Biel/Bienne: Shots Of The Week
Check out the best shots of the week at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.
Check out the best shots of the week at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.
THE WINNERS
It was a tightly drawn match from start to finish, but Serena Williams outgunned Angelique Kerber in straight sets to win her seventh Wimbledon title – a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title.
Playing in their second Grand Slam final of 2016, the No.4 seed Kerber came out on fire against the World No.1, and neither player gave an inch. But when it was all said and done it was Serena, again, who clinched the match and The Championships, 7-5, 6-3.
With 22 major titles under her belt, Serena is now tied with Steffi Graf for the most Grand Slam titles in the Open Era. She now sits just two behind Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.
“It’s been incredibly difficult not to think about it. I had a couple of tries this year and I lost to two incredible opponents – one of them being Angelique!
“But it makes the victory even sweeter, to know how hard I’ve worked for it.”
Read the full story and watch highlights here | As It Happened: Game by game analysis from WTA Insider
Not content to with just one Wimbledon crown, hours after her win in singles Serena was back out on Centre Court to join Venus Williams in the final of Ladies Doubles.
The sisters extended their doubles dominance and improved their record to 14-0 in Grand Slam finals by taking the title, powering past Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3, 6-4.
“It was really special to be out there again, to win Wimbledon in doubles. We love it, we love playing doubles, we love being together,” Serena said after the match.
“I had just enough time to change and get the ankles re-taped. It was fine. I didn’t want to warm down.”
Read the full story here.
Finally, Britain enjoyed a local champion as Heather Watson’s Wimbledon ended on the best possible note, triumphing on the final day of the fortnight in mixed doubles. She partnered with Finland’s Henri Kontinen to defeat doubles specialists Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Robert Farah, 7-6(5), 6-4.
Watson became the first British woman to win a Wimbledon Championship of any kind since Jo Durie, who also captured a mixed doubles crown in 1987. Virginia Wade remains the last women’s singles winner back in 1977.
Read the full story here.
RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of July 11, 2016.
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) +47 (No.96 to 49): The week’s biggest ranking jump belongs to Shvedova, who reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Elena Vesnina (RUS) +26 (No.50 to 24): Vesnina had to wait a long time to reach her first ever Grand Slam semifinal – it took her 42 tries – but the feat earned her a spot back inside the Top 25. Even more impressive: she started the year ranked No.122 in mid-February.
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) +4 (No.14 to 10): Kuznetsova’s run to the fourth round of Wimbledon earns her four very important ranking points, putting her back in the Top 10 for the first time since 2010.
Angelique Kerber (GER) +2 (No.4 to 2): Although she didn’t walk away the Wimbledon champion, Kerber grabbed a sweet consolation prize. The German returns to World No.2, her career-highest ranking.
Find out how the Road To Singapore shapes up here.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
BRD Bucharest Open
Bucharest, Romania
International | $226,750 | Clay, Outdoor
Monday, July 11 – Sunday, July 17, 2016
Ladies Championship Gstaad
Gstaad, Switzerland
International | $226,750 | Clay, Outdoor
Monday, July 11 – Sunday, July 17, 2016
Bank Of The West Classic
Standford, USA
Premier | $687,900 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, July 18 – Sunday, July 24
Citi Open
Washington DC, USA
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, July 18 – Sunday, July 24
Ericsson Open
Bastad, Sweden
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoor
Monday, July 18 – Sunday, July 24
TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Serena Williams
2. Angelique Kerber – Bastad
3. Garbiñe Muguruza
4. Agnieszka Radwanska
5. Simona Halep – Bucharest
6. Victoria Azarenka
7. Venus Williams – Stanford
8. Roberta Vinci
9. Carla Suárez Navarro
10. Svetlana Kuznetsova
11. Madison Keys
12. Dominika Cibulkova – Stanford
13. Petra Kvitova
14. Samantha Stosur – Washington DC
15. Belinda Bencic
16. Karolina Pliskova
17. Timea Bacsinszky – Gstaad
18. Johanna Konta – Stanford
19. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Stanford
20. Elina Svitolina
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Mona Barthel (GER) – July 11, 1990
Abigail Spears (USA) – July 12, 1981
Olivia Rich (AUS) – July 14, 1992
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS) – July 15, 1989
The first quarter of 2017 is in the books, and before the WTA tour turns to the European red clay, it’s time to take one last look back at the Top 5 moments that have shaped the season thus far.
The No.1 moment on our countdown is a record-breaking achievement that went down in tennis history…
Serena Cements Her Place In Tennis History: There was one word that dominated the tennis headlines in January: “history.” It’s what was on the line at the Australian Open final when Serena Williams and Venus Williams took to the court for the first all-Williams final in Melbourne in 14 years.
And 81 minutes later, Serena took home the title – without dropping a set or even facing a tiebreaker during the entire tournament – and rewrote the history books with an Open Era record 23rd Grand Slam title.
SHE’S DONE IT! No. 23@serenawilliams is your #AusOpen 2017 women’s singles champion. ? pic.twitter.com/LC6fpWi3Ik
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 28, 2017
“It’s such a great feeling to have 23,” Serena said after the match. “I’ve been chasing it for a really long time. When it got on my radar, I knew I had an opportunity to get there, and I’m here. I’m here.
“It’s a great feeling, and no better place to do it than Melbourne. My first Grand Slam started here, and getting to 23 here, but playing Venus, it’s stuff that legends are made of. I couldn’t have written a better story.”
Not only was the win Serena’s 216th at Grand Slam tournaments, improving on her already-record total, but it also restored her place at the top of the WTA rankings, returning to World No.1 for the first time since the 2016 US Open.
Her season would come to a halt after the Australian Open, though. Serena withdrew from Indian Wells and Miami before announcing earlier this week that she was expecting her first child in the fall.
But Serena stands alone on our countdown – much like she does in tennis history – and her record-breaking feat at the Australian Open is the No.1 moment of the 2017 season to date.
The Top 5 Moments That Marked 2017 So Far:
5) The Future Is Now: Teen Titans Crash WTA Party: Kasatkina, Vondrousova Take Titles To Start 2017
4) Slow & Steady Wins The Race: Wozniacki & Svitolina’s Hot Streaks Lighting Up 2017
3) Veterans Victorious: Venus & Lucic-Baroni Loom Large To Start 2017
2) Sunshine Sweeps: Vesnina & Konta Capture Career-Best Titles To Start 2017
1) Serena, Unparalleled: Serena Makes History With 23rd Grand Slam Title To Start 2017
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA – Serena Williams’ phenomenal week got even more phenomenal on Wednesday night, as she won Best Female Tennis Player at the ESPY Awards for the eighth time in her career, having already been given the award in 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2015.
She was chosen over Angelique Kerber, Flavia Pennetta, and Garbiñe Muguruza for this year’s award.
Williams now has 10 total ESPY Awards – she was also named Best Female Athlete in 2003 and 2013.
Other WTA stars with multiple ESPY Awards are Sharapova (five), Venus Williams (four), Steffi Graf (three) and Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport (two each). The ESPY Awards started in 1993.
More to come…
STUTTGART, Germany – The European clay season begins in earnest this week as hometown favorite Angelique Kerber leads the WTA into the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The two-time champion tops a draw that houses a host of elite players and threats on the dirt, as players look to get off on the right foot on the road to Roland Garros.
Check out 10 things to know ahead of Germany’s Premier red-clay event.
1) Star-studded sightings in Stuttgart.
Eight of the WTA’s top 10 are competing this week. Defending champion Angelique Kerber is the event’s top seed, as one of three former champions in the main draw.
2) Top seed, but not No.1 (for now).
Though Kerber will drop to World No.2 in the rankings on Monday, the German has a chance to reclaim the top spot in the WTA rankings should she reach the semifinals this week.
3) Good things come in threes.
Kerber could be the fourth player to three-peat in the history of the tournament, dating back to when Tracy Austin and Martina Navratilova did it at the event’s beginnings in Filderstadt. Maria Sharapova also won three straight tiles from 2012-14.
4) Siegemund sneaks in.
Last year’s runner-up Laura Siegemund earned the final wildcard to this year’s tournament at the 11th hour – the World No.37 was tabbed as the final entrant prior to Saturday morning’s draw.
5) Sharapova says hello.
The aforementioned three-time Stuttgart champion Maria Sharapova returns to the WTA this week.
6) An epic rematch first up.
Though both are unseeded, the first round match between Kristina Mladenovic and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni promises to have fireworks. The two have met already on clay this season, as the Croat took a marathon 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(13) victory in Charleston earlier this spring.
7) Game, set, match – for the first time.
Two of the event’s top 8 seeds will be looking to break a losing spell in Stuttgart this week. The No.6 seed and a wildcard in the event, Johanna Konta is 0-2 in her career at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, while No.3 seed Dominika Cibulkova has fallen in the first round in each of her four appearances.
8) Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.
Several WTA stars will be returning to Stuttgart for the first time in a while this week, as Cibulkova makes her first appearance in the tournament since 2012, while Mirjana Lucic-Baroni plays the event for the first time in three years. Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova plays just her second Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, having fallen in the first round in 2011, and her first-round foe, 2010 runner-up Samantha Stosur appears for the first time since 2013.
9) Compatriots to do battle to commence play.
Two first-round matches will see countrywomen face off, as Elena Vesnina will play Daria Kasatkina — and the winner of the all-Russian showdown will face either Garbiñe Muguruza or Carla Suárez Navarro, who face each other in an all-Spanish clash.
10) Show your colors, then head to Stuttgart.
Nine players who will feature in the main draw are also donning their country’s colors this weekend – Kerber, Vesnina, Kasatkina, Siegemund, Johanna Konta, Simona Halep and CoCo Vandeweghe.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka has announced the exciting news that she is expecting her first child later this year.
While recovering from the knee injury that sidelined her for Wimbledon, Azarenka and her boyfriend found out they would soon be welcoming a new member to the family.
The former World No.1, who plans to return to the game at some point in the future, made the announcement on Facebook this Friday.
“The WTA Family extends its congratulations to Vika. There is nothing more special than becoming a parent and we look forward to having Vika with her family back on Tour and winning championships next year,” WTA CEO Steve Simon said.
I have some news for you all ☺️ pic.twitter.com/64Kf90tZF6
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) July 15, 2016
GSTAAD, Switzerland – Kiki Bertens upset top seed Timea Bacsinszky on Saturday to end hopes of an all-Swiss final at the Ladies Championship Gstaad.
Two Swiss players have never met in the final of a WTA event, and Bertens ensured this statistic remained intact with a 7-5, 7-6(1) win.
Due to the torrential rain earlier in the week, the weekend began with the completion of the backlogged quarterfinals, Bertens living up to her No.3 seed status by making short work of Irina Khromacheva. However, against Bacsinszky she was made to work considerably harder, coming from a break down in both sets to edge into the third final of her career.
“I think the tournament would have loved two Swiss players in the final – so sorry for that! – but I’m really happy,” Bertens said afterwards. “I think we both played a lot of matches in the last few hours, so physically it’s really tough.”
On the other side of the draw, Viktorija Golubic finally halted the run of teenager Rebeka Masarova, keeping her cool to run out a 6-3, 6-2 winner. Along with the weather, Masarova, who was crowned junior champion in Roland Garros last month, has been the story of the tournament, becoming the first player in nearly four years to reach the semifinals on their WTA main draw debut.
Golubic was also appearing at this advanced stage for the first time and managed the occasion with aplomb, surging into an early lead and never looking back. After fending off the threat of a comeback to take the first set Golubic took a stranglehold of the contest with a break in the fourth game of the second before repeating the trick to close out victory.
“I feel great! It was great to play in an all-Swiss semifinal – and for the popularity of tennis in Switzerland it was also very helpful,” Golubic said. “I enjoyed today, I won two matches and feel amazing. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
“I really did a good job mentally this week because I had lots of moments where I felt my shots were not quite there. And at these moments it’s hard to perform and not lose yourself, so this is definitely the part of my game I managed best this week.”
wenn es nur Sieger gibt #WTAGstaad #ViktorijaGolubic #RebekaMasarova pic.twitter.com/w7HKrMhIvR
— Ladies Open Gstaad (@WTA_Gstaad) 16 July 2016
BASTAD, Sweden – No.4 seed Annika Beck came through a tight encounter with Sorana Cirstea to secure a second-round spot at the Ericsson Open.
Watch live action from Bastad, Stanford and Washington DC this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Last week in Gstaad, Beck slumped to a shock defeat at the hands of World No.797 Rebeka Masarova, but bounced back with a 7-5, 7-5 win in her opening match in Sweden.
“It was quite a tough match – I expected it because Sorana is a great player and she had some great results on clay this year,” Beck said. “It was the first time I ever played her but I got some tactics off my coach and I knew what to do.”
In a match of fine margins, Beck’s greater consistency at the conclusion of both sets proved decisive. Having hauled herself back into the opening set, Cirstea looked well set to complete the comeback only to hand back the break with a wayward backhand. Beck duly closed out the set and despite weathering a barrage of winners in the second set, held her nerve to close out victory.
“She was defending really well and made my life really tough out there on court, especially in the second set – she was just going for winners and basically hit all the lines – I was just trying to stay in the match and fight.”
Reaction of @BeckAnnika after defeating @sorana_cirstea in front of Hollywood star Hugh Grant pic.twitter.com/uw9uy7ebOj
— Swedish Open Tennis (@swedish_open) 19 July 2016
Also advancing in the bottom half of the draw were Beck’s fellow seeds Sara Errani and Johanna Larsson. No.2 seed Errani produced a confident display to defeat Cagla Buyukakcay, 6-2, 6-3, while No.8 seed and defending champion Larsson came through her all-Swedish clash against Rebecca Peterson, 7-6(3), 6-2.
Another former champion to advance was Mona Barthel, who was leading 4-6, 6-3, 3-0 when No.7 seed Yaroslava Shvedova retired with a back injury.
No.1 seed Sam Stosur moved into the quarterfinals of the Citi Open after being down a set to Caroline Wozniacki as the Dane was forced to retire due to injury.
How did Agnieszka Radwanska, Petra Kvitova and Eugenie Bouchard feel about glamming up for the Shenzhen Open player party? See highlights from the big night here.