Tennis News

For the first time since 2004, Venus Williams will hit the US hard courts to prepare for the Olympic games. That preparation will begin at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, which begins one week after Wimbledon. It will be Venus’ third appearance in Stanford in the last decade.

“The Olympics is such a highlight, but at the same time it’s important to play tournaments so you can continue with success on the tour,” Venus told reporters via a conference call on Wednesday. “Also for me it’s making sure I have a little bit of a break. This year I’ve been very successful. I will be starting out with Bank of the West, then playing one more event, then heading off to Rio is my plan.” Venus is also entered in the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

The Olympics are set to take place from August 6-14, between the Rogers Cup and Western & Southern Open. In the last two Olympic cycles Venus has gone into the Olympics with no tournament play after Wimbledon but she sought a change this year.

“Being at home, being able to just play in the US, and there’s not as many opportunities as there was when I first started to play in the US, so it’s become really special at this point,” Venus said. “It really becomes the last opportunity to do so until March. I really cherish that.”

Venus’ history with Stanford goes way back. A two-time champion, Venus played her first pro tournament in 1994, when the event was held across the Bay in Oakland. As an unseeded 14-year-old she won her first WTA match, beating No.58 Shaun Stafford, and took a set off top seed Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario before losing, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0. Over the years she has made the final seven times, winning in 2000 and 2002. The only tournament at which she’s made more finals? Wimbledon.

“I love hardcourts,” Venus said. “A lot of people think my favorite surface is grass, but actually I grew up on hardcourts, so I prefer that. I feel right at home on it.”

As Venus readies for her fifth Olympics — she’s qualified for both singles and doubles with sister Serena – she’s already embracing the Olympic experience. No one loves the Olympics more than Venus. The four-time Olympic gold medalist has already debuted her red, white, and blue dress for the games, designed by her clothing label EleVen.

“My dress at the Olympics is always inspired by Wonder Woman,” Venus said. “Each and every Olympics it’s Wonder Woman as the inspiration. It never changes. I’ll probably do a special Olympic hair, though. Maybe I’ll come back with colored hair. I haven’t done that in a while.”

One of the activities both Venus and Serena have made an enduring commitment to at the Olympics: Pin trading. Venus has says she’ll pull out her massive pin collection every once in a while to relive past games, but collecting pins isn’t necessarily about the pins.

“Once you start trading pins, you find out it’s about meeting people,” Venus said. “That experience of meeting somebody you’ll maybe never see again, but the connection you have with them, the joy you have from meeting them, that is the best part of it all. It’s an interesting byproduct that you don’t expect. Then you have your pins for memories when you look back to remember those times at the Olympics. That’s awesome as well.”

The Bank of the West Classic will kick off its 46th year on July 18th. Along with Venus, Agnieszka Radwanska, Dominika Cibulkova, CoCo Vandeweghe, and Nicole Gibbs have also entered the event.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

Aegon Classic Birmingham, Ann Jones Centre Court, 1.30pm

Watch live action from Sunday’s Birmingham final on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

[7] Madison Keys (USA #16) vs. Barbora Strycova (CZE #30)
Head-to-head: Keys leads 2-1
Final Fact: Keys has served 33 aces in her four matches in Birmingham, compared with the 53 she hit in the entire clay court season (14 matches).

In her post-match press conference following an impressive semifinal win over the in-form CoCo Vandeweghe, Barbora Strycova was typically forthcoming about the challenge awaiting her in the final.

Madison Keys is the opponent. And a familiar one at that; the pair met twice during the clay court season, Keys prevailing first in Madrid, then again in a far tighter encounter in Rome.

“I go into that match to, I don’t want to say with nothing to lose, but it’s a final. It can change many things. It’s on grass and I like to play on grass. It’s going to be a totally different match,” Strycova said. “The last match in Rome was really tough one. I lost 6-3 in the third.

“But she’s a great player. I have to bring some good tennis.”

Keys took the latest step on her path to greatness on Saturday, confirming her ascension to the Top 10 by overcoming a rocky start to defeat Carla Suárez Navarro. It was not her only moment of anxiety en route to the final either; in the previous round she trailed by a set and a break to Jelena Ostapenko.

A devastating serve, thudding groundstrokes off either wing and the desire to move up the court at any opportunity make the American’s game ideally suited to grass – her only previous title came on the surface, two years ago in Eastbourne.

Unsurprisingly, she is not backwards in coming forwards on her love of the lawns: “This is the only surface that I have a title on. Obviously, it’s one of my favorites. It definitely suits my game. I feel pretty comfortable playing on it. Hopefully, I can win a couple more tournaments on this. I would love to do well at Wimbledon whenever I can.

“I’m not going to sit here and say I’m going to win Wimbledon, but obviously, I’d really like to!”

While Keys has stuttered at time in the past two rounds, Strycova has dropped just one set all week. However, the at time biblical rain England’s second city has been subjected to this week has ensured her path to the finals – alongside Karolina Pliskova she is also still in the hunt for the doubles title – has been far from straightforward. Indeed, over the past two days she has played five matches, spending a fraction under seven hours on court.  

Road To The Final
Madison Keys
First Round: d. Timea Babos, 76(3) 64 (1:27)
Second Round: d. [Q] Tamira Paszek, 61 63 (0:58)
Quarterfinals: d. Jelena Ostapenko, 67(1) 64 62 (1:59)
Semifinals: d. [6] Carla Suárez Navarro, 36 63 76(3) (1:42)

Barbora Strycova
First Round: d. [8] Karolina Pliskova, 64 76(7) (2:02)
Second Round: d. Heather Watson, 75 64 (1:40)
Quarterfinals: d. Tsvetana Pironkova, 62 75 (1:35)
Semifinals: d. CoCo Vandeweghe, 26 64 63 (2:10)