Angelique Kerber's Sydney Opera House Photoshoot
Go behind the scenes of Angelique Kerber’s photoshoot in Sydney, where she visited several of the city’s landmarks including the world famous Sydney Opera House.
Go behind the scenes of Angelique Kerber’s photoshoot in Sydney, where she visited several of the city’s landmarks including the world famous Sydney Opera House.
Daria Kasatkina talks through her second round win at the Apia International Sydney.
British No.1 Johanna Konta overcame Daria Kasatkina at the Apia International Sydney to move through to her second semifinals of 2017 without dropping a set.
THE WINNERS
CoCo Vandeweghe overcame Kristina Mladenovic and the worst of the Dutch weather to recapture the Ricoh Open on Sunday afternoon. Vandeweghe, who also won the title in 2014, follows in the footsteps of Justine Henin and Tamarine Tanasugarn as only the third player in the tournament’s 21-year history to win it on two occasions.
“It was actually really difficult – we had three rain delay stops – so it was really difficult to get yourself back into the match and make sure you’re fresh and light and ready to go. Especially the last rain delay in the first set. I was really trying to get myself moving,” Vandeweghe said.
“I got myself in a bit of a pickle in the second set, but I battled my way out of it, and sometimes the name of the game is just battling through adversity and problems you cause for yourself.”
Read the full story here. | WTA Insider Champion’s Corner
Top seed Karolina Pliskova overcame Alison Riske in a rain-affected Aegon Open Nottingham final on Sunday to capture her fifth WTA title.
Afternoon showers pushed the start of play back a couple of hours, at one point even raising the possibility of a Monday final. When the clouds did eventually clear, Pliskova held her nerve to triumph 7-6(8), 7-5, in a fraction under two hours.
“It’s been a great week for me, I really didn’t count on having such early success on the grass so I am feeling good ahead of Wimbledon,” Pliskova said.
Read the full story here.
RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of June 13, 2016.
CoCo Vandeweghe (USA), +11 (No.43 to 32): Vandeweghe’s run to her second Ricoh Open title in three years earns her the biggest ranking jump of the week. She’s now back at her career-high ranking of No.32 after jumping up 11 spots.
Madison Brengle (USA), +8 (No.68 to 60): Brengle reached her first WTA semifinal at ‘s-Hertogenbosch of 2016 to jump up eight spots to No.60.
Alison Riske (USA), +8 (No.89 to 81): Riske’s run to the final of Nottingham, her second WTA final this year, inches her up to No.81.
Monica Puig (PUR), +6 (No.49 to 43): Puerto Rico’s Puig has been steadily climbing up the rankings all year long: she started off 2016 at No.92 and with her run to the Nottingham semifinals she’s up to No.43, just shy of her career-high ranking of No.41.
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA), +3 (No.32 to 29): Mladenovic backed up her French Open doubles title with a run to the Ricoh Open final and as a result she gained a spot in the Top 30, ever-closer to matching her career-high ranking of No.27.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
Aegon Classic Birmingham
Birmingham, Great Britain
Premier | $780,900 | Grass
Monday, June 13 – Sunday, June 19
Mallorca Open
Mallorca, Spain
International | $226,750 | Grass
Monday, June 13 – Sunday, June 19
Aegon International Eastbourne
Eastbourne, Great Britain
Premier | $711,778 | Grass
Sunday, June 19 – Saturday, June 25
The Championships, Wimbledon
London, Great Britain
Grand Slams | – | Grass
Monday, June 27 – Sunday, July 10
TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams – Wimbledon
2. Garbiñe Muguruza – Mallorca, Wimbledon
3. Agnieszka Radwanska – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
4. Angelique Kerber -Birmingham, Wimbledon
5. Simona Halep -Wimbledon
6. Victoria Azarenka – Wimbledon
7. Roberta Vinci – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
8. Belinda Bencic – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
9. Venus Williams – Wimbledon
10. Timea Bacsinszky – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
11. Petra Kvitova – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
12. Svetlana Kuznetsova – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
13. Flavia Pennetta
14. Samantha Stosur – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
15. Carla Suárez Navarro – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
16. Madison Keys – Birmingham, Eastbourne Wimbledon
17. Karolina Pliskova – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
18. Elina Svitolina – Birmingham, Wimbledon
19. Johanna Konta – Birmingham, Eastbourne, Wimbledon
20. Sloane Stephens – Eastbourne, Wimbledon
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Venus Williams (USA) – June 17, 1980
ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The Women’s Tennis Association and Cambridge Global Payments have entered into a three-year partnership whereby Cambridge will serve as the Official and Exclusive International Payments Provider of the WTA, responsible for fulfillment of prize money and corporate foreign exchange services for the WTA and its members.
“Cambridge’s in-depth knowledge and expertise in managing many international, and often complicated, financial transactions set them apart – especially when time sensitive payments and on-demand delivery are a must,” said WTA CEO and Chairman Steve Simon. “Their commitment to excellence reflect the high standards we expect at the WTA and we look forward to this partnership.”
Cambridge is one of the largest bank-independent providers of international payments, with offices across North America, Europe and Australia. Their award winning online platform and expertise in the business space has earned them global recognition, specifically for time sensitive payments.
Cambridge will provide the foreign exchange platform for facilitation of the payment of prize money between the WTA’s members – from tournaments to players. The WTA will oversee the handling of the program in conjunction with Cambridge. The WTA itself will also utilize Cambridge Global for all corporate foreign exchange services.
“We are extremely honored and excited to be selected as the Official and Exclusive International Payments Provider for the WTA and their members. As a global leader and specialist in international payments, Cambridge looks forward to working with such a prestigious association and their group of talented players,” said Anil Sawrup, Chief Commercial Officer, Cambridge Global Payments.
Traditionally the start of the grass court season is the time for surprises, the well-manicured lawns paying scant regard to the reputation of tennis’ great and good.
This year’s opening two events, the Aegon Open Nottingham and the Richo Open, proved no different, throwing up a number of eye-catching results. Coming through the wreckage to lift the silverware were two a the game’s biggest servers: Karolina Pliskova and CoCo Vandeweghe.
Their success has resulted significant moves on the Road To Singapore leaderboard. Nottingham champion Pliskova, who narrowly missed out on qualifying for last year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, is up to No.18, while ‘s-Hertogenbosch winner Vandeweghe leapt from No.84 to No.43.
With many of the leading contenders for Singapore waiting until Birmingham and Mallorca to begin their grass court preparations, much of the movement was restricted to lower down the leaderboard. Belinda Bencic made a successful return from the back injury that forced her out of the French Open, reaching the semifinals in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, a result that took her from No.34 to No.27.
Bencic’s conqueror Kristina Mladenovic was rewarded for her eventual runner-up finish with a jump from No.70 to No.49 on the leaderboard. Meanwhile, Alison Riske, the runner-up in Nottingham’s rain delayed final is up to No.55 from her previous position of No.72.
Wimbledon preparations continue apace this week in Birmingham and Mallorca, where Garbiñe Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber are all competing.
RTS Ranking Movers
Karolina Pliskova: No.26 to No.18 (+8)
Monica Puig: No.21 to No.19 (+2)
Belinda Bencic: No.34 to No.27 (+7)
CoCo Vandeweghe: No.84 to No.43 (+41)
Kristina Mladenovic: No.70 to No.49 (+21)
Madison Brengle: No.64 to No.54 (+10)
Alison Riske: No.72 to No.55 (+17)
Click here to see the full Road To Singapore leaderboard standings following Nottingham and ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
No.2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska earned a seventh straight win over Barbora Strycova to reach the Apia International Sydney final.
No.2 seed Angelique Kerber got her title defense off to a flying start at the Aegon Classic Birmingham, outlasting a three-hour rain delay to defeat Shuai Peng, 7-6(3), 6-3.
WTA Insider | Can Angelique Kerber defend her title in Melbourne? How tough is World No.2 Serena Williams’ draw? The Insider team examines an intriguing Australian Open draw.
Maria Sharapova has filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport seeking to annul or reduce her two-year suspension for a failed drug test at the Australian Open in January. The parties have agreed to an expedited track for the case, which will allow CAS to issue its decision no later than July 18th, 2016.
Last week, an independent tribunal appointed by the International Tennis Federation found that Sharapova committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation, and imposed a period of ineligibility of two years. Under the tribunal’s decision, Sharapova would be allowed to return on January 27, 2018.
According to a statement from CAS regarding Sharapova’s appeal, “Ms. Sharapova seeks the annulment of the Tribunal’s decision to sanction her with a two-year period of ineligibility further to an anti-doping rule violation. Ms. Sharapova submits that the period of ineligibility should be eliminated, or in the alternative, reduced.”
CAS further confirmed the parties have not decided whether or not a hearing would be held on appeal. However, “at the request of the parties, this arbitration procedure will be kept confidential and the CAS will not comment any further on this matter.”