Roland Garros Semifinals: By The Numbers
When was the last time a Dutch player reached the final? What first is Garbiñe Muguruza hoping to achieve? And just how impressive has Samantha Stosur’s serving been?
When was the last time a Dutch player reached the final? What first is Garbiñe Muguruza hoping to achieve? And just how impressive has Samantha Stosur’s serving been?
Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic cap a near-perfect clay court season by winning their first Grand Slam women’s doubles crown in front of their home crowd in three dramatic sets.
With the French Open officially in the books, how do the rankings stand as the tour heads into the third major tournament of the season?
Defending champion Serena Williams remains No.1 for a 174th straight week, a streak that began all the way back on February 18th, 2013, after reaching the final of the Qatar Total Open.
Garbiñe Muguruza is not too far behind at her career-high ranking of No.2, trailing the 21-time Grand Slam champion by 1564 points thanks to her maiden major title at Roland Garros, where she defeated Serena in the final.
Muguruza became the first Spanish woman ranked inside the Top 2 since Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in December 1996; Sanchez-Vicario is also the first and most recent Spanish woman to be ranked No.1 back in 1995.
Ahead of the grass court season, Wimbledon finalists Serena and Muguruza have the greatest number of points to defend, with 2000 and 1356, respectively. World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska fell to Muguruza in last year’s semifinal and is defending 1195 points, having also made the semifinals of Nottingham and the final of Eastbourne, where she lost to Belinda Bencic.
Bencic is making her return from a lower back injury, one which precluded her from nearly all of the clay court season. The Swiss star reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and the final of the Ricoh Open, and is defending 920 points.
Who made the biggest leaps during the clay court season?
|
PLAYER |
4/4/2016 |
6/6/2016 |
CHANGE |
|
BERTENS, KIKI (NED) |
96 |
27 |
+69 |
|
CHIRICO, LOUISA (USA) |
126 |
74 |
+52 |
|
ROGERS, SHELBY (USA) |
108 |
60 |
+48 |
|
BUYUKAKCAY, CAGLA (TUR) |
120 |
77 |
+43 |
|
CIRSTEA, SORANA (ROU) |
135 |
98 |
+37 |
By reaching the second week of the French Open, Bertens rocketed up into Olympic contention, as did quarterfinalist Tsvetana Pironkova, who now has a chance to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Yulia Putintseva made her career-best ranking and Top 35 debut by reaching the last eight in Paris, pushing Serena to three sets. Venus Williams also made her return to the Top 10 on the back of her best French Open result since 2010, reaching the fourth round.
Click here to check out the full WTA rankings as of June 6, 2016!
It’s time to vote for May’s WTA Player of the Month!
Have a look at the nominees and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, June 10.
May 2016 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists
Garbiñe Muguruza: Muguruza not only held off history by halting Serena Williams’ quest for a 22nd Grand Slam title, but the Spaniard made a little history of her own. The first French Open champion from Spain since 1998, Muguruza rose up to a career-high ranking of No.2, becoming the first Spanish woman to be ranked that high since December of 1996. Playing pitch-perfect tennis throughout the fortnight, Muguruza dropped the first set of her first round against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and never looked back, winning 14 straight sets en route to the title – including wins over 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, and 2010 finalist Samantha Stosur.
Serena Williams: The new No.1 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard acquitted herself well in just her fifth tournament of 2016, reaching a fourth final at the French Open following a title run at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Serena fought valiently through a thrilling three-set quarterfinal against Yulia Putintseva, and saved four championship points against Mugurua before ultimately bowing out in straight sets.
Simona Halep: Halep’s rise began back in 2013, when she earned a wildcard to the Mutua Madrid Open; the Romanian came full circle just three years later by winning her second Premier Mandatory title of her career, defeating Stosur and Dominika Cibulkova in the final. Halep returned to the Top 5 thanks to that win and went on to reach the fourth round of the French Open for the second time in three years.
2016 Winners
January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
NEWPORT, RI, USA – Former World No.1 and six-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters has been elected to receive induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
“I feel very, very honored to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame,” the Belgian said in a video statement that will play during a special ceremony at the Australian Open on Tuesday. “It is a huge honor to be amongst a list of so many great tennis players who I admired when I was growing up, and some great players who I played with in my tennis career as well.”
Joining Clijsters in the Hall of Fame Class of 2017 will be 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick, Monique Kalkman-van den Bosch, a 4-time Paralympic medalist in wheelchair tennis, being honored for her remarkable career.
Additionally, two individuals will be inducted in the Contributor Category. Steve Flink, a distinguished tennis historian and journalist has been elected for induction. Vic Braden, a groundbreaking tennis instructor who was among the first to apply sports science to his instructional tactics will be inducted posthumously.
“It’s a real pleasure to welcome these five remarkable individuals into the Hall of Fame. Kim, Andy, and Monique compiled outstanding careers, winning the game’s biggest titles and ascending to the world No. 1 ranking,” remarked International Tennis Hall of Fame President and 1987 Hall of Famer Stan Smith.
The Class of 2017 will be officially inducted on July 22, during Rolex Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island. Tickets for the Induction Ceremony will go on sale in early February. In addition, the class will be celebrated in a tribute exhibit opening in June in the Museum at the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which will be displayed for one year.
One of six women in tennis history to simultaneously top the world rankings in singles and doubles, Clijsters was the world No. 1 player for 19 weeks and was ranked within the World’s Top 5 for 250 weeks during her career. She is a three-time US Open champion (2005, 2009, 2010) and she was also the 2011 Australian Open champion. Clijsters won two major doubles titles, capturing both the French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2003.
Clijsters is a three-time champion at the WTA Finals (2002, 2003, 2010). She won 41 singles titles, and was a dedicated Belgian Fed Cup team member, leading the team to their first Fed Cup title in 2001 and into the finals again in 2006.
Clijsters retired from tennis in 2007, and then embarked on a second career in tennis with a comeback in 2009. That year, she went on to win the US Open, in what was just her third tournament back on the tour. She was unranked, unseeded, and a wild card entry to the event. Two years later, in 2011, she once again reached the world No. 1 ranking, five years after she had last been there.
Since retirement, Clijsters, now a mother of three, has been focused on her family. She remains engaged in tennis through Kim Clijsters Academy in Belgium, where many juniors train and through competing in Legends events at the Grand Slams.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Serena Williams talks about the length of her career – and how she feels when her contemporaries retire from the sport…
Mirjana Lucic-Baroni says it’s all coming together at just this right time at this Australian Open…
Venus Williams perfectly summed up what makes sports so special in a powerful answer at her Australian Open press conference.
Serena Williams says it’s important to scout her sister’s game-plan before the Australian Open final…
MELBOURNE, Australia – When Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams in the final of the Australian Open, her historic victory was felt around the world. She clinched a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam and returned to the WTA World No.1 ranking.
Here’s the best moments from Twitter as the world reacted to the 28th edition of Williams vs Williams – and Serena’ monumental victory.
It was a final nobody expected to see again – but a final that delighted the world.
Congrats @Venuseswilliams @serenawilliams I'll be recording the final so my two little girls can watch history and have strong role models
— James Blake (@JRBlake) January 26, 2017
Legends wished them luck…
Good luck @serenawilliams & @Venuseswilliams – You have both come so far from the day we met at the @WorldTeamTennis clinic in Long Beach!
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) January 28, 2017
Need I say more @AustralianOpen women's final!! @serenawilliams @Venuseswilliams pic.twitter.com/Yxg2fzH0cj
— rennae stubbs (@rennaestubbs) January 28, 2017
…and the new generation felt like they were back in their childhoods.
Venus vs Serena. I feel like I'm 8 years old. ???
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) January 28, 2017
After all the talk, it was time to play. Some people looked on with admiration and envy.
Ok… I'm gonna need both of their serves. HEY SANTA?? Come back around, I want to trade my presents ?
— Vicky Duval (@vicky_duval95) January 28, 2017
And some people had problems deciding who to cheer for.
Loving the fans calling out “Come on, Williams!” That would totally be me.
— Katie Bee (@breakpointsaved) January 28, 2017
Serena took the first set…
How good is @SerenaWilliams when winning the 1st set?
20-0 in Grand Slam finals! #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/OQRViJTnox
— WTA (@WTA) January 28, 2017
Everyone was enjoying the quality of tennis on display…
Watching these two champions battle it out! High quality tennis from the real queens of the tennis world #SerenavsVenus #AusOpen
— Leander Paes (@Leander) January 28, 2017
…and it wasn’t too long before Serena made history.
.@SerenaWilliams captures record 23rd Grand Slam title at @AustralianOpen!
Defeats Venus 6-4, 6-4! #MakeHistory #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/khMOPajHWc
— WTA (@WTA) January 28, 2017
It was her sister, the runner-up, who paid the most touching tribute.
“Serena Williams. That's my little sister guys. Your win has always been my win”
We're welling up at Venus ?https://t.co/D5SyvBR5pS pic.twitter.com/hEGwZ0bCiD
— BBC Tennis (@bbctennis) January 28, 2017
And the champion repaid the compliment.
#Serena, on #Venus: “There's no way I would be at [No.23] without her. Without her, the 'Williams Sisters' wouldn't exist.” #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/wGeK512QL0
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2017
The congratulations poured in for both champions after the historic moment of victory…
Congrats @serenawilliams on your 23rd major title and return to the top of the@WTA rankings. You are a history maker and a trailblazer.
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) January 28, 2017
Congratulations @serenawilliams ?2️⃣3️⃣#WilliamsSisters continuing to make history, break records, and inspire. #AusOpen ??
— Shelby Rogers (@Shelby_Rogers_) January 28, 2017
History made!! #23 #legends
— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) January 28, 2017
What a match and surreal battle we just witnessed… Two legends. Inspiration for all ????.
— Vicky Duval (@vicky_duval95) January 28, 2017
Witnessed this. History maker ?? @serenawilliams
— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) January 28, 2017
#Inspiring https://t.co/A4WCAcgkxk
— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) January 28, 2017
Hey if you're gonna take an L, it may as well contribute to breaking a record. Huge congrats to @serenawilliams on 23. ??? https://t.co/MsGceFG2Nb
— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) January 28, 2017
The way they were…..#SHEROES.
Sister Act. ? pic.twitter.com/V6RWo03o09— judy murray (@JudyMurray) January 28, 2017