Top 10 Prize Money Leaders
Angelique Kerber racked up the most prize money of any WTA player during 2016, and she did so in historic fashion. Find out who else made the prize money leaders list, right here!
Angelique Kerber racked up the most prize money of any WTA player during 2016, and she did so in historic fashion. Find out who else made the prize money leaders list, right here!
THE WINNERS
Angelique Kerber capped off her rise to WTA World No.1 by winning her first US Open title, edging past No.10 seed Karolina Pliskova, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
“It’s just amazing. I won my second Grand Slam of the year and it’s the best year of my career,” Kerber said after the match.
“For me everything started here in 2011,” she added, referring to when she made the semifinals ranked No.92. “And now here, five years later I’m standing here with the trophy. All the dreams came true this year.”
Read the match recap | WTA Insider Live Blog: Game-by-game analysis
Former Australian Open and French Open champions Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova added the third part of the Career Grand Slam by coming back from the brink against top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, edging past the Frenchwomen, 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.
“It was a little bit of a slow start, but I’ve gotta give credit to our opponents,” Mattek-Sands said after the match. “They came out playing big, serving big, making all their rolls, ripping returns.
“I think one of the things that we do really well is we don’t get too down no matter what the score is. We’re really positive.”
Read the match recap
Less than a fortnight after meeting one another, Laura Siegemund and Mate Pavic hoisted aloft their first Grand Slam trophy on tennis’ grandest stage after winning the US Open mixed doubles title.
In front of an unashamedly partisan Arthur Ashe crowd, Siegemund and Pavic spoiled the party by upsetting No.7 seeds CoCo Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram, 6-4, 6-4.
“I’m just stunned a little bit at this point. I’m very happy. I think we played a great match today, Siegemund said. “We did play a great tournament. All the other matches were, yeah, very solid also in the important situations, although we never played together.
Read the match recap
RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of September 12, 2016.
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), +45 (No.74 to 29): Two-time US Open finalist Wozniacki owns this week’s biggest ranking jump. Her run to the US Open semifinal reversed a downward trend after a season derailed by injuries.
Ana Konjuh (CRO), +40 (No.92 to 52): 18-year-old Konjuh avenged her Wimbledon loss to Agnieszka Radwanska by upsetting the No.4 seed on her way to the US Open quarterfinals, earning herself a huge ranking move in the process.
Anastasija Sevastova (LAT), +16 (48 to 32): Another US Open Cinderella story, Sevastova moves up 16 spots to No.32 after reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Karolina Pliskova (CZE), +5 (No.11 to 6): Pliskova rose to a career-high of No.6 after a run to the US Open final. It was her best result in a Grand Slam, never passing the third round in any previous appearance.
Angelique Kerber (GER), +1 (No.2 to 1): By virtue of winning the US Open and Serena Williams falling in the semifinals, Angelique Kerber rose to World No.1. She becomes the first German to reach the top spot since Steffi Graf and, at 28-years-old, she’s the oldest player to become No.1.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
Coupe Banque Nationale
Quebec City, Canada
International | $226,750 | Carpet
Monday, September 12 – Sunday, September 18
Japan Women’s Open Tennis
Tokyo, Japan
International | $226,750 | Hard
Monday, September 12 – Sunday, September 18
Toray Pan Pacific Open
Tokyo, Japan
Premier | $885,500 | Hard
Monday, September 19 – Sunday, September 25
Guangzhou International Women’s Open
Guangzhou, China
International | $226,750 | Hard
Monday, September 19 – Saturday, September 24
Korea Open Tennis
International | $226,750 | Hard
Monday, September 19 – Sunday, September 25
TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Angelique Kerber
2. Serena Williams
3. Garbiñe Muguruza – Tokyo (PPO)
4. Agnieszka Radwanska – Tokyo (PPO)
5. Simona Halep – Tokyo (PPO)
6. Karolina Pliskova – Tokyo (PPO)
7. Venus Williams
8. Carla Suárez Navarro – Tokyo (PPO)
9. Madison Keys
10. Svetlana Kuznetsova
11. Victoria Azarenka
12. Dominika Cibulkova – Tokyo (PPO)
13. Johanna Konta
14. Timea Bacsinszky
15. Roberta Vinci – Guangzhou
16. Petra Kvitova
17. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Tokyo (PPO)
18. Samantha Stosur – Tokyo (PPO)
19. Elena Vesnina
20. Elina Svitolina – Tokyo (PPO)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) – September 12, 1987
Elina Svitolina (UKR) – September 12, 1994
Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) – September 13, 1987
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) – September 13, 1994
As the tennis world headed stateside for the summer, an intriguing sub-plot was developing amidst the hunt for trophies.
Serena Williams had reigned supreme atop the rankings since February 2013, however, she faced an unexpected challenge to due to the rapid emergence of Angelique Kerber. At Wimbledon, Williams kept the upstart in check, yet maintaining the status quo over the summer months proved an altogether sterner test.
Golden Girl Puig
This was by no means the only story of the summer. The Rio Olympics produced a tennis tournament befitting the world’s greatest sporting stage and a gold medalist who made waves far beyond the Copacabana.
Monica Puig went into the Games on the back of a quietly impressive year on tour. What followed, though, must have been beyond her wildest dreams. Playing the tennis of her young career, the Puerto Rican swept into the semifinals – taking out Garbiñe Muguruza for the loss off two games along the way – where she produced a rousing finale to see off Petra Kvitova in three rollercoaster sets.
With the most improbable of victories – no Puerto Rican athlete had ever won Olympic gold – now within reach, Puig would not be denied, powering past Kerber, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, to create history.
New Queen In Queens
In Cincinnati, Kerber tasted further disappointment, narrowly missing out on claiming the No.1 ranking after losing to an on-song Karolina Pliskova in the final. If this smarted with the German, she hid it well at the US Open, where she cantered through the early rounds to raise the possibility of a final showdown with Serena for all the marbles.
Surprisingly, it was Serena that faltered, failing to make the date when she was outgunned by Pliskova in the semifinals. This ensured Kerber would rise to the summit of the rankings, regardless of the result in the final. The German marked her coronation in fitting fashion, lifting her second Grand Slam with a thrilling 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory on Arthur Ashe.
“It’s always tough to play against her,” Kerber afterwards. “I was trying to stay in the moment, be aggressive, I was just trying to enjoy the final. It’s an amazing stadium. It means a lot to me. When I was a kid, I was always dreaming to be the number one player in the world and to win Grand Slams, and today’s the day.”
Elsewhere…
Interspersed between Wimbledon and the start of the North American hardcourt stretch was the chance for success at a couple of tennis’ less celebrated venues. Simona Halep, Viktorija Golubic and Laura Siegemund were among those to grasp the opportunity for silverware, triumphing in Bucharest, Gstaad and Badstad, respectively.
As usual, the US Open build-up began in Stanford, where Johanna Konta took home the trophy after defusing Venus Williams in an entertaining final. Over in Washington DC, Yanina Wickmayer delivered a reminder of her potential, before the WTA headed across the border for an entertaining – and unpredictable – Rogers Cup, eventually won by a resurgent Halep.
Simona Halep was forced to pull out of the upcoming Toray Pan Pacific Open due to a left hamstring injury.
It’s time to crown the 2016 WTA Shot Of The Year. It started with all the WTA Shot Of The Month winners and the fans narrowed it down to the four best, two from each group.
• Final Group voting opens Tuesday, November 22 and ends Monday, November 28 at 11:59pm ET
• The 2016 WTA Shot of the Year winner will be announced Tuesday, November 29
Final Group
January: Caroline Wozniacki
March: Agnieszka Radwanska
July: Simona Halep
September: Kirsten Flipkens
Group A Results
1. March: Agnieszka Radwanska (38%)
2. January: Caroline Wozniacki (30%)
3. May: Simona Halep (19%)
4. April: Monica Niculescu (10%)
5. February: Agnieszka Radwanska (4%)
Click here or below to watch Group A shots
Group B Results
1. July: Simona Halep (42%)
2. September: Kirsten Flipkens (27%)
3. June: Agnieszka Radwanska (19%)
4. October: Angelique Kerber (6%)
5. August: Agnieszka Radwanska (6%)
Click here or below to watch Group B shots
How it works:
Each Shot of the Month winner is placed into one of two groups.
The two shots from each group that received the most were placed into a final group.
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Heather Watson weathered an early storm to defeat Galina Voskoboeva in Wednesday’s first round at the BNP Paribas Open.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!
Fresh from winning the third title of her career last weekend, Watson struggled to find her best tennis before eventually prevailing, 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-1.
“It was very tough today. Galina’s coming back from injury and I thought she played very well today and really made me work for it but when it was important I was able to bring out my best tennis and I was very happy with it today,” Watson told Andrew Krasny in her on-court interview.
“I was very happy with my win in Monterrey,” she added. “I think today I was a little slow getting used to the court – it was very different, but I got through and I’m into the next round.”
Watson will face No.32 seed Monica Niculescu in the second round.
More to follow…
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $1,000,000
Draw Size: 28 main draw (4 byes)/32 qualifying
Main Draw Ceremony: Saturday, September 17, 2pm JST
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, September 17 – Monday, September 19
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, September 19
Singles Final: Sunday, September 25, 12pm JST
Doubles Final: Saturday, September 24, third match
MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@TorayPPO – official tournament handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtag, #WTA.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· No.2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska bids to win a third Tokyo title in six years. She is the only player in the last decade to win multiple times at the event.
· Radwanska is not the only returning champion in the field this year; 2013 champion Petra Kvitova accepted a late wildcard, while 2010 winner Caroline Wozniacki and 2015 runner-up Belinda Bencic is also in the draw.
· Also in attendance are Top 10-ranked players Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Carla Suárez Navarro and Madison Keys.
· For the full draw click here.
WILDCARDS:
Petra Kvitova (CZE), Madison Keys (USA), Naomi Osaka (JPN), Olesya Pervushina (Russia)
WITHDRAWALS:
Simona Halep (left hamstring), Samantha Stosur (right arm), Sloane Stephens (right foot), Daria Gavrilova (right Achilles)
Catherine Bellis moved smoothly into the Hawaii Open final on Friday with a straight-set win over Jacqueline Cako on Saturday.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska ahead of her participation in the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Who’s your favorite player? Who had the best post on social media in 2016? Click here to vote!