Tennis News

Twelve years after tennis was relaunched as an exhibition event during the 1984 Los Angeles Games, the sport returned stateside for the centenary Games in Atlanta…

Atlanta, United States, 1996
Stone Mountain Tennis Center
Hardcourt

Now appearing in its third consecutive Games, tennis was beginning to come of age as an Olympic sport by the time it arrived in Atlanta. And by the time the flame had died out above the Centennial Stadium, one of the game’s bright young things had completed her own rite of passage.

Aside from an injured Steffi Graf, all the big names were present in Atlanta. America’s Monica Seles topped the seeds and after a stellar year was many people’s favorite for gold at the recently completed Stone Mountain Tennis Center.

However, by the time the business end of the tournament had arrived, it was another American who was podium bound and winning the hearts of the American public.

Up until then, Lindsay Davenport was known as the big-hitting Californian who had struggled to convert her prodigious talent into titles that mattered. Still just 20 by the time the Games rolled around, Davenport had been a near-permanent fixture in the Top 10 for two years, but still only had a handful of minor titles and Slam quarterfinals to show for her efforts.

Yet at an Olympics where so many of her compatriots were shining on the track and in the pool, Davenport couldn’t help but be inspired, producing some of the best tennis of her career to defeat Anke Huber, Iva Majoli and Mary Joe Fernandez to reach the final.

“For the last two weeks, I’ve been hearing “The Star-Spangled Banner” so much for the other athletes,” Davenport said after defeating Fernández. “And only last night did I really think I could hear it for myself.

“I realized that actually when Michael Johnson was on the stand, and Dan O’Brien. I thought, ‘I want to hear that song so badly now.'”

And hear it she did.

Taking on the tour’s toughest competitor in Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, the old Davenport may have succumbed to the pressure. The Atlanta version came out fighting like a lion.

With neither player able to break serve, the first set went to the tie-break. Davenport moved ahead, 6-4, only to let Sánchez-Vicario back into it with a backhand that sailed wide and a lob that drifted long.

The American responded with a strong serve and deep volley to go back ahead before taking the set with a touch of good fortune when a backhand drive hit the tape and trickled over.

From here there was no looking back; Davenport secured two early service breaks in the second and soon after was serving out for an emotional 7-6(6), 6-2 win.

“This means everything for me,” Davenport said. “No matter what else happens in my life, I’ll always be a gold medalist.”

——

Olympic Memories: Barcelona
Olympic Memories: Seoul

FLORIANOPOLIS, Brazil – No.3 seed Monica Puig powered into the Brasil Tennis Cup semifinals after a commanding win over 18-year-old Naomi Osaka, 6-3, 6-4.

Watch live action from Florianopolis this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Osaka came out swinging from the first point, displaying all the signs of her giant-killing form that has seen her reaching the third round at back to back Grand Slams this year.

“She started off very strong,” Puig said. “I just tried to keep myself there in the match the whole time. I served really well and played well on the long points, too.”

Osaka opened the match by breaking Puig’s serve, but the Puerto Rican has been in strong form all week long and was able to grab the break right back. Puig broke once more for a 3-1 lead, which she backed up with her strong service games to take the opening set. She earned another break in the first game of the second, and closed out the match after an hour and fifteen minutes.

After the match, the Puerto Rican had nothing but praise for her young opponent.

“Obviously, Osaka is super young, and I think she has an incredible potential,” Puig said after the match. “She’s a player who has many strong weapons and a great game. Of course, she’s only 18 years old, so you need to give her more time, because if she stays playing like this she’ll go very, very far.”

Puig is set to face the No.2 seeded Irina-Camelia Begu for a spot in the Brasil Tennis Cup final. The Romanian came through against No.7 seed Nao Hibino 6-2, 6-4.

“I played with Puig earlier this year in Charleston,” Begu said. “That was a really tough match, really close third set. I know it’s going to be a difficult match, but it’s the semifinals of a WTA event – I’m expecting that.”

Begu is one of two Romanians into the semifinals along with Ana Bogdan, who’s set to compete against the No.6 seed Timea Babos in the next round. Much like Puig expressed yesterday, Begu has her own reasons for feeling right at home in Florianopolis.

“Romanians are Latin, so we are very similar,” she said. “We feel good here in Brazil, we feel like home and that’s probably why we play so good here.”

Semis baby! ?? #UnoAUno pic.twitter.com/CiRAdEBoWZ

— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) August 3, 2016

NANCHANG, China – Duan Ying-Ying capped a winning week at the Jiangxi Open with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 upset over No.6 seed Vania King to win her first-ever WTA trophy.

Watch live action from Nanchang this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Playing in the biggest final of her career, Duan recovered from a slow start against the two-time Grand Slam doubles champion, who spent the first eight months of 2015 off the court due to a back injury, to strike gold at home in a two-hour epic.

“I’m very happy to win my first ever WTA singles title, especially with my low back injury and the hot weather here,” Duan said after the match.

“Vania played really well in the first set. My coach gave me some advice during the second set. He asked me to improve my speed a bit and I did so. It worked.”

Down a set and a break, Duan immediately broke back and saved another six break points in her next three service games to put her in position to take a lead of her own and level the match.

“I didn’t expect so many fans to come today. I was really glad to have them cheer for me; their support helped me get through.”

The final set proved decisive for Duan, who broke serve to start and never looked back, serving out her first title to love.

“Winning this title boosted my confidence a lot. I hope to keep up the form and play well at US Open. It’s a really well-organized event this year. I hope to come back next year.

“I might go to see a movie tonight to celebrate!”

In the doubles final, unseeded Chinese pair Liang Chen and Lu Jing-Jing won tense battle against Japanese duo and No.2 seeds Shuko Aoyama and Makoto Ninomiya, 3-6, 7-6(2), 13-11.

Thanks for your fantastic performance in the past week.??See you next year in #Nanchang !#DuanYingYing @queen_v21 pic.twitter.com/LjfYvVoBVy

— Jiangxi Open (@JiangxiOpen) August 7, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – World No.1 Serena Williams saved a pair of set points to defeat an always-dangerous Alizé Cornet, 7-6(5), 6-2, to reach the third round of the Olympic tennis event.

“It was really big for me just to win that first set,” Serena said after the match. “Or else I’d probably still be out there fighting.”

Ranked just inside the Top 50 after an up and down season rife with injury concerns, Cornet still had reason to be confident heading into her second round clash with the 22-time Grand Slam champion, having won their last three meetings in 2014 – including an epic third round thriller on the lawns of Wimbledon. Recovering from a double break down in the first set, the Frenchwoman moved her illustrious opponent about the court, drawing uncomfortable errors with the help of her signature drop shot.

“We’ve had so many tough matches in the past, so I couldn’t let the elements get into my head. I hadn’t played great against Alizé in the past – I don’t know how many matches! – so I thought how I at least wanted to get a win.”

Suddenly, Serena found herself serving to stay in a set she’d been on track to win, and faced a pair of set points back-to-back at 15-40. It was then that the Serena serve kicked into high gear, helping her save both set points and ultimately escape with the opening set unscathed – though not without a tense tie-break to decide the contest.

The second set saw the American take fuller ascendency, and though she failed to serve out the match on her first opportunity, she duly broke back in the next game to clinch the encounter in just under two hours.

Up next for the top seed is rising Ukrainian star and No.15 seed Elina Svitolina, who has been working with Serena’s own former rival and recent International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee, Justine Henin.

“It’ll be fun for me. Elina is such a great person; she’s really young and does really well. We’ve had some really tough matches too, but it’ll be a good match.

“I hope I win, but she’s such a great girl and I’m always rooting for her.”

.@serenawilliams finds a way past @alizecornet 76(5) 62 to advance to 3rd round of #OlympicsTennis #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/2Bi8wi88kM

— ITF Olympic Tennis (@OlympicsTennis) August 8, 2016

Serena Williams never misses a chances to show off her dance moves, and a major social media milestone is no exception. The World No.1 just crossed the four million followers mark on Instagram, and she debuted a move that she dubbed the “4 million follower dance.”

So how exactly does one react when reaching that many million followers?

Click right here to find out!

What did the top seeds have to say on Day 1 of the Western & Southern Open? Check out some of their best quotes from the All-Access Hour from Cincinnati…

Svetlana Kuznetsova

On her pre-season goals and strategy:

Before the start of the year, I was thinking if I couldn’t do better, or at least how I think I should do, I don’t know what would come next. So I wanted to give this year everything I could. I didn’t have a fitness coach for preparation, but I did it myself and for the first time, I won a tournament in the first three weeks of the season in Sydney. I felt better mentally because maybe sometimes you start to figure out how your brain and mentality works. You find keys to yourself.

On forming the right team:

I don’t think I’m special, but it’s hard to find the right people to be your coach or physio because it’s like life; to find a boyfriend, you need time. You need to find someone you like, who you understand and understand you. A lot of times, a person comes onto your team and tries to change everything. But I’m 31, I’m not 16 anymore; everyone has to listen and adjust. Maybe our styles will clash, and so it’s very hard for me to say, I’m going to get a new person. With Carlos, it took us two-three years, but now we know each other. He knows how I am in the morning. I’m really happy with this new fitness coach I got a few weeks ago, but I want to be careful about forming the right team.

On growing up with professional athletes for parents:

It was very tough, but at the same time, I had an education most kids don’t. I’ve analyzed how a lot of kids grow up and I’ve asked why they’re not as professional or have the same desire or why we don’t have such great athletes coming up. It’s because when they grow up, they go to normal school and see normal kids living normal lives. Our lives are not normal, so these kids ask themselves at 13-14, ‘Why would I practice five hours when I can party and have fun?’ I grew up in my father’s club, and it was like a combination of college and the army where you stay there full time. You’re not allowed to go home or go out to the club. I was with guys who were training, and I enjoyed getting up at seven in the morning to run with them. It wasn’t hard because I got used to it and had no doubts.

Dominika Cibulkova

On taking time off to heal from injuries and post-wedding fatigue:

I needed a break from everything. I was a little bit injured during the Olympics, so I took some time off. But now I feel I’m ready to be back on the court again. At the Rogers Cup, it was a combination of a heel injury I had and just being really tired from everything, and I realized I needed some time off; I’d played too much. I took a whole week completely off; I had some holidays, and then I trained for a week and a half. Hopefully I can have a good result here, because I’ve only won one match here in the last six years.

On changing her scheduling strategy for the US summer hardcourts.

It’s not like I’ve been in America for a whole month already and have three more tournaments to play. I’m just focusing on Cincinnati and the US Open; it’s different when you’re able to go back home and come back feeling like, ‘I want to be here and play this tournament!’ I had a really good week of training and feeling better with my fitness; this year I played so many matches that I didn’t have time for fitness. For my game, that’s really important, so hopefully it’ll help me.

Roberta Vinci

On her goals for the season:

Last year I had an incredible year, but I’m not thinking about retirement right now. I just want to play through the end of the season, trying to play good. I have a lot of points to defend but I don’t want to think about that, just enjoy every day here and the next few tournaments. I started well at the beginning of the year, but this is a tough part of the season with the ranking and everything. But it’s normal. It’s tennis, you can win, or you can lose. I’ll try my best here, New Haven, New York, and China.

On the US Open:

I’m so happy to play again in New York. But it probably won’t be the same like last year, a lot of pressure, for sure. It’s a special tournament for me. I don’t know; we will see. It’ll be my first time in this situation. I know I have a lot of points to defend; it’s on my mind, that’s it. I’ll try not to think about it, but I know I’ll be nervous.

Garbiñe Muguruza

On the Olympics:

I have to say, I thought I was going to an incredible experience, but after I got there, it was like a regular tournament. But I had a lot of fun because it was still different than the WTA; I spent time in the Village with all the Spanish players. I was looking at all the athletes trying to guess what they did. I went to the Opening Ceremonies and I was doubting whether I should go because I had a match the next day. But I knew I’d regret not going. It was like a Carnival, so it was very fun.

On transitioning back to the WTA tour:

I was happy to live the experience in Rio, and I’m happy to be back. Coming here, I’m motivated to have a great tournament because I haven’t played a lot of matches. I’m looking forward to it.

On Monica Puig:

It’s an incredible achievement. When I played against her, I’d never seen her play at such a high level. When I ended the match, I thought it was tough for me, but she played very well and deserved to win the gold, the way she played.

Agnieszka Radwanska

On her flight to Cincinnati and the Olympics:

It couldn’t be worse than to Rio. I tried to book a private plane, but it was too tough to do that. I was talking to other players about a private jet. I should be gold for every airline after all the miles I flew!

On positives from the Olympics:

It was still exciting to see so many sports and athletes together at the same time, fighting for the gold. I was there for a pretty short time, but I got to see some of the Games.

On rebounding from recent results:

I had a better start to the year. First of all, I didn’t do as good as I wanted to on grass. Rio was not my thing. I just hope I can get back to my game here, next week, and the US Open. I want to do better and have more chances to make it to Singapore.

Simona Halep

On missing the Olympic tennis event:

I was very disappointed that I had to decide not to go there, but it was much better for my health. It’s not easy for me to travel a lot and eat in different places, but it was definitely a great Olympics in Romania because they made the men’s doubles final. I’m disappointed, but I’ll prepare myself for Tokyo! We can say Olympic tennis is not like gymnastics, but there you go to play for your country and winning a medal means a lot for any athlete. I played once already in London and I enjoyed the feeling of being there and the Opening Ceremonies.

On watching Olympic sports and Monica Puig’s Gold Medal run:

I watched everything. In gymnastics, Simone [Biles] is whoah, incredible. I also watched Phelps. I know everything now. I watched the tennis final and Monica Puig played so well; she was there to win. I saw what she was saying on Twitter – I’m more into Twitter lately – how she was very motivated and confident. It was only shocking because of the ranking, but she plays well.

On moving to a warmer training base:

Nothing is for sure, but I think I’m at a level where I have to change some things to be more professional. I have to go somewhere warmer that’s better for tennis. I think I’ll go in December because it’s cold in Romania, and I get cold all the time!

On how she feels she is perceived in Romania:

They don’t realize because they don’t see me. They don’t know how hard I work every day, or how I’m practicing and playing matches even when I don’t feel good. They just see the matches and think all I do is go shopping, which I do sometimes, but not that often!

On inspiring young children to play tennis:

I’ve heard many kids have gone into tennis because of me. I think this is a good thing in our country; it’s a small country. I think it’s better for kids because these days they’re always with the tablets and phones. I have kids in my family who are two years old who already have a phone. So I give them a racquet instead of a phone!