WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | World No.1 Angelique Kerber leads a stacked field at the Apia International Sydney that also features WTA Finals winner Dominika Cibulkova; check out the full entry list here on wtatennis.com.
An interview with Venus Williams before her opening round match at the Volvo Car Open.
Sabine Lisicki takes on Irina Falconi in the first round of the Volvo Car Open.
An interview with Eugenie Bouchard after her first round win at the Volvo Car Open.
KATOWICE, Poland – Francesca Schiavone is into her second quarterfinal of the year with a straight sets win over Alizé Cornet at the Katowice Open, 7-5(6), 6-1.
Watch live action from Katowice this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Although her ranking has dipped to just outside the Top 100, Schiavone, a WTA veteran, won her seventh career title earlier this year in Rio de Janeiro. In Katowice, she was up against Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet, who was making her way back to the tour after a two-month injury layoff.
Despite Cornet’s inspired performance in the previous round – she had to battle through a tough three-set challenge from Bulgarian qualifier Isabella Shinikova – the Frenchwoman couldn’t make it past one of her toughest rivals. Schiavone’s mastery of the angles kept confounding and wrong-footing Cornet, the same way she has done to win nine of their previous 11 encounters.
The two played a tortuous and highly competitive first set, which saw Cornet break Schiavone while the Italian was serving for the set at 5-4 then go on to send it to a tiebreak. A couple of Cornet’s double faults gave Schiavone the edge, and she grabbed the first set after an hour and 10 minutes.
The second set was more one-way traffic for the Italian, despite Cornet throwing everything she had at her opponent. A line-to-line rally at 2-0, 40-30 left both players out of breath and laughing, even going up to shake hands at the net. Schiavone quickly closed out the set 7-5(6), 6-1.
“It was a really tough match, a close match, in the first set,” Schiavone said. “Then I managed to win the tie-break playing aggressive – I took my chances.
“The match was really in the balance until then, but in the second set I think [her level] went a little bit down and mine went up.”
Joining Schiavone in the Katowice quarterfinals are No.7 seed Timea Babos and Polish favorite Magda Linette – who both fought their way back to victory after dropping the first set 1-6 – as well as Pauline Parmentier.
Good, ladies? @alizecornet @Schiavone_Fra @KatowiceOpen_ pic.twitter.com/6XzbzPQwdf
— Team♡Alize Cornet (@teamalizecornet) April 7, 2016
Victoria Azarenka
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.22
Year-End Ranking: No.13
Season Highlights: Titles at Brisbane, Indian Wells & Miami
Best Major Result: QF (Australian Open)
13 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/8SEKBlJltK
— WTA (@WTA) 19 de diciembre de 2016
2017 Outlook
Two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka tore off the blocks in 2016, winning the first title of the year at the Brisbane International in emphatic style. She was just as ruthless in Indian Wells and Miami, where she became the first woman in over a decade to clinch the elusive “Sunshine Double.”
And the 2016 SAP Match Stats reflect her torrid form: she dropped just 17 games en route to lifting the trophy in Brisbane – the fewest games lost in winning a WTA title in the entire year.
But after the clay season, the former No.1 announced that she was putting an end to her season in order to take on her biggest challenge yet: motherhood.
Looking ahead to 2017, Azarenka has plans to return to the sport but admits she won’t put a date on her comeback.
“I don’t put any time frame on myself,” Azarenka said in an interview with Tennis Channel. “I would love to make it as soon as possible, but give myself a reasonable time to fully recover and be ready. I’m not going to rush anything, and it’s hard to tell before the birth actually happens.
“So, we’ll see, but I’m confident that I’ll be able to play tennis again pretty soon.”
KATOWICE, Poland – No.5 seed Camila Giorgi and No.8 seed Dominika Cibulkova overcame tough semifinal opponents to set up a clash for the Katowice Open title on Sunday.
Watch live action from Katowice this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Giorgi booked her spot into the final after a win over Qatar Open finalist and No.3 seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 6-3. The two had never played before, but their similar style of big-hitting tennis provided for many tense baseline rallies.
The 18-year-old Latvian kept pace with Giorgi as the two traded four consecutive breaks of serve in the first set.
“I just played my game today,” Giorgi said after the match. “I did not have any special tactics, but I played very well and I am happy to be back in the final.”
Though she’s into the Katowice final for a third straight year, the Italian has yet to win the title – finishing runner-up to Alizé Cornet in 2014 and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in 2015.
“I like the surface very much and the fans make playing in Poland very special for me,” Giorgi added.
“I hope tomorrow I can finally win the trophy.”
Standing across the net from Giorgi on her third attempt for the title will be Cibulkova, who made her way to her second final of the year after overpowering Pauline Parmentier 7-5, 6-0.
Initially up 5-2 in the first set, Cibulkova let her lead slip and allowed the Frenchwoman an edge back into the match. Although she pushed her way back, Cibulkova – a 2014 Australian Open finalist – was able to seal the set after almost an hour. The next set came much quicker for the Slovak, shutting out Parmentier after an hour and twenty five minutes.
“I was mentally strong, even in those tough moments in the first set,” Cibulkova said. “In the second set I was even more aggressive, I was dominating on the court and I didn’t give her any chance.
“That second set was probably one of the best sets ever, for me.”
Cibulkova will need to come up with that same level in the final against Giorgi, an opponent who’s defeated her in their previous two encounters.
“It’s gonna be a tough match. She’s an aggressive player trying to go for, really, everything,” Cibulkova said. “I just hope my coach and I find a good tactic, but I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
MOSCOW, Russia – As the last Premier-level event of the year and the last tournament before the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, the Kremlin Cup has been witness to many last-minute qualification campaigns from hopefuls looking to claim the final spots into the WTA’s season-ending event.
This year is no different, with a three-way battle royale set to play out over the eighth spot.
“We all know that VTB Kremlin Cup is the last chance to get into WTA Finals in Singapore,” Carla Suárez Navarro admitted during her WTA All Access Hour.
Defending champion and top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and No.2 seed Suárez Navarro are on a collision course in Moscow, and the stage looks set for a finals day showdown with more than just the title at stake. If Kuznetsova or Suárez Navarro walk away with the Kremlin Cup crown, they’ll qualify for the WTA Finals.
However, Johanna Konta looms in background; if Kuznetsova and Suárez Navarro fail to claim the title then Konta – who is not competing this week – takes the eighth Singapore spot by default.
But if they’re feeling any pressure, both players are quick to shrug it off and focus on the task at hand.
“If I win the tournament, it would be amazing and that’s what I am expecting,” Kuznetsova said during her All Access Hour. “But I don’t want to go that far ahead. My goal is to concentrate for tomorrow. I know I will to my best and to fight in every match.”
“There are a lot of good players [here in the draw],” Suárez Navarro shrugged. “Every match will be tough for sure, I don’t think too much about Singapore.”
Kuznetsova took a last-minute wildcard in order to defend her title – and make a last-minute push for Singapore – though she explained that it was due to a scheduling error, and not a late change of heart.
“There’s a lot of talks around, but I am concentrated on my schedule and if I feel I can do it and want to play here. I really wanted to be here. I just didn’t choose the right time to sign in,” the Russian explained with a rueful smile.
“I am a tennis player and want to concentrate on every match and to show a good level of the game,” she added. “If I get in, it’s good. But I am more concentrated on my performance here.”
For Suárez Navarro, the situation is all too familiar. Last year, she made the trip from Beijing to Moscow and fell just short of qualifying for the Finals.
This time, the Spaniard is keen to change the outcome, especially since her fortunes rest completely on her racquet.
“Some players do follow the results of others, but it is not my case, it all depends on me,” she explained. “Probably because it is the end of the year, I don’t think about other tournaments. I should play match after match and it won’t be easy for me.”
“But I feel better this year, I have more experience.”
ORLANDO, FL, USA – On-the-rise American Christina McHale took a break from her off-season preparations to take WTA fans on an exclusive tour of the new USTA National Campus in Orlando, set to open in early 2017.
“It’s just a really great environment to be in,” said McHale, who was in town for a practice session on the Team USA Player Development courts.
Dubbed “the new Home Of American Tennis,” the National Campus will serve as the home base of USTA’s Player Development and USTA’s Community Tennis divisions as well as host USTA Pro Circuit events. Formerly in New York at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which hosts the US Open, the new Orlando facility is one of the largest tennis facilities in the world.
Check out the video above to follow McHale on a first look at the brand new facility!
Fast Facts About The USTA National Campus:
· With 64-plus acres and 100 lighted tennis courts, the National Campus is one of the largest tennis facilities in the world.
· The USTA National Campus will open January 2, 2017 with the first tournament scheduled for January 6th.
· The Campus will host over 80 tournaments and events in 2017 with approximately 30,000 participants.
· An expected 80,000-100,000 attendees will visit the Campus in 2017.
· The USTA’s Community Tennis and Player Development divisions will be headquartered at the National Campus. It will also be home to the national training center for USTA-certified officials.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Top seeds at the Volvo Car Open, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova were in the midst of relaunching their Grand Slam-winning partnership after capturing the Miami Open title. Though they finished runner-up to Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, team “Bucie” nonetheless had a great week in Charleston, dropping just one set en route to the final.
The team also collaborated with Safarova’s coach, Rob Steckley, to produce another action-packed video that takes viewers on a frantic tour of Daniel Island, the site of the Family Circle Tennis Center.
6 wks ✅ 2 ? and a New Video to recap our crazy life #teambucie @luciesafarova @BMATTEK https://t.co/r5nz0WYJ2w pic.twitter.com/V7IUFQ4rRg
— Rob Steckley (@robsteckley) April 10, 2016
Check out the full video above, and stay tuned for more high-octane content from the reigning French Open champions.