Tokyo: Sasnovich vs Pliskova
Aliaksandra Sasnovich takes on Karolina Pliskova in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich takes on Karolina Pliskova in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
The exits of Angelique Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza have left the bottom half of the Indian Wells draw wide open.
Serena Williams announced today that due to a continuing shoulder injury she will not compete in the upcoming Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and the China Open in Beijing.
“I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open or the China Open due to continuing issues with my right shoulder,” Williams said in a statement. “I have been practicing and playing but my shoulder is still not fit for tournament play.”
“I wish the tournaments great success and I’m sure the fans will enjoy some great tennis. I am focused on getting ready to compete at the WTA Finals in Singapore.”
Williams recently told CNN’s Ravi Ubha, “I’m tired of playing tournaments unhealthy and taking losses that I would never lose.”
Williams has played eight tournaments this year, the fewest she has played in a season since returning from injury in 2011. She has won two titles (Rome and Wimbledon) and finished as runner-up three times – Australian Open (lost to Angelique Kerber in final), Indian Wells (lost to Victoria Azarenka in final) and Roland Garros (lost to Garbiñe Muguruza in final).
Her coach Patrick Mouratoglu stated in an interview with CNN, “It’s a bad season for her. She has been a lot injured. For Serena any other result that is not a title is a bad result. The final at a Grand Slam is a bad result for her. We cannot be satisfied with one Grand Slam Serena Out Of Wuhan, Beijing – Targets Singapore Return and two finals lost.”
As Williams seeks time to recover from her injury, she will look to return to action in Singapore for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, an event she has competed in nine times and won five titles.
Kristina Mladenovic was one of the best players yet to win a WTA title. The French star had already taken home major titles in women’s and mixed doubles, but success on the singles court eluded her – that is, until she arrived at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Mladenovic roared through the draw in Russia, ousting Australian Open finalist Venus Williams and defending champion Roberta Vinci en route to the final, where she hit a stunning 62 winners to survive an inspired Yulia Putintseva in what will likely go down as one of the best matches of the season.
“I feel just amazing,” she told WTA Insider in her Champions Corner interview. “That was my first title. I lost three finals before that, always playing well but had a better opponent. It’s also a Premier event, so it’s even more special.
“The wait was definitely worth it and if you asked me whether to change the past or something I would probably not because this tournament as a first title is absolutely insane. I’m not saying that because I won it, but I think the atmosphere, the show, the organization, it’s just an amazing event. It’s probably the best WTA event during the season, really. They’re treating us so well and everything is super nice. So to hold this trophy here and have it as my first title, for sure it’s going to stay forever in my best memories heart for my career and maybe more.”
Her breakthrough month continued at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she stunned good friend and reigning Qatar Total Open winner Karolina Pliskova in the opening round, and ended on another high after reaching the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
“I’m really a hard worker. I guess all the players are on tour. It’s no secret that to achieve such a high level and get the results, you have to. I’m just very positive, working very hard every day, and having this fighting spirit it helps me to go through these tough moments.”
Looking to build on her career-high ranking of No.26, Mladenovic is your Breakthrough Player of the Month!
Final Results for February’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month
1. Kristina Mladenovic (56%)
2. Elina Svitolina (26%)
3. Ashleigh Barty (12%)
4. CiCi Bellis (6%)
2017 Breakthrough Performance Of The Month Winners
January: CoCo Vandeweghe
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
An interview with Naomi Osaka after her win in the semifinal of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
With the BNP Paribas Open underway in Indian Wells, players have been busy sharing their thoughts on social media – with Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands leading the way.
Highlights from the semifinal round at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Johanna Konta made a successful comeback from the left foot injury that kept her out of the Middle East Swing with a 6-4, 6-4 win over fellow Brit Heather Watson at the BNP Paribas Open.
“I think it’s definitely challenging to adapt to these conditions,” she said the air is a bit drier and the ball travels a bit quicker. When the wind picks up, that can also complicate things. But it’s a beautiful center court to play on, so I hope to extend my stay here as long as possible!”
.@JoKonta91 bossing it vs Watson! ? #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/7YFGlxyoOr
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
Konta had been forced to sit out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships due to what she described as an “irritated nerve” after a strong start to the season – winning her second career title at the Apia International Sydney and reaching a second straight Australian Open quarterfinal – and had to shake off the rust early on against Watson, who earned a hard-fought win over Nicole Gibbs earlier in the week.
“I think there is definitely an adjustment period,” she added in her post-match press conference. “I hadn’t played a tour match since the Australian Open and Fed Cup was about three weeks ago. It’s not that long of a time, but in terms of the tour, it’s a bit of time.
“I think there were definitely some moments there I will definitely try to get better and better at as the tournament goes on, and hopefully I will get more opportunities to get more and more match fit.”
.@JoKonta91 finds the line with the backhand pass! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/J6ED6J8b1P
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
The countrywoman recently paired up to lead Great Britain into Fed Cup’s World Group II Play-Offs in February, but were all business in the California desert on Friday, trading blows from the back of the court throughout the 94 minute affair.
That feeling when a net cord saves your opponent… again #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/7BZnsBDy6V
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
“We get along great off court. We actually recently spent quite a bit of time together because of Fed Cup. We had a great Fed Cup in Estonia. We had a little bit great experiences quite recently together.
“I think both of us went with the intention of giving our best and trying to do what we can to come through in the end. I was fortunate enough to come out on top today.”
The typically aggressive Konta maintained a fairly clean stat sheet – 20 winners to 21 unforced errors – and held on for a tense ending after Watson threatened to come back from 5-1 in the second set.
Up next for the British No.1 is No.21 seed Caroline Garcia, who ende the run of lucky loser Evgeniya Rodina, 6-3, 6-3.
.@JoKonta91 is first through to @BNPPARIBASOPEN Third round!
Defeats Watson 6-4, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/qVWsMqWDys
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
WUHAN, China – Simona Halep is aiming to end her hex in China this week at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. The World No.5 was forced to withdraw from last week’s Toray Pan Pacific Open due to a hamstring injury and she’s now struggling with every tennis player’s worst enemy: jet lag.
“I practiced two times already here,” Halep told reporters at WTA All-Access Hour on Sunday. “I feel good. On the court I feel a little bit tired. I cannot sleep like I do always.”
“Last night I slept four hours, so I am much better than the first night,” she said with a laugh.
Coming off a strong summer swing that saw her win two titles (Bucharest and Montréal) and suffer just three losses since the French Open – all to either No.1 Angelique Kerber or No.2 Serena Williams – Halep comes into the Asian swing looking to qualify for the WTA Finals for a third consecutive year. Currently No.3 in the Road to Singapore, the 24-year-old is in good position to lock it up sooner rather than later. But to do so she’ll need to break her sub-par trend of results in China at this time of year.
Although Halep won in Shenzhen two Januarys ago, she is just 6-6 on Chinese soil during the fall swing, with her best result coming in 2014, when she made the quarterfinals of the China Open. That also happens to be the only instance in four appearances that she made it past the first round there. In her two appearances in Wuhan, her best result came last year in the third round, where she lost to Johanna Konta.
“I don’t feel that it’s tough to find the motivation and the energy,” Halep said when asked about the Asian swing, who added that though her hamstring may not be healed, she’s been able to practice pain-free for two days. “I feel okay. But here everything is different: food, people, the country is different. It’s not easy to adapt so quickly.”
Halep will be without her coach Darren Cahill in Wuhan. He plans to rejoin the team next week in Beijing.
“I’m not tired mentally,” Halep said. “I’m confident. But you never know here. Every match is difficult at this level. I just want to give my best, to do as much as I can to this end of the season. It’s important, because last years, previous years, I didn’t play that good. So I want to change it.”
Halep will play her opening match against her countrywoman Irina-Camelia Begu on Monday.
Photos courtesy of Getty Images.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Karolina Pliskova brought her signature dry wit to a late night chat after a dramatic win over Monica Puig at the BNP Paribas Open.