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Photos | WTA Tennis English

Photos | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970
Simona Halep was all smiles as she snapped a photo next to the iconic “AO” sign.

Simona Halep was all smiles as she snapped a photo next to the iconic “AO” sign.

Former No.1 Venus Williams got a hero’s welcome to Melbourne Park from all of the Australian Open’s ball kids.

Former No.1 Venus Williams got a hero’s welcome to Melbourne Park from all of the Australian Open’s ball kids.

She was joined by little sister Serena, with whom she’s set to play doubles for the first time since the Olympics.

She was joined by little sister Serena, with whom she’s set to play doubles for the first time since the Olympics.

The ball kids were back in action again as World No.1 Angelique Kerber joined fellow defending champion Novak Djokovic for a stroll through the grounds.

The ball kids were back in action again as World No.1 Angelique Kerber joined fellow defending champion Novak Djokovic for a stroll through the grounds.

The pair had one last photoshoot with their respective trophies before the tournament got underway.

The pair had one last photoshoot with their respective trophies before the tournament got underway.

Australia’s Daria Gavrilova had a fun taste at Woolworths Summer Sensorium joined by – you guessed it – more Australian Open ball kids.

Australia’s Daria Gavrilova had a fun taste at Woolworths Summer Sensorium joined by – you guessed it – more Australian Open ball kids.

Gavrilova was back on the tennis court later for Australian Open Kids Day.

Gavrilova was back on the tennis court later for Australian Open Kids Day.

Is that a big enough racquet for you Dasha?!

Is that a big enough racquet for you Dasha?!

Gavrilova was joined by a host of ATP stars and a cast of colorful characters.

Gavrilova was joined by a host of ATP stars and a cast of colorful characters.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams got to meet the next generation of Australian stars at a Wilson event with Destanee Aiava and Jaimee Fourlis.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams got to meet the next generation of Australian stars at a Wilson event with Destanee Aiava and Jaimee Fourlis.

Serena is seeking record-breaking Grand Slam No.23 in Melbourne, as well as a return to World No.1.

Serena is seeking record-breaking Grand Slam No.23 in Melbourne, as well as a return to World No.1.

British No.1 Johanna Konta was thrilled to be back in Melbourne where her huge breakthrough started.

British No.1 Johanna Konta was thrilled to be back in Melbourne where her huge breakthrough started.

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Konta & Schiavone Put On A Show

Konta & Schiavone Put On A Show

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MONTERREY, Mexico – Francesca Schiavone and Johanna Konta – two of the Abierto Monterrey Afirme’s top seeds – went to downtown Monterrey to play street tennis right outside the Palacio Municipal. They put on an exhibition match for the crowd and gave the fans a taste what’s to come this week in Monterey.

See the best photos – including some trick shots from Schiavone – right here, courtesy of the Abierto Monterrey Afirme.

Johanna Konta

Francesca Schiavone

Francesca Schiavone

Francesca Schiavone

Johanna Konta

Johanna Konta

Francesca Schiavone    Francesca Schiavone

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Serena & Maria Hit The Oscars

Serena & Maria Hit The Oscars

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA – Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are legends on the court and megastars off of it and on Sunday night they took a break from their Indian Wells preparations, stepping out for the star-studded 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles.

On the tennis court, white dresses are typically reserved for the lawns of Wimbledon, but the players changed things up for the world-famous after-party. Sharapova turned heads in her Preen By Thornton Bregazzi dress and Williams sported a dramatic Galia Lahav lace gown, along with a sleek new haircut.

Check out the night’s best pictures as Sharapova and Williams rubbed elbows with Caitlyn Jenner, Kate Upton, Kerry Washington and more, courtesy of Getty Images and Vanity Fair:

Serena Williams    Maria Sharapova

Erin Foster, Sara Michael Foster, Elizabeth Banks, Maria Shrapova, Kate Upton

Maria Sharapova and Caitlyn Jenner

Serena Williams and Kerry Washington  

Serena Williams and Roger Federer

The Oscars also played out on social media, too, with everyone weighing in and showing plenty of love for the night’s biggest winners.

Check out what WTA players had to say about Leonardo DiCaprio, who took home his first Academy Award for Best Actor:

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Siegemund Wins Mixed Title With Pavic

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – A journey which began waiting around at the tournament supervisor’s office ended with Laura Siegemund and Mate Pavic hoisting aloft their first Grand Slam trophy on tennis’ grandest stage.

In front of an unashamedly partisan Arthur Ashe crowd, Siegemund and Pavic spoiled the party by upsetting No.7 seeds CoCo Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram, 6-4, 6-4.

“I’m just stunned a little bit at this point. I’m very happy. I think we played a great match today, Siegemund said. “We did play a great tournament. All the other matches were, yeah, very solid also in the important situations, although we never played together.

“So it’s just amazing that even in the finals we could just play the same, you know, stay focused and stick to the system that was working the whole week. He was, as the British say, cool as a cucumber. He was cooler than me maybe at times. I was very glad about that.”

Despite both teams carving out several chances, the first set went on serve until 4-4, before a mistake at the net from Vandeweghe leading to the ultimately decisive break. The unseeded duo continued to exert the pressure in the second set breaking Vandeweghe to secure a milestone victory.

“In all the matches that we played, we broke the guy’s serve a lot of times,” Pavic said. “Like even today Rajeev was serving big and we broke his serve twice.

“We were putting the balls back, returning good, makes the them feel pressure and then it’s not easy to make the point. So I think that make a huge difference in all the matches that we played so far.”

More to follow…

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Chang Trips Up Vinci In Malaysian Opener

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – World No.153 Chang Kai-Chen provided further evidence of the current strength in depth on tour by knocking out Roberta Vinci in the first round of the BMW Malaysian Open.

Watch live action from Monterrey & Kuala Lumpur this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Following a succession of surprise results during the WTA’s recent double-header in Dubai and Doha, Chang became the latest underdog to have her day, producing a rousing early evening comeback to defeat top seed Vinci, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1.

The result, though, is by no means an isolated one. In fact, Chang has made a habit of defeating Top 10 players, Vinci joining a list that also includes Dinara Safina, Marion Bartoli and Samantha Stosur.

“It’s always an honor to play a Top 10 player and I really enjoyed the whole match,” Chang said. “I told myself after the first set to be more patient, so I slowed everything down, kept more balls in and just played with her. The result came out well!

“She’s very difficult to play because she slices and spins it, and I’m very happy I could win this match.”

No.2 seed Elina Svitolina fared better rather better in her first-round outing, requiring only 47 minutes to defeat qualifier Miyu Kato.

There were mixed fortunes for Svitolina in the Middle East, as a semifinal in Dubai was followed by a surprise first-round loss to Denisa Allertova in Doha. And Svitolina took out her frustration on qualifier Kato, breaking five times, whilst giving up just seven points on her own serve, en route to a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

Equally impressive was Svitolina’s next opponent, Risa Ozaki, who defeated Elizaveta Kulichkova, 6-0, 6-2.

“I’ll try and do the same thing – play the ball and not the opponent, which is the most important thing to me,” Svitolina said. “I think she’s playing well. She had a good win today and it’s always tough to play a qualifier, because they’ve had a couple of matches and it’s completely different conditions here than to Doha and Dubai.”

A fixture inside the Top 20 for the best part of a year now, Svitolina is flying the flag for Ukrainian tennis and this summer will have the opportunity to represent her motherland on the greatest sporting stage of all.

“The Olympics is a big event. It’s the first time for me so it’s going to be a really different experience and it’s amazing that I’m going to represent my country and play for Ukraine. It’s just a great thing.”

After last year’s French Open, Svitolina overtook Alona Bondarenko as Ukraine’s highest-ranked player of all time, a status that is a source of great pride: “It feels really great since I am the highest ever Ukrainian woman. So for me it was a big thing after Roland Garros when I became one of the highest.”

Elsewhere there were wins for Naomi Broady, Zarina Diyas and Yang Zhaoxuan.

Diyas caused the day’s biggest upset, knocking out No.4 seed Annika Beck, 7-5, 6-3. Broady, meanwhile, fired down 17 aces to win a see-saw encounter with Klara Koukalova, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and Zhaoxuan fought back to defeat No.8 seed Zheng Saisai, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

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