Tennis News

Every week wtatennis.com brings you 10 Things To Know about the week – who is playing, where and much more. This week the Road To Singapore heads to the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California…

1) Venus Williams makes a long-awaited Indian Wells return.
Former No.1 Venus Williams will play the BNP Paribas Open for the first time since 2001; the seven-time Grand Slam champion wrote about her thoughts on coming back to Indian Wells in the Players Tribune. Venus recovered from a tough start to 2016 with a decisive title run at the Taiwan Open.

2) Could Steffi Graf be a secret weapon for defending champion Simona Halep?
Simona Halep enjoyed an impressive fortnight at last year’s event, roaring back from a set and a break down to oust former No.1 Jelena Jankovic for the biggest title of her career. The Romanian has endured a tough run thus far, struggling with an Achilles injury and early round losses at the Australian Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, and the Qatar Total Open. Halep has since gone back to the drawing board, practicing in Las Vegas with coach Darren Cahill and getting the opportunity to hit with 22-time Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf and husband, former ATP No.1 Andre Agassi. Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber credits a hit with Graf with turning her season around; might the same work for Halep?

3) Serena and Kerber lead the seeds.
Speaking of Kerber, she and fellow Australian Open finalist Serena Williams will be seeded to face one another in yet another big-time final, should the two each make it that far. Williams has not played since Melbourne, while the German lost her opening round match in Doha to Zheng Saisai as the top seed. Joining sister Venus in California, Serena made her return to Indian Wells last year, reaching the semifinals.

4) An opening for Agnieszka Radwanska?
World No.3 Agnieszka Radwanska has been all but unstoppable since last fall, winning titles in Tokyo, Tianjin, and finishing the 2015 season with the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global title. Opening 2016 with another title in Shenzhen, Radwanska has performed consistently on the game’s biggest stages, reaching the semifinals in Australia and Qatar. How will the Pole perform in Indian Wells? Her best finish was back in 2014, where she defeated Jankovic and Halep to reach the final.

5) All eyes on Muguruza, Kvitova.
Big hitters Garbiñe Muguruza and Petra Kvitova have all the firepower to tear through the Indian Wells draw, but do either have the consistency and physical fortitude to survive the two week tournament? Muguruza has shown signs of improvement with a run to the quarterfinals in Doha, but Kvitova remains in search of the kick start to her season. With no points to defend in either Indian Wells or Miami, will the two-time Wimbledon champion play pressure-free tennis in the desert?

6) Crunch time for Carla Suárez Navarro.
The Spanish veteran impressed many with her week in Doha, winning her second career title and standing up to the pressure of being the overwhelming favorite against 18-year-old upstart, Jelena Ostapenko. Suárez Navarro enters a part of the season with plenty of points to defend – having reached the finals of both Miami and Rome – and will look to build on the momentum she’s carried through the first six weeks of the season in the hopes of capping another career-high ranking and entrance into the Top 5.

7) Can the Italian veterans build on Middle East momentum?
Roberta Vinci made history as the oldest woman to make her Top 10 debut a mere days after turning 33 by winning the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy. A week later, Sara Errani won the biggest title of her career in Dubai. In a year of young guns, the veterans continue to rack up the titles; could either make a deep run in the desert?

8) The WTA*Teens look to steal the spotlight.
Belinda Bencic capped her stunning six months with a Top 10 debut of her own – despite falling to Vinci in the finals of St. Petersburg. The 18-year-old reversed a slow start to 2015 with a solid finish in Australia, and will look to do damage in Indian Wells. Fellow 18-year-old Daria Kasatkina reached the semifinals of St. Petersburg, and is coming off of back-to-back Grand Slam third rounds at the last two hardcourt majors. Will another youngster make waves?

9) SanTina starting over.
Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza’s 41-match winning streak came to an end at the hands of Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina in Doha, but there are few reasons to dismiss the Co-No.1s as they head into the tournament that started it all for Santina. The reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and Australian Open champions played for the first time at Indian Wells and went on a 14-match streak through from there to Miami and Charleston. With other teams like Chan Yung-Jan and Chan Hao-Ching, Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia, and Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka all playing solid tennis to start the season, the women’s doubles draw promises to be as interesting as the singles event.

10) Find out where you can watch live action this week.

TOKYO, Japan – No.7 seed Christina McHale survived a late wobble to defeat Kateryna Kozlova and take her place in the second round of the Japan Women’s Open Tennis.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

In her first match since a disappointing second-round defeat to Roberta Vinci at the US Open, McHale looked to have weathered the storm when she broke for a 5-3 in the deciding set. However, Kozlova had no intention of going quietly, promptly breaking back to ensure a tense finish.

McHale regrouped to force a tie-break and despite spurning two match points, closed out a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) victory after almost three hours on court.

Elsewhere, there were mixed fortunes for the draw’s other seeds as Zhang Shuai came through her own rollercoaster, while Kateryna Bondarenko and Madison Brengle fell at the first hurdle.

Taking on wildcard Eri Hozumi and the home crowd, Zhang recovered from a slow start to both the first set, then a second set whitewash before ultimately prevailing, 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-3.

Bondarenko, the No.8 seed, was edged out by Louisa Chirico, 6-4, 7-5, while No.5 seed Brengle lost the final four games to slip to a 6-1, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Jana Cepelova.

The remaining seeds will all be in action on Tuesday, including last year’s winner, Yanina Wickmayer and home favorite Misaki Doi, who begins her bid to become the tournament’s first Japanese champion against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

In this episode of WTA Behind The Tour, take a glimpse into what daily life is like in charge of a big WTA event.

Tournament director Anne Worchester makes sure all the players feel at home at the Connecticut Open. Prior to her current role, Anne was CEO of the WTA, and is the youngest person to hold that role to date.

“A tournament director oversees the show,” Anne said. “So I also oversee marketing and public relations. I do all the player recordings and player relations for the tournament, which is a part of my job that I love.”

Besides keeping the New Haven tournament running smoothly, the most important part of Anne’s job involves forming relationships with the players.

“The best part of being a tournament director is getting to know the players,” she added. “I think the mentoring aspect of this job is the most rewarding.”

Learn more about Anne’s work – and hear her favorite tournament director stories – in the latest episode of WTA Behind The Tour.

QUÉBEC CITY, Canada – Julia Boserup held off a spirited challenge from CiCi Bellis to win their all-American quarterfinal at the Coupe Banque Nationale.

Two years on from her only previous venture this far at a WTA event, World No.125 Boserup displayed great composure to close out a 7-6(0), 6-4 victory, setting up a semifinal showdown against Océane Dodin.

Boserup, who is enrolled in an online degree at Penn State, does not graduate until December, and recent success is providing a welcome distraction from looming deadlines. In July, then ranked outside the Top 200, Boserup came through qualifying to reach the third round at Wimbledon.

Her latest run could well take her into the Top 100. And against Bellis she showed enough to suggest that this may not be her ceiling. After a shaky start, Boserup pinched the first set, then played the more assured tennis at the conclusion to the second, fending off a break point before striking decisively in the following game.

1re demi-finale @WTA en carrière pour Océane Dodin qui bat Van Uytvanck 6-2, 6-4 en quarts de finale. #CoupeBN pic.twitter.com/ewadEglgaS

— CoupeBanqueNationale (@CoupeBN) September 16, 2016

Earlier on, Dodin, appearing in her maiden WTA quarterfinal, made another breakthrough by defeating Alison Van Uytvanck, 6-2, 6-4. While Dodin is entering uncharted waters this week, it should come as no real surprise given her recent form on the ITF Circuit, where she has won 13 of her last 15 matches.

In the top half of the draw, qualifier Lauren Davis withstood a late fightback to defeat Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-3, 7-6(4). Davis had won all three of the pair’s previous meetings and was made to work hard for number four, closing out the contest after spurning three match points and a comfortable second set lead. In the last four Davis will face either Tereza Martincova or Jessica Pegula.

QUÉBEC CITY, Canada – 19-year-old Oceane Dodin capped off a dream week in Québec City by reaching her first WTA-level final at the Coupe Banque Nationale where she’ll face American qualifier Lauren Davis.

“I’m just very, very happy to be in my first final,” the Frenchwoman said. “It’s a pleasure to be here in Québec. It’s like France so it helped me so much!”

Dodin started off the week by winning her first ever WTA match in emphatic style, coming back from a set down to oust the No.5 seed Naomi Broady. She continued her run and romped past Sachia Vickery and Alison Van Uytvanck in straight sets to reach a maiden semifinal, before defeating American Julia Boserup 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 for a spot in her career first WTA-level final.

Her strong serving and aggressive play made the difference against Boserup – Dodin struck 17 aces during the match and won 77 percent of points behind her first serve.

“My dad [coach Frederic Dodin] always tells me that I have to be very aggressive,” Dodin said, explaining how she bounced back after losing the second set. “But sometimes with my nervousness, I’m not. So I look at him and he’s like, ‘Go! Go! Go!’ So it helps me so much and I stay focused.”

Dodin’s opponent in the final, Davis had to survive a two-and-a-half-hour battle against fellow qualifier Tereza Martincova to advance 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-2.

“It was very tough, I feel like we were out there for so long,” Davis said. “And we both already have a lot of matches under our belt, but we competed great.”

With the win Davis is into her second WTA final, having reached the Citi Open final earlier this year.

“I’m really happy with the way I’ve competed this week, I’ve stayed healthy and I’ve really enjoyed myself. That’s the most important thing.”

TOKYO, Japan – Garbiñe Muguruza exacted revenge on her shock US Open loss to Anastasija Sevastova with a straight set win in the second round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

In her first match since that loss in Flushing Meadows, Muguruza broke five times to run out a 6-3, 6-3 winner. In the quarterfinals the top seed will face either Elina Svitolina or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

More to follow…