Tennis News

BOGOTÁ, Colombia – Lara Arruabarrena closed in on her first WTA final since 2012 with a quick-fire win over Sachia Vickery at the Claro Open Colsanitas on Friday.

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In a tidy display, No.4 seed Arruabarrena broke five times to wrap up a 6-2, 6-0 victory in exactly an hour. Meeting her for a place in the final is the tournaments only other remaining seed, Irina Falconi, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Catalina Pella.

Four years ago, Arruabarrena lifted her first and to date only WTA title in the Colombian capital and she has looked like a woman on a mission in the early rounds – dropping a grand total of five games in three matches.

In the top half of the draw, another Spaniard, Sílvia Soler-Espinosa takes on Paula Cristina Goncalves.

Soler-Espinosa secured a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 win over Arma Sadikovic, while Goncalves defeated Elina Svitolina’s conqueror, Alexandra Panova, 6-4, 6-3.

It all came together for Petra Kvitova at the end of a long and grueling season.

Struggling with consistency and splitting with longtime coach David Kotyza, Kvitova caught fire after winning an emotional Bronze medal at the Olympic tennis event, roaring to her first title of 2016 at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and finishing the season on a high with the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai crown. She was later part of the Fed Cup team that took home its fifth victory in the last six years, in a nail-biter against France.

Kvitova took home one last honor before 2017 in the form of the the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award, her fourth in a row.

The Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award is awarded to the player who conducts herself in a manner fitting of a professional sports figure and observes the rules of fair play, shows respect for others and is gracious on and off the court. This award has been voted on by players since 1978 and has recognized athletes including Kim Clijsters, Elena Dementieva, Ana Ivanovic, Lindsay Davenport, Chris Evert and Evonne Goolagong-Cawley.

As she has done in Fed Cup, Kvitova has also earned this honor five of the last six years.

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)

15 Days until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/OBNhWd6KB3

— WTA (@WTA) 17 de diciembre de 2016

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.

STUTTGART, Germany – Former No.1 Ana Ivanovic recovered from an early deficit to dismantle talented youngster Carina Witthoeft, roaring into the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with a 7-6(3), 6-0 victory.

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

“She played really well, deep, heavy; she was not missing,” Ivanovic said of her opponent after the match. “So, I started a little bit to find my rhythm, but I was always a step too far in.

“Then when my coach came on court, he actually asked me to step in a little more and be more aggressive. I felt that made the difference and once I was aggressive, she started to aim for more and also I could get more free points.

“So, I think that was the key.”

The 2014 finalist fell behind 5-3 in the opening set to the hometown favorite – who had already won two matches in qualifiying to make her second main draw appearance in Stuttgart – but successfully broke serve in the tenth game to level the affair, ultimately running away with the match in the second set.

“I’ve been practicing really hard the last couple of weeks,” she said after the match. “I’ve been putting in a lot of work, a lot of hours on court and in the gym. So, it’s nice to see. That actually helped me to go through today. Also my serve is improving.

“Overall, I’m just so happy to actually be healthy and consistent. Hopefully, I can keep the level and raise it.”

Finishing the match with a positive winner-to-unforced error differential (32 to 28), Ivanovic acquitted herself well in her first clay court match of the season and sets herself up in good stead for her second round encounter against either Karolina Pliskova or No.8 seed Lucie Safarova.

“I feel like I built that relationship throughout the tournament in 2014. I really had a great week here and getting very interactive also with the people. It is a very warm court to play on. And I feel like since then it has even better than before. So, I was very happy to have a victory today in front of the crowd.”

The last match of the day was between No.7 seed Carla Suárez Navarro, who won the last 11 games of her match against Oceane Dodin to join Ivanovic in the second round, 6-3, 6-0. Dodin came out firing after qualifying for the main draw, but Suárez Navarro proved the steadier overall, easing past her opponent in just over an hour – hittin 17 winners and only 11 unforced errors.

Up next for the Spanish veteran is Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam, who dispatched Johanna Konta in straight sets on Monday.

In doubles, No.2 seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic overcame an inspired Laura Siegemund partnered with Johanna Konta to repeat their Fed Cup heroics, 3-6, 6-3, 10-7. Top seeds Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza play their first round match against Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato on Wednesday.

STUTTGART, Germany – Defending Stuttgart champion Angelique Kerber survived an inspired start from qualifier Annika Beck in her opening match at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix to make her way into the quarterfinals in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 comeback.

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

The pair of Germans previously met at this year’s Australian Open, when Kerber beat Beck in straightforward fashion: 6-4, 6-0 in the fourth round on her way to the title. But the two go back even further as members of the German Fed Cup team.

“It is always difficult to play against a German, of course, and especially in my first match here,” Kerber said of the matchup.

This time, the defending Stuttgart champion faced a gutsier performance from the young German, who was into the second round here for the first time.

The qualifier came out swinging in the opening set, playing aggressively and keeping Kerber on her toes by doggedly running down every shot. She dictated play with her serve, too, winning 82% of points from her first serve against Kerber’s 61%. Kerber found herself in danger, dropping the first set after 46 minutes.

Upset Alert@BeckAnnika grabs the opening set vs Kerber 6-4! #PTGP https://t.co/VrWEaFoYrk

— WTA (@WTA) April 20, 2016

Dropping the first set only served to galvanize the defending champion, who raised her level and aggression in the next set.

“I tried to dictate the game more. I tried simply to seize the opportunity and go, which is not so easy,” Kerber said. “It’s always easier to say rather than to do because Annika gets the ball back so often and makes few mistakes. But I tried to just stay in the match and play point by point at the end.”

After trading breaks of serve, Kerber shook off a break point in order to notch the only hold of the second set. That lead would prove to be key, and Kerber came roaring back to level the score. It was one-way traffic from there, Kerber finding her range and hitting 46 winners to 31 unforced errors to Beck’s 26 and 18.

“The faith is definitely always there, whether I win or lose the first set,” Kerber said. “I know that I am fighting to the end and I know what to do in the important moments.

“I have in recent weeks and months proved myself and thus I have the confidence to really take the initiative. I think, at the moment, that’s my strength, to know what I can trust myself.”

On Thursday Time Magazine released the Time 100, its annual list of 100 most influential people in the world. Among global leaders and icons like the IMF’s Christine Lagarde, Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio, and more, is doubles co-No.1 Sania Mirza.

Mirza, the only tennis player on the list, made history in 2015 when she became the first Indian woman to achieve a No.1 ranking in tennis, win a Grand Slam and claim a second WTA Finals title. With her massively successful doubles partnership with Martina Hingis, she has not just produced spectacular tennis, she’s inspired a generation of Indians.

Her Time 100 tribute written by Sachin Tendulkar, one of the greatest cricketers of all time:

“The Mirzas probably knew what the future held for their daughter,” Tendulkar wrote. “Her name, Sania, means brilliant.”

Dominika Cibulkova

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.38
Year-End Ranking: No.5 (Career high, Oct 31)
Season Highlights: Titles at Katowice, Eastbourne, Linz and WTA Finals, Final at Acapulco, Madrid and Wuhan
Best Major Result: Quarterfinals (Wimbledon)

5 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/S2j5gG7chp

— WTA (@WTA) December 27, 2016

There are few players who’ve had a busier season than Dominika Cibulkova had in 2016.

Whereas some players peak at the right times – an Asian Swing renaissance, a red-hot US hardcourt summer – Cibulkova did it all season long and on every surface.

She reached the final in Acapulco (outdoor hardcourts), won at Katowice (indoor hardcourts), final in Madrid (clay), title in Eastbourne (grass), final in Wuhan (outdoor hardcourts), and titles at Linz and the WTA Finals (indoor hard).

But despite her continuously stellar results, which earned her a spot in Singapore’s Greatest Eight, Cibulkova admitted that she’s always struggled with self-belief.

“I was never that kind of player that came on tour and was winning tournaments,” Cibulkova told WTA Insider in Singapore. “I always needed, you know, proof. I needed to beat a Top 20 player, a Top 10 player – I was taking small steps to get where I am now.”

It all came together at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, where her qualification came down to the wire, where beat the odds to advance in the group stage, and where she defeated the World No.1 Angelique Kerber to claim the biggest title of her career.

“I always thought that winning a Grand Slam was something unreal, it’s impossible,” Cibulkova said afterwards. “But by winning [the WTA Finals], I want to achieve another dream, and that’s winning a Grand Slam.”

With her self-belief through the roof, surely Cibulkova now has all the proof she needs to know that she belongs at the top among the game’s biggest names.