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Watch Christina McHale's Exclusive Tour Of New USTA Orlando Facility

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ORLANDO, FL, USA – On-the-rise American Christina McHale took a break from her off-season preparations to take WTA fans on an exclusive tour of the new USTA National Campus in Orlando, set to open in early 2017.

“It’s just a really great environment to be in,” said McHale, who was in town for a practice session on the Team USA Player Development courts.

Dubbed “the new Home Of American Tennis,” the National Campus will serve as the home base of USTA’s Player Development and USTA’s Community Tennis divisions as well as host USTA Pro Circuit events. Formerly in New York at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which hosts the US Open, the new Orlando facility is one of the largest tennis facilities in the world.

Check out the video above to follow McHale on a first look at the brand new facility!


Fast Facts About The USTA National Campus:
· With 64-plus acres and 100 lighted tennis courts, the National Campus is one of the largest tennis facilities in the world.
· The USTA National Campus will open January 2, 2017 with the first tournament scheduled for January 6th.
· The Campus will host over 80 tournaments and events in 2017 with approximately 30,000 participants.
· An expected 80,000-100,000 attendees will visit the Campus in 2017.
· The USTA’s Community Tennis and Player Development divisions will be headquartered at the National Campus. It will also be home to the national training center for USTA-certified officials.

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Sania Mirza’s New Year’s Resolution: Taking Care Of Unfinished Business

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Doubles World No.1 Sania Mirza is closing in on 90 weeks at the top of the rankings, but she’s still got unfinished business to take care of in 2017.

The Indian star ended the season as the world’s top doubles player for the second straight year, capping off a stellar run which saw her win three Grand Slams in a row, go on a 41-match winning streak and rack up an incredible 15 titles with four different partners.

But despite the impressive trophy haul, there’s still one title missing from her resume, and in 2017 Mirza intends to make things right on the red clay of Paris.

“In 2017, I would love to win a Grand Slam,” Mirza said, speaking at a promotional event in India. “If that [winning the French Open] does happen, it would be amazing. I won’t kill myself, if I don’t [win the French Open].

“It would be amazing for me to have three back-to-back years with at least one Grand Slam. So, that would be my goal really and everything else follows.”

Mirza came close to lifting the French Open doubles trophy in 2011 when she reached the final with then-partner Elena Vesnina, but six years down the road the World No.1 is heading to Paris in search of her first Coupe Simone-Mathieu and the Career Slam.

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Kerber, Serena Lead WTA Stars' Ivanovic Salute On Twitter

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Former World No.1 and 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic took the tennis world by surprise when she announced on Facebook Live that she would be retiring from the sport, effective immediately.

“It hasn’t been an overnight decision,” she explained in an exclusive with WTA Insider. “It’s been on my mind for a little bit but I tried to also follow my heart because for me, it’s proven to be the best way.

“I really felt now it’s time to just give back. Coming from Serbia, everything that I’ve been through in my life and my career, so far my parents and my brother with me, they made it all possible. I feel very fortunate and so I want to give back and maybe help others be as fortunate as I was.”

What followed was an outpouring of well wishes from her friends and colleagues who’ve been with her throughout her 13-year career. From WTA founder Billie Jean King, to 2016’s World No.1s Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams, to rising stars like Belinda Bencic and Daria Gavrilova, it was clear Ivanovic was as much beloved by her fellow players as the fans saying #ThankYouAna.

Check out what her fellow WTA stars had to say about the Serb on Twitter:

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Madrid: Practice Makes Perfect

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Simona Halep, Carla Suárez Navarro, Garbiñe Muguruza, Victoria Azarenka and the rest of Madrid’s top seeds took to the practice courts ahead of the Mutua Madrid Open.

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