Tennis News

BUCHAREST, Romania – Vania King toppled the No.8 seed Cagla Buyukakcay after a two-hour-and-twenty-minute battle, emerging victorious 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-1 to book her spot into the quarterfinals of the BRD Bucharest Open.

King’s victory today marks the first time she’s won back to back WTA main draw matches since July of 2014. She has been sidelined with a right knee injury for several months since then before making her return to the tour in August last year. Despite making deep runs into several ITF events, she’s struggled to put together WTA-level wins as she continues her comeback.

King is set to face Pauline Parmentier in the next round. The Frenchwoman fought through a tight first set to advance past Aliaksandra Sasnovich 7-6(3), 6-4.

More to come…

NEW HAVEN, CT, USA – As the WTA’s last stop before the US Open, the Connecticut Open in New Haven is known for having a stacked field. This year is no different, with 20 of the WTA’s Top 31 players set to feature at the Premier-level event.

Even more impressive, the tournament has announced a player field comprised entirely of players who will compete in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

“From a rankings perspective, all of these players would be seeded at a Grand Slam, which shows how deep and talented the player field is for the 2016 Connecticut Open,” said Tournament Director Anne Worcester. “From Grand Slam Champions to talented Americans to more than 20 Olympians – the field will be dynamic, international in flavor and extremely competitive.”

Four-time champion Caroline Wozniacki took the first wild card into New Haven in her quest for a record-breaking fifth title at the tournament.

Here’s the full list of players committed to play at this year’s Connecticut Open:
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Petra Kvitova
Jelena Jankovic
Caroline Wozniacki
Roberta Vinci
Madison Keys
Dominika Cibulkova
Karolina Pliskova
Timea Bacsinszky
Elina Svitolina
Sara Errani
Sloane Stephens
Kiki Bertens
Belinda Bencic
Johanna Konta
Daria Kasatkina
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Barbora Strycova
Ekaterina Makarova
Irina-Camelia Begu

The Connecticut Open, a Premier-level event and part of the Emirates Airline US Open Series, will be held August 19-27 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale. Tickets are on sale now – click here for more information.

BASTAD, Sweden – A relieved Anna Karolina Schmiedlova returned to winning ways with a straight set victory over Susanne Celik in the first round of the Ericsson Open on Monday afternoon.

Watch live action from Bastad, Stanford and Washington DC this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Schmiedlova’s 6-1, 6-3 win was her first at a WTA event since January and sets up a second-round meeting with either Katerina Siniakova and Jana Cepelova.

“I’m really happy that I won because I lost, I don’t know how many – I didn’t count – maybe 15 matches in a row, so it’s a special feeling and I’m very happy,” Schmiedlova said.

“It was a good match. She played well – I didn’t know her very well as I hadn’t played her – and I think she can be a good player. But I’m really happy that I won, even thought I was a little bit nervous at the end.”

If Schmiedlova was feeling pressure at the end, she masked it well, reeling off the final three games to close out a morale-boosting victory. Having lost so matches – many from commanding positions – the overriding feeling after finally making it across the line was of relief.

“I’ve been playing better the past weeks. I also played well at Roland Garros – I lost against Muguruza, but it was three sets and I really felt good. Also last week [in Bucharest] I lost from match point up, so I’ve already played tough matches and maybe today I was a little bit more experienced than her at this level,” she added.

Elsewhere in the top half of the draw, Karina Knapp defeated Denisa Allertova, 6-2, 6-4. Meanwhile, in the final round of qualifying, there were wins for Katerina Siniakova, Kateryna Kozlova, Lucie Hradecka, Jana Cepelova and Sara Sorribes Tormo.