Tennis News

The three-time Internazionali BNL D’Italia champion Maria Sharapova has received a wildcard entry into the main draw of the tournament in Rome this year.

The 29-year-old will attempt to reclaim the title she last won in 2015 as she continues her return to the WTA circuit. The tournament, which takes place from May 15-21, will be her third this year after she picked up wildcards for Stuttgart and Madrid this spring.

We officially announce the Wild Card for the 3 times Rome's Champion @MariaSharapova into the main draw of #ibi17! #tennis #WTA #Sharapova pic.twitter.com/bxrPrjI6fJ

— Internazionali Bnl (@InteBNLdItalia) March 1, 2017

Sharapova beat Spain’s Carla Suárez Navarro, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, in the final on her last appearance two years ago, to win her most recent WTA title.

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…

ACAPULCO, Mexico – Australian Open semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni closed out quarterfinals night at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, dispatching French veteran Pauline Parmentier, 6-2, 6-3, to advance into her second straight semifinal in what has been a stunning start to her season.

“I feel great,” the top seed said after the match. “I played a solid match and that was good enough to win. I’m very excited to be in the semifinals, for sure.”

Playing her first tournament since earning a pair of Top 5 wins over Agnieszka Radwanska and Karolina Pliskova en route to her first Grand Slam semifinal since 1999, the Croatian veteran was also enjoying her first WTA event as a No.1 seed – even trying her hand at traditional guacamole. 

Top seed at a WTA event for the first time in her career, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni is playing some great tennis @AbiertoTelcel pic.twitter.com/Lo1QEgo64i

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 3, 2017

Into the semifinals without dropping a set, she showed off her signaure firepower to knock out Parmentier in just over an hour behind 22 winners to just nine unforced errors. Nonetheless, Lucic-Baroni insisted she got a good test ahead of her next match against No.7 seed Lesia Tsurenko.

“It was very close; it was closer than the score. The points were tough. I think this court suited her. It took off with her spin and she made me work hard. I feel good right now and I’m glad I’m through.

“I’m just going to recover, do the same as every day and try to feel as good as possible for tomorrow. Then I’ll be back to give it another go!”

Hoping to reach her first final since last spring’s Internationax de Strasbourg – and win her first title since the 2014 Coupe Banque Nationale – Lucic-Baroni could also earn another career-high ranking should she reach the final on Friday.

Two straight semifinals for Lucic-Baroni; No.7 seed Tsurenko next @AbiertoTelcel pic.twitter.com/G8T6MqWMC9

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) March 3, 2017

ACAPULCO, Mexico – No.2 seed Kristina Mladenovic is through to her second final of the year at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel after withstanding a tough challenge from Christina McHale.

Just a month after clinching her maiden WTA title at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, Mladenovic is set to battle for another title after her 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 victory over the American.

“It’s a very tough tournament, great players and every single round is difficult – everyone wants to win and stay as long as possible in this beautiful place Acapulco,” Mladenovic said after the match.

“I’ve been fighting through all matches, and conditions are very difficult here because it’s hot and humid, but I’m enjoying my time here in Acapulco and I’m excited to be in a final.”

She's everywhere! ?

Incredible play from @KiKiMladenovic! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/1WqNWPuaDA

— WTA (@WTA) March 3, 2017

The pair’s only previous meeting came right here in Acapulco back in 2014, where McHale emerged victorious in straight sets over the Frenchwoman and made a run to the final.

The story unfolded differently on Friday night as Mladenovic employed her high-risk, high-reward game. She broke early at 3-2 to establish a foothold, but struggled to serve out the set in the blustery Acapulco conditions.

McHale took advantage of a Mladenovic double fault and pounced on some vulnerable second serves to finally get the break back. But No.2 seed didn’t panic, wrenching a break right back and serving out the set to love.

McHale imposed her game more in the second set; she cut down on her unforced errors and started to dictate rallies with her forehand as Mladenovic’s net game, usually a strong part of her strategy, began to break down.

.@KiKiMladenovic makes @AbiertoTelcel Final!

Edges McHale 7-5, 4-6, 6-2! #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/v70Pt7SDcE

— WTA (@WTA) March 4, 2017

The American grabbed the break in the final game to take the set and send the match to a decider.

After trading breaks to start the final set, Mladenovic took command once again, backing up her strong serve with a booming forehand to keep McHale on the back foot during the Frenchwoman’s service games. She rattled off three games in a row to close out the match and book her spot into her first Acapulco final.

She’ll face No.7 seed Lesia Tsurenko for the title after Mirjana Lucic-Baroni was forced to retire in the first set citing gastrointestinal illness.

“I just have to focus on myself tomorrow,” Mladenovic said. “I’m going to just enjoy today’s win, recover and do work with my physio.

“That’s the most important part for me, because today I hung in there a lot. I gave a lot of energy in another long match with tough conditions, so my first goal is to try to recover and be 100% tomorrow. I’m sure it’ll be a great final.”

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