Tennis News

MELBOURNE, Australia – CoCo Vandeweghe played impeccable tennis to continue a career-best run, dispatching No.7 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, 6-4, 6-0 to reach the Australian Open semifinals.

“It’s amazing to be in a semifinal,” she said in her post-match press conference. “But, you know, not satisfying. I want to keep going, keep playing. There’s more things to do out on a tennis court that I’m hoping to achieve.”

Vandeweghe might have been forgiven for having a letdown less than 48 hours after defeating World No.1 and defending champion Angelique Kerber in the previous round.

But with the help of coach Craig Kardon, it was clear the unseeded American came to play from the outset, earning break points in the very first game against Muguruza, who was playing in her first major quarterfinal since winning Roland Garros.

“I thought I took care of the things that I could control, which is the most important thing: not letting outside factors affect anything that was happening.

“It’s kind of weathering the storm a little bit, knowing what Craig and I talked about before the match: the game plan is going to work, and believing in it, not wavering from it, which I’m very proud of myself for doing, especially early in the first set when I was kind of squandering quite a few break points.”

The first set came down to one break of serve, which Vandeweghe converted and never looked back, losing just one more game in one hour and 23 minute masterclass.

“Maybe I play better nervous and scared. I don’t know. I think I don’t shy away from a challenge necessarily. I never have. Growing up, I’ve always just been wanting to prove people wrong in a lot of different regards.

“I think it’s more that I take it as an enjoyable challenge. It’s what I want to do. It’s where I want to be. To face the best players is definitely an accomplishment, to say for myself that I’ve gotten to the point that I’ve beat and face these top players.”

By the end of the match, she hit 31 winners to 20 unforced errors, handcuffing the typically aggressive Muguruza, holding the Spaniard to only 14 winners against 16 errors.

“I was surprised,” Muguruza said after the match. “I think she played unbelievable. Three times we played in the past, she didn’t show this level.

“Her serve, her shots were there. She barely missed. So it was a pretty good performance from her.”

Standing between Vandeweghe and her first Grand Slam final is No.13 seed and former No.1 Venus Williams, who is playing her first Australian Open semifinal since 2003.

“It’s a dream to play someone you grew up watching. To play an unbelievable player, future Hall of Famer in Venus, and to be on the court with her, I’ve only experienced it one time before.

“But to do it at this stage of a Grand Slam is kind of crazy. I mean, I can’t really put it into words. Not only when I was younger, it was unknown if I even wanted to play tennis, because I was playing basketball as well, but it was kind of, like, you see that, you see it happening, but you more see yourself there. You don’t see who the opponent is on the other side when you get there.

“To definitely have two Americans against each other in the semifinal I think is pretty cool.”

.@CoCoVandey reflects on her game… “It was like a freight train, you couldn't stop it.” #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/CMzpFOK5H1

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2017

Madison Keys single-handedly ended two surprising droughts during a water-logged week in Birmingham, England. By winning the Aegon Classic on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Barbora Strycova, the 21-year-old became the first American woman in 17 years to make her Top 10 debut, and ended her own two-year title drought dating back to 2014 (Eastbourne).

The last American woman to make her Top 10 debut? Serena Williams in 1999.

WTA Insider caught up with Keys after her milestone week in Birmingham.

WTA Insider: Congratulations on the title at the Aegon Classic. How do you feel?
Keys: I feel great. I think it’s definitely the best outcome I could have had and really happy I was able to get this many matches on grass leading into Wimbledon.

WTA Insider: It wasn’t an easy week in Birmingham with the weather. You seemed to handle all of it well. You didn’t get distracted or anything. Do you agree?
Keys: Yeah, I do. I was pretty lucky with how my matches seemed to go. I don’t think I had any rain delays once the match started and never had to play two matches in one day so I  was pretty lucky. But there were definitely was times I didn’t think the tournament would get to the final.

WTA Insider: You played incredibly well in the first set. The second set Barbora came back and started throwing more variety at you. You had to save break points. In the past, that’s a set you lose. That wasn’t the case today.
Keys: Yeah, I was definitely expecting her level to raise. I think as well as I played in the first set, I don’t think she played her best, so definitely was expecting it. There were a couple of break points that I had where she just came up with a serve or a shot that was too good. That was a little bit frustrating. But I was really happy that I was able to figure my way out of some really tough service games where I was down a break point and things weren’t going as easily as they were in the first set.

But I agree, I think it was was a set that in the past I definitely could have lost and it could have changed the match. So really happy with the personal growth I feel that I’ve had.

Such a great week in Birmingham. Thanks for all the support!! ??? pic.twitter.com/DmPSPBZznQ

— Madison Keys (@Madison_Keys) June 19, 2016

WTA Insider: Talk about dealing with adversity in matches. Do you feel like you’re not panicking as much in those moments?
Keys: I think not panicking is a huge aspect of it. A sense of calm that no matter what happens you’re always in a match, even you can be down 5-0 in the second set and you can come back and win. Knowing that has really kind of helped me calm down and really help me take each game point-by-point, and not thinking oh I’m down 0-40 I have to win three points.

I feel like sometimes I would have the tendency to try and win three points in one. So I’d try and hit harder, hit an ace, just to get back to even as quick as possible. So I think that sense of calm has really helped me and really helped my game.

WTA Insider: You’ve talked about wanting to improve your consistency. You’ve now made the final in Rome, a good run at the French Open, and now the title. Is it just all coming together, or that you’re healthy? Talk about the last month, month and a half or so.
Keys: I just feel really good. I feel like my team has come together and I’ve had a lot of great support.

But I also feel like it’s just all slowly coming into my game. I feel like for me I almost have too many options sometimes where I know I can get away with hitting a winner 10 feet behind the baseline and it might go in three out of 10 times, but having that option makes me think about it. So I think just sticking to basics has really helped me. It’s been a lot of hard work but I think the practices that I had with a really solid team has really helped me in matches.

WTA Insider: You’re into the Top 10. Has it sunk in yet that you’re one of the 10 best players in the world right now?
Keys: That’s crazy! No, it hasn’t sunken in. A lot of my family members will keep calling me and saying “Hi, Top 10 player!” It’s definitely not something that’s sunken in yet. It’s something I’m going to get used to and I’m really looking forward to it.

WTA Insider: You’re the first in this century from America to make her Top 10 debut.
Keys: That’s craziness. I feel like there’s been so many great American tennis players in the last 10-15 years that have been probably been really really close to that. But it’s definitely a huge honor that I was the first one.

WTA Insider: How did you find out you had a shot to break into the Top 10 last week?
Keys: The WTA tagged me in a tweet about it the morning of the semifinals match. It showed up on my phone. I quickly x-ed out and was like ‘You didn’t read that. No. Don’t think about it.’ So that’s kind of how I find out but once I was on the court it wasn’t even on my mind.

WTA Insider: You must be pretty pleased about being able to stay focused and not let that distract you.
Keys: It was more of a thought in the morning when I saw it. I was like ‘Oh my gosh, that’s huge.’ Then when I was on the court I obviously had a slow start and once that happened it wasn’t even in my brain anymore. You should try to win some points.

Can we get Netflix to greenlight a Keys family reality show? #AegonClassic pic.twitter.com/5qGgZpPpNr

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) June 19, 2016

WTA Insider: You’ve had a steady rise through the rankings. Your year-end ranking has improved year over year. But when we spoke at the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai last year you seemed pretty down about yourself and your season.
Keys: I definitely was feeling a bit down at the end of the season. Part of it was it was a really long season for me. It was the longest season I had ever had. But I think now I’ve just got so much better at not even listening to the outside opinions that it doesn’t affect me anymore. I think I used to be really concerned with what other people were thinking or how things were coming across, and people don’t always have all the information. So listening to anyone who was outside my small support group was harming me. I think I got a lot better at that.

Having a really tough off-season and start of the year has really made me appreciate playing tennis and being healthy and being able to just go out and compete at the highest level just knowing that I had all of the practice and all of the work put in.

WTA Insider: Let’s talk about the work you have put in. There’s a lot that goes on outside of the limelight that we don’t get to see. Can you key in on a moment during those closed door training sessions that helped you unlocked things this year?
Keys: I think a big thing working with [trainer] Scott Byrnes is he’s helped me get so much stronger and that’s been such a huge factor for me. Being stronger means I’m able to last a little bit longer and makes me feel like I put all this work in off of the court, so I know when I’m on the court I know that I’m physically ready to be out there for as long as it needs to take.

Obviously we work on different things for different seasons. Before the red clay season we worked a lot on the aerobics. Before grass season stated we were working more on power and strength because it’s a much bigger first strike game. So all those little things have helped me so much. I’ve been really lucky to have an amazing trainer.

Read more about Keys’ trainer Scott Byrnes in our Coach’s Corner, and listen to more from Keys in the latest episode of the WTA Insider Podcast:

EASTBOURNE, England – Petra Kvitova got her Wimbledon preparations back on track with a hard-fought win over Timea Babos at the Aegon International Eastbourne on Tuesday.

Watch live action from Eastbourne this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Following a frustrating week in Birmingham, Kvitova got some much-needed time on the grass, prevailing in a high-quality encounter, 6-4, 7-6(5). In the third round she will face either Lesia Tsurenko or Johanna Konta.

Kvitova was forced to play second fiddle for much of the opening set, struggling to hang onto her own serve and making little inroad on her opponents’. However, having barely coughed up an error in the opening half hour, at 4-4 Babos suddenly found herself two break points down after a couple of loose groundstrokes.

Sensing her moment, Kvitova ghosted into the net to scythe away the volley. The No.5 seed’s willingness to move forward proved decisive in the following game, too, fending off a couple of break points on the way to serving out the set.

The second set was just as evenly contested, but once again it was Kvitova – who finished the match with 30 winners – playing the more positive tennis at the decisive moments, guiding a backhand down into the corner to close out victory.

“I’m kind of feeling that I am playing well, even though I lost some of the matches in a couple of months,” she said after the match. “It wasn’t easy today, she was serving really well and it was very difficult to break her – I had to wait for my chances.”

After a brilliant first-round display against Lucie Safarova in Birmingham last week, Kvitova spent the next couple of days waiting for the rain to subside before losing a stop-start match with Jelena Ostapenko. And despite more difficult conditions on the south coast, Kvitova is relishing the time on court ahead of her favorite major. 

“It’s always good to get more matches under your belt going into Grand Slams, especially Wimbledon when we don’t have that many events on grass. I’m glad to win today and still be in the draw!”

Tight match today, Timea made life very difficult for me. Happy to survive! ?? #AegonInternational pic.twitter.com/0dS1ms66I7

— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) June 21, 2016

MELBOURNE, Australia – No.2 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova survived a tense three-setter against the newly formed pairing of Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai to win their second Slam in a row, winning the 2017 Australian Open women’s doubles title, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3.

“We were celebrating like five-year-old kids out there,” Mattek-Sands said after the match. “I mean, it still feels amazing to win it. It’s a Grand Slam. When we got the trophy, we saw our names written on it. We know we get it written on there again. It’s just special.

“So many great teams are on there. We played a lot of great teams to get to the finals. Part of it is really enjoying the journey, enjoying each match. Really, the celebrations kind of go quick. We’re going to make sure we enjoy this moment for a little bit.”

Mattek-Sands and Safarova have been the team to beat since last summer, when they won what was then their third Grand Slam title at the US Open and rode an 18-match winning streak into the final of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

“We go out there and have a blast. I mean, I think our first one here in 2015, I hadn’t played a lot of doubles the year before. Lucie and I had never played together as a team. We came out strong. I think it really has clicked from the beginning. It really hasn’t stopped. I think it’s gotten better.

“Lucie is one of my best friends off the court. We talk about life. We talk about tennis. I think more life stuff. But there’s a little tennis in there every once in a while.”

The American in particular had a career-best year in doubles last season, winning the elusive Sunshine Double at the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open with CoCo Vandeweghe and Safarova, respectovely, and became the top-ranked doubles player after starting 2017 with a win at the Brisbane International with Sania Mirza.

1…2…3…jump!#ausopen pic.twitter.com/SPguHHkBiB

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2017

Dropping just one set en route to the final, Mattek-Sands and Safarova looked more confident after each victory, dancing through off-days with the help of fitness guru Shuan T.

Across the net on Friday’s final was a familiar foe in Hlavackova, who was playing her second straight final in Melbourne, but with a new partner in Peng Shuai. Hlavackova and Peng had played together just five times heading into the first Slam of the season, but had an impressive record with three titles already under their belt, including the Shenzhen Open in the first week of the year.

They've done it! @BMATTEK and @luciesafarova overcome a one set deficit to win the women's doubles! #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/CZH2Ucty2W

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2017

Making their major debut as a team, Hlavackova and Peng earned back-to-back wins over top teams in No.3 seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the quarterfinals, and top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic. Coincidentally, Vesnina, Garcia and Mladenovic were the only three women who could have usurped Mattek-Sands’ No.1 ranking, and their losses guaranteed her the top spot befor taking the court for the final. 

Hlavackova and Peng exchanged breaks with Team Bucie to kick off the match, eventually edging through a 53-minute first-set tie-break and appearing on course for a big win on Rod Laver Arena.

“I think we were improving throughout the first set,” Safarova said. “I felt like our game was throughout the match getting better and better. We stick together. We were positive. Never doubted that we would be able to pull it out.”

Women's doubles Championship presentation #MattekSands #Safarova #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/oWOL1gGXqi

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2017

But Mattek-Sands and Safarova dug in their heels, racing out to a double break lead to start the second and continued breaking serve to stay ahead and level the match.

“I think we really balance each other out,” Mattek-Sands added. “We talk a lot during points, on the changeovers. It’s all positive. I know there was a couple games we were up 40-love and we lost them. It’s easy to think you had an opportunity and you missed it. But it’s not the case.

“We play every point new, fresh, and we play our game.”

The decider came down to one break, which the American/Czech duo earned in the fourth game and held on in a marathon fifth game to remain in the lead and eventually serve out the win in two hours and 14 minutes.

“It’s not like you would expect it, but after what we’ve been through, I also feel like our game got better and better,” Safarova said. “I believe we are one of the best teams out there.

“If we play our game, we are positive, keep like sticking together, pulling it out, I think we are going to hopefully get even more.”

After the trophy ceremony, Mattek-Sands and Safarova dusted off their dance moves to thrill the Aussie crowd one more time:

Smooth moves, @BMATTEK and @luciesafarova! Not a bad victory dance! ??? #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/rluxD9WOvW

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2017

EASTBOURNE, England – Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska booked her place in the quarterfinals of the Aegon International Eastbourne after swatting aside Eugenie Bouchard on Wednesday.

Watch live action from Eastbourne this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

In an impressive display, Radwanska broke five times to complete a 6-3, 6-3 victory in little over an hour. Next up will be the familiar face of Dominika Cibulkova, whom she has already met twice this season. Cibulkova overcame a slow start to see off Kateryna Bondarenko, 7-6(3), 6-3.

Radwanska is appearing at Devonshire Park for the 10th straight year, and against Bouchard she looked at home from first point until last. It did not take her long to hit the front, taking advantage of a couple of loose strokes from the Canadian to break in the third game.

This cushion proved more than enough to hand her the opening set, then tightening her grip on proceedings by jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the second. Bouchard continued to battle away, but even when drawing level at 3-3 never looked likely to solve Radwanska’s riddle.

Radwanska reestablished her advantage with another moment of brilliance, this time in the form of a shoveled forehand lob, closing out the match moments later with a swinging serve down the T.

The numbers were just as pleasing on the eye as the shotmaking, Radwanska offsetting her 16 winners with only nine unforced errors. “I think it was a really great match from the beginning to the end. I was playing such good tennis the whole match and I’m very happy with my game and hoping I can play better and better,” Radwanska told Annabel Croft after the match.

“I was serving much better today. And I think the key to today’s match was the serve at the end which helped me close out the match in two sets.”

Going by recent evidence, the Pole will do well to win her next match inside the distance. Radwanska and Cibulkova met twice this spring, the spoils shared from high-quality encounters in Indian Wells and Madrid.

“We’ve played so many great matches. Playing against her is never easy – she’s a great fighter from the baseline,” Radwanska added. “I think now the tournament reaches another level, so every match is going to be difficult.”

MELBOURNE, Australia – No.11 seed Marta Kostyuk captured her maiden major title on Saturday, ousting top seed Rebeka Masarova, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 in the Australian Open girl’s singles final.

“I was more excited yesterday when I go through the semis,” she admitted in her post-match press conference.

Masarova made a breakout run last spring when she defeated Amanda Anisimova to win the the junior French Open crown, and arrived in Australia aiming to wrest the No.1 ITF ranking from Anastasia Potapova, who did not play this week.

Kostyuk, by contrast, was playing her third season on the junior circuit and had posted consistent, if unremarkable, results at the biggest events – making back-to-back quarterfinal appearances at Eddie Herr and the Orange Bowl.

But things started to change last spring when she began working with manager Ivan Ljubicic, a former ATP pro who coaches Roger Federer.

“I improved a lot, and I feel it. Maybe the biggest improvement period was in May when Ivan invited me to practice in Monte Carlo for ten days. And after that I won Grade Two.

“After that I start to work on my serve a little more and practice more and more. That’s when I signed with Ivan and start to practice in Cannes, in Kiev, so everywhere. It was fine. And I’m trying to work hard.”

Currently coached by her mother, Kostyuk credited Ljubicic with helping her rise so quickly, and with helping her meet Federer during her stay in Melbourne.

Congratulations to our #AusOpen 2017 Girls' Singles champion @marta_kostyuk! ??? pic.twitter.com/gPslwFxtS0

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2017

“He did a lot. He give me a bit of his experience and big tennis. And I met finally Roger today. He congratulated me. And I took a photo with him, so I was very excited.”

The 15-year-old took a 5-2 lead to start Satuday’s final, only to see Masarova save four set points and level the opening set. Undaunted, the Ukrainian reeled off eight of the final 10 points to take a one set lead.

Still, Masarova was undoubtedly in the match by then, and made her presence known in the second set, breaking four times to force a decider.

“I won first set, but it was very tight, like it was 5-2. I had four set points, and I finished just on the score 6-5,” she explained.

“Maybe when we start to play second set, her consistency was like a bit more than mine, and she was more in the game. And I just lost a little bit of this.

“When I started to play second set, I just started to think how it was good that I almost won. And that what didn’t really helped me.”

The pair exchanged four straight breaks to begin the final set, with Kostyuk ultimately breaking in the crucial ninth game to serve out the biggest title of her young career in one hour and 55 minutes.

“Maybe when score was 3-1, I just stopped thinking and started to play again, so I was ready for the third set.”

The doubles final took place 24 hours prior and saw No.3 seeds Bianca Andreescu and Carson Branstine defeat the Polish pair of Maja Chwalinska and Iga Swiatek.

Congrats to @marta_kostyuk on taking the Junior AO Girl's Singles ?!!! #AusOpen #TeamWilson pic.twitter.com/ZnInycx9r9

— Wilson Tennis (@WilsonTennis) January 28, 2017

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA – ESPN revealed today the nominees for The 2016 ESPYS presented by Capital One, and Serena Williams, Garbiñe Muguruza, Flavia Pennetta, Angelique Kerber and Roberta Vinci all received award nods across two categories.

The ESPYS recognize outstanding athletic achievements in the calendar year preceding the awards ceremony, and are awarded via an online fan vote.

Four WTA players are nominated for Best Female Tennis Player including World No.1 Serena Williams, who is chasing her eighth ESPY in the category (2003-2004, 2009-2011, 2013, 2015). Last year, Williams took home three of the four Grand Slam titles and was voted as 2015 WTA Player of the Year. Her 175 consecutive weeks at No.1 make up the second-longest streak in WTA history.

Williams faces a field of first-time nominees for the award, including reigning Roland Garros champion Garbiñe Muguruza, who avenged her 2015 Wimbledon final loss to Williams by upsetting her in the 2016 French Open final to win her career-first major and rise to World No.2.

Also vying for the Best Female Tennis Player award are Angelique Kerber, 2016 Australian Open champion and Flavia Pennetta, 2015 US Open champion.

In addition, Roberta Vinci’s upset of Williams at the US Open is up for Best Upset, a category that also includes Holly Holm knocking out Ronda Rousey and No.15 Middle Tennessee State defeating No.2 seed Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament.

The unseeded Vinci pulled off the upset of the year when she famously halted Williams’ quest for a Calendar-Year Grand Slam, shocking everyone – including herself. Afterwards she addressed the crowd, saying: “Today is my day. Sorry guys!”

Click here to vote for Best Upset!

Fans will determine the winners in most ESPYS categories by voting online up to the start of The 2016 ESPYS. View all the categories and nominees, and cast your vote now at www.espys.com – voting ends on Wednesday, July 13th 8 p.m. (ET)!