Dubai: Elina Svitolina vs Angelique Kerber
Elina Svitolina takes on Angelique Kerber in the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Elina Svitolina takes on Angelique Kerber in the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
An interview with Madison Keys after her win in the semifinals of the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Former World No.1 Monica Seles paid a visit to the Hungarian Ladies Open in Budapest to reconnect with her roots and inspire the next generation of Hungarian tennis stars.
Seles arrived in Budapest for the Hungarian Day of Tennis, which celebrates the past, present and future of Hungarian tennis. She was joined by other Hungarian former players, like former World No.7 Andre Temesvari and Katerina Marosi.
Together they hosted a tennis clinic for Budapest’s youngest tennis hopefuls, and afterwards Seles signed autographs for her myriad fans and met the press.
“It’s been fantastic to be invited by the Hungarian Tennis Federation to be a part of the WTA tournament here in Budapest, and also to participate in the Hungarian Day of Tennis kid’s clinic,” Seles told wtatennis.com.
“I hope we can spread the love of tennis and inspire a lot of young kids to pick up a racquet, and hopefully one day see them on center court.”
A few hours later, Seles was back on site to watch Hungary’s current No.1 in action as Timea Babos took on Julia Goerges in the semifinals. Tomorrow she’ll present the trophy to the winner.
Seles will also donate a signed tennis racquet to be auctioned during the two weeks after the tournament – all proceeds will benefit the Ronald McDonald House.
Check out the photos of Seles’ visit, courtesy of Hungarian Ladies Open!
Highlights from the semifinals action at the Aegon Classic Birmingham.
Elina Svitolina had Saturday’s shot of the day at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Sania Mirza, India’s most successful female tennis player, has revealed that she is in discussions over a Bollywood movie based on her life following the publication of her autobiography, Aces Against Odds, last year.
“There are some talks going on, but there’s nothing concrete right now,” the 30-year-old told Al Jazeera in an interview. “I’m a private person, so it is a difficult ask of me to open up completely.”
The 41-time WTA doubles champion also said she was aiming to return to the top of the WTA doubles rankings, a position she last held in at the start of 2017.
“We’re trying to win every tournament, whether it’s a Grand Slam or a regular tournament,” she said. “It would be great to get back to number one in the world, but I was there for almost two years. I feel like I just want to keep working hard and playing as long as I enjoy the pressure of competing.”
Mirza, who won the Brisbane International this year with WTA World No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, also has six Grand Slam doubles titles to her name. She won the Australian Open last year to go with her 2015 victories at Wimbledon and the US Open, while in mixed doubles she won the Australian Open in 2009, the French Open in 2012 and the US Open in 2014.
Mirza, whose husband is Pakistan international cricketer Shoaib Malik, also spoke about the impact Bollywood can have in giving other sports exposure in a country obsessed with her husband’s game.
“We try to act like we are a sporting nation two months before the Olympics, Asian Games or Commonwealth Games. Until then, nobody really cares. We need to remember that we have champions outside of cricket, as well.
“Most sports don’t get the kind of support, help or viewership that is given to cricket. But because of movies, the whole country realises who these people are. Bollywood is probably the biggest industry that we have. It’s one way to reach out to the masses and, actually, celebrate.”
An interview with Roberta Vinci before her opening round match at the Aegon International.
Watch as Andrea Petkovic joins Feliciano Lopez on a cliff driving trip at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco.
Garbiñe Muguruza hasn’t had too much time to revel in her maiden Grand Slam triumph. Not long after stunning World No.1 Serena Williams to win the French Open, the Spaniard had to shift focus to yet another major tournament, one played on courts that serve as a stark contrast to slow red clay.
“I just have to keep a totally open mind,” she told press after her opening round loss at the Mallorca Open. “I came to Mallorca with very little time to prepare. I mean, yesterday I was still in Paris, and this is a totally different surface.
“The truth is I’m disappointed, but now I’m just training harder to arrive ready for Wimbledon.”
While many French Open champions tend not to grab too many headlines as the tour takes over the All England Club, all eyes will be on Muguruza to see if she can back up last year’s breakthrough fortnight, when she upset Agnieszka Radwanska to reach the final – becoming the first Spanish woman to make it that far since Conchita Martinez in 1994.
“Oh man, I barely remember the last time. It’s been over a year since my [Wimbledon] final, and it feels like ages since I last stepped on grass. But sure, it brings me great memories, even though grass isn’t a surface I’ve always loved – I didn’t used to like it at all.”
While back-to-back quarterfinal appearances foreshadowed this year’s title run at Roland Garros, the Spaniard had won a grand total of one main draw match at Wimbledon, and was perilously close to elimination in bother her second and third round matches to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and Angelique Kerber before catching fire in the second week.
“I’ve learned to love it more lately, with time. And then reaching the final at Wimbledon, that was something so special.
“It’s always a hard switch, especially the first few days on grass, but there’s little tricks to help adjust.”
Playing her first major final, she played Williams through two tough sets, admitting to nerves playing a part in keeping her from stepping over the finish line.
“I felt I had a lot of opportunities against her, and I just thought in Wimbledon I was very nervous,” she said after winning in Paris. “I couldn’t really control that.”
After losing the opening set of her first round, Muguruza looked in complete control in Paris, rolling over the field and winning 12 straight sets en route to the title and a new career-high ranking of No.2. Whether the quantum leap in her resume gives her more confidence remains to be seen, but seems to know she can’t rest on her laurels.
“When you step out onto the court, it doesn’t matter if, last week, you’ve just won a Grand Slam, in the end it comes down to who can play their best on that day.”
Muguruza’s career has already been full of the highest of highs and lowest of lows; it took her until the Asian Swing to recover from reaching last year’s Wimbledon final, but she made up for lost time in style, going undefeated in round robin play of her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global debut.
This season, but contrast, has been a slow build, putting one solid result on top of another before she was able to climb up and grab a piece of Grand Slam glory. A steep drop-off wouldn’t be out of character, but certainly out of step for a player who has not only evolved into a Grand Slam contender, but a Grand Slam champion.
Click here to read more about this year’s Wimbledon Contenders, courtesy of WTA Insider.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.