Tennis News

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Former World No.4 Francesca Schiavone showed flashes of the tennis that took her to a maiden Grand Slam title at the 2010 French Open, edging past American Shelby Rogers, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, to win her seventh career title at the Rio Open.

“I feel very emotional right now,” she said during the trophy ceremony. “It was a very tough match, and I want to congratulate Rogers. She is a young player and she grew a lot in the circuit.”

Schiavone looked down and out when she fell behind against a set and a break to Rogers, who was in just her second WTA main draw since last fall’s Coupe Banque Nationale, but the wily veteran cruised through the second set and raced out to an idential 5-2 lead in the final set before treating the Rio crowd to a tense ending.

“I want to thank everybody who made this fantastic tournament possible,” Rogers said in her runner-up speech. “It was definitely one of the best weeks of my life. I hope I can come back next year.”

Though she lost her first eight career WTA finals, the Italian has been 7-3 since breaking the duck back in 2007 (Bad Gastein), and her win in Rio is her first in just under two years (Marrakech); she will return to the Top 100 on Monday’s rankings.

“I’m really happy to be here today. I wrote this speech this morning,” Schiavone said, addressing the crowd in Portuguese, “regardless of the result, because I wanted to share my joy with you.

“Today is a happy day and I’m very emotional because Brazil is such a wonderful country. Your smile fulfilled my days here and I wish you the best for the Olympic Games.

“I want to thank everybody who helped me, and now it´s time to enjoy.”

THE WINNERS

Sara Errani crowned her return to form with a dominant victory over Barbora Strycova in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. A former Top 10 fixture and French Open finalist, Errani’s greater big-match experience shone through as she romped to a 6-0, 6-2 victory after little more than an hour on court.

“I have no words,” the Italian said after the victory. “I’m sorry for Barbora – she’s an amazing player, but I’m really happy to win this tournament. It’s been a tough week for me, and I’m really happy for me, my team and my family and friends.”

Read the match recap and watch highlights here.

At the Rio Open, former World No.4 and fellow Italian Francesca Schiavone showed flashes of the tennis that took her to a maiden Grand Slam title at the 2010 French Open, edging past American Shelby Rogers, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2, to win her seventh career title.

“Obviously when you come here, you try to prepare as much as you can, but you don’t think ‘I’m going there to win it,’ no, no,” Schiavone said before the final. “It’s a wonderful surprise; it’s been a long time since I’ve had this big a result, so I’m taking it as it comes.”

Read the match recap here.

GAME, SET, MATCH: WTA Insider

Game: Forza Italia

You can’t say enough about this Golden Generation of Italian women. Since Flavia Pennetta became the first Italian to break into the Top 10 in 2009, all four women – Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, Sara Errani, and now Roberta Vinci – have broken into the Top 10. Pennetta and Schiavone scored a Slam title a piece, while Errani and Vinci both snagged a Slam final.

Now, with this generation on the verge of hanging up its racquets, we see Vinci win the biggest title of her career last week in St. Petersburg, Errani do the same this week in Dubai, and Schiavone win her first title in nearly three years in Rio de Janeiro, boosting herself back in the Top 100.

This group of Italians has been a special one. And they may have a few surprises yet.

Set: Marquee names yet to catch fire.

Whether it’s due to injuries, lack of confidence, or bad luck, there’s no denying it’s been a slow start to the season for a key group of players that includes Simona Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza, and Petra Kvitova. Elsewhere, we also see Caroline Wozniacki drop out of the Top 20 for the first time since August 2008. For the first time in the Open Era, no seeded player won a match in Dubai last week.

All are in action this week in Doha. Can they get some wins and pick up some steam as the tour heads to Indian Wells and Miami?

Match: Azarenka returns to action this week.

We’ll be keeping an eye on the results in Acapulco, as Victoria Azarenka returns to competition as the top seed there. The former No.1 had a strong start to the season after winning Brisbane in dominant fashion and marching to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, before getting stunned by eventual champion Angelique Kerber. It was a gutting loss for Azarenka, but hopefully she’s had time to work past it and comes into Acapulco fit and firing. She has a great opportunity to march up the rankings when the tour turns to Indian Wells and Miami.

RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of February 22, 2016.

Sorana Cirstea (ROU), +46 (No.199 to 152): Cirstea’s run to the Rio Open semifinals, playing in her first WTA main draw matches since last summer, were a huge milestone on the Romanian’s road back from injury. It also earned her the week’s highest ranking jump, improving 46 spots to No.152.  

Francesca Schiavone (ITA), +38 (No.132 to 94): When Francesca Schiavone turned back the clocks in Rio, winning her first title in two years, she also earned herself a spot back in the Top 100. The last time Schiavone was ranked inside the Top 100 was at the 2015 US Open, when she held the No.95 spot.

Shelby Rogers (USA), +23 (No.131 to 108): The resurgent Rogers made her first WTA final since 2014 at the Rio Open and as a result she now sits just eight spots shy of a return to the Top 100.

Barbora Strycova (CZE), +9 (No.47 to 38): Strycova improves nine spots to No.38 with run to the final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Sara Errani (ITA), +5 (No.22 to 17): Sara Errani’s dominant performance in Dubai sends her up five spots and back into the Top 20.

Johanna Konta (GBR), +1 (No.27 to 26): While improving one ranking spot might not seem like much, it’s actually a historic achievement for Konta – her No.26 ranking is the highest ranking for a Brit since Jo Dury held the spot in April 1987.

UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS

Qatar Total Open
Doha, Qatar
Premier | $2,517,250 | Hard, Outdoors
Sunday, February 21 – Saturday, February 27, 2016

Abierto Mexicano TELCEL
Acapulco, Mexico
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, February 22 – Saturday, February 27, 2016

Abierto Monterrey Afirme
Monterrey, Mexico
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, February 29 – Sunday, March 6

BMW Malaysian Open
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
International | $226,750 | Hard, Outdoors
Monday, February 29 – Sunday, March 6

TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES

1. Serena Williams –
2. Angelique Kerber – Doha
3. Agnieszka Radwanska – Doha
4. Simona Halep – Doha
5. Garbiñe Muguruza – Doha
6. Maria Sharapova –
7. Belinda Bencic – Doha
8. Petra Kvitova – Doha
9. Flavia Pennetta – (retired)
10. Roberta Vinci – Doha
11. Carla Suárez Navarro – Doha
12. Lucie Safarova – Doha
13. Venus Williams –
14. Victoria Azarenka – Acapulco
15. Timea Bacsinszky – Doha
16. Ana Ivanovic –
17. Sara Errani – Doha, Monterrey 
18. Elina Svitolina – Doha
19. Karolina Pliskova – Doha
20. Jelena Jankovic – Doha

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

 Klara Koukalova (CZE) – February 24, 1982
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) – February 25, 1994
Chen Liang (CHN) – February 25, 1989
Naomi Broady (GBR) – February 28, 1990
Jelena Jankovic (SRB) – February 28, 1985

MIAMI, FL, USA – Johanna Konta became the first British woman to reach the Miami Open semifinals after coming back from a set down to oust No.3 seed Simona Halep.

Putting an injury-plagued start of the season behind her, Halep came into the matchup after winning consecutive matches for the first time all season here in Miami. And in the quarterfinals, the Romanian even saved match point in her late-night thriller against Sam Stosur.

But she couldn’t pull off the escape once again against Konta, falling 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 after a rollercoaster two hours and thirty minutes.

.@JoKonta wins a mammoth tiebreak 9-7!

Into a decider… #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/TWpn1gbFnG

— WTA (@WTA) March 29, 2017

The Brit had to overcome a slow start against Halep, though, as the Romanian came out of the gates firing and would take an early break in the opening set. Loose unforced errors during the initial exchanges cost Konta, and Halep didn’t allow her to settle into a rhythm with her changes of pace.

Dropping the first set only galvanized Konta, as the Brit notched an emphatic break to love and a 3-0 lead. But that’s when things got complicated, and Halep dodged a pair of break points and leveled the match a few games later.

She served for the match at 5-4, and was two points away from victory when Konta denied her, keeping her serve under pressure and rewarded with loose errors.

Into a tiebreaker, Halep once again saw her lead erased as Konta came roaring back from 5-3 down and edged through 9-7.

.@JoKonta91 advances to @MiamiOpen Semifinals!

Battles past Halep 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2! pic.twitter.com/nm3n99u6s8

— WTA (@WTA) March 29, 2017

With the wind in her sails Konta grabbed the lead once again but this time didn’t allow Halep back in. She broke Halep twice to reel off the final five games and complete the comeback.

“It was a really tough match, very high level,” Halep told WTA Insider after the match. “I was so close to winning, I was two points away in the tiebreak, but she played very strong and deserved to win today.

“I’m happy to be here after the break that I had. I’m just disappointed I lost a match I had in my hands. But my confidence is there, the game is there – I just need to play matches.”

Konta be rewarded with a clash against the winner between World No.1 Angelique Kerber and Venus Williams for a chance to go even further and win a spot into her second career Premier Mandatory final.

Should she reach the final, she’s projected to return to the Top 10 after the WTA rankings are released on Monday.

“Whoever I’m playing, I’ll have a battle on my hands that’s for sure,” Konta said. “I’ve played Venus and Angie a few times. They’re going to have a tough battle tonight, and I’m looking forward to playing either of them. Either of them will be a great opportunity for different reasons.”

DOHA, Qatar – Elena Vesnina notched one of the biggest wins of her career over No.2 seed Simona Halep in the second round of the Qatar Total Open, shocking her 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-1.

The Russian qualifier, ranked No.118 in the world, was fresh off of a first round upset against Caroline Garcia, a semifinalist last week in Dubai. She was up against the World No.4, who was playing on her favorite surface and on familiar ground – Halep is a 2014 champion here in Doha and last year had a WTA-leading 44-11 win-loss record on hardcourts.

Watch live action from Doha & Acapulco this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Halep had plenty of opportunities to put Vesnina away in the first set but the Russian refused to fold -Halep created 13 break opportunities and only converted on two of those occasions. But one of those occasions was exactly when it counted; Vesnina was serving for the set at 6-5 when Halep broke her serve, sending the match into a tiebreak.

The Romanian found another gear and played a near-perfect tiebreak, allowing Vesnina only one point before grabbing the first set 7-6(1).

Halep backed up her dominance in the tiebreak with an equally commanding start to the second set, winning four out of the next five games to race ahead to a 4-1 lead.

Seemingly down and nearly out of the match with the World No.4 up a set and a double break, Vesnina was somehow still able to gut out a comeback. What was going through the Russian’s mind?

“That’s my character – I’m always fighting ’til the end,” she said. “I was thinking, ‘I’m on center court here in Doha, I’m playing Simona, 1-4 down – but it doesn’t matter.

“I just fight game by game, ball by ball, and it just worked.”

Her mentality definitely worked: Vesnina came back to win the next four out of five games to take back the set at 6-4 and level the match. Halep started out the final set with a break at love, but Vesnina stayed on course and won six consecutive games, sealing the final game of the match with a timely ace followed by a deadly backhand down the line for match point.

With the win Vesnina not only reached her first round of 16 stage of the year, she also scored her sixth Top 10 win of her career – the first since 2013.

“For the last two years, this win is No.1 for me,” an emotional Vesnina said after the match. “Simona is a great player, she’s such a solid player. She’s had an amazing couple of years; she’s in Top 10 in the world. I’m really pleased with my game today.” 

ZHUHAI, China – The WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai has announced today the appointment of José Miguel Garcia from Madrid, Spain as Tournament Director for the year‐end WTA event held at the Hengqin Tennis Center Zhuhai.

Garcia brings 15 years of experience at professional tennis events, mainly at the Mutua Madrid Open where he remains a key member of the completion, operations and player services team.

“I am very excited by this new project,” Garcia said during his first visit to Zhuhai. “The facilities at the Hengqin Tennis Center Zhuhai are extremely impressive and I look forward to using my experiences from other major events I have been involved with and by working with the WTA and Zhuhai based event teams to continue to grow the event as it enters into its third year.”

In cooperation with the Mutua Madrid Open, Garcia will travel regularly to Zhuhai to coordinate the organization of the event with teams from the event operator and promoter Zhuhai Huafa Sports Operations Management Co. Ltd, the licensing owner APG and the WTA.

“We are very happy to have José Miguel Garcia as Tournament Director for the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, his international experience will be extremely valuable to the event and contribute to the development of the tournament,” said Peter Lv, Executive Director of Zhuhai Huafa Sports Operations Management Co. Ltd.

“We strongly believe José Miguel will be a great asset for the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai and will provide the support needed to take the event to the next level. We are proud to have him appointed as the Tournament Director for the event and look forward to seeing the event continue to grow successfully,” said Fabrice Chouquet, APG Chief Operating Officer.

The WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, established in 2015, features 11 of the top ranked singles players along with one wild card and four of the top ranked doubles teams and two team wild cards.

The $USD 2.28 million event to be held between October 31st – November 5th at the Hengqin Tennis Center Zhuhai, also sees up to 700 WTA ranking points awarded to the winner. Venus Williams won the title in 2015 and Petra Kvitova in 2016.

Martina Hingis’ list of accomplishments on the tennis court is as long as it is impressive.

With five Grand Slam titles in singles, a further 16 in doubles and a combined total of 250 weeks at the top of the rankings, there is not much of note left to achieve on the career checklist.

However, ask the Swiss Miss and she will admit there is one glaring omission: an Olympic medal.

Her sole Games experience came at Atlanta in 1996, when a 15th-seeded Hingis, still a few months shy of her 16th birthday, slipped to a second-round defeat to Ai Sugiyama.

Since coming out of retirement for a second time in 2013, Hingis has enjoyed great success, adding six trophies to her major collection, three alongside India’s Sania Mirza, at Wimbledon and the US and Australian Opens.

For one week this summer, though, Hingis and Mirza will park their all-conquering partnership. Among the frontrunners to pair up with Hingis in Rio will be Belinda Bencic, who partnered Hingis to victory in the decisive rubber of Switzerland’s recent Fed Cup win over Germany. 

Hingis will also appear in the mixed doubles, and to help achieve her Olympic goal she has enlisted the help of another all-time great, Roger Federer – a dream team that was among the subjects touched on by CNN’s Open Court.