Beijing: Sunday Highlights
Highlights from final round action at the China Open.
Naomi Osaka has the dubious honor of setting a new all-time lowest record on the WTA Frame Challenge – see how she did right here on wtatennis.com!
The finalists for the 2016 WTA Comeback Player Of The Year have been released, and we want to hear from you, the fans. The fan vote will count as one of the coveted media votes.
Have a look at the finalists and cast your vote before Sunday, October 16th at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, October 21st.
2016 WTA Comeback Player Of The Year Finalists
Dominika Cibulkova: A former Grand Slam finalist at the 2014 Australian Open, Cibulkova fell outside the Top 50 after taking a break from tennis to undergo Achilles surgery in February 2015. She was sidelined for three months, and started out the 2016 season ranked No.38. Cibulkova now sits at No.10 after reaching a career-high ranking of No.8 on October 3. The Slovak’s season is highlighted by two WTA titles – at Katowice and Eastbourne – as well as finals appearances in Acapulco, Madrid and Wuhan. Cibulkova also reached the semifinals at Hobart and Stanford and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, posting five Top 10 wins so far along the way.
Vania King: Following the 2014 US Open, King spent a year on the sidelines as a result of various back injuries. After returning to the ITF Circuit in August 2015, King finished the year at her lowest year-end ranking of No.466. But the American didn’t stay there long. She improved 385 spots to leap back into the Top 100 at No.80 after reaching her third career WTA final this year at Nanchang and making a semifinals appearance at Bucharest. She recorded second round appearances at the Australian Open and US Open as well. King has been a force on the doubles circuit, too, opening the 2016 season by winning a title at Shenzhen with partner Monica Niculescu, and partnering with Alla Kudryavtseva to reach the final at Birmingham, semifinals at Charleston and Madrid, and consecutive quarterfinals at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami.
Shelby Rogers: After ending the 2015 season ranked No.146, Rogers started out the year playing ITF-level events and missing out on direct acceptance into the Australian Open. But the American turned it all around in Rio de Janeiro at her first WTA event of the year, reaching her second career WTA final at the Rio Open. 2016 also saw the American reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros, where she triumphed over a spate of Top 50 players, including Karolina Pliskova, Elena Vesnina, Petra Kvitova and Irina-Camelia Begu.As a result, Rogers improved her ranking 97 spots to reach a career-high of No.49 in August and now sits at No.66.
Anastasija Sevastova: Following long battles with illness and injury, Sevastova hung up her racquet and retired from tennis in May 2013. She played her first professional match of her comeback in January 2015 and won four ITF titles before returning to the WTA in the later half of the year. This year, Sevastova announced her return with a bang, reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open – taking out No.3 Garbiñe Muguruza and No.14 Johanna Konta along the way – and advancing to two WTA finals at Bucharest and Mallorca. As a result, Sevastova improved from No.110 to a career-high ranking of No.30 on September – she currently sits at No.31.
Elena Vesnina: Vesnina ended her 2015 season ranked No.111 and made her way back into the Top 100 after a quarterfinal run at Doha, where she claimed her first Top 10 win since 2013 over No.4 Simona Halep. She’s been steadily rising ever since, recording a finals appearance at Charleston and advancing to her first Grand Slam singles semifinal at Wimbledon, along with quarterfinal runs at Strasburg, Eastbourne and New Haven. She’s improved her ranking 92 spots to reach a career high ranking of No.19. Vesnina has enjoyed a successful doubles season, as well, qualifying for the WTA Finals with partner Ekaterina Makarova after winning the title in Montréal and reaching finals at Roland Garros and Rome. The pair also clinched the gold medal at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.
WTA Comeback Player Of The Year Winners
2015: Venus Williams
2014: Mirjana Lucic-Baroni
2013: Alisa Kleybanova
2012: Yaroslava Shvedova
2011: Sabine Lisicki
2010: Justine Henin
2009: Kim Clijsters
2008: Zheng Jie
2007: Lindsay Davenport
2006: Martina Hingis
2005: Kim Clijsters
2004: Serena Williams
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Comeback Player Of The Year criteria includes a player whose ranking previously dropped due to injury or personal reasons and current season’s results helped restore ranking.
Winner is then determined by a media vote with a fan vote counting as one media vote.
BIEL/BIENNE, Switzerland – 17-year-old Czech qualifier Marketa Vondrousova put together a commanding performance to stun Kristyna Pliskova, 6-2, 7-5 and reach the first WTA semifinals of her career at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.
Earlier in the week, Vondrousova was named to the Czech Republic’s Fed Cup squad, set to make her debut as the defending champions take on the United States in World Group semifinals. Now Vondrousova’s backed up yesterday’s upset over Annika Beck with a win over a player ranked spots above her to prove why team captain Petr Pala made the right choice.
“It’s so super, because I didn’t even know I could play that good!” Vondrousova said after the victory. “I’ve had a great season so far, and I played qualies here and I’m so glad I made it through and keep playing so good.
“I’m just trying to focus on every match, every point, and just play like I have nothing to lose. I am calm and I feel confident.”
17 year old qualifier Marketa Vondrousova makes first #WTA Semifinal!
Beats Pliskova 6-2, 7-5 at @WTABielBienne! pic.twitter.com/SpAMUXUGBg
— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017
Playing in her first WTA quarterfinal, Vondrousova wasn’t cowed by the occasion or by the big Pliskova serve. She set the tone early on, breaking in Pliskova’s opening service game and keeping her under pressure through the match. She brought up 12 break opportunities across both sets and converted five to put away her countrywoman in an hour and 20 minutes.
She joins Anett Kontaveit and Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the semifinals and awaits the winner between top seed Barbora Strycova and No.7 seed Julia Goerges,
Earlier in the day, Kontaveit survived a complicated three-set battle against the fast-rising Elise Mertens to advance 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-1.
Kontaveit was two points away from the match while serving at 5-4 in the second set when Mertens came roaring back to force a tiebreaker and a deciding set. But the Estonian stayed calm to break three times and reel off six games in a row in the final set to shut down the comeback and move into the Biel/Bienne semifinals.
Anett Kontaveit is first through to @WTABielBienne Semifinals!
Outlasts Mertens 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-1! pic.twitter.com/X4US4Co2kS
— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017
Also through to the semifinals is Belarusian qualifier Sasnovich, who diffused the fast-paced Camila Giorgi in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
The Italian led by a break in each set – she was up 3-1 in the first and 4-2 in the second – but couldn’t hang on to the lead. Her eight double faults proved costly, coming at crucial times and allowing Sasnovich to break six times during the match.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich reaches @WTABielBienne Semifinals!
Tops Giorgi 6-4, 6-! pic.twitter.com/DcHCt8uZ8O
— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017
More to follow…
There’s three spots still up for grabs at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global and just 10 days to go until the start of the action.
Who has already booked their ticket to Singapore:
Five singles players have already qualified for the WTA Finals – Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova.
The doubles field was set last week in Beijing: Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova, Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan, Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, and Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova will all be heading to Singapore for the season finale.
Who is next in line to qualify?
All six players in contention for the final three spots in Singapore continue to advance. Svetlana Kuznetsova (Tianjin) and Carla Suárez Navarro (Linz) have already advanced to the quarterfinals this week.
Madison Keys, Dominika Cibulkova and Garbiñe Muguruza are all in action tomorrow in Linz.
That all said, if Konta AND Cibulkova lose tomorrow, Muguruza can qualify for the WTA Finals with a win over Monica Niculescu.
Konta is scheduled to play the first match of the day in Hong Kong at 3pm local time against Wang Qiang in a second round match. Cibulkova will play Annika Beck in Linz
Regardless of other results, Muguruza can also secure qualification this week in in Linz if she wins the title, but she can also qualify by reaching the final with Cibulkova not winning the title.
Here is a round-by-round look at how this week will affect the WTA Finals qualification:
How you can follow all the action straight from your smartphone:
Download the official WTA Finals App created by SAP, available on the Apple App Store right here and Google Play right here!
The WTA Finals App features live streaming of exclusive behind-the-scenes moments, virtual replays, scores and stats, notifications on your favorite players, and lets you explore the host city Singapore, straight from your phone.
BIEL/BIENNE, Switerzland – Top seed Barbora Strycova is into her second semifinal of the season after No.7 seed Julia Goerges was forced to retire one game into the third set of their quarterfinal at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne, with the Czech prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (ret.). Strycova will face fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova in Saturday’s semifinals.
The 31-year-old rallied from a set down with some gritty defending and resilience in the second set. After holding in a 15-minute game at 2-all in the second set, Strycova slowly grabbed the momentum back her way to take the second set.
Goerges, who had seen her forehand misfire regularly throughout the latter half of the second set, called the trainer after the second set and took a medical timeout to get her right arm massaged. Strycova won the first game after the changeover and the German was forced to call it a day, citing a right wrist injury.
“We had always tough matches against each other,” Strycova said. “It’s very tough to play against Julia because we know each other very well, we used to play doubles together, and we are going to play again a little bit. It’s never easy, but we both want to win.
“I’m happy that I won, but not in this way because it’s always very hard to see someone injured and have to walk off from the match.”
Heavy hitting from @juliagoerges and @BaraStrycova to start their quarterfinal @WTABielBienne. pic.twitter.com/fhuW407oFo
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017
It was a bad luck ending to a great week for No.46 Goerges, who dominated much of the match against Strycova before succumbing to injury. The 28-year-old fired 18 winners to just 6 unforced errors in the first set, smothering Strycova with her heavy hitting despite the retirement, finished with 33 winners to 21 unforced errors. Strycova hit 8 winners to 11 unforced errors for the match.
Who says serve and volley is dead? Not @BaraStrycova @WTABielBienne. pic.twitter.com/SachkSbU6C
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017
Despite being besieged by Goerges’ offense, Strycova found a way to problem-solve the match, throwing in a good amount of variety with dropshots, slices, and the occasional serve and volley to keep the German uncomfortable.
.@BaraStrycova caps off a scrambling rally with the perfect drop shot. pic.twitter.com/esn7Phjua3
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017
“It feels nice,” Strycova said. “The court is very comfortable to play on, the ball is coming to you very nice. It took me some matches to get used to it but I feel good.”
After nearly being down a double-break, @BaraStrycova is battling back. Level at 3-3. pic.twitter.com/B7OA0o8gK4
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017
Next up for Strycova is her 17-year-old compatriot Vondrousova.
“Another young gun from Czech! I saw her play here already and she’s playing very well,” Strycova said. “She’s playing from the qualifying so she has a lot of matches under her belt. It will be a tough one because she’s young and she wants to play the best tennis she can so I have to be ready so I have to play my best tennis as well.”
Cibulkova currently sits ninth on the leaderboard – just behind eighth-placed Johanna Konta. And she went some way to securing her place at the WTA Finals by seeing off Pavlyunchenkova, 7-6(3), 6-4.
The Russian did her best to stay with the No.2 seed, though, taking the first set to a tie-break and coming back from 4-1 down and saving multiple match points to win the ninth game in the second set.
She was determined not to lose the title she won in 2015 when she beat Anna-Lena Friedsam. Cibulkova won out, though – and put herself in prime position to book her Singapore slot.
“I knew it was not going to be easy,” Cibulkova admitted afterwards. “She won this tournament, so she’s feeling good here. I tried to play my good tennis. It was not easy to finish both sets, but I was really strong mentally.”
An interview with Samantha Stosur after her first round win at the Volvo Car Open.
SINGAPORE – Ahead of the defense of her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global title, wtatennis.com runs down 10 need-to-know facts about Poland’s finest, Agnieszka Radwanska…
1) Champion returns
Radwanska returns to Singapore for the sixth consecutive year – the longest active streak on the tour. Last year she finished the season in the best way possible, facing off against Petra Kvitova to win the WTA Finals championships match, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
2) Rank outsider
It might seem incredible, but right up until the US Open, Radwanska was still in with a shout of taking the World No.1 spot if she’d won the tournament. She arrives in Singapore as World No.3 after another year characterized by its consistency.
3) Early exit
Radwanska doesn’t have a great track record at the US Open, and this year was no different – she fell in the round of 16 at the hands of Ana Konjuh. She’s put a positive spin on that, though: she thinks that the early exit from the Slam gave her additional time to prepare for the Asian Swing, in which she once again excelled.
4) Cool in China
That’s been the case this year. Radwanska reclaimed the China Open title with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Johanna Konta, crowning a dominant week in which she did not lose a single set. It was her 20th career singles title, third of the year.
5) Success in Asia
Asia has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Radwanska, who has won half of her 20 career titles there, including five of her last six.
6) Difficult defense
Radwanska is very well aware that it will be difficult for her to retain her title. “It’s the goal of everyone to qualify for the WTA Finals, and I’m happy to be returning to defend my title,” Radwanska said. “I’ve played at Singapore for a few years now, and qualifying again this year means I’ve had a great season – to be in the Top 8. It won’t be easy to defend my title, but that’s the goal. It will be exciting and a challenge to see different names and faces in this year’s field.”
7) Fabulous in fall
History is on her side, though – her tour record in the past five years shows that after the US Open she is the most difficult opponent to beat. Last year she went 17-4 in the Asian swing, winning all three WTA titles of the year in that stretch – and boosting her ranking from No.13 to No.5.
8) Five star
That meant she maintained her proud record as a fixture in the top five ranking slots – she dipped out in 2014, when she finished the year as World No.6.
9) Mandatory magic
After her win in Beijing this year, Radwanska became the fourth active player with three or more Premier Mandatory titles, joining Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka.
10) Major performer
Radwanska is one of four players to have reached the round of 16 at all four majors this year (along with Serena Williams, Madison Keys and Carla Suárez Navarro).
An interview with Venus Williams after her win in the second round of the Volvo Car Open.