Bacsinszky Too Strong For Venus
Timea Bacsinszky continued her serene progress through the Roland Garros draw with a straight set victory over former finalist Venus Williams.
Timea Bacsinszky continued her serene progress through the Roland Garros draw with a straight set victory over former finalist Venus Williams.
No.21 seed Sam Stosur is back into the semifinals of the French Open for the first time since 2012 with her win against surprise quarterfinalist Tsvetana Pironkova.
Bol, Croatia is known for its spectacular coastline, and now it’s home to the inaugural WTA Bol Open, a clay court WTA 125K series event.
The player party took place on a yacht and Ana Rucner, a world-class singer and cellist who competed in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, provided the night’s entertainment.
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario was on deck and she grabbed a photo with Felisk Lukas, the WTA Bol Open tournament director.
French qualifier Marine Partaud took in the action from a distance.
It was definitely a night to remember on the “Katina” yacht, courtesy of Tomislav Debeljak.
Before the player party, though, it was time to make the draw and the top seeds, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Ana Konjuh, were on hand for the ceremony.
Thankfully Schmiedlova and Konjuh drew themselves into opposite halves!
Konjuh in particular was thrilled to compete in a WTA event in her home country of Croatia.
Right before the start of play, a pair of WTA legends took to the picturesque courts to compete in an exhibition match.
14-time Grand Slam winner Sanchez Vicario – known as the “Barcelona Bumblebee” – is also a WTA Finals ambassador.
Iva Majoli and Sanchez Vicario got plenty of tennis action this week: the pair are also competing in Legends Doubles at the French Open.
Defending champion Serena Williams overcame a tight opening set to end Kiki Bertens’ fairytale run to get within one match of tying Steffi Graf’s 22 Grand Slam titles in Paris.
Just how dominant is Serena Williams on grass courts? And who is her biggest challenger at Wimbledon? Find out as SAP takes you Behind The Numbers this grass court season.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – WTA players made the most of their time away from the courts of the Alya WTA Malaysian Open on Tuesday, paying a visit to Permata Kurnia, a learning centre for autistic children aged 4-7.
Australian buddies Casey Dellacqua and Ashleigh Barty, who have teamed up in the doubles draw in Kuala Lumpur, were joined by wildcard Zheng Saisai and Malaysian player Theiviya Selvarajoo at the learning centre. Barty, who made the third round of the Australian Open in January after a recent hiatus from the sport, qualified for the singles main draw in Kuala Lumpur as well.
Rosmah Mansor, the wife of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, serves as the patron of Permata Kurnia, where the motto reads: ‘Autism is Not a Tragedy, Ignorance Is.’
Accompanied by representatives from the Prime Minister’s office, the players chatted to the children and joined them for an impromptu music session – Barty strumming on the guitar and Zheng on the tambourine.
All photos: © Alya WTA Malaysian Open
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With Wimbledon just three weeks away, expectations are high for British No.1 Johanna Konta. In the last 12 months, she has undergone a career transformation which has seen her go from a grateful wildcard to a true WTA contender, and with it comes the pressure.
Sky Sports caught up with Konta in Nottingham ahead of her landmark opening round win at the Aegon Open Nottingham, where she’s once again made British tennis history.
“I started playing when I was eight,” Konta told Sky Sports. “When I was nine, I decided I wanted to be No.1 in the world.”
With her victory yesterday over Victoria Duval, 25-year-old Konta is one step closer to fulfilling her childhood dream. Her WTA ranking has now risen to World No.18, making her the first British woman in 33 years to break the Top 20 since Jo Durie in October 1983. It’s an even more remarkable feat considering that Konta started out the year ranked at No.48.
Her name is now etched in the history books, but for Konta, not much has changed.
“Well, a lot of external things have changed,” Konta conceded. “But at home, and how I feel about my tennis, it’s very much the same.
“I consider myself very lucky to be able to do what I love. I very much don’t take anything for granted.”
Click here to view the video on skysports.com or watch Sportswomen tonight at 10pm BST on Sky Sports 5.
Ashleigh Barty has the shot of the day in the final of the ALYA Malaysian Open.
Ashleigh Barty has rocketed herself into the Top 100 after her win at the Alya Malaysian Open but she was not the only one who had a good week.
How have Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep and the rest of the Indian Wells contenders fared in the past?