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20 Days Out: Road To Singapore Heads Into Final Stretch At China Open

20 Days Out: Road To Singapore Heads Into Final Stretch At China Open

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BEIJING, China – The BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global is just under three weeks away, and with just three of the Top 8 players have already been determined in singles – while four teams have qualified in doubles – the China Open will be a crucial battleground for those aiming to earn enough points to book their ticket to Singapore.

The conclusion of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open saw Simona Halep become the third woman to qualify for Singapore after her run to the semifinals. For the Romanian, it marks the third straight year she has qualified for Singapore, having reached the final on her 2014 debut.

In doubles, darkhorses Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova flipped the script in Wuhan by clinching their spot at the WTA Finals by winning the doubles event over a surging Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova. Mirza and Strycova remain outside the Top 8 since forming at the Western & Southern Open, and will need a strong result in Beijing to have a hope of crashing a party the World No.1 herself is already set to attend with former partner, Martina Hingis.

RTS

As the China Open enters its third round, defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska is a win away from returning to Singapore and making her eighth WTA Finals appearance in the last nine years after knocking out Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets. Currently into the second round in Beijing, Karolina Pliskova could also make her WTA Finals debut by reaching the last eight.

2015 semifinalist Garbiñe Muguruza is very much in the hunt for a return to Singapore of her own, and could book her spot by reaching the final.

Click here to check out a full list of senarios, here for the updated Road to Singapore leaderboard and here to buy tickets for the WTA Finals!

WTA Finals: Get Your Tickets!

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Bacsinszky Ready To Regroup For An Even Bigger 2017

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.12
Year-End Ranking: No.15 (Career-High No.9, 5/16/2016)
Season Highlights: Title at Rabat, SF at Miami
Best Major Result: QF (French Open)

2017 Outlook

Is it still called second season syndrome when you’ve been on tour for 12 years?

After a meteoric rise in 2015 – which saw her start the year ranked around the Top 50 and end with two titles, two finals, a Grand Slam semifinal, and a Top 10 ranking – Timea Bacsinszky’s season this year looked to have hit a plateau.

After a lingering knee injury led to a frustratingly slow two months, the Swiss player still put together a run to the Miami Open semifinals – knocking out big names like Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep along the way – then backed it up with a title in Rabat, quarterfinal in Rome and a return to the French Open quarterfinals.

And while she did reach her career-highest ranking of No.9 back in May, Bacsinszky admits that 2016 didn’t end up being all it could be.

“This year was kind of particular because started it with a bit of delay,” she told WTA Insider at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “And I was trying so hard to come back, because it’s tough to be Top 10 and ending up losing quite easily in the first few tournaments of the year.

“The will to do well was there, but really I didn’t have enough in my hands and enough in my legs. Mentally, I was prepared, so I just looked forward and told myself, ‘It’s going to come. Sooner or later, it’s going to come.'”

Looking ahead to 2017, Bacsinszky will be looking to translate all of that desire into results and bring her trademark creative style onto the big stage. With a second consecutive Top 20 finish under her belt, the Swiss will be eager to keep rising and prove she belongs among the big names.

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Every Day Is National Taco Day For Serena Williams

Every Day Is National Taco Day For Serena Williams

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

If there’s one thing that Serena Williams probably loves more than winning, it’s tacos.

Despite holding a record-tying number of Grand Slam titles and consecutive weeks at the WTA’s top spot, it’s tacos – not trophies – that are on her mind all day, every day.

 Good thing for Serena that there’s a whole holiday dedicated to her favorite food: National Taco Day. But if you’re Serena Williams, clearly every day is National Taco Day.

Her love for tacos runs deep, as USA Today’s Nick McCarvel uncovered earlier this year.

Before she had her first taste of Grand Slam victory, Serena had already developed a taste for the delicious Mexican dish.

“I’m from Compton and there is a big mixture of cultures there,” Serena said before the US Open. “I grew up next to all of these Mexican families and we were close with them when I was little, we were friends. I think that’s where my love for tacos comes from.”

Serena's tacos  Serena's tacos
Whenever she’s not eating or thinking about tacos, Serena spends her free time lovingly photographing them for her Instagram account.

Serena’s been around the world and obviously has tried many a taco, but the quest for finding the perfect one is lifelong.

Happy National Taco Day, Serena!

Taco Talk With Serena:

Q: What’s your favorite taco place?

Q: Who makes the best taco?

“I make the best taco,” Serena claimed. “Or my sister Lyn. If you ever watch my Snapchat, you know I don’t talk about my taco recipes.”

“I don’t taco about it.”

Q: What’s your favorite kind of taco?

Serena's tacos

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Halep Races Into Third Round, Chinese No.1 Zhang Up Next

Halep Races Into Third Round, Chinese No.1 Zhang Up Next

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BEIJING, China – No.4 seed Simona Halep overcame Yanina Wickmayer and the worst of the Beijing weather to take her place in the third round of the China Open.

Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

On a day disrupted by heavy rain, Halep made the most of a brief respite to swat aside Wickmayer, 6-2, 6-2. In the third round she will face Chinese No.1 Zhang Shuai.

After an even start, Halep took control of proceedings with a run of three straight games to close out the opening set. This grip tightened when Wickmayer threw in a couple of errors to surrender serve at the start of the second set, going on to wrap up victory after just 59 minutes.

Next she takes on her conqueror at this January’s Australian Open, Zhang. Unlike Halep, Zhang enjoyed the luxury of playing underneath the roof, eventually seeing off Alison Riske, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4), in a match lasting over two and a half hours.

Also advancing in the bottom half of the draw was Svetlana Kuznetsova. A semifinalist last week in Wuhan, Kuznetsova continued her good form by beating Misaki Doi, 6-1, 7-5.

WTA Finals: Get Your Tickets!

 

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Cunningham Loses Inspirational Battle With MND

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – Angie Cunningham, the WTA’s former Vice President of Player Relations and On-Site Operations, has passed away after a long battle with Motor Neurone Disease.

A staunch campaigner in raising awareness of the disease, Angie died at her Melbourne home on Tuesday, surrounded by family.

As a teenager Angie was a leading junior player, going on to work at the WTA for eight years before moving back to Australia with husband Pat to raise their two children, Maggie and Sophie. In 2012, she was diagnosed with MND, but even as her condition deteriorated she continued the fight.

Not only fight the disease, for which there is no known cause, or effective treatment, but also to raise funds and awareness for other sufferers.

Serena Williams, Martina Navratilova, Rennae Stubbs, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt were among those who rallied behind the cause, many of whom took to social media to mourn the passing of an inspirational figure in the tennis community.

Motor Neurone Disease is a group of neurological diseases that affects the voluntary muscles in the body, which control activities like speaking, walking, swallowing and general movement. It progresses over time, causing debilitating disability and eventually death. The life expectancy is two to three years.

There is no known cause for the disease, although many sufferers are athletes. In the US the disease is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, after the famous baseball player who died from it.

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