Montréal: Kerber Interview
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup.
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup.
Ball kids, chair umpires, physios and more: take a look back at the best of WTA Behind the Tour!
An interview with Jelena Jankovic after her win in the first round of the Apia International Sydney.
Svetlana Kuznetsova has Friday’s shot of the day at the Rogers Cup.
MELBOURNE, Australia – There were some major moves on the new WTA Rankings this week – Agnieszka Radwanska going from No.5 to No.4, Angelique Kerber from No.10 to No.7, and Victoria Azarenka from No.22 to No.16 after winning her first WTA title since 2013 at the Brisbane International.
With Top 4, Top 8 and Top 16 seeds so critical at majors, those moves couldn’t have come at a better time, as these rankings are the ones the seeds are made from for the first major of the year.
With that, here are the projected seeds for the Australian Open:
(1) Serena Williams (USA #1)
(2) Simona Halep (ROU #2)
(3) Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #3)
(4) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #4)
(5) Maria Sharapova (RUS #5)
(6) Petra Kvitova (CZE #6)
(7) Angelique Kerber (GER #7)
(8) Venus Williams (USA #10)
(9) Karolina Pliskova (CZE #11)
(10) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP #12)
(11) Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #13)
(12) Belinda Bencic (SUI #14)
(13) Roberta Vinci (ITA #15)
(14) Victoria Azarenka (BLR #16)
(15) Madison Keys (USA #17)
(16) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #18)
(17) Sara Errani (ITA #19)
(18) Elina Svitolina (UKR #20)
(19) Jelena Jankovic (SRB #21)
(20) Ana Ivanovic (SRB #22)
(21) Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #23)
(22) Andrea Petkovic (GER #24)
(23) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #25)
(24) Sloane Stephens (USA #26)
(25) Samantha Stosur (AUS #27)
(26) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #28)
(27) Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK #29)
(28) Kristina Mladenovic (FRA #30)
(29) Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU #31)
(30) Sabine Lisicki (GER #32)
(31) Lesia Tsurenko (UKR #33)
(32) Caroline Garcia (FRA #34)
** Flavia Pennetta (ITA #8) and Lucie Safarova (CZE #9) would have been seeded but are not competing at the Australian Open due to retirement (Pennetta) and bacterial infection (Safarova).
Simona Halep takes on Angelique Kerber in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup.
Madison Keys has confirmed she is once again working with former No.1 Lindsay Davenport as her coach.
Under Davenport’s tutelage, the 21-year-old American made her first major semifinal in 2015, beating Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams to make the Australian Open semifinals. Their partnership ended after that season due to scheduling problems, but Keys confirmed on Friday that Davenport will be her coach in 2017.
“I am very excited to be working with Lindsay again as she’s helped me reach great results in the past and we make an excellent team,” Keys wrote on Twitter.
Unfortunately the partnership won’t debut on court for at least another month. Keys also announced she would be unable to compete at the Australian Open next month as she is still recovering from off-season arthoscopic wrist surgery. When entry lists were released earlier this month, Keys’ name was notably absent from any Australian Open lead-up tournaments.
“While I’ve been training with Lindsay and at USTA in Orlando for a few weeks, I don’t want to rush back and need to take my time to be fully able to perform at my best on court,” Keys said.
pic.twitter.com/MoWzWDoq80
— Madison Keys (@Madison_Keys) December 23, 2016
Keys is coming off her most consistent season to date, finishing the season at No.8 after qualifying for her first BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in October. After the season she announced a surprise split with veteran coach Thomas Hogstedt due to personality conflicts.
With Davenport she has reunited with a close friend and mentor who has keen insight into Keys’ familiar, powerful game.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Victoria Azarenka’s revival at the Brisbane International, where she stormed to her first WTA title in almost two and a half years without losing a set, couldn’t have come at a better time, with her favorite Grand Slam – the Australian Open – just a matter of days away.
She’s hoping her journey back to the top of the tennis world will continue at the Happy Slam.
“I’m excited to follow my journey. I’m excited to live my journey,” Azarenka said. “It’s a great feeling. Stay in the moment, be present – I’m really enjoying this moment. I think it’s precious. So I just want to enjoy that and see how I feel tomorrow, see what I want to do, and just try to keep going.
“The focus is still very much on Melbourne. I’m going to do everything I can to prepare and feel the most comfortable to start the tournament. I can’t wait to be in Melbourne. I love the city.”
After three blockbuster seasons – she finished 2011 at No.3, 2012 at No.1 and 2013 at No.2 – the injury bug bit Azarenka hard, limiting her to just nine tournaments in 2014 and 14 in 2015, and at one point pushing her as far down as No.50 in the world, her lowest ranking since all the way back in 2007.
But the Brisbane title propelled her from No.22 to No.16 on this week’s WTA Rankings, not just guaranteeing her a Top 16 seed for the Australian Open, but her highest ranking since August 2014.
The former World No.1 isn’t calling this a comeback, though. “I don’t think there’s a name for it,” she told reporters in Brisbane. “I think it’s more for you guys to put as a headline. For me, it’s like you’re reading a book, and you just turn the page. That part of it was over – you just flip the page.
“I think that’s really exciting. And I can’t wait to read the next page.”
That next page will be written at the Australian Open, and it’s her best Grand Slam for a reason – she won her first two Grand Slam titles there in 2012 and 2013, beating Maria Sharapova and Li Na in those two finals, respectively, and even through her injury-marred seasons since then she still made it deep, reaching the quarterfinals in 2014 (falling to Agnieszka Radwanska) and the fourth round in 2015 (falling to Dominika Cibulkova). She’s also won 35 of her last 39 matches in Australia, period.
And given she’s been Serena Williams’ toughest match-up the last few years – she’s the last player to beat the World No.1 in a final, at Cincinnati in 2013, and she pushed her to three sets in all three of their meetings in 2015 – could a rejuvenated Belarusian be the one to stop Williams Down Under?
Tell us what you think: Can Azarenka win a third Australian Open crown this year?
MONTRÉAL, Canada – For the players taking part in the 2016 Rogers Cup, it was more than just ranking points and prize money at stake in the competition: there was an extra prize up for grabs for the tournament winners.
Extra motivation for @roberta_vinci @CoupeRogers: If you make the final you get tickets to @celinedion. She wants them.
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) July 24, 2016
Though Roberta Vinci didn’t reach the final (and we didn’t get to hear her sing), plenty of WTA players were in attendance on to see Celine Dion’s triumphant return to Montréal, where she was kicking off the first of 10 concerts in the city.
Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova, who teamed up to win the Rogers Cup trophy in doubles, didn’t miss the chance to see the singer live, making sure to record every moment.
Amazing show #CelineDionMTL Thank you @CoupeRogers for the tickets?She is so real!!!❤️?#ofcoursetitanicsong pic.twitter.com/oOiI4KmhZq
— Elena Vesnina (@EVesnina001) August 1, 2016
#CelineDionMTL ??? pic.twitter.com/gzFftMzycd
— Elena Vesnina (@EVesnina001) August 1, 2016
Концерт #celindion Спасибо большое турниру rogers_cup за билеты! Это было очень круто, она такая… https://t.co/KR2gsgGofk
— Kate Makarova (@katemakarova1) August 1, 2016
The tournament’s other champion, Simona Halep, who featured in both the singles and doubles finals, was too exhausted to make the show. She wasn’t too cut up about it though, having already seen the Queen of Pop live a few months ago.
Q. If you make the final, you get tickets to a concert tonight.
SIMONA HALEP: You think I’m able to go? I have one more match. I saw Celine in March when I was in Vegas. I will see her soon, but not tonight.
Meanwhile, Canada’s No.1 Eugenie Bouchard was at the concert, too, and she nabbed the ultimate selfie with her iconic countrywoman before the show began.
QUEEN pic.twitter.com/jnOTErpKhR
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) July 31, 2016
Celine's voice makes me feel emotions I didn't know I had ??? pic.twitter.com/OJniYVmGpd
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) August 1, 2016
Born on November 6, 1987, Ivanovic made her WTA debut in 2003, and played her first main draw in 2004. By the start of 2005, Ivanovic won her first of 15 career titles in Canberra, where, as a qualifier, she earned the rare distinction of beating the same player twice at the same event. She ousted Melinda Czink in the final round of qualifying, and later in the final.
A few months after winning her first title, Ivanovic burst out onto the global stage with a big win over Amélie Mauresmo en route to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros.
Ana was quickly becoming a household name as she cultivated a legion of fans, who tuned in to watch her win her second career title in 2006, defeating Martina Hingis in straight sets at the Rogers Cup.
In just her third French Open appearance, Ivanovic roared into her first major final, dispatching Maria Sharapova in the semifinals with the loss of just three games.
Ana finished runner-up to Justine Henin, but it was clear a star had been born.
Proving to be a player for all surfaces, Ivanovic went on to the very next major – the 2007 Wimbledon Championships – and reached the semifinals, winning a classic encounter against Nicole Vaidisova along the way.
Ivanovic played her third major semifinal out of four at the 2008 Australian Open, where she staged an odds-defying comeback against Daniela Hantuchova to reach her second Grand Slam final.
Ana was proving more ready for primetime, losing a tense two-setter to Sharapova in Melbourne. Undaunted, Ivanovic went on to win the BNP Paribas Open, but the best was yet to come.
It all came together for Ivanovic that year in Paris, where she played her best tennis of her career to win her maiden major title.
Ana mounted another epic comeback against countrywoman Jelena Jankovic in the semifinals, which helped her become one of just 22 women in WTA history to ascend to World No.1. Ivanovic held onto the top spot for a total of 12 weeks.
Ivanovic was on top of the world, defeating Dinara Safina in straight sets to not only win her first match as No.1, but also the 2008 French Open title.
As champion, Ivanovic earned $1.55 million; throughout her career, she earned $15.5 million on the court, the 20th-highest total of all time.
Injuries and inconsistencies plagued her next two seasons, but the Serb still showed some thrilling tennis indoors, winning back-to-back titles at the WTA Tournament of Champions in Bali, along with two titles in three years in Linz.
Ana achieved the Career Last Eight Club honor at the 2012 US Open. Reaching her first quarterfinal in Flushing, Ivanovic fell to eventual champion Serena Williams.
Ivanovic avenged the loss less than two years later, where she took one of the biggest wins of her career at the 2014 Australian Open, outlasting the then-World No.1 in three sets.
Ivanovic qualified for the WTA Finals three times in her career; her stellar 2014 season helped her return to Singapore for the first time since 2008.
After winning a career-best four titles and 58 matches in 2014, Ivanovic kicked off 2015 by playing one of the best finals of the year, narrowly losing the Brisbane International final to Sharapova in a three-set thriller.
The rest of 2015 saw her struggle with more injuries, but the Serb saved some magic for the French Open, reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal since 2008 at the tournament where it all began for Ivanovic.
Ivanovic qualified for three Olympic Games, playing two in 2012 and 2016. Her last Olympic appearance came in Rio de Janeiro.
Ivanovic played her final career match at the US Open, and announced her retirement on Wednesday, December 28, 2016.