Tennis News

DUBAI, UAE – No.4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska’s Dubai campaign was cut short in the round of 16 after suffering one of the biggest upsets of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships against 17-year-old CiCi Bellis.

“I didn’t feel good from the beginning. I didn’t play really great, and I was trying everything. I did what I could today,” Radwanska told press after the defeat.

She added, “For me it was really hard to control the ball and make the angles. And also, my serve didn’t work at all. In those kind of tight matches, you need those things. When you don’t have it and you’re struggling pretty much from the beginning, then you have a problem.

“I was really struggling myself. I was really focusing on myself today, but I just wasn’t good enough.”

First Top 10 Win!

17 year old @CiciBellis99 knocks out 2012 champ Radwanska 6-4, 2-6, 6-2! #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/ggGOaQUEDO

— WTA (@WTA) February 22, 2017

Despite playing against an unseeded teenager, experience told Radwanska to be wary, especially with the way Bellis had climbed the rankings and made a name for herself toward the end of last season.

“I never really think of the seeds or unseeded players,” she explained. “In today’s tennis, we don’t have ‘easy draws’ or ‘open draws.’

“Maybe you can say this from an outside [point of view], but on the court, there’s nothing ‘open.'”

Radwanska had only words of praise for Bellis, who is the youngest member of the WTA Top 100 and the youngest player to defeat a Top 10 opponent since Belinda Bencic posted back to back wins over Angelique Kerber and Jelena Jankovic at the 2014 US Open.

“Very solid. Very consistent. She can really play good rallies with good intensity, and I think that’s a really good thing for that kind of young player. I think she was the best today.”

Putting the loss behind her, Radwanska plans to stop by her home in Poland for a couple of days before making the trip to California for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Fashion and sports go hand in hand when it comes to women’s tennis attire, so it’s no surprise that when the popular street style blog Who What Wear needed some tennis fashion advice they turned to the experts: Christina McHale and Dominika Cibulkova.

The WTA-stars-turned-fashion-experts gave Who What Wear their best tips for on court fashion.

“For me, it’s not so much the color combination that makes me feel confident in my outfit, but rather it’s the way the outfit fits me that makes me feel good in it,” McHale said on the outfits that inspire her.

You can find all of Cibulkova and McHale tennis attire right here on Tennis Warehouse.

MADRID, Spain – Dominika Cibulkova marked her 27th birthday with a brilliant display against qualifier Louisa Chirico in the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Madrid right here on wtatennis.com!

Midday showers in the Spanish capital forced the roof to be shut on Manolo Santana and Cibulkova found the change much to her liking. While Chirico was getting used the unfamiliar conditions, Cibulkova was busy building a lead.

In Chirico’s first service game, the Slovak earned an immediate break point, which she converted when she skipped around to crack a fizzing forehand. She soon stretched her advantage to 5-0 and while the American belatedly got on the scoreboard, it was too little too late, Cibulkova closing out the set with a delicate drop shot.

The second set was a similar story, Cibulkova embroidering a heavy-duty baseline assault with some feathery touches around the net. As the on-court clock approached the hour mark she arrived at match point, rounding off the 6-1, 6-1 triumph by thumping a 24th winner past the helpless Chirico.

Considering the one-sided nature of the encounter, Cibulkova was surprisingly emotional as she saluted her camp: “Of course I’m always more emotional when I win. Even during the match. So it’s part of me. But I was really, really happy, because today’s match was not easy. I made it look easy.

“But I was playing just really well. I was dominating on the court and I was mentally very strong.”

This strength has been on full display this week, the former Australian Open finalist coming through a series of grueling encounters.

“I started today’s match in the best way – I was really aggressive,” she added. “I know what I want to play and I was just going for it. I didn’t wait what’s going to happen on the court.

“I really know the beginning will be really important because she’s new in this situation, so I want to take advantage of it, to be ready for it. That’s what I did perfectly. You know, even I had some chances today, I was just really, really solid. I had my plan and I was really doing what I had to do.”

Cibulkova has never previously reached the final of a Premier Mandatory event, and there she will face either Simona Halep or Samantha Stosur.

“We’ll see. This is the best way. I know I’m in the finals and the opponent is going to play so I can watch them a little bit. Either way I don’t like to choose opponent. It’s going to be whoever plays better tonight.

“I’m just ready. I’m playing good tennis and I want to keep going and playing this way. Doesn’t matter who’s on the other side.”

.@Cibulkova gets an unexpected birthday present during her press conference… #MMOPEN https://t.co/YmmopMRNtG

— Mutua Madrid Open (@MutuaMadridOpen) 6 May 2016