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Olympic Gold Medalist Puig Brings Tennis To Puerto Rico

Olympic Gold Medalist Puig Brings Tennis To Puerto Rico

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Make no mistake: Monica Puig was already a big deal in Puerto Rico before that Olympic medal was draped around her neck. But that Gold medal has shot her into the stratosphere of recognition back home. Now it’s time to bring tennis to Puerto Rico.

Puig staged her first exhibition last week in San Juan and by every metric, the Monica Puig Invitational was a blazing success.

The 24 year old became the first athlete to ever bring a Gold medal back to Puerto Rico, after beating Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the final of the Olympic tennis event. Her remarkable run, which saw her lose just one set and beat two reigning Grand Slam champions in Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza – not to mention two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova – was as inspiring as it was improbable.

Monica Puig 

The idea for the exhibition event came during Puig’s flight home. With no WTA tournaments currently staged in Puerto Rico, Puig told her agent Marijn Bal that she wanted a way to not only grow the sport back home but also give her family and fans an opportunity to see her play, not just this year but every year.

She wanted it to be an accessible event, affordable for a family of five to come and enjoy the atmosphere and the tennis. But most of all, she wanted it to be fun. Because if tennis is fun, there’s more of a chance the next Monica Puig might be sitting in the stands.

A lively party atmosphere dominated the Coliseu de Puerto Rico, as a packed crowd of more than 12,0000 fans created a Fed Cup atmosphere as their hometown hero took on Maria Sharapova last Thursday. There was dancing, there was laughter, and there was shot-making throughout the match, which Puig won 6-3, 1-6, 10-6.

“It’s been a really long time since I competed in front of fans, in front of spectators, to come out after so many months and compete in front of some of the most enthusiastic fans tonight….” an emotional Sharapova said to the crowd before being drowned out by cheers.

“I think tonight is a combination of a few things. First and most importantly it’s because of Monica. Without her career and without her path of what she achieved this summer at the Olympics none of us would be here tonight so a huge thank you. A huge thank you for the welcome.”

“Maria, before you go I just wanted again to thank you so much for coming to the first Monica Puig Invitational,” Puig said before addressing the arena in Spanish.

“Like I was telling you before and what I want all of Puerto Rico to know is the reason I invited Maria is because she is not only a great champion but a great ambassador to our sport. She has the values that represent a champion. She’s an amazing person, extremely funny, really really humble, and we’re going to work on the Spanish and the dancing, don’t worry!”

Maria Sharapova, Monica Puig

Puig hopes to make the event an annual exhibition, expanded over multiple days. This year, in addition to the exhibition itself, Puig and Sharapova also held a kids clinic, visited local dignitaries and VIPs. The event was organized in four months with Puig’s heavy involvement, as she and her agency IMG partnered with Ventana LLC, a local event promoter to implement Puig’s vision.

Puig’s personal sponsors, Universal Insurance, AT&T, Chrysler, and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company immediately answered the call to sponsor the event as well. In all, the exhibition served as a celebration of Puig’s journey to Olympic glory as well as a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped get her there.

Puig is currently doing her off-season training in Boca Raton and will start her season at the Brisbane International, which begins on January 1st.

All photos courtesy of Jimmie48 Tennis Photography.

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Jankovic Slips Past Mertens In Mallorca

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MALLORCA, Spain – Jelena Jankovic survived more than one scare at the Mallorca Open, where she found herself battling back from a love set down to advance 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 against Elise Mertens for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“It was a very, very tough match,” Jankovic said afterwards. “I played against a young opponent who came through qualies and has done quite well recently. She’s played a lot of matches on grass and so she’s quite confident.”

Playing against the Belgian qualifier for the first time, Jankovic couldn’t find a way to make Mertens uncomfortable as her opponent ripped winner after winner and put the No.2 seed down 0-6 in 28 minutes.

“I was playing everything that she likes, because also I don’t know her game very well,” Jankovic said. “I didn’t know the way she plays or her style. I’ve just seen a little bit of her match yesterday, and she played very differently against me which was a surprise for me.”

The former No.1 found her rhythm in the second and third set. Although Mertens broke to start the second set, Jankovic quickly replied in kind and did a bit of problem-solving to expose the weaknesses in the 20-year-old’s game. From then on, it seemed almost inevitable as Jankovic grabbed the next two sets to complete her comeback.

Despite her dominating performance in the last half of the match, Jankovic herself never seemed comfortable on the grass throughout the match. Despite winning a title in Birmingham in 2007, grass has never been the Serb’s favored surface, evidence by her many slips and tumbles today.

“It’s not easy, on this surface,” Jankovic said. “I can play well on grass, but I just think it’s more mental for me than anything else. Maybe I just put it into my head that I don’t like the surface. Because I fell a few times, I became scared to move freely.

“I was scared to move and was a little bit tentative. On other surfaces I move without thinking and hit my shots, but here, once I fell down I became so scared. But that happens to everyone, and I just have to fight and keep playing.”

Jankovic will need to find her nerve on this surface again in her quarterfinal with Sorana Cirstea, who moved past Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-4.

“I think on grass, the most important thing is mentality, because everything goes so quick,” Cirstea said. “If your mind is off for a few seconds, straightaway they can break you. One break can mean one set.

“Here it’s so important to stay focused every single point, it takes more energy. Even if the matches are shorter, it’s a lot on the mental side.”

Also moving on are Mariana Duque-Mariño, who dealt a huge upset to grass-court stalwart Sabine Lisicki, toppling her 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. No.8 seed Eugenie Bouchard also tumbled out, falling to Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-3.

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Azarenka Gives Birth To Baby Boy

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Not long after checking in with fans and friends on Tennis Channel, Victoria Azarenka announced the birth of her first child late on Monday night.

The former No.1 began the season winning three titles in Brisbane and the elusive Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami, but left the tour back in July after announcing her pregnancy. Azarenka took to social media to share her first picture as a mother on Twitter:

Her colleagues and fellow players extended their hearty congratulations to the two-time Australian Open champion on Twitter, as well:

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WTA Charities Dedicated To Global Philanthropic Efforts

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The WTA has announced the launch of WTA Charities, its first global philanthropic organization dedicated to making a positive social impact across the globe.

“I am very pleased to announce the formation of WTA Charities,” said Steve Simon, WTA CEO and Chairman. “This is an area that WTA has been actively involved in for years and we are now setting ourselves up to truly have a dedicated division for WTA and its members to make a lasting impact – in our tournament communities, by supporting our player’s charitable efforts and affiliations, along with our partner’s philanthropic initiatives.”

The WTA Charities Board of Directors has been established and will serve as advisors in the development and implementation of WTA Charities. The Board of Directors includes WTA CEO and Chairman Steve Simon, WTA Player Board Representative Dianne Hayes, WTA Tournament Council member Bob Moran, WTA Global Advisory Council member Jan Soderstrom and WTA alumnae Pam Shriver, Tracy Austin and Jennifer Capriati.

“WTA Charities is an important step for the WTA family to both leverage and focus our humanitarian efforts,” said Pam Shriver. “I have been involved in many charitable causes throughout my career and I’m so pleased to be a part of WTA Charities because we can be transformational in providing assistance and serving others with our global reach.”

WTA Charities’ various charitable initiatives will be introduced in January 2017 as the new season starts.

MISSION

The mission of WTA Charities is to be a social responsibility vehicle built on the WTA’s values to empower and provide for a better future. WTA Charities is dedicated to combining, strengthening and enhancing the community and charitable efforts of the WTA through its members (players, alumnae and tournaments), along with its partners.

PILLARS OF ACTION

There are 3 pillars of action within WTA Charities, each giving back in its own individual way:

1. Service – Directing community outreach and local efforts to give back to the communities that host WTA tournaments. Includes grassroots tennis programs that promote opportunity, personal achievement, self-esteem and respect.

2. Assistance – Aimed at providing assistance to those in need primarily through the WTA Assistance Program (WTAAP), helping members of the women’s professional tennis community who suffer from serious illness or other catastrophic loss.

3. Support – Reinforcing WTA member’s charitable initiatives through financial and promotional efforts and aligning with organizations that help advance lives through empowerment, equality and care for others.

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Ever Optimistic, Ivanovic Leaves A Game Changed For Good

Ever Optimistic, Ivanovic Leaves A Game Changed For Good

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

From prodigious talent to scrappy veteran, Ana Ivanovic’s 14-year career spanned every iteration of a professional tennis career. Throughout it all, it was Ivanovic’s thoughtfulness, poise, and grace – on and off the court – that will be remembered most, not just by her fans but also her colleagues and competitors. Tennis lost one of the nice ones on Wednesday, after the 29-year-old took to Facebook and called an end to her milestone career.

Along with Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic, Ivanovic helped put Serbia firmly on the tennis map, so much so that it’s hard to remember that a time when it wasn’t one of the premier tennis nations. She shot out of the gate after turning pro in August of 2003, soaring through the rankings before winning her first WTA title in Canberra when she was just 16-years-old.

In one fell swoop she became the first woman representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam title and be ranked atop the game, after winning the 2008 French Open to ascend to No.1. Her natural, kinetic forehand, which often earned comparisons to Stefanie Graf’s, brought home that championship, and put a cap on what was a career-defining season in 2008.

Ana Ivanovic

Ivanovic had been a consistent threat at the big tournaments, having made the Roland Garros final the year before and the Australian Open final a few months earlier. Her win at the BNP Paribas Open in March of that year further solidified her position in the upper echelons of the game. So when she smacked inside-out forehand after inside-out forehand to knock off Jankovic in the semifinals – in what was a battle for No.1 – and then Dinara Safina in the final, the 20-year old’s ascension felt natural, almost effortless.

Little did anyone know the next nine years of her career would be defined by effort, guts, and grit. Not long after winning her maiden Slam, Ivanovic suffered a right thumb injury that not only ruled her out of the 2008 Olympic tennis event, but also led to changes in her forehand technique that left her vaunted weapon forever changed. While she won eight of her 15 career titles in the three years from 2005 to 2008, she would win seven titles over the next nine years.

Her results may have grown frustrating and her game may have altered, but Ana remained the same personable, thoughtful, intelligent woman throughout her career. Despite her fame and “glamour girl” magazine covers, Ivanovic was notoriously shy. At times it seemed she was more comfortable sitting in the aisles of a bookstore thumbing through her next read than playing in front of a roaring crowd on Center Court.

Ana Ivanovic

Her favorite tournaments were always quieter or smaller, whether it was the Australian Open, where she could enjoy backyard barbecues with her Melbourne family, or the BNP Paribas Open, where bookstores and resort life suited her, or even the French Open or Wimbledon, where the quaintness of the venue and its surroundings kept her at peace. It’s no surprise that those tournaments would also be her most successful.

Through the ups and downs of the latter stages of her career, Ivanovic never stopped believing she could regain her former glory. She was a workaholic, never turning away from hitting the gym or the courts to try and gain that edge. Her optimism was tested time and time again, but Ivanovic faced the press every time, answered honestly, and still looked you in the eye and said, rather confusingly, “thank you,” even as she left the room after another inquisition.

Finally, in 2014 and 2015, Ivanovic got the last laugh. After years of battling to stay in the Top 20, Ivanovic surged into the Top 10, posting consistent and quality results and wins. After reuniting with her coach Nigel Sears to take care of some “unfinished business,” Ivanovic scored one of the biggest wins of her career at the 2014 Australian Open, when she beat Serena Williams in the Round of 16, led the tour in match wins, and qualified for her first BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global since 2008.

Ana Ivanovic

Then, in what felt like a full-circle moment, Ivanovic returned to Paris to make her first major semifinal since winning Roland Garros in 2008.

It was a sweet moment for Ivanovic, a reward for her persistence, self-belief, and work ethic. This time she could savor the moment. Ivanovic will be the first to admit that she was not ready for how her life would change after becoming No.1 at 20 years old. It took her time to get comfortable in her own skin, to shut out the squaks and the stares – and later the whispers – that would follow her wherever she went.

But as she hangs up her racquets and transitions to a new life, Ivanovic’s legacy in the game is a simple one. The game may change but you don’t have to. The sport is cruel but you don’t have to be. And champions will be remembered not just by the number of trophies they’ve won but also their character.

Much like Kim Clijsters, Ivanovic was one of the nice ones. And the game was better for it.

Ana Ivanovic

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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