Tennis News

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Unseeded Cagla Buyukakcay’s fairytale week at the TEP BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup came to a thrilling conclusion when the hometown favorite recovered from a set down to defeat No.5 seed Danka Kovinic, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“It’s an incredible week for me to win the title at home, to break into the Top 100 with this tournament, to play against someone with my crowd,” she said after the match. “It was an amazing atmosphere today. I was playing better and better every day, but of course every day is another day, so I didn’t expect to win at the beginning of the week. I’m so excited and so happy for today.

“It’s an amazing feeling. Of course, I was always dreaming to play well in Grand Slams, to win titles at big tournaments. This is a tournament I’ve been playing since 2005, when I was 15, and I saw the best players at this tournament when I was young. So I dreamed of winning the title since then; it’s very special for me.”

Set to crack the Top 100 for the first time in her career, Buyukakcay was making history with every win this week in Istanbul, becoming the first Turkish woman to reach a WTA semifinal, then a final, and against Kovinic, the first Turkish WTA titlist in history.

“You’re a great person, a great friend, and a great player,” she said in her on-court acceptance speech, addressing Kovinic. “I’m sure you have much more to achieve in your career.”

In front of an enthusiatic home crowd, the 26-year-old gained revenge for her straight-sets loss to the Montenegrin two weeks ago at the Volvo Car Open, saving 10 of 12 break points faced during the two hour, 23 minute final.

“In the beginning of the set, I was feeling tired, but the crowd was cheering a lot, so I was trying to motivate myself too. In the second set, I told myself, ‘I don’t have anything to lose; I have to play more aggressively and better than in the first set. I have to take some risks.’

“I told myself, ‘Enjoy the time,’ because last year, when I was watching the ATP event, it was packed because of Federer. Today, I knew it would be packed because of me, and I told myself, ‘It’s such a big honor for me to pack a stadium.'”

Surviving several long games early in the decider, Buyukakcay looked on course to wrap up the match in decisive fashion when she raced out to 40-0 at 5-3, but treated the full house at the Garanti Koza Arena to a tense ending when she finally closed out her biggest-ever win on her fifth championship point.

“As I think everyone could see, I was really tired today,” Kovinic said after the match. “I really wanted to win this one, but it wasn’t enough because my body couldn’t follow my mind.

“In the end, I’m a bit disappointed but I wasn’t 100% fit today.”

Walking away with the runners-up trophy, Kovinic wasn’t done for the day; the 21-year-old was set to partner fellow No.3 seed Xenia Knoll in the doubles final later on Sunday; following a lengthy on-court concert, Kovinic was forced to withdraw due to a left hamstring injury, handing the title to hometown favorite in Ipek Soylu, the unseeded 20-year-old who reached the final alongside Romania’s Andreea Mitu.

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – The 2017 BNP Paribas Open is right around the corner and the season’s first Premier Mandatory event has announced a stacked field headlined by World No.1 Angelique Kerber and the returns of former No.1s Serena Wiliams and Venus Williams.

Kerber is tentatively slated as the top seed in what will be her seventh main draw appearance in Indian Wells. The German reached back-to-back semifinals in 2012 and 2013 – losing a classic three-setter to Caroline Wozniacki in the latter – but will be aiming to build on opening-round losses since.

Not far behind Kerber is World No.2 Serena, who could well be back atop the WTA rankings by the time the tour heads West to California. The American ended a 12-year absence from Indian Wells in 2015, and the two-time champion has brought some of her best tennis to the tournament, reaching the final last year.

Venus returned last year, and the seven-time Slam champion’s career has been on a definite upswing of late, reaching two semifinals at the last three major tournaments.

Joining Kerber and the Williamses is a full slate of Top 10 opposition, including 2015 champion Simona Halep, who defeated 2010 winner Jelena Jankovic in a three-set final. Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki will also be in attendance; the Dane lifted the trophy back in 2011.

Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka won’t be back to defend her title due to the recent birth of her first child.

The remaining spots in the draws will be filled by winners of the Qualifying tournament (March 6-8) and Wildcards, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

To purchase tickets, visit www.bnpparibasopen.com!

You see their names on the scoreboard week in and week out, but how well can you spell out the names of the WTA’s top players?

We challenged Simona Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Belinda Bencic and Angelique Kerber to spell out the toughest names on the tour – from Mladenovic to Pavlyuchenkova and more.

How well did they do? Check out the video above to find out if they passed the WTA Spelling Quiz!

After a week of firsts at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup, Cagla Buyakakcay created one more piece of history on Monday morning by becoming the first Turkish player to break the Top 100.

Bizarrely, given her assured play when under the spotlight, Buyakakcay had never previously won a match at her home event – a run stretching back a decade. But roused by the partisan crowd, the 26-year-old reeled off five in six days to become Turkey’s maiden WTA title winner.

Long the standard bearer for tennis in her homeland, two years ago in Kuala Lumpur Buyakakcay became the first Turk to reach a WTA quarterfinal. However, despite solid showings on the ITF Circuit, a double-digit ranking – not to mention a Grand Slam main draw debut – had proven elusive.

Until now, that is: “I wanted to cry after the match, because it’s very important for Turkish tennis. I will be in the Top 100, which will be the first time for Turkish tennis. Probably, I will also be in the main draw at Wimbledon for the first time in my career – and also in Turkish history. So that’s why I was so emotional at the end,” said Buyakakcay, who rose from No.118 to No.82 thanks to her triumph.

“For this I was very motivated because of the crowd. And I was very happy that there were so many kids, too, as they were so excited and sharing my excitement.”

Buyukakcay, though, is not the only player on the rise:

Laura Siegemund (+29, No.71 to No.42): Stuttgart finalists Angelique Kerber and Laura Siegemund may be separated by just a couple of months in age, but until recently they have existed in different worlds on the tennis circuit. Should the latter continue her recent form, this may not be the case for much longer. At the Porsche Arena she upset former Grand Slam finalists Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci and Agnieszka Radwanska before running out of gas against Kerber. Her reward was a career-high payday, 330 ranking points and a Top 50 debut.

Danka Kovinic (+13 No.60 to No.47): Danka Kovinic grew up idolizing fellow Balkan girl Jelena Jankovic. While she has some way to go if she is to emulate Jankovic’s feats, the future is looking bright. In Istanbul, she avoided the upset beg sweeping round her fellow seeds to reach the final, a run that has catapulted her back into the Top 50.

Anastasija Sevastova (+10, No.96 to No.86): In Istanbul, Anastasija Sevastova continued her slow but steady re-ascent up the ranks with another solid week, knocking out No.8 seed Johanna Larsson before falling to Kateryna Kozlova in the last eight.