Google Play App Download

Tennis News

From around the world

Flawless Serena Marches Into Final

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

LONDON, England – Serena Williams moved one step closer to a historic 22nd major with a straight set win over Elena Vesnina in Thursday’s Wimbledon semifinals.

Displaying no trace of the nerves that have occasionally accompanied her quest to match Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles, Williams ruthlessly closed out a 6-2, 6-0 victory in just 48 minutes.

A rapid start saw the top seed race into a 3-0 lead with only nine minutes on the Centre Court clock. Venina, playing at this stage of a Grand Slam for the first time, did eventually get on the board, but it was merely delaying the inevitable, Williams firing an ace down the T to close out the set in emphatic fashion.

Williams tightened her grip on the contest at the start of the second, wrong-footing her dumbfounded opponent to earn two more break points. Only one was required, Vesnina wilting following another taxing baseline exchange.

And as the finishing line approached there was no let up for Williams, who found an answer to every question posed by the Russian, completing a victory with another flawless service game.

“I’m very happy, you know, I was really focused today because we’ve had a lot of tough matches before. And especially on this surface I knew she could really bring it to me so I was ready,” Williams told the BBC afterwards. “It’s never easy out there, every point you have to fight for.

In the final she will face either sister Venus Williams or her conqueror at this year’s Australian Open, Angelique Kerber.

“It’s weird I can’t believe I’m in the final again. You know I’m 0 for 2 [in Grand Slam finals] this year so I’m determined to get at least one. It would be great [to play Venus] because then we’d be guaranteed to have a Williams on the trophy – that’s the ultimate goal for both of us and obviously I want her to do well, and if not Kerber would be another good match. I played her in Australia. Either way I look forward to it.”

More to follow.

Source link

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Ashleigh Barty says the world is seeing her best performances on a tennis court so far as she celebrated a day of double delight at the Alya Malaysian Open.

First she secured a spot in the singles quarterfinals by beating fellow qualifier Miyu Kato, 6-0, 6-3 – and then she went one better in the doubles alongside Casey Dellacqua, progressing to the semifinals as they defeated Nao Hibino and Varatchaya Wongteanchai 6-4, 6-0.

“We have to say this is my best start, best career performances to date,” the 20-year-old told the press afterwards. “We’re happy to be playing well and enjoying our tennis.” 

The Australian returned to tennis a year ago following a break during which she turned her sporting skills to cricket, playing in the first-ever Women’s Big Bash League for Brisbane Heat. She thinks that the time off has served her well.

“My tennis game this time is a continuation from my last career – I’m a little bit older, a little bit more wise, more mature, so I think that’s helped my game immensely,” she revealed.

That isn’t to say that putting her racquet down was an easy thing to do.

“I certainly missed playing tennis,” she admitted. “It’s what I’ve done since I was five years old. It’s been a part of my life for so long. It’s what I am born to do.”

Barty is proving that with her recent form, and she has an extra incentive to win – her best friend and doubles partner Dellacqua.

“I really am loving being out here, getting to play singles and enjoy some success, and then of course to be on the court with my best friend for doubles is a bonus as well – it’s nice to be back out here with Case and to see her happy as well,” she added.

Source link

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ACAPULCO, Mexico – No.7 seed Lesia Tsurenko will take on Kristina Mladenovic in the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel after top seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni was forced to retire after trailing 0-5 in the first set.

“I was really shocked on court when she decided to retire,” Tsurenko said after the match. “I wish that she feels better. I’m pretty happy to be in the final, but shame that she’s not feeling well.”

Lucic-Baroni had been in imperious form this week in Acapulco – her first event since her dream run to the Australian Open semifinals – and she hadn’t dropped a set all tournament long. 

But on Friday night against Tsurenko, the Croat was noticeably subdued from the start, moving sluggishly and her usually booming strokes lacking bite. Tsurenko broke three times and, after a visit from the trainer and tournament doctor, Lucic-Baroni was forced to retire citing gastrointestinal illness.

“I was really unlucky; I picked up a virus, I vomited just before I went on the court,” Lucic-Baroni explained. “I tried. Because I’m not the type to retire, ever. I’ll just put on more tapes and play, and I can play through anything really.

“But I just felt extremely dizzy and like I was going to vomit all the time, and I just couldn’t continue. I’m really upset, because this is such a great tournament and I’m playing so well.

“It’s just a crappy way to end a really good tournament.”

For Tsurenko, this puts her through to her first final of the year; earlier in the season she made a run to the semifinals at the Hobart International. In fact, it’s her first final since September 2016 when she won the title at Guangzhou.

She’s set to take on Kristina Mladenovic, who came through in three sets against Christina McHale.

“I watched their match, it was really tough match for both of them,” Tsurenko acknowledged. “But this is not always a big advantage for me; sometimes when you play a long match you get stronger and feel the surface better.

“We’ll see tomorrow. I hope I’ll be fresher physically.”

Source link

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – It was twice as nice for Ashleigh Barty in Kuala Lumpur as she won the doubles title with Casey Dellacqua – adding that to the singles crown she had secured earlier in the day.

The Australian pair beat Nicole Melichar and Makoto Ninomiya 7-6(5), 6-3, coming back from 5-1 down in the first-set tiebreak to lift the trophy in straight sets.

“I feel great – very tired but great,” said Barty afterwards. “It’s been a monster week for me. I don’t think I could have physically have played any more matches. I’m very happy to come away with two titles today, but even if we didn’t it would have been a fantastic tournament anyway. Now it’s just an absolute bonus.”

Her partner Dellacqua admired the way that their opponents had played, giving them a tough time in the first set. 

“They were playing really good tennis, really good doubles,” she said. “We just had to play each point as best we could. That’s all we did, we just applied ourselves really well for each of those points in that tiebreak especially.

“In tennis, you’re never out of it, I think that was pretty crucial to get that first set, and then just to get a break in the second, to space that lead out a little bit. That tiebreak, we did really well after being 5-1 down.”

Dellacqua is enjoying her time on court with her good friend Barty, and was delighted that she won the singles title – even if she was not actually able to watch it.

“It’s pretty nice to play with someone that’s just come off and won the singles, that’s always good!” laughed the 32-year-old. “I’m just stoked that I’m back. I wouldn’t be out here and enjoying it as much if it wasn’t playing with Ash, so yes, I feel good, I feel very happy that I was here to witness her, even though I didn’t get to watch, win her first title. I know that there’ll be many more to come. For us to win the doubles is an extra bonus. It’s pretty exciting.”

The pair burst into laughter when they were asked post-match whether they intended to continue playing doubles together.

“No, I don’t want to play with her again!” grinned Dellacqua.

“We’re done!” added Barty.

Once the hilarity subsided, Dellacqua gave a more serious response.

“Yes, of course. Ash has got a big load, she’s playing singles, so we’ll play whenever we can. When we do play we always enjoy it, and we go out there to do our best.”

Winning a Grand Slam title, of course, remains their ultimate goal.

“It’s a big dream to win [a Slam doubles title],” agreed Dellacqua. “We’ve made three Grand Slam finals together and we’ve never won one, but we don’t talk about it too much any more!

“If that happens, it happens. It’s about each week, each journey, just trying to get the best out of ourselves this week, and if that comes along, we’ll certainly be trying our best to win.”

Source link

Vote: June's WTA Shot Of The Month

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

It’s time to crown June’s WTA Shot Of The Month. There were some incredible shots to choose from this month, and we narrowed it down to the five best – have a look at the nominees in the above video and cast your vote for your favorite shot before voting ends Thursday at 11:59pm ET!

The winner will be announced Friday, July 15.

How it works: five shots are selected by wtatennis.com, and the winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com.

Source link

WTA Breakthrough Of The Month: Vesnina

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Elena Vesnina began the season ranked outside the Top 100, but you’d never know it after six months of impressive results.

“I was not putting any pressure on myself going on the court,” the Russian veteran said after reaching her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon. “I know I’m in good shape, I’m playing good. But it’s always tough when you know you’re in a good shape to build your game from beginning till the end and keep playing the same level.

“So I was just trying to be focused on every single game. I was not thinking about my draw. I didn’t see who I was playing next round. I was trying to enjoy myself on the court.”

Building her ranking back up with wins over the likes of Simona Halep, Venus Williams, and Belinda Bencic, Vesnina went farther than she’d ever gone at a major tournament in singles, breaking her second week duck against doubles partner Ekaterina Makarova and blasting into the final four against another in-form player in Dominika Cibulkova.

“I was watching Dominika’s match yesterday because we were going after this,” she said, referring to the Slovak’s win over Agnieszka Radwanska. “It was up and down, Dominika had match points. I knew she had long match.

“Me too. I had singles and we had to play doubles, as well. We finished quite late.

“I think first thing that I was not thinking about being tired. I was just thinking that this is my chance, and I had to use it.”

She certainly used it to full effect in the quarterfinals, dismantling Cibulkova in what might have been the best match of her career.

“I think it’s coming with experience. You really appreciate what you have now. You really enjoying what you’re doing. I love playing tennis. I’m really enjoying my time on the court, and off the court as well.

“I had really difficult beginning of the year, end of the year. I dropped out of the Top 100. I was playing all tournaments starting from qualifications. I had a lot of matches under my belt. It was not easy, to be honest, because I was in Top 30, then I was like No.120 or something.

“I’m really happy that it didn’t break me up. I think the difficult times, every single player has to go through it because it makes you better, it makes you stronger.”

For all of those reasons, Bertens is your Breakthrough Player of the Month!

Final Results for June’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month

1. Elena Vesnina (62%)
2. Madison Keys (31%)
3. Anastasija Sevastova (7%)

2016 Breakthrough Performance Of The Month Winners

January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs
April: Cagla Buyukakcay
May: Kiki Bertens

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

Source link

News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Elina Svitolina came to the Dubai Duty Free Tennnis Championships on a winning streak from winning her fifth title at the Taiwan Open, and on the cusp of a Top 10 debut.

The young Ukrainian made her first leap into the big time in the desert, scoring back-to-back wins over Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki to win the biggest title of her career.

“I always try to take one step at a time. It’s very important for me to not rush things, and to stay very positive with myself,” she told WTA Insider in her Champions Corner Interview. “I did a lot of work with all the coaches I’ve had and my new team, so it’s always nice to have different opinions on my game. With Justine as well, it was an amazing year.

“I’m very happy with the way I’m playing now. Of course, there’s so many things that I need to work on, and I’m looking forward to new challenges.”

Svitolina had shown flashes of brilliance in the past, reaching the final of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai and earning a pair of wins over World No.1s in 2016 – knocking out Kerber in Beijing and Serena Williams at the Olympic tennis event – but the 22-year-old is really on a roll now, winning 13 straight matches, breaking into the Top 10, and rocketing up to No.2 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.

“Of course there’s been ups and downs with me, with my game and with my career. There will be more in the future. The only thing I can do is accept this and work hard and go on court, the gym, work even harder and always have this goal in my mind. That’s what drives me. I think I’m very lucky that it’s been going very consistently.”

All that success certainly helped her earn her the mantle of February’s WTA Player of the Month!

Elina Svitolina

Final Results for February’s WTA Player Of The Month

1. Elina Svitolina (63%)
2. Kristina Mladenovic (27%)
3. Karolina Pliskova (10%)

2017 WTA Player of the Month Winners

January: Serena Williams

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com 

Source link

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA — Ajla Tomljanovic is just happy to be back. The 23-year-old was speaking to reporters less than an hour after a 7-5, 6-2 loss to Julia Goerges in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open. Indian Wells was just her second tournament back after undergoing shoulder surgery in March of last year, with her first tournament coming last week in Acapulco, where she defeated Eugenie Bouchard in her first match.

Currently ranked No.664, Tomljanovic could finally breathe a sigh of relief knowing that after nearly a year away she could still hang with the best.

“A loss has never felt so good,” Tomljanovic said. “I’ve never been this upbeat after a loss, so that’s a good sign.

“I’d be so unfair to myself to be disappointed in myself at this point. Of course you’re disappointed at a loss. You’re a competitive athlete. But it lasted for 30 seconds.”

With her return to the tour, Tomljanovic brings a new perspective and appreciation for life on tour. Prior to her surgery, the Croatian reached a career-high of No.47 in 2015, making her first final in Pattaya City that year and notching her first top-five scalp, beating Agnieszka Radwanska at the 2014 French Open to make the Round of 16.

“It just feels like I’ve been away for decades,” she said. “This time last year I was supposed to play here and I had surgery when it started. My surgeon told me, ‘You’ll be back next year at that tournament.’ I thought my level, is it ever going to be there again?

“Just to be here and be competitive with these girls, I’m not far off. It’s the little things now that are important. It’s just encouraging.”

Tomljanovic admits her time away from the game was difficult. She was unable to play tennis for six months after her surgery but could not bring herself to use the time purposefully.

“I probably wasted a good four months being depressed,” she said. “Not depressed, but not doing anything with my life. Now I probably regret it a little bit. My dad was like, ‘Take classes, go do stuff’. But at the same time I’m constantly doing rehab. I couldn’t shut off completely that part of my life. I wasn’t mentally able to start something new. I had no motivation. My parents didn’t push me because I’m not a kid anymore. Now I kind of wish they did.”

But Tomljanovic slowly came to terms with life without tennis. Paradoxically, the realization that she did not need the sport allowed her to appreciate the opportunity to play again.

“Honestly, yeah, I could totally be super happy without playing.

“I know tennis is not your whole life, I know there are so many things in your life that are more important. But at the same time, it’s so precious. The 10 years in your life you can spend like this, look at how many people can do it. I probably appreciate it way more. I’ll never say I hate tennis ever again.”

Tomljanovic’s game is built around her booming serve, and that’s the shot that will take the longest time to get back online. Her consistency off the ground and her return game in particular have exceeded her expectations so far. “Even I was like, whoa,” Tomljanovic said, when asked about how well she returned against Bouchard in Acapulco.

The road ahead will not be an easy one. Tomljanovic earned a spot in the main draw of Acapulco via a special ranking of No.75, and entered Indian Wells similarly. She has also received a wildcard into the Miami Open. Unless she racks up immediate results, she’ll be back to battling it out on the ITF circuit to build her ranking back up.

“It’s gonna be a grind,” she said. “I’m going to have to play a lot, lose a lot, win a lot hopefully, in the end. But it’s going to be a long way back. Even though I had an okay match here, I won one match last week, there will be a lot of matches where nobody is watching. It’s okay. I’m happy to play anywhere.”

Source link

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova roared back from a set down to dispatch Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, to complete the top half’s third round line up at the BNP Paribas Open.

“I’m definitely happy I had my serve today; it was working with me, especially in the third set when I was 0-3 down,” she noted during her on-court interview. “I’m happy with the win. It wasn’t easy; she was playing really well, hitting the balls really fast and deep, making it tough for me to play my game. But I’m happy.

“It was far from what my plan was to play, and how my game should be,” she added to WTA Insider. “I don’t think I deserved to win tonight, but it happened.”

Puig had never taken a set from her Czech rival, but nonetheless began the night session in the sort of form that helped her win the Olympic tennis event in Rio de Janeiro, breaking Pliskova four times to sweep the opening set.

“The whole match was more about her; the one thing on my side was my serve, which is definitely better than hers. The baseline game was off for me and she was hitting so well. I couldn’t play aggressive, or play my game. When I put in a second serve she was being aggressive.

“I wasn’t feeling this bad in a long time!”

Undaunted, the Brisbane International and Qatar Total Open champion dug in her heels from there, earning several service breaks of her own and serving out the second set to level the match.

“I was just waiting for my chances; I know she can miss some shots when things get closer, and that’s what she did. But then I started terrible in the third set; at least it was just one break there.”

The Puerto Rican No.1 took another quick lead to start the decider, racing out to 3-0 as the upset appeared inevitable. But Pliskova fought through a long sixth game to help turn the tide once and for all, winning six of the last seven games to book her spot in the third round.

“First rounds are always tough, especially for the seeds because of the pressure. She’d had a match already, so that helped her. I was also practicing during the day, so the conditions were definitely different. Hopefully I got something from this and I can learn and move on.

“It can’t get any worse than today!”

In all, Pliskova hit 19 winners to 34 unforced errors and converted five of her seven break point opportunities. Puig proved the greater aggressor in the match, but 37 unforced errors canceled out her 32 impressive winners.

“All my practices were good, and nothing was close to this. I surprised myself with how I was playing. She was playing fast, plus the conditions, and I ended up framing so many shots.

“I’d beaten her three times before, but she can play really good tennis. She maybe gave me a few games and that’s why she lost, but otherwise she was playing great.”

Up next for the World No.3 is No.28 seed Irina-Camelia Begu, who defeated American Louisa Chirico, 6-1, 7-5.

“My sister played her in Australia. I know she can hit good shots; her backhand side is really good. I have to be more aggressive and bring more power; today was so bad!”

Source link