Simona Halep Ready To Play In Sydney
The injury that caused Simona Halep to miss Brisbane is feeling better now – how does she feel about Sydney? Who’s her first opponent? Want to see her build a tower?
The injury that caused Simona Halep to miss Brisbane is feeling better now – how does she feel about Sydney? Who’s her first opponent? Want to see her build a tower?
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova takes on Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
Alizé Cornet gritted out a tight victory over up-and-coming Denisa Allertova, while No.2 seed Camila Giorgi was made to battle against Zarina Diyas at the Hobart International.
An interview with Kristina Kucova after her win in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup.
During her title run at the Shenzhen Open, Agnieszka Radwanska took some time out to talk about the city, the fans and whether she’ll come back next year. So, will she?
The 2016 Rogers Cup field has been whittled down to the final four. Ahead of the semifinals wtatennis.com contributor Chris Oddo runs the rule over the remaining contenders.
With Serena Williams’ announcement that she is expecting her first child this fall and new mom Victoria Azarenka returning to action later this summer, here’s how the WTA’s Special Ranking Rule applies to both players and in all maternity cases:
To be eligible, a player must be out for a minimum of six months, maximum of two years and be ranked inside the Top 300 (or Top 200 in doubles) at time she stopped playing. The Special Ranking application and supporting medical documentation must be submitted within six months after the last professional tournament played.
For maternity cases, players must be ready to play their first tournament within 12 months of birth.
The Special Ranking will be the ranking earned immediately after the points of the last tournament she played have been added to the WTA Rankings:
-For Serena Williams, her Special Ranking would be No.1
-For Victoria Azarenka, her Special Ranking is No.6
Upon return, a player may use her WTA Special Ranking to gain entry (not for seeding) into eight tournaments within one year of her return date. The Special Ranking can be used at a maximum of two Premier Mandatory Tournaments (Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing) and two Grand Slams.
In addition, any player who is a past singles champion of a Grand Slam or WTA Finals will be allowed an unlimited number of Singles Main Draw Wild Card nominations.
The complete details can be found in the 2017 WTA Rulebook – Special Ranking Rule: pg. 218-225; Singles Main Draw Wildcards: pg.67
Highlights from first round action at the Apia International Sydney.
An interview with Madison Keys after her win in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup.
SYDNEY, Australia – Sara Errani looked on course for a three-setter during her second round encounter with Jelena Jankovic; the Italian managed to up her game at the right moment at the Apia International Sydney, saving a whopping seven set points to take out the former No.1, 7-6(3), 7-6(8), in two hours and 30 minutes.
The 2012 French Open finalist, Errani had eked out the opening set against an opponent she had beaten in three of their last four meetings. But Jankovic won their last match at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai and appeared poised to extend the match to a decider when the Serb raced out to a 5-1 lead.
“Yeah, it was 5-1, but I had many games with 40-Love, 40-15, and advantage, and so it didn’t really feel like 5-1,” Errani said.
“I was just thinking that I was near my best level, and to just try to keep going, play all the points, and finally was 5-All, and 5-5, 6-All, and really tough the tiebreaker.”
Undaunted, Errani saved her best tennis for when her back was against the wall, breaking the 2008 US Open runner-up twice in a row to level the set and overcome the loss of multiple match points to eventually earn the win in straight sets. Speaking to press after the match, Errani admitted that she was expecting a battle from the outset.
“It was very tough, physically. With her all of our matches is like this. We play always long matches, long points.”
Errani next plays the winner of the second round match between a pair of former Top 5 players, Sam Stosur and Daniela Hantuchova.