Miami: Suárez Navarro Interview
An interview with Carla Suárez Navarro before the start of the Miami Open.
An interview with Carla Suárez Navarro before the start of the Miami Open.
With Serena Williams’ announcement that she is expecting her first child this fall and new mom Victoria Azarenka returning to action later this summer, here’s how the WTA’s Special Ranking Rule applies to both players and in all maternity cases:
To be eligible, a player must be out for a minimum of six months, maximum of two years and be ranked inside the Top 300 (or Top 200 in doubles) at time she stopped playing. The Special Ranking application and supporting medical documentation must be submitted within six months after the last professional tournament played.
For maternity cases, players must be ready to play their first tournament within 12 months of birth.
The Special Ranking will be the ranking earned immediately after the points of the last tournament she played have been added to the WTA Rankings:
-For Serena Williams, her Special Ranking would be No.1
-For Victoria Azarenka, her Special Ranking is No.6
Upon return, a player may use her WTA Special Ranking to gain entry (not for seeding) into eight tournaments within one year of her return date. The Special Ranking can be used at a maximum of two Premier Mandatory Tournaments (Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing) and two Grand Slams.
In addition, any player who is a past singles champion of a Grand Slam or WTA Finals will be allowed an unlimited number of Singles Main Draw Wild Card nominations.
The complete details can be found in the 2017 WTA Rulebook – Special Ranking Rule: pg. 218-225; Singles Main Draw Wildcards: pg.67
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the second round of the Miami Open.
Both Fed Cup semifinals are locked at 1-1 after the first day of singles play on Saturday – find out how it happened.
An interview with Victoria Azarenka after her second round win at the Miami Open.
The final day of April’s Fed Cup weekend is underway, and Australia and Italy were among the first teams to clinch victories over Serbia and Chinese Taipei, respectively, keeping their spots in World Group II.
Check out more highlights from Sunday’s action after a topsy turvy opener.
Romania d. Great Britain, 3-2 – World Group II Play-Offs, Constanta, Romania
Simona Halep restored order after a chaotic opening day in her hometown, avenging a Miami Open loss to Johanna Konta, 6-1, 6-3. Halep’s win put Romania on course for Irina-Camelia Begu to clinch the tie over Heather Watson, 6-4, 7-5, and remain in World Group II in 2018.
Halep was a mere points from victory over Konta in Crandon Park – the Brit went on to claim her maiden Premier Mandatory title two rounds later – and picked up where she left off yesterday at the Tenis Club IDU, hitting 17 winners and breaking serve five times to earn the win in one hour and 11 minutes.
“I expected on clay [for the match] to be like this,” Halep said after the match. “I did everything: I stayed focused and I was very motivated after yesterday. I’m really motivated to win this tie. I feel we’re dominating now.”
Begu was similarly solid in the finals singles rubber, and though Great Britain nabbed an entertaining doubles win over Halep and Monica Niculescu, Romania edged through in the end.
ROMANIA WINS!!! ?? @irina_begu defeats ?? Watson 64 75 and Romania defeats Great Britain 3-1 to maintain its place in World Group II pic.twitter.com/I3foTDmxMt
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) April 23, 2017
Germany d. Ukraine, 3-2 – World Group I Play-Offs, Stuttgart, Germany
Elina Svitolina kept up her flawless form against World No.1 Angelique Kerber, but it wasn’t enough for Team Ukraine, who fell in the face of an unstoppable Julia Goerges at the Porsche Arena.
After Goerges recovered from a set down to oust the reigning Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships winner on Saturday, the former Stuttgart champion edged past Lesia Tsurenko in straight sets to help clinch their place in World Group I next year.
GERMANY WINS!!! ?? @juliagoerges defeats ?? Lesia Tsurenko 64 64 to give Germany a 3-1 win over Ukraine! pic.twitter.com/Ok9yHJBrN7
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) April 23, 2017
Still, it was a solid week for Svitolina, who has now won her last four matches against the US Open champion.
“Kerber struggled to find any rhythm against an opponent who took her chances with greater success, particularly from the baseline,” noted FedCup.com’s Jeff Kavanagh. “Svitolina also committed less than half of the unforced errors of her opponent in the second set – 6-16 – and will feel mightily satisfied at a job well done against a player ranked 12 places above her in the world.”
More to come…
An interview with Serena Williams after her win in the third round of the Miami Open.
Madison Keys takes on Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals of the China Open.
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska after her win in the semifinal of the China Open.