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From around the world

Kerber Takes US Open Trophy Tour

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Following her US Open triumph, new World No.1 Angelique Kerber has taken a post-win media tour across the Atlantic from New York to Germany.

The German met up with men’s champion Stan Wawrinka for a guest appearance at the long-running Live With Kelly, where she met award-winning actor Patrick Dempsey backstage. Kerber also took a stroll through Central Park for a walk-and-talk interview with Pat Cash.

Finally, Kerber touched down at home to receive a brand new Porsche to commemorate her best-ever season, one that saw her capture two Grand Slam titles in three final appearances, win a silver medal at the Olympic tennis event, and, of course, become the first German to become No.1 since idol Stefanie Graf.

Check out the best photos below:

All photos courtesy of David Russell-Disney/ABC Home Entertainment and TV Distribution and Getty Images.

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Behind The Tour: Tournament Directors

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

In this episode of WTA Behind The Tour, take a glimpse into what daily life is like in charge of a big WTA event.

Tournament director Anne Worchester makes sure all the players feel at home at the Connecticut Open. Prior to her current role, Anne was CEO of the WTA, and is the youngest person to hold that role to date.

“A tournament director oversees the show,” Anne said. “So I also oversee marketing and public relations. I do all the player recordings and player relations for the tournament, which is a part of my job that I love.”

Besides keeping the New Haven tournament running smoothly, the most important part of Anne’s job involves forming relationships with the players.

“The best part of being a tournament director is getting to know the players,” she added. “I think the mentoring aspect of this job is the most rewarding.”

Learn more about Anne’s work – and hear her favorite tournament director stories – in the latest episode of WTA Behind The Tour.

Click here to watch all the episodes of WTA Behind The Tour!

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Osaka Beats Doi In All-Japanese Tokyo Opener

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

TOKYO, Japan – Japanese wildcard Naomi Osaka scored her first win at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in emphatic fashion, knocking out Japan’s No.1 Misaki Doi in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

Following her first round win at last week’s Japan Women’s Open Tennis, Osaka entered the Premier-level event on a career-high ranking of No.69, making her Japan’s No.2-ranked player. But across the net stood the Japanese No.1, who was looking to rebound from last week’s opening round loss.

Osaka blasted seven aces in her stellar performance against Doi. Both players were evenly matched throughout the one and a half hour encounter, but it was Osaka who dominated the big points, bringing up five break chances and converting two – one early in each set.

For her part, Doi did her best to stay within touching distance of the 18-year-old, but couldn’t find the weapons to put her under pressure. She brought up her first – and only – break opportunity late in the second set with Osaka serving for a 5-3 lead. Osaka batted it away with a zinging forehand down the line to stay on course.

A final ace sealed Osaka’s passage into the second round, where she awaits the winner between Lucie Safarova and No.6 seed Dominika Cibulkova.

More to come…

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The Battle Of The Sexes: 43 Years On

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

A week and a half ago tennis crowned a new queen when Angelique Kerber lifted the US Open to mark her ascent to the World No.1 ranking.

Watching on from the stands was Billie Jean King, the woman after whom tournament’s home is named, and who 43 years earlier paved the way for Kerber and company by defeating Bobby Riggs.

Dubbed by promoters as ‘The Battle of the Sexes’, on September 20, 1973 King took on Riggs, an ageing former major champion and shameless misogynist who claimed he could still beat any of the leading women on the fledgling Women’s Tennis Association.

Luckily, she did win. Playing to an audience of 30,472 in the Houston Astrodome – and over 100 million watching around the world on television – King abandoned her serve-and-volley game to defeat Riggs from the back of the court, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

When Riggs hit a high backhand volley into the net on match point, King flung her racket into the air in celebration. “I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn’t win that match,” she said later. “It would ruin the women’s tour and affect all women’s self-esteem.”

For his part, Riggs told reporters that King simply “played too well.” The two eventually became friends, and even spoke a few days before Riggs died of prostate cancer in 1995.

Over four decades on, the match remains a landmark moment in the gender equality movement, one that transcended sport.

43 years ago today I played Bobby Riggs in a match that changed my life & was all about equality. To celebrate let's shine a light on others

— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) September 20, 2016

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Tokyo: Muguruza Interview

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

An interview with Garbiñe Muguruza after her second-round match at the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

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Svitolina Upsets Muguruza To Complete Tokyo SF Line-Up

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

TOKYO, Japan – Elina Svitolina produced one of her best performances of the year to upset top seed Garbiñe Muguruza in the quarterfinals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

Having knocked out CoCo Vandeweghe and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the previous two rounds, Svitolina produced another intelligent performance to defuse one of the WTA’s most fearsome ballstrikers. In the end a break in the penultimate game of the match proved the difference as the Ukrainian closed out a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory.

“It was a great performance from me and I think we both played really well,” Svitolina said during her on-court interview. “In the second and third sets it was great tennis and I hope everyone enjoyed this match.

“It was pretty consistent tennis. I was playing really well from the first point. Maybe Garbiñe didn’t expect this but it was a great match and I’m really happy that it finished my way!”

In her last five events, Elina Svitolina is 2-1 vs. Top 5 players. Beat Serena (Olympics), Muguruza (Tokyo), lost to Radwanska (New Haven). https://t.co/LZGKnwZawH

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) September 23, 2016

Svitolina upset Muguruza earlier this year in Dubai and was clearly unfazed at the prospect of repeating this feat, taking barely 20 minutes to race into a 5-0 lead. While Muguruza would eventually get on the scoreboard, it was only delaying the inevitable, her unseeded opponent wrapping things up with a rasping backhand drive.

This level proved difficult to match in the second set. And when she dipped, Muguruza was waiting to pounce, teasing a string of unforced errors to claim the decisive break. Both players had their opportunities in the decider, but surprisingly it was the underdog that held her nerve, producing some dogged defense to edge 5-3 ahead. Serving for the match there was no let-up, a trio of pin-point deliveries powering her to victory.

In the semifinals she will face another big-hitter in the shape of Japanese wildcard Naomi Osaka.

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MIrza, Strycova Claim Tokyo Doubles Crown

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

TOKYO, Japan – No.2 seeded Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova took home their second doubles title of the year, handily defeating the unseeded Chinese duo of Liang Chen and Yang Zhaoxuan 6-1, 6-1, in the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“We were playing great from the beginning to the end,” Strycova said in their post-match press conference. “We actually didn’t make any errors in the first set and we felt great on the court. I think it was one of the best matches we played together.”

Mirza and Strycova, who first teamed up in Cincinnati and won their first title at the Western & Southern Open, overcame a tough draw which saw them face off against home favorites Misaki Doi and Kurumi Nara in the first round. After edging past the Japanese duo 6-7(3), 7-5, 10-8, Mirza and Strycova cruised against Kato Miyu and Xu Yifan before battling past Gabriela Dabrowski and María José Martínez Sánchez to reach the final.

Liang and Yang faced a tougher road to the Tokyo final, needing to battle past two seeded teams – the No.1 seeded Chan Hao-Ching and Chan-Yung-Jan in the first round, then the No.3 seeds Raquel Atawo and Abigail Spears before booking a clash against the No.2 seeded Mirza and Strycova.

“It’s great to play your best tennis in the final, we were happy to do that,” Mirza said. “We played very solid, and we kept our concentration the whole match. Like [Barbora] said, it was one of the best matches that we played.”

The victory puts Mirza and Strycova one step closer to a potential spot in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Entering Tokyo the duo sat at No.19 on the Road to Singapore Leaderboard, trailing the Top 8 by about 500 points. With 470 points now in the bag, the team received a major boost in their standings.