Tennis News

Not long after checking in with fans and friends on Tennis Channel, Victoria Azarenka announced the birth of her first child late on Monday night.

The former No.1 began the season winning three titles in Brisbane and the elusive Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami, but left the tour back in July after announcing her pregnancy. Azarenka took to social media to share her first picture as a mother on Twitter:

Today I had my hardest fight and my very best victory! Our son was born healthy and happy! So thankful and blessed! Thank you ??❤ pic.twitter.com/zsoFRivnvQ

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) December 20, 2016

Her colleagues and fellow players extended their hearty congratulations to the two-time Australian Open champion on Twitter, as well:

@vika7 Congratulations on your new little family Vika! ?

— Laura Robson (@laurarobson5) December 20, 2016

@vika7 ahhhh! So glad everybody's good!!! Congrats !!????????

— Irina Falconi (@IrinaFalconi) December 20, 2016

@vika7 congratulations, amazing News? wish you all the best xx

— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) December 20, 2016

@vika7 поздравляю вас!! ❤?

— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) December 20, 2016

@vika7 congrats Vika!!

— rennae stubbs (@rennaestubbs) December 20, 2016

MADRID, Spain – No.6 seed Simona Halep avoided the upset bug sweeping through the Mutua Madrid Open draw, easing past Karin Knapp and into the third round.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Madrid right here on wtatennis.com!

Over the opening three days of competition, 10 of the 16 seeds have bitten the dust, and Halep made in inauspicious start against Knapp, dropping serve in the opening game when her forehand missed its mark.

However, from that point onwards it was one-way traffic. Knapp has struggled for fitness recently – she underwent knee surgery last September and her recovery has been compromised by ankle problems – and Halep exposed her movement to take control with a run of eight straight games.

After little over an hour on court the Romanian arrived at match point, launching herself into a forehand return to emphatically close out a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

“We shouldn’t forget that she was injured, she had knee surgery, so she’s coming back and it wasn’t her best day,” Halep said. “But still I played some good tennis and I tried to just stick to my game.”

Halep reached the final in the Spanish capital two years ago, falling to Maria Sharapova in three dramatic sets. Since then, the Romanian’s form has fluctuated, and she entered this clay court campaign with relatively few matches under her belt.

“I just want to get better and better every day and I want to see how good I can be. I want to see how many matches I can win because I really need to win matches now, I just want to be relaxed now – I’m not thinking about the results.”

These relative struggles have enabled Halep to enter the tournament without the weight of expectation that has followed for much of the past few seasons: “Sometimes people around you expect better results, and that’s why you start to feel frustrated and nervous. Now I feel good, I have no points to defend – I’m free!”

No.10 seed Timea Bacsinszky awaits next after she edged past Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Halep has won two of their three meetings on tour, although did taste defeat earlier this year in Miami.

“Bacsinszky is revenge! It’s going to be hard, it’s going to be difficult, a tough match for sure. I just want to go on court relaxed and play my game. It’s a good tournament, good people around me, so I am in a good place mentally and physically.”

ST. PETERSBURG, FL, USA – The WTA has announced the launch of WTA Charities, its first global philanthropic organization dedicated to making a positive social impact across the globe.

“I am very pleased to announce the formation of WTA Charities,” said Steve Simon, WTA CEO and Chairman. “This is an area that WTA has been actively involved in for years and we are now setting ourselves up to truly have a dedicated division for WTA and its members to make a lasting impact – in our tournament communities, by supporting our player’s charitable efforts and affiliations, along with our partner’s philanthropic initiatives.”

The WTA Charities Board of Directors has been established and will serve as advisors in the development and implementation of WTA Charities. The Board of Directors includes WTA CEO and Chairman Steve Simon, WTA Player Board Representative Dianne Hayes, WTA Tournament Council member Bob Moran, WTA Global Advisory Council member Jan Soderstrom and WTA alumnae Pam Shriver, Tracy Austin and Jennifer Capriati.

“WTA Charities is an important step for the WTA family to both leverage and focus our humanitarian efforts,” said Pam Shriver. “I have been involved in many charitable causes throughout my career and I’m so pleased to be a part of WTA Charities because we can be transformational in providing assistance and serving others with our global reach.”

WTA Charities’ various charitable initiatives will be introduced in January 2017 as the new season starts.

MISSION

The mission of WTA Charities is to be a social responsibility vehicle built on the WTA’s values to empower and provide for a better future. WTA Charities is dedicated to combining, strengthening and enhancing the community and charitable efforts of the WTA through its members (players, alumnae and tournaments), along with its partners.

PILLARS OF ACTION

There are 3 pillars of action within WTA Charities, each giving back in its own individual way:

1. Service – Directing community outreach and local efforts to give back to the communities that host WTA tournaments. Includes grassroots tennis programs that promote opportunity, personal achievement, self-esteem and respect.

2. Assistance – Aimed at providing assistance to those in need primarily through the WTA Assistance Program (WTAAP), helping members of the women’s professional tennis community who suffer from serious illness or other catastrophic loss.

3. Support – Reinforcing WTA member’s charitable initiatives through financial and promotional efforts and aligning with organizations that help advance lives through empowerment, equality and care for others.

MADRID, Spain – No.4 seed Victoria Azarenka has joined the Mutua Madrid Open casualty list, pulling out of her third-round meeting with Louisa Chirico because of a back injury.

Following the exits of Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza, Azarenka was the highest seed left in the draw. However, after aggravating her lower back during morning practice the Belarusian elected to err on the side of caution.

“Unfortunately in my first match I think I tweaked my back a little bit. It was really cold, and, I don’t know, I think it’s much easier to get a little bit hurt when it’s that cold,” Azarenka said during a press conference. “And the second match obviously I was in a lot of discomfort. Having a day off I thought it was going to get better. Today before my warm-up it did feel better, but once I started hitting it came back.

“I don’t feel that I’m able to compete today. I’m just trying to make the smart decision and see the big picture.”

Azarenka’s now faces a race against time to be fit for next week’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia – her last chance to fine-tune her clay court game ahead of the French Open.

“We’ll see how it goes. Really going to take it day by day and make sure my body is ready,” she said when asked about her chances of playing in the Italian capital. “I don’t know. I don’t really have a particular answer why it happened. There could have been couple of things. I was really sick the week before that.

“I’m just trying to make the test, make sure there is nothing serious, and try to treat it as best as possible. My plan is to be ready for Rome, so hopefully I’ll be able to do that.”

Chirico, the youngest player remaining in the tournament, advances to her first quarterfinal at a WTA Premier event where she will face fellow surprise package, Daria Gavrilova.

MADRID, Spain – Simona Halep leads the pack as a record four Romanians advanced to the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open – can the last seed standing seize the moment? We preview all the quarterfinal action here on wtatennis.com.

Thursday, Quarterfinals

[6] Simona Halep (ROU #7) vs Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU #34)
Head-to-head: Halep leads 3-0
Key Stat: Halep has never lost a set to Begu.

When the No.6 seed Simona Halep landed in the Spanish capital, she was surrounded by questions: Had she recovered from the ankle injury that thwarted her Stuttgart campaign? Would her health hold up? Could she replicate her 2014 run to the Madrid final?

The Romanian’s dominating performances in her last three matches say the answer is a resounding ‘yes.’ She’s feeling right at home in Madrid and leads a pack of four Romanians who have advanced to this stage.

“It’s a Romanian tournament, I can say,” Halep joked in her press conference. “I feel like home here. I feel good always. I have great memories from 2014. I just try to make it best tournament for myself. I try just to enjoy it, because I like it very much.”

Halep is up against a familiar opponent in the No.34-ranked Irina-Camelia Begu: despite only playing three WTA matches against each other, the two Romanians have known each other for a long time.

“I expect a tough match,” Halep said. “She plays well on clay. Last year she did quarterfinals here, so [that] means that she likes the court.

“But the match is open, so I have just to try to get my chance and to fight for it, because I really want to go through.”

Dominika Cibulkova (SVK #38) vs Sorana Cirstea (ROU #127)
Head-to-head: Cibulkova leads 3-1
Key Stat: Madrid is Cirstea’s career first Premier Mandatory quarterfinal.

The oldest Romanian of the bunch, 26-year-old Sorana Cirstea made good on a wildcard to reach her career first Premier Mandatory quarterfinal. And she’s done so in emphatic fashion, not dropping a set in the three matches she’s played to get to this stage.

“I think that’s amazing,” Cirstea told WTA Insider of her country’s representation in Madrid. “Four girls in the quarterfinals means half of the girls are Romanians, which I think is impressive coming from a country like Romania.

“I think everyone knows we don’t have a system or anything. We were each separate and trying to find a way. I think it’s amazing that we are one of the biggest forces now in tennis.”

Cirstea, a former No.21, saw her promising career be derailed by a shoulder injury in 2014 – she dropped out of the Top 240 late last fall. But now fit and healthy, she faces another player on the comeback trail in the Slovak Dominika Cibulkova. ­

The former Australian Open finalist has found her form again after recovering from an Achilles injury: she’s reached the final at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel and took home the title at the Katowice Open.

So far in Madrid she’s faced a sterner test – and spent more time on court – than Cirstea on her road to the quarterfinals. All of her matches have gone to three sets, and in her very first match she was drawn against the tournament’s top seed, Agnieszka Radwanska.

Also in action: Romanian qualifier Patricia Maria Tig is in for her biggest test yet against Sam Stosur. After powering past young guns Daria Kasatkina, Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys, Tig now faces the veteran Australian for her first ever semifinal spot at a Premier Mandatory event. Meanwhile, American qualifier Louisa Chirico and big hitting Australian Daria Gavrilova will open the day’s action on Court Arantxa Sanchez. Both of these young players have advanced to this stage against all odds – Chirico upset the No.14 seed Ana Ivanovic and moved past Victoria Azarenka via a walkover to reach the quarterfinals, while Gavrilova ousted the defending champion Petra Kvitova in the last round.

Serena Williams

2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.1
Year-End Ranking: No.2
Season Highlights: Title at Rome, Wimbledon
Best Major Result: Winner (Wimbledon), RU (Australian Open, Roland Garros)

2 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/rDUVjeUZHg

— WTA (@WTA) December 30, 2016

2017 Outlook

Serena Williams ended 2016 by reaching a major milestone. Will happiness off the court help the 35-year-old achieve more records on it?

On Wimbledon’s hallowed lawns, Serena drew level with Steffi Graf’s long-standing Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam victories. It was an emotional occasion and one that proved to be the highlight of an injury-affected campaign. “Wimbledon was good for me,” she told BeIN Sports during the off-season. “Obviously, I was really excited to win that this year. I had a lot of tough matches, but I went in there and played the best I could.”

At two of the season’s other showpiece events, Williams found herself in the unusual position of giving runner-up speeches, after losing out to Angelique Kerber and Garbiñe Muguruza at the Australian and French Opens.

The competitive fire still burns brightly, though, and despite the toll on her body, few would back against the American creating more history in 2017. And while she is hesitant to talk of numbers, there can be no doubting their significance.

“30 [major titles] is a lot, but my goal is just to go out there, do the best I can and be happy,” she said to BeIN. “The only way for me to do that is to win every single match; that doesn’t always happen and that’s something you have to understand and learn to deal with over the course of your career.”

The quest for the next begins in Auckland, where Williams will make her first appearance since a shock US Open semifinal defeat to Pliskova. After that, Melbourne, where history could well await.

ROME, Italy – Serena Williams left little doubt about her clay court form after easing into the third round with a straightforward win over Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-4, 6-3 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

Watch highlights, interviews and more video from Rome right here on wtatennis.com!

“I feel pretty good,” Williams said in her press conference before the match. “I wasn’t feeling really good for the past several weeks and even the past few days. But right now I’m better.

“I will see how I’m doing when I step on the court for the first time, but overall I think I’m feeling a lot better.”

She hadn’t played a tennis match in a month and a half – since her round of 16 appearance in Miami and subsequent withdrawal from the Mutua Madrid Open – but the three-time Rome champion was too much for Friedsam to handle.

The 22-year-old Friedsam – who reached a career-high ranking of No.50 this week – is making big strides in the WTA and finding the confidence to back up her big game. Earlier this year she reached the semifinals of Shenzhen and the final of the 125K event in San Antonio, and last year at the French Open she stretched Williams to three sets in their only previous encounter – the World No.1 had to battle back from a set down to advance on her way to the title.

Things were more straightforward in Rome, the first match of Williams’ 2016 clay campaign. She broke once to snag an early lead at 2-1 in the first set, then three times in the second set to put the match away after an hour and fifteen minutes. She struck 27 winners and 18 unforced errors to Friedsam’s 16 and 21.

“I was really happy with my level,” Williams said after the match. “I think I was really consistent. I think I was mentally consistent. I started out fast. Those are some of the things I wanted to work on [and] I was really happy about that.”

In the day’s other second-round match, last year’s finalist Carla Suárez Navarro survived a tricky second set to advance past Teliana Pereira 6-1, 7-5.

“I played a really good match, but the second set I tried to close the match but it was really tough,” Suárez Navarro said. “She came back really good and I was really, really nervous.

“You have to know how to finish that kind of match, so I’m happy because it was tough for me.”