WTA Finals: Dominika Cibulkova Pre-Tournament Interview
An interview with Dominika Cibulkova ahead of her participation in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
An interview with Dominika Cibulkova ahead of her participation in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
As an athlete, top 25 doubles star Alla Kudryavtseva has long been in pursuit of physical excellence, but holds intellectual acument in equal standing, earning an online Bachelor’s of Science in Communications, her second degree and first at Indiana University East.
“I’ve always loved to learn,” she told WTA Insider from LaGuardia Airport on Monday. “I’m always trying to read and learn something, so I thought, ‘I’m doing all these things. Why don’t I try to get a degree?’
Kudryavtseva previously earned a degree in physical education back in Moscow, but was inspired to return to school by then-doubles partner Anastasia Rodionova, who is also at IU East studying business administration.
“Communications is a diverse degree, one that you can use in many different areas. I’m not quite sure what I want to do when I stop playing, so it just seemed like a good fit. Everything you do these days is with communications. Physical education was interesting at the time and very applicable to what I do as an athlete. I found this degree very applicable as well when it came to things like negotiations and persuasion, or even things like dissecting the news and what we see in media.
“It has been a really interesting journey and I learned a lot.”
“Alla was one of our finest students in the Communication Studies program and within the entirety of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences,” noted Ross Alexander, IU East’s Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. “Her professors consistently lauded her stellar work, professionalism, and the global perspective she brought to all her courses. She is among the very best we have at IU East.”
The former World No.56 had more than her share of setbacks in her final two semesters – inucrring an ACL injury just before finals – but perservered to receive her diploma on Tuesday at the Richmond campus’ Student Events and Activites Center. Through her various academic endeavors, this will be the first to have any proverbial pomp and circumstance.
“It has been a pleasure to host Alla on her first trip to the Richmond campus,” said IU East Chancellor Kathryn Cruz-Uribe. “We are honored to present her with her diploma. As an alumna, she will join a network of over 9,000 IU East graduates,” Cruz-Uribe said.
“I just turned 29, and from middle school to university, I’ve never been to an actual graduation ceremony,” Kudryavtseva admitted. “I always came to the office, picked up the diploma, and thank you very much!
“It’s difficult to be a student athlete; it takes a lot of discipline and commitment. No one is there to push you, so you’ve got to push yourself, and make sure you’re leaving appropriate time for assignments and reading. When grades start rolling in, that also adds stress, but luckily I’ve been a straight-A student, so I didn’t have to worry about anything.”
Kudryavtseva joins a growing cohort that includes former World No.1 Venus Williams, who became the first WTA player to graduate under the tour’s agreement with IU East. Current students include Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig, Sloane Stephens, and Arina Rodionova. Also earning her diploma later this month is Irina Falconi; the former Georgia Tech standout won her first WTA title earlier this year in Bogota, and credited Lisa Grattan of the Women’s Tennis Benefits Association (WTBA) as one who encouraged her to return to the online classroom.
“Once I heard about how good of an opportunity it was, I realized I had to jump on it,” she explained in an email. “I was motivated to go the moment I heard about it! I know that having a degree is something important to me, so I knew I wanted to get it done.”
Like Rodionova, Falconi is also studying business administration, a field the American saw as a natural selection for one already balancing the business of athletics.
“I like to think that I am already a running business. I wanted to really learn everything there is to know about running a sound business, making budgets, and marketing myself.”
A second set of deadlines can prove daunting to the already-overloaded athletes, but Falconi found a way to make the grade through her tenure at IU East.
“When I started the program four years ago, WiFi wasn’t everywhere and wasn’t reliable, so there were a few late nights where I had to drive or walk to a coffee shop to make sure I submitted something before the deadline.”
Both Falconi and Kudryavtseva stressed the importance of education, arguing it helped give them a better sense not only of their future, but also their present.
“My capstone project was a 40 page paper on athletic retirements, and that was a very interesting topic to choose,” Kudryavtseva said. “I learned about all the difficulties athletes face: loss of identity, and how unprepared many are for what comes next. An athlete’s network can affects them a lot, because it gets to a point where everyone they know is somehow involved in their sport.
“That made me evaluate my own circle of friends and I realized just how many people I know have played or do play or are somehow connected to the WTA or even ATP tour or college tennis. When I was younger, I thought I’d want to disconnect from the tennis world when I retired, but getting older, I don’t think I want to. You learn so much over a 15 year career that I couldn’t have this level of expertise in any other field; it’d be a waste if I completely disconnected.”
“I know that tennis won’t last forever, so I knew that having a degree in my back pocket would benefit me in the long run,” Falconi added. “I think that some players may be a bit intimidated by the idea of online schooling, but if you set your mind to it, you can accomplish it!”
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
An interview with Karolina Pliskova ahead of her participation in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
STUTTGART, Germany – Fast-rising Timea Babos edged through a tense opening set and survived a late surge from Sabine Lisicki to defeat the German, 7-6(4), 6-3.
Watch live action from Stuttgart this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“I was really happy to play a night match on Center Court, especially after the opening ceremony,” Babos told press after the match. “I took it as a good chance; I knew I had to play solid against Sabine. She’s had many good results and is in front of her home crowd, so I tried to stay focused and solid.
Serving first throughout the match, Babos applied plenty of pressure to the Lisicki return from the start, earning the first break to take a 5-3 lead in the opening set. Despite failing to serve it out in the tenth game, Babos held firm to take the first set in a tie-break.
“I’m here with my fitness coach now, and he said I didn’t move so well!” Babos joked when asked about what she could have improved. “It’s my first match on clay since the French Open, so I have to adapt. It helps that it’s still indoors; it helps my serve. With the movement, it needs some adjustment. I grew up on clay, and I like clay, so there is no problem, but I need more time to get used to the movement.”
Lisicki dug an even deeper hole in the second set, but nearly pulled off a Houdini act for the ages; recovering from 1-5 down, she saved two match points before the Hungarian powerhouse sealed the match in just over 90 minutes.
“In the second set, she felt the match was going away from her and she started to punch the ball as hard as she could and started to serve even better, which is a huge weapon of hers.
“I’m happy that I was able to close it out at 5-3, because even at 5-1, I was doing only first serves and even some big serves and she ripped some winners.”
The tournament has had to deal with quite a few late arrivals thanks to a busy Fed Cup weekend, but Babos had her own reason for not getting to Stuttgart as early as she might have liked.
“I arrived last night; obviously I knew I was going to play today but I also had my five-year high school reunion on Saturday, so I wanted to attend that!”
Babos had a bright start on clay last year – reaching a final in Marrackech – only to lose her next seven matches on clay courts, despite taking out Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in doubles with Kristina Mladenovic in between. This season, she is in the midst of playing her most consistent singles of her career, reaching quarterfinals in Shenzhen, St. Petersburg, and Katowice. Reaching the round of 16 in Miami, she pushed reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber to three sets.
“I had a good start and an awful season! Last year was interesting because I played a lot better than what my results were, and I had to play a lot of qualies in the beginning of the season; I played eight tournaments in a row in qualifying. But everywhere I qualified, I lost early, so I was winning twice as many matches as I was losing but I couldn’t improve my ranking. I had a final on clay but then I didn’t play the way I should have, how I played in Marrackech. Then I got killed at the French Open by Angie [Kerber].
“This year, I was looking forward to it more; I’ve had some good results this year, and I improved my ranking a lot since the end of the season. I was one of the last to get here, and only wanted to play singles here, so I took it as a good opportunity. I tried to have fun and even with all the adjustments, I think it was a good start.”
Up next for the 22-year-old is No.3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza, who beat her in the round of 16 at the Qatar Total Open.
Earlier in the day, World No.22 Johanna Konta fell at her first hurdle on clay courts; playing one of eight German women in the main draw at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, the Australian Open semifinalist fell to Anna-Lena Friedsam, 6-3, 6-3.
“I think that is always to be expected first match on clay,” the Brit said after the match. “I think it’s not easy for anyone. I think she did a better job than I did today dealing with the conditions. So, I’m happy I’m involved in doubles here. So, I’m looking forward to that, just all the matches I can get going into Roland Garros on the clay is an added bonus.
“This was my first match on clay since last year, so for about a year,” she added with a laugh. “So, I just need to go a little easy on myself and also keep looking forward and keep enjoying the challenge of continuously trying to improve.”
An interview with Karolina Pliskova after her round-robin win at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
ZHUHAI, China – Following their season-long success and resurgent Asian Swing performances, Johanna Konta, Carla Suárez Navarro and Petra Kvitova are set to lead a world-class field at the 2016 Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.
Joining them at the season-ending event are Elina Svitolina, Roberta Vinci, Timea Bacsinszky, Elena Vesnina, Samantha Stosur, Barbora Strycova, Kiki Bertens, Caroline Garcia and wildcard Zhang Shuai. Timea Babos will be an alternate. Between all qualified competitors, they represent nine WTA singles titles won in 2016.
Here is a more in-depth look at the singles players competing in the 2016 Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai:
|
WTA Ranking
(as of 10/23) |
Player |
2016 Best Results |
|
10 |
Konta (GBR) |
Won – Stanford
F – Beijing
SF – Australian Open, Eastbourne
QF – Monterrey, Miami, Montréal, Olympics, Wuhan |
|
12 |
Suarez Navarro (ESP) |
Won – Doha
SF – Linz , Birmingham, Brisbane
QF – Cincinnati, Stuttgart, Australian Open |
|
13 |
Kvitova (CZE) |
Won – Wuhan
F – Luxembourg
SF – New Haven, Olympics, Stuttgart
QF – Beijing, Indian Wells |
|
15 |
Svitolina (UKR) |
Won – Kuala Lumpur
F – New Haven
SF – Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Dubai
QF – Olympics |
|
17 |
Vinci (ITA) |
Won – St. Petersburg
QF – US Open, New Haven, Stuttgart, Doha, Brisbane |
|
18 |
Bacsinszky (SUI) |
Won – Rabat
SF – Gstaad, Miami
QF – Roland Garros, Rome |
|
19 |
Vesnina (RUS) |
F – Charleston
SF – Wimbledon
QF -New Haven, Eastbourne, Strasbourg, Doha |
|
20 |
Stosur (AUS) |
F – Prague
SF -Roland Garros, Madrid
QF – Washington DC, Strasbourg, Sydney |
|
21 |
Strycova ( CZE) |
F – Birmingham, Dubai
QF – Wuhan, Rome, Prague |
|
23 |
Bertens (NED) |
Won – Nurnberg
F – Gstaad
SF – Luxembourg, Roland Garros, Rabat |
|
26 |
Garcia (FRA) |
Won – Mallorca, Strasbourg
SF – Monterrey, Dubai |
|
28 (WC) |
Zhang (CHN) |
SF – Seoul, Tokyo International
QF – Beijing, Australian Open |
“We are looking forward to the second edition of the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, showcasing some of the top athletes on the WTA,” said WTA CEO Steve Simon. “This event features many of our top stars who have accomplished much success during the 2016 season and now have the opportunity to compete against each other for the Zhuhai title.”
The 2016 WTA Elite Trophy will run from November 1-6, 2016 at the custom-designed and state-of-the-art Zhuhai Hengqin International Tennis Centre. The event features both singles and doubles and will be staged in the southern Chinese coastal city of Zhuhai with a total prize money of over $2.2 million on the line.
The players will compete in four round-robin groups of three, with the winners of each group advancing to the semifinals. The six doubles teams will be split into two round-robin groups, with the winner of each advancing to the final.
The doubles field consists of Zheng Saisai and Xu Yifan, Arantxa Parra Santoja and Andrea Klepac, Olga Savchuk and Anastasia Rodionova, and Tatjana Maria and Oksana Kalashnikova, as well as the two wildcard teams of Wang Yafan and Liang Chen and You Xiaodi and Yang Zhaoxuan.
Carla Suárez Navarro
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.13
Year-End Ranking: No.12 (Career-High No.6, 2/29/2016)
Season Highlights: Title at Doha
Best Major Result: QF (Australian Open)
12 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/4HCCfhp92B
— WTA (@WTA) December 20, 2016
2017 Outlook
Having earned herself a place on tennis’ top table last year, 2016 saw Carla Suárez Navarro consolidate her place among the game’s elite. The Spaniard set the tone for a campaign characterized by its consistency in January, following up a semifinal in Brisbane by returning to the last eight of the Australian Open where her run was halted by an inspired Agnieszka Radwanska.
This good form continued as the tour moved to the Middle East, where she made the latest breakthrough of her career, lifting the prestigious Premier 5 Qatar Open. This result lifted her to a new high ranking of No.6 and while she was unable to scale her usual heights on the European clay, appearances in the second week at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open maintained this Top 10 status.
Suárez Navarro looked well-placed to cap off the year with a singles debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, but – just as 12 months earlier – it was not to be, injury ultimately curtailing her chances.
“The season is from January to October. There were a lot of good things in the middle of the year,” coach Marc Casabó said following her withdrawal from the WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai. “Going again to Asia being eight and with options to get into Singapore is a good note. And we should value the whole year as a whole. The blow is great because we all thought it would be there. But it’s been a growing season. “
A refreshed Suárez Navarro will begin 2017 in Brisbane, once more, lining up alongside eight other members of the Top 20.
SINGAPORE – Semifinal spots are on the line as the White Group takes center stage on Wednesday at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. We preview the action.
Wednesday, White Group, Round Robin
[4] Karolina Pliskova (CZE #5) vs [8] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #9)
Head-to-Head: Pliskova leads 1-0
Key Stat: Pliskova, the WTA aces leader, hit 14 aces in her opening win over Muguruza. She is the first player to record consecutive seasons with 500+ aces.
Svetlana Kuznetsova’s magical run continued in full force on Monday in Singapore as she saved a match point to defeat Agnieszka Radwanska in a two-hour and 48-minute cliffhanger. Kuznetsova heads into her second career meeting with Karolina Pliskova with brimming confidence after taking the Kremlin Cup title to complete an eleventh-hour qualification for Singapore. Now that she’s here, the Russian is playing with house money and loving every minute of it.
“Sometimes it’s not easy, and sometimes you’re pulling through,” Kuznetsova said on Monday after defeating Radwanska for the 13th time in 17 career matches. “I put aside that I’m tired, put aside the emotions, the jet lag – I didn’t want to think about it. We came here to fight, let’s put everything else to one side.”
There was plenty of fight coming from Pliskova on Monday as well. The Czech also fought off a match point as she battled past Garbiñe Muguruza to earn her first WTA Finals victory in dramatic
fashion. Pliskova’s big-match composure has been a recurring theme in the second half of the season, and she has made a habit out of delivering her best tennis in the clutch. But she’ll have to be on song once again on Wednesday if she is to get past the scorching-hot Kuznetsova. There’s much on the line in this the second career meeting between these two – the winner has a good chance of securing safe passage into the semifinals.
Pick: Kuznetsova in three
[2] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #3) vs. [5] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #6)
Head-to-Head: Muguruza leads 4-3
Key Stat: On six occasions, a player has lost a match in the round-robin stage and gone on to win the WTA Finals title.
Two players eager for a shot of redemption and facing possible elimination will meet for the eighth time on Wednesday when Agnieszka Radwanska and Garbiñe Muguruza lock horns in the nightcap at Singapore Indoor Stadium. Both squandered match points in heartbreaking fashion on Monday, as Muguruza blew a double-break lead in the third set against her long-time nemesis Karolina Pliskova while Radwanska failed to convert a match point late in the third set against Svetlana Kuznetsova. The pair have not met since last year’s WTA Finals, when defending champion
Radwanska snapped a four-match losing streak against the Spaniard en route to the biggest title of her career. The Pole will seek to replicate the magic against a player that can be as formidable as they come when she is on her game. Will Radwanska be able to keep the powerful Muguruza at bay again in Singapore, or will the Spaniard rebound from a disappointing opening loss to earn a much-needed victory?
Pick: Muguruza in three
White Group Semifinal Qualification Scenarios…
1. If Kuznetsova and Radwanska win, Kuznetsova qualifies for semifinals, Muguruza is eliminated.
2. If Pliskova and Muguruza win, Pliskova qualifies for semifinals, Radwanska is eliminated.
3. Any other combination of results will mean White Group semifinal qualification comes down to Friday’s matches.
By the Numbers…
14 – Pliskova hammered 14 aces in 16 service games in her win over Muguruza on Monday.
8 – Radwanska is bidding to become the eighth player to successfully defend a WTA Finals title.
3 – No. of Czech players that have claimed a WTA Finals title (Navratilova, Novotna, Kvitova).
0 – Muguruza is bidding to become the first Spaniard to win the title at the WTA Finals.
WTA Insider | In the latest WTA Insider Live Blog, relive Svetlana Kuznetsova’s thrilling win over Karolina Pliskova in three grueling sets.
Johanna Konta
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.47
Year-End Ranking: No.10 (Career-High No.9, 10/10/2016)
Season Highlights: Title at Stanford
Best Major Result: SF (Australian Open)
10 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! pic.twitter.com/BLzBZliR05
— WTA (@WTA) December 22, 2016
2017 Outlook
Johanna Konta’s first off-season as a member of the Top 10 has been nothing if not eventful. Following the conclusion of a year that brought 46 wins, one title and a jump of 37 places up the rankings, Konta was rocked by the death of mental coach Juan Coto, a significant figure in her spectacular rise.
Soon after, the Brit split from long-term coach Esteban Carril, before teaming up with the well-respected Wim Fissette for a trial period at the National Tennis Centre at Roehampton. Fissette has an excellent record, having taken three of his previous charges to a Grand Slam final.
Konta will hope the new arrangement will elevate her game to the next level. “I guess he’s been on the tour for quite some time, so I’m definitely looking forward to being a sponge and absorbing as much of his experience and knowledge through the years,” she said in an interview with The Independent. “He’s been with Kim and some of the players I’m currently playing against. Again, it’s early days. I think there’s only so much that you can feel out in the training block, and then the year starts. That’s when you really feel how you get along.”
“I am a firm believer – and this applies to every single team member – that I’m looking for a partner. I like working together harmoniously. I like being involved in my own development, having my input. It’s basically about a partnership more than anything.”
The pair will begin this partnership at the season-opening Shenzhen Open, before rounding off preparations for the Australian Open at the Apia International Sydney.