Tennis News

NEW YORK, NY, USA – No one knows Angelique Kerber’s game as well as Torben Beltz. The 39-year-old has coached the now two-time major champion and new World No.1 since she was 16-years-old, and though they’ve had their breaks apart, the decision to resume their partnership in the Spring of 2015 has paid nothing but dividends.

After reuniting before the BNP Paribas Open last march, Kerber went on to win four Premier titles in Charleston, Stuttgart, Birmingham, and Stanford. By the end of the year, no one had won more matches than Kerber. But after a disappointing season at the Slams and a pressure-soaked loss to Lucie Safarova at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global to end the year, the two set their sights on the majors.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

WTA Insider caught up with Beltz the day after Kerber’s New York triumph, to discuss how Team Kerber got to this point, the keys to their success, and what they’re looking to build on going forward.

Listen to the full interview on the WTA Insider Podcast:

On trying to keep a relaxed atmosphere around Kerber:

I think it’s very important to keep her relaxed, especially here. When she was playing against Caroline Wozniacki, it was clear she was already No.1, but I thought it wasn’t good to make a big deal out of this because she had to play Caroline in the next five minutes. We really tried to keep it relaxed then, which was not so easy to be No.1 and be relaxed!

But we kept it easy, and I told her, ‘You have to focus on the match, because against Caroline, it’s going to be a very tough match.’ You could see there were a lot of long rallies and she had to play her best tennis. But she was focused again, and I think it’s working out very good.

On whether Kerber’s 2016 was a surprise:

We all knew that she was going to be a very good player. I knew that before. But I have to say after this year, it’s for sure surprising to be in three Grand Slam finals. We cannot take that for granted. I knew she could play very good tennis; I knew her when she was young and outstanding in Germany. We all knew she could play very good, but it’s incredible and amazing for me. It’s a good story.

On Kerber’s work ethic:

Success doesn’t come from nothing; you have to work every day. As a player, you have to sacrifice and a lot, and I think she’s earned what she’s getting now. It’s a day-to-day process, as well, like in the off-season, we worked on the serve. We tried to work hard every day, trying to figure out new things, something special so it’s not too boring after eight weeks. But we did a good job, and we’re happy.

On how he came to be Kerber’s coach:

Our first meeting was when she was 12 or 13 in Germany. She was winning U18 Nationals at 15. She was outstanding, but in the beginning, she was such a talented girl, who knew where the ball was coming. She wasn’t working that hard at the time, when she was young. But it really changed, and that’s why she’s playing so well at the top level.

The first time we met, the family and coaches were looking for somebody who would help her take the first steps onto the pro tour. She was ranked around No.300 and finished with school, so they needed someone who was young and liked to travel, and could play decent tennis! So I came in to help her play some 25Ks, some junior tournaments. We started when she was around 16, 17, for one or two years. Then she had a shoulder operation, and we stopped. We came back around 2011, after being on and off for quite a time. It’s fun to work with her; she’s pretty good.

On the challenges of coaching Kerber:

“It’s a big challenge, and never gets boring. We’re always looking at new things, every day. There are always improvements to make, where for me as a coach, the job is never finished. She’s No.1, won Grand Slams, but it’s not finished; there are still things to work on. For me, it’s perfect to see that, and we’re happy to go to the next step. Right now, she’s won a Grand Slam and I can say it’s easy, but when she’s frustrated in practice or losing, it’s not always easy. But we have a good way to talk about things; we solve problems together. Our communication is good.”

On losing a “hairy” bet with Kerber:

I saw two players at a golf tournament, where they had a bet not to shave, and I told Angie that if she won the US Open, I wouldn’t shave my mustache for the five or six weeks of the Asian Swing. So, it’s not going to look that great, but let’s see. It’s worth it for the Slam. We’ll see what happens.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

ZHUHAI, China – With the dust settled after an action-packed fortnight at the US Open, there were major shifts on the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai leaderboard. Some of the WTA’s biggest stars – including defending champion Venus Williams, Roberta Vinci, Madison Keys and Johanna Konta – moving up in contention.

The year’s final tournament will run from November 1 to 6, and like last year the singles draw will feature 11 of the top ranked players and one wildcard, with the winner collecting 700 rankings points.

Here’s the latest leaderboard update for the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai as of September 12, 2016:

SEOUL, South Korea – No.5 seed Monica Niculescu was the only seeded player to advance on Day 6 at the Korea Open Tennis after a spate of upsets saw defending champion Irina-Camelia Begu, Kirsten Flipkens and Kristina Mladenovic bow out in the second round.

Niculescu faced off against Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova for a spot into the Seoul quarterfinals. The Romanian had little trouble seeing off Schmiedlova, breaking her serve three times in each set to advance in an emphatic 6-2, 6-2 victory in just over an hour and a half.

But the rest of the field wasn’t so lucky, and chaos reigned after Niculescu left the court at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center.

Patricia Maria Tig dodged all of Kirsten Flipkens’ Seoul-ful hot shots on her way to a 6-4, 6-4 upset over the No.6 seed. She books a quarterfinal clash with Sara Sorribes Tormo, who came back from a set down to upset No.4 seed Kristina Mladenovic 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The day of surprises ended with the biggest shock of the day, as the No.102 ranked Jana Cepelova ousted the defending champion and top seed Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

WUHAN, China – In 2015 Garbiñe Muguruza arrived in China in the midst of a slump. She was compiling a breakthrough season, having made her first Slam final at Wimbledon a few months earlier, but the letdown during the North American hardcourt summer was severe.

China proved to be fertile ground for the Spaniard. It was this time last year that she hired coach Sam Sumyk after a disappointing exit at the US Open and the two went on to make the final at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, where she retired with a foot injury to Venus Williams, and then win her biggest title at the time at the China Open. That run served as a springboard for Singapore, where she romped to the semifinals in her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global debut.

Muguruza’s 2016 season has seen similar, albeit with heightened patterns. In a season that saw her win her first major title at Roland Garros in May, the 22-year-old has struggled with her consistency ever since. She looked to be building momentum over the summer with a strong run to the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open, but a surprising opening round loss to Anastasija Sevastova in New York sent her back to the drawing board once again.

“That loss was tough for me,” Muguruza told reporters during Wuhan’s WTA All-Access Hour on Sunday. “I was sad about that match because I’m always very happy to be in a Grand Slam. That’s the tournament where I like to play and I’m really motivated there, but I played bad.

“I was too nervous. I wanted too much to win. I wanted [it] too much.”

Muguruza has worked hard over the last 12 months to control her negative emotions on court and has come to master an intimidating poker face. But don’t let it fool you. She’s roiling underneath the surface. “Sometimes I feel like there’s certain days where I look like she doesn’t look like maybe is super happy, but it’s because I want [it] too much, and it’s actually going the other way. So I think it’s as bad to want it too much than not to want it too much. It was tough for me.”

To the extent an early exit at a major can have a silver lining, Muguruza said the loss gave her more time to hit the practice court before the Asian swing. Now to see if it pays off. Ranked No.3 on the WTA rankings, Muguruza could face a tough opening test on Tuesday against either Guangzhou finalist Jelena Jankovic or the always dangerous Daria Gavrilova.

“This year I want to do everything I can so I can go on holiday happy,” Muguruza said. “I don’t want to have this on the back of my mind.”

“I feel nothing can be sad this year after winning a Grand Slam. No matter what happens for me, [it] is an incredible year already.”

Ni Hao Wuhan! ?? pic.twitter.com/WtUGbOzwQ5

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) September 25, 2016

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

The return of Caroline Wozniacki’s winning smile may be the tournament’s lasting image but the 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open will also be remembered as Naomi Osaka’s coming out party.

While her talent has never been in doubt, the Japanese teenager has struggled to exhibit it as often as she would like. That all changed during her homeland’s flagship event, as Osaka dismantled Dominika Cibulkova and overpowered Elina Svitolina en route to her maiden WTA final.

Wozniacki – whose own feel-good story promoted her to No.22 – ensured there was no fairytale finish, but she was unable to stop Asian tennis’ star in waiting from becoming the youngest player inside the Top 50.

Many astute observers – including management group IMG – have been keeping a watchful eye on Osaka’s progress for some time. This year alone she has run both Simona Halep and Madison Keys close at majors, and the new World No.47 now looks to have the temperament to make the most of her spectacular shotmaking.

Osaka, though, was not the biggest mover in Monday’s new rankings…

Anastasija Sevastova (+5, No.35 to No.30): Although Sevastova was unable to repeat her US Open upset of Garbiñe Muguruza, by reaching the second round in Tokyo she secured a Top 30 debut. 

Lesia Tsurenko (+27, No.80 to No.53): On the other side of the Sea of Japan, Tsurenko continued the form that took her to the second week of the US Open by dethroning Jelena Jankovic in the final of the Guangzhou International Women’s Open. It was the Ukrainian’s second WTA title and puts her just 52 points away from reclaiming a Top 50 spot.

Lara Arruabarrena (+29, No.90 to No.61): Last week’s other title winner, Arruabarrena, did it the hard way coming back from the brink against Louisa Chirico, then winning a rollercoaster final with Monica Niculescu. This ended a four year wait for a second WTA title and also brought a new career-high ranking.