Acapulco: The Player Party
Watch Belinda Bencic, Andrea Petkovic, Kristina Mladenovic and more WTA stars glammed up for a night out in Acapulco at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel Player Party!
Watch Belinda Bencic, Andrea Petkovic, Kristina Mladenovic and more WTA stars glammed up for a night out in Acapulco at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel Player Party!
Elina Svitolina posted back-to-back wins over Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki to claim the title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships – and leap up to the No.2 spot on the Road To Singapore leaderboard.
The Ukrainian – who also broke the Top 10 with her win in the final – is in the middle of a 12-match winning streak and shows no signs of slowing down.
“When I go on court, and everything I just leave behind,” Svitolina told WTA Insider after the win. “For me it’s very important to be mentally there – don’t think, don’t let bad thoughts do bad things with my game.
“If I had lost somewhere, I would feel it. Like, ‘Come on, you did something good!’ Now I’m winning and winning and I want more and more.”
Another player to record a big RTS move is World No.2 Angelique Kerber. Her run to the Dubai semifinal puts her back on track for a return to the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, and she sits right on the Top 8 bubble at No.9. Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki’s back-to-back finals at Doha and Dubai put her inside the Top 8 at No.5.
Here are the biggest moves on the Road To Singapore leaderboard this week:
Elina Svitolina +7 (No.9 to No.2)
Caroline Wozniacki +4 (No.9 to No.5)
Angelique Kerber +15 (No.24 to No.9)
Garbiñe Muguruza -3 (No.7 to No.10)
Dominika Cibulkova -3 (No.11 to No.8)
Click here to check out the full Road to Singapore leaderboard, updated as of February 27th.
Elina Svitolina has Tuesday’s shot of the day at the Alya WTA Malaysian Open.
Top 20 players’ schedules, upcoming tournaments, birthdays and more – check out what’s on tap for this week on the WTA as the tour stops in Acapulco and Kuala Lumpur.
Watch Eugenie Bouchard celebrate her 23rd birthday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel!
Serena Williams’ fierce competitive streak is what sets up apart and puts her on track to become the greatest female tennis player of all time, according to Roger Federer.
Speaking to Sport360 earlier in the week, the 18-time Grand Slam champion spoke of his admiration for his fellow Australian Open champion’s longevity.
“I admire everything she’s doing and has done,” he said. “I thought she was ready to check out there for a while. But she’s hung on and she’s found new ways of doing things. She’s gotten healthy again as well, she was very unfortunate on a few occasions.”
Serena’s success at the Rod Laver Arena was her 23rd Grand Slam success, which took her past the Open Era record of 22 she had previously held with Stefanie Graf and to within one of Margaret Court’s all-time record. Federer’s victory in the men’s tournament meant that both trophies were won by 35-year-olds.
“People who have done it for a long time and who are older now but are still super eager and super willing and Serena is exactly like that,” said the Swiss. “She’s a fierce competitor and on the way to becoming the greatest of all time. It’s wonderful to see her do it for sure.”
Federer’s comments come little more than two weeks after Andy Roddick called Serena one of the greatest athletes of all time. The American, who grew up training alongside Williams in Florida, described her as “not just one of the greatest women athletes of all time but one of the greatest athletes of all time.”
He added: “We need to enter her into the conversation with [Michael] Jordan and [Muhammad] Ali. I think that’s where the respect lies and where the conversation needs to go after the acknowledgement of what she’s done for women in sports.”
Watch as Andrea Petkovic joins Feliciano Lopez on a cliff driving trip at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco.
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel is one of the players’ favorite WTA tournaments, and it’s easy to see why at beach paradise Acapulco.
Eugenie Bouchard & Monica Puig took to the beach with ATP’s Marin Cilic for a quick snap on the tournament hashtag sign.
Christina McHale and ATP’s David Goffin were on hand at the draw ceremony and trophy presentation.
Meanwhile, Andrea Petkovic joined Feliciano Lopez for an unforgettable experience.
The pair took in a hair-raising cliff diving show at La Quebrada, where divers jump more than 35 meters into the water below.
Check out that stunning view!
Bouchard and ATP star Juan Martín del Potro took a helicopter to another scenic location.
They visited Pie de la Cuesta, a picturesque beach a few miles away from Acapulco.
Bouchard and del Potro played a bit of beach tennis…
Looks like fun!
But it didn’t go too well for Bouchard!
Kristina Mladenovic and Heather Watson took to the Princess Golf Course with Robert Farah and Juan Sebastián Cabal for a different challenge.
They played a few holes of futgolf, hybrid of a golf and football.
Check out Watson’s skill with the football!
Mladenovic, the No.2 seed in Acapulco, is definitely enjoying the outing.
Afterwards, the players challenged each other to a bit of keepy-uppy!
ACAPULCO, Mexico – Eugenie Bouchard just turned 23 this weekend, and the folks at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel made sure the Canadian celebrated the date in grand Mexican style.
Things didn’t look very festive earlier in the day, when Genie tweeted a photo after spending her birthday at the airport.
Spending my birthday at an airport, as you do. #athletelife pic.twitter.com/XMly5SkxOD
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) February 25, 2017
But the Abierto Mexicano Telcel was ready to save the day, and as soon as Genie touched down in Acapulco she greeted with a full Mexican fiesta.
We have a cake waiting for some Canadian player who is celebrating her birthday today in #Acapulco. ?????? pic.twitter.com/SSZiwcoIPc
— #AMT2017 (@AbiertoTelcel) February 25, 2017
The tournament arranged a huge welcome party – complete with cake, balloons and an entire mariachi band who serenaded her with birthday songs in English and Spanish.
?Éstas son las mañanitas que cantaba el rey David… ?¡Feliz cumpleaños, @geniebouchard! ??????? pic.twitter.com/W9PunK5zKB
— #AMT2017 (@AbiertoTelcel) February 25, 2017
Arriving to your hotel in Acapulco like…
Gracias @AbiertoTelcel for the welcome! ? pic.twitter.com/DGbPHR0N76
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) February 26, 2017
Check out the video above to see Genie ring in her birthday in Acapulco!
Cagla Buyukakcay has Monday’s shot of the day at the Alya WTA Malaysian Open.