Tennis News

Elina Svitolina posted back-to-back wins over Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki to claim the title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships – and leap up to the No.2 spot on the Road To Singapore leaderboard.

The Ukrainian – who also broke the Top 10 with her win in the final – is in the middle of a 12-match winning streak and shows no signs of slowing down.

“When I go on court, and everything I just leave behind,” Svitolina told WTA Insider after the win. “For me it’s very important to be mentally there – don’t think, don’t let bad thoughts do bad things with my game.

“If I had lost somewhere, I would feel it. Like, ‘Come on, you did something good!’ Now I’m winning and winning and I want more and more.”

Another player to record a big RTS move is World No.2 Angelique Kerber. Her run to the Dubai semifinal puts her back on track for a return to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, and she sits right on the Top 8 bubble at No.9. Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki’s back-to-back finals at Doha and Dubai put her inside the Top 8 at No.5. 

Here are the biggest moves on the Road To Singapore leaderboard this week:
Elina Svitolina +7 (No.9 to No.2)
Caroline Wozniacki +4 (No.9 to No.5)
Angelique Kerber +15 (No.24 to No.9)
Garbiñe Muguruza -3 (No.7 to No.10)
Dominika Cibulkova -3 (No.11 to No.8)

 Click here to check out the full Road to Singapore leaderboard, updated as of February 27th.

It’s time to vote for July’s WTA Player of the Month!

Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, August 5.

July 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists

Simona Halep: One year after reaching her first Rogers Cup final in Toronto, Halep went one better in Montréal, growing though a tough field that included Karolina Pliskova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Angelique Kerber, and Madison Keys to win her first title in Canada, and her third of the season. Halep is currently riding a 10-match winning streak after winning at home in Bucharest on clay.

Madison Keys: Finishing a close second to Halep in Montréal, Keys returned to the Top 10 – and the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard – by reaching her first-ever hardcourt final on the WTA tour. A three-set win over former World No.1 Venus Williams set the tone for the week, as she knocked out an in-form Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and qualifier Kristina Kucova to make the championship match.

Johanna Konta The British No.1 won her first WTA title in style at the Bank of the West Classic, defeating Venus Williams for the second time this season to reach another career-high ranking – falling just short of a Top 10 debut after making the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup.

Venus Williams: Venus earned her eighth career Stanford final in July, and played Konta tough in a three-set defeat. Her solid run of form continued in Montréal, where she reached the round of 16. 

2016 Winners

January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

February was defined by four breakthrough players who brought some impressive performances on and off the court. Which one soared the highest?

Have a look at the nominees for February’s Breakthrough of the Month and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, March 10.

February 2017 WTA Breakthrough of the Month Finalists:

Elina Svitolina: Svitolina surged up the rankings and into the upper echelons of the women’s game in February, debuting in the Top 10 and winning the biggest title of her career at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Along the way, she also won the Taiwan Open and amassed a 13-match winning streak, one that’s yet to be broken heading into the BNP Paribas Open.

Kristina Mladenovic: The Frenchwoman took home her first career title on one of the game’s biggest stages, surviving Yulia Putintseva to win a Premier title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. Mladenovic capped off the month with a win over Karolina Pliskova and another run to a WTA final at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.

CiCi Bellis: The young American made waves in Dubai, stunning former World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska to become the youngest quarterfinalist at the Premier 5 event since Lina Krasnoroutskaya in 2001.

Ashleigh Barty: Barty continued her impressive comeback by winning the singles and doubles titles at the Ayla WTA Malaysian Open; the former was her first career singles title and helped her make her Top 100 debut on Monday’s rankings.

2017 Winners:

January: CoCo Vandeweghe

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

 INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – As one might expect, there are plenty of players working hard on the practice court as Indian Wells gets under way – and they’re certainly enjoying the views.

Nice view from the office @BNPPARIBASOPEN ???Тренировка с видом??? #indianwells pic.twitter.com/TMq0WiI6R5

— Elena Vesnina (@EVesnina001) March 8, 2017

Lara Arruabarrena is soaking in the sights as well.

Not many places better than this one to play some tennis. Hello from the desert?? pic.twitter.com/ifBYwwcPHH

— Lara Arruabarrena (@laraarrua) March 8, 2017

Simona Halep is toiling away under the sun and watchful eye of coach Darren Cahill – and taking on the tough task of two opponents at once.

Double trouble for @Simona_Halep. That @darren_cahill forehand still has some stick. #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/INxQXpSs9b

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 7, 2017

There was still time for a bit of fun, though. For starters, WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen was out and about with players in a most unorthodox way – riding around on a golf cart.

Elina Svitolina shared her excitement for the week ahead.

Golf carting with 13-match win-streaker @ElinaSvitolina @BNPPARIBASOPEN. pic.twitter.com/u0B9nLY0xN

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 7, 2017

 Timea Bacsinszky confessed her “blonde moment”. 

Golf carting with @TimeaOfficial, who explains why she had a bit of a “blonde moment” this morning. #creds #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/mXKbrpvyJA

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 7, 2017

And Barbora Strycova talked about suffering from jetlag.

Last golf cart of the day with @BaraStrycova talking about life, love, and home improvement. Get some sleep, Bara! pic.twitter.com/JELl5rRrrR

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 8, 2017

Lauren Davis took some time out to try out a relaxing yoga session.

And Zhang Shuai smiled for the cameras in a photo shoot for the Tennis Channel.

And there’s no better way than to end the day having dinner with your best girls in Indian Wells – and Kristina Mladenovic got her posse of famous friends to synchronize their footwork.

Dinner with the girls in Indian Wells!? @DKasatkina @PutintsevaYulia @Daria_gav @BelindaBencic @anakonjuh pic.twitter.com/0y0ENFwEnZ

— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) March 8, 2017

The boldest decision Karolina Pliskova ever made came at a very young age.

She was 12 – and she made the choice to focus on tennis rather than education.

“I decided to start with tennis and quit with school,” she said in an exclusive WTA interview. “I didn’t study at all, I just put everything into the tennis and it worked.”

It proved a wise decision for the 24-year-old, who turned pro just five years later, in 2009. After reaching her maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open in 2016, she has taken her game to a new level this year and has two 2017 titles to her name already, at the Brisbane International in January and the Qatar Total Open in Doha last month. Her success in Brisbane saw her reach a career-high No.3 in the WTA rankings on January 30.

Pliskova’s comments mark 2017 International Women’s Day, the theme of which is ‘Be Bold For Change’.

International Women’s Day falls on March 8 every year, and celebrates women’s achievements in culture, the economy, politics and society.