament in Russia to complement Moscow will pay off down the road.

Match: Bencic and Pliskova play Fed Cup heroes.

When the draw came out it was brutal to see Simona Halep’s Romanian squad draw the defending champion Czech Republic. Angelique Kerber’s Germany had it equally tough, having drawn a Swiss squad led by Bencic, Timea Bacsinszky, and Martina Hingis. Karolina Pliskova played the hero for the Czechs in their 3-2 win over Romania, with Pliskova playing a part in all three points. Similarly, it was Bencic leading the way for Switzerland, earning two singles wins over Andrea Petkovic and Kerber and teaming up with Hingis to beat Petkovic and Anna-Lena Groenefeld. The Czechs and the Swiss will face off in a big semifinal in April.

On the other side of the World Group bracket, Caroline Garcia led the way for France with two singles wins en route to a 4-1 win over Italy. And The Netherlands stunned Russia, with Kiki Bertens and Rachel Hogenkamp teaming up to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ekaterina Makarova to win 3-0.

Upcoming Tournaments:

St Petersburg Ladies Trophy
St. Petersburg, Russia
Premier | $687,900 | Hard, Indoors
Monday, February 8 – Sunday, February 14, 2016

Taiwan Open
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
International | $426,750 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, February 8 – Sunday, February 14, 2016

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Premier | $1,734,900 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, February 15 – Saturday, February 20, 2016

Rio Open
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
International | $226,750 | Clay
Monday, February 15 – Sunday, February 21, 2016

Qatar Total Open
Doha, Qatar
Premier | $2,517,250 | Hard, Outdoors
Sunday, February 21 – Saturday, February 27, 2016

Abierto Mexicano TELCEL
Acapulco, Mexico
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, February 22 – Saturday, February 27, 2016

Top 20 Player Schedules:
1. Serena Williams – Dubai, Doha
2. Angelique Kerber – Dubai, Doha
3. Simona Halep – Dubai, Doha
4. Agnieszka Radwanska – Dubai, Doha
5. Garbiñe Muguruza – Dubai, Doha
6. Maria Sharapova – Doha
7. Flavia Pennetta – (retired)
8. Carla Suárez Navarro – Dubai, Doha
9. Petra Kvitova – Doha
10. Lucie Safarova – Dubai, Doha
11. Belinda Bencic – St. Petersburg, Dubai, Doha
12. Venus Williams – Kaohsiung
13. Karolina Pliskova – Doha
14. Victoria Azarenka – Acapulco
15. Timea Bacsinszky – Dubai, Doha
16. Roberta Vinci – St. Petersburg, Dubai, Doha
17. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Dubai, Doha
18. Caroline Wozniacki – St. Petersburg, Dubai, Doha
19. Jelena Jankovic – Dubai, Doha
20. Ana Ivanovic – St. Petersburg, Dubai

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

Petra Cetkovska (CZE) – February 8, 1985
Casey Dellacqua (AUS) – February 11, 1985
Magda Linette (POL) – February 12, 1992
 

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – The comeback continued for two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist Tamira Paszek on Monday, as the Austrian dispatched 2005 French Open quarterfinalist Sesil Karatantcheva, 7-6(3), 6-4, to reach the main draw of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

Watch live action from St. Petersburg & Kaohsiung this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Once a Top 30 player, Paszek came back to the game last spring and has rocketed up nearly 140 spots in the rankings since last fall. Starting the season at No.172, she had to play qualifying at the ASB Classic and the Australian, going on to reach the semifinals of the former to put herself within striking distance of a Top 100 return.

“The good part about playing qualies is that you get a lot of matches, and you get a good rhythm, which is especially important at the beginning of the year,” the 25-year-old told WTA Insider in January. “I’ve always been the type of person that tries to see the positive aspect of things, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Awaiting the Austrian in the main draw is Carina Witthoeft; the two played once before in French Open qualifying back in 2014, with Paszek winning, 6-0, 6-1.

Joining Paszek in the main draw is Klara Koukalova; the former World No.20, who took out Patricia Maria Tig, 6-4, 6-3.

All four qualifiers will be in action again on Tuesday, along with Fed Cup heroines Monica Niculescu – who nearly led an upset of defending champion Czech Republic with a win over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova – and Barbora Strycova, who took part in the decisive doubles rubber to defeat Romania, 3-2.

Niculescu begins her tournament as the No.9 seed – so bumped when Anna Karolina Schmiedlova withdrew due to a right ankle sprain – and takes on local wildcard Natalia Vikhlyantseva. Strycova takes on one of the qualifiers, Kateryna Kozlova; Kozlova defeated top qualifying seed Laura Siegemund, but the German nonetheless found her way into the main draw as a lucky loser.

Closing out play on Tuesday will be a pair of Russians, No.5 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and the fast-rising Margarita Gasparyan, who take on Koukalova and Bojana Jovanovski, respectively.

KAOHSUING, Taiwan – Misaki Doi’s finally roused her slumbering campaign to life on Monday with a straight set win over Kristyna Pliskova at the Taiwan Open.

Watch live action from St. Petersburg & Kaohsiung this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

A miserable start to 2016 saw Doi fall at the first hurdle in Auckland, Hobart and finally the Australian Open. The third and final of these defeats Down Under was particularly galling, Doi holding a match point against eventual champion Angelique Kerber in the first round of the Australian Open.

Perhaps buoyed by Kerber’s subsequent heroics at Melbourne Park, Doi came out with a spring in her step against Pliskova, breaking serve twice to take the first set. She repeated the trick in the second set to wrap up a 6-3, 6-4 victory in little over an hour.

Also advancing in the bottom half of the draw was qualifier Yuxuan Zhang, a 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-2 winner over lucky loser Hiroko Kuwata.

Meanwhile, in the top half there were wins for Urszula Radwanska and Anastasija Sevastova.

Radwanska was given a stern examination by local wildcard Hsu Ching-Wen, before coming through, 6-4, 7-6(1). Sevastova was pushed even harder, fighting back to see off Kristina Kucova, 4-6, 7-6(0), 7-6(3), in a match lasting nearly two and a half hours.

Tuesday will see most of the remaining seeds, including home favorite Hsieh Su-Wei, in first round action. The only exception is top seed Venus Williams, who will wait until Wednesday to get her challenge underway against Lee Pei-Chi.

Five Top 20 players are in action this week in two WTA events that are being staged for the first time.

Here’s 10 Things To Know about St. Petersburg and Kaohsiung!

1) St. Petersburg has four Top 20 players in the draw.
No.11 Belinda Bencic, No.16 Roberta Vinci, No.18 Caroline Wozniacki and No.20 Ana Ivanovic are all in action this week at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

2) This is the first edition of St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy as a WTA Premier event.
The event was previously held six times as an ITF tournament (from 2003-2008 and in 2015) and this year marks the first time in 25 years that WTA tennis returns to St Petersburg, Russia.

3) Bencic leads the pack in Russia…
For the first time in her career, Belinda Bencic is the No.1 seed at a WTA tournament at St. Petersburg. Her previous highest seeding was No.3 in Washington DC last year.

4) … While another 18-year-old is hoping to make big moves.
Daria Kasatkina is one to watch in St. Petersburg: She’s the second youngest player in the main draw and is coming off her joint-best result at a Grand Slam after reaching the 3^rd round at the Australian Open, where she knocked out No.29 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova for the biggest win of her career.

5) Bencic and Wozniacki could face each other in the semifinals.
No.3 seed Caroline Wozniacki, who took a late wildcard into St. Petersburg, is on a semifinal collision course with Bencic, who beat her four times in 2015. See how the draw breaks down here.

6) A former World No.1 headlines in Kaohsiung.
And with 48 WTA titles to her name, No.1-seeded Venus Williams has more titles than the entire Taiwan main draw put together!

7) The Taiwan Open in Kaohsiung is the first WTA event in Taiwan.
Taiwan’s first taste of WTA tennis came back in 2012, with Taipei hosting a WTA 125K Series event from 2012 to 2015.

8) Elizaveta Kulichkova is one to watch. 
Kulichkova enters the Taiwan Open following a string of career bests: at the Australian Open she reached the 3^rd round of a Grand Slam for the first time and scored her career best win over No.25 Andrea Petkovic.

9) The Taiwan Open is one out of a record nine WTA Premier and International tournaments hosted on the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan…
The other eight are the China Open in Beijing, Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, Guangzhou International Women’s Open, Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, Jiangxi Women’s Tennis Open in Nanchang, Shenzhen Open, Tianjin Open and WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

10) Check out all the best live action this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV.
And learn how you can follow it all right here.

World Group I

Romania vs. Czech Republic (2-3)

Just as the Romanian team looked like it would pull off the biggest upset of its history, the defending Fed Cup champions came back from a 1-2 deficit to continue their historic run.

Karolina Pliskova rose to the occasion and contributed to all three points of the team’s win. She came out swinging and scored the first point against Simona Halep, who had postponed nose surgery to support Romania in the tie. Romania’s Halep and Monica Niculescu grabbed the next two points, each scoring a win over Petra Kvitova making it. Pliskova got the Czechs on even footing with a win against Niculescu, before the fight was clinched in the deciding doubles rubber.

This team???thanks to everyone in this team amazing week again and also to all fans for supporting us♥️ pic.twitter.com/C6upqVLLUe

— Karolina Pliskova (@KaPliskova) February 7, 2016

Germany vs. Switzerland (2-3)

Belinda Bencic and Martina Hingis won the deciding point in the doubles rubber to beat Germany and send Switzerland into the Fed Cup semifinal for the first time in 18 years.

Playing as visitors in Leipzig Germany, Bencic held her nerve against two German heavyweights – No.23 Andrea Petkovic and Australian Open Champion Angelique Kerber – to win her two singles matches, putting Switzerland ahead 2-1 after Kerber defeated Timea Bacsinszky. Germany’s Annika Beck leveled the score at 2-2 with a victory over Bacsinszky, leaving the doubles match to decide the tie.

“It feels awesome next to Belinda to play with her now and [win] the deciding point,” Hingis told FedCup.com.

“It was tough at the beginning for me to be on the side bench for the first four matches, you are cheering them on and then you’ve got to go out. It took me a little while to get used to it but I feel I had great support from her.”

Switzerland will play the Czech Republic in the next round.

No matter what,together we are stronger! #SwissTeam ?? #TeamSpirit #WeHaveEachOthersBack ❤️ #united ?-U in April ?? pic.twitter.com/STFWFYqIMI

— Timea Bacsinszky (@TimeaOfficial) February 7, 2016

France vs. Italy (4-1)

Caroline Garcia dominated all her matches in singles and doubles, booking France’s spot in the final four for the second straight year.

Kristina Mladenovic put the home side in a tough spot, dropping the opening match against Italy’s Camila Giorgi, but Garcia leveled the tie with a win over Sara Errani. Mladenovic found redemption the next day by closing out Errani to put France ahead 2-1, before Garcia won the decisive point against Giorgi and sent France into the semifinals.

“I feel very happy, and it’s been a great week,” Garcia told FedCup.com after the victory. “It’s not every day you beat Italy 4-1. We are pretty proud.”

.@CaroGarcia's TWO WINS lead France back into #FedCup Semifinals!

Sets Semifinal vs the Netherlands! pic.twitter.com/sxxQ8ZpQpf

— WTA (@WTA) February 7, 2016

Russia vs. Netherlands (1-3)

Kiki Bertens pulled off two stunning upsets in Moscow to send last year’s finalists crashing out and put the Netherlands into their first Fed Cup semifinal since 1997.

She opened the tie with a straight sets win over Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova, before her countrywoman Richel Hogenkamp emerged victorious in a four-hour marathon match against Svetlana Kuznetsova to put the Netherlands ahead 2-0. Kuznetsova came back the next day but fell short against Bertens, giving the Dutch team an unassailable 3-0 lead and the group’s first semifinal berth. Makarova and Daria Katatkina claimed Russia’s only point in the doubles rubber.

“This is unbelievable,” Bertens told FedCup.com after the tie. “I don’t think anyone expected that we could win this tie, perhaps we even didn’t. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”

Netherlands is set to play France in the semifinals.

Netherlands is FIRST through to the #FedCup Semifinals! @KikiBertens def Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-4 & knocks out Russia! pic.twitter.com/kj7n3XPOKy

— WTA (@WTA) February 7, 2016

World Group II

The victories were more one-sided in World Group II for the USA and Spain, who both advanced with shutout victories.

Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens rattled off three straight-sets singles wins for the United States to seal the tie and give their country a place in the World Group play-offs. Spain booked their spot in a similar manner, with Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez Navarro sweeping their opponents in straight sets for a 3-0 victory over Serbia.

Sam Stosur powered Australia to a close 3-2 victory over Slovakia, winning her two singles matches over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Jana Cepelova before teaming up with Casey Dellacqua to claim the decisive point in doubles.

Belarus came back from a 1-2 deficit to win over Canada, booking their spot in the World Group II play-offs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich contributed to all three of Belarus’ points, winning two singles matches and the doubles decider with Olga Govortsova.

Two-time Olympian Caroline Wozniacki will make a third trip to the Games this summer in Rio, and this time will be leading out the Danish team during the opening ceremony.

Former World No.1 Wozniacki was unveiled as her nation’s flag bearer during a press conference at Copenhagen City Hall on Friday afternoon, where she was presented with the Danish flag by Crown Prince Frederik.

“It’s an honor for me! The Olympics mean a lot to me, and I have some fantastic memories from my two previous appearances,” Wozniacki said. “I enjoy competing for the Danish team and feel the team spirit, which I do not get to experience in my everyday life.

“Carrying the flag in Rio will be one of the highlights of my career and something I will never forget.”

In both of her previous Olympic appearances, Wozniacki fell to the eventual Gold medalist: Serena Williams at the 2012 London Games in the quarterfinals, and Elena Dementieva in the third round in Beijing four years earlier.

Wozniacki, 25, will be the fifth WTA player to carry their country’s flag at the Games, following in the footsteps of Maria Sharapova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Stephanie Vogt, and Claudine Schaul.

Such a dream come true!! Was chosen to be the Danish flag bearer at the opening ceremony at the Rio Olympics! ?? pic.twitter.com/mIfFj0pnPz

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) February 5, 2016

KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $687,900
Draw Size: 28 main draw (4 byes)/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, February 6 – Monday, February 8 
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, February 8
Singles Final: Sunday, February 14, 4.30pm MSK
Doubles Final: Sunday, February 14, 2pm MSK

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

TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Inaugural staging of event, with four Top 20 players – Belinda Bencic, Roberta Vinci, Ana Ivanovic, Caroline Wozniacki – scheduled to compete.
· Wozniacki, the recipient of the tournament’s Top 20 wildcard, won Russia’s other WTA event, the Kremlin Cup, in 2012.
· Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza, fresh from winning their third straight Grand Slam, at the Australian Open, head the doubles draw looking to extend their 36-match winning streak. 
· An ITF event was held in St. Petersburg from 2003-2008 and once more in 2015, with Jelena Ostapenko triumphing at the most recent edition.
· For the complete draw click here.

WILDCARDS:
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), Elena Vesnina (RUS), Natalia Vikhlyantseva (RUS)

WITHDRAWALS:
Irina-Camelia Begu (right knee), Mona Barthel (illness), Karin Knapp (right knee), Petra Cetkovska (illness), Alexandra Dulgheru (left knee)

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia/KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – The St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and the Taiwan Open are new additions to the WTA Calendar, the former headlined by top seed Belinda Bencic and former No.1s Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki, while Venus Williams leads the field in the latter.

Bencic is coming off of her first career fourth round appearance at the Australian Open, and with few points to defend until the grass court season, the young Swiss Miss will be aiming to make the Top 10 debut that narrowly eluded her at the end of 2015.

Granted a first round bye, Bencic will face stiff opposition from the get-go, as she plays the winner of the first round encounter between Annika Beck – who also reached the fourth round in Melbourne, falling to eventual champion Angelique Kerber, or Lucie Hradecka. The high seed in her quarter is hometown favorite and No.5 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who has played well in Russia, having reach the final of the last two Kremlin Cup tournaments – winning in 2014.

A potential semifinal opponent for Bencic is No.3 seed Caroline Wozniacki, who took a late wildcard in the hopes of kick-starting her 2016 after a surprising first round loss in Australia. Things might not get much easier for the Dane, however, as she could face former Top 10 player Dominika Cibulkova in the second round. No.7 seed Kristina Mladenovic, currently playing Fed Cup in Marseille, is her projected quarterfinal opponent, should she get past either 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens or rising Russian Daria Kasatkina – who made a second straight Grand Slam third round in Melbourne.

No.2 seed Roberta Vinci and No.4 seed Ana Ivanovic flank the bottom half of the draw – Ivanovic could play another one of the young Russians, Margarita Gasparyan, in the second round – Gasparyan fell to World No.1 in the fourth round of the Australian Open – and is slated to face No.8 seed and Hobart International champion Alizé Cornet in the quarters. Vinci opens against either Jelena Ostapenko or Yanina Wickmayer, and could play No.6 seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the last eight; Schmiedlova had an impressive summer swing in which she made her first career Premier quarterfinal at the Western & Southern Open as a qualifer.

Over in Taiwan, the elder of the Williams sisters has no first round bye in this 32-player draw, and opens against local wildcard Lee Pei-Chi. In an interesting quarters that features names to watch like Donna Vekic and Anastasija Sevastova – a former No.36 who made her return to tennis following a brief retirement at the start of 2015 – Williams could face fellow American and No.8 seed Alison Riske in the quarterfinals. No.3 seed Yulia Putintseva is also coming off a solid run at the Australian Open – beating Wozniacki en route to the third round – and is Williams’ projected semifinal opponent. The two played a rousing first round at Wimbledon last year, with the five-time champion coming out on top, 7-6(5), 6-4.

On the bottom half of the draw is the talented Japanesewoman, Misaki Doi, who held a match point against Kerber to start the Australian Open. Doi will open against Kristyna Pliskova, who hit a record number of aces in Melbourne, and could play No.7 seed and countrywoman Kurumi Nara in the quarterfinals.