Tennis News

SINGAPORE – There may have been no final set haircut, but Svetlana Kuznetsova underlined her box office status at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global on Wednesday evening with a thrilling victory over Karolina Pliskova.

Watch interviews and highlights from Singapore on the WTA Facebook page!

Kuznetsova withstood a spirited late comeback from No.4 seed Pliskova to eventually prevail, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(6), and confirm her place in the semifinals.

“After my journey here, and all the support of the fans and my team, I couldn’t let everybody down,” Kuznetsova said to Andrew Krasny in her on-court interview. “It’s from my heart. I have not been at my best these past years, but something just changed this year.

“I enjoy my game, I enjoy the crowd, I’m playing against the best players in the world and I really appreciate and am blessed to be here today.”

This rediscovered joie de vivre has been evident for all to see in recent weeks as Kuznetsova embarked on an improbable late push for a Finals place. The Russian went from Asia to Russia in a desperate scramble for points, and so far her body is standing up to the arduous schedule.

Against Pliskova she started slowly, struggling to keep up with a blistering baseline assault. A couple of double faults gift-wrapped the decisive break in the first set, and when she fell behind in the second her prospects looked bleak.

This setback merely roused her into life, a more subtle approach starving the Czech of pace and sparking a run of four straight games. Skipping around second serves and buzzing to all corners of the court, the World No.9 levelled the match with another break before surging ahead in the decider.

The outcome, though, remained in the balance until the last. From 5-3 down, Pliskova went for broke, dragging herself back into contention only to fluff her lines when serving for the match at 6-5. In the tie-break, it was Kuznetsova’s turn to get jittery, watching three match points come and go. At 6-6 she carved out another, following a swinging a serve out wide with a forehand into the open court. This time there was no mistake, as she dragged Pliskova out of position just enough to send the next backhand beyond her reach.

For much of her 20s, Kuznetsova was a fixture at the year-end Finals but never made it beyond the round-robin stage. Now, on her sixth visit, the 31-year-old has finally broken her duck after defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska’s victory over Garbiñe Muguruza confirmed she would top the White Group.

On Thursday, Radwanska and Pliskova will battle it out to determine who joins her in the last four.

The season behind us offered everything — from tennis fashion extravagance to classic sporty designs, from retro pieces to experiments with modern trends, from neutral colors to vibrant tones. Let’s give the word to our fashion contributor Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog and see which outfits are the most memorable from 2016.

1. Serena’s Nike crop tops

In the last two decades, Serena Williams has made a profound mark on tennis fashion with her daring outfits and in her 21st pro season the American continued to push the boundaries.

Williams made a style bang at the first Grand Slam of the season, rocking a vibrant yellow Nike crop top, functionally and aesthetically enhanced by an open hole mesh at back and rounded side vents, and a super lightweight skirt, whose Breathe material gave an additional twist to the all-around pleats.

In Indian Wells and Miami, Williams showcased an omega blue version of the mind-blowing outfit, continuing to show how well crop tops work in tennis fashion.

2. adidas’ zebra print

One of the most memorable collection of the season is definitely Adidas’ Roland Garros “zebra”. Designed by Japanese Yohji Yamamoto, who found inspiration in dazzle painting used for ship camouflage in World War I and World War II, the Y-3 collection was the talk of Roland Garros with its eye-catching black and white print bringing a sense of movement and fluidity.

The fearless designer went for the bold print all the way, so not even the shoes from the collection calmed down the look.

3. Serena’s Wimbledon whites

Brands usually make their designs stand out with busy patterns, but Wimbledon’s all-white clothing rule always forces tennis apparel companies to find ways to create outstanding designs that don’t rely on the power of color and Serena Williams’ Nike dress for the grass-court Grand Slam is a perfect example of how a few well thought-out details can make a simple clothing piece outstanding.

The American’s Wimbledon dress stole our hearts with its elegant half turtleneck, flirty tiered pleated skirt and classic sporty racerback.

4. Venus’ EleVen Prism collection

Venus Williams likes to challenge her competition with prints and her Prism collection for the US Open was the most beautiful colorful design of the year. Introducing fall, the EleVen Prism Chela Dress features the season’s cool tones, but vibrant colors of summer are also there to lift our spirits for a tough match or training.

5. adidas’ US Open geometric prints

Adidas closed the season with what is in my opinion an overall best collection of 2016, inspired by the New York City skyscrapers. The collection’s main features include the triangular print, a perfect ratio of bright colors to cooler tones, and specific racerback design. What adidas did with absolute success here is offer a lot of variety, with the collection’s leitmotifs present in every clothing item.

Angelique Kerber climbed to the world number one ranking at the US Open wearing the adidas Fall Pro Tank in flash red and the adidas Fall Pro Skirt, whose geometric print represents the world’s most famous cityscape.

Simona Halep paired a tech steel version of the adidas Fall Pro Tank with the adidas Fall Pro Short, whose white mesh layer makes it the most spectacular tennis shorts we’ve had in recent years.

Ana Ivanovic rocked this gorgeous adidas Fall Pro Dress, which stands out with the way its colorblock racerback design is executed.

6. Stella McCartney’s soft color palette

The season’s best tennis clothes in pale colors were from Stella McCartney’s summer collection. Soft yellow and lilac, subtle floral print and hexagon-shaped laser-cut details characterize the separates sported by Andrea Petkovic, Caroline Wozniacki and Garbine Muguruza. Another lovely item from the collection is the adidas Summer Stella McCartney Tour Dress promoted by Wozniacki.

7. New Balance’s vibrant sportiness

The best youthful sporty look of the season included the New Balance Spring Tournament Tank, unique for its spaghetti straps with an Y-back, matched with the New Balance Spring Reversible Skirt or the New Balance Spring Tournament Skirt. Heather Watson and Nicole Gibbs energized the courts with their juicy orange combined with azalea.

8. Fila’s Heritage collection

Fila was very prolific in 2016 and they even launched a colorful collaboration with Marion Bartoli, but their best collection happened late in the season, at the US Open, featuring Jelena Jankovic’s and Yaroslava Shvedova’s Fila Heritage Stripe Dress, a harmonious marriage between modern blurred stripes and retro feel brought by the simple cut and red head tie.

Karolina Pliskova made her first Grand Slam final in the basic Fila Heritage Racerback Tank and the Fila Heritage Skirt.

Which style is your 2016 top choice?