Tennis News

KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $776,878
Draw Size: 48 main draw (16 byes)/32 qualifying
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, June 18 – Sunday, June 19
First Day of Main Draw: Sunday, June 19
Singles Final: Saturday, June 25, 1pm GMT
Doubles Final: Sunday, June 25, after singles final

MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@BritishTennis – LTA handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #AegonInternational and #WTA.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· Former champion Agnieszka Radwanska returning to tournament for the 10th time as top seed.
· Roberta Vinci is No.2 seed while defending champion Belinda Bencic is No.3 seed. Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is also in the draw, as are two of last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinalists, Timea Bacsinszky and Madison Keys.
· There have been nine different champions in the past nine years in Eastbourne. Six of the nine are in the field this year – Bencic (2015), Keys (2014), Elena Vesnina (2013), Ekaterina Makarova (2010), Caroline Wozniacki (2009) and Radwanska (2008).
· Click here to see the draw in full.

WILDCARDS:
Naomi Broady (GBR), Tara Moore (GBR)

EASTBOURNE, England – Caroline Wozniacki stepped up her Wimbledon preparations with a confidence-boosting win over Alizé Cornet at the Aegon International Eastbourne on Sunday.

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

Playing just her third match since March, Wozniacki showed few signs of rustiness, briskly pocketing the first set then coming from a break down in the second to complete a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

The Dane is currently ranked at No.35 in the rankings – her lowest position since May 2008 – after missing much of the season with an ankle injury. And after making her return in Nottingham last week she is refreshed eager to test her mettle ahead of the year’s second major.

“I feel confident on my feet, I’ve worked really hard to get into the best shape possible and do a lot of stability work, so now I’m feeling comfortable on my ankle and the grass,” Wozniacki said.

“It’s nice to be on a nice court with a great crowd and also to get another match in before Wimbledon. I’m just excited every time I go on court now.”

In the other three opening round matches there were wins for Jelena Ostapenko, Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic.

Ostapenko continued the good form that took her to the Birmingham quarterfinals by prevailing in her all-teenage battle with Daria Kasatkina, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Babos edged out Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 7-6(3), while Mladenovic prevailed in an equally close encounter with Yanina Wickmayer, 7-6(6), 6-4. 

MELBOURNE, Australia – The field for the Australian Open is starting to take shape after the initial acceptance list was unveiled earlier this week.

Monday marked the entry deadline for 2017’s first major, with Tennis Australia confirming the identity of 110 of the 128-strong draw. The remaining 18 will be made up of qualifiers and wildcards.

Defending champion Angelique Kerber will be joined by all her principal title rivals, including Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep and Dominika Cibulkova. The cut-off this year was No.107, with Patricia Maria Tig claiming the last berth.

Also Melbourne-bound will be Luksika Kumkhum and Lizette Cabrera, who have been awarded the first two wildcards.

Australian teenager Cabrera, who will be making her Grand Slam debut, made great strides in 2016, winning two ITF Circuit titles and rising nearly 800 places in the rankings. “It’s amazing news and a pretty surreal feeling. To be honest I’m probably still in a bit of shock, but I’m super excited to start playing,” Cabrera said.  “I think if I’m playing my best tennis you can always match it with any girls inside the top 100, so I want to try and win as many matches as I can which will hopefully help me play in more WTA tournaments in the future.”

Kumkhum, meanwhile, earned her spot by triumphing over Chang Kai-Chen in the final of the Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off. An ever-present at the Australian Open since 2013, Kumkhum, who upset Petra Kvitova several years back, is eagerly anticipating her return.

“I actually have played in the Australian Open since juniors,” she said. “And I don’t know why, I really like playing there in Melbourne, and had some good results too.

“I feel like at home every time being there, not far from Bangkok, the weather and everything, I think if someone gets used to hot weather, they will like Melbourne too.”

In one of the most significant coaching hires of the off-season, World No.10 Johanna Konta has brought on Wim Fissette as her coach to begin the 2017 season. Fissette was the long-time coach to Kim Clijsters and has recently worked with Simona Halep, Madison Keys, and Victoria Azarenka until her pregnancy leave last summer.

Konta is coming off a breakthrough 2015 season, which saw her win her first WTA title at the Bank of the West Classic, advance to her first major semifinal at the Australian Open, and surge from No.47 at the start of the season to become the first British woman to finish the season inside the Top 10 since Jo Durie in 1983. Her decision to split with coach Estaban Carrill was met with surprise, but Konta has landed one of the best coaches on tour in Fissette.

Known for his tennis acumen and amiable demeanor, Konta cited their positive chemistry in her decision to bring the Belgian on.

“He was the first coach I trialled and things are going well,” Konta told The Independent. “I guess he’s been on the Tour for quite some time, so I’m definitely looking forward to being a sponge and absorbing as much of his experience and knowledge through the years.”

Speaking to The Independent, Konta reflected on her sudden but mutual decision to part ways with Carrill, who had coached her through her meteoric rise over the last 18 months.

“But like with every relationship, I think there comes a point where changes need to be made, Konta said. “For both of us to keep evolving and keep getting better, it was definitely the right time. It gave me the opportunity to go into my pre-season with a new set-up so that I can then start my next season already in the swing of things.”

It has been an emotionally tough off-season for Konta after the death of her mental coach Juan Coto. Throughout her surge up the rankings, Konta, once a hot-headed, nervy player who struggled to close out matches, cited her work with Coto for her more grounded, simple approach to her game and career. Coto passed away suddenly in November.

“I know that Juan would be supportive of me continuously improving that area because it’s more than just tennis, it’s about my life,” Konta said. “He’s still very much a part of everything that I do, everything that I will continue to do in this sport and this career, and most likely beyond that as well. He has gifted me with an incredible amount of tools and habits that I still to this day am looking to improve, every single day.”

Konta begins her 2017 season at the Shenzhen Open, which begins on January 1st, and is scheduled to play the Apia International in Sydney as well to prepare for the first major of the season at the Australian Open.