Beijing: Halep vs. Wickmayer
Simona Halep takes on Yanina Wickmayer in the second round of the China Open.
Simona Halep takes on Yanina Wickmayer in the second round of the China Open.
Dominika Cibulkova
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.38
Year-End Ranking: No.5 (Career high, Oct 31)
Season Highlights: Titles at Katowice, Eastbourne, Linz and WTA Finals, Final at Acapulco, Madrid and Wuhan
Best Major Result: Quarterfinals (Wimbledon)
5 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/S2j5gG7chp
— WTA (@WTA) December 27, 2016
There are few players who’ve had a busier season than Dominika Cibulkova had in 2016.
Whereas some players peak at the right times – an Asian Swing renaissance, a red-hot US hardcourt summer – Cibulkova did it all season long and on every surface.
She reached the final in Acapulco (outdoor hardcourts), won at Katowice (indoor hardcourts), final in Madrid (clay), title in Eastbourne (grass), final in Wuhan (outdoor hardcourts), and titles at Linz and the WTA Finals (indoor hard).
But despite her continuously stellar results, which earned her a spot in Singapore’s Greatest Eight, Cibulkova admitted that she’s always struggled with self-belief.
“I was never that kind of player that came on tour and was winning tournaments,” Cibulkova told WTA Insider in Singapore. “I always needed, you know, proof. I needed to beat a Top 20 player, a Top 10 player – I was taking small steps to get where I am now.”
It all came together at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, where her qualification came down to the wire, where beat the odds to advance in the group stage, and where she defeated the World No.1 Angelique Kerber to claim the biggest title of her career.
“I always thought that winning a Grand Slam was something unreal, it’s impossible,” Cibulkova said afterwards. “But by winning [the WTA Finals], I want to achieve another dream, and that’s winning a Grand Slam.”
With her self-belief through the roof, surely Cibulkova now has all the proof she needs to know that she belongs at the top among the game’s biggest names.
An interview with Petra Kvitova after her win in the third round of the China Open.
Karolina Pliskova takes on Daria Kasatkina in the second round of the China Open.
WTA Finals Doubles Field Set
The doubles field for the WTA Finals is now set after events in Beijing saw the final four qualifying berths decided on Wednesday.
Defeat for Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova in the Chinese capital confirmed that Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova, Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan, Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, and Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova will all be heading to Singapore for the season finale.
The four join earlier qualifiers Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, Martina Hingis and Mirza and Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina and Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova in the eight-team knockout draw.
Matches to Watch in Beijing
Konta vs Ka.Pliskova (3R, Thursday): Johanna Konta is vying to move into the Top 10 spot on the Road To Singapore Leaderboard. With a win over Karolina Pliskova, Konta would move ahead of Svetlana Kuznetsova by 20 points and into the second alternate position. However, Konta could be bumped out of that position if Petra Kvitova advances to the final in Beijing.
Kvitova vs Keys (QF, Friday): Madison Keys is the only player who can still secure qualification this week, but she needs to reach the final of Beijing in order to do so. For Kvitova, she has been playing her best tennis of the season and has won her last eight matches, including the Wuhan title. Kvitova needs to reach the final to move into the RTS Top 10 and can move as high as No.7 on the Leaderboard if she wins the title.
If Keys wins the match, she will eliminate Kvitova from reaching the Top 8. (Kvitova will need to reach the final in Beijing to have a chance of qualifying). Kvitova is trying to make her 6th consecutive WTA Finals appearance.
SINGLES:
Qualified: Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Karolina Pliskova
Next In Line (Current Top 8):
Still in Contention – Currently No.9 to No.13 with points behind current projected cut-off (3352)
|
CARLA SUÁREZ NAVARRO |
3061 |
-291 |
LOST 1R (SHVEDOVA) |
|
SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA |
3000 |
-352 |
LOST 3R (KEYS) |
|
JOHANNA KONTA |
2925 |
-427 |
3R VS PLISKOVA (QF = 3020; SF = 3195; F = 3455; W = 3805) |
|
PETRA KVITOVA |
2715 |
-637 |
QF VS KEYS (SF = 2890; F = 3150; W = 3500) |
WHO IS PLAYING WHERE?
Muguruza: currently not entered in any other events
Cibulkova: Moscow
Keys: currently not entered in any other events
Suárez Navarro: Linz, Moscow
Konta: Hong Kong
Kuznetsova: Tianjin [will need to play Moscow to stay in contention, possible WC]Kvitova: Luxembourg [cannot enter a tournament next week]
All photos courtesy of Getty Images
BRISBANE/AUCKLAND/SHENZHEN – The new year has barely begun, but the 2017 WTA season has begun in earnest, with a trio of tournaments taking place across the globe. World No.1 Angelique Kerber is one of four Top 10 players at the Brisbane International, while 22-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and sister Venus Williams take to the ASB Classic in Auckland. Farther north in China, defending champion and World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska is the top seed at the Shenzhen Open, drawn opposite to Simona Halep.
Check out the biggest storylines in the first week of the 2017 season:
1) Angelique Kerber begins her defense of top ranking.
The two-time Grand Slam champion ended her breakthrough season as No.1 in the world, and heads back to Brisbane to begin taking on challengers to her throne atop the sport. Kerber could open against wildcard and comeback kid Ashleigh Barty after a first round bye, with the likes of Eugenie Bouchard, No.6 seed Elina Svitolina, and No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova all looming in the top half of the draw.
Excited to finally return to Australia ?? with @ThaiAirways. See you Down Under ? #TeamAngie #IflyThai pic.twitter.com/O7jM0tlUZn
— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) December 30, 2016
2) Kerber could book a Singapore rematch with No.2 seed Cibulkova.
The 2016 season ended with Dominika Cibulkova stunning Kerber to win the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Up to a career-high ranking of No.5, the Slovak is seeded No.2 in Brisbane, and will open against either Laura Siegemund or Zhang Shuai after a first round bye. No.5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, and No.7 seed Elena Vesnina are all in her half.
3) Kuznetsova aims to keep up late-season momentum.
Speaking of Kuznetsova, the Russian bookended her 2016 with titles in Sydney and Moscow, the latter helping her book the final ticket to Singapore. Kuznetsova begins her first season in the Top 10 since 2010, and opens against young American Louisa Chirico.
4) Serena returns in Auckland.
Over in New Zealand, World No.2 Serena Williams plays her first tour-level match since the US Open at the ASB Classic. As the top seed, Serena takes on Pauline Parmentier in the first round, and could play No.4 seed Barbora Strycova in the semifinals.
5) The Williams sisters doubles feature.
On the other half of the draw is Serena’s sister Venus, a champion in Auckland back in 2015, who opens against local wildcard Jade Lewis. Along with the hopes of an all-Williams final, Venus and Serena are set to play doubles together for the first time since the Olympic tennis event.
6) Wozniacki opens against good friend Nicole Gibbs.
Caroline Wozniacki narrowly lost to Venus in Auckland’s championship match two years ago, and the former World No.1 aims to build on the late season surge that took her from World No.74 all the way back into the Top 20. Wozniacki drew Nicole Gibbs in her first round; the two spent a week together over the off-season to play an exhibition event:
Beautiful island ✅
(Nearly lethal) drone ✅
Amazing people ✅ pic.twitter.com/V2DBmz8PJO— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) November 18, 2016
7) Radwanska kicks off title defense against hometown favorite.
Agnieszka Radwanska kicked off 2016 on an impressive winning streaking, winning the Shenzhen Open and roaring into the Australian Open semifinals. Hoping to begin 2017 in similar style, the Pole needs to get past wildcard Duan Ying-Ying, with last year’s runner-up No.8 seed Alison Riske looming in the quarterfinals.
8) Halep takes on Jankovic to kick off her season.
On the other half of the draw is 2015 champion Simona Halep, who has the unenviable task of taking on a former No.1 in Jelena Jankovic to start her season. Jankovic suffered through an injury-addled 2016 season, but showed off some solid tennis last fall, reaching a final in Guangzhou.
Favourite #Christmas song? @JoKonta91 tackles our Christmas quiz! pic.twitter.com/M6OJxve1mb
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) December 24, 2016
9) Can Jo Konta make new milestones?
Johanna Konta is the third Top 10 player in Shenzhen, and the Brit plays her first tournament since hiring new coach Wim Fisette. Konta scribbled her name throughout the record books in 2016, and aims to continue at that high level in her first match against Cagla Buyukakcay.
10) Mirza pairs with No.1 rival Mattek-Sands in Brisbane.
The top doubles stars converge on Brisbane, with World No.1 Sania Mirza playing with former partner Bethanie-Mattek Sands. Mattek-Sands fell one match shy of unseating Mirza for No.1 in Singapore, losing in the final to Brisbane’s No.2 seeds Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova. In an ironic twist, the American has a shot to take No.1 again this week, but will need Mirza’s help to do it – by winning the title.
BEIJING, China – Elina Svitolina continued her impressive end to the season by upsetting World No.1 Angelique Kerber in the third round of the China Open on Thursday.
Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
A mature display saw Svitolina hold her nerve at the end of both sets to close out a 6-3, 7-5 victory and book a quarterfinal meeting with Daria Gavrilova.
“I was just trying to be really focused on every ball, and of course try to win,” Svitolina said in her on-court interview.
Earlier this week, Kerber suggested that she was feeling the strain of a hectic schedule that has now seen her play 35 matches since the start of July. However, against Svitolina she battled away until the last saving a couple a couple of match points in the final game.
Svitolina, who also beat then-No.1 Serena Williams at this summer’s Olympics, continued to be the aggressor and was rewarded when Kerber sent a forehand sailing wide at the third time of asking.
“I was trying to think about my next step, what I should try to do,” Svitolina added. “I tried to make my first serve and concentrated on the next shot, but still I was a little bit shaky!”
Elsewhere, Johanna Konta continued her own impressive recent run of form with a tense victory over No.5 seed Karolina Pliskova.
Konta, who reached the fourth round of the US Open and the quarterfinals last week in Wuhan, is making a late bid to reach the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Depending on other results, a run to the final could elevate her to a qualification spot and she moved one step closer to that rarget by overcoming Pliskova, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2).
BRISBANE, Australia – No.6 seed Elina Svitolina opened her 2017 season with a comfortable straight sets win over Monica Puig, easing into the second round at the Brisbane International.
Svitolina is enjoying a career-high ranking of No.14 and, with a new coaching team behind her, has already seen the benefits in the New Year. She needed an hour and 17 minutes to complete her 6-3, 6-3 victory over the Olympic champion.
Perfect passing shot from @ElinaSvitolina! ? #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/6qHlQKCV2G
— WTA (@WTA) January 2, 2017
Puig showed flashes of her world-beating form throughout the encounter, but played overly aggressive, trying to end the points too quickly and was waylaid by her own unforced errors. She hit 36 errors to Svitolina’s 17 over the course of two sets, compared to 13 winners against Svitolina’s 15.
Svitolina rode out the assault and replied with her brand of pace and defensive skills, breaking twice in each set and never looking to be in too much trouble.
.@ElinaSvitolina slides past Puig 6-3, 6-3 in @BrisbaneTennis first round! pic.twitter.com/1mtZSewJWD
— WTA (@WTA) January 2, 2017
Awaiting Svitolina in the second round is Shelby Rogers, who opened her Brisbane account yesterday with a win over Eugenie Bouchard, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.
More to follow…
BEIJING, China – No.5 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova defeated wildcards Christina McHale and Peng Shuai on Friday to reach the China Open semifinals and extend their unbeaten run.
Titles at the US Open and Wuhan have established Mattek-Sands and Safarova as the form team on tour and despite falling an early break behind the always looked in control against McHale and Peng, closing out a 6-4, 6-2 victory after an hour and 10 minutes.
The next team charged with snapping their winning streak – which now stands at 14 matches – is Gabriela Dabrowski and María José Martínez Sánchez after they edged past recent BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global qualifiers Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova, 6-4, 6-4.
In the top half of the draw, top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic stayed on course for their first title since June thanks to a 6-4, 6-3 win over wildcards Timea Bacsinszky and Jelena Ostapenko. Meeting the French duo for a place in the final will be No.3 seeds Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan.
Demain, nous disputons notre 1/2f au @ChinaOpen ??????
Tomorrow 1/2f day at #ChinaOpen @WTA pic.twitter.com/q6pGCJP6CR— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) October 7, 2016
Venus and Serena Williams kicked off the 2017 season in Auckland, but their first match at the ASB Classic went a little differently than usual as they took on a pair of rugby stars, the All Blacks’ Julian & Ardie Savea.
A sellout crowd gathered at the ASB Tennis Arena to watch the two sibling duos battle it out for a good cause.
Ardie gamely swapped out the rugby ball for a tennis racquet…
…while Julian opted for a jumbo racquet to even out the competition.
“I couldn’t stop laughing!” Venus said.
The brothers admitted to being “kind of star struck” before the event, which included No.3 seed Caroline Wozniacki.
After taking on the Savea brothers, the Williams sisters took to opposite sides of the court for a doubles face off.
Serena said: “I’ve never been in Auckland and so I’ve never had an opportunity to be first in the world to welcome in this New Year, so this is a new experience for me. The fact that I’m still having new experiences this deep into my career makes me feel really good.”
The siblings plus Wozniacki commemorated the match with a selfie with the ASB Tennis Arena crowd.
All the fun and games went toward a good cause, with $65,000 being raised to help with earthquake relief efforts for the people of Kaikoura.
Serena, Caroline and Venus are set to play their first matches of the season on Tuesday.
Serena will take on Pauline Parmentier, Caroline will take on Nicole Gibbs and Venus will take on New Zealand’s Jade Lewis.