Vickery Victorious In Bogota
American Sachia Vickery was the first to reach the second round at the Claro Open Colsanitas, while No.4 seed Lara Arruabarrena weathered a rain delay to also advance.
American Sachia Vickery was the first to reach the second round at the Claro Open Colsanitas, while No.4 seed Lara Arruabarrena weathered a rain delay to also advance.
Last summer in Washington DC, Sloane Stephens finally delivered on her boundless potential, lifting her maiden WTA title – and the monkey from her back. Intent on making up for lost time, the young American’s mantelpiece is starting to get rather crowded.
After beating Elena Vesnina in the final of the Volvo Car Open, Stephens now has three titles to her name in 2013 alone. The silverware collected in Auckland, Acapulco and Charleston has taken Stephens to the brink of a return to the Top 20.
The 23-year-old’s success in Charleston led to a jump from No.25 to No.21 in the rankings – her highest position since the summer of 2014. And with relatively few points to defend in the build-up to the French Open she has a good opportunity to improve upon her previous best raking of No.11.
If she is rise further still, the next challenge is replicating this Charleston form at the majors. During Stephens’ initial breakthrough on tour, she suffered from the opposite problem – in 2014 she reached the fourth round or better at all four Grand Slams, only to flatter to deceive away from the big stage.
Stephens’ victim in the final, Vesnina, is no stranger to major success, lifting the French and US Opens in doubles. Despite turning 30 later this year, the Russian has no intention of becoming a doubles specialist, something she proved with wins over Belinda Bencic and Sara Errani this past week.
This run resulted in a rankings jump from No.85 to No.51. Throw in her impressive showings in Doha and Miami, and Vesnina’s ranking has improved over 60 places this year.
Vesnina, though, is not the only player on the charge:
Dominika Cibulkova (+15, No.53 to No.38): Dominika Cibulkova has had a number of false dawns since returning from a serious Achilles injury last year. In Katowice, she finally made her big statement. After a first-round scare against Carina Witthoeft, the Slovak improved with each match, outplaying Camila Giorgi in the final to lift her first title since 2014.
Yulia Putintseva (+8 No.61 to No.53): Yulia Putintseva learnt her trade at Moscow’s legendary Spartak club, and she now looks ready to follow in the footsteps of her fellow alumni, such as Anna Kournikova, Elena Dementieva and Dinara Safina. Wins over Venus Williams and Sabine Lisicki helped the Kazakhstani to the quarterfinals, the 100 points picked up in Charleston also takes her to a career-high No.53 in the rankings.
Francesca Schiavone (+11, No.101 to No.90): One of Cibulkova’s victims, Francesca Schiavone, played some typically imaginative tennis to win a couple of rounds and continue the momentum heading into the clay court season.
Pauline Parmentier (+12, No.113 to No.101): While Parmentier was unable to maintain her electric start to defeat Cibulkova in the Katowice semifinals, victories over Magda Linette, Naomi Broady and defending champion Anna Karolina Schmiedlova ensured the tournament remained a highly encouraging one. She is now within touching distance of the Top 100 for the first time since last May.
BOGOTÁ, Colombia – After a rainy day in Bogota, defending champion and No.2 seed Teliana Pereira fell to Argentine qualifier Catalina Pella 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) in the first round of the Claro Open Colsanitas.
Pereira, who became the first Brazilian to win a WTA title in 27 years when she won her first singles title here in 2015, seemed primed to make another deep run when she quickly took the first set off her 23-year-old opponent. But a three-hour rain delay halted the match just as Pella won the second set, breaking up Pereira’s rhythm and allowing Pella the time to find her nerve.
“I was so, so, nervous,” Pella said after the match. “It was really tough also because she has a lot of experience – I don’t.”
After coming back from the delay at 2-1, 40-40 in the final set, Pella’s inexperience showed as she hit a double fault to give Pereira a break opportunity, which the Brazilian took handily. Pella later squandered another lead – this time at 5-3.
“I felt totally paralyzed,” Pella said. “My mind was telling me that I should do the same, stay the same, but my legs and my body were empty. I was just too nervous.”
Despite her lack of experience on the big stage, No.274-ranked Pella kept her cool when it mattered most, dominating Pereira in the tiebreak and ousting the defending champion in two hours and twenty minutes.
The rest of the seeds in action advanced to the next round: No.5 Irina Falconi, No.6 Tatjana Maria and No.8 Anna Tatishvilli eased past their first round opponents in straight sets.
However, the extended rain delay left several matches rescheduled, including the struggle between No.1 seed Elina Svitolina and Alexandra Panova. After dropping the first set to the Russian 7-5, Svitolina came roaring back in the second. She looked set to stage her comeback, rolling to a 5-1 lead, when the rain halted play.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Petra Kvitova will take to the green clay of Charleston for the first time as the Volvo Car Open announced that she’s adding the tournament to her 2017 schedule.
“I’m very excited to play in the Volvo Car Open for the first time,” Kvitova said. “I’ve heard what a wonderful city Charleston is and the Volvo Car Open is a great tournament, so of course I’m looking forward to April.”
Can't wait to finally play at this great tournament! https://t.co/mwUJgzfee7
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) 13 de diciembre de 2016
“We have been pursuing Petra to enter Charleston for more than four years,” said Eleanor Adams, Tournament Manager. “To say we are excited is an understatement! Petra’s left-handed game and serve are perfectly suited for our courts. The fans will be amazed by her talent, fierceness and gracious personality – we can hardly wait!”
The two-time Wimbledon champion will be in good company on the green clay, joining Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Madison Keys, Johanna Konta, Sloane Stephens, Monica Puig and Elena Vesnina at the largest women’s-only tennis tournament in North America.
Click here to visit the tournament’s official website for more information and tickets options.
Dinara Safina walked away from tennis in 2011 after a persistent back injury forced her to retire, but not she racked up 12 WTA titles, reached three Grand Slam finals and rose to WTA World No.1 during her eleven years on tour.
Now, the Russian is putting all of her expertise to work as she takes up coaching at New York City’s MatchPoint NYC in Coney Island.
“I moved to New York for [the coaching], but also because I love it here, I wanted to move here,” Dinara told ESPNW’s Nick McCarvel.
“I’ve always had a feeling for New York. I just said to myself, ‘If I have something inside that wants to try New York, I should do it.’ Nothing is stopping me.”
After getting her law degree in Russia, doing temporary stints as player relations in Madrid and in Moscow, and even working at an IT firm, Dinara revealed that she has plans to continue working with young rising talent.
“I want to be back on tour as a coach, but there is no second life. We have one life. I gave it 100 percent when I was playing and I got injured. For me, it was a sign to have another part of my life. And now I want to help others get to where I was.”
Click here to read ESPNW’s full interview with Dinara, where she opens up more on her New York City life and coaching gig, her decision to walk away from the sport, and on the rising star who reminds her of herself.
The WTA and your favorite WTA stars want to wish you a Happy Holiday and a joyful New Year full of women’s tennis!
ISTANBUL, Turkey – The children of the British International School and the Robert College in Istanbul were in for a treat at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup on Tuesday, where they joined Sara Tomic for a tennis clinic.
Tomic, who was playing in the qualifying rounds, hit the Garanti Koza Arena to hit some balls with the students. She coached them through baseline drills, then teamed up for a quick doubles match. After the clinic, Tomic signed some balls and took photos with the students.
Check out the best photos below, courtesy of the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup.
Who isn’t a fan of hazelnut spread? USANA brand ambassador Alizé Cornet shared with us her favorite recipe for her favorite pre-match snacks – and you only need three ingredients to make it at home.
Watch the video above to see how Cornet makes her special banana sandwich.
Here’s everything you need:
USANA is the Official Vitamin & Supplement Supplier of the WTA, and over 170 Athletes – including 8 out of the Top 10 and 15 out of the Top 20 use USANA products. Former No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, Samantha Stosur, Eugenie Bouchard, and Madison Keys are among several USANA ambassadors, and 2016 marks the 10th Anniversary of the USANA-WTA partnership.
STUTTGART, Germany – 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci served out a tense first round encounter with former Top 10 player Ekaterina Makarova on Wednesday, dispatching the Russian, 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4.
Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
Vinci and Makarova had played five times before, with the latter winning their most recent encounter at last year’s Australian Open, but it was Vinci who took the early initiative following three straight service breaks to start the match, racing out to a 5-2 lead in the first set tie-break and converting her first set point shortly thereafter.
“It was a tough match; Makarova is a great player, a difficult player with the left hand,” Vinci said after the match.
The second set featured six service breaks as Makarova recovered from losing serve to start to take a 5-3 lead in the hopes of leveling the match, ultimately breaking the No.6 seed to even out the contest.
“The court is fast, and I was a set and 3-1 with a lot of chances to go 4-2, but I lost the second set. The beginning of the third, I stayed focused, didn’t think about the second set, played aggressively because the court is fast, and it’s not easy to defend.”
Undaunted, Vinci promptly took an early lead in the decider and never looked back, clinching the win on her ifrst match point. In all, the match was quite high-quality affair, with each woman hitting over 40 winners and just around 30 unforced errors; the Italian veteran provided the cleaner hitting of the two with 44 winners to 31 unforced while Makarova struck 40 winners and 33 errors of her own.
Vinci also struck six aces to her unseeded opponent, who couldn’t find any aces in her arsenal on Wednesday, striking three double faults instead.
Cheeky cross-court backhand winner from @Roberta_Vinci! #PTGP https://t.co/93BoP5nmUg
— WTA (@WTA) April 20, 2016
“I’m happy because I played two bad matches in Fed Cup, so now here it’s nice to come and win this match.”
Vinci next plays 2011 champion Julia Goerges; the ASB Classic finalist outfoxed Alizé Cornet, 6-4, 6-0, to reach the second round in one hour and 16 minutes.
Karolina Pliskova won a more topsy-turvy firts round on Court 1; playing last year’s French Open finalist Lucie Safarovs, Pliskova edged past her countrywoman, 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-5, in well over two and a half hours.
The big-serving Czech dynamo snuck off with an opening set of 12 straight service holds, and held off a late surge from Safarova, who won her first set of 2016 and recovered from a 5-3 deficit in the final set.
In the last match of the day session, Andrea Petkovic outsteadied Kristina Mladenovic to win a fourth straight encounter agains the French youngster, 6-2, 6-4. Completing the round of 16 line-up, Petkovic will next take on top seed Agnieszka Radwanska.
First set ? @JuliaGoerges
Wins the opening set vs Cornet 6-4! #PTGP https://t.co/9HvNtA26Hi
— WTA (@WTA) April 20, 2016
Ana Ivanovic – former No.1 and Grand Slam champion – announced today her retirement from tennis. See all the best moments from the Serb’s accomplished 14-year career!