Tennis News

The Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai is the final event of the season, and the completed draw revealed four exciting groups, with the winner of each advancing into the semifinals. World No.10 Johanna Konta leading a stacked field of 12 that includes two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and Australian Open quarterfinalist Zhang Shuai, the latter two presiding over Monday’s draw ceremony.

WTA Insider broke down the four round robin groups; click here to check out the full singles draw.

.@WTAEliteTrophy Azalea Group! @bambamsam30 @JoKonta91 @CaroGarcia pic.twitter.com/mdzAU2XWaI

— WTA (@WTA) October 31, 2016

Azalea Group: (1) Johanna Konta, Samantha Stosur, Caroline Garcia
Both Konta and Garcia head to Zhuhai direct from the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Konta served a first alternate while Garcia, top seed in alongside Kristina Mladenovic, earned a semifinal finish in doubles.

Konta enjoyed a strong finish to her breakout season with a run to the China Open final, and is playing her second tournament since becoming the first British woman to crack the Top 10 since Jo Durie in 1984.

Stosur had her best Grand Slam finish in four years when she upset 2015 finalist Lucie Safarova and 2014 runner-up Simona Halep en route to the French Open semifinals, falling to eventual champion Garbiñe Muguruza.

Garcia not only came within one match of finishing Co-No.1 in doubles, but the youngster also continued to build on her burgeoning singles career, winning two titles on two different surfaces in Strasbourg and Mallorca.

.@WTAEliteTrophy Camellia Group! @CarlaSuarezNava @TimeaOfficial @zhangshuai121 pic.twitter.com/jMp5WI6rvN

— WTA (@WTA) October 31, 2016

Camellia Group: (2) Carla Suárez Navarro, Timea Bacsinszky, Zhang Shuai
Second alternate in Singapore, Suárez Navarro came perilously close to the WTA Finals for a second straight season, and will look to make her first semifinal in Zhuhai after falling in the round robin stage in 2015.

A knee injury kept Bacsinszky out of Zhuhai last year, but the Swiss star put on a stunning performance to start 2016, winning another title in Rabat and winning back-to-back matches against Agnieszka Radwanska and Halep to roar into the semifinals at the Miami Open.

Rounding out the Camellia Group is one of the most compelling stories of the season in Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai. Close to retirement, the veteran won her first-ever Grand Slam main draw match in emphatic style, knocking out then-World No.2 Halep as a qualifier before her run ended in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. Zhang continued to play high-level tennis throughout the year, beating Halep again to roll into the last eight in Beijing.

Peony Group: (3) Petra Kvitova, Roberta Vinci, Barbora Strycova
One of the game’s biggest hitters goes head-to-head with a pair who rely on guile and cunning in the Peony Group as Petra Kvitova takes on Roberta Vinci and Barbora Strycova in her Zhuhai debut.

Kvitova began showing signs of her best tennis at the height of the Asian Swing. The Olympic Bonze medalist decimated an impressive field to win the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. In Beijing, she defeated Muguruza in straight sets before taking a narrow loss in the last eight.

.@WTAEliteTrophy Peony Group! @BaraStrycova @roberta_vinci @Petra_Kvitova pic.twitter.com/vg9ZAGH4cH

— WTA (@WTA) October 31, 2016

Her countrywoman, Barbora Strycova, had a breakthrough season of her own, moving up to a career-high ranking of No.19 and a pair of Premier finals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Aegon Classic. Kvitova and Strycova will meet again in a few weeks for the upcoming Fed Cup final against France.

Vinci became the oldest woman to make her Top 10 debut four days after her 33rd birthday, and bookended her season with solid results, winning the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and returned to the second week of the US Open a year after stunning then-World No.1 Serena Williams to reach the final.

.@WTAEliteTrophy Rose Group! @EVesnina001 @kikibertens @ElinaSvitolina pic.twitter.com/43qXzdFkVE

— WTA (@WTA) October 31, 2016

Rose Group: (4) Elina Svitolina, Elena Vesnina, Kiki Bertens
Svitolina headlines the final round robin group in Zhuhai alongside a pair of comeback kids in Elena Vesnina and Kiki Bertens.

The rising Ukrainian star qualified for the WTA Elite Trophy for the second year in a row; pairing up with 2016 International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee and former No.1 Justine Henin, she kicked off her season with a title run in Kuala Lumper – surviving a thriller against Eugenie Bouchard. But her best results have come at the end of the season, making the semifinals or better at four of her last six tournaments, including the Toray Pan Pacific Open and China Open.

Vesnina was ranked outside the Top 100 a short nine months ago, but rebounded spectacularly from a low of No.122 to a career-high of No.19. Claiming wins over the likes of Halep, Venus Williams, and Caroline Wozniacki, she qualified into the final of the Volvo Car Open before taking her best major result by dismantling Dominika Cibulkova on her way to the Wimbledon semifinal.

A cancer scare nearly took Kiki Bertens out of the game, but the Dutch powerhouse showed off some of her obvious potential in Paris, upsetting Bacsinszky to find herself in her first Grand Slam semifinal. The run also helped her clinch a berth on the Olympic team.

The doubles teams were split into two groups before the singles draw was made with help of Kvitova and Zhang:

Orchid Group @WTAEliteTrophy:
Soylu/Xu
Savchuk/Rodionova
Wang/Liang

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 31, 2016

Lotus Group @WTAEliteTrophy:
Klepac/Parra Santonja
Maria/Kalashnikova
You/Yang

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) October 31, 2016

All photos courtesy of Getty Images and WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

Victoria Azarenka gets her revenge: Azarenka told reporters in Indian Wells that she had rewatched her quarterfinal loss to Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open and she believed it was a match she should have won. Instead it was Kerber who rolled to a 6-3, 7-5 win and went on to win the first Slam of the year. That loss stung but Azarenka was determined to learn from it. The biggest lesson from the tape: she let Kerber dictate the match. She vowed not to let that happen again.

On Thursday night, the two best players of 2016 faced off for the third time in three months and Vika got her revenge, winning, 6-2, 7-5, in a spirited battle that emphasized just how good this rivalry has become. Azarenka is now 7-1 against Kerber but their three matches this year have seen both women push each other to find their best tennis. It’s a rivalry that fans are responding to.

“We’re both really good fighters,” Azarenka said. “She’s the type of player that will never give up and that also gives that kind of character to every match we play.”

Kerber agreed. “You see that we played really at a high level at the end of the match, that we both can raise our level a little bit higher when it’s important and know that now is the time to play the best tennis,” the German told WTA Insider. “This is why we always have really tough battles.”

Azarenka extended her season record to 21-1 with the near-flawless win, hitting 28 winners to 18 unforced errors, while Kerber finished with 22 winners to 23 unforced errors. Azarenka looked in cruise control after the first set but Kerber’s resilience helped her rally from 3-5 down in the second to break Azarenka as she served for the match at 5-4 and get back on serve. But Azarenka responded confidently and the two put on a shot-making showcase as they neared the finish line.

“She’s a very good player and obviously winning the Australian Open and playing so well this year, she plays with a different confidence and really raised her level,” Azarenka said. “For me we always have a lot of tough battles. I looked at this match as a really good challenge to work on my mistakes and what didn’t work for me at the Australian Open. I’m glad I made those adjustments and changed the result my way.

“I didn’t wait for her to give me anything. I really went out there and took my opportunities, which I was missing Australia. I wasn’t aggressive enough [then]. I know we got broken a lot of times but my serve was strong when I really needed and it made a difference.”

Svetlana Kuznetsova returns to the Miami final: Has it really been 10 years, Sveta? The Russian was 20-years-old when she won the Miami Open in 2006, beating Martina Hingis, Amélie Mauresmo, and Maria Sharapova en route to the title. Older, wiser, and still the immensely talented yet inconsistent player that she is, Kuznetsova’s rollercoaster career is back on the rise. A win on Saturday would put her back in the Top 10 for the first time since 2010.

“I started really well in Sydney, and then Australian Open didn’t happen for me to play good there,” Kuznetsova said. “But I still felt I was at a good level. Then I kind of messed up with Fed Cup. It was not good for me.

“I didn’t feel going in that [I was in] good shape going to the US swing. I was not feeling confident at all. After I had a loss in Indian Wells I tried to work a lot and training every morning a lot just to get confidence back, get my fitness.

“I’m doing better. I appreciate, I am blessed I have my body to play so many years and to win against good players, top players. It’s great when things come together. Either way, it’s not the end of the world, but it’s a great week. I’m really pleased and happy the way I fight through all these tournaments and weeks and players.”

Best of the best: Azarenka is a match away from becoming the first woman since Kim Clijsters in 2005 to complete the “Sunshine Double” and win both the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open. She’s lost just one match all season and can put a straight-set win over No.1 Serena Williams on her 2016 resume. She’ll also return to the Top 5 on Monday.

So I asked Vika, quite simply, does she believe she’s the best player in the world right now? She answered with a single sentence: “I wouldn’t go out there and kill myself everyday if I didn’t feel that.”

Blood and sweat for real #whateverittakes pic.twitter.com/BfWKEAdJOB

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) April 1, 2016

Kuznetsova earned her spot in the final with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Timea Bacsinszky. It was a match that saw Kuznetsova play the more patient tennis in rallies, shrinking the court with her defense and forcing Bacsinszky to rush. Patience is not a word we normally associate with Kuznetsova, but it’s precisely what has paved the way to wins over No.1 Serena Williams, Ekaterina Makarova, and Bacsinszky.

“I give her a lot of credit because she played extremely well on break points,” Bacsinszky said. “I remember one or two where she passed me with an amazing backhand down the line. She was serving well too.

“You don’t have so many chances. If the other one shows you at the crucial moment that she is there, you try more. That’s probably why in the second set I was rushing too much because she was raising her level all the time when she was struggling a little bit with the game. She was able to do that. That’s why she’s an amazing player.”

Russian rollercoaster: Kuznetsova’s inconsistency throughout her career is legendary. She can win a title one week and then struggle to win matches for months. Such is life with Sveta, with which her coach is far too familiar.

“My coach laughs about it,” she said. “He said, you don’t have the medium term. You don’t go like middle, stable. You go very bad or very good. So I don’t know if it’s true. I always said so I feel so much better when I have two matches under my belt, two, three matches. Then I start to play better and get into the rhythm of the matches.

“Nowatimedays [sic] the level is really good of the girls. Everybody can beat anybody almost. But there is a difference of girls who can constantly win matches and those who can beat anybody but then next day they lose.

“I want to be different one. I want to win more matches. So when I get matches, I get going, I feel much better.”

GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAALS: Now 30 and on the verge of re-entering the Top 10, Kuznetsova said she gave up on goal-setting years ago. Kind of. No, she still has goals.

“I just don’t want to have any,” she said. “My main goal is just to keep improving. My main goal now actually is to come to play tournaments being ready. I need good three weeks practicing then I’m ready to play.

“Now when you compete you got to be at the top level. That’s the only goal I have. I didn’t think if I get to Top 10 or not. When I go and I see the rankings I am confident in myself I can beat these players and players from Top 10. I can beat basically most of the top players. Actually any player.

“For this I got to be consistent over all the year and to perform when I am at my best. Because I came to tournaments because it’s mandatory, because I had to go. I thought I want to go. Then you’re not ready. So I want to be 100% to play at my best. Then I can have a good chances to be higher in the ranking.

“I go for quality not quantity.”

Kerber on the mend as she heads to Charleston: Regardless of the loss it was a positive tournament for Kerber, who will return to No.2 on Monday. She next heads to the Volvo Car Open to defend her title but she’ll be racing the clock over the next few days to get fully fit after picking up an upper leg injury in Miami.

“I will not say it was an excuse,” Kerber said. “I was feeling the leg at the beginning of the match. At the end of the first set I was feeling it worse. I was trying not to feel the pain but it was little bit worse than yesterday. I hope it will be good in the next few days.”

2006 #TBT
-Song: Daniel Powter's “Bad Day”
-Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean 2
-Miami Open Champ: Svetlana Kuznetsova pic.twitter.com/s7colWpMwe

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 31, 2016

Bacsinszky/Date-Krum 2026?: Funny exchange with Bacsinszky after the match.

Bacsinszky: I have a lot of admiration for [Kuznetsova] and a lot of respect for her whole work and commitment to this sport. She won here 10 years ago. Now she’s here. I don’t know where I’m going to be in 10 years but probably not here.

WTA Insider: You never know.

Bacsinszky: You never know (laughs). I’m like a phoenix. I can come back from ashes, I know.

WTA Insider: It could happen.

Bacsinszky: Thirty-six, huh? Whoo. I’m going to ask Kimiko Date-Krumm to coach me then (laughter).

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.