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WTA Shot Of The Month: Kerber

WTA Shot Of The Month: Kerber

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

October was packed with plenty of amazing shots – we narrowed it down to the five best.

In the end, it was Angelique Kerber, who played an incredble squash shot against perennial Shot Of The Month winner Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Undefeated en route to the championship match, the World No.1 used her uncanny ability to turn defense into offense, taking out the defending champion in straight sets.

Click here to watch all of October’s finalists.

Angelique Kerber

Final Results for October’s WTA Shot Of The Month

1. Angelique Kerber (74%)
2. Agnieszka Radwanska (11%)
3. Dominika Cibulkova  (6%)
3. Daria Gavrilova (6%)
5. Madison Keys (3%)

2016 WTA Shot of the Month Winners

January: Caroline Wozniacki
February: Agnieszka Radwanska
March: Agnieszka Radwanska
April: Monica Niculescu
May: Simona Halep
June: Agnieszka Radwanska
July: Simona Halep
August: Agnieszka Radwanska
September: Kirsten Flipkens

How it works:

Five shots are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com 

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Konta Looks Back On Remarkable 2016

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Last summer, Johanna Konta embarked on a 16-match winning run, which began at a lowly ITF Circuit event in Granby, Canada, and ended in last 16 of the US Open.

This proved to be the catalyst for a rapid ascent up the tennis ladder, a maiden WTA title, in Stanford, and deep runs at the Australian Open, Beijing, Montréal, Eastbourne, Miami and Zhuhai securing Konta a year-end ranking inside the Top 10 – the first Briton to achieve the feat since Jo Durie in 1983.

It is a list of accomplishments that saw Konta deservedly pick up the WTA’s Most Improved Player Of The Year award. The 25-year-old, however, is no overnight success story.

“On paper I suppose it looks a lot different to how I experienced it, how my team experienced it; only because, although it may seem like a sudden rise, it was a lot of years of work put in. Years and years and years!” Konta told BT Sport’s David Law during her final event of the year, in Zhuhai. “So really I didn’t live through it as such a dramatic change.”

Watch the full interview above to hear Konta discuss her remarkable journey and what the future may hold in store.

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Bacsinszky, Bouchard Book Round 2 Clash

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

No.8 seed Timea Bacsinszky overcame a wobbly start against Sílvia Soler-Espinosa to advance to the second round of Roland Garros, where she’s set to clash with a resurging Eugenie Bouchard.

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Keys' Clay Run Continues

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

PARIS, France – No.15 seed Madison Keys unlocked a spot in the round of 16 for the first time at the French Open, surviving a tense opening set to dispatch Monica Puig, 7-6(3), 6-3.

Keys reached the third round one year ago, but has hit new heights on what she previously deemed her least favorite surface, having made the final at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia two weeks ago.

Taking on Puig, the WTA’s top-ranked Puerto Rican, Keys was made to battle through much of the opening set, including a titanic tenth game that featured eight deuces and forced Puig to save three set points on her own serve. Following up that momentum by breaking serve in the next game, Puig couldn’t sustain and Keys raced through the ensuing tie-break from a 1-3 deficit.

The youngsters exhanged breaks to start the second, but Keys ultimately proved too strong, breaking one last time to seal the win in one hour and 37 minutes. Keys finished with an impressively positive differential despite her attacking game, hitting 30 winners to 29 unforced errors, while Puig managed 17 winners of her own, but was undone by 28 errors.

Up next for Keys is Kiki Bertens, who satisfied her country’s Olympic eligibility requirement by reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament by dismissing No.29 seed Daria Kasatkina, 6-2, 3-6, 10-8. Kasatkina saved five match points on her own serve and served for the match twice herself before the Dutch powerhouse advanced in a grueling two hours and 48 minutes. 

More to come…

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Italian Stars Vinci, Schiavone Confirm Intent To Play In 2017

Italian Stars Vinci, Schiavone Confirm Intent To Play In 2017

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone and 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci each expressed their desire to continue playing tennis through the 2017 season.

Finishing inside the Top 20 for the fourth time in the last five years, Vinci spread the news on her official Instagram:

Roberta Vinci

”I still feel like I have the desire and enthusiasm to try and do something in what is perhaps the thing I’m best at, playing tennis,” she said in quotes translated by Sports Illustrated.

“Now don’t start asking me if this will be my last year!!! See you in Australia.”

Vinci previously announced that she would make 2016 her final season, but began reconsidering her options as early as last winter, when she won the biggest singles title of her career at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy and became the oldest woman in WTA history to make her Top 10 debut. 

She told WTA Insider at the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai that she would make her final decision over the off-season.

“I don’t want to say, ‘Yes, I’m continuing,’ and then in one week, I stop, or say, ‘No, I’m retired,’ and then after a week, you see a video of me practicing,” she said in October.

“If it’s yes, then yes. If it’s no, then no.”

The always-entertaining Schiavone took her fans on a more colorful journey through the off-season, launching a web series asking them to pick one of several careers she could pursue – tennis, of course, being one of them.

“Do you know something?” she asked in the video below [translated by Giulio Gasparin]. “This shirt doesn’t fit me. It’s not the right time to wear it. I like to work outdoors, grab a tool and hit some balls.

“No more glasses, no more elegant shoes… I want to go back to my trainers, I need them. I love to feel alive, I love to play tennis and this is my present to you: I don’t know for how long, but my present to you in 2017 is for playing tennis and it is a present to myself too!”

 

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WTA Bids Goodbye To Ali “The Greatest”

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

Boxing, much like tennis, is a uniquely solitary sport, and so when the news broke that American boxing legend Muhammad Ali had passed away at the age of 74, tennis players were quick to take to Twitter to show their respect and condolences.

Here’s what the WTA players and legends had to say as they mourned the passing of Ali, one of the world’s greatest athletes.

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Venus Gears Up To Take On 2017… And 2018

Venus Gears Up To Take On 2017… And 2018

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

TAMPA, FL, USA – Venus Williams might be gearing up for the 2017 WTA season, but the former No.1 is already outfitted through 2018.

Venus – who is set to start the year in Auckland – took some time off from her busy off-season preparations to debut the latest collection of Eleven By Venus, called Casablanca, as well as reveal some long-term career plans.

“I design all of my collections in advance, so while we’re just debuting this season’s collection I’ve actually got everything planned through 2018,” Venus said, speaking at an EleVen event in Tampa where she was showcasing the new collection.

“We’ve got all our designs ready for next year and the year after.”

Venus Williams

Her meticulous planning and commitment to EleVen has definitely showed, with her Prism collection that debuted at the US Open being named one of the Top 8 women’s tennis fashion moments of 2016.

“Last season’s collection, Prism, was inspired by a prism of light. Our inspiration was all the different colors in there, we covered the full spectrum – literally! And so Casablanca is what’s left over: the black and the white.”

“It’s just really classic motifs of black and white. When you think of the movie Casablanca, it’s a classic love story, it’s black and white. That’s really what we brought to this line, a real classic feeling. Black, white, and a little bit of red.”

Venus Williams

While her off-court entrepreneurial spirit keeps her always busy, on the court the seven-time Grand Slam champion still has just one mission.

“To win every match! Hello!” Venus laughed, adding:

“I’ve been working hard in the gym and getting back on the court. I just love the game, I really do. I love the challenge. It’s been such a part of my life that it’s hard to imagine life without it.

“I’m just gearing up for 2017 like I’m sure everybody else is.”

Gearing up for 2017 and already outfitted for 2018 – Venus is halfway to her biggest goal: the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

All photos courtesy of EleVen By Venus

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