DDF Full Of Surprises EP 4: All-American Girls
On the latest episode of the Dubai Duty Free Full of Surprises, relive the historic Internazionali BNL d’Italia final featuring Americans Serena Williams and Madison Keys – the first since 1970.
On the latest episode of the Dubai Duty Free Full of Surprises, relive the historic Internazionali BNL d’Italia final featuring Americans Serena Williams and Madison Keys – the first since 1970.
Shelby Rogers takes on Madison Keys in the second round of the Volvo Car Open.
No.10 seed Irina-Camelia Begu downed No.6 seed Samantha Stosur in straight sets to return to the quarterfinals at the Volvo Car Open.
March was packed with plenty of amazing shots – we narrowed it down to the five best.
In the end, it was Caroline Wozniacki’s sneaky lob that took top honors. Taking on Lucie Safarova in the Miami Open quarterfinals, the former World No.1 relied on her full defensive arsenal against the big-hitting Czech veteran. As Safarova approached the net, the eventual finalist pulled off an impressive lob that left her opponent frozen at net.
Click here to watch all of March’s finalists.
Final Results for March’s WTA Shot Of The Month presented by Cambridge Global Payments
1. Caroline Wozniacki (36%)
2. Kirsten Flipkens (24%)
3. Venus Williams (22%)
4. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (10%)
5. Elena Vesnina (8%)
2017 WTA Shot of the Month Winners
January: Agnieszka Radwanska
February: Angelique Kerber
How it works:
Five shots are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com
Doi, Jurak & Ostapenko Visit Children’s Hospital
Earlier in the week, Misaki Doi, Darija Jurak and later Jelena Ostapenko stopped by the MUSC Medical Center to visit kids in the hospital. The players hung out and played with the kids in the atrium of the children’s wing.
Atawo Hosts Special Olympics Tennis Clinic
Meanwhile, Raquel Atawo went and hit with the tennis players from the Special Olympics South Carolina. They ran through some drills and she gave them pointers on their game, and later answered all their questions at a Q&A session.
Also as a part of WTA Charities initiatives in Charleston, Ons Jabeur acted as a celebrity server at a fundraiser for special needs and disabilities and Kayla Day also paid a visit to Joint Base Charleston, a military base housing the United States and Charleston’s Navy and Air Force facilities.
Suárez Navarro Visits Monterrey Hospital
Meanwhile in Monterrey, Carla Suárez Navarro took time out of preparation for the Abierto GNP Seguros to visit the Christus Muguerza Hospital.
The Spaniard got the chance to meet and chat with the young patients there, who were in recovery from advanced scoliosis, and even signed some tennis balls for them as a keepsake.
See more photos of Suárez Navarro’s visit here!
Americans Get Artsy With Special Needs Athletes
Ashley Weinhold and Caitlin Whoriskey spent Tuesday morning with a group of athletes that are part of the Special Needs Athletes Association of Nuevo Leon.
The American players helped the athletes paste small scraps of tissue paper on a banner filling the Abierto GNP Seguros logo with bright colors, and the morning ended with everyone enjoying some tasty tacos.
Click here to see the finished product!
– All photos courtesy of Volvo Car Open and Abierto GNP Seguros
WTA Charities is the WTA’s global philanthropic organization dedicated to making a positive impact across the globe. Our mission is to be a social responsibility vehicle built on the WTA’s values to empower and provide for a better future. We’re dedicated to combining, strengthening and enhancing the community and charitable efforts of the WTA through its members (players, alumnae and tournaments), along with our partners.
Click here to see more WTA Charities activities!
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova takes on Angelique Kerber in the final of the Abierto GNP Seguros.
Volvo Car Open semifinalist Mirjana Lucic-Baroni rose back into the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard while World No.1 Angelique Kerber isn’t far behind.
Karin Knapp bravely pushed past Victoria Azarenka, who was forced to retire from her first round match at the French Open.
BIEL/BIENNE, Switzerland – 17-year-old Czech qualifier Marketa Vondrousova put together a commanding performance to stun Kristyna Pliskova, 6-2, 7-5 and reach the first WTA semifinals of her career at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne.
Earlier in the week, Vondrousova was named to the Czech Republic’s Fed Cup squad, set to make her debut as the defending champions take on the United States in World Group semifinals. Now Vondrousova’s backed up yesterday’s upset over Annika Beck with a win over a player ranked spots above her to prove why team captain Petr Pala made the right choice.
“It’s so super, because I didn’t even know I could play that good!” Vondrousova said after the victory. “I’ve had a great season so far, and I played qualies here and I’m so glad I made it through and keep playing so good.
“I’m just trying to focus on every match, every point, and just play like I have nothing to lose. I am calm and I feel confident.”
17 year old qualifier Marketa Vondrousova makes first #WTA Semifinal!
Beats Pliskova 6-2, 7-5 at @WTABielBienne! pic.twitter.com/SpAMUXUGBg
— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017
Playing in her first WTA quarterfinal, Vondrousova wasn’t cowed by the occasion or by the big Pliskova serve. She set the tone early on, breaking in Pliskova’s opening service game and keeping her under pressure through the match. She brought up 12 break opportunities across both sets and converted five to put away her countrywoman in an hour and 20 minutes.
She joins Anett Kontaveit and Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the semifinals and awaits the winner between top seed Barbora Strycova and No.7 seed Julia Goerges,
Earlier in the day, Kontaveit survived a complicated three-set battle against the fast-rising Elise Mertens to advance 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-1.
Kontaveit was two points away from the match while serving at 5-4 in the second set when Mertens came roaring back to force a tiebreaker and a deciding set. But the Estonian stayed calm to break three times and reel off six games in a row in the final set to shut down the comeback and move into the Biel/Bienne semifinals.
Anett Kontaveit is first through to @WTABielBienne Semifinals!
Outlasts Mertens 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-1! pic.twitter.com/X4US4Co2kS
— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017
Also through to the semifinals is Belarusian qualifier Sasnovich, who diffused the fast-paced Camila Giorgi in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
The Italian led by a break in each set – she was up 3-1 in the first and 4-2 in the second – but couldn’t hang on to the lead. Her eight double faults proved costly, coming at crucial times and allowing Sasnovich to break six times during the match.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich reaches @WTABielBienne Semifinals!
Tops Giorgi 6-4, 6-! pic.twitter.com/DcHCt8uZ8O
— WTA (@WTA) 14 de abril de 2017
More to follow…
BIEL/BIENNE, Switerzland – Top seed Barbora Strycova is into her second semifinal of the season after No.7 seed Julia Goerges was forced to retire one game into the third set of their quarterfinal at the Ladies Open Biel Bienne, with the Czech prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (ret.). Strycova will face fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova in Saturday’s semifinals.
The 31-year-old rallied from a set down with some gritty defending and resilience in the second set. After holding in a 15-minute game at 2-all in the second set, Strycova slowly grabbed the momentum back her way to take the second set.
Goerges, who had seen her forehand misfire regularly throughout the latter half of the second set, called the trainer after the second set and took a medical timeout to get her right arm massaged. Strycova won the first game after the changeover and the German was forced to call it a day, citing a right wrist injury.
“We had always tough matches against each other,” Strycova said. “It’s very tough to play against Julia because we know each other very well, we used to play doubles together, and we are going to play again a little bit. It’s never easy, but we both want to win.
“I’m happy that I won, but not in this way because it’s always very hard to see someone injured and have to walk off from the match.”
Heavy hitting from @juliagoerges and @BaraStrycova to start their quarterfinal @WTABielBienne. pic.twitter.com/fhuW407oFo
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017
It was a bad luck ending to a great week for No.46 Goerges, who dominated much of the match against Strycova before succumbing to injury. The 28-year-old fired 18 winners to just 6 unforced errors in the first set, smothering Strycova with her heavy hitting despite the retirement, finished with 33 winners to 21 unforced errors. Strycova hit 8 winners to 11 unforced errors for the match.
Who says serve and volley is dead? Not @BaraStrycova @WTABielBienne. pic.twitter.com/SachkSbU6C
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017
Despite being besieged by Goerges’ offense, Strycova found a way to problem-solve the match, throwing in a good amount of variety with dropshots, slices, and the occasional serve and volley to keep the German uncomfortable.
.@BaraStrycova caps off a scrambling rally with the perfect drop shot. pic.twitter.com/esn7Phjua3
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017
“It feels nice,” Strycova said. “The court is very comfortable to play on, the ball is coming to you very nice. It took me some matches to get used to it but I feel good.”
After nearly being down a double-break, @BaraStrycova is battling back. Level at 3-3. pic.twitter.com/B7OA0o8gK4
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) April 14, 2017
Next up for Strycova is her 17-year-old compatriot Vondrousova.
“Another young gun from Czech! I saw her play here already and she’s playing very well,” Strycova said. “She’s playing from the qualifying so she has a lot of matches under her belt. It will be a tough one because she’s young and she wants to play the best tennis she can so I have to be ready so I have to play my best tennis as well.”