Tennis News

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Kristyna Pliskova is ready to make her mark. As her twin sister No.3 Karolina Pliskova enjoyed a breakout season in 2016, Kristyna quietly carved her own path, grinding away on the ITF Circuit to break into the Top 100, capping off her season with her first title at the Tashkent Open.

Kristyna has continued to build on the momentum gained during her 2016 finish, having notched quality wins over the first three months of the season. She took Johanna Konta to three sets at the Shenzhen Open in January, beat Roberta Vinci in at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, and steamrolled Daria Kasatkina in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open, winning 6-0, 6-3.

Asked whether she was surprised by how easily she dispatched the No.33 seed, Kristyna spoke with the same candor and self-awareness as her sister.

“Not really because I know how I can play and this wasn’t even my best,” she said. “So I’m not that surprised. Of course, I’m happy because it was easy, by the score at least.”

“When I play fast (with power) it’s very difficult [for my opponents] to put everything in. Especially with [my] serve.”

Happy birthday to us??Love you❤️ pic.twitter.com/1ROwToOfRg

— Kristyna Pliskova (@KrisPliskova) March 21, 2016

Kristyna’s power game in built around that lefty serve. She holds the record for most aces fired in a match, hitting 31 against Monica Puig at the 2016 Australian Open. It’s an obvious difference from Karolina’s right-handed game, but it’s also the most significant, one that compels both sisters to insist that their games are different.

There’s just something about Czech lefties. Growing up together, Kristyna was the more highly-touted of the twins, and she made good on the hype when she won the 2010 Wimbledon junior title; Karolina won the Australian Open junior title that same year. En route, Kristyna beat the likes of Sloane Stephens and Yulia Putintseva, and later became the first of the sisters to crack the Top 100 on the WTA rankings. 

But the pro game brought different challenges, and it took Kristyna longer to find a level of consistency to build her ranking.

She finally got traction after the US Open. “I changed coaches because I spent a couple of months alone and it wasn’t working,” Kristyna told WTA Insider earlier this season. “I had no one to travel with. I went once with my father, once with my fitness coach, and it was a mess.

“During the US Open I found one coach, Martin Fassate. He was with Klara Koukalova and Petra Cetkovska, but Petra is injured. He has a lot of experience. He is really, really, really positive. That’s good for me. So we agreed to try in China. We won two tournaments out of three. Not bad.”

“I think I’m improving [my] standard level,” she told reporters in Indian Wells. “So I’m not going one tournament good and then three tournaments, first round, which is perfect for me. I’m happy, but I need more matches with the Top 10 players so I can get used to them a bit too. I think out of the Top 20 and Top 30, I think I’m fine. Not every time, but I feel confident with them. But I think Top 10 is different so we will see on Sunday.”

On Sunday she takes on World No.5 Dominika Cibulkova, who survived a tough test against Jelena Ostapenko in the second round, winning in three sets. It will be her sixth career match against a Top 10 player and she’ll be looking for her first complete match win (she beat Belinda Bencic by retirement last year in Miami).

“I’ve never played her,” Kristyna said. “I will ask Karolina, maybe she will say something. But she has a bad [head-to-head] against her too. So maybe I’ll just stick to my plan. I think last time she won, but, like, five times she lost. Maybe I won’t even ask,” she said, laughing.

Asked whether she thinks playing a Top 10 player is a big jump up, Kristyna said it was more about the mental game. “I played Angelique Kerber in Melbourne and when you go there and play No.1, I just had that in my mind. So she had the first set for free because I had this in my mind.

“I don’t think they play any different level, especially with the girls it can change the ranking a lot,” she said. If you play Serena it’s different. But all the other players I think everybody can beat everybody.”

“My goal is to reach Top 20, but it’s not going to be easy I know, because I have a lot of points to defend in October. But that’s my goal for now.”

❤ pic.twitter.com/bdIy7KnhOm

— Karolina Pliskova (@KaPliskova) February 4, 2017

Kristyna may be champing at the bit to pit her game against the the game’s best, but there’s definitely one player she’s perfectly happy to avoid.

“Not my sister!”

The two have yet to play a tour-level match and were actually slated to potentially face off in the third round at Indian Wells, before Serena Williams withdrew and Karolina was shifted to a different quarter. It was a change that drew a sigh of relief from both sisters, who dreaded the thought of a showdown. That match may not happen here in Indian Wells, but with Kristyna’s continuing rise it will surely come sooner rather than later.

Asked point blank whether she thought she was as good as Karolina, Kristyna did not flinch. “Yes, I do. Maybe better.”

Quick hits with Kristyna Pliskova:

WTA Insider: When did you first know you were good at tennis?
Kristyna: Well, I knew it since I was very little [laughs]. You just know. You just feel it, you can see it how you play. You never know when you’re 10 if you’re going to be really good. A lot of things can change. But when you play, you can feel it.

WTA Insider: When did you believe you could play tennis for a living?
Kristyna: With Karolina we were always traveling with mom since we were really small. We played a 10Ks in Croatia, where there were 128 in qualies. We had to win four rounds, I think? We always fought and we always knew were going to play, even if we made it when we were 18 or 19. I think we always believed.

WTA Insider: What was it like to transition from juniors to pros?
Kristyna: For us, I think it was better because we didn’t play that many junior tournaments. We played, since we were 16, 10ks, 25k ITF tournaments. So it really wasn’t that big of a change. The one year we played Grand Slams was just fun for us.

WTA Insider: What’s your favorite tournament?
Kristyna: Australian Open. It’s big. I like space. And the weather is nice and the staff is so nice.

WTA Insider: What tournament do you look forward to playing that you haven’t played?
Kristyna: I hope I can play Fed Cup one day. I think it can be soon.

WTA Insider: What do you like least about being a pro tennis player?
Kristyna: What I don’t like? I don’t like changing the food when we go from different countries. I’m just used to eating what my mom cooks, or what I cook, or what my boyfriend cooks.

WTA Insider: Do you have any hobbies?
Kristyna: I like shopping.
WTA Insider: Who’s worse, you or Karolina?
Kristyna: I think she’s winning now so she she just buys, and buys, and buys. We went shopping the other day and she had like six bags and I had like four bags. I’m thinking more about the money [laughs]. But we are both bad.

WTA Insider: Do you have any favorite TV shows?
Kristyna: I’m watching The Bridge right now. When I can I like to read something or drawing. It’s more like coloring. It’s good for my mind. I’m not really into sightseeing. If I do something I go shopping, but not going places. But at home I like to go to my parents. They live outside the city and they have some animals. My father has some chickens and rabbits. I help to take care of them. I like nature.

WTA Insider: What app on your phone do you use the most?
Kristyna: WhatsApp. Definitely.
WTA Insider: Who do you text the most?
Kristyna: My boyfriend. And then Karolina. During tournaments we don’t text much. We try to talk a lot but we have different schedules. When we are home, kind of a lot. But with boyfriends, it’s different because they get mad [laughs].

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

HOBART, Australia – Defending champion Heather Watson dropped just three games against Brazil’s Teliana Pereira to win, 6-3, 6-0, in the first round of the Hobart International.

A tight opening set saw the two exchange three service breaks, but Pereira’s inability to capitalize on nine of 10 break point opportunities paled in comparison to Watson’s perfect conversion rate. The Brit flew through the second set, losing just 12 points to seal up her opening round victory in just over an hour.

“I was very happy with how I played today,” she said in her post-match press conference. “At the beginning of the match, it was very competitive, and it was close because she was playing very well. That game at 2-2 to hold serve was crucial because after that I kind of went away with the match.”

Watson has good memories in Hobart, having won the tournament last year without dropping a set and with wins over three seeded players – Sloane Stephens, Roberta Vinci, and Alison Riske – before defeating Madison Brengle in the final.

“I like to see my picture on the walls!” Watson said of being the defending champion, but noted it’s not always easy coming back as the one to beat. 

“I remember when I won Osaka in 2012, and I came back in 2013 I wasn’t in great form, and I was so nervous to defend all of those points; it was my first tournament defense. I didn’t deal with it well at all and I just couldn’t wait for the tournament to be over.

“This time around, I’m the total opposite. I’m really happy to be back here. As soon as I hit the first day, I was playing well. I don’t know what it is; I really like it here. I think today showed that I am enjoying the court and playing well.”

Watson will next play No.4 seed Monica Niculescu, who defeated American Christina McHale in two tight sets, 7-5, 7-5.

Earlier in the day, Eugenie Bouchard turned around an unfavorable head-to-head to dismantle Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6-2, 6-1, winning in 57 minutes on Monday.

“It’s nice to get a win against her, finally!” Bouchard said after the match. “She’s a great player and I was really aware of when she was coming to net, that she’s an amazing doubles player, so I was trying to pass her.”

The Canadian had never beaten Mattek-Sands in either of their prior two encounters, but one would never know in Hobart, breaking serve six times and losing just eight points behind her first serve.

“I was feeling really solid out there. I just wanted to try to keep moving my feet – the ball can move all over the place, and that could be a bit tricky.”

Bouchard will next play No.8 seed Alison Van Uytvanck, who beat Carina Witthoeft, 6-2, 7-6(5) in her first round match.

Dominika Cibulkova was also solid in Hobart; the Slovak outgutted an in-form Johanna Konta in a topsy-turvy two-set match, 7-6(6), 7-5, to progress into the second round.

“I knew it was going to be a tough first round and I’m happy I handled it the way I did,” she told press after her win.

“I had a really good start, 5-1, and she started to be more aggressive. There were some points I got frustrated in the tiebreak – I was 1-6 down – but I came back. Today, I was really tough mentally; even when I made some mistakes I still stayed in the match.”

The big hitting former Australian Open finalist echoed Bouchard’s sentiments about the sort of windy conditions that could have derailed her big game.

“I was expecting the wind; I’ve been practicing here for three days and every day, it’s been windy. I was just focusing on the game and the things I had to do.”

Cibulkova next plays local wildcard Kimberly Birrell, who unexpectedly overcame Danka Kovinic, 6-4, 6-3.

Elsewhere around the grounds, No.9 seed Mona Barthel eased past Misaki Doi, 6-4, 6-4, to set up a second round encounter with qualifier Naomi Osaka; the 2015 WTA Rising Stars Invitational champion won a thilling three-setter over Jarmila Wolfe, 6-7(6), 7-6(8), 6-4. Lucky loser Veronica Cepede Royg lost in qualifying, but is into the second round in Hobart with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 win over Laura Pous-Tió; she next plays No.7 seed Alizé Cornet, who won on Sunday.

Brengle, seeded No.5, was runner-up in Hobart last year, but an upper respiratory illness forced her to retire against qualifier Kiki Bertens; the Dutchwoman next plays Annika Beck, who defeated Kurumi Nara in straight sets. The only other seed to go out was No.6 seed Barbora Strycova, who fell in straight sets to Johanna Larsson, who’ll next face Margarita Gasparyan for a place in the quarterfinals. Finally, ASB Classic quarterfinalist Nao Hibino won a closely-contested opening set before running away with the match against lucky loser Pauline Parmentier, 7-6(1), 6-1; the Japanese youngster will next have the opportunity to upset No.2 seed Camila Giorgi in the second round.

It’s time to crown July’s WTA Shot Of The Month. There were some incredible shots to choose from this month, and we narrowed it down to the five best – have a look at the nominees in the above video and cast your vote for your favorite shot before voting ends Thursday at 11:59pm ET!

The winner will be announced Friday, August 5.

How it works: five shots are selected by wtatennis.com, and the winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com.

A keen tennis fan as well as an outstanding sports journalist, Dan started working on a freelance basis with the WTA in January 2017 and quickly became a key member of the Editorial team in London.

News of his sudden death was announced by his partner Liz Aubrey on Monday and tributes have been paid on social media for his contributions to both sports and music journalism, his other passion.

It is with the greatest sadness I must tell you that my beloved @DanLucas86 has passed away suddenly. He was the best person in the world. pic.twitter.com/wkb21myghr

— Elizabeth Aubrey (@aubrey_writes) March 13, 2017

Dan Lucas (former Louder Than War editor) RIP – Louder Than War https://t.co/CFzKkWwCGu

— john robb (@johnrobb77) March 13, 2017

From Northampton in the English Midlands, Dan lived in London. He had also worked for the Guardian and Telegraph’s sports departments, and music websites Louder Than War and Drowned In Sound.

Carrie Dunn, a friend and fellow content producer at WTA Networks, said: “I first worked with Dan when we were both part of the team doing live online coverage for the 2014 Paralympics. He was a sports enthusiast in the best way – his love for sport extended across disciplines and his thirst for knowledge (and his innate professionalism) meant that, even when he was encountering a discipline he did not know particularly well, he would throw himself into finding out about it. He was also a music journalist and his love for (and strong opinions about) music was also well documented – his social media feeds are testament to that. He was a good man and a good friend. On a professional level, he was a great writer and a good colleague – reliable, assiduous and someone it was fun to work with.”

Reda Maher, Head of Editorial and Social Media at WTA Networks, said: “We are shocked and dismayed by this sad news, Dan was extremely well liked and highly talented, his zest for life and enthusiasm for his craft impressed all he worked with at the WTA. Dan had a big future as part of our team. We send condolences and our deepest sympathies to Liz and Dan’s family.”