Stosur Slides Past Pironkova
No.21 seed Sam Stosur is back into the semifinals of the French Open for the first time since 2012 with her win against surprise quarterfinalist Tsvetana Pironkova.
No.21 seed Sam Stosur is back into the semifinals of the French Open for the first time since 2012 with her win against surprise quarterfinalist Tsvetana Pironkova.
MONTERREY, Mexico – Angelique Kerber cut the ribbon as the Abierto GNP Seguros officially unveiled its brand-new stadium court: Estadio GNP Seguros.
The World No.1 was one of the guests of honour as the crowds were treated to a real show in Monterrey – culminating in a stunning fireworks display.
Kerber opened her campaign on court by beating Francesca Schiavone in three sets, 4-6, 6-0, 6-4.
– All photos courtesy of Abierto GNP Seguros
Bol, Croatia is known for its spectacular coastline, and now it’s home to the inaugural WTA Bol Open, a clay court WTA 125K series event.
The player party took place on a yacht and Ana Rucner, a world-class singer and cellist who competed in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, provided the night’s entertainment.
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario was on deck and she grabbed a photo with Felisk Lukas, the WTA Bol Open tournament director.
French qualifier Marine Partaud took in the action from a distance.
It was definitely a night to remember on the “Katina” yacht, courtesy of Tomislav Debeljak.
Before the player party, though, it was time to make the draw and the top seeds, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Ana Konjuh, were on hand for the ceremony.
Thankfully Schmiedlova and Konjuh drew themselves into opposite halves!
Konjuh in particular was thrilled to compete in a WTA event in her home country of Croatia.
Right before the start of play, a pair of WTA legends took to the picturesque courts to compete in an exhibition match.
14-time Grand Slam winner Sanchez Vicario – known as the “Barcelona Bumblebee” – is also a WTA Finals ambassador.
Iva Majoli and Sanchez Vicario got plenty of tennis action this week: the pair are also competing in Legends Doubles at the French Open.
Defending champion Serena Williams overcame a tight opening set to end Kiki Bertens’ fairytale run to get within one match of tying Steffi Graf’s 22 Grand Slam titles in Paris.
Just how dominant is Serena Williams on grass courts? And who is her biggest challenger at Wimbledon? Find out as SAP takes you Behind The Numbers this grass court season.
With Wimbledon just three weeks away, expectations are high for British No.1 Johanna Konta. In the last 12 months, she has undergone a career transformation which has seen her go from a grateful wildcard to a true WTA contender, and with it comes the pressure.
Sky Sports caught up with Konta in Nottingham ahead of her landmark opening round win at the Aegon Open Nottingham, where she’s once again made British tennis history.
“I started playing when I was eight,” Konta told Sky Sports. “When I was nine, I decided I wanted to be No.1 in the world.”
With her victory yesterday over Victoria Duval, 25-year-old Konta is one step closer to fulfilling her childhood dream. Her WTA ranking has now risen to World No.18, making her the first British woman in 33 years to break the Top 20 since Jo Durie in October 1983. It’s an even more remarkable feat considering that Konta started out the year ranked at No.48.
Her name is now etched in the history books, but for Konta, not much has changed.
“Well, a lot of external things have changed,” Konta conceded. “But at home, and how I feel about my tennis, it’s very much the same.
“I consider myself very lucky to be able to do what I love. I very much don’t take anything for granted.”
Click here to view the video on skysports.com or watch Sportswomen tonight at 10pm BST on Sky Sports 5.
Anett Kontaveit crushed a nervy Heather Watson in their first-round encounter at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.
Olympic champ Monica Puig tweeted out a video of her bringing new meaning to giving it a whirl as she prepared for the European clay court season.
Petra Kvitova had some encouraging news for fans and followers on Monday, as the World No.14 penned an update on her road to recovery on Instagram.
Though it is unclear whether she will be ready to compete, steady progress in her recovery has seen the two-time Wimbledon champion enter the French Open.
“My name will appear on the entry list for Roland Garros tomorrow because, as the entry deadline approached, I had made good progress in my recovery process and I want to give myself every last opportunity to be able to compete at one of my favorite events,” Kvitova wrote.
“This unfortunately does not mean necessarily that I will be ready to play in Paris, but that I’m doing everything possible to give myself the chance and keep a positive mindset.”
Kvitova continues on her road back to tennis following a knife attack in her home last December, and her latest update is welcome news to the tennis community which has shown immense love and support for her across the world in the months since.
Great news! Hope this all goes well https://t.co/mfqgZY9iDA
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) April 17, 2017
In Monday’s post, Kvitova added: “There remains a long road ahead but I wanted to share this update with you. Thanks for your continued support and I hope to see you soon.”
First round action from Paris begins on May 28.
STUTTGART, Germany – Miami Open winner Johanna Konta will play her first clay court event of 2017 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, having accepted a wildcard to the event on Wednesday.
Konta claimed the biggest title of her career at the Miami Open, and though injury forced her out of the Volvo Car Open, the British No.1 is set to return in Stuttgart, where she will make her second main draw appearance.
Welcome, @JoKonta91! The #WTA #7 receives a #PTGP Wild Card: “The field is very deep so I'm sure every match will be an exciting challenge.” pic.twitter.com/RlzVLxtMBs
— Porsche Tennis (@PorscheTennis) April 18, 2017