Tennis News

Barbora Strycova

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.42
Year-End Ranking: No.20 (Career-High No.19, 8/22/2016)
Titles Won: 0 (Dubai, Birmingham RU)
Best Major Result: 4R (Australian Open)

The countdown is on! ?

Only 20 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! ? pic.twitter.com/1dpjHU6fYz

— WTA (@WTA) December 12, 2016

2017 Outlook

Barbora Strycova bounced back from a middling 2015 from the first week of the season, upsetting eventual French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza en route to the second week of the Australian Open. She followed that up with a run to the biggest final of her career, knocking out former No.1 Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Garcia at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

“It’s been the best year of my career because I learned so many things, and also because my ranking improved,” Strycova told WTA Insider at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “I was very consistent throughout the whole season, which was, for me, the most important thing.”

The Czech veteran brought her best tennis all all surfaces, pushing Agnieszka Radwanska in a thrilling third round encounter in Roland Garros, and making her second WTA final of the season on grass at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham. Her brightest moments came in national competitions, earning a Bronze medal at the Olympic tennis event with Lucie Safarova, and later leading the Czech Republic to its fifth championship in six years. 

“The Olympics was something I dreamed about. When we found out we were playing together, Lucie told me on the flight to the Rogers Cup, ‘Ok, we’re going to get a medal!’ I told her, ‘You’re joking; we’ve played together once, what are you saying?’ But then we did it; it was something incredible.”

Looking ahead of 2017, Strycova plans to prioritize fitness over the off-season so she may continue to balance her heavy schedules in singles and doubles (with new partner, World No.1 Sania Mirza).

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan – Venus Williams overcame a rocky start to defeat Anastasija Sevastova and book her place in the semifinals of the Taiwan Open.

Watch live action from St. Petersburg & Kaohsiung this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

By her own admission, Williams did not know much about Sevastova’s game heading into their quarterfinals clash. However, it quickly became apparent that she would not have things all her own way.

Sevastova, playing with the carefree abandon of an overwhelming underdog, surged into a 5-2 lead. The top seed had no intentions of going quietly, turning the match on its head with a run of five straight games and fending off two set points along the way.

This took the wind from Sevastova’s sails, Willims breaking three more times to ease over the finishing line, 7-5, 6-2.

“I didn’t think about the set points, I just tried to not lose the set,” Williams said. “But she was playing really well and was very determined so it wasn’t easy to play her. From there, I think the experience really helped me and there was a lot of pressure on her.

“I just tried to do whatever was winning! If it’s not working you change it – so that’s the strategy.”

Meeting her for a place in the final is No.3 seed Yulia Putintseva. At last year’s Wimbledon, Putintseva ran Williams close, eventually being edged out after two tight sets.

“We’ve played a couple of times. The last time she played really, really well. I have a lot of respect for her and her game and I hope tomorrow to have a faster start. But no matter what happens I hope to play a good match.”

On the other side of the draw Hsieh Su-Wei kept alive hopes of a home champion when she outfoxed Russian prospect Elizaveta Kulichkova, 6-2, 6-0, to set up a meeting with No.2 seed Misaki Doi.

“I had played her twice and won in three sets, so we knew each other well,” Hsieh said. “She’s aggressive and I tried to take a relaxed approach today. I just focus on myself. Fans are so enthusiastic and I believe they make the sun shine down on me!

“In the semifinal I will play Misaki Doi. I haven’t played her for a while, but she’s been quite consistent. I just returned to Top 100, so I won’t judge myself too high or too low. I just wanted to be myself and do my best.”