It’s time to crown February’s WTA Shot Of The Month. There were some incredible shots to choose from this month, and we narrowed it down to the five best – have a look at the nominees in the above video and cast your vote for your favorite shot before voting ends Thursday at 11:59pm ET!
The winner will be announced Friday, March 4.
How it works: five shots are selected by wtatennis.com, and the winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com.
Petra Kvitova says she’s “working really hard” on her recovery from a knife attack that took place in December. The two-time Wimbledon champion and former No.2 posted an update on her Instagram page on Tuesday.
“Hi guys! I wanted to say hello since time is flying by – three whole months already since the attack – and let you know that I’m working really hard on my recovery. I still can’t tell you when I will be back, but I can tell you that tennis is a huge motivation for me and I realised while I’ve been away how much I like challenges!
“My perspective on life has changed a lot and I am doing everything to give myself a second chance to be back on the court. I thank you for staying with me through this and I hope to see you all soon, love Petra.”
On December 20th of last year, Kvitova was attacked in her home in Prostejov by a knife-wielding assailant, suffering deep cuts to four fingers on her left hand that required immediately surgery.
The tennis community has rallied around the 26-year-old in her absence, most notably at the BNP Paribas Open last week, where fans turned a large support sign into a de facto get well card.
We miss you @Petra_Kvitova! ? pic.twitter.com/qilZNHGAVA
— WTA (@WTA) March 8, 2017
Carla Suárez Navarro had the shot of the match in the final of the Qatar Total Open.
Eugenie Bouchard and Monica Puig will bid for first-round victories on Wednesday at the Crandon Park Tennis Center. We preview the must-see Miami Open matchups right here at wtatennis.com.
Wednesday
First round
Monica Puig (PUR #40) vs. Sorana Cirstea (ROU #65)
Head-to-head: Cirstea leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Puig is bidding for her 10th tour-level win of the season on Wednesday.
Monica Puig will have the chance to take her solid 2017 to the next level at the Miami Open, and that challenge begins with a first-round matchup with Romania’s Sorana Cirstea. It will not be an easy task as Cirstea has defeated Puig in their lone meeting, but the Romanian has now lost five straight since reaching the round of 16 at the Australian Open and she has gone 3-8 lifetime at Miami with losses in her last three matches.
Puig has a semifinal (Doha) and a quarterfinal (Acapulco) to her name this season, but the Puerto Rican is still searching for a follow-through to her breakout Gold Medal performance at last year’s Olympics. Could it happen this year in Miami, where Puig has only won two previous matches but will no doubt receive a warm reception from her fans?
Pick: Puig in three
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN #56) vs. [WC] Ashleigh Barty (AUS #91)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Ashleigh Barty is the only player in 2017 to win the singles and doubles title at the same event, doing so at Kuala Lumpur.
Eugenie Bouchard had a relatively promising start to 2017 that saw her reach a semifinal at Sydney and advance to the third round at the Australian Open. But since then the Canadian has lost three straight. She’ll look to get her season on track again when she meets one of the surprising stories of 2017 in Australia’s Ashleigh Barty.
Barty has already doubled her 2016 tour-level win total and she claimed her first career title at Kuala Lumpur where she qualified before reeling off five straight victories. Bouchard will have her hands full with the upwardly mobile Aussie and she’ll have to be sharp with her passing game, as she’ll be contending with frequent forays to the net from Barty.
Pick: Bouchard in three
Ajla Tomjlanovic (CRO #594) vs. CiCi Bellis (USA #55)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Bellis reached the third round on her Miami Open debut in 2015.
Ajla Tomljanovic made her inspiring return to tennis after a year on the sidelines due to a shoulder injury by defeating Eugenie Bouchard in her first match in over a year at Acapulco. Since then she has lost two in a row but the good news for the powerful 23-year-old is that she’s finally in good health again and ready to start improving her ranking and fulfilling her vast potential on tour. But Tomjlanovic will have to contend with one of the feistiest young players in the game to get a win in Miami when she faces 17-year-old CiCi Bellis, who reached the third round as a 15-year-old Wildcard here in 2015.
Bellis started her season late due to a lower body injury but the California native reached the quarterfinals at Dubai in her first event, notching her first career Top 10 win over Agnieszka Radwanska in the process. Is Tomljanovic ready to contend with the all-out intensity of Bellis, or will it be Bellis who notches another impressive win in this young season?
Pick: Bellis in three
Lucie Safarova (CZE #36) vs. Yanina Wickmayer (BEL #67)
Head-to-head: Safarova leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Safarova has gone 4-4 against players ranked outside the Top 50 at Miami.
Lucie Safarova will look to continue her climb back up the WTA rankings in a place that has given her significant trouble in recent years. The Czech has lost six of her last seven matches at the Miami Open and has never been beyond the third round in eleven career main draw appearances.
On Wednesday she’ll look to exact some revenge on the woman that knocked her out of last year’s draw, Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer. Safarova has already slipped by the Belgian once this year, defeating her in three sets at the Australian Open, but Wickmayer is a former quarterfinalist at Miami that also owns win over Kim Clijsters and Timea Bacsinszky at the event.
Pick: Safarova in two
By the Numbers:
1-4 – Eugenie’s lifetime record at Miami. The Canadian has lost four straight decisions here.
2016 – Though she fell in her first match last year, Lucie Safarova did claim the doubles title with Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
5 – Ashleigh Barty is one of five WTA players to have claimed a maiden title in 2017. Lauren Davis (Auckland), Katerina Siniakova (Shenzhen), Elise Mertens (Hobart) and Kristina Mladenovic (St. Petersburg) are the other four.
Cast your vote now for February’s WTA Player of the Month – Roberta Vinci, Sara Errani, or Carla Suárez Navarro?
MIAMI, FL, USA – World No.1 Angelique Kerber took a break from the hardcourts of the Miami Open to hit the hardwood at a Miami Heat game.
The German got the chance to take in the Heat’s 112-97 victory against the Phoenix Suns at the AmericanAirlines Arena, as well as hit some tennis balls into the crowd and rub shoulders with players and mascots.
Tennis anyone? ?? I had so much fun at the @MiamiHEAT game last night! #PHXvsMIA pic.twitter.com/Tba0SRLc91
— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) March 22, 2017
She was also outfitted in a custom Heat jersey, complete with the roster number “1” – fitting for the No.1 player in the world.
Kerber will start her Miami Open campaign against Duan Ying-Ying on Friday.
In the meantime, here’s some of the best photos of Kerber at the Miami Heat game, courtesy of the Miami Open:
No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki won her most comprehensive match of the season with an overdue first round win over Olga Govortsova following Tuesday night’s rain delay.
WTA Doubles World No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands is heading into the Miami Open looking to defend her title with partner Lucie Safarova – and her spot atop the rankings.
NEW YORK, NY, USA – 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.”
Mattek-Sands and Safarova began the 2015 season with a bang, capturing the first two legs of a Calendar Year Grand Slam, but were soon felled by Safarova’s struggles with injury and illness. Reuniting to win the Miami Open earlier this spring, the American-Czech duo had made their deepest run at a Slam this year and upset reigning Olympic Gold medalists Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the semifinals.
Mattek-Sands herself had captured a Gold medal in mixed doubles alongside Jack Sock – upsetting former No.1 Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram in a match tie-break.
Garcia and Mladenovic had recovered well from their own early defeat in Rio, and were aiming to build on the news that they had become the second team to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global with a second Grand Slam title, having already won Roland Garros in June.
Let the celebration begin! @BMATTEK and @luciesafarova are your 2016 #usopen Women's Doubles Champions! @Chase https://t.co/qx6dQT9A7F
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 11, 2016
Up a set and a break, the French lost serve for the first time in the match when they found themselves one game from victory.
“It was funny. I think Lucie had more energy than me. She was carrying me on her back and getting me pumped up,” Mattek-Sands said before Safarova chimed in,
“Any time.”
“But that’s what good friends and partner do,” Mattek-Sands continued. “It happens sometimes. You play a team that’s playing good or you might not be making all the shots, but any match can turn around in a couple of points.
“That’s just a matter of sticking to it.”
The experienced Mattek-Sands and Safarova pounced on their sudden opportunity and took the second set in a tie-break, later holding on for dear life themselves when it came time to close out their third major win as a team.
The win puts them in pole position to qualify for Singapore for the second straight year, moving up to No.7 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
“I think the chemistry is great,” Safarova said. We complement each other so well. Our games just fit. “
????? @BMATTEK @luciesafarova #usopen pic.twitter.com/IBMBzNcFl7
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 11, 2016
MIAMI, FL, USA – No.2 seed Karolina Pliskova wrapped up her straight sets win over Madison Brengle in just under an hour to move into the third round of the Miami Open, 6-1, 6-3.
Last year, Pliskova made a run to the Indian Wells semifinals and crashed out of Miami in her opening match. The Czech admitted at All-Access Hour that her biggest goal was to avoid the same fate again.
“I had this last year as well – I did semis last year and then I lost in first round here,” she said. “So I just want to change this. I know I struggle after I do a good result in one tournament and then coming to a different tournament after.
“I think I’m in good shape this year, so hopefully I can change it in this tournament, to not lose in the first round.”
.@KaPliskova races through the first set 6-1! ? #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/kxxXZA3Mdf
— WTA (@WTA) March 23, 2017
With her first serve percentage dipping to 46%, Pliskova relied on her booming groundstrokes and strong returning to ensure that she’d fight another day. She bossed the rallies against the American, quickly breaking twice to reel off six straight games and take the opening set and a break to lead in the second.
Brengle put up a better fight in the second set as she attacked the Pliskova serve and earned herself her first break of the match, but Pliskova quickly reestablished the lead in the next game. They stayed on serve for the rest of the set with just a break separating the two players, and Brengle was unable to bring up a second break opportunity as Pliskova took the victory in just 59 minutes.
.@KaPliskova is first through to @MiamiOpen Third round!
Hurries past Brengle 6-1, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/6Y5EKke1ru
— WTA (@WTA) March 23, 2017
Pliskova dictated the rallies from start to finish, and it showed in the stats: she finished the match with 27 winners and 30 unforced errors to Brengle’s six winners and 24 unforced errors. She took five of the eight break opportunities she created, while the American was only able to convert one of two.
“The last few matches it’s not really about my serve because the percentage is a little low, but I’m happy that I have my game from the baseline,” Pliskova said after the match. “I was feeling the ball pretty well today.
“It was a tough one today against an American, she has the home crowd supporting here. So I’m just happy to be through.”