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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The WTA World No.5, Dominika Cibulkova, has spoken in depth about the positive and negative effects of pressure on her game.

The Slovak finished last season on a high after winning the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. However, after being knocked out in the third round at the Australian Open in January – the 25-year-old lost to Russian Ekaterina Makarova – she now feels heightened pressure.

“I didn’t feel good on the court. It was a little hard with all the pressure and all the media attention. I think that was why there were negative thoughts in my head. I wasn’t really enjoying my time on the court,” she wrote in a Straits Times column this week.

For the past two years, Cibulkova has been working closely with a mental coach in order to overcome match-day nerves – and the move is paying off.

Reflecting on the first two months of 2017, she said that she has been concentrating on turning negative thoughts into positive ones and enjoying the game.

“Dealing with pressure and nerves has always been a challenge for me throughout my career. Sometimes I want something so badly and the nerves come, especially in the tight moments.”

But it is a fine balance to strike and she is still working on balancing the increased expectations that accompany success.

“People think you just have to learn how to deal with pressure and expectations on court but that’s wrong. I make the goals smaller and then they become more manageable.”

In the lead-up to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, the eight singles players from last year’s edition will pen columns exclusively for The Straits Times. The monthly series begins with reigning champion Dominika Cibulkova – click here to read it in full.

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

February was defined by four breakthrough players who brought some impressive performances on and off the court. Which one soared the highest?

Have a look at the nominees for February’s Breakthrough of the Month and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, March 10.

February 2017 WTA Breakthrough of the Month Finalists:

Elina Svitolina: Svitolina surged up the rankings and into the upper echelons of the women’s game in February, debuting in the Top 10 and winning the biggest title of her career at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Along the way, she also won the Taiwan Open and amassed a 13-match winning streak, one that’s yet to be broken heading into the BNP Paribas Open.

Kristina Mladenovic: The Frenchwoman took home her first career title on one of the game’s biggest stages, surviving Yulia Putintseva to win a Premier title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. Mladenovic capped off the month with a win over Karolina Pliskova and another run to a WTA final at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.

CiCi Bellis: The young American made waves in Dubai, stunning former World No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska to become the youngest quarterfinalist at the Premier 5 event since Lina Krasnoroutskaya in 2001.

Ashleigh Barty: Barty continued her impressive comeback by winning the singles and doubles titles at the Ayla WTA Malaysian Open; the former was her first career singles title and helped her make her Top 100 debut on Monday’s rankings.

BTOM

2017 Winners:

January: CoCo Vandeweghe

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

 INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – As one might expect, there are plenty of players working hard on the practice court as Indian Wells gets under way – and they’re certainly enjoying the views.

Lara Arruabarrena is soaking in the sights as well.

Simona Halep is toiling away under the sun and watchful eye of coach Darren Cahill – and taking on the tough task of two opponents at once.

 

There was still time for a bit of fun, though. For starters, WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen was out and about with players in a most unorthodox way – riding around on a golf cart.

Elina Svitolina shared her excitement for the week ahead.

 Timea Bacsinszky confessed her “blonde moment”. 

And Barbora Strycova talked about suffering from jetlag.

Lauren Davis took some time out to try out a relaxing yoga session.

Lauren Davis tries out yoga

And Zhang Shuai smiled for the cameras in a photo shoot for the Tennis Channel.

Zhang Shuai in her Tennis Channel shoot

And there’s no better way than to end the day having dinner with your best girls in Indian Wells – and Kristina Mladenovic got her posse of famous friends to synchronize their footwork.

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Tsurenko Upsets Defending Champion Jankovic For Guangzhou Title

Tsurenko Upsets Defending Champion Jankovic For Guangzhou Title

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

GUANGZHOU, China – Lesia Tsurenko edged past defending champion and No.2 seed Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to claim the title at the Guangzhou International Women’s Open.

Playing Guangzhou for the second time in her career, Tsurenko capped off her trip to the sprawling Chinese port city by taking home her second career title after a nearly two-hour-and-thirty-minute clash against Jankovic.

“I think today I played really good tennis, except maybe in the second set when I felt a little bit tired,” Tsurenko said in her post-match press conference. “But I said to myself that I have to give it all in the final set, and I was fighting for each point. I had to give 100 percent to win this title.”

The Tashkent Open is up next for the Ukrainian, who is coming off a career-best week at the Grand Slams with a fourth round appearance at the US Open. She plans to forgo Wuhan and heads to the Uzbekistani capital build on the recent success.

“I’ll go to Tashkent and I think I’ll be more relaxed there,” Tsurenko explained. “I will try to play good tennis, not losing too much energy and I will see maybe I will come back to China and play Beijing. But for now I am focusing on Tashkent.”

It was a taxing week for Jankovic, who also reached the semifinals in doubles with former No.1 Martina Hingis.

“It’s tough, because this tournament took a lot of energy out of me,” said the Serb, who has been struggling with shoulder issues throughout the season. “It’s so hot and humid here, and also when you take into consideration that it’s only my second tournament on hardcourt because I’m coming back from an injury.”  

On the doubles side, No.4 seeds Asia Muhammad and Peng Shuai took home the title with a 6-2, 7-6(3) victory over Olga Govortsova and Vera Lapko. Guangzhou was the pair’s first tournament together, and they didn’t drop a set en route to the title.

“Not many times when you play with someone for the first time, you get to win the whole tournament,” Muhammad said. “I’m really excited that we were able to do that. Our games mesh really well, and I really mean it when I say this but it doesn’t feel like it’s the first time we’ve played together. That’s something very positive that we have.”

WTA Finals: Get Your Tickets!

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The boldest decision Karolina Pliskova ever made came at a very young age.

She was 12 – and she made the choice to focus on tennis rather than education.

“I decided to start with tennis and quit with school,” she said in an exclusive WTA interview. “I didn’t study at all, I just put everything into the tennis and it worked.”

Karolina Pliskova

It proved a wise decision for the 24-year-old, who turned pro just five years later, in 2009. After reaching her maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open in 2016, she has taken her game to a new level this year and has two 2017 titles to her name already, at the Brisbane International in January and the Qatar Total Open in Doha last month. Her success in Brisbane saw her reach a career-high No.3 in the WTA rankings on January 30.

Pliskova’s comments mark 2017 International Women’s Day, the theme of which is ‘Be Bold For Change’.

International Women’s Day falls on March 8 every year, and celebrates women’s achievements in culture, the economy, politics and society.

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Wuhan Sunday: Kuznetsova, Puig Kick Off Opening Day

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The Asian swing is heating up, with nine of the WTA’s Top 10 players set to battle for precious ranking points at this week’s Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. We break down the opening day matchups here at wtatennis.com.

Sunday
First Round

[9] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10) vs. Belinda Bencic (SUI #26)
Head-to-head: Bencic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Bencic has lost eight of her last 11 matches.

After a long season that has seen her battle injuries to her back and wrist, 19-year-old Belinda Bencic is hoping to rediscover her winning ways in Asia this fall. Bencic’s plan to do so in Tokyo backfired when she was ousted by Caroline Wozniacki in three sets in her first match, and the draw gods haven’t been any kinder to the Swiss in China, as the world No. 26 is slated to face No. 9 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova here in Wuhan. Kuznetsova has had some very strong results this year, particularly on hard courts where she has won seven of her last eight against players ranked outside the Top 20. But Kuznetsova has not played since falling in the second round of the US Open to Caroline Wozniacki, and she was in very poor form last year at Wuhan when she won only one game in a lopsided loss to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Will the Russian be able to shake off the rust and rise to the Bencic challenge, or is it time for Bencic to get her game on track and notch another Top 10 win?

Pick: Kuznetsova in three

[13] Roberta Vinci (ITA #15) vs. Monica Puig (PUR #33)
Head-to-head: Vinci leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Puig has won 11 of her last 14 hardcourt matches.

Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig suffered a Rio letdown at the US Open when she was knocked off in the first round by China’s Saisai Zheng, but Puig hit the ground running in Tokyo last week, proving that her Rio heroics were no fluke. The 22-year-old took out Petra Kvitova for the second consecutive time to reach the Toray Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals, stretching her win streak against the Top 20 to six, before falling to Agnieszka Radwanska. The unseeded Puerto Rican will look to keep the positive vibrations going when she meets Italy’s Roberta Vinci for the second time with a spot in the second round on the line. Both players know their way around a hard court, but stylistically they couldn’t be more different. Puig attacks with relentless, percussive topspin, while Vinci switches up the beat to produce an off-kilter and often times maddening amount of slice. It was Vinci that prevailed in the pair’s only previous meeting on the clay of Madrid last season. Can Puig, buoyed by her newfound confidence, power past the Italian in Wuhan?

Pick: Puig in three

[WC] Sabine Lisicki (GER #113) vs. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #39)
Head-to-head: Makarova leads, 2-1
Key Stat: Lisicki is 2-10 against Top 50 competition in 2016.

A pair of former Top 15 players who have been off their game in 2016 will do battle in the final match of the day on Centre Court on Sunday in Wuhan. It’s been a tough year for Sabine Lisicki, but the German is hoping that she can build some momentum down the stretch after reaching the quarterfinals at Guangzhou last week. Lisicki reached her second quarterfinal of the season, winning twice in straight sets before falling to Jelena Jankovic. The Grand Slam season may be over for Lisicki, but there’s still a lot to play for. The 27-year-old German, outside of the Top 100 for the first time in over five years, will look to make up points this autumn as she did not play after the U.S Open in 2015 due to a knee injury. Lisicki is making her second appearance at Wuhan and owns a 13-18 record on the season. Former world No. 8 Makarova has had mixed results this year as well, but she has managed four quarterfinals and a 23-18 tour-level record.

Pick: Makarova in two

By the Numbers:
19 – Bencic is the youngest player in this week’s draw at Wuhan. The Swiss will turn 20 next March.
8 – Number of American players in this week’s draw in Wuhan. Three (Louisa Chirico, Varvara Lepchenko and Shelby Rogers) will be in action on Sunday.
2 – Former champions in the draw. Venus Williams (2015) and Petra Kvitova (2014) won the first two stagings of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open.

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