Wimbledon Qualifying Starts Tuesday
The ladies hoping to reach the Wimbledon main draw begin their quest out in Roehampton on Tuesday; find out which are the ones to watch on wtatennis.com.
The ladies hoping to reach the Wimbledon main draw begin their quest out in Roehampton on Tuesday; find out which are the ones to watch on wtatennis.com.
SINGAPORE – Doubles co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza have become the first players to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, the WTA’s crown jewel event where the world’s Top 8 teams will battle for a $7-million prize purse.
“Qualifying for the WTA Finals for the second year in a row with Sania is very exciting,” said Hingis, three-time WTA Finals doubles champion. “We enjoyed every moment in Singapore last year and hope to defend our title amongst the best doubles teams in the world.”
Mirza added, “Being able to achieve such great success together has been a dream come true. Having won the WTA Finals in Singapore last year as well as multiple tournaments in such a short period of time has been an unbelievable experience. I’m very much looking forward to competing in Singapore once again to try to make it three titles in a row.”
The collaboration between Hingis and Mirza began at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where they achieved instant success by taking the title and eight more by the end of the year, including the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. This year, Hingis and Mirza have already claimed five titles – Brisbane International, Apia International Sydney, Australian Open, St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia – Rome. As a result, the Swiss-Indian duo, known as “SanTina” to their fans, will attempt to defend their title in Singapore in their second appearance as a team.
Here is the current doubles Road to Singapore Leaderboard:
1. Martina Hingis (SUI) / Sania Mirza (IND)
2. Caroline Garcia (FRA) / Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)
3. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) / Lucie Hradecka (CZE)
4. Chan Hao-Ching (TPE) / Chan Yung-Jan (TPE)
5. Xu Yifan (CHN) / Zheng Saisai (CHN)
6. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) / Elena Vesnina (RUS)
7. Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP) / Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP)
8. Julia Goerges (GER) / Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
9. Vania King (USA) / Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)
10. Timea Babos (HUN) / Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ)
The doubles competition will begin in Singapore on October 27 and is a single elimination contest between the Top 8 doubles teams of the 2016 season, all vying to hold the Martina Navratilova Doubles Trophy. Total prize money for doubles stands at $1.4 million with the champion team taking home up to $500,000.
Want to watch SanTina go for season-ending glory? Tickets packages for the WTA Finals are already available!
For the latest updates and insights, follow on Twitter (@WTAFinalsSG), Facebook (facebook.com/WTAFinalsSG) and Instagram (@WTAFinalsSG).
Watch all of the best shots of the Aegon Classic Birmingham – right here!
Check out CiCi Bellis’s shot of the day from the Abierto GNP Seguros.
Petra Kvitova takes on Timea Babos in the second round of the Aegon International.
Hear from Venus Williams before the start of the tournament.
Johanna Konta takes on Petra Kvitova in the third round of the Aegon International Eastbourne.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Few can claim to be a more voracious reader than Andrea Petkovic, and the German sat down with Joel Drucker of Tennis Channel at the Volvo Car Open this week to put her skills to the ultimate test.
Petkovic, who is as much a Renaissance woman as she is a professional athlete, has a well-rounded range of interests that span from art and music to literature, which she called her escape in the sit-down with Drucker following her first round victory in Charleston.
“Some people escape with drugs and alcohol. For me, it’s literature,” the 29-year-old said.
The 2014 Volvo Car Open champion often gives followers and fans a glimpse into her eclectic world off the court on social media, whether it be by documenting visits to museums in her world travels, quoting Robert Frost on her Twitter account — or taking a book into the ice bath at the US Open.
Four of the German’s favorites authors — Ernest Hemingway, Saul Bellow, Friedrich Nietzsche and Leo Tolstoy — span generations and have few peers in the realm of literature, but just who would they be like if they picked up a racquet?
On Hemingway…
“He plays short points – really likes to go to net. Definitely would chip-charge. He’s tall, handsome – much like Patrick Rafter.”
On Bellow…
“He hits big, powerful shots – like Alexander Zverev. He’s a spectacular, hard-hitting player who loves the big sentence and brings lots of philosophical insight.”
On Nietzsche…
“He’s like Ivan Lendl. He’ll grind it out. He likes to suffer.”
On Tolstoy…
“A percentage player. He always plays the right shot – a baseliner, sort of like Caroline Wozniacki. Just a terrific all-around player.”
Stay tuned for part two from Tennis Channel, coming soon as the former World No.9 compares some of tennis’ greats, along with her peers and compatriots, to some of history’s best authors.
Highlights from third round action at the Aegon International.
Caroline Garcia has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Abierto GNP Seguros.