Vote: WTA Elite Trophy Shot Of The Tournament
Barbora Strycova, Samantha Stosur, Elina Svitolina, Elena Vesnina or Johanna Konta – who hit the shot of the tournament at the WTA Elite Trophy?
Barbora Strycova, Samantha Stosur, Elina Svitolina, Elena Vesnina or Johanna Konta – who hit the shot of the tournament at the WTA Elite Trophy?
BIRMINGHAM, England – Madison Keys won a rollercoaster encounter with Carla Suárez Navarro on Saturday to reach the Aegon Classic Birmingham final and also break into the Top 10 for the first time.
Watch live action from Birmingham and Mallorca this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
On a chilly day Keys took a while to warm to the task at hand, Suárez Navarro making light of her arduous path to the semifinals to wrap up the first set. But as the contest wore on, Keys found her rhythm, leveling the match up before eventually triumphing, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).
“The first set was definitely a slow start for me. I felt like my energy was really low and not very positive,” Keys said. “So it was a big thing for me just to come out and really be a lot more positive and have a high level of intensity and energy. If I was able to do that, and she beat me anyways, then too good from her.
“I would have been really disappointed in myself had I not been able to kind of at least change what I could on my side of the net.”
After withstanding Suárez Navarro’s early onslaught, Keys looked to be coasting into the final when she broke for a 3-2 lead midway through the decider. With the final beckoning, though, Keys tightened, netting a backhand to surrender the advantage and take the contest into a tie-break.
The previous evening, Suárez Navarro elevated her game to another level to end defending champion Angelique Kerber’s reign in a third set tie-break. Against Keys she was unable to repeat the feat, sending a tired backhand into the net to finally succumb.
Keys’ reward for the turnaround is a place in the final, where she will meet either Barbora Strycova or CoCo Vandeweghe, and also a Top 10 debut. On Monday morning she will join compatriots Serena and Venus Williams in the Top 10 – it is the first time since 2005 that three Americans have been in the Top 10 simultaneously.
Click here for more stats on Keys’ rankings breakthrough.
“I’m really excited right now, but I’m also trying to stay focused on the final,” Keys said. “I haven’t even really put a ton of thought of being in the Top 10. That will definitely sink in after the tournament. I’m happy with it, but more focused on wanting to win the final tomorrow.”
Celebrate dear old dad alongside some of your favorite WTA stars and look back on some of the most memorable father/daughter pairings right here on wtatennis.com.
The 2016 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open and continued in Birmingham at the Aegon Classic Birmingham, where every ace hit by a WTA player at Premier-level events translates into a donation to the USANA True Health Foundation, whose mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those who are suffering or in need around the world.
For every ace hit by any player the WTA donates $5, and for every ace hit by a USANA Brand Ambassador, it’s $10.
USANA Brand Ambassadors Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic, Madison Keys, Monica Puig, Sloane Stephens, Zheng Saisai, Alizé Cornet and Caroline Wozniacki hit 36 of the 252 aces at the Edgbaston Priory Club – raising a grand total of $1,685 throughout the week. Keys hit the most with 35 aces.
Read more about the campaign here and see below to find out who’s hit the most aces so far!
#AcesForHumanity Fan Giveaway
It’s simple: before each WTA Premier tournament guess how many total aces will be hit.
Next up is the Aegon International Eastbourne in Eastbourne. Last year there was a total of 308 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit this year.
How To Enter:
• Follow @WTA and @USANAFoundation on Twitter and before each WTA Premier tournament tweet the number of aces you predict will be hit during the whole tournament (Singles, Main Draw)
• Include the hashtag #AcesForHumanity
• Eastbourne deadline is June 21st at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced June 27th
Aces For Humanity is a joint WTA and USANA initiative that benefits the USANA True Health Foundation, which provides critical human necessities to those in suffering or in need around the globe.
For full rules on how to enter, click here.
Defending champions Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza became the first players to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Co-No.1s started the year with their third straight Grand Slam title and have been all but invincible since, capturing a total of five titles in the first six months of the 2016 season.
Want more Santina stats? We’ve compiled the most important numbers behind Hingis and Mirza’s superb doubles careers – together and apart.
92 – Hingis (55) and Mirza (37) have won a total of 92 doubles titles throughout their careers.
41 – Hingis and Mirza went undefeated from the US Open to Qatar Total Open, the longest winning streak since 1990.
9 – The pair earned nine titles during their streak, including two Grand Slams and the WTA Finals crown.
14 – As a team, Santina has won 14 titles together and will look to defend their doubles title in Singapore at the WTA Finals this year.
3 – Mirza is returning to the WTA Finals for the third consecutive year.
2 – Mirza is a perfect 8-0 in doubles matches at the WTA Finals winning the title in 2014 with Cara Black and 2015 with Hingis.
1661 – Throughout their careers, Hingis (960) and Mirza (701) have combined to win 1,661 matches in singles and doubles matches combined.
111 – Mirza (63) and Hingis (58) have combined to spend 111 weeks at the top of the WTA Doubles Rankings, including 23 weeks as Co-No.1s.
Highlights from first round action at the Aegon International.
Caroline Wozniacki takes on Samantha Stosur in the second round of the Aegon International.
How many can Barbora Strycova score in the WTA Frame Challenge? Find out!
Agnieszka Radwanska has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Aegon International Eastbourne.
Capturing the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine Double” is no easy feat, but Victoria Azarenka and Bethanie Mattek-Sands made it look easy in March, taking home both titles at the BNP Paribas Open and Miami Open in singles and doubles (with CoCo Vandeweghe and Lucie Safarova), respectively. Who else made waves in the midst of the Sunshine Swing?
Azarenka’s Spring Surge
The former No.1 started 2016 ranked outside the Top 20, but Azarenka was on a mission from first ball at Indian Wells, roaring to her biggest career title and first Premier Mandatory crown since 2012.
After double bageling Magdalena Rybarikova in the last eight, she survived a topsy-turvy semifinal encounter with future US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova before stunning then-World No.1 Serena Williams, who was playing her first final in the California desert since 2001.
Azarenka says her forehand return has improved, can hit more angles, winners from that side. Other game tweaks: pic.twitter.com/k2z4vkokuV
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 16, 2016
“I believe I’m a stronger, faster, and a smarter player,” she told WTA Insider after the final. “I find ways to win when some other things don’t work. I’ve improved my serve a lot. I’m mentally way happier, and I have people with whom I see no limitations.”
The win brought her back into the Top 10 for the first time in nearly two years, and put her in position for the elusive Sunshine Double.
Azarenka Strikes Two In Miami
Azarenka was even more emphatic in Miami, winning her third title of the season without dropping a set in sunny Florida.
The most impressive match came against eventual Roland Garros champion Garbiñe Muguruza, whom the Belarusian narrowly eliminated in a pair of tie-breaks. Azarenka went on to avenge her Australian Open defeat to Angelique Kerber in the semifinals and dismiss surprise finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets.
Champagne taste and caviar dreams for @vika7 @MiamiOpen. pic.twitter.com/fCH9do3e2J
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 2, 2016
Back in the Top 5, she appeared on course to challenge for even bigger titles as the tour turned to clay.
“It’s been a really long month and to be able to contain this determination and that intensity throughout all the matches is definitely not an easy task,” she told WTA Insider. “The last couple of days especially has been a lot of expectations and pressure from the outside to complete the Sunshine Double.
“I’m very proud that I kept myself present, kept myself really focused and focused on the job before anything else.”
Mattek-Sands Serves Double Trouble
While Azarenka dominated a compelling month of singles, Mattek-Sands was cleaning things up in doubles with two different partners across Indian Wells and Miami.
First partnering up with CoCo Vandeweghe, the Americans upset No.2 seeds Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching and No.3 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova en route to the final, where they narrowly outlasted Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova, 6-4, 4-6, 10-6.
Women's doubles champs Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova have a special message for their fans. #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/ZibcZlUNTN
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) April 3, 2016
Moving to Miami, Mattek-Sands reunited with former partner Lucie Safarova (with whom she’d captured the Australian Open and French Open last year), and ran the table to win the tournament without dropping a set, defeating Babos and Shvedova in the final.
The second half of the Sunshine Double proved ample foreshadowing for Mattek-Sands, who went on to win the US Open with Safarova and ride an 18-match winning streak into the final of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Elsewhere…
A trio of veterans struck gold through the post-Aussie Indoor and Middle East Swing, with Roberta Vinci, Carla Suárez Navarro, and Sara Errani taking home titles in St. Petersburg, Doha, and Dubai, respectively. Vinci’s run in Russia helped her become the oldest Top 10 debutante in WTA history, while runner-up Belinda Bencic became the youngest since 2009 to make her Top 10 debut. Suárez Navarro earned the biggest title of her career, outlasting the charge of young hotshot Jelena Ostapenko, while Errani won a battle of veterans by knocking out Barbora Strycova in Dubai.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.