Tennis News

Courtney Nguyen, Point: Earlier this week, Petra Kvitova was asked what she would take from the 2016 season into next year. With her typical brand of understated wit, Kvitova said simply, “Myself.”

This has been a season of discovery for the two-time major champion, and she has a chance on Sunday to cap off her WTA season on a winning note. She parted ways with her long-time coach David Kotyza in January and has spent the year in search of herself, both on and off the court. The Kvitova who was a mainstay in the Top 10 and constant threat was nowhere to be found in the first seven months of the season, as the Czech sputtered to a 16-15 record, capped off with a disappointing second-round exit at her beloved Wimbledon.

The loss seemed to jolt something within Kvitova. Her form steadily improved over the summer hardcourt season, highlighted by Olympic bronze in Rio. Then came a semifinal run at the Connecticut Open and her first Round of 16 showing at a Slam in a year at the US Open. After a loss to eventual champion Angelique Kerber in New York, Kvitova fell to No.16 in the rankings, her lowest mark since 2011.

Then, as if finally unencumbered from expectation or pressure, Kvitova found her game in Asia. En route to her third final in her last four tournaments, Kvitova has resumed her near-unstoppable form in China. The signs of a resurgence began at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open in September, where she beat No.1 Angelique Kerber and proceeded to blitz the field to win her first title of the season. Since her 16-15 start to the season, Kvitova is now 29-7 since Wimbledon.

Playing in her first Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai as the No.3 seed, Kvitova has been the most dominant presence in the field this week in Zhuhai, rolling to the final without losing a set and spending just over three hours on court to win her three matches. Kvitova is 18-7 in finals, having won 8 of her last 11. Svitolina is 4-1 in finals, having split the two she’s played this year, winning Kuala Lumpur and losing in New Haven. The Ukrainian has yet to beat a Top 15 player in a final.

The Czech lefty has won five of her six meetings against Elina Svitolina, who is playing in the biggest final of her career on Sunday. The two played a few weeks ago in Wuhan and Kvitova won easily, 6-3, 6-1.

“With Svitolina I knew if I put the pressure on her, when she’s under the pressure she’s not playing as well as she is,” Kvitova said after beating Zhang Shuai in the semifinals on Saturday. Of course it’s always difficult to put a pressure on her because she is serving and returning well.”

An in-form Kvitova on a fast, low-bouncing court is a tough match-up for anyone on any given day, and it’s an even tougher task for Svitolina, who does not have the weapons off the ground to push Kvitova back. Unless Svitolina can keep consistent depth on her groundstrokes, this is going to be hitting practice for Kvitova. If Petra is on, it’s hard to see her losing this match.

David Kane, Counterpoint: Consistent depth is exactly what was on display during the second semifinal in Zhuhai. Svitolina of defensive memory was stepping into the court and taking big cuts on second serve returns against top seed Johanna Konta, winning five of the last six games to defeat the Brit, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

The Ukrainian youngster was the only player to have dropped a set en route to the semis. Some might say she struggled; Svitolina would say she’s been tested.

“I’ve won a lot of three-set matches, and I play good when the matches get long,” she said on Saturday night. “She came up with some good returns, couple of good returns, and I was under pressure.

“I was trying to say to myself, ‘Come on. This game is very important, the return, to put pressure back and to try to get back in the game.”

She heads into the biggest final of her young career with two wins of reigning World No.1s in 2016: Serena Williams at the Olympic tennis event, and Angelique Kerber at the China Open. Some credit the contributions of Hall of Famer Justine Henin; Svitolina looks more towards the physical improvements made since Wimbledon, all thanks to a new fitness coach.

“At this stage, when we’re already on a high level, you need to improve everything just a little bit,” she told WTA Insider earlier in the week. “Small details matter a lot; you just need to take time to adapt to new things. It’s very important because whenever you change something mentally or in your preparation, you have to know it’ll take time to show up on the court.

“You just need to be patient.”

Svitolina will need some of that patience against Kvitova, who has struck winners at will through much of her three match wins over Roberta Vinci, Barbora Strycova, and Zhang Shuai. The Czech star has left opponents flatfooted as she blistered shots from the back of the court. Across the net, the World No.14 has attempted to employ the sort of mind games seen from Svetlana Kuznetsova earlier in the Asian Swing.

“It’s the last tournament. I’m trying to think that I still have couple tournaments ahead of me. When you think about your last tournament you start to be really down in energy. You start to think about Maldives or something,” she joked, referring to her inevitable off-season destination.

“I try to enjoy the moment. I think it helped in the first match when I was down the first set. Staying in the moment really helps me a lot.”

Some might say she has a tough road ahead of her against Kvitova; Svitolina sees it “step by step.”

“I’ll need to react really fast and look for my opportunities,” she said when asked about Sunday’s final. “Just stay in the moment, because you never know when the opportunity is going to come.

“I will try just to focus on each point and we will see.”

– All photos courtesy of WTA Elite Trophy

On Tuesday Sports Illustrated released its inaugural Fashionable 50, a list of athletes that a panel of sports and fashion experts evaluated as most fashionable, and WTA’s Serena Williams proudly stands in the Top 10. SI’s experts took into account not only what, where and why the athletes pick certain clothes for their on-court and off-court appearances, but their overall involvement in the world of fashion: designer collaborations, presence at fashion shows, investments in fashion, endorsements and other partnerships, social media activities, etc. Guest contributor Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog breaks down Serena’s most iconic fashion moments.

The 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in West Hollywood, California

When it comes to tennis, Williams is firmly holding on to her No.1 ranking, but the 21-time Grand Slam champion’s fashion dominance is just as fierce and commanding, so it comes as no surprise that SI’s experts ranked her at number four of the Fashionable 50.

Serena Williams at the 2004 US Open

From her beginnings on the professional circuit to this day, Williams has stood out both with her powerful game and daring fashion. We still vividly remember the colorful beads Williams wore as a teenager back in the 90s, while now at 34 years of age Williams is still pushing the boundaries, be it with animal prints, provocative designs, or simply with the way she pulls of even the simplest outfits.

Serena Williams at the 1998 US Open

When Williams finishes sweeping past her opponents, she embraces haute couture for runway and red carpet appearances. The look that SI singled out in their Fashionable 50 list is the provocative lingerie-style lace dress from the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year award ceremony.

Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year award ceremony, December 2015

Williams is not only a consumer of stunning clothes, the tennis legend has been active in the fashion world with her Serena Williams Signature Statement Collection for HSN, which she proudly presented at New York Fashion Week in September 2015, with Vogue’s Anna Wintour and other celebrities sitting in the front row. The collection revolves around fringe and leather motifs, while Williams herself described it as “a little bit retro, romantic, and extremely innovative.”

Serena Williams presenting her collection at New York Fashion Week in September 2015

In an interview for Vogue, Williams talked in more detail about the clothes that bear her name: “I want [my customers] to feel empowered. I want them to feel beautiful. The collection works on every size person. You should [be able] to look good and feel good and love who you are and, at the same time, be stylish.”

Serena Williams at the 2014 US Open

Serena earned her place in the prestigious Top 10 of SI’s Fashionable 50, but two other WTA stars also made the list: Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams.

Maria Sharapova with her 2014 French Open trophy

Described as “red carpet stunner” by SI, Sharapova is known for her sophisticated taste, comprehensive business sense that has a lot to do with stylish clothing, numerous fashion show appearances, and let’s not forget her work with Nike that produced a number of memorable tennis dresses.

Venus Williams at the 2015 Miami Open

Venus, on the other hand, has managed to grow her athletic apparel line EleVen so much that now it competes with sports apparel giants, largely owing to her fashion degree from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, as well as her work ethic and innate wish to succeed that brought her all the tennis successes in the first place.

Visit Sports Illustrated’s Fashionable 50 for a complete list of the world’s most stylish athletes. The new issue of SI hits newsstands on Wednesday, April 13.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.