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Madison Keys’ Best Shots Of The Year

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Madison Keys might be the youngest member of the WTA’s Top 10, but in 2016 she proved that she has the game to stay at the top. Watch all of Keys’ best shots of the year, right here!

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Cornet To Defend Hobart Title, Field Features Jankovic, Bertens

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The entry list is out for the Hobart International, which begins on January 8th, with French Open semifinalist and World No.22 Kiki Bertens leading the International field that includes defending champion Alizé Cornet and fan favorites Jelena Jankovic and Andrea Petkovic. Last season, Cornet rolled to her first title in nearly two years, beating Eugenie Bouchard, 6-1, 6-2 in the final.

The field also includes two of the tour’s top teenagers, in No.47 Ana Konjuh and No. 48 Naomi Osaka.

Full Hobart Entry List:

No.22 Kiki Bertens
No.34 Anastasija Sevastova
No.38 Monica Niculescu
No.39 Alison Riske
No.40 Misaki Doi
No.41 Alizé Cornet
No.42 Kristina Mladenovic
No.47 Ana Konjuh
No.48 Naomi Osaka
No.49 Sara Errani
No.50 Johanna Larsson
No.51 Annika Beck
No.52 Katerina Siniakova
No.53 Julia Goerges
No.54 Jelena Jankovic
No.55 Andrea Petkovic
No.56 Viktorija Golubic
No.57 Lesia Tsurenko
No.59 Shelby Rogers
No.60 Kristyna Pliskova
No.62 Lucie Safarova
No.64 Galina Voskoboeva (SR)
No.65 Kirsten Flipkens

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Radwanska & Pliskova On The Precipice Of WTA Finals Qualification

Radwanska & Pliskova On The Precipice Of WTA Finals Qualification

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Road to Singapore leaderboard, Sunday Recap

RTS No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska and No.8 Madison Keys stay on course; RTS No.9 Carla Suárez Navarro crashes out; RTS No.11 Johanna Konta eases into second round

RTS No.6 Andrea Hlavackova / Lucie Hradecka lose tight opener; RTS No.8 Goerges/Pliskovaadvance comfortably

RTS No.13 Andreja Klepac / Katarina Srebotnik keep Singapore dreams alive by eliminating and ending the hopes of RTS No.9 Raquel Atawo / Abigail Spears

Click here for the complete China Open draws.

Monday Preview

If Keys loses to Kristina Mladenovic (4th match, Lotus, NB 6.30pm) then Karolina Pliskova and Agnieszka Radwanska will qualify for BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, regardless of their own results on Monday.

Karolina Pliskova

UPDATED LEADERBOARD

SINGLES:

Qualified: Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep

Next In Line (Current Top 8):

How can they qualify in Beijing ?

(note: Scenarios will change if those currently in the Top 8 advance)

Pliskova – qualifies by reaching QF OR

· Keys fails to reach 3r (QF if Pliskova advances to 2r) OR

· Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final*

*both are in the same half so only one of these is possible

Radwanska – qualifies by reaching QF OR

· Keys fails to reach QF OR

· Konta nor Kuznetsova reach final *

*both are in the same half so only one of these is possible

Garbine Muguruza

Muguruza – qualifies by reaching final

Cibulkova – qualifies by winning title

Keys – qualifies by winning title

It is mathematically possible for Kuznetsova to qualify this week by winning the Beijing title BUT this would depend on a 2r defeat for Cibulkova.

It is no longer mathematically possible for Konta to qualify this week, even if she won the title.

Currently No.9 to No.13 with points behind current projected cut-off (3137)

It is interesting to note that four of the players that are battling for qualification – Muguruza, Keys, Kuznetsova and Kvitova are all in the same quarter of the Beijing draw, creating some potentially exciting matchups in the R16 at the China Open, a stage where Pliskova and Konta could also meet

DOUBLES

QUALIFIED: Garcia/Mladenovic, Hingis/Mirza, Makarova/Vesnina, Mattek-Sands/Safarova

NEXT IN LINE:

Shvedova/Babos

3975

1r v Savchuk/Wang (Mon)

Hlavackova/Hradecka

3775

Lost 1r (Arruabarrena/Kalashnikova)

Chan/Chan

3760

1r bye, 2r-King/Niculescu or Xu/Zheng

Goerges/Pliskova

3390

1r d. Aoyama/Ninomiya , 2r vs Hingis/Vandeweghe or Irigoyen/Maria

How do they qualify in Beijing:

Timea Babos / Yaroslava Shvedova qualify unless Sania Mirza / Barbora Strycova or Xu Yi-Fan / Zheng Saisai win the Beijing title OR by reaching the Beijing SF

Andrea Hlavcakova / Lucie Hradecka qualify unless Mirza/Strycova reach Beijing final or Xu/Zheng win the Beijing title

Sania Mirza, Barbora Strycova

Chan Hao-Ching / Chan Yung-Jan qualify unless Mirza/Strycova or Xu/Zheng reach Beijing final OR by reaching the Beijing Final

Julia Goerges / Karolina Pliskova qualify by advancing to the same round or better than Mirza/Strycova and Xu/Zheng and if Klepac/Srebotnik don’t win Beijing title**

Remaining Teams in Possible Contention (points behind current cut-off)

Atawo/Spears

-575

l. 1r Klepac/Srebotnik; cannot finish Top 8

Xu/Zheng

-720

Must reach at least QFs to stay in contention**

1r vs King/Nicuescu (Mon)

Mirza/Strycova

-1005

Must reach at least QFs to stay in contention**

(same quarter as Goerges/Pliskova)

1r – bye; 2r vs Dabrowski/Martinez Sanchez

Klepac/Srebotnik

-1230

8th at best, must win Beijing to stay in contention and Goerges/Pliskova do not reach SF

1r d Atawo/Spears, 2r vs Arruabarrena/Kalashnikova

**this will change and require a better result if Goerges/Pliskova advance.

WTA Finals: Get Your Tickets!

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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Halep & Kvitova Light Up The Beijing Player Party

Halep & Kvitova Light Up The Beijing Player Party

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BEIJING, China – The WTA’s biggest names were out in full force to celebrate the final Premier Mandatory event of the year at the China Open, but this was no average player party.

Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki were among the names to hit the Beijing National Stadium – the iconic “Bird’s Nest Stadium” that played host to the 2008 Olympics’ Opening Ceremony – and took part in the China Open gala celebration.

The gala also served as the kickoff to the Song Qingling Foundation, which works to promote the development of tennis among Chinese children and teenagers.

Click below to check out the best photos of the night, courtesy of Visual China Group!

China Open Player Party

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50 Most Popular Players Of 2016: 30-21

50 Most Popular Players Of 2016: 30-21

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The WTA’s all-star cast battle it out for wins, titles and ranking points all year long – but who is getting the most clicks? This week, wtatennis.com will count down the Top 50 Most Popular Players Of 2016.

Next up on the list will be No.30 to No.21! Find out who made the cut…

30. Naomi Osaka (JPN)
Osaka is big in Japan – where she reached her first WTA final at the Toray Pan Pacific Open this year – but the teenager is quite popular on wtatennis.com, too!

Naomi Osaka

29. Daria Gavrilova (AUS)
The Russian-born Aussie started the year by winning the Hopman Cup for Australia and ended it by reaching her first WTA final at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

Daria Gavrilova

28. Barbora Strycova (CZE)
The always-energetic Czech earned her career high ranking of No.16 this year on the back of two finals appearances this year, at Dubai and Birmingham.

Barbora Strycova

27. Laura Siegemund (GER)
Siegemund burst onto the scene this year in Stuttgart, where she reached her first WTA final in front of her home crowd, then went on to win the title in Bastad.

Laura Siegemund

26. Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP)
The famously consistent Suárez Navarro stayed true to form in 2016, finishing inside the Top 20 for the fourth year in a row after capturing her second career title in Doha.

Carla Suárez Navarro

25. Daria Kasatkina (RUS)
Russian teenager Kasatkina continued her meteoric rise in 2016; she finished the year at No.26, 45 spots higher than how she started, and reached a career high of No.24.

Daria Kasatkina

24. Elina Svitolina (UKR)
Defeating two reigning World No.1s, a career high ranking of No.14 and a fourth WTA title at Kuala Lumpur are the highlights of the ascendant Svitolina’s best season to date.

Elina Svitolina

23. Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)
A busy spring saw the charismatic Swiss reach a career high ranking of No.9 after reaching the semifinals in Miami and capturing a title in Rabat.

Timea Bacsinszky

22. Kiki Bertens (NED)
The young Dutch player capped off a career-best season with a title in Nurnberg and a run to the Gstaad final, finishing just outside of the Top 20.

Kiki Bertens

21. Roberta Vinci (ITA)
The Italian veteran – who won the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy title this year – remains as popular as ever and her decision to play on in 2017 has delighted her many fans.

Roberta Vinci

Come back to wtatennis.com on Wednesday for No.20 to No.11 on the list…
No.50 to No.41
No.40 to No.31

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