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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

BRISBANE, Australia – The unseeded Alizé Cornet is through to the final at the Brisbane International after Garbiñe Muguruza was forced to retire due to injury.

“I was really focused on my match but I could tell [Garbiñe] was not playing like usual,” Cornet said in her post-match interview. “She was not running or hitting the ball as well as usual. But I was just trying to stay focused on what I had to do.”

The No.4 seeded Spaniard looked off from the start, her usually powerful groundstrokes lacking their bite. She struggled to hold serve in the opening game under Cornet’s all-court assault, fending off two break points.

But Muguruza was broken in her very next service game after a string of long rallies which saw her struggle to hit through the ball, and finally retired trailing Cornet 1-4, citing a right thigh injury.

“Of course, it’s not the way I wanted to get to the final but its part of the game,” Cornet explained. “We understand sometimes we have some physical issues. Tennis is more and more tough on the body.

“But well, it’s good for me because I will have a little bit of rest before the big final tomorrow.”

Aside from securing a spot into her second career Premier-level final, the win guarantees Cornet a seed at the Australian Open. The Frenchwoman’s ranking will rise as high as No.31 by virtue of reaching the final, and could go as high as No.26 should she take home the title.

Cornet awaits the winner between No.6 seed Elina Svitolina and No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova.

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TBT: London 2012 Olympics

TBT: London 2012 Olympics

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970
The 2012 Olympics was held in London and played on grass for the first time since the return of tennis as an Olympic sport.

The 2012 Olympics was held in London and played on grass for the first time since the return of tennis as an Olympic sport.

Britain’s No.1 Andy Murray joined the then-three-time gold medalist Venus Williams to pass on the Olympic torch.

Britain’s No.1 Andy Murray joined the then-three-time gold medalist Venus Williams to pass on the Olympic torch.

The competition was held at the All England Club, where the Wimbledon Championships had been held just weeks earlier - except this time the venue looked decidedly more colorful.

The competition was held at the All England Club, where the Wimbledon Championships had been held just weeks earlier – except this time the venue looked decidedly more colorful.

Although as much as venue changed, the rainy London weather stayed the same, washing out the second day of play.

Although as much as venue changed, the rainy London weather stayed the same, washing out the second day of play.

Also, regular tennis fans William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were in attendance as well to cheer on the Brits.

Also, regular tennis fans William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were in attendance as well to cheer on the Brits.

Heather Watson was Britain’s No.1 at the time, and she was joined in the draw by Laura Robson, Anne Keothavong and the late Elena Baltacha.

Heather Watson was Britain’s No.1 at the time, and she was joined in the draw by Laura Robson, Anne Keothavong and the late Elena Baltacha.

With the All England Club’s strict all-white dress code broken for the first time ever, players got creative and colorful with their national team attire (and their hair, like Venus Williams here).

With the All England Club’s strict all-white dress code broken for the first time ever, players got creative and colorful with their national team attire (and their hair, like Venus Williams here).

United States’ Serena Williams, the eventual champion, was the No.4 seed.

United States’ Serena Williams, the eventual champion, was the No.4 seed.

Serena defeated Russia’s Maria Sharapova in the final to claim the gold medal, while Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka won bronze.

Serena defeated Russia’s Maria Sharapova in the final to claim the gold medal, while Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka won bronze.

Although she was already a three-time gold medalist in doubles, London 2012 was where Serena earned her first singles gold medal on this day four years ago.

Although she was already a three-time gold medalist in doubles, London 2012 was where Serena earned her first singles gold medal on this day four years ago.

Azarenka also won her first gold medal in the mixed doubles competition, which returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1924.

Azarenka also won her first gold medal in the mixed doubles competition, which returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1924.

Serena came back to Centre Court the next day and joined Venus for doubles, where they defeated Czech Republic’s Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka for the gold medal, while Russia’s Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova won bronze.

Serena came back to Centre Court the next day and joined Venus for doubles, where they defeated Czech Republic’s Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka for the gold medal, while Russia’s Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova won bronze.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SYDNEY/HOBART – With one week between the WTA stars and the first major of the season, the Apia International Syndey and the Hobart International represent the final chances to prepare for the upcoming Australian Open. How will top Sydney seeds Angelique Kerber and Agnieszka Radwanska shake off early losses at the Brisbane International and Shenzhen Open, respectively? Can defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova pull off another title run? Meanwhile, who will take advantage of the wide open field in Hobart?

1. Kerber searches for Aussie momentum.
World No.1 Angelique Kerber acquitted herself well enough in her first tournament of the season, but still showed signs of rust in her quarterfinal defeat to nemesis Elina Svitolina. With another first round bye, Kerber opens against Daria Kasatkina, who was a point from defeating Garbiñe Muguruza in Brisbane, only to fall in a final set tie-break. No.6 seed Johanna Konta anchors her quarter, with Dominika Cibulkova and Kuznetsova looming as potential semifinal opponents.

2. Radwanska aims for Sydney restart.
Agnieszka Radwanska started last season in imperious form, defeating Alison Riske to win the Shenzhen Open. This year, Riske turned the tables on the former World No.2, taking her out in three sets en route to the final. Seeded second in Sydney, Radwanska will play one of two qualifiers in her opening round match: Kateryna Bondarenko, or Christina McHale. A softer section could provide the court time Radwanska needs to get ready for Melbourne.

3. A Cibulkova/Bouchard rematch in sight?
The reigning BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global champion has played Eugenie Bouchard four times in the last 18 months, with the young Canadian winning three of those four encounters. Bouchard looked in solid form to start the tournament against Zhang Shuai, while Cibulkova still needs to get past Laura Siegemund for them to meet in the second round.

4. Kuznetsova puts things in perspective.
The defending champion kicked off her title defense in impressive style on Sunday, dispatching Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets, but isn’t thinking too much about a second straight win in Sydney. “I’m not thinking about defending my title,” she said after the match. “The trophy is at home and nobody can take it away from me. This is another year and another opportunity to play. I always feel like I need a lot of matches at the start of the year.”

5. Mirza reunites with Strycova.
A week after handing off her No.1 ranking to partner and best friend Bethanie Mattek-Sands in Brisbane, Sania Mirza heads to Sydney with new partner Barbora Strycova, with whom she played in the second half of 2016. The duo face the newly formed Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai to start the week. Mirza’s former partner Martina Hingis is back with CoCo Vandeweghe; seeded No.2, they could face Mirza and Strycova in another final.

6. More reunions in Sydney.
The 2010 doubles season was all about Yaroslava Shvedova and Vania King, who won back-to-back majors at Wimbledon and the US Open. King and Shvedova are back together after a long break and open against Darija Jurak and Anastasia Rodionova, who were a team to watch most of last summer.

7. Bertens headlines Hobart.
Kiki Bertens is top seed at a tournament that has been hit by a rash of injury withdrawals. Still, the 2016 French Open won’t have things all her own way as she opens against the always dangerous Annika Beck, with comeback kid Galina Voskoboeva looming in the second round. Voskoboeva won her first WTA main draw match in nearly three years after sitting out nearly two full seasons due to a foot injury.

8. Shelby’s season?
Shelby Rogers kicked off 2017 in style by knocking out Eugenie Bouchard and pushing Elina Svitolina to the brink in Brisbane. The American earned anothe rimpressive win on Sunday in Hobart, upsetting No.2 seed Anastasija Sevastova.

9. Safarova under the radar.
Unseeded and looming in Hobart is former World No.5 Lucie Safarova, who is trying to rebuild her ranking after a season of fits and starts in 2016. Safarova opens against Viktorija Golubic and could play No.10 seed Sara Errani in the second round.

10. Spears & Niculescu seek doubles glory in Hobart.
Monica Niculescu is one of the best doubles players not to have a permanent partner, but may be trying out a new partnership with fellow top seed Abigail Spears, who has been playing apart from longtime partner Raquel Atawo to start the season. The pair open against Nao Hibino and Alicja Rosolska, with No.2 seeds Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson anchoring the bottom half of the draw as No.2 seeds.

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News | WTA Tennis English

News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

HOBART, Australia – Lucky loser Veronica Cepede Royg needed five match points but eventually prevailed over former World No.9 Andrea Petkovic to reach the quarterfinals of the Hobart International.

The Paraguayan recovered strongly from being blanked out of the second set, completing a 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 comeback to book her place into her first WTA quarterfinal since June.

“Petkovic is a great player, she’s tall and so she has a great serve,” Cepede Royg told press afterward. “It was a tough match, but I’ve had tough matches before and I think I know how to play against the top players.

“I had to do my game, be aggressive and move. And I think I did.”

The No.129-ranked Cepede Royg opened the match with a break, playing confident and aggressive tennis against the former Top 10 German.

But Petkovic found her groove in the second set, cutting down on the unforced errors and dictating play with her backhand. And as the German’s lead grew, the Paraguayan’s confidence seemed to diminish, responding passively and second-guessing herself.

Andrea Petkovic

“It’s not easy to see the score at 6-0,” Cepede Royg said. “But my coach came and said to just relax, enjoy this moment, do your game and fight for every point.”

“You have to change your mentality. I was thinking too much in the match, so I focused more in my game.”

With that renewed mindset, the World No.129 turned it around in the decider and broke back to stop Petkovic’s run at 1-1 and keep the German under pressure.

They stayed on serve until a marathon final game, which saw Petkovic save four match points to keep herself alive but couldn’t serve it out. The Paraguayan eventually prevailed on the fifth time of asking, finally breaking the Petkovic serve to take the match and a spot in the quarterfinals.

“Oh man, I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, I’ve had five match points!'” Cepede Royg laughed. “I tried to be more aggressive and not think too much, just put the ball in the court and go for it. It was so difficult but I did it.”

The victory, her first WTA main draw win in almost six months, puts her through to the second quarterfinal of her career since last year’s Mallorca Open. She’ll play the winner between Australia’s Lizette Cabrera and Croatian qualifier Jana Fett for a spot in the semifinals.

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News | WTA Tennis English

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

SYDNEY, Australia – Johanna Konta ended home hopes at the Apia International Sydney with a straight set win over Daria Gavrilova.

Following the first-round exits for Samantha Stosur and Arina Rodionova, Gavrilova was the last Australian remaining in the singles draw. However, to the disappointment of a partisan crowd, Konta withstood a late rally to run out a 6-1, 6-3 winner and secure a quarterfinal meeting against Daria Kasatkina.

The No.6 seed made a flying start, breaking in the opening game and dropping only four points during a dominant first set display. Another early break in the second continued this momentum, and while Gavrilova fought gallantly until the end she was unable to prevent Konta closing out victory at the sixth attempt.

In the previous match on court, Kasatkina upset World No.1 Angelique Kerber to leave Konta as the only seed remaining in the top half. “I knew going into the match it was going to be an incredibly tough one, she’s one of the best fighters on tour,” Konta said to BT Sport.

“It’s such a strong tournament, such depth, I know going into every single match that it’s going to be a tough one and I’m just going to have to, first and foremost, take care of things my end.”

Twelve months ago, Sydney-born Konta was about to announce herself to the tennis world with a semifinal run at the Australian Open. Now she is perched at No.10 in the world and, having also reached the semifinals in Shenzhen, is enjoying another profitable start to the tennis calendar.

“I’m just happy I have accumulated already a few matches under my belt in the first few weeks of the season. I feel quite pleased about that,” she added.

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Yonex Hosts WTA Stars In Melbourne

Yonex Hosts WTA Stars In Melbourne

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

MELBOURNE, Australia – What do Ana Ivanovic, Angelique Kerber, and Daria Gavrilova have in common? They all play with Yonex racquets, and all three were present for a special gathering hosted by popular sports brand to celebrate the career of former ATP No.1 Lleyton Hewitt ahead of the Australian Open.

Joined by fellow ATP players in Stan Wawrinka and Borna Coric, Ivanovic, Kerber and Gavrilova were on hand to speak about their goals for the upcoming season, and handicapped their chances at the first major tournament in Melbourne.

Check out some of the best images from the event:

Angelique Kerber, Ana Ivanovic

Ana Ivanovic

Daria Gavrilova

All images courtesy of Yonex Tennis.

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