St. Petersburg: Bencic vs. Pavlyuchenkova
Belinda Bencic takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Belinda Bencic takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Highlights from quarterfinal action at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Misaki Doi takes on Hsieh Su-Wei in the semifinals of the Taiwan Open.
In less than a week, reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber will take to the courts at Flushing Meadows to begin her bid for her second Grand Slam title of the year. Also at play? A chance to become WTA World No.1.
The 28-year-old is having the best year of her career, and she admits that she owes much of her late renaissance to her improved fitness.
“Right now I’m one of the fittest players in the world,” Kerber told CNN. “It’s strange, but it helps you really reach your goals at the end.”
CNN Open Court went inside the gym with Kerber to discuss how she gets Grand Slam fit, just in time for the final Slam of the year.
Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching take on Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato in the doubles final of the Taiwan Open.
On this episode, WTA Insider Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen recaps last week’s action at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and Taiwan Open, where two veterans put their stamp on a week that was supposed to be all about the youth. You’ll hear from St. Petersburg champion Roberta Vinci, who crashed Belinda Bencic’s Top 10 debut party, beating the teenager in straight sets to win her first title since 2013.
We’ll also preview the upcoming week’s tournaments at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and the Rio Open. Brazil’s No.1 Teliana Pereira joins the podcast to discuss the current state of Brazilian tennis. Currently ranked No.43, Pereira became the first Brazlian woman to win a WTA title in 27 years last year when she won the Claro Open in Bogota, and picked up her second title later in they year on home soil in Florianopolis.
Pereira opens up about the unique experience of being a Brazilian tennis player, what it’s like playing in the immense shadow of Gustavo Kuerten, and her Rio Olympic hopes, which are still clouded in uncertainty.
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Plenty of the stars have been relaxing over the Easter weekend – as best they can.
Andrea Petkovic isn’t impressed with the tweets she’s seen from a certain music festival.
There's no worse time or place to be on social media than Instagram during Coachella. We get it, you're a hippie! Now move along.
— Andrea Petkovic (@andreapetkovic) April 16, 2017
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina have been at the soccer to see Spartak beat Zenit 2-1.
Ole ole oleole Спартак вперед!!✊?#холодинакакая#спасибозашарф @spartak_se pic.twitter.com/9s85liaRhB
— A. Pavlyuchenkova (@NastiaPav) April 16, 2017
Spartak-Zenit⚽️Спартак-Зенит⚽️Ваши прогнозы?Уже 1-0 Спартак? pic.twitter.com/Gn25OgWDaT
— Elena Vesnina (@EVesnina001) April 16, 2017
Christina McHale went to a different ball game – to watch the Yankees play the Cardinals.
Beautiful night for some baseball ??. Let's go Yankees !!!! pic.twitter.com/aT7Wbfbe2p
— Christina McHale (@ChristinaMcHale) April 17, 2017
Julia Boserup is just enjoying a beautiful view in Denmark.
Enjoying a few days in Copenhagen .. ? Cherry blossoms in full bloom pic.twitter.com/DMygMERzwP
— Julia Boserup (@juliaboserup) April 16, 2017
And Naomi Osaka is considering developing her tennis skills even further.
Does anyone know if mixed doubles is hard? Also, any opinions on it? Getting a bit curious.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@Naomi_Osaka_) April 16, 2017
Watch this space…
NEW HAVEN, CT, USA – Lucky loser Johanna Larsson is through to her first WTA Premier-level semifinal at the Connecticut Open after a big upset over No.2 seed Roberta Vinci. She sets up a battle against No.10 seed Elina Svitolina, who powered past Elena Vesnina in straight sets.
Watch live action from New Haven this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
At this tournament last year Larsson fell in the qualifying rounds, but today she got her revenge against the same player who ousted her, defeating Vinci, 7-6(9), 6-1.
“Last year I had a tough loss against her in the finals of qualifying,” Larsson recalled after the match. “And I actually remember I was serving for the set in that match as well. I was in the same position today, and I messed it up a little bit, but I was lucky to win today in the tiebreak.”
Larsson was a point away from comfortably taking the opening set 6-4; she had just broken Vinci’s serve with a pair of aggressive forehand returns, and brought up two set points on serve in the next game. But Vinci rallied to break back and keep them level, sending the set into a tiebreaker. The momentum swung back and forth between the two – both of them held set points during the tiebreaker – but Larsson’s dogged defense eventually forced the critical error from Vinci.
The Swede took flight in the second set, breaking Vinci four times to reel off five consecutive games against the Italian, taking the match and a spot in her first Connecticut Open semifinal on her main draw debut.
After the match Vinci, who looked considerably more sluggish in the second set, admitted that a lingering injury played a role in the defeat.
“I’m injured a little bit. I have a little bit of pain of my tendon on left foot,” Vinci explained in press. “On the second set, I was not tired. But I thinking always about my pain, and I lost. But now I have two or three days off before New York to try to recover and stay better for the US Open.”
Larsson’s opponent in the semifinal will be No.10 seed Svitolina, who had all the answers against Vesnina and cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Lucky Loser Johanna Larsson is first through to @ConnecticutOpen Semifinals!
Knocks out Vinci 7-6(9), 6-1! #CTOpen pic.twitter.com/rPw5aT8rOA
— WTA (@WTA) August 25, 2016
Serena Williams is at the beach – and Melanie Oudin is running through swathes of mud.
Sloane Stephens is on the comeback trail following surgery on her left foot – and her latest social media update shows her recovery is going well.
She tweeted: “Day 1 walking…EXCITED!” and accompanied that with a short video clip showing her smiling and taking a few tentative steps.
Day 1 walking… EXCITED!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/47PReC1EGT
— Sloane Stephens (@SloaneStephens) April 18, 2017
The American picked up the injury last summer, and although she had hoped rest would help her to recover from it, she announced at the start of 2017 that it would require an operation.
She plans to return to the tour this summer.