Tennis News

LONDON, Great Britain – Francesca Schiavone has already struck gold in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, winning her seventh career title in the year’s first clay event at the Rio Open back in February. Despite dipping out of the Top 100, the former French Open champion was still expected to return to Brazil for the Olympic Games with a wildcard typically reserved for Grand Slam champions.

However, earlier today the Italian announced via her Facebook page that she won’t be wearing the Azzurri in Rio this year, deciding instead to give up the wildcard.

Here’s Schiavone’s statement, translated to English:

“Here at Wimbledon I have received notice of the wild card for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. It is news that has made me happy. However, I made a decision not to accept it because at this stage of my life, with the important decisions that are in front of me about the development of my career, I need to focus and prioritize my personal projects. This is why I won’t be in Rio. A choice that cost me but I’m proud to have worn the blue jersey in three editions of the Games. In August I will be in front of the television to cheer on all the Azzurri.“

The WTA veteran has been a fixture at the Olympics for the past 12 years, competing in the past three editions of the Games. Her best result came in the form of a run to the quarterfinals in Athens back in 2004. In the 2008 Games in Beijing she reached the third round while in 2012, when the Olympic tennis event was held at the All England Club, she made the second round.

Schiavone’s decision to give up her wildcard means that another spot has opened up for a player seeking to head to Brazil later this summer. In the meantime, click here to find out who has already qualified for Rio 2016.

MELBOURNE, Australia – Serena Williams is set to return to No.1 in the WTA rankings after winning her seventh Australian Open title, a 23rd Grand Slam title that breaks the Open Era record she hitherto shared with Stefanie Graf.

Serena came to Melbourne with a slim hope of taking back the top spot, but opportunity knocked when defending champion and top seed Angelique Kerber bowed out in the fourth round to CoCo Vandeweghe.

Despite the German’s early exit, the American still needed to make history to take back the ranking she held for 186 consecutive weeks – a record she narrowly missed breaking and holds alongside Graf.

But she did just that on Saturday, defeating elder sister Venus Williams, 6-4, 6-4 to guarantee her accession back to the top of women’s tennis.

The feat came as a surprise to Serena, as she shared in her post-match press.

“in the beginning of the tournament, I was like, ‘If I win, will I be No. 1?’

“[My coach Patrick Mouratoglou] said, ‘No, no, no.

“I was like, Whatever.

“So, today on the court when they were like, ‘And No. 1,’ I was like, ‘Whoa, really?'”

As for Venus, the five-time Wimbledon champion will move up to No.11, with a return to the Top 10 for the first time since last fall firmly in sight.

“I feel motivated to continue, to continue to go out there and hit the ball the way I know I can,” Venus said. “There’s only things I can improve on, to be honest, and to build on.

“I feel I played very well this week, pulled a lot of things out of my pocket. I got more stuff in my pocket. Get it out.”

Billie Jean King congratulated Serena on returning to No.1 on Twitter:

Congrats @serenawilliams on your 23rd major title and return to the top of the@WTA rankings. You are a history maker and a trailblazer.

— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) January 28, 2017

LONDON, England – Tuesday afternoon at the All England Club saw the WTA’s finest take center stage. The on-court entertainment did not disappoint, and neither did the press conferences afterwards.

Serena Williams downplays her peerless serve…
“My serve is usually really good. I don’t know how it came about, though. Like, I’m not as tall as all the other players. So it’s strange that I have such a strong, hard serve.

“But I have to say what I think really is my game is my mental toughness because just not only to be able to play, to win, but to be able to come back when I’m down. Both on the court and after tough losses, just to continue to come back and continue to fight, it’s something that takes a lot of tenacity.”

Elena Vesnina on hatching a plan to topple the World No.1…
“First of all, you need to be consistent with Serena. You don’t need to give her a lot of free points. You have to be very, very strong mentally, and, as I said, put pressure on her on the baseline, to show her you can actually beat her.

“I was watching her final against Angelique in Australian Open on the court. It was great atmosphere over there. I saw how Angelique, she was sticking into her game from the first till the last. She was not giving up. Yeah, maybe Serena didn’t play her best tennis, and that was the key, and Angelique used her chances on that moment. Maybe that’s going to be the key for me as well.”

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova reflects on her first quarterfinal at Wimbledon…
“I’ve always been saying that I’ve never liked grass and I’ve always been quite negative in terms of grass and playing at Wimbledon. But I think right now I’ll change my mind!”

Venus Williams on her journey back to a Grand Slam semifinal…
“The road was six years. They go by fast, thankfully. But I’ve been blessed. Been really blessed to have an opportunity to be here, had an opportunity in the past to do this. And I don’t have any regrets about anything that has taken place in between. It’s been a journey, but it’s something I’ve had to do and it’s made me stronger.

“The good part is I’ve always felt like I had the game. So this is always a plus when you know you have the game. So you just have to keep working until things fall into place. It’s never a given, everyone plays well. I mean today, she played so well and there were so many times where we were just dead even it felt like. It’s never a given. She could have easily won that match as well. So just grateful.”

Angelique Kerber on her recreating her Melbourne magic…
“When I arrived in Paris, I was feeling much more pressure. I did it actually by myself, to put a lot of pressure on me. Also, I was not handling all the off court things so well. It was too much of everything, I think.

“When I arrived here, I was telling myself, just like in Australia, Just be relaxed, playing round by round, not making things actually too much complicated, not putting pressure on myself.
So that was actually what I changed, what I learn also from Paris. Just being also focusing on the tennis thing, on my practice, being more relaxed.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Unseeded Kristina Mladenovic pulled off a stunner at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, dispatching No.4 seed and former World No.1 Venus Williams, 6-3, 6-1 in just 54 minutes.

“Venus is a top player, a top champion,” Mladenovic said after the match. “It must have been difficult for Venus to come here after playing back-to-back weekends. I was just trying to play aggressive tennis.

.@KikiMladenovic has made a blistering start against Venus Williams! @Formula_TX pic.twitter.com/n0QdLEfWEZ

— WTA (@WTA) February 2, 2017

“To be on the same court is a big honor. I’m very happy to say I played with her and that I won today.”

Mladenovic enjoyed a bright start to her first encounter with the Australian Open runner-up, attacking her second serve and raced into a 5-0 lead. The Frenchwoman’s aggressive game plan paid off even as Williams soon warmed up: she blitzed eight forehand winners into the corners and beyond the player almost 14 years her senior.

.@KikiMladenovic takes the opening set off Venus 6-3! pic.twitter.com/04DNVnkwRc

— WTA (@WTA) February 2, 2017

“It was a very difficult match. I just tried to be very aggressive from the beginning. I was quite sure it would be difficult for her to adjust from Australia, as it was for me the first couple of days.

“I tried to be solid and aggressive, trying not to give her time to adjust into her game. I think I did that pretty well today and I’m happy to get the win.”

Even as things got tenser in the opening set, world No. 51 kept her nerve and served it out on her second attempt.

“I had a good feeling at the beginning of the match. I started very well, playing powerfully and serving good. The 5-0 lead was kind of surprising in a way, but it put me in a good position and even when I got tight, I stayed composed to close out the first set. It gave me confidence to continue putting the workd in and win the match.

The No.4 seed staved off four break points to start the second set but Mladenovic wore her down and broke at her fifth opportunity to take the early lead and keep up the momentum. 

.@KiKiMladenovic knocks out Venus Williams 6-3, 6-1!

Sets @Formula_TX Quarterfinal vs @Roberta_Vinci! pic.twitter.com/63GwkibraJ

— WTA (@WTA) February 2, 2017

She broke again en route to an emphatic a 5-1 lead, breaking one more time to clinch her spot in the last eight, where she’ll face defending champion and No.6 seed Roberta Vinci.

“It’s going to be a very tough match. Roberta is such a great player, with a lot of variety and tactics. Our last battle was a very good one at the quarterfinals of the 2015 US Open. She plays very well on this surface, so it’ll be a tough match, but I hope to play my best tennis.”