Madison Keys’ Best Shots Of The Year
Madison Keys might be the youngest member of the WTA’s Top 10, but in 2016 she proved that she has the game to stay at the top. Watch all of Keys’ best shots of the year, right here!
Madison Keys might be the youngest member of the WTA’s Top 10, but in 2016 she proved that she has the game to stay at the top. Watch all of Keys’ best shots of the year, right here!
ROME, Italy – Serena Williams emerged victorious in the first all-American final since 2012 – the first on red clay since 2002 – defeating countrywoman Madison Keys, 7-6(5), 6-3, to snap a nine-month title drought and win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for the fourth time in her illustrious career.
Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!
“I feel like it was important for me to just go out there like usual,” she said in her post-match press conference. “It’s a totally new match, it’s a different week, you know, and hopefully just win one. If not, hope for next time, next week.”
Playing in her third final of 2016, Williams had spent the season in search of her first title since the Western & Southern Open last summer, and was the heavy favorite to break that duck against Keys, who was playing the biggest final of her career on what had hitherto been her least favorite surface.
“I think no matter how many times you play Serena, you always go in and you can just feel her presence,” Keys said after the match. “That’s always an extra thing that you have to be worried about during the match.
“But for me today it really wasn’t so much about how big the tournament was or anything like that. It was really just wanting to go out and do my best and give my best performance.”
None of that seemed to matter from the outset as Keys unlocked the early break, leading 3-1 in the first set. Williams steadied from there, winning the next three games and later grabbing the opening set in a tie-break.
“I think she’s such a powerful player,” Williams said, backing up her praise of Keys at net, when she predicted her opponent could be a future World No.1. “Obviously going in, I knew that, but I was just trying. I think I was pretty much able to just get back what I could, you know, and that’s all I was trying to do was just to go out there and be consistent, and, yeah, make my shots.”
Serving for the match in the second, there would be one final momentum shift as the 21-time Grand Slam champion was broken one game from the win, but the break was swiftly repaid in kind and Williams was the winner of a 70th career title – the fifth woman to achieve such a total in singles after Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, and Margaret Court. In all, she hit four fewer winners than Keys (13 to 17), but also eight fewer errors (24 to 32), and converted all but one of her six break point chances to seal the match in just under 90 minutes.
“I'm so proud of you. You can get to World No.1.”@SerenaWilliams to @Madison_Keys #ibi16 pic.twitter.com/LA7lzmOcC3
— WTA (@WTA) May 15, 2016
Missing the Mutua Madrid Open due to illness, Williams was playing her first red clay event of the season; the win in Rome sets her up in good stead to defend her French Open title as she attempts to win her fourth crown there, as well.
“I have tried to defend there once, twice, three times before. Didn’t quite work so well. But this year is different. I’m going to definitely go in there and I feel more calm and I don’t feel stress to, like, have to win. You know, I feel like I just am happy to be out here.”
For Keys, it was a breakthrough run; recently pairing with new coach Thomas Hogstedt, the 21-year-old is set to re-enter the Top 20 at No.17 – not too far from her career-high of No.16.
“I think having a couple of Top 10 wins this week was really big for me and playing people who have done very well in Roland Garros and just on clay in general. But I think the biggest thing is just how calm I have stayed on court and really, even in tough situations, stayed calm and collected and just really focused on my game, and I feel like I’m just playing much smarter tennis.”
INCREDIBLE court coverage @SerenaWilliams! ? #ibi16 https://t.co/aOYNs2ggSI
— WTA (@WTA) May 15, 2016
Serena Williams’ fourth Internazionali BNL d’Italia title provided an emphatic riposte to any doubting Thomases heading into the defense of her French Open crown
A series of sure-footed showings on the clay, particularly a semifinal dismantling of Svetlana Kuznetsova, underlined her status as the woman to beat at the year’s second major. The 900 points collected from her week in the Eternal City also saw Williams leapfrog Agnieszka Radwanska into third place on the Road To Singapore leaderboard.
By her own very high standards, Williams arrived in Rome on the back of a disappointing start to 2016, failing to collect silverware from her outings in Melbourne, Indian Wells or Miami. Nevertheless, she remained in the thick of the hunt for a place at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, a position she has consolidated with her 70th career title.
The American, a five-time WTA Finals winner, is now within striking distance of the leaderboard’s early pacesetters, Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka, and with 2,000 points up for grabs in Paris, there is remains the likelihood for further shuffling at the top of the pack.
Last week also provided the platform for a couple of other players to lay claim to a place in Singapore. The aforementioned Kuznetsova built on her Miami run with another encouraging showing that promoted her to the No.7 spot on the leaderboard, while Timea Bacsinszky’s is up to No.10 after reaching the quarterfinals
The week’s biggest mover, though, was eventual runner-up Madison Keys, whose wins over Petra Kvitova and Garbiñe Muguruza helped propel her from No.38 to No.12.
RTS Ranking Movers
Madison Keys: No.38 to No.12 (+26)
Irina-Camelia Begu: No.52 to No.26 (+26)
Misaki Doi: No.54 to No.35 (+19)
Garbiñe Muguruza: No.35 to No.17 (+18)
Click here to see the full Road To Singapore leaderboard standings heading into Paris.
STRASBOURG, France – Monica Puig recovered from a one-set deficit to upend top seed Sara Errani, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, to advance to the second round of the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
Puig had never lost to the 2012 French Open finalist in their two previous encounters, and though their first match-up on clay looked to give the Italian an advantage, the ultimate result wasn’t any different as the Puerto Rican star and 2014 champion hit six aces en route to a one hour and 45 minute victory.
“I’m really pleased to get the win here in Strasbourg, and it’s nice coming back as a former Champion,” she said after the match. “Errani is a really tough competitor, and after the first set, my head could have gone down, but I kept fighting and was really pleased with the victory, especially the third set score.”
For Errani, it marks the end of a difficult red clay swing; after a promising start and a run to the semifinals of the Volvo Car Open, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship winner went 0-3 in Madrid, Rome, and Strasbourg.
“I tried my best today but sometimes it just doesn’t go your way,” Errani said. “I felt strong after the first set but my game was a little off and I found the conditions tough.
“There was a time in the second set when it went 4-2 and I knew I was struggling. Then the third set happened. It’s never nice to go out in the first round but that’s tennis.”
Undaunted, the No.1 seed tried to find a silver lining in her early defeat.
“I haven’t had time to see the city yet but maybe before I go to Paris.”
Puig will next play lucky loser and former World No.16 Virginie Razzano, who defeated 2010 French Open quarterfinalist Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-3, 6-3.
Earlier in the day, No.3 seed Samantha Stosur continued her successful clay court season with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over American qualifier Lauren Davis, while No.8 seed Timea Babos went through Olga Govortsova 6-4, 6-1. No.10 seed Caroline Garcia was imperious in a 6-1, 6-2 win over Kirsten Flipkens, while qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni won a see-sawing 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 match against Qiang Wang.
No.2 seed Sloane Stephens had just leveled her first round match with Donna Vekic at one set apiece before the match was suspended, first due to rain, then darkness at 7-5, 2-6.
The entry list is out for the Hobart International, which begins on January 8th, with French Open semifinalist and World No.22 Kiki Bertens leading the International field that includes defending champion Alizé Cornet and fan favorites Jelena Jankovic and Andrea Petkovic. Last season, Cornet rolled to her first title in nearly two years, beating Eugenie Bouchard, 6-1, 6-2 in the final.
The field also includes two of the tour’s top teenagers, in No.47 Ana Konjuh and No. 48 Naomi Osaka.
Full Hobart Entry List:
No.22 Kiki Bertens
No.34 Anastasija Sevastova
No.38 Monica Niculescu
No.39 Alison Riske
No.40 Misaki Doi
No.41 Alizé Cornet
No.42 Kristina Mladenovic
No.47 Ana Konjuh
No.48 Naomi Osaka
No.49 Sara Errani
No.50 Johanna Larsson
No.51 Annika Beck
No.52 Katerina Siniakova
No.53 Julia Goerges
No.54 Jelena Jankovic
No.55 Andrea Petkovic
No.56 Viktorija Golubic
No.57 Lesia Tsurenko
No.59 Shelby Rogers
No.60 Kristyna Pliskova
No.62 Lucie Safarova
No.64 Galina Voskoboeva (SR)
No.65 Kirsten Flipkens
Simona Halep finished a third straight season as a Top 5 player, and credits some of her game’s biggest improvements to work done with coach Darren Cahill.
“I am more aggressive, but not crazy aggressive,” the Romanian told Forbes’ Danielle Rossingh during the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. “More smart aggressive because I cannot stay all the time close to the baseline. I have to go out and back and come in many times.
“I think I improved in myself, my forehand is stronger. We worked on every shot and I think all my game is better now.”
Halep believes another key improvement has come on serve, specifically her ball toss.
“He told me to change it, to toss it lower, and I think it helps me. I feel like the timing is better.”
The results began to come in streams by spring, when she won her second Premier Mandatory title at the Mutua Madrid Open, owned by countryman and Romanian tennis legend Ion Tiriac.
15-Love: Try saying “foot fault” 5x fast. @Simona_Halep was more than up for the challenge in our super-sonic Q&A challenge. #USOpen #Halep pic.twitter.com/YEYKc9OKFB
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) December 5, 2016
“He helps me with advice, he talks with me,” she said. Tiriac gave her a wildcard into Madrid back in 2013, a move Halep says kickstarted her pro career.
“He’s into my tennis and always we have a good discussion, sometimes he’s coming to my practices.”
A lot of his advice centers around Halep’s ultimate goal of Grand Slam glory; the former World No.2 reached the French Open final in 2014, and will aim to take that career-best major finish one step further in 2017.
“He tells me that I have everything to win a Grand Slam, I have just to believe. It’s good to have such an important man in my life and in my career.”
Click here to read the full interview with Halep as she discusses her celebrity status in Romania and the rise of Year-End No.1 Angelique Kerber.
Jovana Jaksic was on the precipice of a Top 100 debut at 21 years old; two years later, the big-hitting Serb has set out to make the 2017 season one in which she rebuilds a ranking beset by injuries and inconsistency.
“A lot of matches did not go my way in 2016,” she confesses in a blog entry posted on her official website. “My confidence went missing, I didn’t pick up the ranking points I needed; in truth I lost my way.”
Jaksic peaked at World No.102 in the spring of 2014, not long after reaching her first WTA final at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme – falling to friend and countrywoman, Ana Ivanovic. She later made a pair of Grand Slam main draw debuts at the French Open and Wimbledon, only to see much of that progress undone at the start of the next season.
“I got injured for seven months with my back, and I made the huge mistake of trying to play tournaments hurt, which was not helping me at all,” she explained to WTA Insider at the US Open in August. “I’d also started with a new coach, which made a new injury of my shoulder I ended up struggling with for six months. Still, I was trying to play.
“When you don’t defend your points and you drop, that’s when the mental part comes in, and you start overthinking because you’re nervous wanting to push for something. It never works when you try to force it, so I changed everything, my whole team, to clear out all that negative energy from my life.
“Now I can say I’m out from under. I feel like a bird that had a broken wing, but now I’m all better and pumped to play matches. I can do it, just have to keep practicing and working, it’s going to come.”
At the still-young age of 23, Jaksic strives to see her struggles as learning experiences, things she might grow from as her career continues.
“I learned that I need to listen to myself more and I need to trust myself,” she continues in her blog. “I learned that I need to find happiness in myself so that I can enjoy everything else in life. I learned that I need to have more rest in between practices so my body can recover better. I learned to listen to my body.”
Now coached by her mother, the Serb returns from a relaxing off-season ready to take control of her life and the game she’s loved since she was eight years old.
“I’ve really missed being on the court and hitting that little yellow thing. I miss the clarity of mind that I have on the court, where I am in control of everything. I miss creating those irreplaceable emotions of winning or losing. I can’t see myself doing anything other than playing tennis. It’s in my blood. It’s where I ‘feel’ the most, it makes me sad sometimes, sure, but it also brings me the greatest joy.
“So you know what? I can’t wait to be back in 2017. I am excited to work hard, I have no points to defend and many new lessons to learn. I thank you for staying with me on this crazy journey. Life in tennis is a rollercoaster, but it’s MY rollercoaster and I don’t want to get off.”
Click here to read Jaksic’s full post on jovanajaksic.net.
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!
22-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams took to Reddit, the platform co-founded by fiance Alexis Ohanian, to announce her engagement.
BRISBANE, Australia – The first Premier-level event of the season starts in earnest at the Brisbane International, with five of the WTA Finals’ Elite Eight headlining the field.
The draw is out and here’s a rundown of how Angelique Kerber, Dominika Cibulkova and more are starting the first tournament of the 2017 season.
Click here for the complete Brisbane singles and doubles draws.
POSSIBLE QUARTERFINALS:
[1] Angelique Kerber vs [6] Elina SvitolinaEARLY MATCHES TO WATCH:
Monica Puig vs [6] Elina Svitolina: Two of the fastest rising stars on the tour will meet in the first round as Olympic gold medalist Puig takes on Zhuhai finalist Svitolina. Their head-to-head record is split at one apiece.
Samantha Stosur vs [4] Garbiñe Muguruza: Brisbane’s own Stosur’s first opponent at her home tournament will be Muguruza. Their head-to-head record is split at one win apiece, with the Spaniard defeating Stosur en route to her French Open title.
As the top two seeds, Kerber and Cibulkova received a bye into the second round. Kerber awaits the winner between Australian wildcard Ashleigh Barty and a qualifier, while Cibulkova will face either Laura Siegemund or Zhang Shuai.
Key information, where to watch and more: everything you need to know about Brisbane.
KERBER AND CIBULKOVA’S ROAD TO THE FINAL:
Should last year’s finalist Kerber advance to the quarterfinals, she could be looking at an early taste of revenge, with a potential encounter against Monica Puig – who defeated her in the final at the Olympic tennis event in Rio – or Elina Svitolina – who ousted her from the China Open.
It doesn’t get any easier from there, with her 2016 nemesis Karolina Pliskova or Roberta Vinci drawn as potential semifinal opponents.
For Cibulkova, a handful of dangerous floaters stand between her and the final. Elena Vesnina, who starts against the tricky Alizé Cornet, is a potential quarterfinal opponent, while the semifinals could hold Garbiñe Muguruza and Svetlana Kuznetsova.