Tennis News

It was a dream ending to the 2015 season for Agnieszka Radwanska – not only did she win her first two WTA titles of the year in Tokyo and Tianjin, but she won a third, which turned out to be the biggest of her career, at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global (highlights here).

She finished the year at No.5 in the world, too, her third Top 5 finish in the last four years.

But the accolades didn’t end with the Polish trailblazer lifting the Billie Jean King Trophy up high…

Zoom in on her dress just a little bit and you’ll see Lexus – one of Radwanska’s biggest sponsors:

And they’re also one of her biggest supporters – they gave her a car as a year-end bonus, first sitting down with her for a press conference back home and then presenting her with her new wheels:

And because they’re so classy – Radwanska and the car – here are some pics from Radwanska’s official photo shoot with Lexus, all courtesy of Lexus. See more pics from this photo shoot here.

– Emma Stone to play Billie Jean King: Stone has been cast as BJK in the upcoming film on the 1973 Battle of the Sexes. Steve Carrell is currently “set to play” Bobby Riggs. This should be fun.

– Serena Williams in the SI Mailbag: Jon Wertheim’s weekly dispatch is always a must-read.

– Get your Pome! towel: Dominika Cibulkova’s signature “Pome!” yell is emblazoned on a variety of wares at her online store:

Bonitos recuerdos de Singapore! The craziness of today, best memories from tomorrow! #tbt #sentosa #fun?☀️ pic.twitter.com/iVK9GESRQy

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) November 19, 2015

– Garbi’s R&R: Good to see Garbiñe Muguruza is getting some well-deserved time away from her racket:

Bonitos recuerdos de Singapore! The craziness of today, best memories from tomorrow! #tbt #sentosa #fun?☀️ pic.twitter.com/iVK9GESRQy

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) November 19, 2015

Much of the talk heading into this year’s Wimbledon surrounded the ‘Serena Slam’. Successive titles at the Australian and French Opens brought her tantalizingly close to Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 majors and just two shy of the all-time record set by Margaret Court.

For all her recent success, though, the World No.1 had not reached a Wimbledon final since seeing off Agnieszka Radwanska to lift the Venus Rosewater dish in 2012.

As has become custom, Williams and many of the game’s other leading players eschewed playing a tune-up event before Wimbledon, leaving the path clear for Belinda Bencic, Angelique Kerber, Ana Konjuh and Camila Giorgi to triumph in Eastbourne, Birmingham, Nottingham and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, respectively.

There were plenty of surprises at the All-England Club too, with a number of high-profile names, most notably defending champion Petra Kvitova, suffering premature exits. In the third round, Williams was a whisker away from suffering the same fate, calling on all her reserves of grit and determination to edge out home favorite Heather Watson, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

Just as she has on countless occasions, the American saved her best for the business end of the tournament, helping her through the gauntlet of sister Venus, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova and into an eighth Wimbledon final.

Here she faced someone appearing in their very first: Garbiñe Muguruza.

After early losses in Birmingham and Eastbourne, Muguruza was back to her best in SW19, staging a series of upsets culminating in an absorbing three-set battle with the WTA’s resident magician Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals.

The Spaniard began the final in irresistible form, striking winners with ease and pulling her foe to all corners of the court. Williams, though, possesses a competitive fire matched by few in the history of the game and by sheer force of will hauled herself back into the contest. Once she hit the front, there was only one winner, Williams prevailing, 6-4, 6-4, to move within touching distance of the clean sweep. Next stop: New York…

The finalists for the 2015 WTA Rising Star Of The Year have been released, and we want to hear from you, the fans. The fan vote will count as one of the coveted media votes.

Have a look at the finalists and cast your vote before Sunday, December 6 at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Tuesday, December 8.

2015 WTA Rising Star Of The Year Finalists

Margarita Gasparyan: Trivia question: who was the only player with a one-handed backhand to lift a WTA title in 2015? Surprisingly it was neither Carla Suárez Navarro nor Roberta Vinci, but the green and gifted Margarita Gasparyan. After plying her trade in the tennis backwaters for the majority of her nascent professional career, Gasparyan began to make her mark in the big leagues this year. The willowy Muscovite opened the campaign in fine fashion finishing her tennis schooling on the ITF Circuit with three titles before graduating in spring by qualifying for her first Grand Slam, the French Open. Though the 21-year-old fell at the first hurdle there, and also Wimbledon, her big breakthrough came in Baku, where she picked up the title, before closing the year just outside the Top 50 on the back of quarterfinals in Linz and Moscow.

Daria Gavrilova: The path from the top of the junior game to the professional ranks is rarely a smooth one. Lucky for former junior World No.1 Daria Gavrilova then that she is being guided along the way by a wise head in Nicole Pratt. Since recovering from torn anterior cruciate ligament a few years back, Gavrilova’s career has been on an upward trajectory. The technical work invested into her game – most notably the backhand wing – whilst out injured, started to pay off this January, as she came racing out of the traps with strong performances in her adopted homeland. Better was to come in spring, the youngster upsetting Maria Sharapova in Miami before announcing herself to the wider tennis world by coming through qualifying to reach the semifinals in Rome. While she was unable to quite match these feats in the second half of the year, now inside the Top 50 it is safe to say the best is yet to come.

Nao Hibino: Nao Hibino’s ascent up the professional ranks has been understated, but by no means unimpressive. Racking up the wins – and titles – on the ITF Circuit for much of the year, Japan’s brightest young talent edged her way towards the Top 100 before gatecrashing the big time in Tashkent, where she overcame former champion Donna Vekic to collect a maiden WTA title. More success was to follow in the shape of a semifinal run in Hua Hin, leaving her with 47 wins for the season and year-end ranking of No.78 to boot.

Daria Kasatkina: By common consensus, Daria Kasatkina is the next big thing in Russian tennis, drawing comparisons with none other than Maria Sharapova during her recent run to the semifinals at her home event, the Kremlin Cup. Softly spoken, but with a steely determination reminiscent of her celebrated compatriot, Kasatkina enjoyed a distinguished junior career, lifting the Roland Garros crown at 17, and announced herself in the senior ranks by reaching the US Open third round this August. A quarterfinal in Bad Gasten, and a string of titles on the ITF Circuit, further aided a charge up the rankings that saw her finish a year she started outside the Top 300 perched handily at No.71.

WTA Newcomer Of The Year Winners

2014: Belinda Bencic
2013: Eugenie Bouchard
2012: Laura Robson
2011: Irina-Camelia Begu
2010: Petra Kvitova
2009: Melanie Oudin
2008: Caroline Wozniacki
2007: Agnes Szavay
2006: Agnieszka Radwanska
2005: Sania Mirza

Click here to see all the WTA Newcomer of the Years Winners

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com

Rising of the Year criteria includes a player who made Top 100 debut or notable accomplishments during the 2015 season, and prior to the current year, had not played in more than six main draw events at tour-level in a single season

Winner is then determined by a media vote with a fan vote counting as one media vote

A lot of players made major pushes in the last few months of the season, but three players who kept winning and winning throughout the season finished atop the Top 10 match win leaders for the year.

And coincidentally, we ended with a three-way tie for first place – who were those three WTA stars?

Here are the Top 10 match win leaders on the WTA in 2015:
8T] Belinda Bencic, Garbiñe Muguruza, Maria Sharapova & Carla Suárez Navarro – 41
7] Jelena Jankovic – 44
6] Sara Errani – 48
5] Simona Halep – 49
4] Agnieszka Radwanska – 51

And the three-way tie for most match wins on the WTA in 2015 goes to…