Roland Garros: S. Williams vs. Rybarikova
Serena Williams takes on Magdalena Rybarikova in the first round of Roland Garros.
Serena Williams takes on Magdalena Rybarikova in the first round of Roland Garros.
Former WTA World No.3 (in both singles and doubles) Nadia Petrova has announced her retirement from professional tennis after a 19-year career.
“Tennis has given me so much,” Petrova told WTA Insider. “It’s given me a career, shaped me as a person, allowed me the opportunity to travel the world, make friends internationally and learn about many cultures. My opportunities have become endless and for that, I’m forever grateful.”
The 34-year-old from Russia concludes a career which saw her clinch 13 WTA singles and 24 WTA doubles titles, reach a Grand Slam singles semifinal, advance to two Grand Slam doubles finals and win the WTA Finals doubles title on two occasions.
Check out Petrova’s full statement below and click here to read WTA Insider’s exclusive interview with the two-time French Open semifinalist.
Tennis has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. It was pretty much everything I did on a daily basis and the little time I had off, I would spend with my loved ones. I suppose when the time comes to say goodbye, it becomes bitter sweet. It’s confusing, somewhat painful, scary yet also gratifying. I’ve decided to turn the page and move on to another stage in my life and I’m ready to do it. Tennis has given me so much. It’s given me a career, shaped me as a person, allowed me the opportunity to travel the world, make friends internationally and learn about many cultures.
My opportunities have become endless and for that, I’m forever grateful. My career has been great, obviously with highs and lows. We all know I was plagued with many injuries which made some of my calendar years challenging. Unfortunately that’s part of an athlete’s life and we all learn how to deal with that. We fall and then we get back up and keep going. Then there comes a time, no matter what you do, say or feel, nothing is ever enough. Your body lets you know it’s had enough. In 2013, when I lost my mother, emotionally I was a mess. On top of that, I was dealing with a hip injury which affected a good portion of the year. I made the decision to take some personal time to heal physically and emotionally. Hopefully that would help me once I decided to step back on court. In February 2014, I tried playing to see how I felt. My mind was still everywhere but on the court and my body was just not responding. It was painful. Painful because I felt useless and the player I was once, was no longer there.
I took more time and when I decided to start training again, my body felt good but once I was aggressively doing court work, it started to break down again. I had to start facing the inevitable and that was that my career had come to an end. To be able to compete at a high level with these top players, I had to be in the best shape and if my hip was not holding up, there was no way I could move on. After many failed attempts of trying to make a come back, I came to the realization that maybe it was time to turn the page and say goodbye to tennis competitively. I would be starting a new chapter in my life, exploring other interest and keeping myself occupied but most importantly spending my time with my loved ones. Making up for lost time.
I said to myself.. “I want to start a family, I want to be home more and I want to enjoy a lot of the things I never had time for while I was on the road”. So although it’s been unfortunate that I was unable to overcome this last injury and compete again, I’m excited for what’s to come and be a part of tennis in the future with other aspects of the sport. I’ve been blessed that Tennis has been such a huge part of my life professionally for the past 15 years. I want to thank every single one of you who has made it possible along the way. Whether that’s been sponsors, tournament staff, WTA, my travel team (which consisted of my coach, trainer, physio and manager), friends and family.. Thank you all. Last but not least MY FANS!! You have been my motivation, my back bone and the reason why I hadn’t given up sooner. Without fans, there wouldn’t be tennis. You all make the sport. Thank you all so much for believing in me and helping me through out my entire career.
Without any further delay, I’d like to make it known that I’m officially retiring from the sport. I plan to stay involved in tennis in the near future. I will be devoting a lot of my time to the sport through charity work which I will make known soon. I may no longer be competing but I will never be far from a court. My heart will always belong there.
Thank you all for making my career so memorable.
Nadia P
SYDNEY, Australia – Former champion Agnieszka Radwanska eased past qualifier Duan Ying-Ying and into the semifinals of the Apia International Sydney on Wednesday evening.
At last week’s Shenzhen Open, Radwanska saved three match points to defeat Duan in a tougher-than-expected season opener. This time around it was a far more straightforward outing, the No.2 seed completing a 6-3, 6-2 victory in an hour and 20 minutes.
“Sometimes you play people two or three weeks in a row, like Caroline and I had last year in Asia, but I’m definitely more happy with this performance than in Shenzhen,” Radwanska said in her on-court interview. “It’s another semifinal here, so I’m very happy with that.
“I was warming up at 4pm and it was still very hot, so I was a little bit lucky to play this evening. I was watching the first match here and it was unbelievably hot – the guys were playing amazingly.”
Despite the more hospitable conditions, both players made heavy weather of holding onto their serve early on. But after a succession of breaks, Radwanska finally put some daylight between the two, opening up a 5-3 lead before calmly serving out the set.
.@ARadwanska takes the first set 6-3! #SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/4JRVJczZYf
— WTA (@WTA) January 11, 2017
Unlike in Shenzhen, there was to be no Duan comeback, Radwanska rattling off the first four games of the second set to ease her way into the last four.
Radwanska lifted the title in 2012, and standing between her and a return to the final is marathon woman Barbora Strycova. Earlier in the day, Strycova withstood the worst of the midday sun to win an epic encounter against Caroline Wozniacki. “Like I said, she was playing unbelievable tennis and she’s really on fire. Last year she also played amazing tennis. I’m just expecting a good match and we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”
“It's funny when you see your picture (when) walking down the corridor” @ARadwanska on seeing her 2012 champion photo behind the scenes pic.twitter.com/ywMZcAh66K
— Apia Intl Sydney (@SydneyTennis) January 11, 2017
Johanna Konta made short work of Eugenie Bouchard to take her place in the final of the Apia International Sydney.
Venus and Serena Williams go back-to-back on Court Philippe Chatrier as each attempt to reach the quarterfinals of Roland Garros.
SYDNEY, Australia – Timea Babos and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova hit through top seeds Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova, 6-4, 6-4, to win their first title as a pair at the Apia International Sydney.
Babos and Pavlyuchenkova were playing just their second event together, playing just once at the end of last season in Moscow. Babos ended her seven-month partnership with Yaroslava Shvedova after the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
“I think at least we found a good balance on this,” Babos said after the match. “It was definitely a great week. We beat some really good teams, the best teams, the last two, three rounds.
“To start like this, our partnership together is important and promising.”
Pavlyuchenkova, by contrast, had opted to focus on singles for most of 2016, though the former Singapore alternate is more than capable on the doubles court.
“It’s amazing, because Timea, she’s more experienced in doubles,” said the Russian. “She has a lot more titles and done great in the Grand Slams, as well.
“I’m really happy, because it’s also nice to win a title in doubles. I feel like we had also been playing really good together.”
.@NastiaPav/@TimeaBabos playing strong! ?
Take a 6-4, 3-0 lead over Mirza/Strycova! #SydneyTennis pic.twitter.com/rLEFFMwdQW
— WTA (@WTA) January 13, 2017
Mirza teamed up with Strycova last summer, and the duo were playing their first event of 2017 together after the former No.1 paired with Bethanie Mattek-Sands to win the Brisbane International, passing the top spot to her good friend after 91 weeks leading the WTA rankings.
Champs! ?@NastiaPav/@TimeaBabos win @SydneyTennis Doubles title!
Defeat Mirza/Strycova 6-4, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/ZyRBmWo2QE
— WTA (@WTA) January 13, 2017
The first set came down to just one break of serve, whereas the second featured four.
“We just went out there and tried to do our game, tried to dictate and play how we always played before and tried, like Timea said, to enjoy and not put too much pressure,” added Pavlyuchenkova.
Babos and Pavlyuchenkova raced out to a 3-0 double break lead in the second set, and though Mirza and Strycova twice clawed the deficit down to one, the unseeded team emerged victorious after one hour and 14 minutes of play. For the fast-rising Hungarian youngster, it was her second title in Sydney.
“This was actually my first year when I played singles here,” said Babos. “Last year I only played doubles. It’s a great tournament. In general, Australia [is] one of my favorite countries if not the favorite. So I really enjoy being here. It’s great atmosphere.”
.@NastiaPav and @TimeaBabos strike a pose with their new @SydneyTennis trophies! ? ? pic.twitter.com/8dhFP412Js
— WTA (@WTA) January 13, 2017
In today’s SAP Stat Of The Day, Johanna Konta shows just how dominant she was in her run to the Apia International Sydney title.
Radwanska and Halep sound off: Losing will never sit well with any player. Losing when feeling like your health has been put at risk? That will result in some angry players.
Both No.2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska and No.6 seed Simona Halep were the favorites to win their suspended matches from Sunday, with both women holding an advantage on the scoreboard when play resumed in their fourth round matches on Tuesday. Radwanska led No.102 Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2, 3-0 and Halep led No.21 seed Sam Stosur 5-3 in the first set.
After a late start due to the never-ending rain that triggered the first washout at Roland Garros in 16 years on Monday, the players took to their respective courts with rain and drizzle still coming down. Fans in the stadium had their umbrellas up and ponchos on, and the damp conditions clearly got into Radwanska and Halep’s heads.
Radwanska lost 10 consecutive games on the restart and lost to Pironkova 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Halep struggled to find a way to solve a top-form Stosur, who rallied to win 7-6(0), 6-3. Afterwards, the women on the losing ends let their frustration out.
“I’m just so surprised and angry, that we have to play in the rain,” Radwanska said. “It’s not a $10,000 tournament. It’s a Grand Slam. How can you allow players to play in the rain? I cannot play in that conditions.”
Radwanska called a medical timeout at 0-4 in the third set for her right hand, which required surgery a few years ago. “Playing with those balls in that kind of court is pretty much impossible,” she said. “So, I mean, I tried. Maybe I played worse, did worse things other days than when we start to play that match, but it definitely shouldn’t be like this. We shouldn’t play in that kind of rain. Why? We still have couple of days of tournament. What’s the point?”
Halep said she did not feel safe on the court from the moment they walked out. “I don’t care that I lost the match today, but I was close to get injured with my back, so that’s a big problem.”
“I mean, in my opinion [Stosur] played really well and she deserved to win. Her ball was very heavy to return, and her serve especially. She did a great match.”
Radwanska voiced her concerns to the umpire when it began to drizzle again in the third set, but Halep did not raise any concerns until after the match in her press conference. Both women complained about the wet balls and slippery conditions. When told the men’s matches that followed theirs ended when the players complained to the umpire and supervisor and ultimately walked off the court, Halep gave them the literal ‘thumbs up’. “Well done to them.”
“I have no words,” Halep said. “It was impossible to play, in my opinion. And to play tennis matches during the rain I think it’s a bit too much. But everyone was in the same situation, and who was stronger won today.”
Asked why she believed the players were put on court despite the damp weather, Halep deferred to tournament organizers. “Maybe they are scared because the tournament is going, the days are going on and they don’t play matches.
“But is not our fault. Is not their fault. But the decisions were not, I think, the best.”
Samantha Stosur returns to the quarterfinals: For the first time since 2012, Stosur is back into the quarterfinals of a major. The 32-year-old, who made the final here in 2010, backed up her big third round win over Lucie Safarova with another self-assured performance to beat Halep for her first Top 10 win since 2014.
“I don’t typically like the heavy, wet, damp conditions, but today I was able to use them I think a lot better, I think, than she was,” Stosur said. “I didn’t necessarily think about hitting with heavy spin, but more higher over the net I guess to get the same kind of result.
“Having a slice backhand I can then hit it a bit shorter, keep it low over the net. The court is dead and wet. If you keep it low it doesn’t bounce that much. I think that really kept her off-balance when I was hitting my slice, whether I was going deep or short. Yeah, when it’s harder to move, that makes it just that a little bit harder. Like I said, then with my forehand, just that little bit of extra height to push her back was working well for me.”
As for the court conditions, Stosur did as an Aussie does: She sucked it up and just played. “I guess in this situation they need – every minute counts, and I’m just playing,” the 2011 US Open champion said. “If the umpire says we’re stopping, we’re stopping. I don’t know what the forecast is. I know what it feels like out there and I know it was raining for the first time we went out today, but the court was okay for the most part.
Samantha Stosur est en quarts de finale après sa victoire contre Simona Halep 7-6 6-3 #RG16 https://t.co/SV1bmkbnbo
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 31, 2016
“I don’t think Simona was complaining about it. Again, we’re told to play, we play. If it gets too wet you’ve got to say something. Yeah, I mean, like it’s not good out there, but it was fine for us.”
Despite a good run to the final of the J&T Banka Prague Open, where she lost to Safarova, and the semifinals of the Madrid Open, where she lost to Halep, Stosur came into Paris under the radar. She withdrew from the Internationaux de Strasbourg quarterfinals with a left wrist injury, which clouded her chances here at her, arguably, best Slam. Clearly it hasn’t been an issue. She’s hitting her backhand and slice better than ever.
“Yeah, look, I didn’t know what kind of result or performance I was going to have regardless of the wrist injury,” Stosur said with a laugh, “but I did exactly what I needed to do for that and sort it out and came here early.
“It was unfortunate I had to pull out of Strasbourg, but I needed those days to recover. Thankfully, touch wood, it’s been okay so far. I’m not struggling with it at all. I’m not even thinking about it now. I still have it taped, but it’s not bothering me and I’m able to play some of my best tennis.”
Tsvetana Pironkova sheds her grass court label: The conventional book on the Bulgarian was she was a danger on fast, low-bouncing surfaces like grass. She was a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2010, quarterfinalist in 2011, and made the Round of 16 in 2013. Two years ago she came out of nowhere to win the Sydney International, another fast hardcourt event, as a qualifier.
But muddy, wet, heavy clay? As even Pironkova admitted, “It’s not my thing.”
“I’m not a player who likes slow courts, heavy balls, obviously, but I kind of tried to leave the fact that it’s raining out of my mind and just focus on each and every point. Obviously that worked.”
Ranked No.102, Pironkova hasn’t shown the results to telegraph her first quarterfinal run at Roland Garros, but results can be deceiving.
“I could say I’m surprised, but I think coming to the tournament I was in a very good shape,” Pironkova said. “My results in the previous tournaments didn’t show it, but I was feeling good. Every time someone from the media or my friends asked me, How are you feeling? I was like, It’s strange, but I feel very good.
“So obviously the time came, and right now I showed that actually I’m feeling in a good form.”
Her win over Radwanska was her first Top 10 win since that run to the Sydney title in 2014, and it backed up a dominant win over No.19 seed Sloane Stephens, 6-2, 6-1, in the third round. But it was her opening win over 2012 finalist Sara Errani in the first round that made her believe something big could happen in Paris.
“I played really well, and that match showed me that I have the chance and I should fight for it,” she said.
Update: The R16 match between Svitolina and Serena has been postponed until Wednesday. #RG16 pic.twitter.com/3qz02MxpC4
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) May 31, 2016
Rain postpones completion of the Round of 16: The tournament was able to get just over two-hours of play in the books before play was eventually called for rain before 7pm. While the bottom half quarterfinals are now set (Shelby Rogers vs. Garbiñe Muguruza, Samantha Stosur vs. Tsvetana Pironkova), the remaining four fourth round matches – Serena Williams vs. Elina Svitolina, Venus Williams vs. Timea Bacsinszky, Carla Suárez Navarro vs. Yulia Putintseva, and Madison Keys vs. Kiki Bertens – were pushed to Wednesday.
Any Given Week: Fortunes can change in a heartbeat in tennis, and we’ve seen that play out week after week in 2016. Stosur lost to Safarova and Halep in the two biggest results of her clay court run up. She avenged both loses in back-to-back matches in Paris. A couple of forehands here, an ace on break point there, a backhand that floats in instead of long, the margins in the sport are tiny.
“Tennis is something – it can change quickly,” Stosur said. “I was reading the other day, Shelby Rogers, she lost in qualifying in Strasbourg and now she’s in the quarters. One tournament to the next, smallest tournament on tour and the biggest one. She’s had polar opposite results. Shows how quickly things can turn around. Also, the margins are so small. You can make big changes very quickly if you’re prepared to, you know, take them.”
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Highlights from the semifinals action at the Hobart International.
BOL, Croatia – No.5 seed Ana Konjuh eased past Grace Min, 6-1, 6-3, in her Bol Open 125K opener. Despite rain dampening much of the afternoon action, the Croatian favorite notched her first WTA win in her home country to book a Round of 16 clash against Turkey’s Ipek Soylu.
Watch free live streaming from Bol, Croatia all week right here on wtatennis.com!
Also through is another Croat, wildcard Tereza Mrdeza, who took on fellow countrywoman Ani Mijacika. A lucky loser, Mijacika came up short once again in the first round and bowed out 6-3, 6-4.
Joining Konjuh and Mrdeza in the second round are a pair of seeded players, No.4 Nao Hibino and No.7 Polona Hercog. Hercog had to come back from a mid-match wobble to advance Petra Martic, who was looking to make it three Croatians through today. The Slovak defeated her 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. Hibino had little trouble against French qualifier Marine Partaud, making her way to the Round of 16, 6-2, 6-1.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the seeds in Bol. No.1 seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova bowed out to Kristina Kucova in the day’s biggest upset, while No.3 Shuai Zheng suffered a 6-4, 7-6(4) defeat at the hands of Ysaline Bonaventure.