The Best Moments Of The WTA Frame Challenge
From Alizé Cornet’s record-shattering performance to Naomi Osaka’s record low, take a look back at all the best WTA Frame Challenge moments, and watch them all again right here!
From Alizé Cornet’s record-shattering performance to Naomi Osaka’s record low, take a look back at all the best WTA Frame Challenge moments, and watch them all again right here!
Highlights from final action at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
New York City is a never-ending source of inspiration, so it was not hard for Nike to create a stunning collection for the final Grand Slam of the season. Vibrant colors are often an integral part of the US Open tennis clothes, as the host city’s vibrancy asks for lively designs with energizing pops of color. Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog will present the new apparel Nike created for the most fashionable tennis tournament.
Having retained her number one ranking, Serena Williams is ready to continue to fight for it at the US Open, on top of being a leading candidate for claiming the top spot in the list of best dressed players at Flushing Meadows.
The predominant black of the American’s NikeCourt Power Dress reflects the glamor of the metropolis, while the exposed peeks of hyper pink in the pleats mimic the city’s neon lights. The dress also comes in white with pink highlights.
When it comes to performance, Nike paid special attention to equipping players for hot and humid summer days that hit the US Open, creating an engineered knit construction that combats the difficult weather conditions.
Madison Keys’ performance will be supported by lightweight mesh breathable material and perforated fabric of her NikeCourt Dry Slam Tank that pairs with the NikeCourt Flex Victory Skirt.
Pops of volt applied in a modern gradient way perfectly match the energy of the tournament, while skinny racerback and all-around knife pleats ensure optimal range of motion. Moreover, ultimate comfort is provided by the skirt’s built-in compression short and the option of choosing between two lengths.
On-court action is not everything there is to the US Open, so for all the work behind the scenes Nike created the practice collection. It includes the NikeCourt Baseline Tank equipped with Dri-FIT technology to keep players dry and comfortable, and the NikeCourt Baseline Short that comes in a wide variety of colors and features built-in knit jersey compression short, woven outer short with side vents, as well as tonal knit jersey side panel for enhanced mobility.
Elena Vesnina
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.115
Year-End Ranking: No.16 (Career-High No.16, 11/6/2016)
Season Highlights: Charleston RU, Doha, Eastbourne QF, Zhuhai RR
Best Major Result: SF (Wimbledon)
16 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! ? pic.twitter.com/LsjqFdzKWR
— WTA (@WTA) 16 de diciembre de 2016
2017 Outlook
Things were certainly at their darkest before Elena Vesnina enjoyed a new dawn in 2016. Outside the Top 100 for the first time in over a decade, the Russian was forced to play qualifying at the Australian Open and dropped to a low of World No.122 just before February.
“I thought it’d be very difficult to get my ranking back, and I felt that I had to win a lot of matches,” the 30-year-old told WTA Insider at the US Open. “I think I did well mentally, not putting much pressure on myself, and I was saying to myself: ‘If you’re good, you’re going to be back. If you’re not that good, then that’s it.’ You have to prove yourself, that you deserve to be there. It was a very hard moment at the beginning of the year.”
From that tough moment, Vesnina earned her first Top 10 win since 2013 – defeating then-World No.3 Simona Halep in Doha – and reached the Volvo Car Open final as a qualifier. Those early results foreshadowed a fairytale run into the semifinals of Wimbledon, where she upset doubles partner Ekaterina Makarova and future WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova at the All England Club.
“It’s just amazing how tennis can give you these possibilities, because you can try, and try, and if you’re brave enough, you can achieve it. It doesn’t matter how old you are, but I definitely appreciate it more now, than if I’d gotten it when I was 20. I made the fourth round of the Australian Open when I was 19, and for me, it was like, ‘Wow, it’s like a miracle!’ But I didn’t realize how it happened.
“Now I’ve been working through so many tough moments, working on my game, and my mentality. What I achieved now, I understand more why big results happen.”
Even bigger results came to Vesnina in doubles – pairing with Makarova to take home Olympic gold and WTA Finals glory – but the veteran heads into 2017 at a career-high ranking, with a Top 10 debut firmly in her sights.
An interview with Coco Vandeweghe after her first round win at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Make no mistake: Monica Puig was already a big deal in Puerto Rico before that Olympic medal was draped around her neck. But that Gold medal has shot her into the stratosphere of recognition back home. Now it’s time to bring tennis to Puerto Rico.
Puig staged her first exhibition last week in San Juan and by every metric, the Monica Puig Invitational was a blazing success.
The 24 year old became the first athlete to ever bring a Gold medal back to Puerto Rico, after beating Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the final of the Olympic tennis event. Her remarkable run, which saw her lose just one set and beat two reigning Grand Slam champions in Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza – not to mention two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova – was as inspiring as it was improbable.
The idea for the exhibition event came during Puig’s flight home. With no WTA tournaments currently staged in Puerto Rico, Puig told her agent Marijn Bal that she wanted a way to not only grow the sport back home but also give her family and fans an opportunity to see her play, not just this year but every year.
She wanted it to be an accessible event, affordable for a family of five to come and enjoy the atmosphere and the tennis. But most of all, she wanted it to be fun. Because if tennis is fun, there’s more of a chance the next Monica Puig might be sitting in the stands.
.@MariaSharapova & @MonicaAce93 show off their dance moves at the #MonicaPuigInvitational ??
Watch the match here: https://t.co/HsbVtAFjKw pic.twitter.com/rMuOWULDIu
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) December 16, 2016
A lively party atmosphere dominated the Coliseu de Puerto Rico, as a packed crowd of more than 12,0000 fans created a Fed Cup atmosphere as their hometown hero took on Maria Sharapova last Thursday. There was dancing, there was laughter, and there was shot-making throughout the match, which Puig won 6-3, 1-6, 10-6.
.@MonicaAce93 def. @MariaSharapova at the #MonicaPuigInvitational
Watch some of the best moments from the match: https://t.co/HShrYCSSTY pic.twitter.com/0ni6eRi4tv
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) December 16, 2016
“It’s been a really long time since I competed in front of fans, in front of spectators, to come out after so many months and compete in front of some of the most enthusiastic fans tonight….” an emotional Sharapova said to the crowd before being drowned out by cheers.
“I think tonight is a combination of a few things. First and most importantly it’s because of Monica. Without her career and without her path of what she achieved this summer at the Olympics none of us would be here tonight so a huge thank you. A huge thank you for the welcome.”
Thank you for the nice words. We did it and YOU killed it! Congrats on an amazing event, Puerto Rico is a special place. ?? https://t.co/YqNygOwpRJ
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) December 16, 2016
“Maria, before you go I just wanted again to thank you so much for coming to the first Monica Puig Invitational,” Puig said before addressing the arena in Spanish.
“Like I was telling you before and what I want all of Puerto Rico to know is the reason I invited Maria is because she is not only a great champion but a great ambassador to our sport. She has the values that represent a champion. She’s an amazing person, extremely funny, really really humble, and we’re going to work on the Spanish and the dancing, don’t worry!”
Puig hopes to make the event an annual exhibition, expanded over multiple days. This year, in addition to the exhibition itself, Puig and Sharapova also held a kids clinic, visited local dignitaries and VIPs. The event was organized in four months with Puig’s heavy involvement, as she and her agency IMG partnered with Ventana LLC, a local event promoter to implement Puig’s vision.
Puig’s personal sponsors, Universal Insurance, AT&T, Chrysler, and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company immediately answered the call to sponsor the event as well. In all, the exhibition served as a celebration of Puig’s journey to Olympic glory as well as a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped get her there.
Puig is currently doing her off-season training in Boca Raton and will start her season at the Brisbane International, which begins on January 1st.
All photos courtesy of Jimmie48 Tennis Photography.
DUBAI, UAE – Caroline Garcia booked the first spot into the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semifinals after a dominant win against Andrea Petkovic, 6-3, 6-4.
Into her career first Premier-level semifinal, 22-year-old Garcia continued turning promise into achievements as she took on the No.28 Petkovic, who had defeated her in both of her previous encounters.
“It was very difficult conditions, very windy,” Garcia said afterwards. “It’s never easy to play in these conditions so you have to be focused.
“I played pretty aggressive today but you have to against [Petkovic] – she’s a big fighter.”
Garcia broke early in the opening set to go up 3-1, staying toe-to-toe with the big hitting German. Petkovic’s serve, which had been ailing all match long, misfired at the worst time, producing three double faults to give Garcia set points before sending a forehand long to hand the French player the first set.
Garcia once again broke serve and consolidated quickly to start the second set with a 2-0 lead, but this time Petkovic fired back to stop the bleeding, breaking back and holding to level it out at 2-2. Garcia, a regular feature in the doubles draw, was deadly at the net and with her forehand, closing out the match at 6-4.
Petkovic’s second gave her plenty of trouble – she hit 10 double faults during the match – and Garcia masterfully exploited the weakness.
“That’s one where I was looking to improve, to put the pressure on my opponent, especially on her second serve,” Garcia said after the match. “She did some double faults so I tried to put a bit more pressure for those free points.”
In the second quarterfinal of the afternoon, Sara Errani came back from a set to down to defeat the resurgent Madison Brengle, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
More to come…
WTA Insider David Kane | World No.2 Angelique Kerber took some time to unwind in the city that started it all for the Australian Open champion.
Not long after checking in with fans and friends on Tennis Channel, Victoria Azarenka announced the birth of her first child late on Monday night.
The former No.1 began the season winning three titles in Brisbane and the elusive Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami, but left the tour back in July after announcing her pregnancy. Azarenka took to social media to share her first picture as a mother on Twitter:
Today I had my hardest fight and my very best victory! Our son was born healthy and happy! So thankful and blessed! Thank you ??❤ pic.twitter.com/zsoFRivnvQ
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) December 20, 2016
Her colleagues and fellow players extended their hearty congratulations to the two-time Australian Open champion on Twitter, as well:
@vika7 Congratulations on your new little family Vika! ?
— Laura Robson (@laurarobson5) December 20, 2016
@vika7 ahhhh! So glad everybody's good!!! Congrats !!????????
— Irina Falconi (@IrinaFalconi) December 20, 2016
@vika7 congratulations, amazing News? wish you all the best xx
— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) December 20, 2016
@vika7 поздравляю вас!! ❤?
— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) December 20, 2016
@vika7 congrats Vika!!
— rennae stubbs (@rennaestubbs) December 20, 2016
ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The WTA has announced the launch of WTA Charities, its first global philanthropic organization dedicated to making a positive social impact across the globe.
“I am very pleased to announce the formation of WTA Charities,” said Steve Simon, WTA CEO and Chairman. “This is an area that WTA has been actively involved in for years and we are now setting ourselves up to truly have a dedicated division for WTA and its members to make a lasting impact – in our tournament communities, by supporting our player’s charitable efforts and affiliations, along with our partner’s philanthropic initiatives.”
The WTA Charities Board of Directors has been established and will serve as advisors in the development and implementation of WTA Charities. The Board of Directors includes WTA CEO and Chairman Steve Simon, WTA Player Board Representative Dianne Hayes, WTA Tournament Council member Bob Moran, WTA Global Advisory Council member Jan Soderstrom and WTA alumnae Pam Shriver, Tracy Austin and Jennifer Capriati.
“WTA Charities is an important step for the WTA family to both leverage and focus our humanitarian efforts,” said Pam Shriver. “I have been involved in many charitable causes throughout my career and I’m so pleased to be a part of WTA Charities because we can be transformational in providing assistance and serving others with our global reach.”
WTA Charities’ various charitable initiatives will be introduced in January 2017 as the new season starts.
MISSION
The mission of WTA Charities is to be a social responsibility vehicle built on the WTA’s values to empower and provide for a better future. WTA Charities is dedicated to combining, strengthening and enhancing the community and charitable efforts of the WTA through its members (players, alumnae and tournaments), along with its partners.
PILLARS OF ACTION
There are 3 pillars of action within WTA Charities, each giving back in its own individual way:
1. Service – Directing community outreach and local efforts to give back to the communities that host WTA tournaments. Includes grassroots tennis programs that promote opportunity, personal achievement, self-esteem and respect.
2. Assistance – Aimed at providing assistance to those in need primarily through the WTA Assistance Program (WTAAP), helping members of the women’s professional tennis community who suffer from serious illness or other catastrophic loss.
3. Support – Reinforcing WTA member’s charitable initiatives through financial and promotional efforts and aligning with organizations that help advance lives through empowerment, equality and care for others.