Tennis News

After picking up titles in the Middle East, Karolina Pliskova and Elina Svitolina seem to have all the momentum as the tour heads to Indian Wells and Miami. But how do their performances stack up against the year’s other top performers?

In this edition of WTA Insider Heat Index, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen weighs in on who’s hot and who’s not after a fortnight in Dubai and Doha.

For more on the Heat Index and the methodology behind it, click here.

1. Serena Williams (Rank: No.1; RTS: No.1; Previous HI: 1)
2017 record: 8-1
Titles: Australian Open (January)
Recent activity: None.
Key Stat: Did not lose a set in Melbourne.

Serena has not played an event since winning her record-setting 23rd major title at the Australian Open in January, but given her propensity for party crashing some public courts, I’m guessing she’s still healthy and in good spirits. That bodes well for the upcoming Sunshine Double swing through Indian Wells and Miami.

2. Karolina Pliskova (Rank: No.3; RTS: No.3; Previous HI: 2)
2017 record: 15-2
Titles: Brisbane International (January), Qatar Total Open (February)
Recent activity: Doha champion.
Key Stat: The first woman to win two titles this season.

The World No.3 has looked virtually unbeatable in 2017. When it comes to quality wins, no one has been better. Two months into the season and Pliskova already has wins over Dominika Cibulkova, Caroline Wozniacki, Garbiñe Muguruza, and Elina Svitolina.

3. Elina Svitolina (Rank: No.10; RTS: No.2; Previous HI: No.8)
2017 Record: 17-2
Titles: Taiwan Open (February), Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (February)
Recent activity: Taiwan Open champion, Dubai champion.
Key Stat: Currently on a 13-match winning streak since the Australian Open.

This is what we were waiting for. After tallying five career titles on the International level and improving her year-end ranking year over year, Svitolina put it all together in Dubai to win the biggest title of her career and make her Top 10 debut. With her third straight win over Angelique Kerber, she ended the German’s quest to retake the No.1 ranking and followed it up with a cool performance to beat Caroline Wozniacki in the final.

4. Caroline Wozniacki (Rank: No.14; RTS: No. 5; Previous HI: Unranked)
2017 record: 15-5.
Titles: None.
Recent activity: Runner-up in Doha and Dubai.
Key Stat: Wozniacki already has 15 wins this year. Her 15th match win last year came at the US Open in September.

Is Woz back? It sure does seem that way. The Dane made back-to-back finals in February in Doha (l. Pliskova) and Dubai (l. Svitolina) and she’s continued the fantastic run of form that’s kicked in since the start of the US Open last fall. In fact, if you isolate the ranking points earned since the start of the US Open, Wozniacki is at No.3 behind Kerber and Pliskova. Wozniacki has beaten just one Top 10 player so far this season, a win over Agnieszka Radwanska in Doha, but with less than 200 points to defend from no until the US Open, there’s no doubt a return to the Top 10 — Top 5? — is coming soon.

5. Johanna Konta (Rank: No.11; RTS: No.6; Previous HI: No.2)
2017 record: 15-3
Titles: Apia International Sydney (January)
Recent activity: Went 3-1 in Fed Cup (l. to Konjuh)
Key stat: Konta’s win over Radwanska in the Sydney final was her first over a Top 5 player in over a year.

Konta took her good form into Fed Cup and helped earn Great Britain a chance at promotion to the World Group. A foot injury prevented her from making her debut in the Middle East in Dubai, but with plenty of rest before the upcoming hard court swing, Konta should be in good form.

6. Angelique Kerber (Rank: No.2; RTS: No.9; Previous HI: No.6)
2017 record: 7-5
Titles: None
Recent activity: Dubai semifinalist.
Key stat: Kerber is 0-5 vs. Top 35 players.

After a disappointing January, Kerber showed signs of life in Dubai, playing cleaner, more aggressive tennis to make her first semifinal of the year. The quality was a step in the right direction. I still maintain it’s too early to write off the woman who won two hard court Slams last year. Now, if she continues to struggle through March…then it’s time to have the discussion.

7. Dominika Cibulkova (Rank: No.5; RTS: No.5; Previous HI: No.11)
2017 record: 8-6
Titles: None
Recent activity: Doha semifinalist.
Key stat: Made back-to-back semifinals in St. Petersburg and Doha.

The Middle East swing was a mixed bag for Cibulkova. She lost to eventual champion Pliskova in Doha, but in Dubai she was confounded once again by Ekaterina Makarova, who also beat her at the Australian Open. But much like Kerber, the level of tennis she played was an improvement on what we saw in January and she’s put in extra work with her mental coach to help her deal with the expectations of being a Top 5 player. She started to feel like herself again after Doha, and that’s good news for her tennis.

8. Agnieszka Radwanska (Rank: No.6; RTS: No.16; Previous HI: No.5)
2017 record: 7-5
Titles: None
Recent activity: Lost in Round of 16 in Doha (l. Wozniacki) and Dubai (l. Bellis)
Key stat: Has not won back-to-back matches in her last three events.

After solid outings in her first two tournaments of the year, the World No.6 has struggled to find her confidence and feel. Remember, this is a player who made the semifinals or better of her first four events last season. Her inability to solve 17-year-old CiCi Bellis in Dubai was a shocker. She’s frustrated and searching.

9. CoCo Vandeweghe (Rank: No.22; RTS: No.7; Previous HI: No.7)
2017 record: 8-3
Titles: None
Recent activity: Went 2-0 at Fed Cup; first round loss to Alison Riske in Dubai.
Key stat: Vandeweghe beat Kerber and Muguruza at the Australian Open. It was just the second time in her career she’s beaten two Top 10 players at a tournament (2014 Rogers Cup, Ivanovic and Jankovic).

The question for Vandeweghe after the Australian Open wasn’t whether she had Slam-winning tennis inside her — the quality during the Melbourne fortnight was top-notch — but whether she could maintain a consistent level. Indian Wells and Miami should serve as better litmus tests.

10. Kristina Mladenovic (Rank: No.30; RTS: No.14; Previous HI: Unranked)
2017 record: 8-4
Titles: St. Petersburg
Recent activity: Beat Pliskova in Dubai, semifinalist in Acapulco (tournament ongoing).
Key stat: Her win over Pliskova was her first Top 5 win since 2015.

Mladenovic will be the first to tell you her tennis can reach the highest of highs and, at times, head-scratching lows, but it makes her game all the more compelling. After winning her first title in St. Petersburg, Mladenovic scored a big win over Pliskova only to lose to No.76 Wang Qiang in straight sets the next day. Regardless, she’s been consistently dangerous early this season.

11. Garbiñe Muguruza (Rank: No.7; RTS: No.10; Previous HI: No.4)
2017 record: 9-5
Titles: None
Recent activity: Went 1-2 during Middle East swing.
Key stat: Two of her four tournaments this season has ended in a retirement.

The primary reason surrounding Muguruza’s notable drop in the Heat Index is injury related. She picked up a left Achilles injury in Doha, which forced her to retire from a match in Dubai for the second time this season. In January she retired from the Brisbane semifinals due to an abductor injury. It’s a disconcerting trend for the Spaniard, just two months into the season.

12. Venus Williams (Rank: No.13; RTS: No.4; Previous HI: No.10)
2017 record: 7-2
Titles: None
Recent activity: None
Key stat: This time last year, Venus was also 7-2. She lost in the first round of Auckland and the Australian Open before winning seven straight matches at Fed Cup and en route to the Taiwan Open title.

With the surges from Wozniacki and Mladenovic into this edition of the Heat Index, Venus drops two spots. She did not play a tournament in February, so I’m looking forward to seeing how she’s feeling in Indian Wells next week. If it’s anything like what we saw in Melbourne, it will be a treat.

A US Open champion must balance the fatigue from a long season with the freneticism the big city. Unseede dAna Konjuh triumphed three years ago in the junior event, and New York has been in her blood ever since.

“The energy here is great,” she said after her third round win over Varvara Lepchenko. “There’s always something to do, so I’m not in the hotel like usual. I love the city and the tournament. It’s really great to be here.”

Konjuh had just reached the second week of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, but the last teenager left in the draw discussed her daily schedule like an old pro.

“There’s always a day between the matches, so I finish practicing around noon, and then go do what I do.

“I don’t want to be stuck on site 24/7 where it’s just tennis, tennis, tennis. That’s a bit boring. I’m 18 years old and I like to do other stuff too.

“I like to discover new restaurants, see movies, and just strolling around the city. I went shopping on Fifth Avenue, went to Broadway and Times Square, I did some sight seeing. It was really nice.”

The Croat’s week got even nicer on Monday when she knocked out No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach the quarterfinals.

“I played her at Wimbledon,” she reminded members of the media late last night. “This time I took opportunities. I was just going for it. It was the key to the match.”

Konjuh had held three match points against the Pole at the All England Club, eventually spraining her ankle en route to a heartbreaking loss.

“After that, I went home and had three weeks of therapy. That was really hard because I didn’t get any off time in the summer; I had to do therapy and exercises all day to get better. After that, I got back on court and was bit afraid of moving.”

Fans who saw the injury could certainly forgive the fear. The teenager was running for a Radwanska drop shot when disaster struck in real time.

“My coach showed me the video on Twitter while I was waiting in the physio room,” she recalled.” I said, ‘Yeah, that looks great!’ I didn’t know what had happened to my ankle yet, but I saw the video and was like ‘Oof. If I get back on the court, it’ll be good.'”

Looking more than good headlining her first night session, Konjuh received high praise from coach and former WTA No.32 Jelena Kostanic Tosic.

“My coach said it was my best match ever, and I believe her. I’m obviously seeing that from the other side. I’m real excited about my performance tonight. My serve was pretty good tonight. I don’t think she had any answers.

“I just took the opportunity and went for it, enjoyed the moment.”

Staying present is a learned skill for Konjuh, who was a budding junior star when older sister Antonia fell dangerously ill with a rare autoimmune disease.

“One day she fell on the ground and we didn’t know what had happened. I think I was in Turkey, somewhere, playing a 10K. My father let me know, but I didn’t think it was something serious.

“But then day after day, she didn’t get better, and she celebrated her birthday not knowing who we are. That was really tough for our whole family. She was in the hospital and when I was home, I’d get to see her. I had to do what I had to do in tennis, but I was praying for her. When she got better, it was a miracle.

“Nobody knew what was wrong with her because it was an autoimmune disease, and she was the first case in Croatia. We’re a small country so nobody knew anything. It was really hard for us, but we got through it.

“It defined who I am today. Now I don’t take anything for granted and I just live every day like it’s my last.”

There’s a quiet confidence about the Croat, who next plays No.10 seed Karolina Pliskova, herself a rookie at this stage of a Slam. Her no-nonsense attitude could not only rival a native New Yorker’s, but also help her continue to get by in the city that never sleeps.

“I like fancier places but the food is so expensive, and I don’t see why I should pay for that when the food is great at Dave & Buster’s. We’ll go after a match and have some fun, and then go to Times Square and do some sight seeing. I haven’t been to the Empire State yet, so I hope I can do that this year.

“But if not, there will be other years.”

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

SINGAPORE – The World No.2 doubles team of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic has qualified for this year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, the WTA’s year-end event that brings together the Top 8 singles players and doubles teams to compete for $7 million in prize money.

Ticket packages for the WTA Finals are already available!

“It was one of our goals when we started to play together to qualify for the WTA Finals,” Garcia said. “We are always improving and I am looking forward to competing in Singapore again.”

“We are excited and happy to have qualified,” Mladenovic added. “It’s a dream come true to qualify and celebrate the great year we’ve had.”

Garcia and Mladenovic began their partnership this year and together have reached six finals. The French duo started the season with a final appearance at the Apia International Sydney, then continued their success with another final appearance at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. They went on to win in their next four WTA doubles finals appearances at the Volvo Car Open (Charleston), Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart), Mutua Madrid Open and Roland Garros. As a result, they have earned the second slot in the doubles field, joining Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza at the WTA Finals Singapore.

“Congratulations to Caroline and Kristina on what has been a fantastic season, earning them a spot at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global,” said WTA CEO Steve Simon. “These exciting players have achieved great success in doubles this year, and we are very excited that they will be joining us in Singapore to compete for the most prestigious title on the WTA tour.”

Here is the current doubles Road to Singapore Leaderboard:
1. Martina Hingis (SUI) / Sania Mirza (IND) – Qualified
2. Caroline Garcia (FRA) / Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) – Qualified
3. Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) / Elena Vesnina (RUS)
4. Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) / Tima Babos (HUN)
5. Chan Hao-Ching (TPE) / Chan Yung-Jan (TPE)
6. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE) / Lucie Hradecka (CZE)
7. Julia Goerges (GER) / Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
8. Xu Yifan (CHN) / Zheng Saisai (CHN)
9. Raquel Atawo (USA) / Abigail Spears (USA)
10. Venus Williams (USA) / Serena Williams (USA)