Sharapova Sails Into Third Round
2008 Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova faced few problems under the roof in Rod Laver Arena, progressing past Aliaksandra Sasnovich in straight sets.
2008 Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova faced few problems under the roof in Rod Laver Arena, progressing past Aliaksandra Sasnovich in straight sets.
At the final Premier Mandatory event of the campaign, the China Open, Agnieszka Radwanska reclaimed the trophy she won five years earlier, while over in indoor halls of Europe, Dominika Cibulkova and Svetlana Kuznetsova sealed their spots at the WTA Finals.
Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka were joined by four colorful characters at the Australian Open Kids Tennis Day – as well as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Eugenie Bouchard’s loyal fans, the “Genie Army,” were out in full force in sunny Melbourne.
Australian player Daria Gavrilova thrilled Aussie fans with her spirited performance at her home slam. The 21-year-old made the Round of 16, her best result ever at a slam.
Down the road from Melbourne Park, Johanna Konta stands under the distinctive clocks of Flinders Street Station. Konta made British tennis history by becoming the first woman in 33 years to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley presents Maria Sharapova with a cake commemorating a major milestone: she reached 600 career singles wins after her victory in the third round.
Australian Open quarterfinalist Angelique Kerber makes a young fan happy at Autograph Island.
Naomi Osaka wants to be the very best, like no one ever was. The 18-year-old Japanese – pictured here meeting the penguins at Melbourne Aquarium – made the third round at the Australian Open.
Serena Williams signs autographs after her Round of 16 win. The World No.1 has yet to drop a set in her Australian Open title defense.
Annika Beck dealt the No.11 seed Timea Bacsinszky a second-round upset, and doled out many autographs at the Australian Open Autograph Island.
World No.113 Zheng Shuai was contemplating retiring after the Australian Open – until she upset the No.2 seed Simona Halep in the first round. Zheng – pictured here with coach Liu Shuo at the Chinese Museum – is now in her first ever Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka signs a camera lens after her victory – can the undefeated No.14 seed make it three Grand Slams in Melbourne?
Daria Kasatkina, who made the third round in Melbourne, tries on a bit of Aussie spirit – and a cork hat – at the Australia Pop Up Shop.
Carla Suárez Navarro is always calm – whether she’s on court or holding a freshwater crocodile. A quarterfinalist here in Melbourne, she’s looking to move into the final four for the first time in her career.
Garbiñe Muguruza during her post-match interview. The World No.3 made the third round of the Australian Open.
The spotlight is on World No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska, behind the scenes at her ESPN Player Montage. The reigning WTA Finals champion is seeking to make the Australian Open her first Grand Slam title.
Venus Williams, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and designer, sat down with Racked ahead of the Olympic Games to discuss her design empire, which covers everything from fashion to interior design.
She’s been at the helm of EleVen by Venus since 2007, but she admitted that sometimes it’s still a struggle to be taken seriously as a designer – good thing her favorite pastime is proving doubters wrong.
“It’s interesting. Because people know your name, you can get pigeonholed into being perceived a certain way. And that’s OK,” she told Racked. “People are like, “She’s a great athlete, but does it translate to design?” And actually, it does! They find out about me and the great team we have and you can see the light bulb go off.”
Venus also maintained that she’s still involved in the day-to-day happenings of EleVen, even despite the constant travel required in competing at the highest levels of women’s tennis.
“I was in the office yesterday and we’re working on fall ’17 now, so we’ve started the process of understanding what our color story is, what our prints are,” she explained to Racked. “From there, we start to work with the sales team. What do people really like? What do we want to bring back, and what are the new pieces? We look at colors and prints and actual fabrics. Then it gets refined and refined and refined.
“I also take my sketchbooks on the road and I’m constantly sketching.”
You can see her finished product on the court as she competes for a shot at a medal in the mixed doubles semifinal at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.
But wish you could wear those red, white and blues yourself? The entire ensemble is available at Tennis Warehouse – it even includes Venus’ gold pendant and a certificate of authenticity.
Here it is in action on the four-time gold medalist herself:
Venus also designed a separate outfit for doubles:
Click here to visit Tennis Warehouse and check out more Olympic styles and tennis gear.
– All photos courtesy of Getty Images
Former World No.2 Petra Kvitova announced on Monday morning that she and coach David Kotyza had ended their seven year partnership. Beginning at the start of the 2009 season, Kvitova began her meteoric rise up the rankings with Kotyza at the helm, winning two Wimbledon titles, and a WTA Finals trophy in 2011, the year in which she was one match from finishing at No.1 in the world.
WTA Insider spoke with Kotyza last fall during the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global; check out that interview here – the audio version can be found on the WTA Insider Podcast – and read Kvitova’s statement on Facebook below:
CINCINNATI, OH, USA – One of the biggest events of the US hardcourt swing begins in full force on Monday. It’s the Western & Southern Open from Cincinnati and we’re previewing Day 1’s enticing match-ups on wtatennis.com.
Monday, First Round
Center Court
Sara Errani (ITA #32) vs. CoCo Vandeweghe (USA #33)
Head-to-head: Errani leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Monday’s winner faces fourth-seeded Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round.
American CoCo Vandeweghe will try to continue the momentum she built during the grass court season when she faces Italy’s Sara Errani on Center Court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Monday. It won’t be easy. Vandeweghe has won 12 of her last 15 WTA-level matches, but she has only played two matches since Wimbledon, winning one and losing one at Stanford. Vandeweghe will have to hit the mark early and often to avoid getting dragged into too many protracted rallies against the super-fit World No.24 from Bologna. It was Errani who won the only career meeting between the two at Wimbledon, but that was just over four years ago and the 24-year-old Vandeweghe has evolved since then, particularly after pairing with coach Craig Kardon last season. Errani reached the round of 16 at the Olympics, but she has only managed a 7-9 record against the Top 50 this season.
Pick: Errani in three
Ana Ivanovic (SRB #25) vs. [Q] Donna Vekic (CRO #121)
Head-to-head: Ivanovic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Ivanovic has won seven of her last nine matches at Cincinnati, losing only to Serena Williams.
It has been a fantastic year on a personal level for former World No.1 Ana Ivanovic, marrying German footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger this July, but in order to make it a fantastic year professionally Ivanovic requires a summer resurgence on the US hard courts. After dropping a three-setter to Carla Suárez Navarro at the Olympics the Serb has now lost three straight and is barely hovering above the .500 mark for the season at 15-14. The 2014 Western & Southern Open runner-up will open up with a winnable contest against 20-year-old Croatian Donna Vekic. Long on promise, the former World No.62 has struggled to string together victories and will make her Cincinnati debut in the midst of a nine-match WTA-level losing streak.
Pick: Ivanovic in two
Grandstand
Caroline Garcia (FRA #30) vs. [Q] Daria Gavrilova (AUS #47)
Head-to-head: Gavrilova leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Garcia recorded her only career Top 5 win at Cincinnati last season.
A pair of highly-touted 22-year-olds will clash for the first time in a WTA main draw – they met five years ago on the ITF Circuit – on Monday in Cincinnati, as Caroline Garcia and Daria Gavrilova are set to lock horns in the second match on Grandstand. Garcia has lost four of six since winning her first career grass court title at Mallorca, but she is back at the scene of her first career Top 5 win, which came last season over Petra Kvitova during a quarterfinal run here at Cincinnati. The Frenchwoman doesn’t lack for talent, but consistency has been a limiting factor ever since she cracked the WTA’s Top 50 a little over two years ago. The same could be said about her opponent of late. Gavrilova’s breakout season came in 2015, and she’s done a solid job of maintaining a Top 50 ranking this season, but she has managed only two quarterfinals in 15 events this campaign.
Pick: Gavrilova in three
By the numbers…
400 – Both Andrea Petkovic and Lucie Safarova have a shot at winning their 400th WTA match at Cincinnati this week.
19 – The age of Jelena Ostapenko, the youngest player in this year’s draw. The Latvian will face Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Grandstand on Monday.
0 – Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza is appearing at Cincinnati for the third time but is still searching for her first victory. She will face the winner of Vandeweghe versus Errani after a first-round bye.
November 19, 2016
At the final Premier Mandatory event of the campaign, the China Open, Agnieszka Radwanska reclaimed the trophy she won five years earlier, while over in indoor halls of Europe, Dominika Cibulkova and Svetlana Kuznetsova sealed their spots at the WTA Finals.
Maria Sharapova’s candy empire is set to get a whole lot sweeter with the debut of Sugarpova Premium Chocolates.
WTA Insider | On the latest WTA Insider Live Blog, all of the top seeds are on the schedule to take Cincinnati by storm after a rainy Tuesday at the Western & Southern Open.
Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching took to the culture heart of Singapore during the WTA Finals, even attempting to create traditional dress worn throughout Southeast Asia.