Johanna Konta's Best Shots Of 2016
Johanna Konta hit a lot of hot shots on her way to making British tennis history in 2016, but which one her best shots of the year was your favorite?
Johanna Konta hit a lot of hot shots on her way to making British tennis history in 2016, but which one her best shots of the year was your favorite?
Angelique Kerber (+2, No.4 to No.2): The German reached her second Grand Slam final of the season, knocking out five-time champion and former No.1 Venus Williams before battling through a two-set defeat to World No.1 Serena Williams. Kerber is back to the career-high ranking she first earned in February upon claiming her maiden major title at the Australian Open.
Venus Williams (+1, No.8 to No.7): Williams moves more comfortably into the Top 8 after making her first major semifinal since the 2010 US Open. Back up to her highest ranking since early 2011, Venus fought through five tough matches to finish in the final fall before falling to Kerber in straight sets.
Carla Suárez Navarro (+3, No.12 to No.9): Suárez Navarro returned to the Top 10 following her best career grass court season. Backing up a run to the semifinals of the Aegon Classic, the Spaniard reached the second week of Wimbledon for just the second time in her career, bowing out to Venus Williams despite having chances to serve out the opening set.
Svetlana Kuznetsova (+4, No.14 to No.10): The Russian veteran fulfilled her promise of returning to the Top 10 after having chances to do so earlier in the season. Kuznetsova is at her highest rank since the spring of 2010, just before her title defense of the French Open title she had won the year before. Kuznetsova played Serena Williams tough after knocking out former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki en route to the fourth round.
Dominika Cibulkova (+6, No.18 to No.12): Cibulkova’s march back toward the Top 10 continued at Wimbledon, where the Slovakian dynamo followed up her title run at the Aegon International with a run to the quarterfinals of the All England Club.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (+4, No.23 to No.19): Up to her highest ranking in over three years, Pavlyuchenkova played her best grass court tennis of her career to reach her first Wimbledon quarterfinal – upsetting Timea Bacsinszky and CoCo Vandeweghe along the way.
Elena Vesnina (+26, No.50 to No.24): Ranked outside the Top 100 to start the season, Vesnina cut her ranking in half following her fortnight at Wimbledon, where she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal. After surviving a thrilling, rain-delayed encounter with doubles partner Ekaterina Makarova, she put on an emphatic display to dispatch Cibulkova in the quarterfinals.
The following women all reached career-high rankings; click here to see the full rankings updated as of 7/11/16!
New #WTA Career-High Rankings@KikiBertens – No.26 @DKasatkina – No.29 @MonicaAce93 – No.33
Misaki Doi – No.36 @MariaSakkari – No.97— WTA (@WTA) July 11, 2016
Ana Ivanovic and Dominika Cibulkova had plenty to celebrate this weekend as each married their respective fiances, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michal Navara.
Catherine Bellis completed a memorable week by upsetting top seed Zhang Shuai to lift the inaugural Hawaii Open.
WHITE PLAINS, NY, USA – The USTA announced a major prize money increase for the 2016 US Open. A $4 million boost brings the total purse for the tournament to a record $46.3 million, a 10-percent increase over the 2015 US Open prize money totals.
In all, the US Open will provide the richest purse in tennis history at this year’s event.
Both the men’s and women’s singles champions will earn $3.5 million, the largest payout in US Open history. The average increase per round for the singles competition is 10 percent above the 2015 US Open. Both the men’s and women’s doubles champion teams will earn $625,000, the highest in US Open history, and overall doubles prize money has been increased by 10.5 percent.. The US Open Qualifying Tournament will offer more than $1.9 million in prize money, a 10 percent increase over 2015.
This year’s US Open, scheduled for August 29 through September 11 – with the US Open Qualifying Tournament beginning on August 23 – will feature a number of major enhancements, including a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium, a new Grandstand Stadium, and a completely redesigned southern campus to ease accessibility and crowding throughout the site.
“We are proud that this year’s US Open will offer the richest purse in tennis history,” said USTA Chairman of the Board and President Katrina Adams. “We continue to invest in all aspects of this world-class event to provide the best services and experiences for the players, our fans, and all of the US Open partners.”
Round-by-round individual prize money for the US Open singles tournaments are as follows:
Singles:
Winner: $3,500,000
Runner-Up: $1,750,000
Semifinalist: $875,000
Quarterfinalist: $450,000
Round of 16: $235,000
Round of 32: $140,000
Round of 64: $77,200
Round of 128: $43,300
WTA CEO Steve Simon spoke at length about the importance of SAP’s analytic advancements on the company’s CEO Live Page.
“Running SAP HANA is definitely making it easier for fans to enjoy us,” said Simon. “It’s giving them the in-depth background information that they’re looking for. No longer is the fan just looking for pictures; they’re looking for the story behind the pictures, and SAP is helping us provide that.
“The goal of the WTA, which is currently the number one women’s professional sports league in the world, is not just to be the number one women’s sports league in the world, but to be competitive with all sports. Our partnership with SAP is going to allow us to build audience because of the stories that we’re able to tell, and thus be competitive in that marketplace.”
Click here to hear more from Simon in the full video as part of SAP’s Live Business Leaders series.
TAMPA, FL, USA – Venus Williams might be gearing up for the 2017 WTA season, but the former No.1 is already outfitted through 2018.
Venus – who is set to start the year in Auckland – took some time off from her busy off-season preparations to debut the latest collection of Eleven By Venus, called Casablanca, as well as reveal some long-term career plans.
“I design all of my collections in advance, so while we’re just debuting this season’s collection I’ve actually got everything planned through 2018,” Venus said, speaking at an EleVen event in Tampa where she was showcasing the new collection.
“We’ve got all our designs ready for next year and the year after.”
Her meticulous planning and commitment to EleVen has definitely showed, with her Prism collection that debuted at the US Open being named one of the Top 8 women’s tennis fashion moments of 2016.
“Last season’s collection, Prism, was inspired by a prism of light. Our inspiration was all the different colors in there, we covered the full spectrum – literally! And so Casablanca is what’s left over: the black and the white.”
“It’s just really classic motifs of black and white. When you think of the movie Casablanca, it’s a classic love story, it’s black and white. That’s really what we brought to this line, a real classic feeling. Black, white, and a little bit of red.”
While her off-court entrepreneurial spirit keeps her always busy, on the court the seven-time Grand Slam champion still has just one mission.
“To win every match! Hello!” Venus laughed, adding:
“I’ve been working hard in the gym and getting back on the court. I just love the game, I really do. I love the challenge. It’s been such a part of my life that it’s hard to imagine life without it.
“I’m just gearing up for 2017 like I’m sure everybody else is.”
Gearing up for 2017 and already outfitted for 2018 – Venus is halfway to her biggest goal: the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
All photos courtesy of EleVen By Venus
Victoria Azarenka was the story of 2016’s first quarter. The two-time major champion and former World No.1 rocketed back up the rankings after several seasons of injuries and inconsistencies, winning three titles and becoming the first woman in over a decade to capture the elusive Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double.
By spring, however, the Belarusian was gone from the game, announcing that she would end her season due to a pregnancy. Azarenka has since been busy preparing for the birth of her first child, but nonetheless granted an interview with Tennis Channel to update fans on her life today.
“My pregnancy’s been a completely different experience from anything I’ve done before,” she says. “In theory, you know the process, but to actually go through it, you truly start to deeply understand the magic of it. It’s been quite a ride, I have to say.
“Tennis is my career, but there’s a different part of life. This was a blessing, a gift from God. I believe I still have a great opportunity to do what I love, as long as I love playing tennis. I do, and this is an opportunity to realize how much I love what I do.”
Azarenka has dedicated her time off to her studies, but has still found time to exercise, playing tennis up to the last six weeks of her pregnancy.
“I’m doing a lot of activities I didn’t have time to do before; being at home and sleeping in my own bed is really a luxury for a traveling athlete.
“I miss the fans. I miss that moment when you go on the court and it’s a go time. As a competitor, I have to find that edge in life. I’ve been able to translate that into my studies for now, but that competitive edge is definitely something I’m missing.”
Addressing the question of a comeback, she gave fans reason to be optimistic that she’ll be back on the court sooner, rather than later.
“I don’t feel I’m missing out on someting I won’t be able to do again. For me, it’s about getting to where I want to be and be back there again. That’s my ultimate goal.
“I don’t put any time frame on myself. I would love to make it as soon as possible, but give myself a reasonable time to fully recover and be ready. I’m not going to rush anything, and it’s hard to tell before the birth actually happens. So, we’ll see, but I’m confident that I’ll be able to play tennis again pretty soon.”
Check out the whole video courtesy of Tennis Channel below:
Lucie Safarova had much to overcome off the court this season, recovering from an illness that derailed her soaring start to last season and fighting off injuries that delayed her 2016 debut. But once she got going, she showed what made her such a dangerous opponent, particularly in doubles, where she won another major title with Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the US Open, and rode an 18-match winning streak into the final of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Through all of her trials and tribulations,the Czech always finds time to give back to the player community.
As a result of her work in the WTA Player Council, Safarova was awarded the 2016 Peachy Kellmeyer Player Service Award for the third year in a row.
Selected by player vote, the Player Service Award is awarded each year to the player who has done the most for her fellow players. The player can be acknowledged for their efforts made through the Player Council or any other initiative on behalf of the general player population. This award has been voted on by players since 1977. Previous winners include Kim Clijsters, Liezel Huber, Francesca Schiavone, Pam Shriver and Venus Williams.
The Players’ Council consists of eight selected players on the tour that advocate player interests and handle grievances, changes in the tennis schedule and other concerns. Safarova is a part of the council in the 1-20 Ranking Category, alongside Samantha Stosur, Serena Williams and Venus Williams. She’s served on the Council since 2009, earning the respect of her peers through her willingness to help.
STANFORD, CA, USA – No.7 seed Alizé Cornet was taken to the brink in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic, but rallied from a set down to dispatch American Jennifer Brady, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 44 minutes.
Watch live action from Stanford this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“I always wanted to come here to Stanford, but somehow I was always ending up in Washington, maybe because it was closer!” Cornet joked with Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview.
“But this time I really don’t regret it because I really love this place. It’s amazing, and a lot of champions have won the tournament, so I hope to go as far as I can.”
Playing her first match since reaching the third round of Wimbledon, Cornet fell behind 4-0 in the opening set and couldn’t quite catch up to Brady, who broke serve in a marathon game to put herself one set away from a first-ever WTA main draw win – though she reached the semifinals of a WTA 125K Series event in San Diego last fall.
“I just kept fighting. She was playing really well, big serve and forehand.
“I had some trouble in the beginning of the match; I was really tense and the ball was coming really fast against me. But I just kept trying to hang in there, and try to give my best every point.”
Only one break separated the two in the second set, which Cornet took in another dramatic game to level the match. Racing out to a 5-2 lead in the decider, Brady made one last surge to force the Frenchwoman to serve out her spot in the second round. Clinching the contest with a classic one-two punch, booked a second round meeting with Zheng Saisai, who was the first winner of the day over wildcard Maria Mateas, 7-5, 6-1.
“In the end it was really really close, and I went for it and it worked out, so I’m really happy to be in the second round.”
The night session features an all-Stanford battle between former All-American Nicole Gibbs and Carol Zhao, who helped the university win the 2016 NCAA Championships.
More to come…