Wuhan: Saturday Highlights
Highlights from final action at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
Highlights from final action at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.
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.
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!
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.
Simona with a boom forehand! ?
Notice how she hustles to center of court afterward too.#ChinaOpen @Simona_Halep pic.twitter.com/xkUeEn5Y15— Tennis Captions (@tenniscaptions) 4 October 2016
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.
Angelique Kerber had a second shot of the day on Wednesday at the China Open.
Agnieszka Radwanska had Thursday’s shot of the day at the China Open.
Madison Keys takes on Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals of the China Open.
HONG KONG/TIANJIN/LINZ – The Road to Singapore kicks into high gear as three spots remain in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Who will join Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, and Karolina Pliskova among the tour’s Elite Eight? Six of the seven women still in Singapore contention battle it out at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, the Tianjin Open, and the Generali Ladies Linz…
Click here to check out the most updated RTS scenarios.
1) The Road to Singapore leaderboard heats up.
Johanna Konta flipped the script on the RTS leaderboard by reaching the biggest final of her career at the China Open. The result brought the Brit up to No.8 – bumping Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova down to No.9. Konta is the No.3 seed in Hong Kong, while Cibulkova took a wildcard in Linz; the two begin their weeks against Naomi Broady and Belinda Bencic, respectively.
2) Kuznetsova shoots for Singapore from Tianjin.
The Russian reached the semifinals of Wuhan – saving a match point to defeat China Open champ Agnieszka Radwanska en route – but will likely need to win the tournament this week and play either Moscow or Luxembourg to remain in contention. Radwanska clinched her return to the WTA Finals last week, and is top seed in Tianjin.
3) Muguruza next in line.
French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza looked like a lot to secure her place in Singapore earlier in the Asian swing, but tough losses over the last few weeks bring her qualification hopes down to the wire. Top seed in Linz, Muguruza opens against Cagla Buyukakcay, and could play No.3 seed Madison Keys in the semifinals.
4) Keys also aims for WTA Finals debut.
Speaking of Keys, the American has a tough opener against former Linz finalist Camila Giorgi, but has enjoyed a solid swing through Wuhan and Beijing – reaching the semifinals of the latter – and should feel comfortable on Austria’s indoor courts.
5) Call on Carla…
Carla Suárez Navarro narrowly missed out on qualifying for Singapore last year, and heads into the final stretch of the season ranked No.10 on the RTS leaderboard; the Spaniard is seeded No.4 in Linz and opens against Mona Barthel.
6) Pavlyuchenkova out to defend Linz trophy.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ended her year on a high, winning nine straight matches to win in Linz and reach the final of the Kremlin Cup. The Wimbledon quarterfinalist recently parted with coach Dieter Kindlmann, and opens against US Open quarterfinalist Anastasija Sevastova as the No.5 seed.
7) Vesnina gets Rogers rematch.
Elena Vesnina came into the French Open having reached the Volvo Car Open final as a qualifier, but fell in the second round to eventual quarterfinalist Shelby Rogers. Seeded No.3 in Tianjin, Vesnina plays Rogers to start the week, and is in Radwanska’s half of the draw.
8) Jankovic on tough title defense.
Jelena Jankovic stunned Singapore hopefuls Venus Williams and Angelique Kerber to win the title in Hong Kong last year, and may well have to replicate the feat this year as the No.7 seed. The former No.1 is projected to play Venus in the quarterfinals and Kerber in the final.
9) Kerber edges closer to clinching Year-End No.1.
Finalist last year in Hong Kong, World No.1 Angelique Kerber is top seed after bowing out in the third round of Beijing to Elina Svitolina, and opens against Maria Sakkari.
10) Find out where you can watch the action from Hong Kong here!
The 2016 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open and continued in Beijing for the China Open, where every ace hit by a WTA player at Premier-level events translates into a donation to the USANA True Health Foundation, whose mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those who are suffering or in need around the world.
For every ace hit by any player the WTA donates $5, and for every ace hit by a USANA Brand Ambassador, it’s $10.
USANA Brand Ambassadors Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic, Madison Keys, Monica Puig, Sloane Stephens, Zheng Saisai, Alizé Cornet and Caroline Wozniacki hit 32 of the 312 aces in Beijing – raising a grand total of $1,820 throughout the week. Keys hit the most with 23 aces.
Read more about the campaign here and see below to find out who’s hit the most aces so far!
#AcesForHumanity Fan Giveaway
It’s simple: before each WTA Premier tournament guess how many total aces will be hit.
Next up is the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. Last year there was a total of 106 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit this year.
How To Enter:
• Follow @WTA and @USANAFoundation on Twitter and before each WTA Premier tournament tweet the number of aces you predict will be hit during the whole tournament (Singles, Main Draw)
• Include the hashtag #AcesForHumanity
• Beijing deadline is October 18 at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced October 24th
Aces For Humanity is a joint WTA and USANA initiative that benefits the USANA True Health Foundation, which provides critical human necessities to those in suffering or in need around the globe.
For full rules on how to enter, click here.
Their match was interrupted by rain, making it difficult for both to keep their focus – but eventually the world No. 1 came through 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
The world No.1 admitted: “It’s not easy when a match is suspended and you have so much time between [sessions of play].”
She added that she was satisfied with her performance – despite being forced to a decider by her American opponent.
“At the end, I won the match, and this is what counts for me,” she said, but she was quick to give credit to Chirico.
“It’s always tough playing someone you’ve never played — I think she played very well yesterday but also today.”
The finalists for the 2016 WTA Player Of The Year have been released, and we want to hear from you, the fans. The fan vote will count as one of the coveted media votes.
Have a look at the finalists and cast your vote before Sunday, October 16 at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, October 21.
2016 WTA Player Of The Year Finalists
Angelique Kerber: Winner of two major titles in 2016, Kerber leads the WTA for most main draw match wins this year (57-16) and most main draw match wins on hardcourt (39-10). Her first Grand Slam breakthrough came in January, with a three-set win over Serena Williams in the Australian Open final. As the tour transitioned to clay, Kerber won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, defending a title for the first time in her career in front of her home crowd. A strong summer swing that saw her reach the finals at Wimbledon, the Olympic tennis event and Western & Southern Open propelled her to a second Grand Slam title at the US Open, where she also became the first German to ascend to No.1 since Stefanie Graf. Kerber qualified for her fourth BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global appearance in the last five years. Looking to clinch the Year-End No.1, she leads the WTA for most Top 10 wins for the 2016 season (8-3).
Serena Williams: The American’s 2016 season is defined by her 22nd Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. Serena now sits equal with Steffi Graf on the Open Era leaderboard for most major titles, behind only Margaret Court with 24 all time. She also won her sixth major doubles title at the All England Club alongside sister Venus. Like Kerber, Serena reached three Grand Slam finals this year, finishing runner-up at the Australian Open and French Open, and winning the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in between. She qualified for the upcoming 2016 WTA Finals Singapore – her 10th appearance at the year-end finale. Before ceding the No.1 ranking to Kerber, Serena tied Graf for most consecutive weeks atop the WTA rankings at 186 weeks.
Garbiñe Muguruza: Muguruza enjoyed a major breakthrough of her own at Roland Garros, where she knocked out then-World No.1 Serena Williams title at Roland Garros, defeating the then-No. 1 Serena Williams in the final. At 22 years, seven months old, Muguruza became the youngest Grand Slam champion since Victoria Azarenka in 2012. She also reached the semifinals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and the Western & Southern Open. Her win at Roland Garros brought her to a career-high ranking of No.2 on June 6, 2016.
Simona Halep: The Romanian is one of the four players to have won three singles titles in 2016, including at Madrid, Bucharest, and Montréal – owning a 3-0 record in finals this season. She qualified for a third straight appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, and became the third woman to clinch a berth after reaching the semifinals at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. Halep also reached the last four in Sydney and Cincinnati. Since becoming the third Romanian woman to ever break into the Top 10, she has become the highest-ranked Romanian ever, peaking at World No.2.
Karolina Pliskova: Pliskova thundered into to her first Grand Slam final at the 2016 US Open, making her the first Czech to reach the final since Helena Sukova in 1993. Coming in having defeated future-No.1 Angelique Kerber in the final of the Western & Southern Open (winning her second title of the season after Nottingham), she became the eighth player to beat both Williams sisters to reach the championship match in Flishing, where she lost to Kerber in three sets. She qualified for the WTA Finals in both singles and doubles, and will make her first appearance in Singapore. Pliskova currently sits as the No. 1 Czech player; she claimed the title for the first time in mid-August, overtaking Petra Kvitova, who had held the distinction since 2011
WTA Player Of The Year Winners
2015: Serena Williams
2014: Serena Williams
2013: Serena Williams
2012: Serena Williams
2011: Petra Kvitova
2010: Kim Clijsters
2009: Serena Williams
2008: Serena Williams
2007: Justine Henin
2006: Amélie Mauresmo
2005: Kim Clijsters
Don’t forget to vote for the other 2016 WTA Awards
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a media vote with a fan vote counting as one media vote