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Insider Draw Analysis: Can Konta Overcome Kvitova To Win In Zhuhai?

Insider Draw Analysis: Can Konta Overcome Kvitova To Win In Zhuhai?

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

The Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai is the final event of the season, and the completed draw revealed four exciting groups, with the winner of each advancing into the semifinals. World No.10 Johanna Konta leading a stacked field of 12 that includes two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and Australian Open quarterfinalist Zhang Shuai, the latter two presiding over Monday’s draw ceremony.

WTA Insider broke down the four round robin groups; click here to check out the full singles draw.

Azalea Group: (1) Johanna Konta, Samantha Stosur, Caroline Garcia
Both Konta and Garcia head to Zhuhai direct from the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Konta served a first alternate while Garcia, top seed in alongside Kristina Mladenovic, earned a semifinal finish in doubles.

Konta enjoyed a strong finish to her breakout season with a run to the China Open final, and is playing her second tournament since becoming the first British woman to crack the Top 10 since Jo Durie in 1984.

Stosur had her best Grand Slam finish in four years when she upset 2015 finalist Lucie Safarova and 2014 runner-up Simona Halep en route to the French Open semifinals, falling to eventual champion Garbiñe Muguruza.

Garcia not only came within one match of finishing Co-No.1 in doubles, but the youngster also continued to build on her burgeoning singles career, winning two titles on two different surfaces in Strasbourg and Mallorca.

Camellia Group: (2) Carla Suárez Navarro, Timea Bacsinszky, Zhang Shuai
Second alternate in Singapore, Suárez Navarro came perilously close to the WTA Finals for a second straight season, and will look to make her first semifinal in Zhuhai after falling in the round robin stage in 2015.

A knee injury kept Bacsinszky out of Zhuhai last year, but the Swiss star put on a stunning performance to start 2016, winning another title in Rabat and winning back-to-back matches against Agnieszka Radwanska and Halep to roar into the semifinals at the Miami Open.

Rounding out the Camellia Group is one of the most compelling stories of the season in Chinese wildcard Zhang Shuai. Close to retirement, the veteran won her first-ever Grand Slam main draw match in emphatic style, knocking out then-World No.2 Halep as a qualifier before her run ended in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. Zhang continued to play high-level tennis throughout the year, beating Halep again to roll into the last eight in Beijing.

Petra Kvitova

Peony Group: (3) Petra Kvitova, Roberta Vinci, Barbora Strycova
One of the game’s biggest hitters goes head-to-head with a pair who rely on guile and cunning in the Peony Group as Petra Kvitova takes on Roberta Vinci and Barbora Strycova in her Zhuhai debut.

Kvitova began showing signs of her best tennis at the height of the Asian Swing. The Olympic Bonze medalist decimated an impressive field to win the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. In Beijing, she defeated Muguruza in straight sets before taking a narrow loss in the last eight.

Her countrywoman, Barbora Strycova, had a breakthrough season of her own, moving up to a career-high ranking of No.19 and a pair of Premier finals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Aegon Classic. Kvitova and Strycova will meet again in a few weeks for the upcoming Fed Cup final against France.

Vinci became the oldest woman to make her Top 10 debut four days after her 33rd birthday, and bookended her season with solid results, winning the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and returned to the second week of the US Open a year after stunning then-World No.1 Serena Williams to reach the final.

Rose Group: (4) Elina Svitolina, Elena Vesnina, Kiki Bertens
Svitolina headlines the final round robin group in Zhuhai alongside a pair of comeback kids in Elena Vesnina and Kiki Bertens.

The rising Ukrainian star qualified for the WTA Elite Trophy for the second year in a row; pairing up with 2016 International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee and former No.1 Justine Henin, she kicked off her season with a title run in Kuala Lumper – surviving a thriller against Eugenie Bouchard. But her best results have come at the end of the season, making the semifinals or better at four of her last six tournaments, including the Toray Pan Pacific Open and China Open.

Vesnina was ranked outside the Top 100 a short nine months ago, but rebounded spectacularly from a low of No.122 to a career-high of No.19. Claiming wins over the likes of Halep, Venus Williams, and Caroline Wozniacki, she qualified into the final of the Volvo Car Open before taking her best major result by dismantling Dominika Cibulkova on her way to the Wimbledon semifinal.

A cancer scare nearly took Kiki Bertens out of the game, but the Dutch powerhouse showed off some of her obvious potential in Paris, upsetting Bacsinszky to find herself in her first Grand Slam semifinal. The run also helped her clinch a berth on the Olympic team.

Zhang Shuai

The doubles teams were split into two groups before the singles draw was made with help of Kvitova and Zhang:

All photos courtesy of Getty Images and WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

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Vote: April Breakthrough Of The Month

Vote: April Breakthrough Of The Month

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

April Breakthrough of The Month

April was defined by three breakthrough players who brought some impressive performances on and off the court. Which one soared the highest?

Have a look at the nominees for April’s Breakthrough Performance of the Month and cast your vote before Thursday at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, May 6.

April 2016 WTA Breakthrough Performance of the Month Finalists:

Laura Siegemund: In the midst of a breakthrough season, Siegemund announced herself to the tennis world in a big way at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, where she reached the finals as a qualifier. Brushing past the likes of Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci, and Agnieszka Radnwaks – all in straight sets – the German veteran who wrote a thesis on the psychology of athletes’ mental strength showed impressive grit and determination to ride the wave of momentum and home support into her first WTA singles final. Should she maintain her No.4 standing in her country’s race to the Olympic Games, she could well qualify for Rio by the French Open.

Cagla Buyukakcay: Speaking of hometown favorites, Cagla Buyukakcay made Turkish history in front of an enthusiastic Istanbul crowd to win the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup. All in one week, Buyukakcay became the first Turkish woman to reach a WTA semifinal, final, and title at the expense of Danka Kovinic in three grueling sets. The result helped her crack the Top 100 for the first time in her career, and guarantee a Wimbledon main draw debut later this year.

Irina Falconi: Falconi had an emotional run of her own at the Claro Open Colsanitas, taking out clay court specialist Lara Arruabarrena to win her first career WTA title at 25 years old. A former college star at Georgia Tech, Falconi’s win came on the heels of a devestating earthquake that ravaged her birthplace of Portoviejo, Ecuador. Vowing to do all she can to help, the American has already raised over $20,000 in relief money.

2016 Winners:

January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com

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Sharapova & Wozniacki At The Met Gala

Sharapova & Wozniacki At The Met Gala

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Every spring the Costume Institute at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art puts on a new fashion exhibit, and with it there’s a brand new themed party: the Met Gala. It’s probably one of the flashiest – and most exclusive – red carpet events of the year, and WTA stars Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki were right in the thick of it.

Hosted by Vogue editor Anna Wintour, this year’s theme was “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology,” and Sharapova and Wozniacki chose red as their as their color for the night. Sharapova enlisted Colombian designer Juan Carlos Obando, and Wozniacki wore Prabal Gurung.

Here’s some of the best pictures of their red carpet arrivals, courtesy of Getty Images:

Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova

Caroline Wozniacki

Caroline Wozniacki

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WTA Emoji Challenge Returns

WTA Emoji Challenge Returns

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MADRID, Spain – Last year, the biggest names in women’s tennis put down their phones and pulled their best faces in the first ever WTA Emoji Challenge. 

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

This week, they’re at it again at the Mutua Madrid Open; co-No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza join reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber, Sunshine Double winner Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza, Petra Kvitova, Roberta Vinci, Carla Suárez Navarro, and Sloane Stephens to have some fun, flex some muscle, and imitate some of the newest and most memorable textual expressions.

How do they fare? Check out the video and some of the best pictures from the Second Annual WTA Emoji Challenge:

Sania Mirza & Martina Hingis

Sania Mirza, Martina Hingis

Simona Halep

Simona Halep

Garbiñe Muguruza

Garbine Muguruza

Sloane Stephens

Sloane Stephens

Roberta Vinci

Roberta Vinci

Carla Suárez Navarro

Carla Suarez Navarro

Agnieszka Radwanska

Agnieszka Radwanska

Angelique Kerber

Angelique Kerber

Victoria Azarenka

Victoria Azarenka

Petra Kvitova

Petra Kvitova

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WTA Establishes Official WTA Coach Program

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

ST PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The WTA has announced a newly established WTA Coach Program which will launch January 2017 as the new season begins.

WTA coaches will be recognized as a WTA Registered Coach under a formalized WTA Coach Program. The WTA Coach Program is designed to professionalize, standardize, and recognize the important role of coaching on the WTA, signifying that coaches are a key element of the WTA business.

This newly formed program will allow world class coaches, whether working with top players or emerging talent, access to benefits at WTA tournaments, professional development programs, and will provide more opportunities to broaden the product and the WTA audience, becoming a marketable asset for women’s professional tennis. It will also allow fans the ability to get closer to the game and the on court action through coaches.

Steve Simon, WTA CEO, stated, “I am pleased to introduce this new program which will professionalize and raise the standards associated with being a coach on the WTA. Coaches are an integral part of the players’ achievements and performance on the court. We recognize the value of coaches and their overall contribution to the game and to the WTA.”

Coaches who wish to participate in the program must be currently working with a WTA Tour level player and meet defined criteria (including professional certification or licensure from a coaching governing body), uphold professional obligations and be recommended by a WTA player.

A Coach Program Advisory Committee has been formed of six coaches representing each global region and this group will advise WTA staff on the administration and governance of the program, acceptance of applicants, and will provide continual feedback from the coaching body.

Former WTA player and current coach of Australia’s Daria Gavrilova, Nicole Pratt, is one such member of the Coach Program Advisory Committee. Pratt commented, “The establishment of the WTA Coaches Program is a leap forward for validating the expertise of many of the coaches on the WTA. We are looking forward to working together and feel confident there will be tremendous benefits for all stakeholders.”

Additionally, Craig Kardon, a member of the Coach Program Advisory Committee who is a longtime WTA coach and current coach of CoCo Vandeweghe stated, “I am very excited about the new WTA Coach Program. This program will give professional tennis coaches a platform for promotion and professionalism while coaching on the pro tour.”

As part of their registration, coaches will participate in weekly activities to help promote WTA tournaments, the WTA and women’s tennis, including media opportunities, clinics, and coach symposiums. Additionally, coaches will be made available immediately following matches for international media opportunities, allowing coach insight and perspective on the match.

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Tennis World Remembers Baltacha

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Two years ago inside the Estadio Manolo Santana, the tennis world stood still to mourn the loss of one of its most beloved daughters, Elena Baltacha.

In the early hours of the previous morning, Baltacha had lost her brief battle with liver cancer, leaving the sport in a state of shock.

On the second anniversary of her passing, many of those lucky enough to cross paths with Baltacha paid tribute to her memory. One of the most touching and heartfelt came from the ATP’s Nick Kyrgios, who dedicated his victory over Stan Wawrinka in Madrid to the former British No.1.

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