Tennis News

Romanian captain Ille Nastase will play no further part in this weekend’s Fed Cup action as two days worth of controversy surrounding him came to a head during the team’s World Group II Play-off against Great Britain on Saturday.

In the second set of the rubber between Johanna Konta and Sorana Cirstea, Nastase verbally abused both Konta and Great Britain’s captain Anne Keothavong, before launching into a tirade against both the umpire and referee as a result of being warned for his conduct.

He was then removed from the court, and later the arena, entering in a row with the assembled press corps as he departed. After being suspended for 25 minutes, the match was later resumed, with Monica Niculescu acting as Romania’s captain.

“Romanian Captain Ille Nastase was removed from the court during the second rubber of the Fed Cup tie between Romania and Great Britain in Constanta,” the ITF said in a statement. “Mr. Nastase was asked to leave the court by ITF Referee Andreas Egli for unsportsmanlike conduct, having already received two official warnings. Mr. Nastase was also removed from the grounds due to his serious misconduct. His accreditation was removed and he will play no further part in this tie. The ITF has launched an investigation into this matter as well as previous comments made by Mr. Nastase throughout the week.”

On Friday, Nastase was reported as having made a racist remark about the recent announcement of Serena Williams’ pregnancy, and also made suggestive comments towards Keothavong while involving himself in a dispute with a member of the press.

ITF president Dave Haggerty added Saturday: ‘This is unacceptable behavior by a Fed Cup captain. No player, official, member of the media or fan should have to endure any kind of abuse, and Mr. Nastase will rightly play no further part in this tie. A formal investigation is already underway and any decision or sanction will be made by the ITF’s Adjudication Panel. We are unable to comment further on an ongoing investigation.”

After play resumed, Konta won the last five games to defeat Cirstea, 6-2, 6-3 and square the tie at 1-1. Simona Halep defeated Heather Watson, 6-4, 6-1 in Saturday’s first match.

Elsewhere in the World Group II Play-offs after Saturday’s play, Italy leads Australia and Australia leads Serbia, 2-0, while the tie between Kazakhstan and Canada is also level at 1-1.

SINGAPORE – Top seed Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic were imperious in a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No.8 seeds Karolina Pliskova and Julia Goerges to advance into the semifinals at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

Watch interviews and highlights from Singapore on the WTA Facebook page!

The reigning Roland Garros champions came to Singapore with a chance to unseat World No.1 Sania Mirza atop the WTA doubles rankings, but first had to overcome a team they’d lost to at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Playing in their second WTA Finals – their first as a pair – the French youngsters played clutch tennis throughout the 85-minute encounter, saving all 11 break points faced and winning 75% of first serve points.

Big backhand from @KikiMladenovic on break point! ? #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/AGYGvd4bLp

— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016

“Every game was tight; we saved so many break points,” Garcia said during the team’s on-court interview. “We knew things could change at any time, but we stayed very aggressive and played a very good match.”

Where last year’s championships was a round robin format and no-ad scoring, this year’s competition brought back the single-elimination knock-out from 2014, but took away no-ad, leading to some marathon games between the two teams.

“You don’t have space for mistakes, but the stats prove it; we saved 11 break points. I think it was a very close match; the girls are playing strong with big serves. It was tough to break each other, but I’m just enjoying my time with my partner; we’re so happy and lucky to be back here.”

To end the season as Co-No.1s, the French team will have to have a better result than Mirza, who plays her quarterfinal match on Friday with fellow No.2 seed Martina Hingis, and could next come up against Bethanie Mattek-Sands, the only other player in contention for No.1.

Seeded No.3 with Lucie Safarova, Mattek-Sands will have to win the title to nab the top spot, but the American will first have to take on No.7 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova on Thursday night; the winners play Garcia and Mladenovic on Saturday.

Describe your team in ⓵ word!@CaroGarcia: Awesome ?@KikiMladenovic: French ??#WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/bIRjtanm9A

— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016

SINGAPORE – Eight-time WTA Finals champion Martina Navratilova believes this year’s tournament is gearing up to be the most competitive in recent memory.

Speaking at the official ticket launch for the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, Navratilova gave her take on an intriguing start to the 2016 season and its early pacesetters.

In recent years, the indomitable Serena Williams has ruled the roost at the top of the game, however, the opening quarter to the new campaign has seen the emergence of a couple of rivals to her crown in the shape of Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka.

It is a development that Navratilova thinks can only help the game. “We’ve been saying we need rivalries and right now there’s some competition – maybe not a rivalry quite yet – but certainly there’re a lot of players snapping at Serena’s heels in 2016,” she said.

“So the gap has gotten smaller and it may keep getting smaller because Serena won so many Slams last year – she won three out of the four – and has a lot of points to defend.”

While talk of Williams’ demise is premature – despite competing in only four tournaments, she sits in fourth place on the Road To Singapore leaderboard – her current reign atop the rankings could come under threat sooner rather than later.

“It will be difficult for her to keep this cushion [Williams is nearly 3,000 points ahead of No.2 Agnieszka Radwanska], but at the same time she’s still the queen! But it’s great that the players have been able to step up. I’ve been impressed by Victoria Azarenka winning both Indian Wells and Miami in pretty convincing fashion and of course Angelique Kerber beating Serena in a Grand Slam final.”

Kerber, Azarenka, Radwanska and Williams are the early leaders on the Road To Singapore. However, as last year proved, the identity of the eight qualifiers has the potential to go down to the wire.

“Last year we had I think four players trying to get the last spot in the last week of the season,” Navratilova added. “Players were going all around the world trying to get those points to get to the WTA Finals.

“It’s important to be consistent during the year so you don’t have to chase them at the end, but it’s exciting because you don’t know who’s going to be there and the players feel privileged to make that final eight – it means something.”

The tournament holds a special place in the heart of Navratilova, who believes it stands side-by-sde with the four Grand Slams: “It’s a great opportunity to finish the year on a great note and spring you into the next year. Or for some people the chance to salvage something from a season that wasn’t great, because for me it’s a fifth major.”

This year, the WTA Finals is once again offering the opportunity to rub shoulders with past and present players through its official hospitality program, Racquet Club.

“It’s a great way for people to get a feel for the tournament, feel for the sport and get close to the players. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience that you really don’t get anywhere else, where you can mingle with the athletes themselves rather than just watch them from a distance,” Navratilova, who has also been appointed as the first ever ambassador for the Racquet Club, said.

“So it’s a fantastic experience for the fans, the media and also the players. Because we’re kind of removed – you see the people but you don’t really pay attention but this way you can really mingle.”

Selected tickets for the tournament will go on sale this Friday and can be purchased on the revamped WTAFinals.com website. From May 6, further offerings will go on sale, including the new Family Day Package and All Singles Evening Pass.

For more information on hospitality and booking enquiries, please e-mail info@RacquetClub.sg or call +65 6826 2718.