Tennis News

Elina Svitolina has moved into the Top 10 of the WTA rankings on the back of her sensational victory last week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

The new WTA World No.10 moved up three places from No.13, overtaking Britain’s Johanna Konta and becoming the first Ukrainian ever to break into the Top 10.

Speaking after her straight-sets win over Caroline Wozniacki, the 22-year-old said: “It’s big relief, because I knew that if I was going to win this match, I would be in the Top 10. There was extra pressure.”

So happy with a @WTA tittle number 6️⃣ ?????????? @DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/GNXMnrP9IH

— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) February 25, 2017

Svitolina’s rise – the only movement in the Top 10 – is reward for a run of 12 straight victories, which have seen her lift two titles already this year. Her win in Dubai follows success at the Taiwan Open in Taipei and she is now looking to defend her title at the Alya WTA Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, where she is the No.1 seed. Her streak also includes successive Fed Cup wins.

Here are more of the biggest ranking moves this week after Dubai and Budapest:

Timea Babos +6 (No.33 to 27): Hungary’s Timea Babos climbed to No.27 thanks to her success at the Hungarian Ladies Open on Sunday. The 23-year-old entered the tournament with an 0-5 win-loss record in 2017, and rediscovered her best tennis to beat Lucie Safarova in a three-set thriller in Budapest and claim her second WTA title.

Wang Qiang +16 (No.76 to 60): China’s Wang Qiang continues her steady rise up the rankings, backing up her appearance in the Shenzhen quarterfinals in January with a stunning run to the quarterfinals in Dubai. She posted wins over Jelena Ostapenko and Kristina Mladenovic, two Top 50 players, along the way.

CiCi Bellis +14 (No.70 to 56): 17-year-old Cici Bellis’ dream run to the Dubai quarterfinals – her first ever Premier 5 quarterfinals – have rocketed the American to No.56, her career-highest ranking. Bellis backed up her first round upset of No.17 seed Yulia Putintseva by completing the shock of the tournament over World No.6 Agnieszka Radwanska in the round of 16.

DOHA, Qatar – On Monday, Agnieszka Radwanska met the press ahead of the Premier 5 level event in Doha, the Qatar Total Open, and she discussed everything from her strong start to the season, her Fed Cup plans and the next generation of tennis. Here’s what the World No.3 had to say…

On her red-hot start to the season, which saw her win a title in Shenzhen and reach the semifinals at the Australian Open…
“I had very good start, and I just hope I can keep going and playing the same good tennis I was playing in Australia. I have a good rest after that. I was practicing at home and working hard. Hopefully I can really do well here.”

On the challenge of the “openness” of the women’s game…
“For us, for some players that being in the Top 10 for a while, it’s also tough to stay there. There are a lot of talented, young players coming up and playing great tennis. This is another challenge for us to stay there.

There’s a lot of players deserve to be Top 10. We can also see everything is changing every week about the majors as well.”

On how Serena Williams’ dominance affects that openness…
“Of course Serena is always there, especially last year, but other years totally different. She’s definitely dominating if she’s on fire. When she’s playing her best tennis, she just playing unbelievable and too good, but otherwise it’s open.”

On her plans to play in Poland’s Fed Cup tie against Taiwan…
“I want to help my team in April to stay in that World Group, so this is my plan and I hope I can play that. Of course we can see individually busy schedule and tight schedule because of the Olympics, so I really want to stay healthy the whole year. But here we have match at home, so I’m ready to play.”

With nonstop action every week, the WTA tour is always surprising and exciting. Now Dubai Duty Free, official partner of the WTA, brings you the “Always Full Of Surprises” video series to capture the most exciting moments.

What better way to kick things off than with Sara Errani’s huge win at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships?

“There is no explanation,” Errani said of the victory, one of the biggest of her career. “Of course you work to be ready to the matches, but you never know which days you can play better or worse.”

Check out the video above and keep your eyes peeled for more surprises!

DOHA, Qatar – On Tuesday evening, Angelique Kerber found out just how hard life is with a target on her back, slipping to a shock straight set defeat at the hands of Zheng Saisai in the second round of the Qatar Total Open.

Watch live action from Doha & Acapulco this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

World No.73 Zheng made a mockery of her lowly ranking to stun the recently crowned Australian Open champion, 7-5, 6-1, in an hour and 20 minutes.

Zheng becomes only the fourth Chinese player in history to defeat one of the world’s Top 2. In the third round she will face Eugenie Bouchard.

“The feeling is amazing here today,” Zheng said. “Kerber was amazing at the Australian Open and a great champion. For sure it wasn’t her best tennis today, but I’m happy I won that match.”

An accomplished doubles player, Zheng utilized her all-court nous to take the match to Kerber, with 11 of her 17 winners coming at the net. “She’s unbelievable at running so the only way I could win the point sometimes was by coming to the net!”

Zheng complemented her positive tennis with a defensive performance that would have made Kerber proud, coughing up a miserly eight unforced errors.

The decisive moment in the opening set came in the 11th game, Zheng turning the screw with a miraculous stop volley to earn a break point. Kerber wilted under the pressure, hoicking a forehand into the tramlines in a vain attempt to breach the underdog’s defenses.

Confidence now coursing through her game, Zheng raced through the second set, breaking three more times to seal a famous victory.

Kerber, in her first outing on tour since triumphing Down Under, made 38 unforced errors throughout and admitted it was a bad day at the office.

“Actually I was practicing very well in the last few days. But today my practice this morning was not the best. So I was not feeling good from the beginning.

“I think you have sometimes days like this. Of course it’s sad that’s the first round here in Doha for me. Still, I mean, it was not my day. That’s all I can say.”

ACAPULCO, Mexico – Sloane Stephens is through to her second WTA quarterfinal of the year at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, dispatching Olga Govortsova in straight sets.

The No.2 seeded American, who started off the year with a title in Auckland, was the highest-ranked player left in the draw after Victoria Azarenka withdrew earlier in the day due to a left wrist injury.

Stephens started out the match drawing first blood, breaking Govortsova’s serve at love. The Belarusian broke right back, and the two stayed level until Stephens came away with a second break after a tough game at 3-2. The nose ahead was what she needed to win the set, taking it 6-4 in a fierce line-to-line rally that saw Govortsova bury a forehand into the net at set point.

From then on Stephens was nearly untouchable. Govortsova threw every weapon in the book at her opponent but the American wouldn’t be denied, going on to close the match 6-4, 6-1.

“Today was good, I was happy to get the win,” Stephens said after the match. “I played solid – Govortosova is always a tough opponent to play.”

Stephens is set to face Naomi Osaka in the next round. The Japanese wildcard turned heads in Melbourne after her run to the third round of the Australian Open. Now She’s backing up those signs of promise, now into her career first WTA quarterfinal after a straight sets win over Mariana Duque-Mariño, 6-3, 7-6(5).

Great Britain’s Johanna Konta, however, came up short against the unseeded but always dangerous Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. The No.4 seed saved two match points in the third set, down 2-5 against the Croatian, and even managed to hang on to even things out at 5-5. She couldn’t complete the comeback, falling to Lucic-Baroni 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Players are making themselves at home in the desert as they prepare for the BNP Paribas Open which gets underway at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Wednesday. Famous for the surrounding mountain ranges and its hot climate, the BNP Paribas Open is the first WTA Premier Mandatory tournament of the year.

While some players have been enjoying the practice courts under the palm trees and Californian sun, others have been taking in views of a different kind as they soak up the sights of the Golden State.

Chan Yung-Jan admired the view over downtown Los Angeles while exploring the Griffith Observatory.

Amazing view from #GriffithObservatory #americandays ??????? pic.twitter.com/PDL5OqVo2v

— ???~YungJan Chan (@YungJan_Chan) March 6, 2017

Daria Kasatkina experienced colder climes at the top of this mountain.

Quite high pic.twitter.com/XeRZYE739i

— Daria Kasatkina (@DKasatkina) March 6, 2017

With a stunning mountain range in the background, Belinda Bencic enjoyed her practice.

Nowhere is a better place to Tennis???? #thedesert @bnpparibasopen#autosternzürichsee #mercedesbenz #wädenswil #picstars pic.twitter.com/tkNYLoaLS8

— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) March 6, 2017

Alison Riske was up early to hit the courts.

early mornings have never been better???? #indianwells ?? pic.twitter.com/WNZ2ngVP2k

— Alison Riske (@Riske4rewards) March 5, 2017

)>Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is excited to be back at the BNP Paribas Open.

Hi Indian Wells???? pic.twitter.com/izCosDjBOK

— A. Pavlyuchenkova (@NastiaPav) March 6, 2017

Julia Goerges and Elena Vesnina were all smiles after their practice.

Thanks for the great practice @EVesnina001 ???? @BNPPARIBASOPEN #suchagreatevent #beautifulplace pic.twitter.com/HkspD2GlLj

— Jule Goerges?????? (@juliagoerges) March 6, 2017

Roberta Vinci basked in the early morning sun on Monday.

Good morning, Indian Wells!
Early mornings couldn't be better!! ?☀️?? @BNPPARIBASOPEN pic.twitter.com/kdeJ6EzSJp

— Roberta Vinci (@roberta_vinci) March 6, 2017

Tsvetana Pironkova is also happy to be back at the BNP Paribas Open.

Hello @BNPPARIBASOPEN ???????????????????? pic.twitter.com/HLKWo2d1kR

— Tsvetana Pironkova (@TPironkova) March 5, 2017

DOHA, Qatar – Jelena Ostapenko sprung the latest shock at this year’s Qatar Total Open, battling back to knock out No.5 seed Petra Kvitova.

Watch live action from Doha & Acapulco this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Seeds have been falling like dominoes in the opening few rounds and Kvitova’s 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 defeat means that just four of the original 16 remain.

At last year’s Wimbledon, Ostapenko defeated Carla Suárez Navarro in a coming of age performance, imbuing her with the confidence to topple even bigger names. “It gave me kind of confidence that I can play at that level,” Ostapenko said when reminded afterwards of her win over the Spaniard. “Today, I’m just happy that I could play my best tennis.”

Kvitova started brightly enough, recovering from 3-1 down to take the opening set. But as the contest wore on, the Czech cut an increasingly passive figure on the court, spending more and more time pinned behind the baseline.

Ostapenko, meanwhile, continued to exhibit the fleet-footedness befitting a former ballroom dancer; at 2-2 in the second set she flew across the court to unleash a fizzing forehand that left Kvitova grounded and, more importantly, a break down.

The two-time Wimbledon champion did not win another game until midway through the decider and by that point the tide had well and truly turned. Showing no sign of nerves, the young Latvian confidently cruised to victory, breaking Kvitova for an eighth and final time.

Ostapenko’s positivity was born out in the numbers, outlanding the Czech 28 to 16 in the winners count. “I play more matches, get some wins and I think [confidence] comes from there,” Ostapenko added.

Her reward for this incredible performance is a meeting with another of the draw’s giant slayers, Zheng Saisai, who followed up her victory over top seed Angelique Kerber by knocking out Eugenie Bouchard, 7-6(1), 6-1. 

“She’s had some really great wins this week,” Ostapenko said when asked about her quarterfinal foe. “I’m looking forward to it and hopefully we can have a great match.”