Montréal: Saturday Highlights
Highlights from the semifinals action at the Rogers Cup.
Defending champion Serena Williams is among three former Australian Open champions in this year’s field.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – The tennis Olympians are making their way to Rio for next week’s Summer Olympic Games. While first ball won’t be hit until Saturday, the WTA stars are arriving early to acclimate to their new and exciting surroundings and have the chance to explore the city.
Check out what some of your favorite players have to say about their Rio arrival on Twitter:
On my way to #Rio2016 ! ?? Happy national day Switzerland ?? ! #proud #hoppsuisse #riocalling #Olympics2016 pic.twitter.com/iydIg3iXCK
— Timea Bacsinszky (@TimeaOfficial) August 1, 2016
So proud to be part of #czechteam in Rio ?? Go to my Facebook Fanpage for daily info #riofotodenik #riophotodiary pic.twitter.com/UOuSAcNdVA
— Andrea Hlavackova (@AndreaHlavackov) August 1, 2016
Off to Rio!!!! ✈️??☀️????? pic.twitter.com/fqH7B8bCJt
— Heather Watson (@HeatherWatson92) August 1, 2016
This feeling ???? Rio bound .. #TeamIndia #Olympics https://t.co/wEzJ5CsWHc
— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) July 31, 2016
.@anabelmedina cumple años en la Villa Olímpica en vísperas de competir en sus cuartos Juegos. ¡Muchas felicidades! pic.twitter.com/IWtRFguaic
— COE (@COE_es) July 31, 2016
Crece el equipo en @rio2016_es @CarlaSuarezNava @MedinaParraRio @conchitamartinz pic.twitter.com/drPUsOXvSl
— Pedro Hernandez (@PedroRFET) August 1, 2016
Le trio débarque bientôt à Rio ??????? @alizecornet @CaroGarcia @FranceOlympique #RoadToRio pic.twitter.com/o4YTfO0FQl
— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) July 31, 2016
The village? the shuttle ? the ball? in Rio! ? pic.twitter.com/r9o4ksuXz0
— Zheng Saisai (@Zheng_Saisai) July 31, 2016
Hello Rio! So honored and happy to be here.. #TeamBelgium #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/r9XngTTyDQ
— Yanina Wickmayer (@wickytennis) July 31, 2016
Kiki Bertens earned her spot onto her country’s Olympic team after her inspiring run to the French Open semifinals, but the Dutch powerhouse still has some packing to do…
Packing for a trip for 6 weeks… What should I bring??? #rio #Usa #myhouseisamess pic.twitter.com/JDw7JxGgG7
— Kiki Bertens (@kikibertens) July 30, 2016
Galina Voskoboeva will headline the Kazakh team in both singles and doubles, and is giving fans an in-depth – and bilingual! – look into the Rio experience on her official Facebook page:
The Olympics won’t be complete without Svetlana Kuznetsova, but the Russian admitted to having some difficulty securing a flight from the Rogers Cup – where the two-time Grand Slam champion reached the quarterfinals – but appears to have sorted out her travel issues after a short stay in New York City:
Deammm please one seat to Rio from NY for meeeee????????
— Svetlana Kuznetsova (@SvetlanaK27) July 31, 2016
UPDATE: Kuznetsova is on the ground with Team Russia in Rio!
Venus Williams praises her little sister – but adds that she’s not “chump change” either…
Sara Errani takes on Jelena Jankovic in the second round of the Apia International Sydney.
Catch up on the action from the semifinals of the Australian Open.
World No.2 Simona Halep held off the big-serving Karolina Pliskova to move through to the semifinals of the Apia International Sydney. A former World No.2 is up next.
MELBOURNE, Australia – Serena Williams is set to return to No.1 in the WTA rankings after winning her seventh Australian Open title, a 23rd Grand Slam title that breaks the Open Era record she hitherto shared with Stefanie Graf.
Serena came to Melbourne with a slim hope of taking back the top spot, but opportunity knocked when defending champion and top seed Angelique Kerber bowed out in the fourth round to CoCo Vandeweghe.
Despite the German’s early exit, the American still needed to make history to take back the ranking she held for 186 consecutive weeks – a record she narrowly missed breaking and holds alongside Graf.
But she did just that on Saturday, defeating elder sister Venus Williams, 6-4, 6-4 to guarantee her accession back to the top of women’s tennis.
The feat came as a surprise to Serena, as she shared in her post-match press.
“in the beginning of the tournament, I was like, ‘If I win, will I be No. 1?’
“[My coach Patrick Mouratoglou] said, ‘No, no, no.
“I was like, Whatever.
“So, today on the court when they were like, ‘And No. 1,’ I was like, ‘Whoa, really?'”
As for Venus, the five-time Wimbledon champion will move up to No.11, with a return to the Top 10 for the first time since last fall firmly in sight.
“I feel motivated to continue, to continue to go out there and hit the ball the way I know I can,” Venus said. “There’s only things I can improve on, to be honest, and to build on.
“I feel I played very well this week, pulled a lot of things out of my pocket. I got more stuff in my pocket. Get it out.”
Billie Jean King congratulated Serena on returning to No.1 on Twitter:
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
A mixture of fresh and familiar faces assembled for third edition of the Jiangxi Open. Find out what the players have been up to on and off the court…
Julia Goerges, Karolina Pliskova, Yulia Putintseva, Agnieszka Radwanska, Alizé Cornet – who will win January’s WTA Shot Of The Month presented by Cambridge Global Payments? Vote now!