Tennis News

Mirza’s No.1 Ranking Under Siege By Swiss Miss: In the high-profile split between former co-No.1s Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis, it was Mirza who retained custody of the No.1 ranking after she and new partner Barbora Strycova ousted Hingis and CoCo Vandeweghe in the final of the Western & Southern Open.

Mirza and Strycova have lost just once since pairing up in Cincinnati, reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open and taking home a second title at the Toray Pan Pacific Open. Adding 470 points to their Road to Singapore leaderboard total, the pair could yet qualify for Singapore in their own right, giving Mirza the opportunity to pick between Hingis and Strycova should both teams finish inside the Top 8.

Heading into Wuhan, Mirza has enjoyed an uninterrupted reign atop the WTA doubles rankings since April 13, 2015 (77 consecutive weeks, including week of Sept 26th).

But Hingis has another chance to take back the top spot, which she shared with Mirza for 31 weeks between January and August. In opposite halves of the draw, Hingis – seeded No.6 with Vandeweghe – will have to at least the final to have a chance, and could have another battle royale for the No.1 ranking should she and Vandeweghe meet Mirza and Strycova (seeded No.3) in the championship match. 

Both teams received byes into the second round; Hingis and Vandeweghe will begin their tournament against Aleksandra Krunic and Katerina Siniakova, the latter of whom previously paired with Barbora Krejcikova to end Hingis and Mirza’s bid for the Non-Calendar Year Grand Slam at the French Open. Mirza and Strycova will play wither Arantxa Parra-Santonja and Anastasia Rodionova, or Gabriela Dabrowski and María José Martínez Sánchez in their opening round.

French Reunite In Asia: Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic anchor Hingis and Vandeweghe’s section of the draw as top seeds in Wuhan, and are playing for the first time since narrowly losing the US Open final to Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova.

Garcia and Mladenovic have already qualified for Singapore, but will be likely looking to retain match rhythm not only for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, but also the Fed Cup final, which the pair were cleared to play after an issue with the FFT. Their first opponents will be either Irina-Camelia Begu and US Open mixed doubles champion Laura Siegemund or Christina McHale and Peng Shuai.

No.7 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka are the French pair’s first possible seeds and projected quarterfinal opponents; the Czechs are coming off their first title together in 2016 at the Coupe Banque Nationale, which helped them reach No.5 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.

Bucie In Hingis’ Quarter: Speaking of Mattek-Sands and Safarova, the pair’s US Open title helped launch them into the Top 8 on the RTS leaderboard at No.7, and could shore up a second straight Singapore appearance with solid performances in Asia.

Seeded No.5 in Wuhan, the two open against the unlikely wildcard pair of Simona Halep and Jelena Ostapenko, and could play the all-Chinese duo of Han Xinyun and Zhu Lin before facing projected opponents Hingis and Vandeweghe.

Photos courtesy of Getty Images.

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan – No.4 seed Nao Hibino got her Tashkent Open title defense off to a winning start, powering past local wildcard Komola Umarova in straight sets to secure a spot in the second round.

“I’m happy to be back to Tashkent and was a bit nervous playing here,” said Hibino, who claimed her maiden WTA title here last year. The Japanese 21-year-old scored a 6-3, 6-1 win over an overwhelmed Umarova in just under an hour.

Also in action at the Olympic Tennis School in Tashkent, Hibino’s countrywoman Kurumi Nara faced a tougher opening round challenge but still scored a straight sets win over Ukrainian wildcard Dayana Yastremska. Nara needed one hour and 48 minutes to advance to the second round 7-5, 6-2.

Stefanie Voegele was made to work for her second round spot, surviving the toughest match of the day against local qualifier Sabina Sharipova. The pair wrestled with the momentum throughout the two-hour-and-thirty-eight minute encounter before Voegele advanced 7-5, 5-7, 7-5 and moved into the second round for the second year in a row.

Joining her in the second round are Denisa Allertova and Maria Sakkari. No.9 seed Allertova stopped Japanese qualifier Hiroko Kuwata 6-3, 6-4, while Sakarri pushed past Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

ZHUHAI, China – After some seismic shifts to the Zhuhai leaderboard after the US Open, the rankings stayed the same once all was said and done at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Madison Keys and Johanna Konta continue to lead the field, but Keys trails Carla Suárez Navarro by just one point on the Road To Singapore leaderboard; a switch could be close and the Spaniard could end up the top seed at the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

The year’s final tournament will take place in Zhuhai and will run from November 1 to 6. Like last year, the singles draw will feature 11 of the top ranked players and one wildcard, with the winner collecting 700 rankings points.

Here’s the latest leaderboard update for the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai as of September 26, 2016:

WUHAN, China – Johanna Konta defeated Carla Suárez Navarro in the third round the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, in a match featuring two players battling for a spot among the Top 8 to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

The win positions Konta 246 points out of the Top 8 and she could narrow the gap to 86 points should she advance to the semifinals. While the cutoff for the Top 8 will be a moving target, the narrow gap certainly indicates that a Top 8 finish for Konta is within striking distance.

While the focus centers on the Road to Singapore leaderboard at this time of year, Konta also has a chance to make her Top 10 debut on the WTA rankings this week – if she is able to reach the finals at Wuhan with other results fall in her favor.

Currently ranked No.13, Konta faces a tough road to the finals with a quarterfinal matchup against Petra Kvitova and a potential semifinal against the winner of Simona Halep vs. Madison Keys.

It has been 32 years since the Top 10 included a British woman when Jo Durie graced the Top 10 (weeks of August 20, 1984) at No.10 before dropping out after a first round loss at the 1984 US Open. Only three British woman have found their way to the Top 10: Virginia Wade (career-high of No.2), Sue Barker (career-high of No.3) and Durie (career-high of No.5).

Konta is scheduled to play Beijing next week and Hong Kong the following week. She is not entered into a tournament in the final week of the season.

Road to Singapore leaderboard Update

Wednesday, September 28th

Two third round matches in singles and all doubles matches were postponed due to rain. These matches are scheduled to be played on Thursday, along with the quarterfinals in both singles and doubles. Here is a look at the latest update:

SINGLES:

Qualified: Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams

Next to Qualify: Simona Halep can secure her spot in Singapore by reaching the semifinals in Wuhan. She will play Madison Keys in the quarterfinals on Thursday. If Keys defeats Halep, the Romanian, could still qualify this week, but will need several results to fall in her favor.

Looking ahead, Karolina Pliskova (final) and Agnieszka Radwanska (title) have a chance to qualify this week as well.

Current Projected Top 8 (Remaining 6 Spots)

Contenders for Top 8 in Action (Current projected cut off is 3,051; points trailing the current projected cutoff)

DOUBLES:

Qualified: Garcia/Mladenovic, Hingis/Mirza, Makarova/Vesnina

Next to Qualify: It is possible for as many as three of the Current Top 8 teams to qualify this week, depending on results; however, they will need to have at least reach the semifinals with other results falling in their favor.

Current Projected Top 8 (Remaining 5 Teams)

Contenders for Top 8 in Action: The current projected cut off is 3,270 (points trailing the current projected cutoff)

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

It’s semifinal Friday at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open! And Chris Oddo is previewing both matchups right here at wtatennis.com.

Friday

Semifinals

[4] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. [14] Petra Kvitova (CZE #16)
Head-to-head: Halep leads, 3-0
Key Stat: Halep has won 24 of her last 27 matches

Two of the hottest players on tour will tangle for a spot in the prestigious Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open final on Friday, as Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova meet for the fourth time overall and second time in 2016. Halep has been absolutely on fire since Wimbledon, winning 24 of 27 matches while grabbing titles in Bucharest and Montreal, and the Romanian just locked up her third consecutive appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global with her straight-sets win over Madison Keys. Halep is the only player remaining in the draw who has yet to drop a set in Wuhan but she’ll have her hands full with the suddenly scorching Petra Kvitova. The Czech was hovering around the .500 mark after Wimbledon but since then she has regained her daunting power game and won 18 of 23 matches. The only thing missing from Kvitova’s late-season turnaround? A final. Kvitova has reached multiple finals on tour in every year since she emerged as an elite player in 2011, but thus far this year she hasn’t been able to break through. It has already been a banner week for Kvitova, who notched her fourth career win over a reigning world No.1 when she defeated Angelique Kerber in a three-hour and 20-minute marathon in the round of 16. But she knows she’ll have to produce more electric tennis if she is to get past Halep for the first time. “It’s a new day and I will do everything possible, try my best,” Kvitova said of her winless past against Halep. “I lost to her last time so I have something to work on for tomorrow. I know how well she’s playing so I need to be ready.”

Pick: Kvitova in three

[9] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10) vs. [10] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #12)
Head-to-head: Cibulkova leads, 4-3
Key Stat: Kuznetsova owns a 17-6 record in three-set matches in 2016.

Svetlana Kuznetsova’s career resurgence continues at full throttle in 2016. By reaching the semifinals with a win over Agnieszka Radwanska, Kuznetsova is guaranteed to move into the WTA’s Top 8 for the first time since May 24, 2010. The 31-year-old has been a warrior all season, displaying rejuvenated fitness and a replenished passion for grinding it out on a weekly basis on tour. Kuznetsova has captured nearly half of her matches in deciding sets (17 of her 35 wins) and because of her hard work the Russian now finds herself contending for a coveted slot at this year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The St. Petersburg native could find herself in the Top 8 in the RTS Standings by reaching the final, or even higher if she takes the title in Wuhan. On Thursday Kuznetsova saved a match point to defeat No. 3-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska for her fourth Top 10 win of the season. Also homing in on a Singapore spot is the ever feisty Dominika Cibulkova. The Slovakian survived double-duty on Thursday, defeating No.5-seeded Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova to reach her seventh semifinal of the season. Cibulkova started the week at No.7 in the Road To Singapore leaderboard standings, and she could bolster her bid for a first appearance in Singapore with a strong finish in Wuhan. It’s not something that Cibulkova wants to dwell on, however. “Right now I’m not thinking about it,” the Slovak told WTA Insider after she won the Eastbourne title this summer. “In 2014 I was very close, and that’s what made me very intense and want it too much. I was over-motivated and it didn’t happen. So, I’m not thinking about it.” With so much on the line, Kuznetsova and Cibulkova’s first meeting since 2011 will likely come down to which player can execute best under pressure. The margins will be thin—they have met four times on hardcourts, with each player winning twice.

Pick: Cibulkova in three

By the Numbers:
1 – Kvitova is the only former Wuhan champion remaining in the draw.
53 – Career titles owned by the four semifinalists (Kvitova, 17, Kuznetsova, 16, Halep, 14, Cibulkova, 6).
10-1 – Kvitova’s career record at Wuhan.
5 – Kuznetsova has won her last five hardcourt semifinals.

BEIJING, China – The WTA’s biggest names were out in full force to celebrate the final Premier Mandatory event of the year at the China Open, but this was no average player party.

Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki were among the names to hit the Beijing National Stadium – the iconic “Bird’s Nest Stadium” that played host to the 2008 Olympics’ Opening Ceremony – and took part in the China Open gala celebration.

The gala also served as the kickoff to the Song Qingling Foundation, which works to promote the development of tennis among Chinese children and teenagers.

Click below to check out the best photos of the night, courtesy of Visual China Group!