Tennis News

BOGOTA, Colombia – Unseeded Sara Sorribes Tormo continued her march through the draw at the Claro Open Colsanitas on Wednesday, upsetting No.2 seed Katerina Siniakova in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals.

The 20-year-old scored her fourth victory of the season against an opponent ranked above her to advance to the last eight – the second WTA quarterfinal of her career.

“It feels really good to be in quarterfinals,” Sorribes Tormo told press afterwards. “I haven’t had the best start to the year, I’ve been training well but couldn’t get the results on the court.

“But thankfully in this past month it’s turned around. I’m proud of the results and of the tennis I’ve been able to produce to get here.”

.@Sara_Sorribes moves into @CopaWTABogota Quarterfinals!

Hurries past Siniakova 6-2, 6-3! pic.twitter.com/G1Lq63ccSc

— WTA (@WTA) 12 de abril de 2017

From a break down, the Spaniard reeled off six straight games to take the opener, before claiming four of the last five games with two breaks of serve to close out the one hour, 34-minute victory.

“I think I’ve played a great match from start to finish,” she said. “I started off strongly, despite the starting from a break down.

“I think those last few games in the first set were the key, because I fought very hard and found myself getting better and better. It gave me confidence to play my game and finish well.”

Joining Sorribes Tormo in the quarterfinals is Italian veteran Sara Errani, who took down Sachia Vickery in straight sets to advance 6-2, 6-3.

“I think it’s a great match and I played at a great level,” she told press. “It wasn’t easy to play against her, and against a player like her you have to create your pace because the ball flies a lot. But I’m happy to be still in the tournament for sure.”

.@SaraErrani tops Vickery 6-2, 6-3!

Plays Johanna Larsson next in @CopaWTABogota Quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/ja7NS6LH5s

— WTA (@WTA) 12 de abril de 2017

Errani is into her first quarterfinal of the year after halting a disappointing run of first and second round losses. She’s been battling injuries – including a right adductor injury which saw her have to miss Dubai, where she was the defending champion – and as a result has slid down the rankings to outside the WTA Top 100.

“I’ve had two good matches back to back here, this is good for me. Even with the conditions here and the altitude, I’m happy to be through in both matches two sets. I’m ready to play the next match tomorrow.”

Also through on a rainy Day 3 in Bogota, No.3 seed Johanna Larsson stayed on track against Veronica Cepede Royg, edging past the Paraguayan 6-4, 6-4. No.5 Magda Linette also came away with the win in a tight encounter, taking down Elitsa Kostova 6-4, 6-4. Aleksandra Krunic is also through after tamping down a late comeback from last year’s finalist Sílvia Soler Espinosa 6-0, 7-5.

BOGOTA, Colombia – Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone has booked a spot into the Claro Open Colsanitas final without dropping a set, continuing her run to oust No.3 seed Johanna Larsson, 7-5, 6-4.

After taking a wildcard into the tournament Schiavone – who is playing in her last season of professional tennis after announcing her plans to retire earlier in the year – has shown the best of her vintage form to see off the competition and return to her first final in 14 months.

First set goes to @Schiavone_Fra!

Takes the opening set off Larsson 7-5! pic.twitter.com/pjQ7YZf3Lf

— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017

The former French Open champion stayed consistent to weather Larsson’s highs and lows as the No.3 seed showed flashes of dominance but couldn’t keep Schiavone out of contention for too long. After trading breaks towards the start of the match, the pair stayed toe-to-toe until Larsson was broken to give Schiavone the opening set.

It was a much closer affair in the second as Larsson broke to earn a 4-2 lead, looking ready to take the match into a decider. But Schiavone raised her level considerably, covering every inch of the court and attacking with renewed aggression to finally break to love as Larsson double faulted under the pressure.

First Final in 14 months!@Schiavone_Fra knocks out Larsson 7-5, 6-4!

Sets @CopaWTABogota Final vs @LaraArrua! pic.twitter.com/Vy4juwWmFL

— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017

Schiavone powered through to make her way into the final, her first final of the year and the first she’s reached since taking home the title at the Rio Open in February of 2016.

More to follow…

DUBAI, UAE – Roberta Vinci caps a spectacular six months that saw her reach the US Open final, qualify for the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, and capture the biggest title of her career at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy with one incredible 33rd birthday present. Next Monday, Vinci will become the oldest woman (at 33 years, four days old) and fourth Italian in WTA history to debut in the World’s Top 10.

“Yes, well, it was an incredible month for me, incredible end of the season, and incredible ranking right now,” Vinci said after reacing the semifinals in Zhuhai, which helped her finish 2015 ranked No.15.

A former No.1 in doubles, Vinci completes a quartet of a most impressive generation of Italians that includes Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, and Sara Errani – all of whom have reached the Top 10 and the finals or better at a Grand Slam in singles. Vinci paired with Errani to form one of the most dominant doubles pairs of the decade, winning five major titles together and completing a career Grand Slam at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships.

The veteran had previously peaked at No.11 for ten weeks in 2013 after reaching back-to-back quarterfinals at the US Open, but it was her most recent fortnight in Flushing – six weeks after being ranked as low as No.58 – that will prove unforgettable. Playing her first Grand Slam semifinal, she halted World No.1 Serena Williams’ own history-making bid to become the first to achieve the Calendar Year Grand Slam in 1988. Eliminating the American in three arduous sets, she then took part in the first-ever all-Italian final against eventual champion and childhood friend, Flavia Pennetta.

“I won a lot of matches,” Vinci told WTA Insider in Wuhan. “I reached one final in a Grand Slam for the first time, I beat Serena, I beat Petra. So of course now is my time, no? I’m close to the Top 10, so now I have to push more, I think.”

She began 2016 with a career-best Australian swing – reaching the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International and the third round at the Australian Open for the fourth time in her career – and a clear goal in mind for what she initially considered to be her last season.

“Well, of course I’m confident right now,” she said in Brisbane. “I’m 15 in the world right now and will try my best to reach the Top 10. This is my goal. I know it’s not easy, but I would like to enjoy this year, no pressure, try my best, improve every single day, every single tournament everything.”

Vinci all but clinched that goal a month later when she won her first Premier-level title at the inaugural event in St. Petersburg, defeating another Top 10 debutante Belinda Bencic in the final.

“It’s a lot for me. It’s an amazing moment. I’m not young,” she said on the WTA Insider Podcast. “I’m almost done. I’m really happy. I always tried to my best. It’s not easy to practice every single day. For me this tournament was a fantastic moment.”

Here is a look at the oldest players to make their Top 10 debut after the rankings made its debut in November 1975:

Serena Williams is expecting her first child with fiancé Alexis Ohanian, her representatives confirmed.

After a since-deleted photo was posted early this morning on her Snapchat captioned “20 weeks”, Serena’s representatives have now confirmed the news that the 23-time Grand Slam champion is pregnant.

“I’m happy to confirm Serena is expecting a baby this Fall,” her publicist confirmed to the WTA, adding that Serena will not play again in 2017 but aims to be back in action in 2018.

Last December, Serena announced her engagement to Reddit co-founder Ohanian last year in a poem posted to the platform.

STUTTGART, Germany – The European clay season begins in earnest this week as hometown favorite Angelique Kerber leads the WTA into the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The two-time champion tops a draw that houses a host of elite players and threats on the dirt, as players look to get off on the right foot on the road to Roland Garros.

Check out 10 things to know ahead of Germany’s Premier red-clay event.

1) Star-studded sightings in Stuttgart.
Eight of the WTA’s top 10 are competing this week. Defending champion Angelique Kerber is the event’s top seed, as one of three former champions in the main draw.

2) Top seed, but not No.1 (for now).
Though Kerber will drop to World No.2 in the rankings on Monday, the German has a chance to reclaim the top spot in the WTA rankings should she reach the semifinals this week.

3) Good things come in threes.
Kerber could be the fourth player to three-peat in the history of the tournament, dating back to when Tracy Austin and Martina Navratilova did it at the event’s beginnings in Filderstadt. Maria Sharapova also won three straight tiles from 2012-14.

4) Siegemund sneaks in.
Last year’s runner-up Laura Siegemund earned the final wildcard to this year’s tournament at the 11th hour – the World No.37 was tabbed as the final entrant prior to Saturday morning’s draw.

5) Sharapova says hello.
The aforementioned three-time Stuttgart champion Maria Sharapova returns to the WTA this week.

6) An epic rematch first up.
Though both are unseeded, the first round match between Kristina Mladenovic and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni promises to have fireworks. The two have met already on clay this season, as the Croat took a marathon 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(13) victory in Charleston earlier this spring.

7) Game, set, match – for the first time.
Two of the event’s top 8 seeds will be looking to break a losing spell in Stuttgart this week. The No.6 seed and a wildcard in the event, Johanna Konta is 0-2 in her career at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, while No.3 seed Dominika Cibulkova has fallen in the first round in each of her four appearances.

8) Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.
Several WTA stars will be returning to Stuttgart for the first time in a while this week, as Cibulkova makes her first appearance in the tournament since 2012, while Mirjana Lucic-Baroni plays the event for the first time in three years. Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova plays just her second Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, having fallen in the first round in 2011, and her first-round foe, 2010 runner-up Samantha Stosur appears for the first time since 2013.

9) Compatriots to do battle to commence play.
Two first-round matches will see countrywomen face off, as Elena Vesnina will play Daria Kasatkina — and the winner of the all-Russian showdown will face either Garbiñe Muguruza or Carla Suárez Navarro, who face each other in an all-Spanish clash.

10) Show your colors, then head to Stuttgart.
Nine players who will feature in the main draw are also donning their country’s colors this weekend – Kerber, Vesnina, Kasatkina, Siegemund, Johanna Konta, Simona Halep and CoCo Vandeweghe.

ACAPULCO, Mexico – Great Britain’s Johanna Konta is no stranger to making British tennis history – she did plenty of that during her historic run to the Australian Open semifinals earlier in the year. This time, though, she did it without even having to lift a racquet.

Over the weekend, the 24-year-old reached a career-high ranking of No.26, the highest ranking for a Brit since Jo Durie held the spot in 1987. But as always, the milestones and accolades don’t faze the always-cool Konta.

“It looks pretty cool on paper,” Konta told wtatennis.com after being informed of the achievement. “Obviously I’m really happy to be where I am but I’m also very much focused on the process of things and just really giving my best in every match that I play.

“If do that where I’m ranked 26 or if I do that where I’m ranked 150, the objective stays the same.”

The objective was clear when Konta took the court at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. The No.4 seed took on Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit in her first match since Melbourne.

The Brit quickly took a commanding 5-0 lead in the first set but struggled to close it out, Kontaveit winning three games in a row before Konta sealed the set 6-3. But after being given an inch, the Estonian took a mile when she came back to win the second set 6-3 and level the match. Konta’s woes continued in the third set – her serve was broken in the very first game for 0-1. Konta stayed calm, though, and got the break back and finished the match winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

“It was a tough one,” Konta said after the match. “But it was a good match, she played really well. I really had to stick in there and keep fighting every single point and really just work hard for my opportunities.”

The drama continued in Acapulco when No.8 seed Yanina Wickmayer defeated Mexican wildcard Victoria Rodriguez 6-7(5), 6-0, 7-6(2). Rodriguez – nicknamed “Chely” by her fans – was making her WTA main draw debut against Wickmayer, and she certainly did it in style too, taking Wickmayer to three sets and two points away from defeat.

No.3 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had an unexpectedly easier road to the second round, going up 6-0, 2-3 against qualifier Urszula Radwanska before a nasty-looking left ankle injury forced the Pole to retire.

“I’m actually really happy with the way I started the match and how I was playing, especially in the first set,” Pavlyuchenkova said afterwards. “I think everything was working and that’s why the score was 6-0.”

Though the match ended in a retirement, the Russian – who is coming off of a quarterfinals run in St. Petersburg – relished the chance to get in some match play and adjust to the conditions in Mexico.

“I’m still a little bit jetlagged from traveling a long time so I’m pretty happy with the way it went. Just really unlucky and feel sorry for Urzsula for hurting her ankle.”

Also in action, wildcard Naomi Osaka and No.6 seed Johanna Larsson cruised in their opening round matches while Mariana Duque-Mariño dealt an upset to Alison Van Uytvanck, sending the No.5 seed out in a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat.