Tennis News

MALLORCA, Spain – Daniela Hantuchova received an extra boost of Slovak power at the Mallorca Open, where she grabbed her first main draw win of the year and got the news that she’d been awarded a wildcard into Wimbledon.

Earlier this week a very special cheering squad made the trip to the Mediterranean: 12 Slovakian Miss Universe contestants travelled to Mallorca to enjoy a bit of world class tennis at the inaugural event. The contestants’ first stop on their tour of the Balearic Island? A meet and great with former World No.5 Hantuchova, whose own tennis has flourished on the Spanish grass courts this week.

Earlier in the week, Hantuchova grabbed her first main draw win of the year in the opening round of the Mallorca Open when she defeated Yaroslava Shvedova 6-1, 6-3. In fact, it was her first main draw win since last year’s Istanbul Open, where she defeated Turkish trailblazer Cagla Buyukakcay in the first round.

The Slovak’s spirited Mallorca victory also earned her an even sweeter prize: a main draw wildcard into Wimbledon, and a big career milestone.

This year’s Championships will be Hantuchova’s 60th appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam, putting her at No.8 in the elite list of players with the most appearances in the Open Era.

Open Era: Grand Slam Main Draw Appearances
71 Amy Frazier
70 Venus Williams
67 Martina Navratilova
64 Conchita Martinez
63 Ai Sugiyama
63 Serena Williams
62 Francesca Schiavone
60 Daniela Hantuchova

Hantuchova made her Grand Slam main draw debut over 15 years ago in the 2001 Australian Open, and she’s been a main draw staple ever since, only missing out on two occurrences (French Open 2008 and 2012).

Here’s a list of all the singles wildcards awarded so far for the 2016 edition of The Championships.

2016 Wimbledon Ladies Singles Wildcards
1. Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)
2. Marina Melnikova (RUS)
3. Tara Moore (GBR)
4. Laura Robson (GBR)
5. Katie Swan (GBR)
6. To be announced
7. To be announced
8. To be announced

No word yet on whether the Slovakian Miss Universe contestants will follow Hantuchova all the way to London.

Click here for a complete list of all the wildcards announced so far at Wimbledon.

Last week, in honor of the Euro 2016 and Copa America kicking off, we asked tennis fans a big question: if WTA players were a national team, who would be in your starting lineup? After one week of voting, the results have been tallied up and we’re ready to unveil the Fan Voted WTA XI.

But first, let’s remind you who we chose for our official WTA starting lineup:

The WTA plays in a classic 4-4-2 formation, which means that along with a goalkeeper, we’re fielding four defenders, four midfielders, and two strikers.

Of course, fans had other ideas for which players would make the best team, so we put it to a vote.

After tallying up the numbers, here’s who made the cut in the Fan Voted WTA XI:

Here’s how it breaks down:

FORWARDS

We chose to play two of the most powerful attack-minded players in the game as our strikers, but it looks like fans wouldn’t take the field without starting the player with one of the best winning percentages in 2016: Victoria Azarenka.

We chose:

· Serena Williams
· Garbiñe Muguruza

The fans voted:

· Garbiñe Muguruza
· Victoria Azarenka

Though Azarenka also garnered a lot of votes as a potential defender, the overwhelming majority of fans voted her as a striker – and we can’t say we disagree.

MIDFIELDERS

Our midfield is packed with skillful and creative players, but fans were torn as to which playmakers they wanted in their Fan Voted WTA XI. In the end, here’s how the voting played out:

We chose:

· Agnieszka Radwanska
· Simona Halep
· Timea Bacsinszky
· Belinda Bencic

The fans voted:

· Simona Halep
· Agnieszka Radwanska
· Kristina Mladenovic
· Svetlana Kuznetsova

Fans voted for a mix of youth and experience by adding Mladenovic and Kuznetsova to the star duo of Radwanska and Halep. Though Halep was also voted as a potential defender, more fans thought she’d be a better fit in the midfield.

DEFENDERS

Our defenders are a rock-solid bunch of the most consistent, defense-minded returners and counter punchers in the game – here’s who made the cut in the Fan Voted WTA XI.

We chose:

· Angelique Kerber
· Victoria Azarenka
· Sara Errani
· Caroline Wozniacki

The fans voted:

· Angelique Kerber
· Dominika Cibulkova
· Sara Errani
· Elina Svitolina

Both back lines seem pretty impenetrable – which one do you think would stand up to the test?

GOALKEEPERS

In our WTA XI, we trusted our goal in the hands of Petra “Cech” Kvitova, but fans had a different player in mind for this position.

We chose:

· Petra Kvitova

The fans voted:

· Andrea Petkovic

Although she also grabbed a lot of votes as a defender, the vast majority of fans thought Petkovic would do a better job in goal. Do you agree with this substitution?

There’s your fan-voted WTA Starting 11! Do you agree with the fan vote or the WTA starting lineup? Which team do you think has a better shot at title-winning glory? Tweet us your thoughts – right here @WTA!

It’s time to vote for January’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, February 3.

January 2017 WTA Player Of The Month Finalists

Serena Williams: Serena’s historic month came to its dizzying peak as she held aloft the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Trophy after defeating sister Venus in straight sets to win the Australian Open. It was not only her seventh title Down Under, but also her 23rd overall, earning her the sole holder of the Open Era record she previously shared with Stefanie Graf. The win also returned Serena to No.1 on the WTA rankings and the Road to Singapore leaderboard.

Venus Williams: Not to be outdone, Venus served a bit of history herself, reaching her first major final since 2009 in Melbourne. It was her first Australian Open final in 14 years, and the American dropped just one set through six matches. Despite losing to Serena in the championship match, the elder of the Williamses still found herself at No.2 on the RTS leaderboard.

Karolina Pliskova: Pliskova began the year with a bang, winning the Brisbane International and roaring into her second straight Grand Slam quarterfinal. The Czech powerhouse won her first nine matches of the season and rose up to a career-high ranking of No.3.

Johanna Konta: The Brit also served notice to start 2017, winning her second career title at the Apia International Sydney. Under immense ranking pressure in Australia, Konta held her nerve to return to the quarterfinals. 

2016 Winners

January: Angelique Kerber
February: Carla Suárez Navarro
March: Victoria Azarenka
April: Angelique Kerber
May: Garbiñe Muguruza
June: Serena Williams
July: Simona Halep
August: Monica Puig
September: Petra Kvitova
October: Dominika Cibulkova

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com