Tennis News

LONDON, Great Britain – Heather Watson is coming off a career year that saw her earn hometown glory at the Wimbledon Championships in mixed doubles and win another WTA title in Monterrey.

Sitting down with Elle Magazine UK, the Brit had a no holds barred discussion about the differences between singles and doubles, getting into the right pre-match mindset, and how she injects her personal style into her on-court kits.

“In terms of mixed doubles, it’s a whole other ball game,” she said of her Wimbledon win with Henri Kontenin. “Personally, it’s just fun and I think that’s down to having had some incredible partners, which makes a big difference.

“I think I need to bring more of the mindset of ‘it doesn’t matter what the outcome is I’m just going to do what I need to do’, into my singles more.”

Watson also played mixed doubles with countryman Andy Murray, who went on to clinch the ATP World No.1 ranking earlier this fall.

“Andy is an incredible athlete. He’s so competitive, hardworking and so nice to be around. He’s not what people think he is. I find him quieter, very chilled and more relaxed off the court.”

LONDON, England – Serena and Venus Williams capped off a satisfying day at Wimbledon by teaming up to defeat Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in an entertaining doubles encounter.

A busy afternoon for the family began with Venus taking on Yaroslava Shvedova on No.1 Court. No sooner had she secured a place in her first major semifinal since 2010 then the Williams clan were hot-footing it to Centre Court in time to see little sister take on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Serena kept her quest for history on track with a straightforward win over the Russian, leaving a couple of hours to ready herself for the evening’s doubles date.

Four summers ago, the sisters overcame Hlavackova and Hradecka in competitive finals at both Wimbledon and the Olympics. Once again the Czechs gave a good account of themselves, and once again they were left disappointed when Venus swatted away a backhand volley to close out a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

“The schedule’s challenging. I won’t deny. Especially with the weather, that sort of thing,” Venus said. “Thankfully it’s been better the last few days. We love the doubles. There’s been so many doubles titles. That’s been very special for us. We’re going to give it everything we got.”

Joining them in the last eight are compatriots Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears. Taking on the gifted yet inexperienced pairing of Daria Gavrilova and Daria Kasatkina, Atawo and Spears were in control throughout, dominating on serve and closing out a 6-3, 6-3 victory in just over an hour.

“We love playing on the grass together, and I think that our strategy of covering the net a bit more than other teams bothered them a bit and they never really got into a groove,” Atawo said.

“We practice these sort of situations a lot. We practice our communication during the points. It really does comes down to practice.”

In the draw’s outstanding second-round encounter, No.4 seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina returned for a third set shoot-out with Annika Beck and Yanina Wickmayer.

Twenty-four hours earlier Vesnina had edged out her long-time partner in a titanic fourth-round singles battle. Back on the same side of the net, there was no lingering ill-feeling as the Russians completed their comeback win, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

After a busy 2016 season which saw Dominika Cibulkova rack up the most titles of anyone on tour – capped off by the biggest one of her career at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global – the World No.5 is taking some time off to unwind.

But she’s not the only WTA star hitting the beach – check out how Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Garbiñe Muguruza and more are spending their off season!

Cibulkova’s booked herself a well-deserved break in a private island in the Maldives…

My partner in crime for this vacay ?
Niekoho sme si pribalili na dovcu.. ??? pic.twitter.com/9VOCLySjaw

— Dominika Cibulkova (@Cibulkova) 5 de noviembre de 2016

Life is good these days.. ☀️ pic.twitter.com/6N4s7ylSXN

— Dominika Cibulkova (@Cibulkova) 8 de noviembre de 2016

Time flies…
Niekedy ten cas tak leti… pic.twitter.com/x8pQfc5thG

— Dominika Cibulkova (@Cibulkova) 13 de noviembre de 2016

But she didn’t stay away from the tennis court for long, taking a break from her vacation to head back to her hometown of Bratislava for an exhibition match against Belinda Bencic.

And she wasn’t the only one to run into a fellow WTA star during the offseason, either…

Caroline Wozniacki and Nicole Gibbs have been snapping away in the scenic Virgin Islands. The pair are in town for the Necker Cup, held on Richard Branson’s private Necker Island.

Living the good life today ?☀️? #nofilter
? credit @Gibbsyyyy pic.twitter.com/AAAnqG2vY6

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) 15 de noviembre de 2016

Day ✌? has been really challenging. (? @CaroWozniacki) @Spectacles @Snapchat: gibbsyyyy pic.twitter.com/zUC53Cr3Ye

— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) 15 de noviembre de 2016

Just hanging with BAE! ??? pic.twitter.com/3wOBU7qBIU

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) 16 de noviembre de 2016

Serena Williams – and the whole Williams family, sans Venus – took to the beach in the Bahamas, before returning to Compton to inaugurate refurbished tennis courts in her old hometown.

#VacationGoals courtesy of @SerenaWilliams. pic.twitter.com/XJGJKmqZrg

— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) 8 de noviembre de 2016

Grateful for @Gatorade 's support of the Williams Sisters Fund and our #HealthCompton Day pic.twitter.com/XtPulpaI0y

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) 12 de noviembre de 2016

The tireless Svetlana Kuznetsova finally took a break and took her whole family with her to the beach as well.

Family time ❤️?‍?‍?☀️ pic.twitter.com/B8YmfiR8Pu

— Svetlana Kuznetsova (@SvetlanaK27) 13 de noviembre de 2016

Chill pic.twitter.com/lqlxgBaUeK

— Svetlana Kuznetsova (@SvetlanaK27) 16 de noviembre de 2016

Garbiñe Muguruza had some fun in the sun too, but it was a slightly different kind of sand and sun.

Instead of hitting the beach, the Spaniard hit the desert and visited the pyramids in Egypt.

Adivinad donde!? Guess where!? ?? pic.twitter.com/hLj3FULYZR

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) 6 de noviembre de 2016

Mientras en Egipto.. When in Egypt.. #AdventureSpirit ???? ? pic.twitter.com/EaF2CHf7eb

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) 7 de noviembre de 2016

Ana Ivanovic also decided to forgo the beach during the off season, trading the sun and warmth for chilly London.

Falling in love with London yet again! pic.twitter.com/qhyDi7l68k

— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) 30 de octubre de 2016

Enjoying this chilly but sunny Sunday! pic.twitter.com/i33U0trxu8

— Ana Ivanovic (@AnaIvanovic) 13 de noviembre de 2016

LONDON, Great Britain – Queen B has landed on Centre Court.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z were prominently featured in World No.1 Serena Williams’ player box as the top seed attempted to win a record-tying 22nd major title against Australian Open champion and countrywoman to current record holder Stefanie Graf, Angelique Kerber.

The American artist was in London for the United Kingdom leg of her “Formation” tour, performing at Wembley Stadium on July 2-3.

Serena's player box = actual royal box. pic.twitter.com/xs9uJMzYN7

— René Denfeld (@Renestance) July 9, 2016

Serena made a much-publicized cameo in Beyoncé’s “Sorry” music video off the superstar’s latest album, Lemonade.

Though she didn’t walk away with a sixth Wimbledon title, Venus Williams nonetheless rocketed up the Road to Singapore leaderboard, moving up almost 40 spots into the Top 20 at No.18.

The former No.1 and 2008 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion turned back the clock at the All England Club, reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2010 US Open before falling to eventual finalist and reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber.

Elena Vesnina broke new ground over the fortnight, reaching her first career semifinal in singles with wins over doubles partner Ekaterina Makarova and red-hot Dominika Cibulkova, who had upset RTS No.5 and defending WTA Finals champion Agnieszka Radwanska in the round of 16. The Russian has twice qualified for the WTA Finals in doubles – both times with Makarova – reaching the final her debut appearance in 2013. Her Wimbledon run has been a culmination of impressive singles results throughout 2016, moving her up 11 spots from No.23 to No.12.

Surprise quarterfinalists Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Yaroslava Shvedova also made big strides on the Road to Singapore leaderboard; Pavlyuchenkova made her best-ever run at a grass court tournament and up 32 spots to No.34, while Shvedova – she of the 2012 “Golden Set” at Wimbledon against Sara Errani – moved up 40 spots of her own to crack the Top 40 on the leaderboard.

CoCo Vandeweghe capped a solid grass court season by reaching the second week of Wimbledon for the second year in a row, roaring up nine spots to No.27.

The Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard remained largely unchanged following an exciting week at the All England Club, save for 2014 WTA Finals runner-up Simona Halep reclaiming the No.8 position over Madison Keys, who fell to the Romanian in the fourth round.

RTS Ranking Movers

Yaroslava Shvedova: No.78 to No.38 (+40)
Venus Williams: No.57 to No.18 (+39)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: No.66 to No.34 (+32)
Elena Vesnina: No.23 to No.12 (+11)
CoCo Vandeweghe: No.36 to No.27 (+9)
Simona Halep: No.9 to No.8 (+1)

Click here to see the full Road To Singapore leaderboard standings following Wimbledon.

Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen wraps up a strong fortnight at SW19, which ended with Serena Williams winning her seventh Wimbledon title to tie Stefanie Graf’s Open Era Record of 22 major titles overall. Go inside the press room to hear from Serena herself after her big win on Saturday, and Courtney is joined by two great analysts in former player and current commentator Rennae Stubbs and tennis historian and reporter Steve Flink to discuss Serena’s performance in the final, her growing rivalry with Angelique Kerber, and where No.22 places Serena in the annals of tennis history.

Stubbs on Serena: “I want people to understand how hard it is to do what she’s doing. I think that get taken for granted because she has the serve, the power, physically her presence is so much more imposing than anyone else. People think it comes easily. It doesn’t. The pressure on Serena every single time she wakes up in the morning on match day is to win the match. Any great player will tell you how stressful it is every single day. I know what Steffi went through and one thing Steffi regrets is she didn’t enjoy the victories more. But my response to that is that Steffi wouldn’t have been as great as she was because she wanted more. If you start to enjoy it you think you’ve done your job. You’re satisfied. Serena, just as Steffi was, won’t be satisfied.”

Flink: Looking at the Open Era, Steffi and Martina had much more consistency than what Serena had, and she’s making up for lost time these last four years. If she passes Steffi and even catches or surpasses Margaret Court, then she has a very strong claim at being the best ever. She only had two years earlier in her career at No.1 in the world, now she’s on her way of doing it maybe for four straight years. That was for me the biggest hole in her record until now, not enough years at No.1, not enough consistency. But she’s been so consistent over these last four years that I think she’s going to be able to overcome the deficiencies of the earlier years. There’s going to be a real serious argument about whether Serena, Steffi, or Martina as the best player of the modern era.

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