Tennis News

It’s time to vote for April’s WTA Player of the Month!

Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, May 6.

April 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists

Angelique Kerber: Defending a title for the first time in her career, Kerber stood up to the pressure of playing at home in emphatic style to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix for the second year in a row. Playing in Germany for only the second time since winning her maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open, the World No.3 survived a tough three-setter against compatriot Annika Beck, and another thriller against Petra Kvitova in the semifinals before coming out on top in the first all-German final in Stuttgart’s history. Earlier in the month, she narrowly missed out on the chance to defend her title at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston before a viral illness halted her campaign in the semifinals.

Sloane Stephens: Stephens continued her head-turning season with a third title in 2016 at the Volvo Car Open. Knocking out four Top 50 players en route to the finals – saving a match point against Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals – she overcame a tough challenge from 2011 Charleston finalist Elena Vesnina to drive off with the trophy and a new car. Backing up her wins in Auckland and Acapulco, the young American increased her record in WTA finals to 4-0, having captured her first title just last summer at the Citi Open.

Laura Siegemund: Siegemund entered the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix hoping just to reach the main draw, and left with so much more. After qualifying, she racked up big win after big win, including three Top 10 wins over Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci, and World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska to win seven matches and reach the championship match, where she fell to Kerber in straight sets. The result vaulted her up to a career-high ranking of No.42, and put her into the Top 4 in her country, an auspicious stat as only four from each country may qualify for the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

2016 Winners

January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

Make no mistake: Monica Puig was already a big deal in Puerto Rico before that Olympic medal was draped around her neck. But that Gold medal has shot her into the stratosphere of recognition back home. Now it’s time to bring tennis to Puerto Rico.

Puig staged her first exhibition last week in San Juan and by every metric, the Monica Puig Invitational was a blazing success.

The 24 year old became the first athlete to ever bring a Gold medal back to Puerto Rico, after beating Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the final of the Olympic tennis event. Her remarkable run, which saw her lose just one set and beat two reigning Grand Slam champions in Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza – not to mention two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova – was as inspiring as it was improbable.

The idea for the exhibition event came during Puig’s flight home. With no WTA tournaments currently staged in Puerto Rico, Puig told her agent Marijn Bal that she wanted a way to not only grow the sport back home but also give her family and fans an opportunity to see her play, not just this year but every year.

She wanted it to be an accessible event, affordable for a family of five to come and enjoy the atmosphere and the tennis. But most of all, she wanted it to be fun. Because if tennis is fun, there’s more of a chance the next Monica Puig might be sitting in the stands.

.@MariaSharapova & @MonicaAce93 show off their dance moves at the #MonicaPuigInvitational ??

Watch the match here: https://t.co/HsbVtAFjKw pic.twitter.com/rMuOWULDIu

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) December 16, 2016

A lively party atmosphere dominated the Coliseu de Puerto Rico, as a packed crowd of more than 12,0000 fans created a Fed Cup atmosphere as their hometown hero took on Maria Sharapova last Thursday. There was dancing, there was laughter, and there was shot-making throughout the match, which Puig won 6-3, 1-6, 10-6.

.@MonicaAce93 def. @MariaSharapova at the #MonicaPuigInvitational

Watch some of the best moments from the match: https://t.co/HShrYCSSTY pic.twitter.com/0ni6eRi4tv

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) December 16, 2016

“It’s been a really long time since I competed in front of fans, in front of spectators, to come out after so many months and compete in front of some of the most enthusiastic fans tonight….” an emotional Sharapova said to the crowd before being drowned out by cheers.

“I think tonight is a combination of a few things. First and most importantly it’s because of Monica. Without her career and without her path of what she achieved this summer at the Olympics none of us would be here tonight so a huge thank you. A huge thank you for the welcome.”

Thank you for the nice words. We did it and YOU killed it! Congrats on an amazing event, Puerto Rico is a special place. ?? https://t.co/YqNygOwpRJ

— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) December 16, 2016

“Maria, before you go I just wanted again to thank you so much for coming to the first Monica Puig Invitational,” Puig said before addressing the arena in Spanish.

“Like I was telling you before and what I want all of Puerto Rico to know is the reason I invited Maria is because she is not only a great champion but a great ambassador to our sport. She has the values that represent a champion. She’s an amazing person, extremely funny, really really humble, and we’re going to work on the Spanish and the dancing, don’t worry!”

Puig hopes to make the event an annual exhibition, expanded over multiple days. This year, in addition to the exhibition itself, Puig and Sharapova also held a kids clinic, visited local dignitaries and VIPs. The event was organized in four months with Puig’s heavy involvement, as she and her agency IMG partnered with Ventana LLC, a local event promoter to implement Puig’s vision.

Puig’s personal sponsors, Universal Insurance, AT&T, Chrysler, and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company immediately answered the call to sponsor the event as well. In all, the exhibition served as a celebration of Puig’s journey to Olympic glory as well as a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped get her there.

Puig is currently doing her off-season training in Boca Raton and will start her season at the Brisbane International, which begins on January 1st.

All photos courtesy of Jimmie48 Tennis Photography.

BRISBANE, Australia – It was Saturday, January 10, 2009 when a future World No.1 would make her first mark on the WTA tour, as a then-19-year-old Victoria Azarenka took home her very first WTA title at the Brisbane International.

The talented teenager had been knocking on the door for a while; she’d already featured in four finals, including at the previous year’s Gold Coast women’s event, which would merge with the Adelaide men’s tournament to form the Brisbane International.

Azarenka, then ranked World No.16 and seeded two at the tournament, would not be denied a fifth time and routed Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-1 in the final.

“Everybody says the third time’s the charm but for me it is the fifth one – I’m just glad I got it,” the Belarusian laughed in her post-championship press conference.

“I just go out and play no matter what happens. That probably helped me. It was like playing a regular match – that is what helped me finish it so quickly.”

Azarenka would go on to write her name in the tennis history books and record even more significant milestones on Australian soil; she eventually took home her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2012 and rose to WTA World No.1 for the first time.

But, back in 2009 at Brisbane, Azarenka was just getting started.  

So young and happy! Same passion still ? https://t.co/U0iJrD8REt

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) January 10, 2017

Check out more photos of Azarenka’s maiden moment of victory, courtesy of Getty Images:

Ana Ivanovic announced her retirement from professional tennis on Wednesday. The former No.1 and 2008 Roland Garros champion cited her ongoing injuries and desire to move on and begin a new chapter in her tennis career, which will see her give back to the sport that gave her so much.

After her announcement, which was streamed on Facebook, WTA Insider caught up with Ivanovic via telephone to reflect on her unforgettable career.

WTA Insider: So first question, how are you feeling after making the announcement?

Ivanovic: It was a little bit nerve-breaking but I’m doing well, thank you.

WTA Insider: Can you talk through how you came to the decision to retire?

Ivanovic: It’s a mix of things, obviously. It hasn’t been an overnight decision. 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 started to play tennis because I loved the game. Now I still love the game but I feel it’s time to move on for various reasons. I’ve been a little bit unfortunate with some injuries that I had. Being back in the Top 10 two years ago, and then fighting injuries, I was going back and forth a lot with my fitness. Then last year I really did a great pre-season, invested a lot of work, my team as well, and again I just kept getting these little niggles back and forth.

So 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.

WTA Insider: As you spent time reflecting on your career, what do you make of it?

Ivanovic: To be honest I’ve been going over it a lot of times and it does get me emotional because I know how I hard I worked to get everything I got. From where I came from, when I look back I am just very very proud of myself and everyone around me who helped me achieve these things.

But it’s not just about achieving these things, it’s also about being the person you are. I think all those setbacks, all those good moments, bad moments, they all make you a person, and in my case, a stronger person. I feel so blessed and so lucky to have gone through all that. I learned more about myself through not only good times but also through bad times. You learn who your real friends are, you know what you need to do to fight back. These are the lessons tennis taught me from such a young age. I feel lucky to experience all that. In life it’s not always good or bad, or black or white. So that’s why I think all these ups and downs actually helped me be the person that I am today.

WTA Insider: Speaking of that evolution, how is the Ana Ivanovic I’m talking to now differ from the one with the braces that held up that trophy in Canberra in 2005?

Ivanovic: More experienced, that’s for sure (laughs).

When I looked back at what I achieved, my development was one of the things I looked at. I was just a girl playing tennis, enjoying the game, and I wasn’t thinking about consequences. I was just playing the game and not relying on past experiences or worrying about consequences. Over time you learn there is pressure, there are expectations, there are your own expectations on top of all that, that’s when you stop playing free. Now looking back, that was the case.

I don’t think you’re ever prepared for the success, but maybe I needed a more experienced team around me to help me deal with that time of new pressures. But that all helped me become the person I am and now I know I can come back from anything. I’ve been low, I’ve been high, and I know that I can survive it all. That’s what gives me strength.

WTA Insider: You won the French Open and got to No.1 in 2008. The years after that weren’t easy for you on court. Given everything you went through, how important was 2014, when you got back in the Top 10, and 2015, when you made the French Open semifinal, for you?

Ivanovic: It was very, very important for me. I know and my team knows how much I fought every day. Even when I was winning all those matches in 2014, sometimes I was struggling with injuries. But I was mentally so strong, fighting my body and getting through these matches. The French Open semifinal was amazing. It’s always so special.

WTA Insider: What will you miss the most about tour life?

Ivanovic: I will definitely miss my friends that I’ve made along the way, but I always hope I’ll meet them again, just as I hope to see you again someday.

The irony actually is that I will miss traveling. That’s the part that I’m also looking forward to the most, that I’ll get to be home more. But I will miss traveling a little bit because I enjoy going to nice places and Australia, in particular, is on top of that list.

WTA Insider: For my last question I’m going to ask you something I’ve asked you throughout your career at various times: As you embark on retired life, what book are you reading?

Ivanovic: Actually I’m reading Inferno by Dan Brown because I realized that’s the only one I haven’t read. The movie is coming out and my brother wants to see it so I told him Ok, let me read the book first and then we can go watch.

WTA Insider: That’s very kind of you, as always. So will we see you at any tournaments this year?

Ivanovic: Yes, I’m sure. I’m already making some plans. I have some people who I promised to see so I look forward to seeing everyone around soon.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.