Bouchard Confirms Olympic Participation
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Former World No.5 Eugenie Bouchard will make her Olympic debut in Rio, the Canadian confirmed ahead of the Rogers Cup in Montréal.
WTA Insider Courtney Nguyen | Former World No.5 Eugenie Bouchard will make her Olympic debut in Rio, the Canadian confirmed ahead of the Rogers Cup in Montréal.
The 2016 Aces For Humanity campaign was launched by USANA and the WTA at the BNP Paribas Open and continued in Stanford at the Bank of the West Classic, where every ace hit by a WTA player at Premier-level events translates into a donation to the USANA True Health Foundation, whose mission is to provide the most critical human necessities to those who are suffering or in need around the world.
For every ace hit by any player the WTA donates $5, and for every ace hit by a USANA Brand Ambassador, it’s $10.
USANA Brand Ambassadors Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur, Kristina Mladenovic, Madison Keys, Monica Puig, Sloane Stephens, Zheng Saisai, Alizé Cornet and Caroline Wozniacki hit six of the 160 aces at Stanford – raising a grand total of $830 throughout the week. Cornet hit two aces.
Read more about the campaign here and see below to find out who’s hit the most aces so far!
#AcesForHumanity Fan Giveaway
It’s simple: before each WTA Premier tournament guess how many total aces will be hit.
Next up is the Rogers Cup in Montréal. Last year there was a total of 245 aces hit. It’s now your turn, take your best guess of how many will be hit this year.
How To Enter:
• Follow @WTA and @USANAFoundation on Twitter and before each WTA Premier tournament tweet the number of aces you predict will be hit during the whole tournament (Singles, Main Draw)
• Include the hashtag #AcesForHumanity
• Eastbourne deadline is July 26 at 11:59pm ET
• The winner will be announced August 1st
Aces For Humanity is a joint WTA and USANA initiative that benefits the USANA True Health Foundation, which provides critical human necessities to those in suffering or in need around the globe.
For full rules on how to enter, click here.
CoCo Vandweghe’s Olympic dream took an unexpected turn when the American injured her right ankle during her Bank of the West Classic quarterfinal against Alison Riske.
Not long after retiring from the match, Vandeweghe expressed an unwavering desire to be ready to play doubles with fellow BNP Paribas Open winner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
“I sprained my ankle a couple of days ago in Stanford, but glad the fall looked worse than it was,” she said on Monday. “Back now in training mode for Rio – hard work never sleeps! Thank you again to the tournament and Bank of the West for all of their support and I hope to see everyone again next year.”
We wish you a speedy recovery, @CoCoVandey! #BOTWC https://t.co/kAB9xbPmGe
— WTA (@WTA) July 23, 2016
Vandeweghe soon learned that the fall looked much worse than it was, and all doubt was laid to rest after confirming that the injury was, in fact, just a sprain. CoCo took to social media to show her rehab already underway.
“I sprained my ankle a couple of days ago in Stanford, but happy to say it’s just a sprain,” she said on Monday. “I’m back now in training mode for Rio – hard work never sleeps! Thank you again to the tournament and Bank of the West for all of their support and I hope to see everyone again next year.”
Vandweghe’s coach, Craig Kardon, also tweeted out one of their workouts:
Look out Rio #RoadToRio @cocovandey pic.twitter.com/sVoLtLwddk
— craig kardon (@ckardon) July 25, 2016
With two weeks to go for her Olympic debut, the 24-year-old is back in Rancho Santa Fe training with more fire and heart than ever, making it crystal clear that there is no way she will be missing the Rio Games.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – 2014 Montréal champion Agnieszka Radwanska came away victorious in a battle of trick shots against Monica Niculescu, dodging three set points to survive a late challenge and advance to the third round of the Rogers Cup, 6-1, 7-5.
Watch live action from Montréal this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
The fans at Court Central were treated to an array of slices, drop shots and variety as the pair of trick shot queens faced off for the third time in 2016. Despite having similar playing styles, Radwanska owns the edge in their head-to-head record, coming into the match up having won all of their previous hardcourt meetings.
Niculescu struggled to meet Radwanska shot for shot early on in the match as her signature forehand slice seemed to be missing from her game. She struck almost twice as many unforced errors as Radwanska – 13 to the Pole’s 7 – and quickly found herself trailing a double break. She got on board at 4-1, but she couldn’t stop Radwanska’s all-out assault as the No.4 seed powered on to take the first set 6-1.
Follow all the action from Day 3 of Montréal at the WTA Insider Live Blog!
But what looked to be shaping up into a straightforward victory for Radwanska got a little more complicated as Niculescu took off in the second set. Whereas in the first set Niculescu couldn’t find a way to pressure Radwanska’s serve, in the second she and Radwanska traded five consecutive breaks of serve as the Pole struggled to win points behind her vulnerable second serve.
Radwanska faced down three set points on the Romanian’s serve at 5-4 as Niculescu looked ready to extend the match. She dodged all three and ultimately earned the break on a drop shot that clipped the netcord and dribbles over. She reeled off the final four games of the match to earn her spot in the third round.
She’s set to play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the last eight after the Russian overcame Christina McHale 6-2, 7-5.
? from @ARadwanska #CoupeRogers pic.twitter.com/ZvbDTIUf6G
— WTA (@WTA) July 27, 2016
Kristina Kucova takes on Eugenie Bouchard in the third round of the Rogers Cup.
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her win in the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup.
Simona Halep takes on Angelique Kerber in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup.
MONTRÉAL, Canada – Simona Halep capped off a strong week in Canada by winning her third title of the season, beating Madison Keys, 7-6(2), 6-3, to win the Rogers Cup. Her win over Keys extended her current win streak to 10 matches and moves her up to No.3 in both the rankings and the Road To Singapore leaderboard.
Hear from Halep as she discusses her week in Montreal, her plans for the upcoming weeks without the Olympics, and why she never, ever, skips a good dessert.
On doing double duty: “It was very different because I’m not used to playing doubles. I got a little bit tired in the end. But it also helped me to play some doubles matches because I practiced the return, the serve. That helped me a lot in singles; I had tough opponents there. It’s been a great week in both singles and doubles. I am dead, but I have a few days break, and I will be fresh against for Cincinnati.”
On managing frustration on court: “My physio Dragos is new and he doesn’t know tennis very well. He asked Darren during the match where I had a set and 5-0, ‘Why is Simona angry at this moment?’ I don’t know how to answer, because it happens. It’s coming from inside where I get frustrated because I’ve missed a ball. I always want perfection; I know that doesn’t exist, but I’m looking for it a lot anyway. I don’t know if I’ll ever find out why I do this, but if I do, I will change it because I really want to change this and be more patient and positive with myself.”
On the summer hardcourts: “I think I play better tennis on hardcourts here at the US Open Series because the courts are faster and I started to play well on this surface. I feel more confident because I had a great result last year at all the tournaments, so I’m looking forward to the next tournament because I feel confident that I can win some more matches. I just have to be careful with my body, to take a rest and recover, and then to work again.”
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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – With the latest WTA rankings comes the news of the official seeding list for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Three of the World’s Top 4 are set to compete, including defending champion and four-time Olympic Gold medalist Serena Williams, reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber and French Open winner Garbiñe Muguruza. Sydney Gold medalist and fellow four-time Gold medalist Venus Williams rounds out the Top 5.
Check out the full list of seeds below:
Singles
(1) Serena Williams (USA #1)
(2) Angelique Kerber (GER #2)
(3) Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4)
(4) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #5)
(5) Venus Williams (USA #6)
(6) Roberta Vinci (ITA #8)
(7) Madison Keys (USA #9)
(8) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10)
(9) Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP #12)
(10) Johanna Konta (GBR #13)
(11) Petra Kvitova (CZE #14)
(12) Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #15)
(13) Samantha Stosur (AUS #18)
(14) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS #19)
(15) Elina Svitolina (UKR #20)
(16) Barbora Strycova (CZE #21)
Doubles
(1) Serena Williams / Venus Williams (USA)
(2) Caroline Garcia / Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)
(3) Chan Hao-Ching / Chan Yung-Jan (TPE)
(4) Garbiñe Muguruza / Carla Suárez Navarro (ESP)
(5) Timea Bacsinszky / Martina Hingis (SUI)
(6) Andrea Hlavackova / Lucie Hradecka (CZE)
(7) Ekaterina Makarova / Elena Vesnina (RUS)
(8) Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci (ITA)
Nearly a decade after winning the 2007 Junior US Open crown, Kristina Kucova made her long-awaited Top 100 debut after a career week at the Rogers Cup.
“I enjoyed every minute here in Montréal,” she told press after her semifinal match against Madison Keys. “I really like everybody here.
“I’m so happy about all week because it was the greatest week of my life so far. So I’m very happy.”
Making it through qualifying – where she took out Christina McHale just to reach the main draw – Kucova knocked out a pair of Top 20 opposition in Carla Suárez Navarro and Johanna Konta. In the round of 16, she stunned former World No.5 Eugenie Bouchard in front of her home crowd, recovering from a set down under the lights.
“They were all supporting Bouchard, but in the end I felt like I was winner over all these people. I don’t know, I felt very happy that moment. Also I was happy that I could beat her after what happened in Fed Cup. I’d lost to her before, so I was happy that I could win against her.”
Her run came to an end in the final four, but she nonetheless became the first qualifier to reach the semifinals since Zi Yan in 2007, a full circle moment for Kucova, who won the girl’s singles title at the US Open over Urszula Radwanska a few weeks after Zi’s run.
“It means a lot for me, this success, but it’s not only my success. It belongs to my whole family. Especially to my parents and to my sister which brings me to the tennis from very young age.
“I have many people now around which also this success belongs to them. I would like to just say thank you also for them.”
For all of those reasons, Kucova is your Breakthrough Player of the Month!
Final Results for July’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month
1. Kristina Kucova (49%)
2. Johanna Konta (34%)
3. Laura Siegemund (12%)
4. Viktorija Golubic (5%)
2016 Breakthrough Performance Of The Month Winners
January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
March: Nicole Gibbs
April: Cagla Buyukakcay
May: Kiki Bertens
June: Elena Vesnina
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com