Tennis News

From around the world

WTA Elite Trophy Ambassador Steffi Graf Lands In Zhuhai

WTA Elite Trophy Ambassador Steffi Graf Lands In Zhuhai

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970
Steffi Graf has landed in Zhuhai, China for the second edition of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

Steffi Graf has landed in Zhuhai, China for the second edition of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

The former No.1 has fans all around the world, and in Zhuhai it’s no different!

The former No.1 has fans all around the world, and in Zhuhai it’s no different!

She received a warm greeting from her fan club, which received her with posters, artwork and more!

She received a warm greeting from her fan club, which received her with posters, artwork and more!

The tennis legend stopped for a photo with the group.

The tennis legend stopped for a photo with the group.

Graf headed to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge for a different kind of tennis match.

Graf headed to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge for a different kind of tennis match.

Joined by Caroline Garcia, Graf took part in a fun match on the bridge which connects Hong Kong, Macao and mainland China.

Joined by Caroline Garcia, Graf took part in a fun match on the bridge which connects Hong Kong, Macao and mainland China.

The bridge is one of the city’s most impressive landmarks.

The bridge is one of the city’s most impressive landmarks.

Graf showed off her 22-time Grand Slam winning skills on the bridge against Garcia.

Graf showed off her 22-time Grand Slam winning skills on the bridge against Garcia.

After the match they grabbed a photo with some special guests: Mezle Chung, Vice General Manger of Zhuhai Huafa Group Co.,Ltd., Micky Lawler, President of WTA and dozens of the bridge’s workers.

After the match they grabbed a photo with some special guests: Mezle Chung, Vice General Manger of Zhuhai Huafa Group Co.,Ltd., Micky Lawler, President of WTA and dozens of the bridge’s workers.

When it’s completed, the bridge will be the longest sea-spanning bridge in the world, the worker explained to Graf.

When it’s completed, the bridge will be the longest sea-spanning bridge in the world, the worker explained to Graf.

After the bridge visit, she headed back to the Zhuhai Hengquin International Tennis Center, where the WTA Elite Trophy is contested, for another fun activity.

After the bridge visit, she headed back to the Zhuhai Hengquin International Tennis Center, where the WTA Elite Trophy is contested, for another fun activity.

The former No.1 hosted a charity clinic outside of the Haufa Center Court.

The former No.1 hosted a charity clinic outside of the Haufa Center Court.

Graf ran through the basics with 29 students from primary schools and high schools, including 19 from Macau.

Graf ran through the basics with 29 students from primary schools and high schools, including 19 from Macau.

She had words of wisdom for even the smallest tennis fans!

She had words of wisdom for even the smallest tennis fans!

After the clinic, Graf had time for all her fans, signing autograph after autograph.

After the clinic, Graf had time for all her fans, signing autograph after autograph.

Source link

Top 10 Most Titles Won In 2016

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Who took home the most silverware in 2016? Was it World No.1 Angelique Kerber, WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova or Serena Williams? Find out right here!

Source link

Italian Stars Vinci, Schiavone Confirm Intent To Play In 2017

Italian Stars Vinci, Schiavone Confirm Intent To Play In 2017

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci each expressed their desire to continue playing tennis through the 2017 season.

Finishing inside the Top 20 for the fourth time in the last five years, Vinci spread the news on her official Instagram:

Roberta Vinci

”I still feel like I have the desire and enthusiasm to try and do something in what is perhaps the thing I’m best at, playing tennis,” she said in quotes translated by Sports Illustrated.

“Now don’t start asking me if this will be my last year!!! See you in Australia.”

Vinci previously announced that she would make 2016 her final season, but began reconsidering her options as early as last winter, when she won the biggest singles title of her career at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and became the oldest woman in WTA history to make her Top 10 debut. 

She told WTA Insider at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai that she would make her final decision over the off-season.

“I don’t want to say, ‘Yes, I’m continuing,’ and then in one week, I stop, or say, ‘No, I’m retired,’ and then after a week, you see a video of me practicing,” she said in October.

“If it’s yes, then yes. If it’s no, then no.”

The always-entertaining Schiavone took her fans on a more colorful journey through the off-season, launching a web series asking them to pick one of several careers she could pursue – tennis, of course, being one of them.

Do you know something?” she asked in the video below [translated by Giulio Gasparin]. “This shirt doesn’t fit me. It’s not the right time to wear it. I like to work outdoors, grab a tool and hit some balls.

“No more glasses, no more elegant shoes… I want to go back to my trainers, I need them. I love to feel alive, I love to play tennis and this is my present to you: I don’t know for how long, but my present to you in 2017 is for playing tennis and it is a present to myself too!”

 

Source link

Cornet To Defend Hobart Title, Field Features Jankovic, Bertens

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The entry list is out for the Hobart International, which begins on January 8th, with French Open semifinalist and World No.22 Kiki Bertens leading the International field that includes defending champion Alizé Cornet and fan favorites Jelena Jankovic and Andrea Petkovic. Last season, Cornet rolled to her first title in nearly two years, beating Eugenie Bouchard, 6-1, 6-2 in the final.

The field also includes two of the tour’s top teenagers, in No.47 Ana Konjuh and No. 48 Naomi Osaka.

Full Hobart Entry List:

No.22 Kiki Bertens
No.34 Anastasija Sevastova
No.38 Monica Niculescu
No.39 Alison Riske
No.40 Misaki Doi
No.41 Alizé Cornet
No.42 Kristina Mladenovic
No.47 Ana Konjuh
No.48 Naomi Osaka
No.49 Sara Errani
No.50 Johanna Larsson
No.51 Annika Beck
No.52 Katerina Siniakova
No.53 Julia Goerges
No.54 Jelena Jankovic
No.55 Andrea Petkovic
No.56 Viktorija Golubic
No.57 Lesia Tsurenko
No.59 Shelby Rogers
No.60 Kristyna Pliskova
No.62 Lucie Safarova
No.64 Galina Voskoboeva (SR)
No.65 Kirsten Flipkens

Source link

50 Most Popular Players Of 2016: 10-1

50 Most Popular Players Of 2016: 10-1

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The WTA’s all-star cast battle it out for wins, titles and ranking points all year long – but who is getting the most clicks? This week, wtatennis.com will count down the Top 50 Most Popular Players Of 2016.

Last up on the list goes from No.10 to No.1! Find out who tops the list…

10. Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
The former World No.1 became the first woman in over a decade to capture the Sunshine Double, and hopes to return to tennis after giving birth to her first child.

Victoria Azarenka

9. Monica Puig (PUR)
Puig piqued fan interest in a major way when she became the first Puerto Rican to win an Olympic Gold medal in Rio de Janeiro.

Monica Puig

8. Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
Pliskova enjoyed a summer surge of her own, winning the Western & Southern Open and beating both Williams sisters en route to the US Open final.

Karolina Pliskova

7. Johanna Konta (GBR)
Konta continued to rewrite British tennis history in 2016, becoming her country’s first Grand Slam semifinalist and Top 10 player in over two decades.

Johanna Konta

6. Eugenie Bouchard (CAN)
The Genie Army remained loyal to Bouchard through a year of ups and downs, one that nonetheless saw her earn wins over Konta and Angelique Kerber.

Eugenie Bouchard

5. Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP)
Spain’s first Grand Slam champion since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Muguruza stunned Serena Williams to win the French Open.

Garbiñe Muguruza

4. Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
The perennial Fan Favorite and proverbial Hot Shot Queen earned more big results in 2016, including a Premier Mandatory crown in Beijing.

Agnieszka Radwanska

3. Simona Halep (ROU)
Halep earned a Premier Mandatory title of her own at the Mutua Madrid Open, and earned a WTA Finals berth for the third straight year.

Simona Halep

2. Serena Williams (USA)
Still she rises: Serena won a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, putting her one win away from breaking Stefanie Graf’s Open Era mantle.

Serena Williams

1. Angelique Kerber (GER)
World No.1 Angelique Kerber bookended a breakthrough season with a pair of Grand Slam titles in Australia and New York, making her the top searched player on the WTA website..

Angelique Kerber

 

Check out who else made the cut from No.50 to No.11…
No.50 to No.41
No.40 to No.31
No.30 to No.21
No.20 to No.11

Source link