Caroline Wozniacki's Practice Session In Dubai
Watch Caroline Wozniacki hit the practice court ahead of the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Watch Caroline Wozniacki hit the practice court ahead of the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
LONDON, England – Moments after completing another regal performance at Wimbledon, the queen of tennis Serena Williams was rubbing shoulder with a very different type of royalty.
Making her annual homage to the home of tennis, future Queen Kate Middleton was alongside All England Club Chairman Philip Brook to witness Williams’ semifinal masterclass against Elena Vesnina.
And with the applause still rippling around Centre Court, the Dutchess was hot-footing it out of the royal box to get an introduction – and a selfie – with the World No.1.
Serena and Kate ? pic.twitter.com/wzsmKkJJyh
— Shanice Bajin (@SWilliamsFans) 7 July 2016
DUBAI, UAE – No.7 seed Elina Svitolina took home her second title of 2017 – and the biggest one of her career – at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after defeating 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.
Playing in her first Premier 5 final, Svitolina showed no sign of nerves as she outhit the former World No.1 to claim the victory 6-4, 6-2 after an hour and 10 minutes.
“It’s very special for me [to win such a big tournament],” Svitolina said in her on-court interview. “I’ve played very amazing tennis this week and I’m happy it happened in Dubai.
“It’s the first trophy for me at such a big tournament, so it’s very special for me.”
“I dreamed for all my life to be in the Top 10” -@ElinaSvitolina pic.twitter.com/T4CooJ6Nw3
— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017
With the title, Svitolina will rise from WTA No.13 to No.10, making her the 120th player to make her Top 10 debut since the WTA Rankings were introduced on November 3, 1975.
“I’ve dreamed for all my life to be in Top 10. It’s a very amazing feeling to enter Top 10, and do it by winning the tournament! I’m very excited for the season and very excited I could win this tournament.”
The 22-year-old Ukrainian entered the matchup against Wozniacki with a 1-0 lead in the pair’s head-to-head record, with their only meeting coming last year in Miami where Svitolina came within two points of defeat before winning 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(1).
This time in Dubai, it was a more comprehensive affair, with Svitolina injecting pace into her groundstrokes to break down Wozniacki’s rock-solid defense.
.@ElinaSvitolina captures @DDFTennis Title!
Defeats Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2! pic.twitter.com/TA3LibF8zn
— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017
A pair of inch-perfect passing shots left Wozniacki wrong-footed and gave Svitolina the lone break in the first set at 3-2. But the Dane refused to fade away, batting away a pair of Svitolina set points at 5-4 with some bold tennis – including a second-serve ace – to force the Ukrainian to serve it out.
Wozniacki let three break points slip by that would have leveled the score, and instead Svitolina held serve from 0-40 down to take the opening set.
Svitolina continued her momentum into the final set; after trading breaks to start, Svitolina played more aggressive to chip away at Wozniacki’s defense as the Dane’s unforced error count continued to build. Svitolina rattled off the last five games in a row to close out the match and biggest title of her career.
“It’s been a good two weeks, @DDFTennis is a special tournament for me.” -@CaroWozniacki pic.twitter.com/xVVyG0fmXK
— WTA (@WTA) February 25, 2017
Despite the disappointing loss, Wozniacki is taking away positive signs from her Middle East fortnight, which saw her reach back-to-back finals.
“It’s been a good two weeks for me – two finals, lots of matches,” Wozniacki said in her on-court interview. “Making another final here [in Dubai] is definitely great, and I’m already excited to be back.”
Another piece of good news for Wozniacki? The Dane is inching closer to her return to the WTA Top 10: with her run to the final she’ll move to No.14, and is defending just 145 points until the US Open.
The story of the tournament from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel is one of the players’ favorite WTA tournaments, and it’s easy to see why at beach paradise Acapulco.
Eugenie Bouchard & Monica Puig took to the beach with ATP’s Marin Cilic for a quick snap on the tournament hashtag sign.
Christina McHale and ATP’s David Goffin were on hand at the draw ceremony and trophy presentation.
Meanwhile, Andrea Petkovic joined Feliciano Lopez for an unforgettable experience.
The pair took in a hair-raising cliff diving show at La Quebrada, where divers jump more than 35 meters into the water below.
Check out that stunning view!
Bouchard and ATP star Juan Martín del Potro took a helicopter to another scenic location.
They visited Pie de la Cuesta, a picturesque beach a few miles away from Acapulco.
Bouchard and del Potro played a bit of beach tennis…
Looks like fun!
But it didn’t go too well for Bouchard!
Kristina Mladenovic and Heather Watson took to the Princess Golf Course with Robert Farah and Juan Sebastián Cabal for a different challenge.
They played a few holes of futgolf, hybrid of a golf and football.
Check out Watson’s skill with the football!
Mladenovic, the No.2 seed in Acapulco, is definitely enjoying the outing.
Afterwards, the players challenged each other to a bit of keepy-uppy!
Watch Kristina Mladenovic and Heather Watson try a few rounds of footgolf in Acapulco!
The three-time Internazionali BNL D’Italia champion Maria Sharapova has received a wildcard entry into the main draw of the tournament in Rome this year.
The 29-year-old will attempt to reclaim the title she last won in 2015 as she continues her return to the WTA circuit. The tournament, which takes place from May 15-21, will be her third this year after she picked up wildcards for Stuttgart and Madrid this spring.
We officially announce the Wild Card for the 3 times Rome's Champion @MariaSharapova into the main draw of #ibi17! #tennis #WTA #Sharapova pic.twitter.com/bxrPrjI6fJ
— Internazionali Bnl (@InteBNLdItalia) March 1, 2017
Sharapova beat Spain’s Carla Suárez Navarro, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, in the final on her last appearance two years ago, to win her most recent WTA title.
Lesia Tsurenko overcame an impressive effort from Jelena Ostapenko, who suffered a bee sting during the warm-up of their quarterfinal encounter at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA – Serena Williams’ phenomenal week got even more phenomenal on Wednesday night, as she won Best Female Tennis Player at the ESPY Awards for the eighth time in her career, having already been given the award in 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2015.
She was chosen over Angelique Kerber, Flavia Pennetta, and Garbiñe Muguruza for this year’s award.
Williams now has 10 total ESPY Awards – she was also named Best Female Athlete in 2003 and 2013.
Other WTA stars with multiple ESPY Awards are Sharapova (five), Venus Williams (four), Steffi Graf (three) and Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport (two each). The ESPY Awards started in 1993.
More to come…
ACAPULCO, Mexico – Australian Open semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni closed out quarterfinals night at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, dispatching French veteran Pauline Parmentier, 6-2, 6-3, to advance into her second straight semifinal in what has been a stunning start to her season.
“I feel great,” the top seed said after the match. “I played a solid match and that was good enough to win. I’m very excited to be in the semifinals, for sure.”
Playing her first tournament since earning a pair of Top 5 wins over Agnieszka Radwanska and Karolina Pliskova en route to her first Grand Slam semifinal since 1999, the Croatian veteran was also enjoying her first WTA event as a No.1 seed – even trying her hand at traditional guacamole.
Top seed at a WTA event for the first time in her career, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni is playing some great tennis @AbiertoTelcel pic.twitter.com/Lo1QEgo64i
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 3, 2017
Into the semifinals without dropping a set, she showed off her signaure firepower to knock out Parmentier in just over an hour behind 22 winners to just nine unforced errors. Nonetheless, Lucic-Baroni insisted she got a good test ahead of her next match against No.7 seed Lesia Tsurenko.
“It was very close; it was closer than the score. The points were tough. I think this court suited her. It took off with her spin and she made me work hard. I feel good right now and I’m glad I’m through.
“I’m just going to recover, do the same as every day and try to feel as good as possible for tomorrow. Then I’ll be back to give it another go!”
Hoping to reach her first final since last spring’s Internationax de Strasbourg – and win her first title since the 2014 Coupe Banque Nationale – Lucic-Baroni could also earn another career-high ranking should she reach the final on Friday.
Two straight semifinals for Lucic-Baroni; No.7 seed Tsurenko next @AbiertoTelcel pic.twitter.com/G8T6MqWMC9
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 3, 2017