Tennis News

SINGAPORE – Following the closest-fought qualification race in the history of the WTA Finals, the 2015 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global attracted an increasing number of tennis fans from all over the world.

According to figures released by event partner and promoter, Lagardere Sports, 130,000 fans representing 51 countries came out in support of this year’s 10-day event, with a significant increase of visitors from India, Italy, Romania and China. Sania Mirza’s national supporters made their way to Singapore in droves, with a 374% increase in visitors traveling from India compared to last year. With her success at the US Open this year, Flavia Pennetta also drew 139% more Italians to the WTA Finals compared to 2014.

“Players and fans are at the very core of everything we do at the WTA and bringing our crown jewel event to this part of the world is a significant step in our global strategy to offer greater accessibility to the sport of women’s tennis,” said Melissa Pine, WTA Vice President, APAC, and WTA Finals Tournament Director. “From setting up an office for the first time in a host city, to engaging the various tennis communities throughout the region, the WTA is fully committed to growing women’s tennis throughout Asia Pacific. We had a week of incredible tennis with the fans in Singapore and all around the world actively engaged on site and online.”

Global audiences across digital and social platforms saw a significant increase from last year’s event. During the WTA Finals, the wtatennis.com digital platform saw a 24% increase from 2014 in terms of website visits. Fans took to social media to follow breaking news and show public support for their favorite players, with over 440,000 conversations about the #WTAFinals on Twitter alone from 19 October to 1 November. The peak in Twitter conversations took place at 9:24PM on 1 November when the world cheered for WTA Finals champion, Agnieszka Radwanska, with 160 Tweets per minute when she won her first-ever WTA Finals title.

Back for its second year, the WTA Rising Stars Invitational saw more than 2 million votes cast on wtafinals.com, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in a four-week online fan vote to determine the four Under-23 players to compete in this year’s edition. Launched at the US Open by WTA Finals Ambassador, Tracy Austin, votes tripled compared to last year as 18 candidates rallied supporters to vote for them to secure a spot to play this WTA Rising Stars talent showcase event. Fans selected Caroline Garcia (FRA), Naomi Osaka (JPN), Zhu Lin (CHN) and Ons Jabeur (TUN). This year, live streaming of the WTA Rising Stars Invitational was available for the first time through the WTA Finals App created by SAP, further increasing accessibility of on-court action to fans.

“Staging a five-year show for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global is a journey, and we have always been committed to ensuring fans, the public, as well as the players have an excellent experience in Singapore,” added Sarah Clements, Vice President of Tennis (Asia) at event promoter Lagadère Sports. “When we began this journey, it was with the twin mission of delivering a great sport entertainment experience and creating a legacy of the sport. Over the past two years, we are extremely heartened to see that the emerging tennis fan base grow and we hope that fans from Singapore and all across the region will continue to support us in this endeavor for the years to come.”

The U14s and U16s WTA Future Stars series was introduced in 2014 to engage with the next generation of players and offer young girls throughout Asia Pacific a platform to aspire towards. This year, a total of 36 players competed from 17 participating nations, up from 12 countries in its inaugural year.

In the lead-up to the WTA Future Stars tournament, held in conjunction with the WTA Finals, a WTA Future Stars Masterclass was extended throughout the region, as WTA stars such as Caroline Wozniacki, Martina Navratilova and Sania Mirza hosted clinics in Malaysia, India and beyond. Newly-introduced this year was the Li Na Inspiration Award, rewarding one player in each category for displaying outstanding qualities both on and off the court.

The in-stadium experience at the WTA Finals in 2015 was more fan-friendly than ever, with new customer experience initiatives in place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Title sponsor BNP Paribas introduced its We Are Tennis Fan Academy, and fan groups from various embassies such as Russia, Poland, and Romania were in full force at the stadium, creating an electric atmosphere as they cheered for their favorite players. Post-match, lucky fans were given the opportunity to meet their heroes and take a selfie or even return a serve from them.

Within the Singapore community, the inaugural “Advantage Singapore” programme brought the WTA Finals into the community more than ever before. Over 400 students from seven schools engaged with Learning Journeys, an enriching workshop to reveal science and technology behind the professional world of tennis and 10,250 students from seventeen schools signed up for SC Global’s “Tennis For Every Child” program, designed to widen interest and participation in tennis among primary schools.

This year, players engaged with the community through widespread public appearances by WTA players, Legends, Rising Stars and Future Stars through the year and during the 10 days of the tournament. Some of these activities included appearances by Li Na, Simona Halep’s visit to Singapore in July, Venus Williams’ day out with local youth from SportCares, the official social cause of the WTA Finals, as well as many players meeting fans and conducting fan zone autograph sessions.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL, USA – On Monday, though she’d already clinched it at the US Open, Serena Williams officially got her hands on the WTA Year-End World No.1 Singles Ranking presented by Dubai Duty Free. It was her third year-end No.1 finish in a row, and the fifth in her illustrious career.

But by achieving that feat, she’s unlocked another feat that hasn’t been done in 25 years.

Serena is the first player since 1990 to hold No.1 from start to finish two years in a row.

That means two years in a row, start to finish, not letting any other player get to No.1 for even a single week. She’s one of only three players in the history of the WTA Rankings to achieve the feat:

Martina Navratilova
– held No.1 start to finish two straight years (1983, 1984)
– overall streak at No.1: 156 weeks (June 14, 1982 to June 9, 1985)

Steffi Graf
– held No.1 start to finish three straight years (1988, 1989, 1990)
– overall streak at No.1: 186 weeks (August 17, 1987 to March 10, 1991)

Serena Williams
– has held No.1 start to finish two straight years (2014, 2015)
– overall streak at No.1: 143 weeks (February 18, 2013 to present)

Williams will add seven more weeks to that total during the off-season – her 150th straight week at No.1 will be the last week of the off-season, the week running December 28, 2015 to January 3, 2016.

All of this doesn’t just mean fighting off other players who have absolutely nothing to lose against her match after match and tournament after tournament, but putting in the hard work away from that match court to be ready for all of those challengers. And she seems to have that art down to a science.

“I compete a lot against my own standards, probably even more – I have such high standards for myself and expect the best from myself, and nothing less,” she explained earlier this year in Cincinnati.

“My main goal is to stay healthy, but I have other goals, usually around doing well in tournaments. I like being ranked No.1, too, so I try and do well enough so I can stay on top. That motivates me well.”

Stay tuned to wtatennis.com to see if the World No.1 can make it three years in a row in 2016!

This article used insights from WTA partner SAP, a worldwide leader in enterprise software.

CONSTANTA, Romania – It was a fantastic year for Simona Halep – biggest title of her career at Indian Wells, first US Open semifinal and getting back to No.2 in the world – and finishing the year there for the very first time. But which one of those was the Romanian trailblazer’s personal highlight?

“Indian Wells of course – it was my biggest title,” Halep said. “Also I played really well in the summer – I did quarterfinals and semifinals for the first time at the US Open, and I played two finals before that, so even though I lost early at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, I’m happy with my season. I was feeling more relaxed and more confident, and I really started to enjoy every match on the court.

“Last year was a big year for me, but I think this year was better than last year.”

One could even say that her 2014 season was the reason her 2015 was so strong.

“I can say because of last year, this year I learned many things,” she said. “I learned how to play without pressure when I have to defend something, to defend points or the title. And I learned that if I’m relaxed and enjoying what I’m doing, it helps me concentrate better and I can win tough matches. Last year I played well, but this year I made a lot of improvements in my game, and in my life also.”

As one of the most popular players on the tour, and with such a big fan base from her home country, learning how to handle the pressure placed on her shoulders has been huge – but she’s doing it.

“In our country everyone is telling me that I have to win all the matches, but I’m not a robot. I’m a normal girl and a normal player. I have ups and downs. I can win a big match; I can lose a smaller match. So now I’m just trying to focus on what I have to do. I just want to play with full power, full of positive thoughts. I try not to think about what people are saying about my results or my tennis.

“I know Romanians want me to win every match, and it’s fine – I do everything I can to win them.”

So what will 2016 bring for ultra-talented Romanian? A first Grand Slam title, even No.1?

After the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, where she was the No.1 seed in Serena Williams’ absence, Halep talked about her plans for the off-season and hopes for 2016.

“I have many things to improve in my game. Right now I am pretty solid and confident in my game, but I want to improve more when I go into the court – I have to improve my net game. And my serve, too, but I’ve improved that a little bit already. And when I go from offense to defense, and the other way.

“Right now I want to take a holiday, of course, and I won’t think about tennis for a little bit, but then I’ll come back and work hard. I really want to get better; I want to do better next year.

“Then I will be stronger.”

Let's get better and stronger starting 2016? But let's see if my coach @darren_cahill agrees. Actually, it's too late to pull out anymore???

— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) November 5, 2015