Wedding Bells For Ivanovic, Cibulkova
Ana Ivanovic and Dominika Cibulkova had plenty to celebrate this weekend as each married their respective fiances, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michal Navara.
Ana Ivanovic and Dominika Cibulkova had plenty to celebrate this weekend as each married their respective fiances, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michal Navara.
WHITE PLAINS, NY, USA – The USTA announced a major prize money increase for the 2016 US Open. A $4 million boost brings the total purse for the tournament to a record $46.3 million, a 10-percent increase over the 2015 US Open prize money totals.
In all, the US Open will provide the richest purse in tennis history at this year’s event.
Both the men’s and women’s singles champions will earn $3.5 million, the largest payout in US Open history. The average increase per round for the singles competition is 10 percent above the 2015 US Open. Both the men’s and women’s doubles champion teams will earn $625,000, the highest in US Open history, and overall doubles prize money has been increased by 10.5 percent.. The US Open Qualifying Tournament will offer more than $1.9 million in prize money, a 10 percent increase over 2015.
This year’s US Open, scheduled for August 29 through September 11 – with the US Open Qualifying Tournament beginning on August 23 – will feature a number of major enhancements, including a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium, a new Grandstand Stadium, and a completely redesigned southern campus to ease accessibility and crowding throughout the site.
“We are proud that this year’s US Open will offer the richest purse in tennis history,” said USTA Chairman of the Board and President Katrina Adams. “We continue to invest in all aspects of this world-class event to provide the best services and experiences for the players, our fans, and all of the US Open partners.”
Round-by-round individual prize money for the US Open singles tournaments are as follows:
Singles:
Winner: $3,500,000
Runner-Up: $1,750,000
Semifinalist: $875,000
Quarterfinalist: $450,000
Round of 16: $235,000
Round of 32: $140,000
Round of 64: $77,200
Round of 128: $43,300
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – WTA players made the most of their time away from the courts of the Alya WTA Malaysian Open on Tuesday, paying a visit to Permata Kurnia, a learning centre for autistic children aged 4-7.
Australian buddies Casey Dellacqua and Ashleigh Barty, who have teamed up in the doubles draw in Kuala Lumpur, were joined by wildcard Zheng Saisai and Malaysian player Theiviya Selvarajoo at the learning centre. Barty, who made the third round of the Australian Open in January after a recent hiatus from the sport, qualified for the singles main draw in Kuala Lumpur as well.
Rosmah Mansor, the wife of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, serves as the patron of Permata Kurnia, where the motto reads: ‘Autism is Not a Tragedy, Ignorance Is.’
Accompanied by representatives from the Prime Minister’s office, the players chatted to the children and joined them for an impromptu music session – Barty strumming on the guitar and Zheng on the tambourine.
All photos: © Alya WTA Malaysian Open
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WTA CEO Steve Simon spoke at length about the importance of SAP’s analytic advancements on the company’s CEO Live Page.
“Running SAP HANA is definitely making it easier for fans to enjoy us,” said Simon. “It’s giving them the in-depth background information that they’re looking for. No longer is the fan just looking for pictures; they’re looking for the story behind the pictures, and SAP is helping us provide that.
“The goal of the WTA, which is currently the number one women’s professional sports league in the world, is not just to be the number one women’s sports league in the world, but to be competitive with all sports. Our partnership with SAP is going to allow us to build audience because of the stories that we’re able to tell, and thus be competitive in that marketplace.”
Click here to hear more from Simon in the full video as part of SAP’s Live Business Leaders series.
STANFORD, CA, USA – No.7 seed Alizé Cornet was taken to the brink in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic, but rallied from a set down to dispatch American Jennifer Brady, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 44 minutes.
Watch live action from Stanford this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
“I always wanted to come here to Stanford, but somehow I was always ending up in Washington, maybe because it was closer!” Cornet joked with Andrew Krasny during her on-court interview.
“But this time I really don’t regret it because I really love this place. It’s amazing, and a lot of champions have won the tournament, so I hope to go as far as I can.”
Playing her first match since reaching the third round of Wimbledon, Cornet fell behind 4-0 in the opening set and couldn’t quite catch up to Brady, who broke serve in a marathon game to put herself one set away from a first-ever WTA main draw win – though she reached the semifinals of a WTA 125K Series event in San Diego last fall.
“I just kept fighting. She was playing really well, big serve and forehand.
“I had some trouble in the beginning of the match; I was really tense and the ball was coming really fast against me. But I just kept trying to hang in there, and try to give my best every point.”
Only one break separated the two in the second set, which Cornet took in another dramatic game to level the match. Racing out to a 5-2 lead in the decider, Brady made one last surge to force the Frenchwoman to serve out her spot in the second round. Clinching the contest with a classic one-two punch, booked a second round meeting with Zheng Saisai, who was the first winner of the day over wildcard Maria Mateas, 7-5, 6-1.
“In the end it was really really close, and I went for it and it worked out, so I’m really happy to be in the second round.”
The night session features an all-Stanford battle between former All-American Nicole Gibbs and Carol Zhao, who helped the university win the 2016 NCAA Championships.
More to come…
Ashleigh Barty has the shot of the day in the final of the ALYA Malaysian Open.
Ashleigh Barty has rocketed herself into the Top 100 after her win at the Alya Malaysian Open but she was not the only one who had a good week.
BASTAD, Sweden – With six years on the WTA calendar, the Ericsson Open in Bastad certainly knows a thing or two about what it takes to put on a great event. And the players seem to agree, having voted the International-level event as the WTA Tournament Of The Year for three of the last four years.
So what makes a perfect tournament? We asked the Ericsson Open’s top seeds and former champions – Angelique Kerber, Sara Errani, Johanna Larsson, Annika Beck and Polona Hercog – why they keep coming back to Bastad year after year. Here’s what they had to say.
1. A priceless view.
The Ericsson Open is staged at the Bastad Tennis Stadium, just a few hundred yards from the popular Bastad Beach along the Kattegatt Sea. Having the coast within walking distance gives players (and fans) plenty of chances to unwind.
Kerber: Bastad is a really special tournament, especially because it’s on the sea and for me the sea is really important; I grew up on the sea.
Beck: I’ve been here the last two years, so I’ve got good memories here. Especially if the weather is nice, you get some time off and you can go to the sea and relax and enjoy your time here.
2. Incredible, top-notch staff.
One common factor that all players highlighted was Bastad’s top-notch and ultra-attentive staff.
Kerber: What is really important as well for players is that all the staff and the tournament director and everybody is so friendly. They are taking care of you, and this is why it really feels like home. That’s why this tournament is one of the best tournaments of the calendar.
Barthel: All the people are really nice and friendly, always trying to make your time the best here. That’s what you feel in all the details and I feel like home here.
Larsson: I think this tournament is absolutely amazing. It’s been voted Tournament Of The Year because we deserve it! For the players it’s obviously unbelievable because I think everyone in the staff is very friendly and always trying to help each and every player.
SEB-ball kids are having fun during the rain delay! Always ready! ???#sebbollkallarna #båstad #centercourt #raindel… pic.twitter.com/pL9rZgjklY
— Swedish Open Tennis (@swedish_open) July 18, 2016
3. Location, location, location.
What’s more convenient than having the player hotel close to the tournament site? How about having it right behind center court?
Errani: For us, it’s amazing. We can sleep right here and just walk to the courts and play. It’s very easy for us. And it’s amazing, the beach and everything. A bit cold, though, but amazing!
Larsson: You have the facilities that are top notch, you have the rooms here – I mean, the hotel is just next to the Center Court. It makes it very convenient for the players, I think that’s a very good reason why we love this event.
4. An awesome crowd of fans.
Barthel: The stadium is really nice and the people watching are always nice. They’re supporting you. I feel at home. You know, I have a special relationship to Sweden, so it makes it even more special for me here. I always love to come back here.
Beck: The crowd is amazing, the Center Court is beautiful. There’s nothing to complain about in this tournament!
He actually loves #ericssonopen and we love #hughgrant @wta #tennis #båstad #allintennis #wta. pic.twitter.com/RYlL4qo8MN
— Swedish Open Tennis (@swedish_open) July 19, 2016
– All photos courtesy of Ericsson Open
How have Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep and the rest of the Indian Wells contenders fared in the past?
Dominika Cibulkova’s boldest decision has a touch of romance to it.
She and her then-boyfriend, Miso Navara, had been dating for a year when they decided that he would leave his job to travel on the tour with her.
“It was after one year, and we didn’t know how it was going to turn out,” she recalls in an exclusive WTA interview.
As she points out, it turned out pretty well: “We are together for seven years, we got married last year and we are one happy couple,” she beamed.
Marriage proved a good omen for the 27-year-old, as she finished the year as the WTA World No.5, her highest year-end ranking. It capped a brilliant run of form for Cibulkova: her four WTA titles in 2016 were more than any other player and she picked up her 400th career WTA win in the quarterfinals at 2017 Doha. And last season, she ended the year in spectacular style, winning the biggest title of her career so far at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Cibulkova was marking International Women’s Day, which has ‘Be Bold For Change’ as its 2017 theme.
International Women’s Day falls on March 8 every year, and celebrates women’s contributions to culture, the economy, politics and society.