Monterrey: Player Party
With the Abierto Monterrey Afirme in full swing, Caroline Wozniacki, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Monica Puig took a walk on the wild side at the player party.
With the Abierto Monterrey Afirme in full swing, Caroline Wozniacki, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Monica Puig took a walk on the wild side at the player party.
August was packed with plenty of amazing shots – we narrowed it down to the five best.
In the end, it was perennial Shot Of The Month winner Agnieszka Radwanska who survived a thrilling rally with Kirsten Flipkens at the Connecitcut Open. Keeping her cool as the lucky loser from Belgium attempted a tweener, Radwanska won the point and later the title in New Haven.
Click here to watch all of August’s finalists.
Hear from Radwanska after her New Haven win in the WTA Insider Podcast:
Final Results for August’s WTA Shot Of The Month
1. Agnieszka Radwanska (67%)
2. Angelique Kerber (19%)
3. Eugenie Bouchard (9%)
4. Elina Svitolina (3%)
5. Johanna Konta (2%)
2016 WTA Shot of the Month Winners
January: Caroline Wozniacki
February: Agnieszka Radwanska
March: Agnieszka Radwanska
April: Monica Niculescu
May: Simona Halep
June: Agnieszka Radwanska
July: Simona Halep
How it works:
Five shots are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
Ashleigh Barty has the shot of the day in the final of the ALYA Malaysian Open.
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Premier
Prize Money: $1,000,000
Draw Size: 28 main draw (4 byes)/32 qualifying
Main Draw Ceremony: Saturday, September 17, 2pm JST
Qualifying Dates: Saturday, September 17 – Monday, September 19
First Day of Main Draw: Monday, September 19
Singles Final: Sunday, September 25, 12pm JST
Doubles Final: Saturday, September 24, third match
MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@TorayPPO – official tournament handle
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtag, #WTA.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
· No.2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska bids to win a third Tokyo title in six years. She is the only player in the last decade to win multiple times at the event.
· Radwanska is not the only returning champion in the field this year; 2013 champion Petra Kvitova accepted a late wildcard, while 2010 winner Caroline Wozniacki and 2015 runner-up Belinda Bencic is also in the draw.
· Also in attendance are Top 10-ranked players Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Carla Suárez Navarro and Madison Keys.
· For the full draw click here.
WILDCARDS:
Petra Kvitova (CZE), Madison Keys (USA), Naomi Osaka (JPN), Olesya Pervushina (Russia)
WITHDRAWALS:
Simona Halep (left hamstring), Samantha Stosur (right arm), Sloane Stephens (right foot), Daria Gavrilova (right Achilles)
An interview with Agnieszka Radwanska ahead of her participation in the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
An interview with Elina Svitolina after her second-round match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
SEOUL, South Korea – Could we see an all-Romanian final at the Korea Open? Patricia Maria Tig kept hopes of that possibility alive with a 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-3 win over Sara Sorribes Tormo, while No.5 seed Monica Niculescu avenged the loss of defending champion, top seed, and countrywoman Irina-Camelia Begu by defeating conqueror Jana Cepelova, 6-4, 6-2.
Sorribes Tormo was coming off a big upset over No.4 seed Kristina Mladenovic, and though she was able level the match after losing a tight opening set, Tig held her nerve to reach her first WTA semifinal of the season. The young Romanian had made her Premier Mandatory breakthrough earlier in the year when she reached the last eight of the Mutua Madrid Open as a qualifier.
Up next for the 22-year-old is Lara Arruabarrena, who knocked out No.2 seed Johanna Larsson, 6-4, 6-0.
On the other half of the draw stands Niculescu, who is playing her first event since reaching the third round of the US Open. Deprived of an all-Romanian semifinal with Cepelova defeating Begu in the second round, Niculescu exacted revenge on the Slovak to advance in straight sets.
Awaiting Niculescu in the semifinals is No.3 seed Zhang Shuai; the Australian Open quarterfinalist ended the run of unseeded Camila Giorgi, 6-2, 6-4.
Karolina Pliskova takes on Monica Puig in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.
An interview with Roberta Vinci after her third round win at the BNP Paribas Open.
TOKYO, Japan – Agnieszka Radwanska kept her Tokyo title defense on track with an emphatic win over Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig, defeating her 6-2, 6-3 to claim her fifth semifinal berth at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
As SAP’s Behind The Numbers revealed, Radwanska’s game flourishes post-US Open, and is especially lethal during the WTA’s Asian Swing. She holds the record for most matches and most titles won in the Asian swing since 2011, and looks set to add to her tally after straight sets victory over Puig.
“I definitely played my best tennis today,” Radwanska said in her on-court interview. “I was serving well and keeping the ball very well. Obviously I knew [Puig] is a really great player, playing in a very top form. So I’m really glad I could do everything today, in my game.”
Radwanska hit 16 winners and allowed just 10 unforced errors during the one hour and 16 minute encounter, not giving Puig much to work with as the Puerto Rican hit 19 winners to 30 unforced errors.
Radwanska’s serve played a decisive role in the match, bailing her out of tricky situations time and time again. She struck eight aces – including a rare second serve ace to bring up set points – and won 66 percent of points behind her first serve.
“I just felt like John Isner for a little bit there!” Radwanska joked with the Japanese crowd. “I think I was serving very well today, and of course that helped me a lot. Especially because from her side the ball is coming so fast, so the serve was the key today as well.”
Radwanska awaits the winner of the day’s second quarterfinal between Caroline Wozniacki and Magda Linette for a spot in the semifinals and a shot at a third Tokyo trophy.
5th @TorayPPO Semifinal for @ARadwanska! ? pic.twitter.com/7JjtpbhMFr
— WTA (@WTA) September 23, 2016
