Halep Marches Into Bucharest Quarters
Top seed Simona Halep made her way back to the quarterfinals of the BRD Bucharest Open with a straight sets win over Isabella Shinikova.
Top seed Simona Halep made her way back to the quarterfinals of the BRD Bucharest Open with a straight sets win over Isabella Shinikova.
CHARLESTON, SC, USA – Britain’s No.1 Johanna Konta has withdrawn from the Volvo Car Open, the tournament announced on Monday morning.
Fresh from taking home the Miami Open trophy – the biggest title of her career – the Brit was looking forward to hitting the green clay of Charleston and kicking off the clay season, but was forced to withdraw citing illness and a lingering right shoulder injury.
“I’m very sorry to have to withdraw,” Konta said in a statement. “I was battling a slight shoulder injury and sickness during Miami which has taken hold.”
Johanna Konta has withdrawn from the #VolvoCarOpen due to a right shoulder injury.
We wish Jo the best and a speedy recovery! (?: Getty) pic.twitter.com/OOu98I9sNF
— Volvo Car Open (@VolvoCarOpen) 3 de abril de 2017
Konta was the No.2 seed in Charleston, and as a result of her withdrawal the draw will be shifted as per official WTA rules.
As the withdrawal came after the release of the schedule but prior to the commencement of the first match, the following procedure applies:
– Daria Gavrilova, the highest seed without a bye, takes Konta’s vacated position
– Grace Min, a qualifier, takes the spot created by the move and will start against Sara Errani
Shelby Rogers is the talk of the town as she returns to her home, Charleston – catch up with all the social media buzz.
Shelby Rogers takes on Madison Keys in the second round of the Volvo Car Open.
No.10 seed Irina-Camelia Begu downed No.6 seed Samantha Stosur in straight sets to return to the quarterfinals at the Volvo Car Open.
March was packed with plenty of amazing shots – we narrowed it down to the five best.
In the end, it was Caroline Wozniacki’s sneaky lob that took top honors. Taking on Lucie Safarova in the Miami Open quarterfinals, the former World No.1 relied on her full defensive arsenal against the big-hitting Czech veteran. As Safarova approached the net, the eventual finalist pulled off an impressive lob that left her opponent frozen at net.
Click here to watch all of March’s finalists.
Final Results for March’s WTA Shot Of The Month presented by Cambridge Global Payments
1. Caroline Wozniacki (36%)
2. Kirsten Flipkens (24%)
3. Venus Williams (22%)
4. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (10%)
5. Elena Vesnina (8%)
2017 WTA Shot of the Month Winners
January: Agnieszka Radwanska
February: Angelique Kerber
How it works:
Five shots are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
Viktorija Golubic’s game has always been easy on the eye. And if recent evidence is anything to go by she is now successfully marrying this style with plenty of substance.
In the final of the Ladies Championship Gstaad, Golubic upset Kiki Bertens to become the tour’s newest – and arguably most popular – silverware owner. The 23-year-old’s swashbuckling play was a ray of sunshine in an otherwise drab week, and her rousing comeback ensured there was a home victor on the WTA’s return to Swiss soil.
Success in Gstaad vaulted Golubic into the Top 100 for the first time. Now perched at No.72, she will gain direct entry into a major for the first time at this summer’s US Open and with relatively few points to defend for the remainder of 2016 she has a good opportunity to improve further.
Golubic, though, is not the only player on the charge:
Kiki Bertens (+5, No.26 to No.21): Bertens announced herself to the tennis world with a win-laden end to the clay court season. Back on the dirt and she was back to winning ways, knocking out crowd favorite and top seed Timea Bacsinszky en route to the Gstaad final. Although she was unable to make it a Swiss double against Golubic, she is now within touching distance of a Top 20 debut.
Anastasija Sevastova (+17 No.66 to No.49): In Bucharest, Anastasija Sevastova continued her steady re-ascent up the ranks with another impressive week, knocking out Sara Errani and Laura Siegemund before running out of steam against Simona Halep in the final.
Vania King (+24, No.144 to No.120): Another of Halep’s victims, Vania King, played some typically positive tennis to reach her first semifinal since 2014. There she gave the home crowd a real scare, too, leading Halep by a set and a break before being denied in a high-quality decider.
Rebeka Masarova (+483, No.797 to No.314): Earlier this summer, Rebeka Masarova tripped up a couple of highly touted rivals to lift the junior French Open title. It was a performance that earned her a wildcard for Gstaad, a chance she grabbed with both hands by knocking out Jelena Jankovic, Anett Kontaveit and Annika Beck to go further than any other WTA main draw debutante since 2012.
Doi, Jurak & Ostapenko Visit Children’s Hospital
Earlier in the week, Misaki Doi, Darija Jurak and later Jelena Ostapenko stopped by the MUSC Medical Center to visit kids in the hospital. The players hung out and played with the kids in the atrium of the children’s wing.
Atawo Hosts Special Olympics Tennis Clinic
Meanwhile, Raquel Atawo went and hit with the tennis players from the Special Olympics South Carolina. They ran through some drills and she gave them pointers on their game, and later answered all their questions at a Q&A session.
Also as a part of WTA Charities initiatives in Charleston, Ons Jabeur acted as a celebrity server at a fundraiser for special needs and disabilities and Kayla Day also paid a visit to Joint Base Charleston, a military base housing the United States and Charleston’s Navy and Air Force facilities.
Suárez Navarro Visits Monterrey Hospital
Meanwhile in Monterrey, Carla Suárez Navarro took time out of preparation for the Abierto GNP Seguros to visit the Christus Muguerza Hospital.
The Spaniard got the chance to meet and chat with the young patients there, who were in recovery from advanced scoliosis, and even signed some tennis balls for them as a keepsake.
See more photos of Suárez Navarro’s visit here!
Americans Get Artsy With Special Needs Athletes
Ashley Weinhold and Caitlin Whoriskey spent Tuesday morning with a group of athletes that are part of the Special Needs Athletes Association of Nuevo Leon.
The American players helped the athletes paste small scraps of tissue paper on a banner filling the Abierto GNP Seguros logo with bright colors, and the morning ended with everyone enjoying some tasty tacos.
Click here to see the finished product!
– All photos courtesy of Volvo Car Open and Abierto GNP Seguros
WTA Charities is the WTA’s global philanthropic organization dedicated to making a positive impact across the globe. Our mission is to be a social responsibility vehicle built on the WTA’s values to empower and provide for a better future. We’re dedicated to combining, strengthening and enhancing the community and charitable efforts of the WTA through its members (players, alumnae and tournaments), along with our partners.
Click here to see more WTA Charities activities!
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova takes on Angelique Kerber in the final of the Abierto GNP Seguros.
WTA Insider | The Daily Live Blog continues on Wednesday with former No.1 Venus Williams making her return to the Bank of the West Classic; stay tuned for all the action in Stanford!