Tennis News

Newly minted Hall of Famer and former World No.1 Justine Henin returns to the Montréal wing of the Rogers Cup – twice a winner in Toronto – for the first time in 14 years.

But the Belgian has no time for nostalgia; there’s work to be done with Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, the third youngest woman in the Top 20.

Henin has been a part of Svitolina’s coaching team since February, eight months after the 21-year-old first reached the quarterfinals at the French Open – a tournament Henin won four times.

Work at eponymous tennis club, academy, and “Justine For Kids” foundation precludes her from traveling full-time with the Ukrainian, but the seven-time major champion’s presence has been felt throughout the season.

For her part, Svitolina showed the effects of the partnership right away, reaching the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and winning the BMW Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur – where she defeated former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard in three grueling sets.

It has been an up and down season since then, but Henin hardly expected perfection from one so young.

“It’s a year of transition for her,” she said before her induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. “She got to the Top 20 at the end of last year. It was a big goal for her, and now she wants to take the next step.”

Justine Henin @CoupeRogers in her consulting role w/ Svitolina. Definitely not a passive role. Instructing after every point in practice.

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) July 24, 2016

Svitolina’s second year in the big leagues still has plenty of firsts ahead of her, including a debut appearance at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero. Ranked just outside the Top 30 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, the Ukrainian youngster heads into what was a successful part of the season last summer, finishing in the final four of both the Bank of the West Classic and the Western & Southern Open.

Henin believed Svitolina still has big goals for the end of the season, but ultimately preached patience at the sport’s pinnacle in Newport.

“She has a lot of talent and potential, but she needs some time to organize a lot things, and not put too much pressure on the ranking. But I feel lucky to be with a good girl who has a lot of values, respect for the game and for the others on the team. I wish and hope for her that she’ll do well in the second part of the season and maybe qualify for Singapore.

“It’s important, but as I always try to say to the other players, if you look a little bit further and have a big picture of your career, you don’t plan everything for six months or a year, but have a vision for many years. You start to build differently.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the second part of the season, but it will be exciting for sure. We always hope for some surprises, and hopefully good tennis in the next few months.”

My story began in Odessa, where I dreamed by the sea. Now I cross that sea, to follow my dream. @Nike #justdoit pic.twitter.com/ZUxLauaY05

— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) July 22, 2016

At 5’9″ tall, her charge isn’t among the tallest on tour, something to which the 5’6″ Henin can relate, having already blazed a trail for the likes of Svitolina, Simona Halep and Dominika Cibulkova to succeed in the modern game.

“I hope I could inspire them in a certain way, or that they realize, that you can’t compete just because you’re not that tall, because you can find other things.”

Looking back on her own experiences, the Belgian cited the importance of shorter players emphasizing their strengths, rather than worrying about their weaknesses.

“We had to choose some direction with my longtime coach, Carlos Rodriguez; do you try to work on your weaknesses, which is important, or do you try to use your strengths and make them even stronger or better? My qualities were my speed, technique, and vision of the game, and we tried to level that up a little bit more. I think with my technique and speed, I could compensate the power of the other players.”

That compensation may come at a cost, but it’s the kind of price Henin believes all champions must be willing to pay.

“Some girls can do it today; you don’t have to be so strong or so tall, you can just use your qualities. It’s harder to have a long career if you are not that tall or strong, because you have to push your body 200% all the time to compete because you have to be physically good. It’s maybe tough to stay on the tour for so many years, which happened to me. That’s the toughest part.

“But if you want to compete at a good level, there’s no reason why you can’t do it.”

Back on the tour for the first time since retiring for the final time in 2011, Henin believes the game is more exciting than ever, with just the right mix of veterans and newcomers coming together to create compelling match-ups.

“Serena winning her 22nd Grand Slam was an amazing accomplishment, one that is just very hard to imagine someone doing in 2016. But she did, so I’m very happy for her.

“At the same time, you see other names like Kerber at the Australian Open and Muguruza in Paris. It’s good because now you feel there’s another generation coming on pretty strongly, and that’s what the game needs, for sure. I like to see these girls competing at a good level, but also pushing Serena to still improve – which is amazing to think that she can still improve – at almost 35 years old.”

BIEL/BIENNE, Switzerland/BOGOTA, Colombia – The Ladies Open Biel Bienne will make its debut on the WTA circuit this week. The second annual tournament in Switzerland is played on indoor hard-courts. While the Claro Open Colsanitas continues the spring, clay court season. Since it’s upgrade to a WTA-level event in 1998, the Colombian tournament has evolved into one of the most prestigious sporting events in all of Latin America.

1) The Swiss are out with a vengeance.
Three Swiss players are playing in Biel/Bienne this week. Belinda Bencic, former World No.7 was given a wildcard into the tournament, while Rebeka Masarova is back at home after making her debut to the women’s tour at Gstaad in 2016 – beating former World No.1 Jelena Jankovic in the first round. Finally, Viktorija Golubic who went on to win the tile in Gstaad, is also in action.

2) Strycova leads in Swiss field.
Top seed Barbora Strycova will aim to win her second career title in Biel/Bienne after strong results at the Miami Open in singles and doubles. Her last title came in 2011 at the Tournoi de Québec – another indoor hardcourt event. 

3) Babos, Niculescu anchor quarter of contrasts.
There are few match-ups more fun than those that provide a contrast in styles, one of which we may get if No.3 seed Timea Babos and No.8 seed Monica Niculescu advance into the last eight. Niculescu leads their head-to-head 3-2, but Babos won both of their 2016 encounters.

4) Carla Suárez Navarro back on form after injury.
Suárez Navarro looks nearly back to her best after an injury-addled start to 2017, she will come into Biel as the No.2 seed after reaching the quarterfinals in Monterry last week.

5) Vinci gets KrisPlis rematch in Biel/Bienne.
Roberta Vinci was a game away from knocking out Kristyna Pliskova at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships before Karolina’s twin sister stunned the Italian veteran in three sets. The two face off again in the first round in Biel/Bienne, Vinci the No.4 seed.

6) Kiki Bertens will start in Colombia as the No.1 seed.
The Dutchwoman reached her career high in February, cracking the World’s Top 20. She is set to play 20-year-old Nina Stojanovic in the first round.

7) Irina Falconi is back to defend her title in Bogota.
The World No.105 has has struggled with injury since winning her maiden WTA title last spring, but she will be fighting to defend it this week. The American faces Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic in the first round.

8) Errani to face streaking Alexandrova.
Former French Open finalist Sara Errani will begin her red clay swing in earnest down in Bogota, but will first have to get past the on-fire Ekaterina Alexandrova. The young Russian comes to Colombia on the back of 10 straight wins and two ITF titles in China and France.

9) Siniakova aims to bring doubles success to singles court in Bogota.
20-year-old Katerina Siniakova started the season with a singles title in Shenzhen, and has since shown her best tennis on the doubles court with Lucie Hradecka, reaching finals at the BNP Paribas Open and the Volvo Car Open last week. The Czech will aim to rediscover her singles form in Bogota, where she will be the No.2 seed.

10) Can Arruabarrena reclaim her Colombian crown.
Lara Arruabarrena won the Claro Open Colsanitas in 2012, and has shown some improved hardcourt form at the Miami Open, where she upset Madison Keys en route to the fourth round. The No.4 seed in Bogota, she opens against a qualifier.

CoCo Vandweghe’s Olympic dream took an unexpected turn when the American injured her right ankle during her Bank of the West Classic quarterfinal against Alison Riske.

Not long after retiring from the match, Vandeweghe expressed an unwavering desire to be ready to play doubles with fellow BNP Paribas Open winner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

“I sprained my ankle a couple of days ago in Stanford, but glad the fall looked worse than it was,” she said on Monday. “Back now in training mode for Rio – hard work never sleeps! Thank you again to the tournament and Bank of the West for all of their support and I hope to see everyone again next year.”

We wish you a speedy recovery, @CoCoVandey! #BOTWC https://t.co/kAB9xbPmGe

— WTA (@WTA) July 23, 2016

Vandeweghe soon learned that the fall looked much worse than it was, and all doubt was laid to rest after confirming that the injury was, in fact, just a sprain. CoCo took to social media to show her rehab already underway.

“I sprained my ankle a couple of days ago in Stanford, but happy to say it’s just a sprain,” she said on Monday. “I’m back now in training mode for Rio – hard work never sleeps! Thank you again to the tournament and Bank of the West for all of their support and I hope to see everyone again next year.”

Vandweghe’s coach, Craig Kardon, also tweeted out one of their workouts:

Look out Rio #RoadToRio @cocovandey pic.twitter.com/sVoLtLwddk

— craig kardon (@ckardon) July 25, 2016

With two weeks to go for her Olympic debut, the 24-year-old is back in Rancho Santa Fe training with more fire and heart than ever, making it crystal clear that there is no way she will be missing the Rio Games.

MONTRÉAL, Canada – Two years after doing battle for the Rogers Cup title in 2014, Agnieszka Radwanska and Venus Williams take center stage in Montréal once more. Who else will be in action? 

Wednesday, Second Round

Central
[4] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #4) vs. Monica Niculescu (ROU #61)
Head-to-head: Radwanska leads 3-1
Kicking off play on Wednesday on Court Central is Radwanska, champion from 2014 and among the most consistent hardcourt performers of the last 12 months. Radwanska brought the form that helped her win the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global last fall to the start of the season, reaching the semifinals or better at her first four tournaments – including the Australian Open. Inconsistencies followed on clay and grass, where the Pole found herself outgunned all too often by rival Dominika Cibulkova.

In a low-pressure part of the season with few points to defend, Radwanska will seek to maintain her hardcourt mastery of the always-tricky Niculescu, who won their only meeting on grass. The Romanian veteran used all of her guile and cunning to frustrate young Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in three sets on Tuesday, but can she surprise fellow trick shot queen Radwanska with something new in her arsenal?

Barbora Strycova (CZE #22) vs. [6] Venus Williams (USA #6)
Head-to-head: Venus leads 3-0
Following a slow start to 2016, Venus has played vintage tennis since the tour turned to grass. Reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal since 2010, the reigning Wimbledon doubles champion all but perfectly transitioned onto the hardcourts at her beloved Bank of the West Classic, where she narrowly lost to an on-fire Johanna Konta in three sets.

Strycova is no stranger to the faster surfaces herself, having reached two WTA finals of her own in 2016 in Dubai and Birmingham. Another crafty veteran, the Czech’s head-to-head with the elder Williams sister is deceptive, given that their last two matches went the distance – including their hardcourt meeting at the Qatar Total Open in 2015. Can Strycova notch her first win over a Venus who appears back in orbit?

Stat to watch: Venus is back up to her highest ranking since February 2011.

Also on court…
Kicking off the night session will be Canada’s own Eugenie Bouchard, who will seek to replicate her thrilling three-set win over Eugenie Bouchard against a familiar foe in No.11 seed Dominika Cibulkova, who won their most recent meeting at Wimbledon. Following that dynamic duo is No.2 seed and reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, who faces the always-dangerous Mirjana Lucic-Baroni for a spot in the third round. An all-American battle is on offer between No.10 seed Madison Keys and Madison Brengle on Court Banque Nationale, while Russians Alla Kudryavtseva and No.9 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova face off on Court 5.

World No.8 Agnieszka Radwanska knows what it’s like to be a teenage queen.

The Pole won her first WTA title at the age of 18 in 2007, and reached both her first Grand Slam quarterfinal and the world’s top 10 the next season. A decade later, WTA teenagers were in the spotlight on Sunday as Daria Kasatkina defeated Jelena Ostapenko to win the first all-teenaged final at a WTA event since 2009 at the Volvo Car Open.

For Radwanska, who turned professional at the age of 16, game recognizes game.

“Now I know what my opponents must have felt like back then. I have to say, the younger players on tour right now are dangerous,” Radwanska wrote in a Straits Times column this week. “We talk about it among ourselves. ‘The kids are coming!’ I think the new generation of players are just better than earlier in my career. They really play smart. From a young age, they’re already pushing to play tournaments and matches. They’re sacrificing a lot but that means they’re very good when they’re 16 or 17.”

Recognizing that she is now closer to the end of her career than the beginning, the 28-year-old reflected on playing a full schedule over the course of her years on the circuit, and how growing up in tennis has evolved.  

“When I was a junior, I played tournaments and went to school at the same time, and I went step by step. I had a pretty normal life, only unlike my friends I didn’t have much time for myself….I’ve been on tour for so long. I haven’t had any breaks. I’ve had a couple of surgeries but I always had those during the off-season and I’m always ready for the majors. I’ve played 43 Grand Slams in a row.”

She added: “My goal now is to maximize the time I have left on tour, and that means being as efficient as possible in my schedule by making the most of my opportunities.”

In the lead-up to the Oct 22-29 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, the eight singles players from last year will pen a monthly exclusive column for The Straits Times. The second installment features 2015 champion Agnieszka Radwanska — read it in full here.