Tennis News

Sania Mirza has overcome tremendous adversity to become a World No.1 in women’s doubles and a trailblazer for Indian tennis. Co-ranked atop the doubles rankings with partner Martina Hingis, Mirza has captured three of the last five major tournaments – not including the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. She and Hingis became the first players to outright qualify for Singapore in singles or doubles earlier this spring.

Last week, Mirza released her first book, an autobiography entitled Ace Against The Odds. Published by Harper Sport, the doubles star recounts her rise to the top of women’s tennis, and all the obstacles she had to face along the way.

Pick up your copy of Ace Against The Odds today on Amazon, and let us know what you think of the book!

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Laura Siegemund outlasted an in-form Venus Williams, 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-5, to win her second three-setter in three days and sail into the third round of the Volvo Car Open.

“I have no idea!” she said during her on-court interview when asked how she pulled off the win over the 2004 champion. “It was a really good match; it was going up and down. I just tried to believe in my game, and if I was down, I told myself I was going to get more chances.”

Siegemund reached the quarterfinals last year in Charleston, kicking off an impressive clay court campaign that led her into the finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix at home in Stuttgart.

Against Venus, the German veteran was hardly overawed by the five-time Wimbledon winner, who was coming off strong results at the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open, where she reached the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively.

.@LauraSiegemund levels the final set in style!

Four all! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/WTOsyT8Bm8

— WTA (@WTA) April 5, 2017

Down match point in the second set, Venus fought back and broke Siegemund as she served for the match, eventually powering through the ensuing tiebreak to level the match.

“I had a hard time finding an aggressive game at the beginning of the third set, playing really short, and she plays really well when she can put pressure on you. It was an amazing performance from her as well,” said Siegemund.

What a rally from @LauraSiegemund to save a second match point! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/Lzy5XPmfgr

— WTA (@WTA) April 5, 2017

Siegemund twice pulled back from a break in the third, and saved two match points of her own as Venus served for the match at 5-4, reeling off the final three games to reach the round of 16.

“I tried my best to think this could be the best match she’ll ever play in her life, honestly,” Venus said in her post-match press conference. “I basically won the match but still lost.

“I really played the best game I could. I pretty much hit winners, but she hit winners back on me, and I just didn’t have any answers for that. I don’t know much more that I could do. I mean, there were some errors I made in the beginning, but when push came to shove, I feel like I did the right things, but somehow inexplicably came up empty.”

In all, the two played phenomenal offense throughout, each hitting more winners than errors, with Siegemund leading Venus 52 to 45, and hitting 41 unforced errors to Venus’ 39.

Unreal tennis from @LauraSiegemund! ? #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/IiKImzXwcy

— WTA (@WTA) April 5, 2017

“It gives me a lot of confidence, because I was pretty unlucky this year,” Siegemund said. “I’ve had a lot of these kinds of matches, but I was losing them, and you start to doubt.

“Now, I feel very confident on clay, and I think I showed I still have some good tennis in my hands.”

Up next for Siegemund will be the winner of the match between doubles partners Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

First Top 10 win of 2017!@LauraSiegemund saves TWO MATCH POINTS to beat Venus Williams 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-5 at @VolvoCarOpen! pic.twitter.com/PjMR97mdW7

— WTA (@WTA) April 5, 2017

Every week on wtatennis.com we bring you 10 Things To Know about the week – who is playing, where and much more. This week the Road To Singapore goes through Stanford, Washington DC and Bastad…

1. Vintage Venus Williams is Stanford top seed.
No.1 seed Venus Williams, two-time champion (2000, 2002) and five-time runner-up (1998-1999, 2004-2005, 2009) at Stanford is back in action after coming off a semifinal finish at Wimbledon.

2. Newlywed Dominika Cibulkova seeks a second crown…
2013 Champion and No.2 seed Dominika Cibulkova is back to earth after her fairytale fortnight at Wimbledon. She’s looking to make another deep run in Stanford, following a nine-match winning streak by clinching the title at Eastbourne and reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

3. …while British No.1 Johanna Konta makes her Stanford debut.
At this time last year, Britain’s Johanna Konta was ranked in the 120s and playing ITF events leading up to her big breakthrough later in the fall. Now, she sits at a career-high ranking of No.18 and is making her Stanford debut.

4. Kerber makes her Bastad comeback…
World No.2 Angelique Kerber returns to Bastad for the first time in five years. The German is coming off her second Grand Slam final appearance at Wimbledon. She gets Swedish wildcard Cornelia Lister in the first round.

5. … but three former champions are also back in the hunt.
Three former Bastad finalists are back in this year’s main draw: Mona Barthel (2014 champion, 2015 runner-up), Polona Hercog (2011, 2012 champion), Johanna Larsson (2011, 2013 runner-up, 2015 champion).

6. And Kiki Bertens is still red hot.
No.3 seed Kiki Bertens will be looking to continue her clay-court success in Bastad, as the 24-year-old Dutch woman won her second WTA title at Nurnberg before reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros. She’s also fresh off a run to the final in Gstaad.

7. Cagla Buyukakcay looks to make her mark.
Turkey’s No.1 Buyukakcay is one to watch in Bastad: she won her first WTA career singles title at her home tournament in Istanbul this year, also qualifying her for her first Grand Slam main draw at Roland Garros, reaching the second round

8. Can Sloane Stephens make it four?
Defending champion and No.2 seed Sloane Stephens returns to Washington DC where she captured her first WTA title in 2015. Now, the American has won three more titles – Auckland, Acapulco and Charleston – all this year. Can Stephens defend her title and make it four titles in 2016?

9. Another young American looms in the draw…
Unseeded Shelby Rogers is sitting at a career-high ranking of No.59 after reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros, where she took out three seeds (No.17 Pliskova, No.10 Kvitova, No.25 Begu).

10) Find out where you can watch live action this week.