Cincinnati: Muguruza vs. Pavlyuchenkova
Garbiñe Muguruza takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round of the Western & Southern Open.
Garbiñe Muguruza takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round of the Western & Southern Open.
SINGAPORE – Dominika Cibulkova has climbed to a career-high ranking of World No.5 after stunning Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-4, to win the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
The Slovakian began the tournament as World No.8 and looked set to make an early exit when she lost her first two round robin matches.
However, after beating Simona Halep to reach the semifinals, she recorded a victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova before upsetting the Australian Open and US Open champion to claim the title.
The win moves her up to fifth, leapfrogging Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza and Madison Keys, who were all eliminated at the round-robin phase.
Had Cibulkova won her first two round-robin matches, she would be just over 100 points behind Simona Halep, who remains as World No.4.
Kerber secured her status as year-end World No.1 thanks to Serena Williams’ withdrawal from the tournament and received her award in Singapore.
Meanwhile, in the doubles rankings, Sania Mirza hangs on to top spot despite her and Martina Hingis’ semifinal exit in Singapore.
Had Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic or Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova won the tournament, the Indian’s 81-week reign as No.1 would have ended, but Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina’s triumph means she holds on to secure the 2016 WTA Year-End World No.1 Doubles Ranking, presented by Dubai Duty Free. Garcia is just 225 points behind her.
.@MirzaSania secures #WTA Year-End Doubles World No.1 presented by #DubaiDutyFree! pic.twitter.com/rCCtVtAIFB
— WTA (@WTA) October 30, 2016
21-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams has hardly taken a vacation after making a run to her seventh Australian Open final. Following a three-set defeat to Angelique Kerber, Williams joined Billie Jean King and Condoleezza Rice at last weekend’s NFL Women’s Summit.
Speaking with Robin Roberts, the American spoke of the pressure of being one of the top female athletes in the world, but ultimate how she hoped to use her influence to impact the greater good.
“I don’t play tennis for recognition; being recognized is not important,” she said. “What matters is how I can help people.”
True to her word, Williams is helping people in a big way this week, flying down to Jamaica to help build the Salt Marsh Primary School. With the aid of Helping Hands Jamaica and her own foundation, the World No.1got her hands dirty along with volunteers, proving that “with great power indeed comes great responsibility” – to borrow a Spiderman reference Williams herself used in her conversation with Roberts.
Enjoyable work. Serena Williams Fund's 3rd school- this time we partnered with Helping Hands Jamaica to build the Salt Marsh Primary School #swf #education
Posted by Serena Williams on Monday, February 8, 2016
Angelique Kerber takes on Kristina Mladenovic in the second round of the Western & Southern Open.
Carolina Garcia takes on Samantha Stosur in the group stage of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy
DOHA, Qatar – World No.6 and two-time Doha champion Maria Sharapova announced her withdrawal from the Qatar Total Open due to the left forearm injury she has struggled with since the beginning of the season,
“Unfortunately, I will not be able to play the Qatar Total Open because of my left forearm injury,” Sharapova said in a statement. “I would like to wish the tournament and all the great fans in Doha a great week of tennis and I hope to see them next year.”
The Russian was forced to pull out of the Brisbane International back in January due to this same injury, but appeared to rebound in Melbourne, reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before falling to World No.1, Serena Williams.
“I’m going to go and take care of my forearm first,” Sharapova said after the loss, aware of the importance this season – being an Olympic year – presents. “I think that’s really important. I think this will be a time to just get myself ready for a long year.
“I don’t see myself playing anything before Indian Wells.”
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the third round of the Western & Southern Open.
ZHUHAI, China – Roberta Vinci was dressed all in black after her last match at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. She looked fondly on a second straight Top 20 season and was in no mood to mourn what she once said would be her last year on tour.
“It was a good year, for sure,” she told WTA Insider Wednesday night. “I had a great last year, and a lot of points to defend this year.
“The tour is always tough and the players are always getting stronger. You always have to stay in good body and mind. Playing every single tournament is tough, but I’m so proud of myself for this year.
“I’m a little bit tired, of course, because it was a long season. I’m sad about today, but happy that I finished this year.”
The lingering question was whether she had finished for good. The answer was more up in the air.
“Right now, I’m finished with this season and I want to go home. I’ll be taking two weeks off for sure, without tennis or anything. Then I’ll decide, if I’m still motivated, if I still want to continue at this level, and if I want to keep working. I don’t know if I want to, or if I’m just tired right now.
“If I want to stay on tour, I’ll have to work a lot. But I don’t know.”
Vinci first rang the retirement bell last November, announcing her intention to finish her career in 2016. She walked the statement back slightly after winning her 10th career title – the biggest of her career at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy – and becoming the oldest woman to make her Top 10 debut. Any decision the Italian veteran does make, she insists, will be final.
“I don’t want to say, ‘Yes, I’m continuing,’ and then in one week, I stop, or say, ‘No, I’m retired,’ and then after a week, you see a video of me practicing.”
Taking a less decisive tact is the famously flamboyant Francesca Schiavone. Vinci’s compatriot has started a web series asking Facebook fans whether she should continue her career, or perhaps follow a new path, all with her signature flair.
“It’s nice for the fans, but I won’t be putting out any videos because I want to decide my future! But Francesca is Francesca; it’s so funny.”
While she waits to make a decision, Vinci won’t regret confessing her initial intent to retire, feeling it helped her better appreciate the tour on which she’s played nearly two decades, and those who’ve watched her play.
“For me, it’s nice because they want to know my future. If I say I’m going to retire and someone is sad, it feels good because it means they really love me and my tennis.
“It’s normal for the fans and the journalists to want to know. Soon, I will let you know what is in my future.”
The immediate future sees the former World No.7 at home with friends and family, looking back on a pressure-filled season centered around defending the 1300 points she earned at last year’s US Open, when she ended then-No.1 Serena Williams’ Calendar Year Grand Slam bid to reach the final.
“I had a lot of pressure, especially at the US Open. In my mind, I was saying that this year will be tough. I didn’t know if I could even stay Top 50. Now, I’m in the Top 20, so my coach is happy and also I’m really happy about that.”
From shouting “60 points!” after her first round win, she made it all the way back into the second week for the fourth time in five years, falling to eventual champion Angelique Kerber.
“I was injured but I played amazing tennis; I won great matches there. I felt something special in New York; I’m always playing good there, be it final or quarterfinal. It’s an incredible tournament for me.”
Vinci described the year’s final major tournament in the present tense, just as she outlined the simple – yet life-changing – decision that stands in front of her.
“If it’s yes, then yes. If it’s no, then no.”
All photos courtesy of WTA Elite Trophy.
An interview with Laura Siegemund after her win in the first round of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Highlights from third round action at the Western & Southern Open.