Stanford: V. Williams Interview
An interview with Venus Williams after her quarterfinal win at the Bank of the West Classic.
An interview with Venus Williams after her quarterfinal win at the Bank of the West Classic.
Forty kids took center court in Shenzhen for Li Na Kids Day – and the Chinese trailblazer wasn’t the only two-time Grand Slam champion on the court. Watch the video here!
In the latest episode of Dubai Duty Free Full of Surprises, Venus Williams and sister Serena surprise an unsuspecting fan at the Bank of the West Classic with autographs and selfies.
Serena Williams, who’s making her 2016 debut at the Hopman Cup in Perth this week, shone at the exhibition event’s player party. Watch her step out right here.
Johanna Konta takes on Dominika Cibulkova in the semifinals of the Bank of the West Classic.
An interview with Simona Halep ahead of the Brisbane International.
Johanna Konta takes on Venus Williams in the final of the Bank of the West Classic.
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.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand – While playing some exhibition tennis for the ASB crowd, Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands were joined by four members of the All-Blacks, New Zealand’s national rubgy union team, who acted as ballboys and on-court attendants.
Nehe Milner-Skudder, Sam Cane, Joe Moody and Julian Savea did most of the gruntwork during the match, picking up balls and handing off towels, but there was still time for a selfie or two as play unfolded in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
“There’s definitely an art to it,” Milner-Skudder said of ball-boying. “We had a run-through for about half an hour before the girls came out, but we probably needed a lot longer than that.”
Check out some of the best photos from the day, courtesy of www.photosport.nz:
The story of the tournament from the Bank of the West Classic.