Acapulco: Lesia Tsurenko's Shot Of The Day
Lesia Tsurenko has Saturday’s shot of the day at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
Lesia Tsurenko has Saturday’s shot of the day at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
Kristina Mladenovic has announced that she and Caroline Garcia have ended their doubles partnership.
Kristina Mladenovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Karolina Pliskova, Angelique Kerber, Daria Kasatkina – who will win February’s WTA Shot Of The Month presented by Cambridge Global Payments? Vote now!
Just how dominant is Serena Williams on grass courts? And who is her biggest challenger at Wimbledon? Find out as SAP takes you Behind The Numbers this grass court season.
With Wimbledon just three weeks away, expectations are high for British No.1 Johanna Konta. In the last 12 months, she has undergone a career transformation which has seen her go from a grateful wildcard to a true WTA contender, and with it comes the pressure.
Sky Sports caught up with Konta in Nottingham ahead of her landmark opening round win at the Aegon Open Nottingham, where she’s once again made British tennis history.
“I started playing when I was eight,” Konta told Sky Sports. “When I was nine, I decided I wanted to be No.1 in the world.”
With her victory yesterday over Victoria Duval, 25-year-old Konta is one step closer to fulfilling her childhood dream. Her WTA ranking has now risen to World No.18, making her the first British woman in 33 years to break the Top 20 since Jo Durie in October 1983. It’s an even more remarkable feat considering that Konta started out the year ranked at No.48.
Her name is now etched in the history books, but for Konta, not much has changed.
“Well, a lot of external things have changed,” Konta conceded. “But at home, and how I feel about my tennis, it’s very much the same.
“I consider myself very lucky to be able to do what I love. I very much don’t take anything for granted.”
Click here to view the video on skysports.com or watch Sportswomen tonight at 10pm BST on Sky Sports 5.
Kristina Mladenovic was one of the best players yet to win a WTA title. The French star had already taken home major titles in women’s and mixed doubles, but success on the singles court eluded her – that is, until she arrived at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Mladenovic roared through the draw in Russia, ousting Australian Open finalist Venus Williams and defending champion Roberta Vinci en route to the final, where she hit a stunning 62 winners to survive an inspired Yulia Putintseva in what will likely go down as one of the best matches of the season.
“I feel just amazing,” she told WTA Insider in her Champions Corner interview. “That was my first title. I lost three finals before that, always playing well but had a better opponent. It’s also a Premier event, so it’s even more special.
“The wait was definitely worth it and if you asked me whether to change the past or something I would probably not because this tournament as a first title is absolutely insane. I’m not saying that because I won it, but I think the atmosphere, the show, the organization, it’s just an amazing event. It’s probably the best WTA event during the season, really. They’re treating us so well and everything is super nice. So to hold this trophy here and have it as my first title, for sure it’s going to stay forever in my best memories heart for my career and maybe more.”
Her breakthrough month continued at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, where she stunned good friend and reigning Qatar Total Open winner Karolina Pliskova in the opening round, and ended on another high after reaching the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel.
“I’m really a hard worker. I guess all the players are on tour. It’s no secret that to achieve such a high level and get the results, you have to. I’m just very positive, working very hard every day, and having this fighting spirit it helps me to go through these tough moments.”
Looking to build on her career-high ranking of No.26, Mladenovic is your Breakthrough Player of the Month!
Final Results for February’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month
1. Kristina Mladenovic (56%)
2. Elina Svitolina (26%)
3. Ashleigh Barty (12%)
4. CiCi Bellis (6%)
2017 Breakthrough Performance Of The Month Winners
January: CoCo Vandeweghe
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
With the BNP Paribas Open underway in Indian Wells, players have been busy sharing their thoughts on social media – with Lucie Safarova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands leading the way.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Johanna Konta made a successful comeback from the left foot injury that kept her out of the Middle East Swing with a 6-4, 6-4 win over fellow Brit Heather Watson at the BNP Paribas Open.
“I think it’s definitely challenging to adapt to these conditions,” she said the air is a bit drier and the ball travels a bit quicker. When the wind picks up, that can also complicate things. But it’s a beautiful center court to play on, so I hope to extend my stay here as long as possible!”
.@JoKonta91 bossing it vs Watson! ? #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/7YFGlxyoOr
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
Konta had been forced to sit out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships due to what she described as an “irritated nerve” after a strong start to the season – winning her second career title at the Apia International Sydney and reaching a second straight Australian Open quarterfinal – and had to shake off the rust early on against Watson, who earned a hard-fought win over Nicole Gibbs earlier in the week.
“I think there is definitely an adjustment period,” she added in her post-match press conference. “I hadn’t played a tour match since the Australian Open and Fed Cup was about three weeks ago. It’s not that long of a time, but in terms of the tour, it’s a bit of time.
“I think there were definitely some moments there I will definitely try to get better and better at as the tournament goes on, and hopefully I will get more opportunities to get more and more match fit.”
.@JoKonta91 finds the line with the backhand pass! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/J6ED6J8b1P
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
The countrywoman recently paired up to lead Great Britain into Fed Cup’s World Group II Play-Offs in February, but were all business in the California desert on Friday, trading blows from the back of the court throughout the 94 minute affair.
That feeling when a net cord saves your opponent… again #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/7BZnsBDy6V
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
“We get along great off court. We actually recently spent quite a bit of time together because of Fed Cup. We had a great Fed Cup in Estonia. We had a little bit great experiences quite recently together.
“I think both of us went with the intention of giving our best and trying to do what we can to come through in the end. I was fortunate enough to come out on top today.”
The typically aggressive Konta maintained a fairly clean stat sheet – 20 winners to 21 unforced errors – and held on for a tense ending after Watson threatened to come back from 5-1 in the second set.
Up next for the British No.1 is No.21 seed Caroline Garcia, who ende the run of lucky loser Evgeniya Rodina, 6-3, 6-3.
.@JoKonta91 is first through to @BNPPARIBASOPEN Third round!
Defeats Watson 6-4, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/qVWsMqWDys
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2017
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Karolina Pliskova brought her signature dry wit to a late night chat after a dramatic win over Monica Puig at the BNP Paribas Open.
No.9 seeded American Madison Keys sealed the perfect comeback to action with a hard-fought straight-sets victory over Mariana Duque-Mariño at the BNP Paribas Open.