Tennis News

HONG KONG, SAP – Caroline Wozniacki progressed to the semifinals of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open thanks to a convincing 6-3, 7-5 victory over Wang Qiang.

The Dane, who is yet to drop a set at the tournament, is now the top-seeded player still in the draw following World No.1 Angelique Kerber’s shock defeat to Daria Gavriova earlier on Friday.

Wozniacki dominated her opponent in the opening set, during which she dropped only three points on serve, while continuously searching for a break, which she eventually found in the penultimate game thanks to three unforced errors in a row. A forehand winner wrapped up the set.

Though the Wozniacki serve was not as dominant in the second, the 26-year-old was still firmly on top and broke in the seventh game, with Wang sending a pair of groundstrokes long as she threw away a 30-0 lead. Wozniacki’s victory was delayed briefly when Wang broke back to make it 5-5 but she was unable to consolidate the break and the No.5 seed got a much-deserved win.

“She’s a good fighter, I think she plays well and she has some good groundstrokes and it was a good match,” she said afterwards.

“I take one match at a time. The trophy’s what I’m here for and I’d love to win a trophy, no doubt but there’s some strong competition left and I’m just going to see what happens.

“I’ve been sidelined for so long and definitely that’s been difficult mentally but ever since my body has gotten back on track I’m playing so that’s definitely a positive.”

Wozniacki will face Jelena Jankovic, who kept up her defence of the title by fighting back to overcome Alizé Cornet, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Cornet, fresh from her victory over Venus Williams, made the early running, a superb backhand forcing Jankovic to net on break point. Jankovic’s slump proved to be brief and a long forehand gave the World No.49 a lead she did not squander.

The Serb was far quicker out of the blocks in the second set, winning the first four games. Her progress was curtailed when Cornet responded in kind but Jankovic, having found her serve to move 5-4 up, snatched the set when the 26-year-old sent a backhand long.

Cornet appeared to be nursing an injury and consistently needed medical attention, which helped Jankovic race into a commanding 5-1 lead in the decider. Cornet delayed victory by breaking back once but Jankovic booked her place in the semifinal the next game.

Finally, Kristina Mladenovic set up a last-four tie with Daria Gavrilova, who conquered Angelique Kerber earlier on Friday, by beating Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3).

HONG KONG, SAR – On Thursday the race for the final qualifying spots at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global took another twist when Johanna Konta withdrew from the Hong Kong Tennis Open.

Konta currently occupies the final qualifying berth for Singapore, just 10 points ahead of Dominika Cibulkova. However, after pulling out of Hong Kong with an abdominal injury Konta may now be left relying on other results to go her way if she is to reach Singapore.

“Obviously it’s never the ideal way to finish a tournament, and definitely never the intention when you come to play,” Konta said. “I really enjoy playing here in Hong Kong and I was really looking forward to making this week last as long as possible. Unfortunately it wasn’t as long as I would have liked but I need to look after my body first – I’ve only got one – so I really have to make sure I make the right decisions for my health.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully coming back next year and making it a full week here.”

Three places at the season-ending showpiece remain up for grabs. Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys and Konta are in sixth, seventh and eighth place, respectively, while Cibulkova, Carla Suárez Navarro and Svetlana Kuznetsova remain hot on their heels.

All six contenders entered tournaments this week, and with Cibulkova and Carla Suárez Navarro also scheduled to play next week’s Kremlin Cup, in Moscow, for the second year in a row the battle is likely to go down to the wire…

• Cibulkova would need to reach the final in Linz this week to pass Konta
• A semifinal for Cibulkova in Linz would put Konta and Cibulkova in a tie*
• Cibulkova’s 16th best result is currently 100 points, so she would need to reach the semifinals at Moscow to add any points to her total
• Suárez Navarro can also pass Konta, but will need to add points in both Linz (where she is through to the quarterfinals) and Moscow
• If Cibulkova loses in Linz and Muguruza can qualify for the WTA Finals by beating Monica Niculescu on Thursday

* When two or more players have the same number of ranking points, the first tie-break is the player with the most combined points from Grand Slams, Premier Mandatory, Premier 5 and WTA Finals (as outlined on pg.215 of the Rule Book). In this regard, Konta (2685) has the edge over Cibulkova (2180)

The finalists for the 2016 WTA Doubles Team Of The Year have been announced, and we want to hear from you, the fans. The fan vote will count as one of the coveted media votes.

Have a look at the finalists and cast your vote before Sunday, October 16th at 11:59pm ET! The winner will be announced Friday, October 21st.

2016 WTA Doubles Team Of The Year Finalists

Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic: It has been quite the year for Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic on the doubles court. After suffering a couple of near-misses in Sydney and Dubai, they finally got their hands on some silverware in Charleston. This began a glorious stretch on the clay, where they triumphed in Stuttgart, Madrid and, most memorably, Roland Garros. While they struggled to scale these heights in the second half of the season, they returned to form in time for the US Open, losing out to Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova in an entertaining final.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands &  Lucie Safarova: There is little doubt that Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova have been the outstanding team in the second half of 2016. Injuries and Olympic commitments meant the duo, winners of two majors in 2015, played sparingly together until the summer months, winning Miami and reaching the final in Charleston from a handful of appearances together. However, since their post-Rio reunion Mattek-Sands and Safarova have been unstoppable, embarking on a 16-match unbeaten run that has brought titles at the US Open, Wuhan and Beijing.

Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina: Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina may not have resumed their fruitful partnership until the clay court season, but they certainly made the most of this time together. On their first outing in unison, the Mutua Madrid Open, the Russians reached the semifinals, before going a stage further in Rome. One month later at Roland Garros, they continued this upwards trajectory, narrowly missing out on a third Grand Slam title. Any lingering disappointment was banished over the summer months, during which time they captured the trophy in Montréal then Olympic gold in Rio.

Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza: Following 2015’s trophy-laden campaign was always going to be a tough proposition for Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. And while they did not quite scale the same heights, they remained regulars at the business end of showpiece events. The year started in dominant fashion, victories in their first four events – a run which included the Australian Open – confirming them as the team to beat on tour. They were nearly as impressive on clay, lifting silverware in Rome and reaching the final of both Stuttgart and Madrid, before announcing their surprise split following disappointing showings at Wimbledon and then Montréal.

WTA Doubles Team Of The Year Winners
2015: Martina Hingis / Sania Mirza
2014: Sara Errani / Roberta Vinci
2013: Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci
2012: Sara Errani/Roberta Vinci
2011: Kveta Peschke/Katarina Srebotnik
2010: Gisela Dulko/Flavia Pennetta
2009: Serena Williams/Venus Williams
2008: Cara Black/Liezel Huber
2007: Cara Black/Liezel Huber
2006: Lisa Raymond/Sam Stosur
2005: Lisa Raymond/Sam Stosur

How it works:

Finalists are selected by wtatennis.com
Winner is then determined by a media vote with a fan vote counting as one media vote

LINZ, Austria – Forty-seven minutes was all it took for Madison Keys to swat aside Misaki Doi and book a place in the quarterfinals of the Generali Ladies Linz.

Keys received a last-minute wildcard into the tournament and has made the most of her opportunity. After seeing off Camila Giorgi in the first round, Keys was even more clinical against Doi, reeling off the final 10 games of the match to triumph, 6-2, 6-0.

This was the American’s 45th victory of a highly impressive campaign that has seen her reach the second week of all four majors and break into the Top 10. The next milestone could be looming: a place at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.

She already stands on the cusp of qualification following a semifinal run at the China Open, and a similar showing in Linz, where she takes on Océane Dodin next, will all but guarantee her place.

Also looking to secure a spot in Singapore are Garbiñe Muguruza and Dominika Cibulkova, who were equally impressive in Thursday’s final two matches. Muguruza needed barely an hour to overpower Monica Niculescu, 6-1, 6-1, while Cibulkova swept aside Annika Beck, 6-1, 6-3.

“It was a fun match – it was actually tough, but fun – because it’s a different sort of opponent and I had to be really concentrated and calm, which I did,” Muguruza said. “I’m really happy with today – she’s such a different player, she can make you feel very uncomfortable so I just went for my shots.

“I knew how she was going to play against me, so I was just playing my game and I think it worked very well.” 

Reigning champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also advanced, although she was made to work slightly harder, recovering from a slow start to defeat Kirsten Flipkens, 6-4, 7-6(2).

Having trailed 4-1 in the opening set, a run of four straight games helped Pavlyuchenkova turned the match around and book a quarterfinal showdown with Cibulkova.

The defending champion @NastiaPav reaches the quarterfinal #generli #WTALinz #power pic.twitter.com/nzi3IuI1n5

— WTA Linz (@WTALinz) October 13, 2016

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 – The BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global is blessed with the support of nine WTA Legends: Alicia Molik, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Chris Evert, Iva Majoli, Martina Navratilova, Mary Pierce, Monica Seles, Tamarine Tanasugarn and Yayuk Basuki.

Who played at record 21 editions of the WTA Finals? Which Legends competed in Dancing With The Stars? And who has a Triple Crown winning horse named after her?

Reem Abulleil brings you some facts you may or not have known about these remarkable women, right here on wtatennis.com.

Alicia Molik

Molik won a bronze medal at the Olympic tennis event in Athens in 2004, beating the then reigning French Open champion Anastasia Myskina in the bronze-medal match.

The Adelaide-born former World No.8 says Michael Jordan was her childhood hero.

She is Australian but is very proud of her Polish heritage and jokes that she probably got her good footwork from the Polish dance classes she took when she was young.

Also, she’s won two Grand Slam doubles titles – the 2005 Australian Open with Svetlana Kuznetsova and the 2007 French Open with Mara Santangelo.

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario

Sanchez-Vicario was the singles runner-up at the WTA Finals to Steffi Graf in 1993 – back then the final was best-of-five sets and she lost in four – in Madison Square Garden and won the doubles title twice, in 1992 with Helena Sukova and 1995 with Jana Novotna.

She qualified for the WTA Finals 13 times throughout her illustrious career.

The Spaniard was affectionately nicknamed the “Barcelona Bumble Bee” by the late Bud Collins.

Before playing the 1989 French Open final, where a 17-year-old Sanchez-Vicario was going to face World No.1 Steffi Graf, the Spanish press were asking her how many games she thought she was going to muster against the German favorite. She ended up beating Graf in three sets to become Spain’s first female Grand Slam champion in the Open Era.

She is a five-time Olympian – from 1998-2004 – with doubles silver and singles bronze won at her home Games in Barcelona in 1992, and singles silver and doubles bronze captured in Atlanta 1996.

Her four medals made her the most decorated Spanish Olympian at the time, a record later broken by canoeist David Cal.

She reached 12 Grand Slam singles finals, winning four of them (three French Opens and one US Open).

Chris Evert

Evert was the winner of the inaugural edition of the WTA Finals in 1972, triumphing on the clay of Boca Raton against Kerry Melville Reid in the final at the tender age of 17.

But her amateur status meant that she had to forfeit her 1972 winner’s check of $25,000.

She made the final of each of the first six editions of the WTA Finals, capturing four titles in total.

Her epic rivalry with Martina Navratilova featured heavily in the WTA Finals and they faced off in three championship matches, with Navratilova owning a slight 2-1 edge over Evert in those finals.

Carl Rosen, owner of clothing manufacturer Puritan Fashions Corp, named a horse after her. The horse, Chris Evert, went on to win the 1974 U.S. Filly Triple Crown and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In 1976, she was named Sports Illustrated’s ‘Sportsman of the Year’ – one of only four occasions the award was given to a tennis player.

Iva Majoli

Majoli qualified to the WTA Finals four times, from 1994 to 1997.

Her best result at the WTA Finals was reaching the semifinals in 1996.

The former World No.4 ended Martina Hingis’ 37-match winning streak by beating her in the final to capture the 1997 French Open. Seeded No.9, Majoli was the lowest seeded woman to win a slam in the Open Era.

She was the first Grand Slam champion from Croatia.

Majoli stepped out of retirement, 11 years after her last professional match, to play doubles in Moscow with Anastasia Bukhanko in October 2015.

In 2007, Majoli participated in the second season of the Croatian version of Dancing With The Stars.

Martina Navratilova

Navratilova is the player with the most appearances in WTA Finals history, taking part in 21 editions between 1974 and 1994.

She is also the most successful player at the WTA Finals with eight singles titles – including five in a row from 1983 to 1986.

In 2003, she became the oldest Grand Slam champion, capturing the Australian Open mixed doubles trophy with Leander Paes at the age of 46 years and three months. She broke that record by winning the 2006 US Open mixed title with Bob Bryan, just shy of her 50^th birthday.

She competed on Dancing With The Stars in 2012 partnering Tony Dovolani.

She wrote three mystery novels with Liz Nickles: The Total Zone (1994), Breaking Point (1996), and Killer Instinct (1997).

Mary Pierce

The Frenchwoman was twice runner-up at the WTA Finals, to Jana Novotna in 1997 and to her compatriot Amelie Mauresmo in 2005.

She was born in Montréal, Canada (to an American father and French mother), played for France, and now lives in Mauritius.

When she won her second major, and first French Open title in 2000, she was the first Frenchwoman to win her home slam since 1967. No French player has won it since.

She made seven appearances at the WTA Finals.

Monica Seles

Seles competed at the WTA Finals nine times between 1989 and 2002.

She won the WTA Finals three times in a row from 1990 to 1992. She lost the 2000 final to Martina Hingis.

She was coached by the late Jelena Gencic, who also mentored a young Novak Djokovic.

Seles became the youngest-ever French Open champion when she won it aged 16 in 1990.

She won nine Grand Slam singles titles, eight of which were captured before her 20^th birthday.

She took Olympic bronze in singles in Sydney 2000.

Also made a guest appearance as herself on the TV show, The Nanny.

Tamarine Tanasugarn

The California-born Thai trailblazer holds a Master’s of Business Administration from Bangkok University and this year enrolled to become an officer in the Royal Thai Police Force.

She owns four WTA titles and made the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2008 where she lost to eventual champion Venus Williams. Her career-high ranking of No19, reached in 2002, is the highest ever achieved by a Thai female player.

She won two doubles title partnering Maria Sharapova in 2003 in Luxembourg and Tokyo. They also played together in the 2004 Australian Open.

She was Thailand’s flag-bearer at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Her father was a basketball player and competed at the 1960 and 1964 Games.

Yayuk Basuki

Basuki qualified to the WTA Finals in doubles three times with Dutchwoman Caroline Vis from 1996-1998.

Basuki and Vis beat top seeds Martina Hingis and Jana Novotna in their first match at the WTA Finals in 1998.

She is the highest-ranked tennis player ever from Indonesia, hitting a career-high No.19 in 1997. Was ranked as high as No.9 in doubles.

She admired Jimmy Connors growing up and her favorite athlete is swimmer Janet Evans.

She has won four Asian Games gold medals.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images

TIANJIN, China – Agnieszka Radwanska stunned Tianjin when she withdrew from the tournament with a right thigh injury – shortly after showing just why she was the top seed.

The defending champion had taken Evgeniya Rodina apart, 6-1, 6-1, to progress to the quarterfinals, where she was to face Peng Shuai.

The Chinese wildcard had earlier beaten qualifier Chang Kai-Chen of Taipei 6-3, 6-2.

Radwanska is also the defending champion at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. “It’s the end of the season – I guess everyone is struggling with something,” she said afterwards.

She added that the injury had worsened over time and that she had decided to withdraw in order to give herself the best chance of recovering in time for Singapore.

“I’m very sorry I had to withdraw…I just hope I can see my fans [here] next year — it was a pleasure to come here again,” she said.

Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig had a straightforward time of it, beating Lara Arruabarrena of Spain, 6-4, 6-2.

Alison Riske also progressed in straight sets – but Poland’s Magda Linette did her utmost to take it to a decider, eventually losing out on a tie-break, 6-3, 7-6(2).

Angelique Kerber was pleased – and perhaps a little relieved – after her win over Louisa Chirico in Hong Kong took her into the quarterfinals.

HONG KONG, SAR – There were contrasting emotions on display after Alizé Cornet beat Venus Williams 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in Hong Kong.

Cornet could not have been more delighted to reach the quarterfinals by beating a player who had always bested her previously.

“We have played many times and I was losing in straight sets. Now I can beat her in Hong Kong!” the French player enthused. “It means I used a good tactic, I played a very good match, and I believed in it.”

Her American opponent, unsurprisingly, was very downcast.

“My opponent played well, there wasn’t much I could do against her,” said Williams. “You work hard to win matches – it’s always disappointing [to lose].”

Cornet will face Jelena Jankovic next up — and is anticipating a very difficult match.

“I’m expecting a really tough battle,” she admitted. “She has a really solid baseline game. I expect some good rallies from both of us.”

Describing her current mood as “great, tired, happy”, Cornet said that she still had some trouble with the same heel issue that has plagued her for the past four years — but that she would be running with just as much energy in the morning.

She added that she was enjoying her time in Hong Kong — the city and the tournament.

“The welcome is really amazing and the city is great,” she said. “For me, every match [on tour] is the same intensity.”

Earlier in the day, Caroline Wozniacki took less than an hour and a half to secure her quarterfinal spot, beating Great Britain’s Heather Watson, 6-3, 6-3.

Neither player looked solid on her serve – Watson won three of her four break points, but Wozniacki broke her six times in return. Next up for Wozniacki is Wang Qiang, who received a walkover after Johanna Konta withdrew from the tournament with an abdominal injury.