Singapore: Monday Hotshot
Karolina Pliskova has Monday’s hotshot at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Karolina Pliskova has Monday’s hotshot at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
An interview with Angelique Kerber after her round-robin win at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
No.4 seed Catherine Bellis made a confident start to the Hawaii Open with a straight-set victory over Zhang Nan-Nan.
Madison Keys has Tuesday’s hotshot at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Svetlana Kuznetsova’s late season surge into Singapore made headlines, but the WTA veteran’s hot shots have been turning heads all season long. Watch all of her best shots of 2016, right here!
SINGAPORE – Top seed Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic were imperious in a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No.8 seeds Karolina Pliskova and Julia Goerges to advance into the semifinals at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Watch interviews and highlights from Singapore on the WTA Facebook page!
The reigning Roland Garros champions came to Singapore with a chance to unseat World No.1 Sania Mirza atop the WTA doubles rankings, but first had to overcome a team they’d lost to at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Playing in their second WTA Finals – their first as a pair – the French youngsters played clutch tennis throughout the 85-minute encounter, saving all 11 break points faced and winning 75% of first serve points.
Big backhand from @KikiMladenovic on break point! ? #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/AGYGvd4bLp
— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016
“Every game was tight; we saved so many break points,” Garcia said during the team’s on-court interview. “We knew things could change at any time, but we stayed very aggressive and played a very good match.”
Where last year’s championships was a round robin format and no-ad scoring, this year’s competition brought back the single-elimination knock-out from 2014, but took away no-ad, leading to some marathon games between the two teams.
“You don’t have space for mistakes, but the stats prove it; we saved 11 break points. I think it was a very close match; the girls are playing strong with big serves. It was tough to break each other, but I’m just enjoying my time with my partner; we’re so happy and lucky to be back here.”
To end the season as Co-No.1s, the French team will have to have a better result than Mirza, who plays her quarterfinal match on Friday with fellow No.2 seed Martina Hingis, and could next come up against Bethanie Mattek-Sands, the only other player in contention for No.1.
Seeded No.3 with Lucie Safarova, Mattek-Sands will have to win the title to nab the top spot, but the American will first have to take on No.7 seeds Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova on Thursday night; the winners play Garcia and Mladenovic on Saturday.
Describe your team in ⓵ word!@CaroGarcia: Awesome ?@KikiMladenovic: French ??#WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/bIRjtanm9A
— WTA (@WTA) October 27, 2016
Agnieszka and Urszula Radwanska showed the true spirit of the holidays back home in Poland this past week, keeping a very charitable tradition going…
Who’s your favorite player, what was your favorite match of the year and of course who took the best selfie this year? Click here to vote for those and many more!
The WTA’s all-star cast battle it out for wins, titles and ranking points all year long – but who is getting the most clicks? This week, wtatennis.com will count down the Top 50 Most Popular Players Of 2016.
Next on the list will be No.20 to No.11! Find out who made the cut…
20. Martina Hingis (SUI)
The third act of Hingis’ Hall Of Fame career brought six more doubles titles – including the Australian Open – alongside Sania Mirza in 2016, and a whole raft of new fans.
19. Belinda Bencic (SUI)
Hingis’ one-time protégé Bencic is proving to be another hit with tennis fans across the globe, despite an injury-hit season.
18. Ana Ivanovic (SRB)
Ivanovic also ensured an ongoing fitness battle in 2016, but it does not appear to have affected her status in the hearts of the tennis-following public.
17. Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)
Kuznetsova’s resurgence was one of the feel-good stories of the year, titles in Sydney and Moscow securing a return to the Top 10 and WTA Finals.
16. Petra Kvitova (CZE)
After a slow start, Kvitova turned on the style in Asia, providing a timely reminder of her undoubted brilliance with dominant triumphs in first Wuhan then Zhuhai.
15. Madison Keys (USA)
Keys’ star continued to rise in 2016, victory on the lawns of Birmingham helping her crack the Top 10 for the first time.
14. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
The ever-popular Wozniacki continues to factor at the business end of tennis’ showpiece events, as she proved by reaching the semifinals of the US Open.
13. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
There has never been any doubting Cibulkova’s ability, and with her Achilles problems now a distant memory she made good on her potential by winning Katowice, Eastbourne, Linz and, most memorably, the WTA Finals.
12. Venus Williams (USA)
Even in the twilight of her wonderful career, Williams remains as popular as ever, giving her fans reason to cheer at the Rio Olympics when she teamed up with Rajeev Ram to win mixed doubles silver – her fifth medal at the Olympics.
11. Maria Sharapova (RUS)
To the delight of her army of loyal followers, Sharapova will make her much-anticipated return to action in spring 2017.
Come back to wtatennis.com on Friday for No.20 to No.11 on the list…
Caroline Wozniacki
2016 Quick Hits
Week 1 Ranking: No.17
Year-End Ranking: No.19 (Lowest ranking No.74, Aug 29)
Season Highlights: Title at Tokyo, Hong Kong
Best Major Result: SF (US Open)
19 Days left until the 2017 #WTA season! ? pic.twitter.com/IiR9929uR0
— WTA (@WTA) 13 de diciembre de 2016
2017 Outlook
Caroline Wozniacki’s Year-End Ranking of No.19 – just two spots below her Week 1 Ranking – belies the rollercoaster season that the Dane experienced in 2016.
Maybe another stat can paint a better picture: Caroline Wozniacki held a 13-14 win-loss record this year before the US Open; from New York until end it was 21-3.
After an impressive run to the ASB Classic semifinal in Auckland in January, Wozniacki’s season was derailed by injuries and she was sidelined for the entire clay court season. Her ranking took a beating after suffering a disappointing string of first and second round defeats, plummeting to its lowest point at No.74 in August.
But whether her ranking was inside the Top 20 or outside the Top 70, one thing stayed the same: Wozniacki’s self-belief never wavered.
“I never doubted that I could come back and make it here, because I’ve worked too hard my whole life on my fitness to keep my body in shape,” Wozniacki said in Hong Kong. “I was like, ‘It’s going to be okay, where it’s going to be a month, two months, four months.’
“I knew eventually I would be back.”
Wozniacki, no stranger to setbacks and comebacks, recovered empathically and put together a stunning run to the US Open semifinals, then backing it up in Asia with titles at the Toray Pan Pacific Open and Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open.
Looking ahead to next season, the former World No.1 is right where she wants to be. Finally fit and healthy and with a paltry 488 points to defend between Week 1 and the US Open, Wozniacki can expect to continue her rise into 2017.