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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova showed signs of improvement after her tough opening round win, easing past No.29 seed Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-4, 7-6(2) to reach the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open for a third straight year.

“There were some ups and downs,” she said after the match. “I had 13 break points or however many in the first set, which took an hour, so it was quite difficult. I was feeling comfortable on serve, even though my first serve wasn’t great. I was up 3-1 in the second and took a little bit of a timeout and played a terrible few games.

“She improved and started swinging more aggressively. I was getting pushed back but I still believed, and started stepping into the court at the end. It could have been a third set there.”

Pliskova flirted with defeat against Monica Puig on Friday, falling behind a set and trailing 0-3 in the decider, but faced far fewer problems against Begu, who’d won their only previous encounter back in 2011.

“There’s some pressure for everyone; what I’ve experienced is that there’s a little more pressure on me now that I’m such a high seed. Everyone is expecting good tennis and good results from high seeds, so it’s always surprising if you lose first or second round. That’s been different.”

Far improved from those early days on tour, the US Open runner-up struck 21 winners over the course of two sets and maintained a +3 differential for the match – hitting just four unforced errors in the first set alone.

“During the year, there’s two tournaments where I feel like I’m really playing well. The rest, I feel more in the middle, where I’m not playing bad, but I can still win matches not playing great. One match will be bad, the next will be better, so I’m trying to find a balance where I’m playing solid. This match was definitely better than the last round, but I still can play better.”

Begu enjoyed a career-best season in 2016, getting up to World No.22 after reaching the second week of the French Open and winning her third career title in Florianopolis. The Romanian got out to a 5-3 lead in the second, and later held a pair of set points on her serve to force a deciding set.

Unwilling to go the distance for a second straight match, Pliskova dug in her heels to level the set and dominate the eunsuing tie-break, booking her spot in the round of 16 after little more than two hours on the court.

“Mentally, I was up at that point; I knew she had it in her head that she’d had two set points. I just wanted to play more aggressively because so was she; the first one stepping into the court won the point, so it ended up going my way.”

Up next for the Czech powerhouse is No.15 seed Timea Bacsinszky, who won a topsy-turvy three-setter against No.18 seed Kiki Bertens, saving four match points after missing out on three of her own to win the affair, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(8).

“That’ll be another tough one. I beat her in Fed Cup but I’ve lost to her before. She had a tough match today, but there’ll be a day off, and I think she’ll be ready. She always plays well here, has a good game for this surface with the spin on her forehand. I’ll have to be ready for the backhand.

“I don’t want to be in the position where she’s dictating, so I’ll have to play faster. There’s a few players like this, and I have to be ready for them with my legs, closing the ball at the net, and being aggressive.”

The normally gregarious Swiss veteran was speechless when first asked how she came out victorious.

“Next question,” she joked to WTA Insider. “Is there a hospital nearby? To be more serious, when you’re at 6-6 in the third after a rollercoaster match, you know it can go either way. There’s no right tactics, things to do, thinking you have to hit aces or take more risks. It’s all about feeling what’s coming, when, how, trying to gauge what your opponent is thinking.

“We have a lot of time to think 25 seconds in between points, not to mention the decisions we make in seconds between shots!”

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Eight quarterfinal spots are on the line on Tuesday at the BNP Paribas Open and we’re previewing each sweet sixteen matchup right here at wtaennis.com.

Tuesday

Round of 16

[2] Angelique Kerber (GER # 2) vs. [14] Elena Vesnina (RUS #15)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 3-1
Key Stat: Kerber will begin her 21st week at No.1 on the Monday after Indian Wells.

Angelique Kerber had her back against the wall on Monday as she fell behind in-form Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier 4-1 in the deciding set. Was Kerber going to fall prey to the upset bug again? No way. The German mounted an inspiring rally to head off Parmentier at the pass, clinching a satisfying 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 victory. What made the difference for Kerber? “I was starting to believe in myself again and trying to taking this challenge and trying to playing point by point and not thinking what has happened before,” she told reporters. “Just going for it and trying to move in good, bring a lot of balls back, and going for it when I have the chance.” It was enough to get by Parmentier, but Kerber will need to be even better when she faces Russia’s Elena Vesnina for a spot in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Will she be up for the challenge? “I’m still in the tournament,” she said. “That’s what counts.”

Pick: Kerber in three

[28] Kristina Mladenovic (FRA #26) vs. Lauren Davis (USA #38)
Head-to-head: Mladenovic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Mladenovic is 4-1 in three-set matches thus far in 2017.

Is promising Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic ready to take her game to the next level in 2017? It’s starting to look that way. The 23-year-old knocked off No.4-seeded Simona Halep with a gritty display on Tuesday, saving 19 of 22 break points faced to improve to 3-1 lifetime against the Romanian. Mladenovic improves to 2-0 with the victory and 14-5 on the season. But she’ll have to be careful with her next opponent, because American Lauren Davis is playing some of the best tennis of her career. She’s 13-3 with a title in Auckland, and will certainly try to pull Mladenovic into another physical match. Will Mladenovic be up to the task or will it be the American who emerges as a surprise quarterfinalist?

Pick: Mladenovic in three

[12] Venus Williams (USA #13) vs. [Q] Peng Shuai (CHN #49)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Williams reached the quarterfinals as a qualifier at Indian Wells twenty years ago in 1997. It was her second main draw appearance here.

Another big event and another big surprise from 36-year-old Venus Williams. The American legend never ceases to amaze and wherever she goes there are legions of fans who are there to support her, just as they were two decades ago. She had the home crowd behind her today as she raced past Lucie Safarova, and she’ll have them with her on Tuesday when she faces qualifier Peng Shuai. Williams has won two of three against Shuai, but it was the Chinese, an inspirational figure herself, who came out on top when they met in Beijing last fall.

Pick: Williams in three

[9] Madison Keys (USA #9) vs. [13] Caroline Wozniacki (DEN #14)
Head-to-head: Wozniacki leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Keys is bidding for her first BNP Paribas Open quarterfinal.

She missed the first two months of the season to rehab from off-season wrist surgery, but for those who watched Madison Keys power through her first two matches at the BNP Paribas Open, it was hard to detect any lingering rust. Keys was in fab form on Monday when she sailed past Naomi Osaka on the strength of eight aces and four break points saved out of four. On Tuesday she’ll come up against a much sterner test in Caroline Wozniacki. The three-time finalist and 2011 BNP Paribas Open champion walloped Katerina Siniakova in straight sets to improve to 29-9 lifetime at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Pick: Wozniacki in three

[3] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #3) vs. [15] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #17)
Head-to-head: Bacsinszky leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Pliskova improved to 17-2 on the season with her third-round win over Irina-Camelia Begu.

Timea Bacsinszky is playing with house money after saving five match points to slip by Kiki Bertens in a three-hour and 22-minute marathon on Sunday. “She played her heart out,” Bacsinszky said after outlasting Bertens to book her third consecutive trip to the BNP Paribas Open’s round of 16. “I did too.” Next up for the talented, unconventional Swiss will be another supreme power player, Karolina Pliskova. The World No.3 edged Irina-Camelia Begu to keep her run of fine form alive at Indian Wells and she will bid to reach the quarterfinals for the second straight year. Contrasting styles will square off in a match that will depend on how well Pliskova can execute first strikes—and how cleverly Bacsinszky can combat them.

Pick: Pliskova in three

[10] Elina Svitolina (UKR #10) vs. [7] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #7)
Head-to-head: Tied, 2-2
Key Stat: Svitolina has won 15 consecutive matches in a career-best streak that has seen her win two titles.

Elina Svitolina has been unstoppable since the Australian Open, winning titles in Tapei and Dubai, and she doesn’t appear to have lost a step here in the desert. The Ukrainian has reached the round of 16 at Indian Wells for the second time in three years, but awaiting her is a formidable foe that has her eyes on the prize. Spain’s Garbiñe Muguruza  has dropped two straight matches to Svitolina and she’d like nothing more than to turn the tide in their rivalry by notching a critical win on Tuesday. That said, the Spaniard knows she’ll be facing a player that becomes more dangerous with each passing season. “I think she’s playing very good,” Muguruza said. “She’s going to be a very tough opponent. She just got to the Top 10 as well. That’s a sign. It’s going to be difficult.”

Pick: Muguruza in three

[5] Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #5) vs. [19] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #21)
Head-to-head: Cibulkova leads, 5-2
Key Stat: Pavlyuchenkova already has two Top 10 wins this season, but is 0-1 vs. Cibulkova in 2017.

Dominika Cibulkova has proven why she is one of the WTA’s ultimate warriors in her first two rounds. She scraped by Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko in her first match and in an epic on Sunday night she battled from a set and break down to rally past Kristyna Pliskova, 2-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4). The Slovakian showed tons of grit to book her spot in the round of 16 at Indian Wells for the third time, but it comes as no surprise to anyone who has watched the brave, boisterous Cibulkova ply her trade on the tour over these last few seasons. “This win means a lot,” she told WTA Insider on Sunday night. “I’m still processing that I won this match. I was down 1-4 after 15 minutes and I was feeling like this wasn’t my day because it was so hard to play her.” Cibulkova will need whatever energy she has left when she squares off with the powerful Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Tuesday. The Russian has not dropped a set in her first two rounds and will hope to stay hot and end a personal three-match losing streak against Cibulkova.

Pick: Pavlyuchenkova in two

[21] Caroline Garcia (FRA #25) vs. [8] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #8)
Head-to-head: Kuznetsova leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Since reaching back-to-back BNP Paribas Open finals in 2007 and 2008, Kuznetsova has not reached the quarterfinals.

Svetlana Kuznetsova was one of the biggest comeback stories of the 2016 season. She broke the 40-win barrier for the first time since 2009, won two titles, upset World No.1 Serena Williams in Miami and climbed into the Top 10 for the first time since 2010. And, from the looks of things she hasn’t skipped a beat in 2017. Since reaching back-to-back finals at Indian Wells in 2007 and 2008, Kuznetsova had failed to get back into the round of 16—until this year. Now she’s gunning for the quarterfinals, but she’ll have to get past the talented Caroline Garcia to get there. The No.21-seeded Frenchwoman has dropped two in a row to Kuznetsova, but she’ll come in confident after pulling an upset on No.11-seeded Johanna Konta on Sunday.

Pick: Kuznetsova in three

By the Numbers:

29 – Number of lifetime wins amassed by Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki at Indian Wells. Only Lindsay Davenport (47) and Maria Sharapova (38) have more.

6 – Caroline Wozniacki broke serve in six of seven return games in her third-round win over Katerina Siniakova.

3-3 – Kerber’s record in three-set matches this season. Last season it was 23-5.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – 2011 BNP Paribas Open champion Caroline Wozniacki eased past American Madison Keys, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the last eight in Indian Wells and complete the quarterfinal line-up at the season’s first Premier Mandatory event.

Wozniacki came from the Middle East swing on a strong run of form, having reached back-to-back finals at the Qatar Total Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Keys, by contrast, was playing her first event of the season after missing the first two months of the year recovering from left wrist surgery. The American had nonetheless played solid tennis to start her comeback, knocking out young rival Naomi Osaka in straight sets to reach the round of 16.

“It’s always tough to play her, she has so much power and she can play some incredible shots from far behind the baseline and out wide,” said Wozniacki afterwards. “You just have to be ready for it and I was happy with how I managed to return quite a few serves back, get those extra balls back, and I think it frustrated her a little bit.”

The No.9 seed lost their only previous encounter to Wozniacki last summer at the US Open, and that experience likely assisted the Dane on Tuesday night as she advanced by a near-identical score despite some tough games in between.

“This is the furthest I’ve ever gotten at Indian Wells, funnily enough. So, go me!” Keys joked after the match. “I’m still pretty happy I was able to play three matches, and Caroline played really well. I feel like it was pretty tight for someone who’s played 20 matches against someone playing their third.”

In all, Wozniacki struck 16 fewer winners than her more aggressive opponent, but also eight fewer unforced errors, and gave the American a taste of her own medicine on match point, smacking a backhand down the line to clinch her spot in the quarterfinals.

Standing between Wozniacki and her first Indian Wells semifinal since 2013 is surging Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic. The St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy winner earned another convincing victory against Lauren Davis, herself a fast-improving player, in the fourth round.

“It’s not going to be an easy one – I played a tough one against her in Hong Kong, in the final,” said Wozniacki at the prospect of facing Mladenovic. “I’m expecting another tricky one, but I’m looking forward to it.”

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Insider RG Contenders: Kerber

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Angelique Kerber’s 2016 has been about countering the narrative. In fact, let’s expand that. Her last two seasons have been about proving the conventional wisdom wrong. After a frustrating 2014 season, which saw her go titleless despite making four Premier finals, the German rebounded in 2015 to win four Premier titles and finish the year at No.10.

But her results at the Slams waned last season. She never got past the third round at any of the four majors and completely choked under the pressure at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, falling one set short of advancing to the semifinals. Going into 2016 it was easy to discount Kerber as a hard-working, talented player, who just didn’t have the fortitude to win the big titles.

Then she proceeded to win the one Slam at which she had historically posted her worst results, beating the hottest player at the time in Victoria Azarenka and World No.1 and defending champion Serena Williams to win the Australian Open.

Kerber will be seeded No.3 at the French Open next week. Paris has proved a perplexing place for the 28-year-old. She has made it past the fourth round just once, stalling in the fourth round in two of the last three years. A closer look at her recent losses in Paris reveal they really weren’t bad ones, losing to Garbiñe Muguruza (2015), Eugenie Bouchard (2014), and Svetlana Kuznetsova (2013).

With nine titles under her belt, Kerber has proven she can win on any surface. Indoors, outdoors, grass, clay, or hard court, she has a title on each. Last month she successfully defended her title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. That title came on the heels of back-to-back wins in Fed Cup over two of the best clay courters right now, in Simona Halep and Irina-Camelia Begu. A week before that came a semifinal run in Charleston, which ended in her retirement due to illness. In our Clay Court Power Rankings only she and Serena Williams were able to match their ranking on clay with their overall ranking. In other words, Kerber is as good on clay as she is on all other surfaces.

The question is whether Kerber goes into Paris with the confidence of the woman who made the Miami semifinals, Charleston semifinals, and won Stuttgart, or the confidence of the woman who lost both her opening matches at the Mutua Madrid Open (l. Strycova) and Internazionali BNL d’Italia (l. Bouchard) in her lead-up. In Rome she told her coach Torben Beltz during an on-court coaching timeout that she couldn’t find any rhythm, and hinted that their practices that week had not gone well. Perhaps the early exit from Rome gave her extra time to fix what’s been going wrong.

One key to assessing Kerber’s chances in Paris are the conditions. Warm, fast conditions will play into her strengths as she’ll be able to inject extra power and get her shots through the court. Slow, wet conditions will slow down her ball – especially her serve – and she’ll be caught on defense far too often.

But if she gets a good draw that allows her to earn easy wins through the first week, a confident Kerber can do damage at the French Open. Serena Williams is the favorite in Paris, no doubt. Then again, she was the favorite in Melbourne, too. And we all saw how that turned out.

Click here to keep up with WTA Insider’s pre-French Open coverage!

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – No.14 seed Elena Vesnina earned the first Top 3 win of her career on Tuesday night, shocking No.2 seed and next week’s World No.1 Angelique Kerber, 6-3, 6-3, to reach her first quarterfinal at the BNP Paribas Open.

“I think I played a really good match,” she said in her on-court interview. “Angie will be No.1 again next week, so congrats to her; she’s an amazing player who has had an amazing season. She’s such a great competitor and fighter.”

“I felt quite good today on the court, from the beginning of the match,” she added to WTA Insider. “I felt my shots, I felt my serve. Angelique brings a lot of balls back and is one of the best defenders on tour. Going into this match, I knew she hasn’t had the best season, but you have to take the match from a top player because they’re never going to give it to you. I tried to be aggressive, with enough pace to move her around.

“Everything worked well today.”

Both women had to battle just to make it into the fourth round; Kerber was a game from defeat against Pauline Parmentier while Vesnina fought off dizziness and an in-form Timea Babos from a break down in the final set.

Swiftly breaking to start the match, Vesnina never trailed her higher-ranked opposition, holding off a late surge from Kerber when she took a set and double break lead.

“There were a few big games on my serve that I knew I couldn’t lose, because she’s a fighter and can regroup well enough to take control. I was trying to dictate and stay one step ahead of her. It wasn’t easy; I had a couple of tight moments.”

In all, the Russian struck an impressive 28 winners to 21 unforced errors, and broke hte Kerber serve five times in the match; as the two-time Indian Wells semifinalist threatened a comeback, Vesnina held to love to reclaim the momentum the break for the biggest win in her career after one hour and 24 minutes on court.

“I was a little nervous at the end of the match,” she said of Kerber winning eight of nine points to close the gap from 4-1 to 4-3, “but my dad came out on court and told me some simple things, reminded me to stick to the game plan I had before. I had a good first serve percentage in key moments, and I think my net game helped as well; it allowed me to put pressure on her by coming in.”

“It was actually not my day,” Kerber said in her post-match press conference. “I was doing a lot of mistakes. I was not moving good. But it happens. She played good tennis from the beginning until the end, and she was aggressive. She took the game in her hands.

“I’ll take the positive things from this tournament; I will sit down later with my team and my coach, and we will discuss about the positives and the plan going forward.”

Up next for the Wimbledon semifinalist is No.12 seed and five-time Wimbledon winner Venus Williams, who recovered from a set down to escape against a surging Peng Shuai earlier in the day.

“I have so much respect for Venus and Serena; they’re great champions. I hope it’s going to be a great match because it’s always an honor to play against her.”

Vesnina leads their head-to-head 3-2, and won their most recent match at last year’s Miami Open, which she won in three sets.

“We’ve had some great battles in the past; she’s won, I’ve won. But it’s a totally different story; it’s Indian Wells and I’m really enjoying my time here.”

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French Open Fashion Review

French Open Fashion Review

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

WTA players are going to give all they’ve got to perform well at the 2016 French Open, leaving it to their clothing sponsors to make sure that comfort and style are not compromised during strenuous matches. Let’s hand over to Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog and see the outfits ready to rock the world of sports fashion during the most prestigious tennis tournament on clay.

Simona Halep

Last year adidas made noise with designer Yohji Yamamoto’s avant-garde styles and this year the standout collaboration is again bringing us a daring one-of-a-kind range. The Roland Garros 2016 collaboration between adidas Tennis and Y-3 has produced an eye-catching print, inspired by dazzle camouflage from the 40s and 50s.

Ana Ivanovic, Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep and Kristina Mladenovic will all go for these zebra-like stripes, which evoke a sense of movement even when players are standing still between points.

Players can opt for the visually-striking adidas Roland Garros Y-3 On Court Dress or a dazzling combination of the adidas Roland Garros Y-3 Tank to be paired with a black skort featuring layered jacquard mesh overlay.

Angelique Kerber

The adidas adizero Y-3 2016 Shoes are promising to deliver incredible resilience and energy return during intense rallies, providing ultimate traction, as well as the feeling of comfort.

Serena Williams

Nike is honoring the tournament’s host country by clothing its players in a spectrum of blues, France’s signature color, with world number one Serena Williams sporting a light photo blue NikeCourt Premier Dress, which captivates with its modern take on a classic vibe. Dropped back hem, box pleats and mesh back panel ensure comfortable fit and captivating design.

Madison Keys

Madison Keys‘blue outfitincludes the collared NikeCourt Premier Advantage Sleeveless Polo and the pleated NikeCourt Victory Skirt, which ensures photogenic movement and minimal distractions thanks to an inner ball short.

Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki‘s planned adidas Summer Stella McCartney Tour Dress included all the fashion elements we’ve loved so much, like the figure-slimming frontal colorblock, T-shaped racerback, oval mesh inset at back and floral print, bringing all the features together with a nice lilac shade. Such a pity the Dane has withdrawn from Roland Garros!

Garbine Muguruza

The range also includes a variety of tops and bottoms, allowing for a number of stylish combinations, my favorite being Garbiñe Muguruza‘s combo that made my March’s best dressed list: the fresh yellow adidas Summer Stella McCartney Tour Tank and its matching adidas Summer Stella McCartney Tour Skirt with four rows of laser-cut hexagons.

Jelena Jankovic

Jelena Jankovic will choose from these four colorful dresses, part of Fila’s limited-edition Spring 2016 collection designed by Wimbledon 2013 champion Marion Bartoli. The Serb has already debuted the dotted “eye dress” at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, becoming the top fashion talk of the tournament, and we can only look forward to seeing the rest of “Love Fila by Marion Bartoli” cooperation, especially the lavender dress with the Eiffel Tower print, inspired by the Frenchwoman’s hometown of Paris.

“I’m happy to wear something that’s different, you know. You can also go out of the comfort zone and the classic ones. I like the classic, you know, as well. But it’s also nice to sometimes have a changeup and just wear something that’s not really typical print for a tennis dress,” Jankovic said about the collection in Rome.

Fila

Other Fila athletes, most notably Karolina Pliskova and Yaroslava Shvedova, will sport the Gingham collection, celebrating the quintessential print with peacoat navy and white checks. Shvedova’s promotional image showcases the Fila Spring Gingham Racerback Tank, one of five available silhouettes of tops, and the Fila Spring Gingham Skirt, which exists in navy, gingham and white, and is designed to match all the shirts from the range.

Venus Williams

Venus Williams prepared the EleVen Geo Swirl Dress for Roland Garros. The cut is highlighted by the narrow high neckline and thin white straps at waist for a figure-flattering effect.

Elena Vesnina

Lacoste‘s WTA players, most notably Elena Vesnina and Dominika Cibulkova, will wear the Spring 2016 collection, including the above-shown Lacoste Spring Dress, specific for its quarter-zip entry at chest and keyhole cutout at center back, the Lacoste Spring Mesh Back Tank, a traditional design with mesh panels at upper back and underarms that provide breathability and visual interest, and the Lacoste Spring Contrast Tipped Skirt, a classic piece with stylish contrast binding.

Agnieszka Radwanska

Agnieszka Radwanska will wear a coral dress from Lotto’s limited-edition Lacy line, a feminine piece whose elegant lace takes on unique forms, bringing Paris runways to the courts without compromising comfort and performance. The new SS16 Stratosphere speed-oriented shoes will help Radwanska move confidently on clay, as the innovative technology provides optimal cushioning and responsiveness with every step.

Heather Watson

Heather Watson will wear the New Balance Tournament Dress, which made my April’s best dressed list, as seen on Sorana Cirstea at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup. Strappy racerback, “N” houndstooth burnout stretch mesh back panel and NB DRY technology ensure a good range of motion and comfortable performance with minimum sweat. The Brit will be competing in the New Balance 996v2, a lightweight performance tennis shoe made with PROBANK stability technology.

Paris native Alizé Lim will try to make the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time, wearing a jumpsuit designed according to her guidelines. Another bold move by Le Coq Sportif!

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Madison Keys’ comeback from wrist injury may not have ended on the note that she wanted, but the 22-year-old considered her Round of 16 run at the BNP Paribas Open a success.

Keys underwent left wrist surgery during the off-season, which ruled her out of the first two months of the year. Playing in her first tournament, she scored two solid wins over Mariana Duque-Mariño and Naomi Osaka, before losing to a steady Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday night.

“Funny enough, this is the furthest I got in Indian Wells, so go me!” Keys said after the match. “Obviously it sucks, but I’m happy I could play three matches. Caroline played well tonight. I thought it was pretty tight for someone who has played 20 matches this year and I’ve played three.”

Earlier in the week, Keys said her expectations for her first tournament back were fairly low.

“I was, like, if I get a set, I’ll be happy. It’s always tough to come back and everyone is in the middle of their season. I definitely had really low expectations, which is probably why, when I was up there and serving for the match in the first round, I was, like, ‘Oh, this is exciting. I didn’t think this was going to happen.'”

Keys sustained the left wrist injury at the 2015 US Open but played the entire 2016 season while managing the pain. It ended up being her best season to date, as she broke into the Top 10, made the biggest final of her career at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and qualified for her first BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

“I don’t think I really compromised my game,” Keys said, referring to playing last season with the injury. “If anything, it made me play my game better, looking more for forehands, doing what I could, maybe not going for the winner down the line from 16 feet behind the baseline, playing a lot smarter.

“More than anything, I think it made me a lot more mentally tougher knowing it’s going to hurt, it’s going to be tough, but just wanting to make Singapore that badly, I was just going to do everything that I could to get there.

“I think it was after Wimbledon I found out it’s not going to go away and that I was going to need surgery to fix it. So the original plan was, ‘Okay, after US Open, [have the surgery], be ready for Australian Open.’

“And then after US Open, I was 9th in the Race to Singapore. There was no way you’re going to get me off of a tennis court right now. Then it was, okay, we’re going to do everything we can to get to Singapore. And then, if you don’t make Singapore, we’ll call it there. If you do, which I did, I got home on the 30th or the 31st of October and I had surgery November 2nd.”

Keys’ wrist was immobilized in a cast after surgery, but once that cast was removed her panic began to set in.

“For the longest time, I still couldn’t turn my steering wheel and I couldn’t use my left hand doing this and that,” she said. “It was tough, and it was really stressful.

“There were so many times when I’d be fine for, like, a week or a month and then all of a sudden I’d be, ‘Oh, my God, guys. What if I never win a match again? What if it’s over?’

“And that’s when my team was really great about, Take a breath. It is fine. You won matches [in 2016] when every time you hit the ball you were in horrible amounts of pain. You can do this.”

Part of that team includes Lindsay Davenport, who rejoined Keys’ team during the off-season. The two worked together during the 2015 season and under Davenport’s tutelage Keys made her first major semifinal at the Australian Open. Family commitments led to a split but so far the reunion has been exactly what Keys needed.

“I think we both came to the table knowing what I could give, what she could give, all of that,” Keys said. “I have been lucky that I have also had the help of USTA in Orlando. So the weeks that she can’t do, I have a really good base to go home to and practice there. So that’s been really good. I think we both know what to expect.”

Going under the knife is never ideal for any athlete, but in Keys’ case there may have been a silver lining. In addition to spending time with her family – “It was nice to live a normal life for a bit” – the delayed start to her season also gave her a block of uninterrupted time to work on her fitness and improve her game.

“I worked on my slice a ton, obviously, because I had months where I couldn’t do anything else,” Keys said. “There were a lot of things I got to work on, which was great. And also, I got to work with Scott [Byrnes, her trainer] for the longest period of time without a tournament coming up. We worked on a lot of just little things we haven’t been able to.

“So I feel like I’m in the best shape that I have probably ever been in. Just feeling more comfortable coming to the net, using a slice, all of that. In a lot of ways it was really good to kind of just have the time to work on my game.”

Keys said the wrist is fully healed but she went into the tournament wondering how it would hold up through multiple matches. Under the duress of three matches, those questions were answered positively.

“I’m definitely excited to get back on the grind,” Keys said. “In a weird way I miss losing, because it means I was actually here.

“We do get to do what we love. I think that’s really special, and I think sometimes we get really caught up in the winning and the losing and rankings and all of that. At the end of the day, we get to play a sport that we love for our jobs, and just this whole time has made me realize how truly blessed I am to be able to do that.”

Keys’ next event is next week’s Miami Open.

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Insider RG Contenders: Players To Watch

Insider RG Contenders: Players To Watch

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

In a draw of 128 players, which players could pull off a plot twist or two at this year’s French Open? WTA Insider takes a look at the young and the restless who will reside between the biggest seeds in the forthcoming draw:

The Americans: Typically overlooked at this time of year, Internazionali BNL d’Italia runner-up Madison Keys leads a talented team of Americans who can definitely do some damage on the dirt. Keys unlocked her clay court potential last week in Rome as she found her timing and maintained her patience through a winning week in the Eternal City, outlasting Petra Kvitova and Garbiñe Muguruza en route to the final.

It’s hard to predict exactly what will come next with Sloane Stephens, who has risen to the highest of highs – winning three titles – and sank to the lowest of lows – going 1-4 at the first three Premier Mandatory tournaments and Australian Open – in 2016.

The French Open, however, has been her haven for consistency, reaching the fourth round in four of her five appearances – defeating Venus Williams and pushing sister Serena to three sets last year. Stephens has made a career out of saving her best tennis for the biggest stages, and will certainly feel she has something to prove next week in Paris.

Irina Falconi won her maiden WTA title this season on red clay in Bogota, while Christina McHale is coming off a second straight quarterfinal finish in Rome.

18 Americans – including Madrid semifinalist Louisa Chirico, who qualified for the main draw on Friday – are set to face off at the French Open – the most of any nation.

Caroline Garcia, Kristina Mladenovic

The French: Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic have soared to new heights as a pair, riding a 15-match winning streak through three titles in Charleston, Stuttgart, and Madrid. Apart, they’ve largely struggled to translate that success to singles, but both Garcia and Mladenovic are in the semifinals at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, making up two-thirds of the largest French representation in the final four of a WTA tournament since 2006 at the Paris Indoors.

Garcia made her breakthrough in Paris as a teenager in 2011, getting within two games of defeating Maria Sharapova. Mladenovic won the title as a junior, and upset Eugenie Bouchard en route to the third round last year. The latter lin particular has looked buoyed by a bump in confidence in Strasbourg, building on a second round win over Alison Riske, which she won a in a third set tie-break, to looking all business in the quarterfinals against Alla Kudryavtseva.

Alize Cornet

Ranked in between the two is Alizé Cornet, who flew into the fourth round for the first time in 10 previous French Open appearances last year. The veteran enjoyed a fast start to 2016 with a title in Hobart, but while a back injury has slowed her since, she will likely be appointment television should she headline one of the show courts to start the week.

Pauline Parmentier reached the quarterfinals in Strasbourg this week with a win over Stephens, and beat Roberta Vinci to reach the fourth round in 2014.

Irina-Camelia Begu

The Romanians: Simona Halep reasserted her presence as one of the biggest names in tennis this spring, and not a moment too soon, as her countrywoman were right at her heels for most of the clay court season. Irina-Camelia Begu took the only set Halep would lose in Madrid, pushing the former World No.2 to three sets in the quarterfinals.

Begu backed up that result – where she also ousted Muguruza in three grueling sets – in emphatic style a week later in Rome, reaching her first career Premier 5 semifinal.

Monica Niculescu

Monica Niculescu may prefer the faster courts, but she nonetheless had a strong start to her clay court swing, defeating Garcia and holding a pair of match points on Petra Kvitova in Stuttgart. Edging into the seeds at No.31, her unique ground game could cause problems for whomever she may face in her opening rounds.

Sorana Cirstea qualified for the main draw and is a 2009 quarterfinalist in Paris – defeating former No.1 Jelena Jankovic that year – and was one of four Romanian women to reach the last eight in Madrid. Along with Chirico, Cirstea is among the most dangerous qualifiers a big name could face.

Daria Kasatkina, Daria Gavrilova

The Dashas: Two of the most compelling counterparts since Jane Austen’s Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, Daria Kasatkina and Daria Gavrilova are a pair of dynamic characters who have proven to be highly capable on clay.

Kasatkina is the embodiment of “sense.” The teenager has, with the swiftest of prudence, built up quite the resumé in her still young career. Looking to reach a third straight Grand Slam third round, the Russian reached the quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open, falling to Stephens from match point up.

Another junior French Open champion, Kasatkina employs excellent court sense and a heavy topspin forehand that could reverse the blips she endured in Rome and Madrid.

Daria Kasatkina

Gavrilova, by contrast, is “sensibility” incarnate. The emotional Aussie began the year with a bang, roaring into the round of 16 at the Australian Open with a thrilling win over Mladenovic in the third round. Rebounding from a slump that started in the Middle East, she upset Kvitova to reach the quarterfinals of Madrid and battled past Halep in Rome, where she reached the semifinals a year ago.

Gavrilova finds herself unseeded, while Kasatkina is in the Top 32 for the first time in her career; might both carve out a happy ending in Paris?

Daria Gavrilova

Click here to keep up with WTA Insider’s pre-French Open coverage!

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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