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Naomi Osaka Takes Twitter By Storm

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Naomi Osaka is back home in Japan and into the second round of the Japan Women’s Open Tennis, and the 18-year-old celebrated in the best way: by joining Twitter.

 Naomi famously quoted the Pokémon theme song to a room full of confused journalists earlier in the year, and she kept to the theme on Twitter, bringing all of her dry humor to 140 characters. 

But quickly after posting her first few tweets, she ran into her first social media roadblock… herself.

Or, well, sort of.

Turns out, there’s a long-inactive Naomi Osaka account floating around on Twitter, and now it was up to the real Naomi Osaka to defeat her Shadow Clone…

Well, I think that proves it.

Welcome to Twitter, Naomi Osaka! Next step: a blue checkmark.

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Dominika Cibulkova has long played David to a tour of Goliaths. The Slovakian dynamo found fertile soil early in her career and promptly began planting seeds; her garden is a veritable who’s who of the game’s biggest and brightest.

She rode that role right into a Singapore debut, where she broke new ground by winning the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, stunning then-No.1 Angelique Kerber in the championship match.

Starting 2017 in full bloom therefore marks a colossal shift for Cibulkova, who is suddenly tasked with preventing the very chaos she once strived to create.

Dominika Cibulkova

“I felt good in Australia but this is a new position for me, being World No.5,” she said during All-Access Hour at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. “I really have to work on myself every day, especially mentally.

“There are some players who come onto the court a bit differently against you. They have nothing to lose and want to beat you. This is something I’m really trying to adjust to, that and the expectations – not just my own, but also those of the people around me.”

Expectation undoubtedly bogged her down in Brisbane and Sydney, but it was after a run to the semifinals of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy that the wilting Slovak decided to reassess, stepping down from her perennial spot on the Fed Cup team.

Dominika Cibulkova

“I got really negative on the court in St. Petersburg,” she said of her loss to Yulia Putintseva, “and that was my biggest disappointment from that match; maybe the expectation got too big for me.

“It’s good that I didn’t play Fed Cup so I could really have time to prepare for Doha. It helped me a lot and that’s why I played so well there. I’d always feel tired after a tie, but that’s something you have to accept if you decide to play Fed Cup. You have to know you won’t be completely ready for the next tournament.”

Cibulkova has been an absolute stalwart in national competition – playing a whopping 21 ties in 12 years – and admitted the annual decision to compete often adversely affected her schedule.

“It would be easier if the event could all take place at a reasonable date, but, for example, last week Slovakia played Italy on clay. That wouldn’t make sense for my schedule at all.

“Now that I’m older and more mature, I see that my career isn’t going to last forever. Right now, I feel like I can get my best ranking and reach my best results. I have to selfish.”

Dominika Cibulkova

That desire for further introspection led her to step up her work with sports psychologist Radko Sevcík, who joined her team about two years ago and has been crucial to improving her big match mindset.

“I had my mental coach with me in Doha and we talked a lot about different things, how I should approach practices and matches, and how to be more positive on the court.”

The positivity paid off; Cibulkova reached the final four at the Qatar Total Open – the first of her career – and earned her 400th career match win in impressive style over an old nemesis.

“I felt good on the court. I beat Samantha Stosur, whom I’d never beaten before in my career. That gave me much more confidence, and even though I lost to Karolina Pliskova, it was a great match and I was really close to winning.

“After Doha, I feel like I’m playing really well.”

The first big test of that assertion will come early; Cibulkova will kick off Dubai campaign against Ekaterina Makarova, who won their most recent meeting at this year’s Australian Open.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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Indian Wells Thursday: Bouchard Begins

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – The first round bottom half gets started at the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday as Eugenie Bouchard takes the court looking to continue her positive momentum.

Thursday
First Round

Stadium 1

Eugenie Bouchard (CAN #42) vs. [Q] Risa Ozaki (JPN #125)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Much ink was spilled in 2015 about Eugenie Bouchard’s second-season woes. Ranked as high as No.5, the Canadian ended the year outside of the Top 40 as she struggled to close out matches and string together victories.

But Bouchard seems to have put the past firmly behind her as she rides the momentum of a red-hot resurgence into Indian Wells – she’s made two finals and has won 13 out of 18 matches this year.

“I got here early for the tournament and I was working really hard in practice just trying to improve different areas of my game,” Bouchard said in Kuala Lumpur, where she reached the BMW Malaysian Open final. “I feel like I’ve improved already since last week and for me that’s just my goal right now – to improve every single week.”

Bouchard’s first test comes in the form of Japanese qualifier Risa Ozaki. Though the pair have never played before, Ozaki made her presence known in Kuala Lumpur when she pushed eventual champion Elina Svitolina to three sets in the round of 16.

The winner is set to face No.21 seed Sloane Stephens, whose two titles in 2016 are a WTA-leading figure.

Caroline Garcia (FRA #41) vs. Christina McHale (USA #62)
Head-to-head: McHale leads, 2-1

The first women’s match on Stadium 1 sees Caroline Garcia and Christina McHale battle it out for a chance to face the No.4 seed Garbiñe Muguruza in the next round.

Both players are coming off of strong showings in Latin America – Garcia made the semifinal in Monterrey and McHale the semifinal in Acapulco. McHale already has one title under her belt though, an ITF 50K she picked up in Maui, while in her last match in Monterrey Garcia struggled against eventual champion Heather Watson as a result of a lower back injury.

Despite the head to head skewing in McHale’s favor, all three of their previous encounters have been unbelievably close; both of McHale’s wins came after three sets, and in Garcia’s straight sets victory, both sets went to a tiebreak.

 Around the grounds…
It’s youth up against experience as Monica Puig faces WTA veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina takes on Daniela Hantuchova. Laura Robson seeks to put her injury woes behind her as she opens against Magdalena Rybarikova.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The WTA’s Top 10 stayed in place after a week in Doha, which saw World No.3 Karolina Pliskova take home the title at the Qatar Total Open. But there were plenty of shifts for players right on the bubble, as a pair of former Top 5 players continued to chip away at their rankings.

Here are the biggest ranking movers this week after Doha:

Caroline Wozniacki +3 (No.18 to 15): Former World No.1 Wozniacki continued her comeback during the WTA’s Middle East Swing, storming to the final at the Qatar Total Open and posting wins over Monica Puig and No.6 Agnieszka Radwanska along the way.

The last time Wozniacki was ranked inside the Top 10 was in September 2015 (No.6), and with her strong showing in Doha she’s vaulted up to No.15 and closing in on a return to the game’s highest echelons.

“I feel like I’m playing really good tennis. I can still improve on some things,” Wozniacki told press after the final in Doha. “I’m really feeling positive and confident moving forward, and most of all I’m just trying to stay healthy.

“When I’m staying healthy, I can play great tennis. I can work really hard and improve my game. I’ve really put in a lot of work. It’s shown in the results. Hopefully I can keep up my level and keep improving.”

Samantha Stosur + 2 (No.21 to 19): Earlier in the season at Taipei City, Stosur halted a dismal trend of first round losses dating back to August 2016 that saw her ranking – and her confidence – take a dip. Now, the former Grand Slam champion is back inside the Top 20 after a run to her second consecutive WTA quarterfinal in Qatar.

Monica Puig +5 (No.47 to 42): Olympic champion Puig jumped up five spots to No.42 after an appearance in the semifinals in Doha. The run will do wonders for the Puerto Rican’s confidence: aside from regaining her world-beating form to put together dominating performances over Laura Siegemund and Daria Kasatkina, it’s the first semifinal Puig has reached since her fairy tale run to the gold medal at the Olympic tennis event in Rio.

Lauren Davis +9 (No.55 to 46): The 23-year-old American continued to back up the form that saw her claim her maiden WTA title earlier in the season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Davis successfully qualified for the main draw at the Qatar Total Open, and went on to stun No.6 seed Elena Vesnina on her way to the quarterfinals, earning her first Top 20 win of the year.

Her season-long consistency has paid off, earning her a ranking jump to inside the Top 50, landing at No.46 – just three spots shy of her career high No.43.

Click here to check out the updated WTA rankings, as of February 6.

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Monterrey: Pavlyuchenkova Profile

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Three-time Abierto Monterrey Afirme champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova discusses her unlikely journey from bashing balls on the banks of the Volga to the top of the women’s game.

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McHale Fightback Earns Tokyo Title

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

TOKYO, Japan – Christina McHale produced a stirring comeback to defeat Katerina Siniakova in the final of the Japan Women’s Open Tennis and lift her maiden WTA title.

A semifinalist 12 months ago, McHale looked in store for another near-miss when she trailed Siniakova by a set and a break. However, a timely rain delay and a run of eight straight games turned the match on its head as the American closed out a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.

In a match of multiple twists and turns, McHale was very nearly foiled at the last, Sinaikova rallying from 5-2 down to set up a tense conclusion.

Ultimately, McHale’s nerve held steady, completing an emotional victory when Siniakova tugged a backhand wide.

McHale, whose only previous WTA final came at Acapulco in 2014, endured a marathon journey to the winner’s circle, spending over 13 hours on court after going the distance in each of her five matches.

“I don’t even want to put my trophy down – i just want to hold it all the time,” McHale said during the trophy presentation. “I’ve been coming to this tournament for a few years now and I really love it here. Thanks to all the fans and everyone here for sticking through all the rain delays – we’ve had a few, especially today!”

Sinaikova, who also lost in the Bastad final this this summer, was unable to hide her disappointment at witnessing what would have been her first title slip away. “I’m here in the final for the second time and unfortunately it was really tough for me, so I’m a little sad. But Christina played really well, so congratulations to her,” she said.

More to follow…

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Serena Brushes Aside Siegemund

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Serena Williams wrapped up the top half second round action at the BNP Paribas Open with a straightforward win over German qualifier Laura Siegemund, 6-2, 6-1.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Indian Wells right here on wtatennis.com!

Playing in her first match since reaching the final at the Australian Open and in the chilly nighttime conditions in Indian Wells, Williams found herself facing a break point right away in the first game of the match. Siegemund’s variety and a sneaky drop shot tripped her up, but the World No.1 shook off any lingering rust with ease to fend off the early assault.

From then on the match grew increasingly one-sided, with Williams simply outgunning the German qualifier, taking the ball early and attacking from every side of the court. A beautiful backhand down the line brought up set point for the top seed, which she took with one her signature swing volleys.

Siegemund continued to attack and even brought up another chance to break in the first game of the second set, but Williams roared back from 0-40 to brush it aside. Not taking the opportunity ended up being costly for Siegemund, and Williams won five straight games to wrap up the encounter in barely over an hour.

“My intensity was the key,” Williams said in her post-match interview. “[Siegemund] actually started out really strong in that first game when I was serving, she was close to breaking me.

“I knew right then and there if I wasn’t going to come out at 100% it would be a long match.”

Awaiting Williams in the third round is Yaroslava Putintseva, who earlier in the day knocked out the No.27 seed Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-4.

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