Tennis News

KATOWICE, Poland – Dominika Cibulkova captured her first WTA final since 2014 at the Katowice Open, taking out three-time finalist Camila Giorgi, 6-4, 6-0.

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Giorgi had reached her third straight Katowice final, but her hopes of a first title in Poland took an immediate hit as Cibulkova raced out to a 4-0 lead. The 2014 Australian Open finalist served for the opening set at 5-2 when Giorgi’s signature firepower briefly lit up the stadium, nabbing one of the two breaks back and holding break points to level the contest at five games apiece.

Cibulkova was in her second final of 2016 – having narrowly missed out on the Abierto Mexicano Telcel title to Sloane Stephens – and managed to hold her nerve to serve out the set on the second time of asking, and promptly proceeded to win the final seven games of the match.

“Thank you for coming and supporting me all week,” Giorgi said in her runner-up speech. “It was really nice to be here this year again, and I hope to come back next year.”

The fiery Slovak was forced to miss five months of 2015 after having surgery on her Achilles – addressing a bone spur issue that had been bothering her for the better part of three years. A former World No.10, Cibulkova saw her ranking fall as low as No.62, but Sunday’s title returns her back into the Top 40 with a chance to be seeded for the upcoming French Open.

Love my fans ❤️ #DOMI #POME at @KatowiceOpen_ #SlovakTennis
Prava fanusicka ❤️ #krasnypocit pic.twitter.com/8Q0NZhuO8f

— Dominika Cibulkova (@Cibulkova) April 10, 2016

“I would like to thank the city of Katowice for making such a friendly event for us,” Cibulkova said in her victory speech, adding, “Especially for me, it was very nice to drive three hours for a title!

“I was really surprised playing for the first time in Poland, it feels like home. I really appreciate it, so thank you.”

Cibulkova finished her speech dedicating the win to her team, particularly her father, who was celebrating his birthday on Sunday.

“I think this is the best gift!

Equally ebullient in press, the Slovak discussed how she turned around an 0-2 head-to-head and a difficult swing in Indian Wells and Miami, where she lost tight matches to Agnieszka Radwanska and Garbiñe Muguruza.

“I would say today I was prepared very good for Camila. My tactic was to go for it, and I was doing it 100%. I was just playing really solid, going for the shots really strong and I was reading her game really well. When I had an easy shot, I always made it, and this was very important today. In the second set, I was going for it even more, and that’s why I won today. I wasn’t afraid.

“You have to go by small steps, and this is just a small step for me to get to where I want to be. I proved that through the last matches – how I finished them – that I’m a really good player and this is how I want to play.

“I would say this my top level of tennis and this is why I worked so hard to get here. I want to go further for sure and after some bad matches in Indian Wells and Miami, this gives me really positive energy.

“When you lose tight matches, it’s not the same as when you win them.”

In the doubles final, Japanese duo Eri Hozumi and Miyu Kato survived a match tie-break against Russians Valentyna Ivakhnenko and Marina Melnikova, 3-6, 7-5, 10-8.

#KatowiceOpen 2016 Finalists @GiorgiCamilla @Cibulkova #WTAKatowice #KO2016 pic.twitter.com/VxJAcsgxso

— Katowice Open (@KatowiceOpen_) April 10, 2016

BERLIN, Germany – Serena Williams became the first woman to win three Laureus Sportswoman of the Year Award on Monday.

The World No.1 enjoyed an incredible 2015 season, in which she earned her second Serena Slam and the first three legs of the Calendar Year Grand Slam at the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon. A wall-to-wall No.1 for the second time in her career, Williams finished atop the WTA rankings for the fifth time in her career. 

One of only three WTA players to take home the award, Williams has been nominated ten times, winning it in 2003 and 2010.

Williams had been tied with Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, who had also won the award twice.

The Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year is Serena Williams!

#LWSA16 pic.twitter.com/noODZ7vIWc

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) April 18, 2016

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Cagla Buyukakcay kept alive hopes of a Turkish champion at this year’s TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup with a comfortable second-round win over Sorana Cirstea.

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Prior to this year Buyukakcay had never won a match in eight appearances at her home event, but after dispatching Cirstea, 6-4, 6-2, she has now registered two in three days.

“Yes it´s my best result in my country. I am very excited,” Buyukakcay said. “I think that at the beginning it´s tough, your people want you to play well, you feel the pressure. I handled it well in my first match here, and today I was focused on what I had to do well and not on the result.”

A flying start saw Buyukakcay rattle off four unanswered games, and despite surrendering one of these breaks she hung on to take the set. She made a similarly bright start to the second, breaking in the opening game when a Cirstea backhand found the top of the tape.

Cirstea had her chances to get back in the match, yet was left to rue a succession of spurned break opportunities, as Buyukakcay closed out the match to the delight of her compatriots in the crowd.

“I wanted to play well from the start and I think I managed to do it for the entire match,” Buyukakcay added. “I think that the difference was my mental approach and also because I feel well physically. I am also more experienced now, I have played the tournament for eight years now, and that has helped me to play better.”

Meeting Buyukakcay for a place in the semifinals will be No.6 seed Nao Hibino, a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 winner over qualifier Reka-Luca Jani.

“I’ve nothing to lose tomorrow against Hibino. She is a great player, Top 100, and I am enjoying how I am playing and want to focus on tomorrow and play well.”

Meanwhile, in the top half there were wins for Anastasija Sevastova and Kateryna Kozlova. Sevastova began Thursday’s play by ousting No.8 seed Johanna Larsson, 6-4, 6-3.

“It was a very tough match but a very high-quality clay court tennis match,” Sevastova said. “It was very close and only decided on a few points. It’s a good start of the clay season for me and I’m looking forward to my next match and will try to do my best.”

Kozlova was equally impressive in dispatching No.4 seed Kirsten Flipkens, 6-3, 6-4. “It was not an easy match because Kirsten doesn´t give you any rhythm so that was difficult. But the key for me was to stay calm. I am very happy to reach my win because it´s my first quarterfinal on clay. I feel good and hope to continue to do well,” Kozlova said.

ISTANBUL, Turkey – Unseeded Cagla Buyukakcay’s fairytale week at the TEP BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup came to a thrilling conclusion when the hometown favorite recovered from a set down to defeat No.5 seed Danka Kovinic, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Watch live action from Stuttgart & Istanbul this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!

“It’s an incredible week for me to win the title at home, to break into the Top 100 with this tournament, to play against someone with my crowd,” she said after the match. “It was an amazing atmosphere today. I was playing better and better every day, but of course every day is another day, so I didn’t expect to win at the beginning of the week. I’m so excited and so happy for today.

“It’s an amazing feeling. Of course, I was always dreaming to play well in Grand Slams, to win titles at big tournaments. This is a tournament I’ve been playing since 2005, when I was 15, and I saw the best players at this tournament when I was young. So I dreamed of winning the title since then; it’s very special for me.”

Set to crack the Top 100 for the first time in her career, Buyukakcay was making history with every win this week in Istanbul, becoming the first Turkish woman to reach a WTA semifinal, then a final, and against Kovinic, the first Turkish WTA titlist in history.

“You’re a great person, a great friend, and a great player,” she said in her on-court acceptance speech, addressing Kovinic. “I’m sure you have much more to achieve in your career.”

In front of an enthusiatic home crowd, the 26-year-old gained revenge for her straight-sets loss to the Montenegrin two weeks ago at the Volvo Car Open, saving 10 of 12 break points faced during the two hour, 23 minute final.

“In the beginning of the set, I was feeling tired, but the crowd was cheering a lot, so I was trying to motivate myself too. In the second set, I told myself, ‘I don’t have anything to lose; I have to play more aggressively and better than in the first set. I have to take some risks.’

“I told myself, ‘Enjoy the time,’ because last year, when I was watching the ATP event, it was packed because of Federer. Today, I knew it would be packed because of me, and I told myself, ‘It’s such a big honor for me to pack a stadium.'”

Surviving several long games early in the decider, Buyukakcay looked on course to wrap up the match in decisive fashion when she raced out to 40-0 at 5-3, but treated the full house at the Garanti Koza Arena to a tense ending when she finally closed out her biggest-ever win on her fifth championship point.

“As I think everyone could see, I was really tired today,” Kovinic said after the match. “I really wanted to win this one, but it wasn’t enough because my body couldn’t follow my mind.

“In the end, I’m a bit disappointed but I wasn’t 100% fit today.”

Walking away with the runners-up trophy, Kovinic wasn’t done for the day; the 21-year-old was set to partner fellow No.3 seed Xenia Knoll in the doubles final later on Sunday; following a lengthy on-court concert, Kovinic was forced to withdraw due to a left hamstring injury, handing the title to hometown favorite in Ipek Soylu, the unseeded 20-year-old who reached the final alongside Romania’s Andreea Mitu.

You see their names on the scoreboard week in and week out, but how well can you spell out the names of the WTA’s top players?

We challenged Simona Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Belinda Bencic and Angelique Kerber to spell out the toughest names on the tour – from Mladenovic to Pavlyuchenkova and more.

How well did they do? Check out the video above to find out if they passed the WTA Spelling Quiz!