Tennis News

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Sloane Stephens is into her first WTA singles final on clay after the defending champion Angelique Kerber saw herself forced to retire, 6-1, 3-0, in the semifinals of the Volvo Car Open.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Charleston right here on wtatennis.com!

“It’s been a little tough out here but I’m happy to be through to the final,” Stephens said. “It’s sad that it had to be that way. It’s not the way I’d wanted it.

“I wish Angie a speedy recovery – she’s a really nice girl and a really great player.”

Stephens, who already has two titles in 2016 with wins at Auckland and Acapulco, took the first set after a dominating 24 minutes, outhitting a sluggish Kerber. The American scored 10 winners and hit just two unforced errors, while the out-of-sorts Kerber hit just seven winners to 10 unforced errors.

After consulting with the trainer and doctor, Kerber took the court again after a lengthy break trailing a set and 2-0. She was forced to retire from the match after one more game due to viral illness, sending Stephens into the Volvo Car Open final.

“When I was warming up this morning, I felt a little bit like something is wrong,” Kerber said afterwards. “I was thinking that when I’m going on court, the energy will come back and I will feel okay.But after the first few games in the first set I was feeling that, yeah, something is not good.”

Back into a WTA final, Stephens is putting a rough four-week stretch behind her. Despite the roaring start to her 2016 season that saw her claim two titles, she lost in straight sets at the last two tournaments she’s played before heading to the green clay at Charleston.

“Making a final is making a final, but I think there’s kind of a buildup to that,” Stephens said. “It wasn’t just because of today she wasn’t feeling well.I think the matches I played previously, like yesterday I was down a match point and things like that.

“Today I was just looking forward to getting out there, and the same I’ll do tomorrow, just looking forward to getting back on the court.”

Reach a first #VCO2016 final: ✔️
Make fans happy: ✔️
Smile like a toothpaste model: ✔️

Goals. @SloaneStephens pic.twitter.com/on1G8RwwNk

— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) April 9, 2016

Joining Stephens in the Volvo Car Open final is Russian qualifier Elena Vesnina, who’s into her first WTA singles final since 2013 after battling past Sara Errani 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

Vesnina had a tough 2015 season, recording 13 first-round losses (across all levels), but 2016 has seen her come up from the qualifying rounds to score consistent main draw wins. Playing in her first semifinal of the year, former No.21 Vesnina found herself up against Errani, a clay court heavyweight – seven of the Italian’s nine titles have been won on clay, along with 12 of her 19 finals appearances.

“I had some great memories from being in that final five years ago, and I knew that I can do that again,” Vesnina said. “But of course, I knew that it was going to be very difficult coming from the qualifying.I was just thinking match by match, to improve my game on the clay.

“I’m pretty impressed with my game level, today as well because Sara is a clay court specialist. She had most of her wins on this surface and she really understands the strategy on this surface.”

Errani applied her tried-and-true clay court prowess early on, breaking Vesnina’s serve to go up a 3-1 lead. Vesnina got the break back to level up the score at 4-4, and her sudden changes of pace gave the Italian trouble, winning the first set with a drop shot that barely edged over the net.

A drawn out battle at 3-3 in the second set changed the momentum for Errani, giving her a lead to take back the second set. In the decider, Vesnina was more focused and sharper on the big points; she created and converted more break chances – three conversions for five chances – than Errani.

“It’s going to be a little bit different match tomorrow against Sloane because Sloane is playing in a different style than Sara,” Vesnina said. “It’s going to be difficult to show the same level in the final, and in general in the finals it’s really difficult to show your best tennis.

“You need to be solid.You need to be consistent.You need to come on the court and you have to know what you have to do there.

“So you have to be ready, and hopefully tomorrow it will be a great match between me and Sloane.”

? ? ? pic.twitter.com/dCcUMulD3u

— WTA (@WTA) April 9, 2016

The WTA’s finest battled it out at 61 tournaments, 33 countries and six continents this year, culminating in the 2016 Year-End WTA Rankings, which are official today, Monday, November 7.

Here are 10 Things To Know about this year’s year-end list…

1) Kerber is year-end No.1 for the first time.
After a season that saw her lift two Grand Slams, Angelique Kerber finishes with the much-deserved year-end No.1 ranking. Read more about her feat here.

2) Serena’s reign ended.
Her loss to Karolina Pliskova in the US Open semifinals ended Serena Williams’ 186-week stay at the top of the rankings. However, despite playing only eight events, the American enjoyed plenty of highlights in 2016, defeating Kerber at Wimbledon to lift her 22nd major and reaching the final at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros. 

3) Radwanska holds steady at No.3.
Another season of remarkable consistency brought Agnieszka Radwanska three titles and a sixth consecutive finish inside the Top 10.

4) Strong second half gives hope for Halep.
Following a slow start, Simona Halep’s season really caught alight in the summer, a string of deep runs on the cement paving her path to another year-end Top 5 ranking.

5) Singapore success fuels Cibulkova’s rise.
Dominika Cibulkova’s 2016 resurgence featured many memorable moments. None, though, could come close to topping her brilliant victory over Kerber at BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The performance was rewarded with the biggest title and highest ranking (No.5) of her career.

6) Pliskova finally makes her breakthrough.
Karolina Pliskova ended her Grand Slam hoodoo in stunning fashion at the US Open, upsetting Serena before losing out to Kerber in an entertaining final. The result saw her rise to No.6, where she also finished the year. 

7) Muguruza slips despite maiden major.
While there were signs of a revival in Singapore, Garbiñe Muguruza failed to build on June’s Roland Garros breakthrough, a second half of the season slump seeing her slip to No.7.

8) Fresh and familiar faces join Top 10 party.
Madison Keys continued to make good on her boundless potential, ending a season of steady progress at No.8. Also joining her was Johanna Konta, who became the first Briton since 1983 to end the year inside the Top 10. Sandwiched between the newcomers was a familiar face, as Svetlana Kuznetsova ended the campaign inside the Top 10 for the sixth time.

9) And there could be more next year.
Petra Kvitova finished the year like a steam train, rising to No.11 following titles in Wuhan and Zhuhai. A Top 10 return will surely soon follow, while the next generation is also well represented in the upper echelons, Elina Svitolina (No.14), Caroline Garcia (No.23), Daria Gavrilova (No.25), Timea Babos (No.26), Daria Kasatkina (No.27) and Monica Puig (No.32) all achieved the best year-end ranking of their fledgling careers.

10) A little more about the year-end Top 100…
The oldest and youngest players in the year-end Top 100 are Venus Williams (36) and Catherine Bellis (17), and there are 32 countries represented in there (the United States has the most players with 16).

SINGAPORE – Simona Halep has won the Jerry Diamond ACES Award for 2016.

The Diamond ACES Award was first introduced in 1995, in memory of former WTA CEO Jerry Diamond. The award is presented to the player who consistently goes above and beyond in promoting the sport of women’s tennis to fans, media, and local communities by performing off-court promotional and charitable activities.

The Romanian has earned the ACES award for the first time in her career, having participated in numerous kids’ clinics throughout the globe, charitable activities such as the Charity Day Clinic in Madrid, as well as fan friendly events, including the Sydney Festival, to help bring the game closer to the community. 

WTA Diamond Aces Award Winners
2016: Simona Halep
2015: Caroline Wozniacki
2014: Petra Kvitova
2013: Victoria Azarenka
2012: Victoria Azarenka
2011: Caroline Wozniacki
2010: Samantha Stosur
2009: Elena Dementieva
2008: Ana Ivanovic
2007: Jelena Jankovic
2006: Svetlana Kuznetsova

Complete listing of the historical WTA Awards.

When the WTA and SAP announced a multi-year sponsorship in 2013, most of us in tennis wondered what the technology company’s ultimate deliverable would look like. Flash forward three years and SAP’s vision on how its data solutions could elevate the women’s game has become clear: start with the on-court product.

After a full year of data collection from matches and opening up the development process to players and coaches, SAP launched its on-court coaching tablet last August. The tablet, which had to be retrofitted to work in tennis’ grueling sun and heat conditions, allows coaches to track real-time match data from the coach’s box and, if needed, use the tablet as a visual aid during on-court coaching timeouts.

“When SAP looked to partner with the WTA this was one of the main reasons why women’s sport was something that we were interested in,” said Jenni Lewis, head of tennis technology at SAP. “Because we saw we could work together in impacting the sport in a positive way with technology. Playing by the rules, but still being able to say there was a gap there we could fill. The On Court Coaching rule has been there for a long time. Now we have the ability to bring in some facts to that conversation.”

But there’s only so much information a coach and player can process during a match. Using feedback from coaches with respect to the data points they are most interested in during matches, SAP worked to curate the tablet experience to make sure they had what they needed at their fingertips.

Away from the matches, coaches and players now have access to a robust Tournament Performance Center, an online portal that provides access to even more data and information which can be configured by each user. While the coaching tablet has been heavily refined so as to not overwhelm the coaches with information while they are trying to manage the match, the TPC unlocks a wealth of information for coaches to use in analysis, scouting, and preparation. The courtside solution is only accessible via a WTA authorized tablet. The TPC can be used on a website, tablet, or mobile device.

“I think it’s a game changer,” said Nicole Pratt, who currently coaches Daria Gavrilova, “The data that’s now available to the coaches and what the coaches are giving back to the players.”

The hope is that access to information will give coaches the tools to become better coaches and result in better players and a better on-court product. As Pratt told WTA Insider last year, the hard data helps solidify the player/coach relationship and cuts through the debate as to what did or did not happen in a match so both can focus on reinforcing solutions or diagnosing the problems.

“Sometimes you see the player and the coach arguing on court,” Pratt said. “With this data you cannot have that argument on court because it’s real. It’s right in front of them.”

The result is an uptick in efficiency, driven by the needs of the coaches.

“The platform gives us the flexibility, but the people give us the ideas,” Lewis said. “So we’ve been very lucky to have that access and also the buy-in from the coaches and the players about telling us. We took some time because we wanted to make sure the adoption happened.”

The current databases are built off automated data from the umpire’s electronic scoring devices, meaning there is a guaranteed minimum threshold of data points for every match on tour, as well as Hawkeye data where available. In the future, Lewis hopes to be able to incorporate racquet technology and data generated from wearables into the full dataset. In the meantime, the next step is to provide more analytical tools for broadcast and media to be able to use the data to enhance their storytelling abilities.

#SAPCoachesView: See insights on how @Vika7 Azarenka got the upper hand against Kuznetsova in the @MiamiOpen final! pic.twitter.com/pYeqUgG5Hc

— WTA (@WTA) April 2, 2016

Speaking to reporters at the Miami Open, WTA President Micky Lawler highlighted the potential health benefits of SAP’s work as well. The more data the tour has on the physical effects of game on the players’ bodies could impact everything from the tour’s Sports Science and Medicine team to how best to reconfigure the circuit structure to protect the athletes.