Charleston: Shot Of The Day (Wednesday)
Andrea Petkovic has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Volvo Car Open.
Andrea Petkovic has Wednesday’s shot of the day at the Volvo Car Open.
Serena Williams has decided to shut down her 2016 season, announcing her withdrawal from the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global due to a shoulder injury. Serena has not played a tour-level match since losing to Karolina Pliskova in the US Open semifinals in September.
Four thoughts on Serena’s withdrawal and what it means for the WTA Finals.
1. Serena relinquishes the year-end No.1 ranking to Angelique Kerber.
Serena’s decision means there will be no battle for the year-end No.1 ranking. No.1 Angelique Kerber snapped Serena’s record-tying 186-week streak at No.1 after winning the US Open, but the German’s sub-par swing through Asia left the door open for Serena to take it back in Singapore.
With Kerber’s loss to Daria Gavrilova in the quarterfinals of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open last week, the German has a 950 point lead on Serena in the rankings. Singapore offers 1500 points to the winner. Serena has won the WTA Finals the last four times she’s has played it, including back-to-back-to-back titles from 2012-2014. Kerber, by contrast, has never made it out of the round robin stage. Given their respective histories at the tournament, Singapore offered Serena a chance to finish the season where she started: at No.1.
2. Serena shuts it down early…again.
For the second straight year, Serena has shut down her season after taking a tough loss at the US Open. Given the trend, her announcement shouldn’t be a surprise. Since playing a career-high 82 matches in her astounding 2013 season, posting a 78-4 record and winning 11 titles, Serena has played fewer matches with each passing year:
2013: 82 matches, 78-4 record, won 11 titles.
2014: 60 matches, 52-8 record, won 7 titles.
2015: 56 matches, 53-3 record, won 5 titles.
2016: 36 matches, 30-6 record, win 3 titles.
Serena herself has affirmed her shift in priorities, to focus her energies on the Slams. Her win at Wimbledon this year moved her into a tie with Stefanie Graf for the Open Era record for most major titles. Healthy and rested, she’ll make her charge to break the record in 2017.
3. This decision feels different than last year.
When Serena announced last fall she would not play the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open, China Open, or WTA Finals, the break felt more necessary on an emotional level rather than physical. While she was struggling with elbow and knee injuries, she cited “heartbreak” as a reason too, referring to her loss to Roberta Vinci in New York that ended her historic bid for the calendar Grand Slam.
Not to discount the psychological toll this year took out of Serena as well, wherein she was trying to catch or surpass Stefanie Graf’s records for majors and consecutive weeks at No.1, but 2016 has been a particularly tough year physically. She struggled with noticeable shoulder and knee injuries during the summer hard court season and pulled out of tournaments during the clay season due to the flu.
An extended physical break to get her body teed up for the 2017 season wouldn’t be a bad thing.
4. Singapore breaks open.
Much like in 2015, Serena’s absence from the WTA Finals opens up a significant opportunity for the qualifying Elite Eight. Seven of eight qualifying spots are now confirmed, with Kerber leading the pack along with Simona Halep, defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska, Garbine Muguruza, and first-timers Karolina Pliskova, Madison Keys, and Dominika Cibulkova. The final spot will come down to either Johanna Konta, Carla Suárez Navarro, or Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The eight women represent the full range of WTA tennis, from pure power to rangy athleticism to crafty point construction. That the court at the Singapore Indoor Stadium has played like a slower hard court only neutralizes things even more. It’s no surprise that over the last two editions of the WTA Finals in Singapore, both a power-player and a counter-puncher has been represented in the final. In 2014 it was Serena defeating Halep, while last year it was Radwanska getting the better of Petra Kvitova.
Take a diverse group of the game’s best players and stick them on a neutral surface and you get a tournament that will be anything but predictable on any given day.
All photos courtesy of Getty Images.
Elina Svitolina had Sunday’s shot of the day at the Taiwan Open.
Nicole Gibbs’ rapid rise up the rankings hit its zenith during the Sunshine Swing. The American was coming off a run to the quarterfinals of the Abierto Monterrey Afirme but truly showed what she is made of in Indian Wells and Miami.
In only her second BNP Paribas Open appearance, she qualified by upsetting top seed Anna-Lena Friedsam and took out World No.24 Madison Keys to reach the round of 16, where she pushed two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova to three sets.
Making her main draw debut in Miami, Gibbs continued grabbing headlines – on and off the court.
“Hundreds of fans were filing in as the announcer sent my name flying up into the night sky and it was met with energy,” she said in her latest WTA Insider blog. “Not final round qualifying on Court 1 energy, and not even first on Stadium Court at 11am. This felt like the real deal in a way that no prior experiences had prepared me for. Meanwhile, for my opponent, No.4 in the world, this was nothing new. This was unexceptional – just another evening at the office.
A loss to Garbiñe Muguruza does little to dampen an excellent month for the former Stanford All-American, who was fighting for more than just herself in Miami as the issue of equal prize money returned to the fore.
“For me, being told that what I am doing is second class is second nature. Moments after Raymond Moore’s comments at Indian Wells a few weeks ago, I received messages from ATP players, goading me, asserting that Moore’s reasoning was sound. I have had countless individuals, men and women alike, suggest to me that tennis skirts are the principle driver of revenue on the women’s tour. From average, high school aged male tennis players challenging me to matches because they’re sure they could never lose to a girl, to male coaches telling me, “In women’s tennis, you don’t even have to be talented to succeed.”
“Billie Jean King tells me that I have a platform, so I plan to use it. Because I, for one, would love for my future daughter to fight for a game down 6-1 2-0 because she hates getting bageled, not because she’s worried that a bagel might undermine her right to equality.”
Final Results for March’s WTA Breakthrough Performance Of The Month
1. Nicole Gibbs (64%)
2. Timea Babos (16%)
3. Daria Kasatkina (15%)
4. Naomi Osaka (4%)
2016 Breakthrough Player Of The Month
January: Zhang Shuai
February: Jelena Ostapenko
How it works:
Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
Watch live action from Luxembourg & Moscow this week at WTA Live Powered By TennisTV!
The World No.25 made a fast start to the match, coming back from 40-15 down to break in the Estonian’s serve thanks to an excellent backhand that just about found the line. However, Garcia soon surrendered her advantage, as Kontaveit found her range, producing a stunning return on break point.
Though Garcia managed to stop Kontaveit’s run of three straight games, a poor service game at 5-5 gave the 20-year-old the chance to take the first set, only to succumb to the pressure. She paid for her error, with Garcia taking a one-sided tie-break.
Kontaveit started the second set well and a wild groundstroke from Garcia gave the youngster a crucial break to go 4-2 up. A second break followed following an error-strewn game from the 23-year-old and the Estonian levelled the match.
Garcia began the decider with renewed vigor, two breaks helping her charge into a 3-0 lead. Kontaveit tried to rally, and managed to claw back half of the deficit but Garcia held firm and made it into the second round after an almighty struggle.
Meanwhile, Monica Niculescu secured her progress in the tournament after a 6-4, 6-2 win against Kirsten Flipkens.
The Romanian had a frustrating start to the match, squandering four break points in the opening game before being broken to love, but she was soon back on level terms finally her converting one of the chances afforded to her on the Flipkens serve. Flipkens moved ahead once more at 4-2, but was soon pegged back, failing to win another game in the first set.
Both players were similarly successful when returning in the second set. Niculescu went a break up immediately but the Belgian levelled the set, only to surrender her serve immediately. A further break at 5-2 cemented the World No.51’s advantage but she was able to serve out the match and book her place in the next round.
In the evening session, there were wins for Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Denisa Allertova. Schmiedlova won a topsy-turvy encounter with Yanina Wickmayer, 6-0, 1-6, 6-3, while Allertova recovered from the disappointment of losing five consecutive games in the first set to upset No.7 seed Bouchard, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
“I just tried to fight for every point and play the best that I can, because I knew she is a great player and that it would be a tough match,” Allertova said. “I think I played good tennis; I tried not to make a lot of mistakes and recovered well from the first set when I was leading and then lost 3-6.
“In these games I didn’t feel so comfortable but then I started to play well at the start of the second set and I managed to come back.”
MOSCOW, Russia – Ekaterina Makarova is looking forward to Russia’s Fed Cup tie against Chinese Taipei this weekend for a very special reason.
It’s hosted at the Druzhba Sport Complex, in Moscow – the venue in her hometown where she first began playing tennis herself.
“It’s in the stadium where I grew up,” she told the official Fed Cup site. “I was practicing for 12 years there – I took my first steps in tennis in that stadium so it’s a special place.”
Makarova, 28, is the senior player in a young Russia squad; this will be her eighth appearance in the competition. It is an experience she enjoys.
“I love to play for a team, for Russia,” she added.
The World No.39 comes into the tie after losing to good friend and doubles partner Elena Vesnina 6-3 6-1 in the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy round of 32. The pair were the 2016 doubles champions at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
They were seeded third in this year’s Australian Open doubles competition, but were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Andrea Hlavackova and Peng Shuai, 7-5 7-6.
In the singles competition, Makarova boasted a stunning win against Dominika Cibulkova in the third round, coming through 6-2 6-7 6-3, before falling at the hands of Johanna Konta, 6-1 6-4.
WTA Insider | Keep up with all the momentum swings of a thrilling 2017 season with the help of the Heat Index, ranking the top performers from each leg of the year.
LUXEMBOURG – No.1 seed Petra Kvitova and No.3 seed Kiki Bertens produced a pair of shutout performances to wrap up their quarterfinal matches comfortably. Both needed less than an hour – exactly 54 minutes, in fact – to book their spots into the semifinals of the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open.
Watch live action from Moscow & Luxembourg this week at WTA Live Powered By TennisTV!
It didn’t start out so simple for Kvitova against No.8 seed Johanna Larsson, who was into her seventh WTA quarterfinal of the year. They wrestled for footing at the start of the match, opening with four consecutive breaks of serve.
But once she settled, it was all Kvitova as the Czech reeled off 11 games in a row to power past Larsson 6-2, 6-0.
She’ll face the winner between Andrea Petkovic and American qualifier Lauren Davis for a spot in the final.
It was the opposite story for Bertens in her quarterfinal against Denisa Allertova, with the Dutch player advancing 6-0, 6-4.
Bertens was dominant on the return and broke Allertova three times, allowing the Czech to win just one point off of her services games in the 15-minute opening set.
Allertova finally held serve in the second set and stopped the rot after eight consecutive games, with Bertens up 6-0, 2-0. She put Bertens under pressure at the baseline with her powerful forehand, grabbing one of the breaks back to level the set at 2-2 and stay within touching distance.
But Bertens dug her heels in to bat away a break opportunity, breaking Allertova once more in the penultimate game to serve her way into the semifinals.
“Everyone is really tired at the end of the year, and so am I, so it’s really good to have short matches like this to get ready for the semifinals,” Bertens smiled in post-match press. “I’m just going to play here, have fun, and see how it goes.”
Monica Niculescu received a walkover into the semifinal after No.2 seed Caroline Wozniacki was forced to withdraw from the match due to gastrointestinal illness.
“After the match yesterday I felt really ill and really sick,” Wozniacki explained to press afterwards. “I did everything I could to feel better today but unfortunately I’m not strong enough or feeling good to play today. I need to think about my health.
“Of course, I’m disappointed because I love to play here and of course was trying to win the tournament, but health comes first.”
More to follow…
The dust has settled after a breakneck first day of Fed Cup World Group action, with Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Bacsinszky among the day’s winners.
Here’s how the World Group ties stand after the end of today’s action:
Czech Republic 1 – 1 Spain
Spain faced a huge challenge in their first round match going up against the Czech Republic at home in Ostrava. The defending champions haven’t lost a tie since 2013, and haven’t lost at home in even longer with their last home defeat coming in 2009.
Spain’s No.1 Muguruza set out to break that streak though, defeating Barbora Strycova 6-0, 3-6, 6-1 to silence the home crowd.
“I think I started really, really good, playing a great level,” Muguruza told FedCup.com afterwards. “I think Barbora started a bit slow, but then in the second set she came playing amazing.
“I was expecting a very tough match, I knew the 6-0 was a little bit strange.”
Spain captain Conchita Martinez told press earlier that a win in the opening match was crucial against the imperious Czech team, and Muguruza took the message to heart.
“I definitely felt a lot of pressure in this match. I mean, I’m the one on the team and I just had to go for my matches. That’s what I’m trying, to just give my best to the team.”
Spain’s lead was short-lived as Karolina Pliskova overpowered Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 7-5 to level the tie.
Switzerland 1 – 1 France
In Geneva, Timea Bacsinszky and Kristina Mladenovic notched a win apiece to leave things between Switzerland and France.
Bacsinszky gritted out a hard-fought win over Alizé Cornet 7-5, 6-4 to put the home side ahead in the tie.
“The whole match was pretty tight and I think we were both just playing amazing tennis,” Bacsinszky told FedCup.com after her victory. “We’re both big fighters so you know you’re going to get some interesting points when we’re playing a match against each other.
“I don’t have such a good win average against Alizé, so I’m really proud of how I managed to be more aggressive.”
In the second rubber, good friends Kristina Mladenovic and Belinda Bencic faced off. The Frenchwoman, fresh off her first WTA singles title at the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy last week, continued with her great form and emerged victorious, 6-3, 6-4 to rescue a point for her side.
Belarus 1 – 1 Netherlands
Last year, it was Victoria Azarenka’s monumental effort in singles that took Belarus into the World Group, but even without the two-time Grand Slam champion they proved they could compete among the big names as they held the Netherlands to one win apiece.
Entering the tie decidedly as the underdogs, the hosts stunned the Dutch team with Aliaksandra Sasnovich defeating Michaela Krajicek 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the opening rubber.
They were one point away from a stunning 2-0 lead, with 18-year-old Aryna Sabalenka holding match point against World No.24 Kiki Bertens, but the Dutch player came back from the brink to win 6=3, 7-6(6), 6-4 and level the tie.
“I remember my first singles [in Fed Cup] and I was like crying before and throwing up because I was so nervous and she was not,” Bertens told FedCup.com afterwards. “For [Sabalenka] it was really good that she could just go out there and swing and go for her shots. If she can play like this again she will make it very difficult for a lot of players.”
USA – Germany (In Progress)
More to follow…
SINGAPORE – Angelique Kerber will cap off the best season of her career with yet another accolade after clinching the 2016 WTA Year-End World No.1 Singles Ranking, presented by Dubai Duty Free.
For only the 12th time since the computer rankings were introduced in November 1975, the WTA will have a new name finishing the year at the top. Kerber joins Steffi Graf as the only other German to finish the year at No.1; Graf held the year-end No.1 ranking a WTA-record eight times, most recently in 1996.
“It is a great honor and achievement to finish the year as the No.1 player in the world,” Kerber said. “This is one of the things I’ve always been dreaming of – to become No.1. I have worked extremely hard to become the best player I can be and this is a reflection of that effort and the wonderful year I have had.”
This accomplishment is the latest in what has been a breakout year for Kerber, who began the season by defeating Serena Williams to win her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, and followed up by advancing to the Wimbledon final, capturing a silver medal in singles at the Rio Olympics, and winning the US Open. Kerber also leads the WTA for most main draw match wins this season, at 59-16.
The German’s rise to WTA World No.1 snapped Williams’ record-tying streak of 186 consecutive weeks at the top when Kerber took over the ranking on September 12, 2016 after winning the US Open.
“Being No.1, of course now everybody will try to beat me and have nothing to lose,” Kerber said after her victory in New York. “I will try to take this challenge, because it will be a little bit new situation for me. But at the end, I was always practicing and working hard to be No.1. Now I can also take the next step and try to stay as long as I can there.”
The Year-End No.1 trophy will be presented to Kerber by a representative of Dubai Duty Free at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, where the German will be the No.1 seed in her fourth appearance at the year-end finale.
Here’s the full list of players to have held the WTA Year-End No.1 Ranking:
8 – Steffi Graf (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996)
7 – Martina Navratilova (1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986)
5 – Chris Evert (1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981)
5 – Serena Williams (2002, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015)
4 – Lindsay Davenport (1998, 2001, 2004, 2005)
3 – Justine Henin (2003, 2006, 2007)
3 – Martina Hingis (1997, 1999, 2000)
2 – Monica Seles (1991, 1992)
2 – Caroline Wozniacki (2010, 2011)
1 – Angelique Kerber (2016)
1 – Victoria Azarenka (2012)
1 – Jelena Jankovic (2008)