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10 Things You Need To Know About Dominika Cibulkova

10 Things You Need To Know About Dominika Cibulkova

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

1. Fantastic First.
Dominika Cibulkova will round off a fantastic season by appearing at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global for the first time in her career. “I can’t describe with words what qualifying for the WTA Finals Singapore means to me,” said Cibulkova. “After such a tough year last year, this year has been amazing – so reaching the WTA Finals is a dream come true. It was my goal to be a consistently great player and I have achieved that this year. I want to enjoy it, play good tennis and end the year the best way I can.”

2. Linz Leader.
She wrapped up her place at the season-ending showpiece when she beat Viktorija Golubic 6-3, 7-5 in the final of the Generali Ladies Linz.

3. Comeback Queen.
Singapore will crown a terrific comeback season for Cibulkova. She has won three titles in 2016 — at the Katowice Open, Aegon International Eastbourne and most recently Linz – and she finished as runner-up at the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL, Mutua Madrid Open and the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

4. Flying High.
She’s flown up the rankings this year – Cibulkova was ranked No.66 in February and thanks to her scintillating form has since hit a high of World No.8.

5. Wedding Worries.
Cibulkova’s wedding this year was scheduled for the day of the Wimbledon final – and when she made it all the way to the quarterfinals it looked like the nuptials might have to be delayed for a day or two. Elena Vesnina solved the potential problem, though, beating a fatigued Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-2.

6. Missed Chance.
It’s all such a contrast from 2014, when Cibulkova had her first chance to qualify for the WTA Finals – and her late season form took a nosedive, winning just three regular season matches after Wimbledon.

7. Impressive Improvement.
It’s also a huge improvement from 2015, when she missed five months of the season after surgery on her heel and dropped down the rankings, falling out of the Top 50, although she managed to rise up to world No.38 by the end of the year.

8. Rival for Radwanska.
Cibulkova leads defending Singapore champion Agnieszka Radwanska 3-1 this year — and all four matches went deep into three sets. That will be intriguing should they face off in the Finals.

9. Set Fair.
It’s not just Radwanska she has great three-set form against. Cibulkova is the player on the WTA tour with the most three-set wins in 2016 — her record currently stands at 18 wins and nine losses.

10. Follower of Fashion.
With the help and support of her friend Marion Bartoli, in 2014 Cibulkova launched a clothing line, ‘Pome!’, named after her on-court rally cry.

Official WTA Finals Mobile App, Created by SAP

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WTA FINALS SINGAPORE – LIVE STREAMING

WTA FINALS SINGAPORE – LIVE STREAMING

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The WTA is live streaming the singles & doubles draws, practice sessions, press conferences & Future Stars final, for the duration of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

You can watch it all here, LIVE, from October 21 through to the end of the tournament!

Be the first to find out which of your favorite WTA stars will face off against each other at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global!

Follow the Draw Ceremony LIVE on Facebook and wtatennis.com Friday, October 21 at 18:30 SST / 06:30 ET / 11:30 BST.

LIVE STREAM SCHEDULE:

Friday, October 21:
Live Practice – 1:30 PM-2:00 PM (SST) | 6:30 AM-7:00 AM (BST) | 1:30 AM-2:00 AM (EDT)
Live Singles Draw Ceremony – 6:15 (SST) | 11:15 AM (BST) | 6:15 (EST)

Saturday, October 22:
Live Practice – 5:00 PM-6:00 PM (SST) | 10:00 AM-11:00 AM (BST) | 5:00 AM-6:00 AM (EST)

Sunday, October 23:
Live Future Stars Final – 10:45 AM (SST) | 3:45 AM (BST) | 10:45 PM Saturday (EST)

More streams to be announced – stay tuned!

*Stream times and duration subject to change

Official WTA Finals Mobile App, Created by SAP

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WTA Stars Say #ThankYouKobe

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA – On Wednesday night, Kobe Bryant hit the court for the last time in his career. After 20 extraordinary seasons, ‘The Black Mamba’ will hang up the purple and gold for good. With a sold-out crowd, Bryant dropped a season-high of 60 points and led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 101-96 comeback win against the Utah Jazz.

It was a night to remember and current WTA players, as well as a few WTA Legends, took to Twitter to show their support and say #ThankYouKobe…

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Keys Rolls Into Singapore Eager To Upset Red Group Rivals At WTA Finals

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SINGAPORE – Madison Keys’ slow and steady climb up the Road to Singapore began in the most unexpected place: the European clay season. A fierce hitter who excels on grass and hardcourts, Keys spent the last three seasons dreading the clay season, unmoored by her unrefined movement and necessary patience on the surface.

But something clicked for Keys at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, where she proceeded to beat Andrea Petkovic, Petra Kvitova, Timea Babos, and eventual Roland Garros champion Garbiñe Muguruza, to make her first final on the terre battue. From there everything began falling into place.

“I kind of had a slow start to my season,” Keys told reporters at All-Access Hour at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, referring to a left forearm injury she sustained off-court during the off-season. “[Singapore] wasn’t really on the radar. Then even after Rome when I made the finals I noticed I was slowly kind of moving up in the race.

“After winning in Birmingham I was kind of definitely in it at that point. So that’s when I really knew that I could make it, and it became a big goal of mine to be able to get here.”

Keys secured her spot by advancing to the Generali Ladies Linz final last week. Illness forced her to withdraw from the tournament. She spoke with a raspy voice but reassured reporters that she is ready to start her tournament on Sunday against Simona Halep.

“[I] was definitely not feeling good in Linz,” Keys said. “[I’ve] had a couple days to recover and I am feeling a lot better.”

Keys has been drawn in the Red Group, which includes Halep, World No.1 Angelique Kerber, and Dominika Cibulkova. It’s a tough group for Keys, who is a combined 2-9 against Kerber and Halep, though she is 3-0 against Cibulkova.

“It’s a big opportunity,” Keys said, when asked how she felt about landing in a group with Kerber and Halep. “It shows these are some of the best players of the year, and the good news is that I have beaten them before. I do know I can do it.”

On Sunday, Keys will be looking to get revenge on Halep, who has beaten her in all three of their meetings this year.

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said “Just playing her in Wuhan, I think she played really well there, but I think a big part was that I got really passive and I got behind the baseline and let her start dictating. That’s going to be something I’m going to have to step up and go for my shots in the smartest way I can, really just believe that I can do it.”

Reflecting on her consistent season, which saw her make the second week of all four majors and eight of 12 tournaments outside of the Slams, Keys pointed to her rankings rise. After winning the Aegon Classic in June she became the first American since Serena Williams in 1999 to make her Top 10 debut.

“I just look at it as a great accomplishment and a huge opportunity to go out and just play tennis and have fun and maybe inspire some more young American girls to pick up some racquets,” Keys said.

“I think highlights were getting into the Top 10 for sure, winning my second title. I think another big highlight was making a final on red clay…in the past I haven’t always loved red clay. Slowly I’m beginning to love it. I think probably the toughest moment has been losing that third and fourth match in Rio,” she said, referring to her run to the semifinals only to lose the bronze medal match. “Definitely one of the toughest matches that I’ve had to play.”

Speaking of adversity, the discussion turned to the topic of cyberbullying. Keys has occasionally posted screen grabs of the horrible tweets she receives on social media after losses, and more players have done the same over recent months. The 21-year-old says it’s a problem she hopes social media companies address soon.

“I think just showing that it’s kind of a daily struggle that all of us are dealing with,” Keys said when asked why she does posts the vile comments, which can veer into pure racism and sexism, particularly from men who have lost money betting on her matches. “Sometimes it just becomes too much. I just think there has to be a way to kind of monitor it a little bit more. It seems like a lot of times we’ll report a person and we get a response that they couldn’t find enough evidence that they did anything.

“So I think social media has to be able to kind of help us in that sense. But also just [to show] that it’s happening, and we as people have to do the best that we can to stop it, which is a big part of why I’m doing FearlesslyGIRL, going into schools where cyberbullying is also happening, and stopping it at a younger age I think could be really beneficial.”

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Wozniacki Out Of Madrid, Rome

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Caroline Wozniacki will be sitting out much of the clay court season, as the former No.1 has announced Monday that she has pulled out of clay court tournaments at the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

A finalist at the 2015 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on the red clay of Stuttgart, the Dane was due to play Fed Cup last week when a rolled ankle forced her out of Denmark’s Zonal ties in Egypt and this week’s International tournament in Istanbul.

Wozniacki has yet to rule out a return in time for the French Open, but the former No.1 already appears to be hard at work rehabbing her injured foot – as seen on her Twitter account.

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