Every week on wtatennis.com we’ll bring you 10 Things To Know about the week ahead – who’s playing, where and more. This week the Road To Singapore goes through a familiar stop off – and a brand new one.
1) Old and new.
The preparation for Wimbledon intensifies this week, with tournaments old an new on the calendar – the Aegon Classic Birmingham and the Mallorca Open. Birmingham has been a fixture of the grass court season since 1982. The Mallorca Open, on the other hand, is in its very first year.
2) The No.1 seed is making her Birmingham return.
Agnieszka Radwanska, the World No.3, is the No.1 seed this week. Traditionally, the Pole has elected not to play this week – in fact the only time she has ventured to Britain’s second city came in 2007 when she lost to Elena Likhovtseva in the second round.
3) And she has been handed a tricky start.
Saturday’s draw was not kind to Radwanska, pairing her with recently crowned ‘s-Hertogenbosch champion CoCo Vandeweghe. It was not the only eye-catching first-round match-up either: two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova takes on Lucie Safarova; Carla Suárez Navarro meets Elina Svitolina; and Karolina Pliskova faces Barbora Strycova.
4) The defending champion is back and ready to defend.
Last year Angelique Kerber won this event after coming out on top in a memorable final with Karolina Pliskova. It was also the first WTA title of her career on grass – the eight other titles have come on hardcourts or clay.
5) Kerber is trying to successfully defend a WTA title for the second time.
If she repeats at the Aegon Classic Birmingham this year, it will be Kerber’s second successful WTA title defense. The first also came this year, at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
6) Can a home favorite make a statement on grass?
Simona Halep’s withdrawal bumped British No.1 Johanna Konta into the final seeded slot. She opens up against Misaki Doi, before a potential second-round clash with former World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki. Heather Watson, Naomi Broady and Tara Moore are also in the draw, facing Camila Giorgi, Daria Gavrilova and a qualifier, respectively.
7) Or is the stage set for one of the WTA’s young pretenders?
The WTA’s highest-ranked teenager Belinda Bencic enjoyed a sparkling grass court campaign 12 months ago, reaching the final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and lifting the title in Eastbourne. Seeded No.4 this time, the Swiss has only recently recovered from a back injury and looking a tad rusty on her return in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Should she falter there are several other young guns capable of making a mark, including Madison Keys, Gavrilova and former Wimbledon junior champion Jelena Ostapenko.
8) Homecoming queen.
Garbiñe Muguruza is the star attraction at the inaugural Mallorca Open, where she will compete in her first match since being crowned Roland Garros champion.
9) Seamless transition?
The switch from clay to grass has not proved a problem in the past for Muguruza. Last year she followed up quarterfinal appearance in Paris by reaching the Wimbledon final. She will expect to improve on her preparations, though – in 2015 she won a combined total of one match in Birmingham and Eastbourne.
10) Keeping good company.
Muguruza will be wary of another early exit after being paired with former Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens in the first round. There is danger lurking elsewhere in the draw, too, in the shape of fellow seeds Eugenie Bouchard, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Kristina Mladenovic.
