Tennis News

BEIJING, China – Petra Kvitova put on a stunning performance to close out Wednesday’s night session at the China Open, decisively dispatching defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza, 6-1, 6-4, to not only reach the quarterfinals in Beijing, but also preserve her hopes of earning a late berth to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

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Kvitova came into the match on a seven-match winning streak, having won the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open for the second time in three years. Playing emphatic tennis throughout the 72 minute encounter, the Olympic Bronze medalist struck 27 winners to just 15 unforced errors against Muguruza, the 2015 winner, who hit only five winners of her own.

“I’ve played eight matches in 10 or 11 days, and I’m still going!” Kvitova joked with WTA Insider. “For sure, I’m feeling it; I do feel a few spots, but when I’m standing on the court, the adrenaline is there. I’m feeling very mentally tough right now, and that’s my strength, for sure.

“I know my game is there, which helps a lot with confidence; I just have to hit it how I can, and that’s most important.”

Breaking serve three times, the former World No.2 saved the only break point she faced to book a rematch with No.8 seed Madison Keys, whom she defeated for the bronze medal in Rio.

“That was a great match, for sure. It was a great battle, and both of us had a great level of game last time. I think it’ll be the same when we play again. I know she’s serving well, so that’ll probably be key for me to stay on my serve and wait for my chances and return – somehow!

“I think she’s similar to Garbiñe, or even me, so that helps.”

A WTA Finals champion in 2011, Kvitova was looking like a longshot to make her sixth career appearance at the year-end championships before catching fire after the Olympics, making the second week of the US Open – where she fell to eventual champion and future World No.1 Angelique Kerber – and blitzing the field in Wuhan, avenging the loss to Kerber and dropping a combined five games against Simona Halep and Dominika Cibulkova to win the title.

Should she win a second title in two weeks, the two-time Wimbledon winner would enter the Top 8 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard, but rest and recovery will be the main priority during a well-deserved day off.

“I’ll probably just go to the gym tomorrow; I’ve had a lot of hours of play, and even my racquets and shoes are tired. They need a rest!”

September was packed with plenty of amazing shots – we narrowed it down to the five best.

In the end, it was Kirsten Flipkens, who played a key role in the rally Agnieszka Radwanska won to clinch August’s Shot Of The Month, after showing off more of her signature variety at the Korea Open in Seoul. On her way to beating Kristyna Pliskova in three tough sets, the Belgian pulled out all the stops to beat her powerful opponent, including a behind-the-back backhand stab to pass Pliskova at net.

Click here to watch all of September’s finalists.

Final Results for September’s WTA Shot Of The Month

1. Kirsten Flipkens (47%)
2. Agnieszka Radwanska (39%)
3. Simona Halep  (6%)
4. Caroline Wozniacki (4%)
5. Angelique Kerber (3%)

2016 WTA Shot of the Month Winners

January: Caroline Wozniacki
February: Agnieszka Radwanska
March: Agnieszka Radwanska
April: Monica Niculescu
May: Simona Halep
June: Agnieszka Radwanska
July: Simona Halep
August: Agnieszka Radwanska

How it works:

Five shots are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a fan vote on wtatennis.com 

ZHUHAI, China – Asian No.1 Zhang Shuai has received a wildcard for the second edition of the Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai.

The wildcard is result of a highly impressive campaign, which has seen Zhang fly up the rankings. This week, the 27-year-old upset Simona Halep and Samantha Stosur en route to the quarterfinals of the China Open, a result which guarantees she will break into the Top 30 in Monday’s new rankings

Zhang, who contemplated walking away from tennis 12 months ago, began the season ranked No.133. However, at the Australian Open she ended her long-running Grand Slam hoodoo by making it through qualifying and into the quarterfinals.

The Chinese player’s sole WTA singles title came three years ago in Guangzhou, but she has threatened to add to her collection in recent weeks, reaching the semifinals in Seoul and Tokyo, following an encouraging third-round run at the US Open.

“We are delighted to announce Zhang Shuai as our singles wildcard at this year’s Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai,” Peter Johnston, the Tournament Director of Huajin Security WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai 2016, said. “She has been in fantastic form this year and throughout her career has been a great ambassador for women’s tennis in China. I am sure the fans in Zhuhai are going to welcome her here to see her compete against the best of the best on the WTA Tour.”

Zhang was equally excited about the opportunity: “It’s an honor to be awarded the wildcard for 2016 Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai, especially as a Chinese player. I’m very happy to get to play in my homeland in front of all Chinese fans. I heard that last’s first edition of WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai was a great success. I can’t wait to play 2016 WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai and meet the fans from Zhuhai there!”

There’s three spots still up for grabs at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global and just 10 days to go until the start of the action.

Who has already booked their ticket to Singapore:

Five singles players have already qualified for the WTA Finals – Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova.

The doubles field was set last week in Beijing: Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova, Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan, Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, and Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova will all be heading to Singapore for the season finale.

Who is next in line to qualify?

All six players in contention for the final three spots in Singapore continue to advance. Svetlana Kuznetsova (Tianjin) and Carla Suárez Navarro (Linz) have already advanced to the quarterfinals this week.

Madison Keys, Dominika Cibulkova and Garbiñe Muguruza are all in action tomorrow in Linz.

That all said, if Konta AND Cibulkova lose tomorrow, Muguruza can qualify for the WTA Finals with a win over Monica Niculescu.

Konta is scheduled to play the first match of the day in Hong Kong at 3pm local time against Wang Qiang in a second round match. Cibulkova will play Annika Beck in Linz

Regardless of other results, Muguruza can also secure qualification this week in in Linz if she wins the title, but she can also qualify by reaching the final with Cibulkova not winning the title.

Here is a round-by-round look at how this week will affect the WTA Finals qualification:

How you can follow all the action straight from your smartphone:

Download the official WTA Finals App created by SAP, available on the Apple App Store right here and Google Play right here!

The WTA Finals App features live streaming of exclusive behind-the-scenes moments, virtual replays, scores and stats, notifications on your favorite players, and lets you explore the host city Singapore, straight from your phone.

SINGAPORE – Ahead of the defense of her BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global title, wtatennis.com runs down 10 need-to-know facts about Poland’s finest, Agnieszka Radwanska…

1) Champion returns
Radwanska returns to Singapore for the sixth consecutive year – the longest active streak on the tour. Last year she finished the season in the best way possible, facing off against Petra Kvitova to win the WTA Finals championships match, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

2) Rank outsider
It might seem incredible, but right up until the US Open, Radwanska was still in with a shout of taking the World No.1 spot if she’d won the tournament. She arrives in Singapore as World No.3 after another year characterized by its consistency.

3) Early exit
Radwanska doesn’t have a great track record at the US Open, and this year was no different – she fell in the round of 16 at the hands of Ana Konjuh. She’s put a positive spin on that, though: she thinks that the early exit from the Slam gave her additional time to prepare for the Asian Swing, in which she once again excelled.

4) Cool in China
That’s been the case this year. Radwanska reclaimed the China Open title with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Johanna Konta, crowning a dominant week in which she did not lose a single set. It was her 20th career singles title, third of the year.

5) Success in Asia
Asia has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Radwanska, who has won half of her 20 career titles there, including five of her last six.

6) Difficult defense
Radwanska is very well aware that it will be difficult for her to retain her title. “It’s the goal of everyone to qualify for the WTA Finals, and I’m happy to be returning to defend my title,” Radwanska said. “I’ve played at Singapore for a few years now, and qualifying again this year means I’ve had a great season – to be in the Top 8. It won’t be easy to defend my title, but that’s the goal. It will be exciting and a challenge to see different names and faces in this year’s field.”

7) Fabulous in fall
History is on her side, though – her tour record in the past five years shows that after the US Open she is the most difficult opponent to beat. Last year she went 17-4 in the Asian swing, winning all three WTA titles of the year in that stretch – and boosting her ranking from No.13 to No.5.

8) Five star
That meant she maintained her proud record as a fixture in the top five ranking slots – she dipped out in 2014, when she finished the year as World No.6.

9) Mandatory magic
After her win in Beijing this year, Radwanska became the fourth active player with three or more Premier Mandatory titles, joining Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka.

10) Major performer
Radwanska is one of four players to have reached the round of 16 at all four majors this year (along with Serena Williams, Madison Keys and Carla Suárez Navarro).

Zuhai, China – The 2016 Huajin Securities WTA Elite Trophy Zhuhai (WETZ) announced it’s first three qualifiers today — two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, 2015 US Open finalist Roberta Vinci and rising Ukrainian star Elina Svitolina.

MOSCOW, Russia – Svetlana Kuznetsova survived a mid-match wobble to defeat Timea Babos in the Kremlin Cup quarterfinals and move one step closer to a return to the WTA Finals.

In a contest that ebbed and flowed throughout, top seed and defending champion Kuznetsova harnessed the home crowd support to eventually triumph, 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-2, after a fraction over two and half hours on court.

The result keeps alive the 31-year-old’s hopes of appearing at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The Russian, who was a fixture at the season-ending showpiece for much of her early 20s, has not qualified since 2009, but will return should she lift the title in Moscow. If she fails in her quest, Johanna Konta will take the final spot in the eight-player draw.

Babos’ battling performance ensured that the outcome remained in the balance until the last. In the second set, she displayed particular character to break twice with her opponent serving for the match. A flawless tie-break ensured the match went the distance, and despite falling behind in the decider, another comeback looked on the cards when she reduced her arrears to 3-2.

However, a thigh injury halted this revival – and the match – allowing Kuznetsova to regroup during a length injury timeout. On the resumption, the Russian took control rattling off the final three games to set up a semifinal with No.4 seed Elina Svitolina.  

“Where to start? My coach and Nastia [Myskina] said in the locker room that the points were very short, from one to three rallies. I didn’t run much. I think I was good for me that I had a third set even when I felt a little bit tired,” Kuznetsova told the Russian press. “In the third set I let the situation go and played better.

“It has prepared me a base for tomorrow’s match because the way I played during last two matches, the last four sets: yesterday’s and the first two from today…It won’t get me far.”

Earlier in the day, Svitolina delivered a clinical display to swat aside lucky loser Ana Konjuh, 6-1, 6-1. Svitolina has been in terrific form during the second half of the season, reaching the semifinals or better in three of her past five tournaments.

“It was a good match for me, I was serving well and seeing the ball good. This was a good game and I’m really happy that it’s another semifinal for me,” Svitolina told wtatennis.com.

“After Beijing I had one week off and I was at home, just trying to recover fast. These last two tournaments – here and in Zhuhai – are very important and I’m just trying to stay focused.”