Tennis News

Serena Williams is a legend on the tennis court and a megastar off it, and with over seven million followers on Twitter she sits near the top of the list of most followed athletes on social media.

Now, Serena has vowed to use that reach to speak up about race relations and police-involved incidents in the United States, particularly on the allegations of increased police violence toward unarmed African Americans.

Serena took to social media to post a heartfelt and powerful message, candidly expressing her fears for the safety of her 18-year-old nephew.

“I had to take a look at me. What about my nephews? What if I have a son and what about my daughters?” Serena said in a lengthy post to her Facebook page. “As Dr. Martin Luther King said, ‘There comes a time when silence is betrayal.’ I Won’t Be Silent.”

It’s not the first time Serena has commented on the issue, previously speaking out about police brutality after her record-tying Wimbledon victory.

“I feel anyone in my color in particular is of concern. I do have nephews that I’m thinking, ‘do I have to call them and tell them, ‘Don’t go outside. If you get in your car, it might be the last time I see you?'” she told reporters back in July.

“I don’t think that the answer is to continue to shoot our young black men in the United States. It’s just unfortunate. No one deserves to lose their life, doesn’t matter what color they are, where they’re from. We’re all human.”

WUHAN, China – Barbora Strycova won the first of two scheduled matches after getting rained out on Wednesday, recovering from a set down to defeat Guangzhou runner-up Jelena Jankovic, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Strycova will play No.10 seed and WTA Finals darkhorse Dominika Cibulkova, who roared past No.5 seed and US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova, 6-2, 6-2.

Watch live action from Wuhan on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“It’s great to have the roof because we got to play,” the Czech veteran said in her on-court interview. “I’m very happy to be through to the quarterfinals. It was a very tough match for me, with a lot of ups and downs, but I’m happy to get the win.”

Strycova had reached the round of 16 in her last two Wuhan appearances, but was in trouble early on against Jankovic, a former No.1 overcoming an injury-prone season to reach a final at the Guangzhou International Women’s Open just last week.

“You have to find the motivation all the time if you want to compete and bring a good level. The first set wasn’t really the way I wanted to play. I didn’t move well, so I started to move better, put more balls into the court. That helped me get my rhythm.”

When you can't stand the rain…☔️☔️☔️

…against your window! https://t.co/eOUN40H3iq

— WTA (@WTA) September 29, 2016

Strycova overcame a few moments of frustration to level the match, but Jankovic made a battle of it in the end, saving a match point in the tenth game of the decider, but ultimately succumed on Strycova’s second match point after two hours and 21 minutes.

“At the end, I was able to win a few more points than her, and that made the difference.”

She has her eye on you, Domi.

Pliskova-Cibulkova underway under the roof. Winner plays Strycova tonight. pic.twitter.com/w06RFNJYOC

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) September 29, 2016

While Strycova struggled through three grueling sets, Cibulkova charged past Pliskova in an hour and 15 minutes, dropping just four games to keep her hopes of making her debut appearance at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global alive.

“This was my first match on Center Court against such a big-serving player. It was tough to play but I was really focused, mentally ready, and playing my good tennis. I’m really happy to be into the quarterfinals here.”

The roof remained closed in Wuhan, even as the rain abated on the outer courts.

“Last week, I played in Tokyo in similar conditions, and I play at home under a closed stadium. We’re professionals, so we have to be prepared to play in any situation.”

Cibulkova will play Strycova for the first time, as she aims to earn as many points as possible to remain inside the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard by week’s end.

“It’s going to be another tough match, a different one. Two matches in one day isn’t easy, but I want to be ready for it.”

BEIJING, China – World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska defeated the tricky Ekaterina Makarova in straight sets to advance to the third round of the China Open and put herself in pole position to qualify for the WTA Finals.

Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Makarova did well to avoid the first set shutout – she was down 5-0 when she finally got on the scoreboard and began to mount a comeback – but Radwanska powered through 6-3, 6-4 after just over an hour an thirty minutes on court.

Everything seemed to be going Radwanska’s way at the China National Tennis Center on Monday night. Despite facing fierce resistance from the Russian in the second set, Radwanska struck 20 winners and just eight unforced errors against Makarova’s 25 winners and 31 unforced errors. She also served at 52 percent and fired five aces.

.@ARadwanska with the drop shot to lob combo! ? https://t.co/mjfnrJ9FJ7

— WTA (@WTA) October 3, 2016

With the victory Radwanska edges even closer to qualifying for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. In fact, she’s one win away from a spot in the season-ending event, but she could still qualify without lifting a racquet if both Johanna Konta and Svetlana Kuznetsova lose in the second round.

“I just hope I can [qualify] here, that’s for sure,” Radwanska said after her win last round. “But, well, I had the situation last year when I had to win the Tianjin Open to qualify for Singapore, and I did it. Of course, it was last-minute qualifying.

“I will try everything to qualify a bit before that this year. Everything is open. This is a big event. Everybody can do a lot of points here.”

That doesn’t mean Radwanska’s in the clear just yet – standing between her and a ticket to Singapore is the winner between giant-killer Roberta Vinci and familiar rival Caroline Wozniacki. It would be the third meeting in as many weeks for Wozniacki and Radwanska, with the pair splitting their previous encounters and Tokyo and Wuhan.

BEIJING, China – Petra Kvitova overcame some early resistance from local favorite Wang Yafan to safely take her place in the third round of the China Open.

Watch live action from Beijing on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Continuing the dominant form that took her to the title last week in Wuhan, Kvitova required little more than an hour to wrap up a 6-4, 6-1 victory and set up a showdown with defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza.

Beijing resident Wang came through qualifying to take her place in the main draw and even with the roof closed due to rain she looked at ease on court. In fact, it was the World No.143 that broke first, edging 3-2 ahead when Kvitova netted a backhand.

Any suggestion that Kvitova’s recent exertions were in danger of catching up with her were given short shrift. A break to love began a run that would bring her 10 of the next 12 games and place in the third round.

Happy to be through in Beijing! Thanks to my friend Mr Roof 😉 @ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/ZzNePB6CtB

— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) October 4, 2016

“I was pretty tired. I had two days off, which I think helped me. For sure, was a good win today. We’ll see how everything is going, like, in the next days,” Kvitova said.

“But I think I still do have motivation. I think it was a great week in Wuhan. I think that gave me more motivation and confidence, which I really needed before. I’m not really struggling with motivation here.”

While Kvitova’s head was ready for Wang, the same could not be said for her hands – a botched grooming session meant she took to the court with her fingers generously taped.

Kvitova with 3 fingernails taped so I ask what happens thinking it's blisters.Nope: manicure gone wrong. “Never do gel”, she said in a laugh

— Carole Bouchard (@carole_bouchard) October 4, 2016

If the Czech keeps winning, she still has an outside chance of reaching the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Muguruza is also in the hunt for a place in Singapore, where last year she defeated Kvitova in an epic round robin encounter.

Kvitova, who avenged this with a three-set victory in Stuttgart, is expecting another tight affair: “For sure will be great match. I think it will be great battle again. I know how we fight in Stuttgart. It was a great match over there.

“I know how dangerous she is. I mean, she’s really playing aggressive from both sides and she’s serving real well and returning as well. That’s why I think I really need to be ready from the first shot which I’m playing.”