Tennis News

ST PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The WTA has announced a newly established WTA Coach Program which will launch January 2017 as the new season begins.

WTA coaches will be recognized as a WTA Registered Coach under a formalized WTA Coach Program. The WTA Coach Program is designed to professionalize, standardize, and recognize the important role of coaching on the WTA, signifying that coaches are a key element of the WTA business.

This newly formed program will allow world class coaches, whether working with top players or emerging talent, access to benefits at WTA tournaments, professional development programs, and will provide more opportunities to broaden the product and the WTA audience, becoming a marketable asset for women’s professional tennis. It will also allow fans the ability to get closer to the game and the on court action through coaches.

Steve Simon, WTA CEO, stated, “I am pleased to introduce this new program which will professionalize and raise the standards associated with being a coach on the WTA. Coaches are an integral part of the players’ achievements and performance on the court. We recognize the value of coaches and their overall contribution to the game and to the WTA.”

Coaches who wish to participate in the program must be currently working with a WTA Tour level player and meet defined criteria (including professional certification or licensure from a coaching governing body), uphold professional obligations and be recommended by a WTA player.

A Coach Program Advisory Committee has been formed of six coaches representing each global region and this group will advise WTA staff on the administration and governance of the program, acceptance of applicants, and will provide continual feedback from the coaching body.

Former WTA player and current coach of Australia’s Daria Gavrilova, Nicole Pratt, is one such member of the Coach Program Advisory Committee. Pratt commented, “The establishment of the WTA Coaches Program is a leap forward for validating the expertise of many of the coaches on the WTA. We are looking forward to working together and feel confident there will be tremendous benefits for all stakeholders.”

Additionally, Craig Kardon, a member of the Coach Program Advisory Committee who is a longtime WTA coach and current coach of CoCo Vandeweghe stated, “I am very excited about the new WTA Coach Program. This program will give professional tennis coaches a platform for promotion and professionalism while coaching on the pro tour.”

As part of their registration, coaches will participate in weekly activities to help promote WTA tournaments, the WTA and women’s tennis, including media opportunities, clinics, and coach symposiums. Additionally, coaches will be made available immediately following matches for international media opportunities, allowing coach insight and perspective on the match.

DUBAI, UAE – World No.47 Barbora Strycova employed her brand of unpredictable tennis to power past Caroline Garcia, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, and reach her sixth career WTA final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Watch live action from Dubai & Rio de Janeiro this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

She was up against a very familiar opponent in the day’s second semifinal: Strycova and Garcia have played each other four times, with Strycova winning their last three matches in straight sets, including a first-round encounter earlier this year at the Australian Open.

The players started out this encounter very evenly-matched – and they stayed that way for most of the match.

Garcia played her trademark aggressive all-court game, sending Strycova on the defensive early on until the Czech grabbed the first break of the match at 3-2. Garcia used all of her weapons – even throwing in some serving and volleying – but Strycova’s unpredictable style was just too full of surprises, a two-handed backhand slice drop shot throwing Garcia completely off kilter and bringing up the break.

Strycova went on to win the next five games to take the opening set at 6-2 and go up 2-0 in the second.

Not to be outdone, the Frenchwoman held her nerve – and came up with some incredible service games – to win six of the next seven games to take the set 6-3 to level the match.

In the final set, the two were toe-to-toe, neither woman giving an inch: when Garcia broke to start the match, Strycova broke her right back; when Garcia held her serve at love, Strycova held serve at love in reply. They stayed deadlocked until Strycova finally broke for 5-3 – Garcia saved two break points to bring it to deuce, but after a 22-shot-rally Strycova emerged victorious. Serving for the match, Strycova erased both of Garcia’s break opportunities and sealed the match with an ace.

“I kept telling myself play your game and go for it – you have nothing to lose,” Strycova said after the match. “I wasn’t serving well the whole match but in that last game it was important that I pull it through.”

“That last game I was like, ‘Okay, pull something through. And then I made good serves. I’m so happy about it because it wasn’t easy match for me. But to be in the final it’s great.

Awaiting Strycova in the final is 2013 Dubai finalist Sara Errani, winner of the day’s first semifinal against Elina Svitolina. Errani leads their head-to-head record 5-1.

“We always have tough matches with Sara,” Strycova said of her opponent in the final. “Last time I lost from two match points.

“But it’s a final so I will enjoy it. Or I’ll try to enjoy it, actually.”

The WTA’s finest battled it out at 61 tournaments, 33 countries and six continents this year, culminating in the 2016 Year-End WTA Rankings, which are official today, Monday, November 7.

Here are 10 Things To Know about this year’s year-end list…

1) Kerber is year-end No.1 for the first time.
After a season that saw her lift two Grand Slams, Angelique Kerber finishes with the much-deserved year-end No.1 ranking. Read more about her feat here.

2) Serena’s reign ended.
Her loss to Karolina Pliskova in the US Open semifinals ended Serena Williams’ 186-week stay at the top of the rankings. However, despite playing only eight events, the American enjoyed plenty of highlights in 2016, defeating Kerber at Wimbledon to lift her 22nd major and reaching the final at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros. 

3) Radwanska holds steady at No.3.
Another season of remarkable consistency brought Agnieszka Radwanska three titles and a sixth consecutive finish inside the Top 10.

4) Strong second half gives hope for Halep.
Following a slow start, Simona Halep’s season really caught alight in the summer, a string of deep runs on the cement paving her path to another year-end Top 5 ranking.

5) Singapore success fuels Cibulkova’s rise.
Dominika Cibulkova’s 2016 resurgence featured many memorable moments. None, though, could come close to topping her brilliant victory over Kerber at BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The performance was rewarded with the biggest title and highest ranking (No.5) of her career.

6) Pliskova finally makes her breakthrough.
Karolina Pliskova ended her Grand Slam hoodoo in stunning fashion at the US Open, upsetting Serena before losing out to Kerber in an entertaining final. The result saw her rise to No.6, where she also finished the year. 

7) Muguruza slips despite maiden major.
While there were signs of a revival in Singapore, Garbiñe Muguruza failed to build on June’s Roland Garros breakthrough, a second half of the season slump seeing her slip to No.7.

8) Fresh and familiar faces join Top 10 party.
Madison Keys continued to make good on her boundless potential, ending a season of steady progress at No.8. Also joining her was Johanna Konta, who became the first Briton since 1983 to end the year inside the Top 10. Sandwiched between the newcomers was a familiar face, as Svetlana Kuznetsova ended the campaign inside the Top 10 for the sixth time.

9) And there could be more next year.
Petra Kvitova finished the year like a steam train, rising to No.11 following titles in Wuhan and Zhuhai. A Top 10 return will surely soon follow, while the next generation is also well represented in the upper echelons, Elina Svitolina (No.14), Caroline Garcia (No.23), Daria Gavrilova (No.25), Timea Babos (No.26), Daria Kasatkina (No.27) and Monica Puig (No.32) all achieved the best year-end ranking of their fledgling careers.

10) A little more about the year-end Top 100…
The oldest and youngest players in the year-end Top 100 are Venus Williams (36) and Catherine Bellis (17), and there are 32 countries represented in there (the United States has the most players with 16).