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Insider Notebook: Desert Dreaming

Insider Notebook: Desert Dreaming

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The two biggest WTA tournaments of the season just around the corner. The BNP Paribas Open kicks off next week, with the Miami Open to follow. With 2,000 points up for grabs in March, here are the storylines we’re keeping an eye on as tennis’ March Madness is set to begin.

Serena Williams back in action: The World No.1 has played just one event since the US Open, making the Australian Open final in January. She withdrew from the Middle East swing citing a flu, but assured reporters this week that she’s ready and raring to go.

Serena is the defending champion – an eight-time champion, to be exact – in Miami and made the semifinals in Indian Wells last year – when she played the tournament for the first time in 14 years. With a hefty lead in the rankings – she has a 3,545 point lead on No.2 Angelique Kerber – Serena’s spot at the top isn’t in jeopardy in March. But these next two tournaments offer a big opportunity for the women behind her to close the gap before the tour moves to clay.

Kickstarter in the desert: The first two months of the season have been a false start for more than a few top players. Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova have just two wins on tour so far. Garbiñe Muguruza showed signs of traction at the Qatar Total Open, but has tallied just four wins on tour.

North America was surprisingly fertile ground for Halep in 2015. But with little momentum coming into March, No.5 Halep could take a rankings hit if she can’t find her form. She’s the defending champion in Indian Wells and went on to make the semifinals in Miami. That’s 1,390 points to defend over the next four weeks.

By contrast, No.9 Kvitova has nothing but points to gain in March. This time last year she announced her decision to take a six-week break from the tour to recharge. This year she returns to Indian Wells without a coach, having announced a split with David Kotyza after the Australian Open.

Venus Williams returns to Indian Wells: Following in her sister’s footsteps, Venus returns to Indian Wells for the first time since 2001. But this is not just a symbolic return. Back up to No.12, Venus comes into the tournament on a seven match win streak, after notching two wins at Fed Cup and capturing her first title of the season at the Taiwan Open.

As Venus wrote in her essay at the The Players Tribune, this is about tennis. “I’m looking forward to the amazing California grounds,” she wrote. “I’m looking forward to the top-notch WTA competition. And I’m looking forward to the fans – who played such an important role in helping to make last year so special. But most of all, I’m looking forward to playing tennis.

“Sounds simple – I know. But after almost 30 years of playing this sport, I’ve learned something. I’ve learned that, no matter what happens, or happened … or where you are, or where you’ve been … at the end of the day: tennis is tennis. It’s always, always tennis. And there’s nothing better.”

Victoria Azarenka looks to get back on track: Assuming she’s healthy – Azarenka withdrew from Acapulco with a left wrist injury – March could be a very good month for Vika. She’s still taken just one loss this season, to Kerber in the Australian Open quarterfinals, and she’s a former champion at both Indian Wells and Miami. Currently ranked No.15, she has just 130 points to defend this month.

Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters

Complete the sweep: How significant are Indian Wells and Miami? Complete the sweep and that’s 2,000 points in pocket, the same as winning a Slam. No one has completed the double since Kim Clijsters in 2005. But now that Serena is playing Indian Wells you have to give her more than a shot to complete the sweep, especially given her vice-like grip on Miami.

Young guns: While the veterans have been winning the trophies, the younger generation of players have shown ample signs of an impending insurgency. Belinda Bencic leads the way after making her Top 10 debut after making the final in St. Petersburg, while Sloane Stephens already has two titles, winning her second just last week in Acapulco.

Meanwhile, Eugenie Bouchard has put her 2015 season behind her, making the quarterfinals or better at three of her five tournaments. Daria Gavrilova, Madison Keys, and Daria Kasatkina are also ones to watch over the next four weeks.

Major rankings movement: With Monterrey and Kuala Lumpur still to finish, here is the Road To Singapore Top 10: Angelique Kerber, Carla Suárez Navarro, Agnieszka Radwanska, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Roberta Vinci, Johanna Konta, Belinda Bencic, Sara Errani, Jelena Ostapenko, and Zhang Shuai.

Raise your hand if you predicted that.

A little over 1,000 points separate No.1 Kerber from No.4 Serena, while less than 500 points separate No.5 from No.20. That extreme bunching means we can expect a significant amount of movement in the RTS this month.

Clean Slate: Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza return to their debut tournament after having their 41-match win streak snapped by Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina in Doha. Last year they went on to win their first three tournaments together at Indian Wells, Miami, and Charleston. Will it be more of the same this year?

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

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Justine Henin: By The Numbers

Justine Henin: By The Numbers

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

This summer, former WTA No.1 Justine Henin will be inducted to the International Hall of Fame. Ahead of the big day, wtatennis.com and SAP took a look at the numbers behind the Belgian legend’s wonderful career.

1. Henin is one of seven players to hold the WTA No.1 ranking for more than 100 weeks
Henin held the No.1 ranking for a total of 117 weeks, one of only seven players in WTA history with more than 100 weeks to her name. She ascended the rankings summit on four separate occasions, and held the top spot by 1,709 ranking points when she announced her first retirement in 2008. (Note: At the time of her retirement, a Grand Slam title was 1,000 points).

2. Henin has the 12th most singles titles in WTA history
With 43 career singles titles, Henin is tied with Martina Hingis for 12th on the career titles leaderboard. In 143 tournaments, Henin reached the final 42.7 percent of the time winning 43 titles with 18 runner-up finishes. She won 23 titles on hardcourt, 13 on clay, four on grass and three on carpet.

3. Career Slam near miss
Henin won seven Grand Slam singles titles with four coming at Roland Garros (2003, 2005-07). Her other Grand Slam titles came at the Australian Open (2004) and twice at the US Open (2003, 2007). Wimbledon is the only Slam that eludes her resume, although she was a two-time runner-up (2001, 2006) – she is one of seven players to come within one major short of the Career Grand Slam.

4. Dubai dominance
In addition to Roland Garros, Henin enjoyed her most success at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships winning 17 of 18 matches in Dubai with four titles (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007) in five appearances. Her sole defeat came on her last visit, against Francesca Schiavone.

5. A record-setting season in 2007 vaulted Henin to No.1
Henin’s annus mirabilis came in 2007, winning 10 of 14 events with a 63-4 (.940) win-loss record. As a result, she became the first woman to surpass the $5 million prize money mark in a season.

6. Henin vs. Clijsters Rivalry
Henin and fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters met 25 times on tour with Clijsters edging the rivalry by the narrowest of margins, 13-12. However, in their 10 meetings in tour-level finals, Henin held the advantage, 6-4, including winning all three Grand Slam finals (2003 Roland Garros, 2003 US Open, 2004 Australian Open).

7. Gold medalist at 2004 Olympics
In her one and only appearance at the Olympic Games, at Athens in 2004, Henin struck gold, defeating France’s Amélie Mauresmo in the singles final.

8. A two-time champion at the WTA Finals
A two-time champion at the WTA Finals, Henin competed in the year-end event five times posting a 13-5 record, winning back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007. Henin defeated Maria Sharapova 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 for the 2007 title – a three hour, 24 minute battle that still holds the record for the longest final in the event’s history (three hours, 24 minutes).

9. Comeback
After retiring in 2008, Henin returned to the WTA at Brisbane in 2010, advancing to the final in her first event back. Henin won 34 of her 43 matches on her return, adding two titles to her career total – in Stuttgart and ‘s-Hertogenbosch – reaching the Australian Open final and climbing as high as No.12 in the rankings before walking away from the sport for good at the start of 2011.

10. Henin is one of 13 players in WTA history to surpass the $20-million mark in prize money
Throughout her career, Henin earned $20,863,335 in prize money, a mark that sees her occupy 11th place on the all-time pecking order.

SAP Insights

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Social Butterfly: Mladenovic On Twitter

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

As Agnieszka Radwanska and Roberta Vinci worked their magic in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Total Open, few were more enthusiastically spellbound than colleague, Kristina Mladenovic.

A longtime fixture of the tennis fan community on Twitter – colloquially known as Tennis Twitter – the French No.1 tweeted her thoughts on the nearly two-hour epic, which Radwanska won, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, after she and Vinci came to net a stunning 101 times over three sets.

“It can be a WTA or ATP match,” she said during the BNP Paribas Open draw ceremony. “If I have time and a match looks interesting, I’ll go on the app and watch. It’s fun to applaud great tennis, so why not?

“It’s not just about me and what I am doing!”

Seeded No.27 in Indian Wells – and projected to play World No.1 Serena Williams in the third round – Mladenovic enjoyed a stellar 2015 season that saw her climb from a February low of No.74 all the way into the Top 30.

But success hasn’t driven the 22-year-old away from social media; as the world watched the Vinci mount her unforgettable upset over Williams at the US Open, Mladenovic’s own commentary could hardly be contained by 140 characters – all a mere 72 hours after the Italian veteran had ended her own career-best Grand Slam run in the quarterfinals.

“These days, Twitter is almost like a news channel. You wake up in the morning and go on your phone to see what everyone is up to. I wouldn’t say I’m addicted to social media, but I just put myself in the position of the fans.”

Frequently engaging with fans across the globe, Mladenovic often appears online with a flurry of retweets following a match, gregariously reposting screencaps or videos, many of which display the Frenchwoman’s penchant for on-court flair. 

“I wish that when I was younger I could have known more about the lives of my idols. What is their day like? What do they do away from tennis? Social media is just a great way to really get behind the scenes and get to know the personalities of the players.

“It keeps the fans engaged, even if they can’t attend a tournament in person, and helps to build a great connection.”

Mladenovic will likely continue to build connections in 2016, both as a USANA Brand Ambassador and as one half of a fast-rising dynamic duo with friend and Fed Cup teammate, Caroline Garcia.

“I have been using USANA vitamins and supplements for a few years and have seen the difference that it has made in my health and fitness. I’m looking forward to sharing my positive experience with others and letting them know what USANA can do for them.”

Already a major champion in mixed doubles – winning Wimbledon alongside Daniel Nestor in 2013 – the Frenchwoman peaked at No.5 on the doubles rankings last spring after she and then-partner Timea Babos became the only team to defeat the all-but-unstoppable Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza in a final to win the Internazionali BNL D’Italia.

Making her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global debut to end the 2015 season, Mladenovic decided to partner with Garcia ahead of the Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro – a move that as already yielded two finals at the Apia International Sydney and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

“We already had great doubles partners – me with Timea and Caroline with Katarina Srebotnik – both great players and friends. But as countrywomen from the same generation, and with similar goals, we have a great opportunity.

“We’re really lucky to be from the same country and in this position to play together, not just with regard to the Olympics, which would be amazing, but there are exciting tournaments, week after week on the tour.

“Of course, to win a medal for France at the Olympics would be a huge thing, an amazing achievement for any athlete.

Their biggest struggle thus far? Deciding on a team name.

“The reaction from fans so far has been great. We’ve really noticed the buzz about us playing together, and we think at Roland Garros in particular it’s going to be very exciting.”

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Indian Wells: Seeing Stars

Indian Wells: Seeing Stars

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970
The biggest stars in women’s tennis – and a handful of sports legends – descended on Indian Wells this week for the BNP Paribas Open.

The biggest stars in women’s tennis – and a handful of sports legends – descended on Indian Wells this week for the BNP Paribas Open.

Seeing triple? The BNP Paribas Open unveiled a mural of defending champion Simona Halep.

Seeing triple? The BNP Paribas Open unveiled a mural of defending champion Simona Halep.

How about a double dose of Daria? Daria Kasatkina and Daria Gavrilova were on hand to help with the WTA draw ceremony.

How about a double dose of Daria? Daria Kasatkina and Daria Gavrilova were on hand to help with the WTA draw ceremony.

What a moment! Venus Williams returned to Indian Wells after a 15-year absence.

What a moment! Venus Williams returned to Indian Wells after a 15-year absence.

As the WTA’s biggest stars took to the courts, there were several stars in the stands there to take in the action. Boxing legend Mike Tyson and his family, Kiki and Milan, cheered on Serena Williams…

As the WTA’s biggest stars took to the courts, there were several stars in the stands there to take in the action. Boxing legend Mike Tyson and his family, Kiki and Milan, cheered on Serena Williams…

…and hockey’s “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky cheered on fellow Canadian Eugenie Bouchard.

…and hockey’s “The Great One” Wayne Gretzky cheered on fellow Canadian Eugenie Bouchard.

The colorful Jelena Jankovic is a big fan favorite, and you can see why they love her as she signed autographs and posed for pictures at the USANA booth.

The colorful Jelena Jankovic is a big fan favorite, and you can see why they love her as she signed autographs and posed for pictures at the USANA booth.

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Insider Podcast: Simon Says

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – On Episode 20, WTA Insider Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen checks in from the desert where the biggest WTA tournament of the season is underway at the BNP Paribas Open. She’s joined this week by WTA CEO Steve Simon for a lengthy discussion of his first few months at the helm of the tour. We discuss Maria Sharapova’s stunning announcement last week, his take on the first two months of an unpredictable WTA season, and his desire to see the current circuit structure changed to ensure the tour can consistently deliver for its tournaments while ensuring the players remain healthy through the end of a long and grueling season.

Five-time WTA Fan Favorite winner Agnieszka Radwanska also joins the podcast to discuss how she became the WTA Hot Shot Queen. She talks about the surprising results last week in Indian Wells, the importance of improvisation on the tennis court, and her worst trip ever.

Simon on Sharapova: “Well, it’s obviously been a busy week, and you never like to start your week with a player, an athlete, receiving a positive drug test. I feel not only terrible for Maria but any athlete that it does occur to, I really do. That being said, the test was positive. No athlete is above the rules, so we will now go through the process with the [Tennis] Anti-Doping Program and whatever decisions that they may make we will of course support as a member of that program. But it’s my hope that we can continue to work and hopefully this doesn’t happen again.”

Simon on balancing the interests of its members: “Clearly your tournaments will have a perspective, of course, of a probably longer term vision, and investment – because they’re making the investment to not only the facility but the prize money and all of the other things that come with it – and your athletes will have a tendency to have probably more of a short term view because their competitive window is much shorter: ‘How does this affect me today and tomorrow?’ Not so much, ‘What about the next group coming through?’ And that’s all understandable; there’s nothing wrong with that. Now, how do we respect those things and get to something that balances that is what we have to try to do.”

Simon on what he’s hearing from the players: “It’s calendar, calendar and calendar, right now, as well as having a sustainable business model for the bulk of the players, for the athletes. Right now, do I think we have too many players that are dependent upon the Grand Slams to make their money each year? I think we have to work on our system where we’re not as dependent on the Grand Slams. That doesn’t take anything away from the Grand Slams; they’re the history and I’m not trying to say that they’re not important and don’t deserve their place in the world. We have to become less dependent upon them, and I think that would make a healthier tour as well.”

Simon on striking a balance: “We have 56 events in 2017 and a 42 week calendar taking out the WTA Finals and Zhuhai. That’s a lot of tournaments in that short period of time. That is certainly an issue, and there’s always a basis that, if you’re going to compress the calendar and you still want it to be healthy, should you actually be eliminating tournaments vs. adding tournaments? That’s an ongoing dynamic because more tournaments means more jobs and more opportunities to make money. We have to find a better balance between that and I think that’s what we have to look at in this next stage so that, the players that want to play a lot have the ability to play a lot, because that’s how they get their success, and the players that want to have a healthier schedule and play a little bit less can do so as well.”

Radwanska on the importance of improvising: “We all have the same type of reaction and coordination is very similar. But I think the shot selection [makes a difference]. Tennis is so fast so you have just less than a second to make a choice. Sometimes other players aren’t making the right choices. I think shot selection is the most important thing.”

Radwanska on the need for variety: “Everyone can hit forehands and backhands. It’s not like someone can’t do that. It’s about other things that you have or you don’t. Maybe that’s why other players can play great tennis but they don’t have the last thing about the reaction and shot selection, a little more thinking and not panicking in the important moments. To win a match there are so many things together that if you’re missing one thing, you’re not there.”

Radwanska on tension: “Sometimes you can be so tight. You’re playing such good tennis but you’re so tight, the legs are not moving. It’s like you’re in a band-aid, like you’re a mummy.”

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