Tennis News

Carla Suárez Navarro, the 2016 champion, has withdrawn from next week’s Qatar Total Open in Doha. World No.8 Svetlana Kuznetsova has also pulled out with a minor abdominal injury.

Suárez Navarro has suffered an injury to her right shoulder and this is the third time it has forced her out of a tournament this year. She also said in January that it had disrupted her preparations for the Australian Open, where she fell in the second round.

Kuznetsova, the two-times runner-up, misses out with what has been described as a minor abdominal strain. The World No.8 said in a statement: “I am sad to announce that I am not able to participate in the Qatar Total Open this year. I recently sustained a minor abdominal injury.

“My doctors have advised me to rest so I can be prepared to get back on the court as soon as possible. Doha puts on an amazing event and I apologize to all the fans that I won’t be joining this year, but I look forward to coming back next year. I extend my best wishes to the organziers.”

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – The first day of WTA main draw action kicked off on Wednesday, and Dominika Cibulkova was among the day’s winners – she will take on No.3 seed Agnieszka Radwanska’s first opponent in the second round.

Watch live action from Indian Wells this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“We’ve played so many times against each other,” Cibulkova said in her post-match interview. “[Radwanska] is a great opponent so I hope it’s gonna be a good match.”

The Slovak found her groove early on to cruise against Czech youngster Katerina Siniakova, 6-2, 6-0. She broke serve right away and only lost just one point in the first three games. Though Siniakova had the advantage of being familiar with the surface and the Indian Wells atmosphere – she had fought through two rounds of qualifying – Cibulkova didn’t allow her any way into the match.

Cibulkova needed exactly one hour to put away the 19-year-old and book the second round clash against Radwanska, who received a first round bye.

'Thanks for telling me [I play Aga next],' jokes @Cibulkova. 'I never look at the draw!' https://t.co/kRsZ9udpkC pic.twitter.com/09nipFLNOp

— TennisTV (@TennisTV) March 10, 2016

Also through to the second round is Heather Watson, whose match fitness was tested to the limit by Galina Voskoboeva. Fresh from winning the title at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme on Sunday, Watson had to weather a second-set surge from the Kazakhstani to advance 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-1.

While Voskoboeva faltered, a pair of other Kazakhstani women kept the blue and gold flag flying high at Indian Wells as Yaroslava Shvedova survived an all-out assault from qualifier Kristyna Pliskova and Yulia Putintseva picked off Shuai Peng 6-0, 6-1.

It was a tough day at the office for the Americans, though – Lucie Hradecka sent off Alison Riske 7-6(4), 6-2, Vania King ousted her countrywoman Taylor Townsend 6-2, 6-3 and Carina Witthoeft dismissed Irina Falconi 6-4, 6-4. But CoCo Vandeweghe, who feels right at home here in California, kept American hopes alive as she fought off Kiki Bertens 6-4, 6-4.

TOKYO, Japan – Unseeded Czech Katerina Siniakova powered past No.6 seed Zhang Shuai to book a spot in the final at the Japan Women’s Open Tennis, where she’ll face No.7 Christina McHale for the title.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

It’s been a banner year for the 20-year-old Siniakova, who continues to inch closer to a Top 50 berth. Earlier in the season, Siniakova posted her first appearance into the third round of a Grand Slam at Wimbledon, then backed up her results by reaching her first WTA-level final at the Ericsson Open in Bastad.

Now, two months later, Siniakova has kept her momentum going strong and booked a spot into her second career WTA final.

The Czech faced a stern test against No.6 seed Zhang, the highest-ranked player left in the draw. The two players traded breaks seven times during a tense first set, but Siniakova kept Zhang under pressure. The Chinese player won just one point behind her first serve all set long, and Siniakova took every break point that came her way – a perfect seven out of seven. She fired two aces in the final game to serve out the opening set in commanding fashion.

Siniakova broke three more times and rattled off the next six games in a clinical display of aggressive baseline play to see off Zhang 6-3, 6-0.

No.7 seed McHale had a more difficult road to the Japan Women’s Open Tennis final, needing to battle through her fourth three-set match of the tournament against Jana Cepelova.

The momentum swung back and forth between the two players throughout the match, with McHale and Cepelova splitting sets and trading breaks twice in the third set. Cepelova’s aggressive returning kept the American under pressure, but McHale kept her cool – the Slovakian player brought up seven chances to get another break off of McHale but couldn’t convert on any.

McHale broke Cepelova in the final game to take the match 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 and book a spot into her first WTA final since March 2014.

TOKYO/GUANGZHOU/SEOUL – The Asian Swing made its official debut last week but begins in earnest with a trio of tournaments in Tokyo, Guangzhou, and Seoul. What are the biggest storylines heading into the Toray Pan Pacific Open, Guangzhou International Women’s Open, and Korea Open? Find out right here on wtatennis.com…

1) Garbiñe Muguruza leads stacked Tokyo draw.
French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza headlines the Toray Pan Pacific Open field. The Spaniard could see a US Open rematch against Anastasija Sevastova, who knocked her out in the second round. The draw doesn’t get any easier with No.8 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova as her projected quarterfinal opponent and a potential semifinal with either No.3 seed and US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova or No.6 seed Dominika Cibulkova. Can Muguruza replicate her stellar form from last fall to win her first Tokyo title?

2) Two-time Tokyo champ Radwanska seeded second.
Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska aims for title No.20 in Tokyo. Hoping to shake off a fourth round defeat to Ana Konjuh in Flushing, Radwanska could face a tough row of opponents including Barbora Strycova, No.7 seed Petra Kvitova, and either No.4 seed Carla Suárez Navarro or No.5 seed Madison Keys to reach the final.

3) Pliskova has Singapore in her sights.
Karolina Pliskova’s phenomenal run to the US Open final saw her shoot up to No.4 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard. She can’t guarantee qualification in Tokyo, but the No.3 seed could boost her chances 2015 winner Radwanska and 2015 semifinalist Muguruza not far behind at No.5 and No.6, respectively. Pliskova plays her first match against either a qualifier or Yanina Wickmayer.

4) Mirza looking for a second Singapore berth?
Sania Mirza was one half of the first team to qualify for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global alongside Martina Hingis, but could be making a push for a second spot with new partner Barbora Strycova. Mirza and Strycova won the Western & Southern Open in their first tournament together, and the US Open quarterfinalists are seeded second in Tokyo.

5) Osaka the wildcard in Tokyo.
Naomi Osaka received a main draw wildcard after her US Open heroics, where she narrowly lost to Madison Keys in the third round. The personable Japanese star kicked off the Asian Swing by joining Twitter, and will play countrywoman Misaki Doi in the first round.

6) Tough draw for Errani, top seed in Guangzhou.
Sara Errani leads the field at the Guangzhou International Women’s Open, but could face 2015 finalist Denisa Allertova in the second round. Unseeded in Guangzhou, Allertova beat former No.1 Ana Ivanovic in straight sets at the US Open.

7) Jankovic hoping to rebound from injury woes.
Jelena Jankovic took home the title in Guangzhou last year, and hopes for a repeat as the former No.1 tries to turn around a tough season. “I haven’t competed much this year because of two ruptures in my shoulder,” she said at the US Open. “So, I’m a little rusty, I think that shows. I have to stay healthy and hang in there because you have to be ready for every point.” The Serb will be playing doubles with Hingis and opens against qualifier You Xiaodi in singles.

8) Begu adds some Seoul to the mix.
Irina-Camelia Begu is the No.1 seed at the Korea Open and the defending champion after winning the event last year. The Romanian opens against local wildcard Jang Su Jeong and could play countrywoman Monica Niculescu in the quarterfinals.

9) Larsson looks to build on strong summer.
Seeded No.2 in Seoul, Larsson reached the semifinals of the Connecticut Open as a lucky loser, upsetting Timea Bacsinszky and Roberta Vinci en route. The Swede followed that up by reaching the third round of the US Open for the second time in three years. Cutting her ranking in half since a July low of No.82, Larsson hopes to keep going against American Grace Min in the first round, with another American Louisa Chirico looming in the last eight.

10) Find out where you can watch the action from Asia here!

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – The seeds in the lower half of the draw will make their 2016 BNP Paribas debut on Saturday at Indian Wells, including 2016 Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.

Saturday, Second Round

[2] Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs. Denisa Allertova (CZE #64)
Head-to-head: first meeting
Key Stat: Allertova won her only previous match against a player in the Top 2, defeating Simona Halep in straight sets in the Guanghzhou quarterfinals last year.

Angelique Kerber is still flying high after winning her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne this winter, but is the feisty German ready to become one with the perpetual grind of the WTA tour again? As many first-time major winners have proved in the past, it’s not an easy task.

“The life changed of course a little bit, I had so many things to do when I went back to Germany,” Kerber told media during All-Access Hour on Wednesday. “A lot more people recognize me right now. But I think at the end I’m the same as I was before Australia. It’s still a great feeling but I need also time to prepare and go on court to practice and work hard like I did the last few months and years.”

Kerber’s opening challenge will be a first-time meeting with 23-year-old Czech Denisa Allertova. Though she’s only played 37 WTA-level matches, Allertova has impressively won two of her three contests against Top-10 opponents.

Pick: Kerber in three

[4] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4) vs. Christina McHale (USA # 62)
Head-to-head: Muguruza leads,1-0
Key Stat: Muguruza has a 20-10 win-loss record since reaching the Wimbledon final last year.

There have been ups and downs for the Spaniard since she reached the Wimbledon final last season, but it would be wrong to say that Garbiñe Muguruza has been plagued by inconsistency. If anything, she’s been slowed by physical ailments. After a nagging foot injury slowed her start to 2016, the hard-hitting World No.4 would like nothing more than to assert herself with a career-best run at Indian Wells.

She’ll start her quest in the desert with a second-round match-up with American Christina McHale. Muguruza took their first meeting in straight sets, but the New Jersey native, who defeated Caroline Garcia on Thursday, always proves to be a tough out on home soil.

Pick: Muguruza in two

[13] Victoria Azarenka (BLR #15) vs. Zarina Diyas (KAZ #87)
Head-to-head: first meeting
Key Stat: 2012 champion Azarenka is one of seven previous champions in this year’s draw.

It is still shocking when one considers that, before Brisbane this year, Victoria Azarenka had not won a WTA title in nearly three years. Injuries have reared their ugly head, curtailing the momentum of the two-time major champion on many occasions. And yet, there’s something so magical about Azarenka’s game when in full flight that it’s difficult not to expect her to step up, turn back the clock and roll through a tournament like she did in 2012 and 2013, when she won nine titles, including two majors.

Could March be the month that Azarenka proves to the world she’s top-notch again? The world No.13 will open her seventh appearance at the BNP Paribas Open with a second-round tilt versus Zarina Diyas. Once thought to be a rising star, Diyas has struggled to find her form, going 4-7 thus far in 2016.

Pick: Azarenka in two

[14] Ana Ivanovic (SRB #18) vs. Camila Giorgi (ITA #45)
Head-to-head: Ivanovic leads 1-0
Key Stat: 2008 champion Ivanovic has not been past the third round here since 2012.

In her tenth appearance at Indian Wells, former champion Ana Ivanovic will face a stern second-round challenge in the pugnacious Camila Giorgi of Italy. Ivanovic took the pair’s first meeting handily last autumn in Tokyo, but Giorgi has done some damage in her brief but entertaining Indian Wells career.

She took out Maria Sharapova in her debut in 2014 en route to the fourth round. Giorgi is always one of the most dangerous floaters in a draw, and Ivanovic will surely have her hands full with a player that has earned 16 wins in 37 against members of the Top 20.

Pick: Ivanovic in three

Around the grounds: Seventh-seeded Belinda Bencic will square off with American Lauren Davis for the second time. The Swiss won their first meeting in 2013 in straight sets. Surging Zhang Shuai, who has risen over 100 spots in the rankings since the end of last season, will meet 20th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki. Russians Daria Kasatkina and Margarita Gasparyan each won their Indian Wells debuts on Thursday and will look to reach the third round today. Eugenie Bouchard and Sloane Stephens will meet for the fourth time, and the first time since 2013 – Stephens holds the 2-1 lifetime edge.