WTA Stars Test Their Luck With Fortune Cookies
Watch as Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Johanna Konta and more WTA stars test their luck with Fortune Cookies!
Watch as Angelique Kerber, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Johanna Konta and more WTA stars test their luck with Fortune Cookies!
This weekend, the WTA’s finest will descend on the Spanish capital to battle it out for one of the most prestigious titles on the tennis calendar, the Mutua Madrid Open.
Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez Navarro will lead the Spanish challenge, knowing that success on home soil will earn them a place in the hearts of their compatriots forever. Even in victory, though, both will still have a long way to go if they are to match the feats of Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario.
Affectionately known as the Barcelona Bumblebee, Sánchez-Vicario lived up to her moniker, buzzing the width and breadth of the court in the dogged pursuit of tennis balls, none seeming too distant to be deemed a lost cause. Her unquenchable thirst for the fight brought her four majors during a 17-year career, spent almost exclusively at the pinnacle of the game.
In the latest episode of CNN Open Court, Sánchez-Vicario sat down with Pat Cash to discuss Spanish tennis, her legendary career and that nickname.
Long before the Olympic tennis event kicked off in Rio de Janeiro, Venus Williams toyed with the idea of sticking around for 2020, when the Olympics moved to Tokyo, Japan.
“We have to start looking at 2020,” she said at Wimbledon when asked about her successful doubles tenure with sister Serena. “That would be impressive. If you think this year’s impressive, hold on.
“That would be a blessing if we did play. I’m so grateful for each and every time we’ve had a chance to play and qualify. It’s been beyond our dreams. It means the world to us to play together.”
Venus and Serena have been the story of Olympic tennis since the two first paired up to win gold in women’s doubles back in 2000. Since then, the sisters have each amassed quite a haul, each taking gold in singles – Venus in 2000, Serena in 2012 – and earning three golds in women’s doubles in 2000, 2008, and 2012.
She narrowly missed out on a fifth gold medal in mixed doubles, winning silver alongside Rajeev Ram in Rio.
“Tokyo is about if I want to be there,” the five-time Wimbledon winner said in August. “If I want to continue to work as hard. It’s a lot of hard work. I have to want to do the work. So we’ll see.”
Her resolve appears to have solidified even more in the off-season, discussing the possibility of playing through 2020 on a soon-to-be broadcast program on the Hallmark Channel.
“I am targeting that to see if it’s possible to play there. While you’re out there playing, I love that challenge, I love the pressure, it’s all a privilege.
“If I can be out there, I will be.”
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
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Can Lucie Safarova do better on the WTA Frame Challenge than her doubles partner, Bethanie Mattek-Sands?
World No.6 Karolina Pliskova has split with her coach Jiri Vanek. The successful partnership began in 2014 and resulted in two career-best seasons for the 24-year-old Czech, who broke into the Top 10 in 2015.
Pliskova continued her rise in 2016, winning the biggest title of her career at the Western & Southern Open and advancing to her first Slam final at the US Open, where she lost in three sets to World No.1 Angelique Kerber. The announcement comes after Pliskova helped lead the Czech Republic to their fifth Fed Cup title in the last six years.
Like Pliskova, Elina Svitolina also announced her decision to split with longtime coach Iain Hughes; neither Pliskova nor Svitolina have named replacements.
Olga Govortsova knocked out former champion Vitalia Diatchenko to secure the first semifinal spot at the OEC Taipei WTA Challenger.
An interview with Roberta Vinci before her first round match at the Mutua Madrid Open.
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.
An interview with Carla Suárez Navarro before her first round match at the Mutua Madrid Open.