Vote: May Breakthrough Of The Month

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

May 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 May’s Breakthrough Performance of the Month and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, June 10.

May 2016 WTA Breakthrough Performance of the Month Finalists:


Louisa Chirico: The young American enjoyed a major splash at the start of the clay court season, qualifying for the Mutua Madrid Open and making it all the way to the semifinals, defeating former No.1 Ana Ivanovic and Daria Gavrilova along the way. Chirico qualified for the French Open and won her first-ever Grand Slam main draw match before falling to 2002 finalist Venus Williams in the second round.

Yulia Putintseva: Putintseva reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, dropping just eight games through her first three match wins over Aleksandra Wozniak, 2014 semifinalist Andrea Petkovic, and Karin Knapp. Playing Serena Williams for a spot in the semifinals, the fiery young Kazakh was just five points away from victory, but nonetheless charmed the crowd in a thrilling three-set epic.

Shelby Rogers: Rogers built upon her clay court resume in emphatic style in Paris, knocking out a quartet of big name players to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Starting the week with a win over No.17 seed Karolina Pliskova, Rogers went on to beat Elena Vesnina, Petra Kvitova, and Irina-Camelia Begu before bowing out to eventual champion Garbiñe Muguruza after having a set point in the opening set.

Kiki Bertens: Bertens enjoyed a dream run to the semifinals after winning her second career title in Nürnberg as a qualifier, winning 12 straight matches over the course of three weeks. Fighting off injury and 2015 semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky, the Dutch powerhouse satisfied her country’s Olympic requirements and pushed World No.1 Serena Williams throught two tough sets just before the final weekend.


2016 Winners:

January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko

March: Nicole Gibbs

April: Cagla Buyukakcay

How it works:

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

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