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Kerber, Serena Lead WTA Stars' Ivanovic Salute On Twitter

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Former World No.1 and 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic took the tennis world by surprise when she announced on Facebook Live that she would be retiring from the sport, effective immediately.

“It hasn’t been an overnight decision,” she explained in an exclusive with WTA Insider. “It’s been on my mind for a little bit but I tried to also follow my heart because for me, it’s proven to be the best way.

“I really felt now it’s time to just give back. Coming from Serbia, everything that I’ve been through in my life and my career, so far my parents and my brother with me, they made it all possible. I feel very fortunate and so I want to give back and maybe help others be as fortunate as I was.”

What followed was an outpouring of well wishes from her friends and colleagues who’ve been with her throughout her 13-year career. From WTA founder Billie Jean King, to 2016’s World No.1s Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams, to rising stars like Belinda Bencic and Daria Gavrilova, it was clear Ivanovic was as much beloved by her fellow players as the fans saying #ThankYouAna.

Check out what her fellow WTA stars had to say about the Serb on Twitter:

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Brisbane: Everything You Need To Know

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $1,000,000
Draw Size: 30 main draw/32 qualifying
Main Draw Ceremony: Friday, December 30- 12 pm AEST
Qualifying Dates: Friday, December 30 – Sunday, January 1
First Day of Main Draw: Sunday, January 1
Singles Final: Saturday, January 7- 7 pm AEST
Doubles Final: Saturday, January 7- following singles

MUST-FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@BrisbaneTennis – official tournament handle

WHERE TO WATCH:
Click here to select your country and find broadcast details for the Brisbane International.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:
– There have been six different champions crowned at Brisbane since its first staging in 2009: Victoria Azarenka (2009, 2016), Kim Clijsters (2010), Petra Kvitova (2011), Kaia Kanepi (2012), Serena Williams (2013, 2014) and Maria Sharapova (2015).
– With defending champion Victoria Azarenka away from the completion after giving birth to a baby boy and with no former champions in the draw, a new champion will lift the Brisbane trophy this year.
– One to watch: Entering the tournament as a wildcard, Australian Ashleigh Barty returned to tennis in 2016 after a stint in cricket as an all-rounder for the Brisbane Heat. Her return has been highlighted by a quarterfinal run at Nottingham, and she’s also been granted a wildcard into the upcoming Australian Open.

PLAYER FIELD:
Click here for complete singles and doubles draws.

The Brisbane International serves as the only Premier event of the first week of the season and the field is packed with five of the Elite Eight from the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. A finalist last year, Angelique Kerber leads the field along with Singapore champion Dominika Cibulkova, Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elina Svitolina, and Elena Vesnina.

Also in Brisbane is Roberta Vinci, who recently announced her intention to play through another season, as well as the Gold Coast’s own Samantha Stosur, Olympic Gold Medalist Monica Puig, China’s top-ranked player Zhang Shuai and Eugenie Bouchard.

WILDCARDS:
Ashleigh Barty (AUS), Donna Vekic (CRO)

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Bouchard: Stronger Than Yesterday

Bouchard: Stronger Than Yesterday

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ROME, Italy – Eugenie Bouchard earned her first Top 10 win since 2014 on Wednesday, rallying from a break down in the third set to beat No.2 seed Angelique Kerber, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The rollercoaster match saw Bouchard nearly blow a 6-1, 3-0 lead over the reigning Australian Open champion, but steeled herself to get the late break in the third set to secure the win.

A French Open semifinalist in 2014, Bouchard has steadily shown signs of a solid rebound after a disastrous 2015 season, where she went through a stretch of losing 15 of 18 matches. This year she has already made two finals in Hobart and Kuala Lumpur and this week she’s battled through back-to-back three-set wins over both Kerber and Jelena Jankovic in the first round.

The pressure of following up her 2014 season goes towards explaining some of Bouchard’s results last year. But there were also a series of injuries and overall lack of fitness. Watching Bouchard grind away against Kerber in front of packed crowd at Court Pietrangeli, it was clear that the 22-year-old’s physique is much stronger now than 12 months ago.

“I agree with that,” Bouchard told WTA Insider. “I definitely did not feel strong enough last year. I felt a lot of pressure and stress and I think that made me lose a bit of weight without me trying to. It wasn’t a conscious effort but it just happened that way.

“I think I wasn’t doing enough gym work but at the same time I was feeling so nervous before matches. I wouldn’t eat. I just in general wasn’t eating enough because I felt so nervous and things like that. So I’ve learned now that even if I do feel that way I really do have to stuff my face. I might feel like it’s going to come back up but I have to get it in me. It’s energy. It’s energy for your body.

“The moral of the story: Just stuff your face,” Bouchard said with a laugh.

Eugenie Bouchard

Caloric intake has been one side of the story. Bouchard also says she’s restructured her training regimen to put more of an emphasis on getting stronger.

“In the gym, I did a mini-off-season in December and took some in February as well. I was hitting the gym every day, spending not the same amount of time in the gym as on the court but the ratio was definitely closer than what it was in 2015. So it has been a conscious thing to try and improve.”

Bouchard is 6-5 in three-set matches this season; last year she was 4-7. She’s also back to working with Nick Saviano, her coach from her youth who was also at the helm during her breakout 2014 season. While the road back to her best is far from over, she says she’s panicking less in grueling matches.

“If I’m not feeling my strongest, first of all that gives me a lack of confidence in a match because I don’t have that confidence that I can keep this level up or still feel good in the third set, or are my legs going to be gone in the third set. Being physically strong is a physical thing but it’s also so mental.

“I don’t worry if it goes to a third set now, how I’ll be able to handle it physically. It’s one thing I don’t have to worry about. But it’s a constant thing. It’s something I have to keep up. It’s not like you can just do it for a month and then you’re set for life.”

Bouchard plays Barbora Strycova for a spot in the quarterfinals.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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