Serena’s Collection Hits Fashion Week
Serena Williams’ Signature Statement Collection hit the runway at New York Fashion Week, and Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki were in the front row to take it all in.
Serena Williams’ Signature Statement Collection hit the runway at New York Fashion Week, and Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki were in the front row to take it all in.
The 2016 Grand Slam season is in the books, but there is still plenty of tennis before the WTA’s grand finale at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. Top tier tournaments in Tokyo, Wuhan, and Beijing will help determine the remaining spots for Singapore. Who has already qualified and who has the edge heading into the Asian Swing?
“With only 40 days to go until the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, the Road to Singapore is really heating up now with the best players putting in all their final efforts to secure a prized spot among the greatest eight,” said Melissa Pine, Vice-President of WTA Asia-Pacific and Tournament Director of the WTA Finals. “Women’s tennis is truly exciting at the moment and I am sure that this year’s WTA Finals will feature some of the most thrilling action on court. It is definitely going to be a great time for all the fans!”
KEY INFORMATION:
Tournament Level: Tour Championships
Prize Money: $7,000,000
Draw Size: 8 main draw singles (round robin)/8 main draw doubles (knockout)
Main Draw Ceremony: Friday, October 21
First Day of Main Draw: Sunday, October 23, 5pm
Singles Final: Sunday, October 30, NB 7.30pm
Doubles Final: Sunday, October 30, 4pm
MUST FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
@WTA
@WTA_Insider – WTA Insider, Senior Writer Courtney Nguyen
@WTAFinalsSG – The official tournament Twitter for the WTA Finals
Get involved in conversations with the official hashtags, #WTAFinals and #WTA.
OPENING DAY ACTION:
This year, fans can look forward to the new Family Day At The Tennis festivities which will complement the scintillating action on Center Court on opening day. Session 1 ticket-holders will be given a Family Day At The Tennis Passport which they can use to earn themselves incentives and prizes such as front-row tickets, fast-track access to special activities, and a meet and greet with WTA legends, while attempting various activities and challenges at the all-new Fan Village.
QUALIFICATION UPDATE:
– Top 2 on the WTA rankings, Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber became the first two women to qualify for Singapore; leading the Road to Singapore leaderboard for most of 2016, Serena and Kerber contested two of the three Grand Slam finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon championships. The two will be making their 13th and fourth WTA Finals appearances respectively; Serena has won the title five times.
– By winning her second Grand Slam title at the US Open, Kerber moves up to No.1 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
– Three doubles teams have already qualified. Australian Open champions Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza were the first women to qualify for Singapore, followed by French Open champions Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic. Olympic Gold medalists Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina became the third team to qualify after reaching the semifinals of the US Open.
– Hingis and Mirza are defending champions and plan to play Singapore despite splitting after the Rogers Cup, while Garcia and Mladenovic will be making their first apperance as a team after debuting in 2015 with different partners. By reaching the US Open final, the French will take over the No.1 ranking on the Road to Singapore leaderboard.
MAKAROVA AND VESNINA QUALIFY FOR SINGAPORE:
– Makarova and Vesnina were forced to withdraw from the WTA Finals last year, but have qualified twice before, reaching the finals in 2013. The Russians rode a 13-match winning streak into the US Open semifinals with a title at the Rogers Cup before Rio. Learn more about Makarova and Vesnina’s qualification story here.
SINGAPORE IN SIGHT FOR BUCIE?
– Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova were the second team to qualify for Singapore last year, but have played just six events in 2016 due to Safarova’s struggles with illness and injury. Still, the captured their their major title as a pair at the US Open, moving up to No.7 on the RTS leaderboard.
LOOKING AHEAD: THE ASIAN SWING
Six spots in singles and five spots in doubles will be decided during the WTA tour’s final stretch of the 2016 season. The first major tournament of the Asian Swing is the Premier-level Toray Pan Pacific Open, won by defending WTA Finals champion Agnieszka Radwanska last year. From there, the tour heads to China for back-to-back weeks at the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open (won by Venus Williams) and the Premier Mandatory China Open (won by French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza).
Here is the current RTS leaderboard in singles and doubles; who will qualify next?
Over the past month Karolina Pliskova has played a central role in one of the summer’s most fascinating storylines: the battle for No.1.
As she had in Cincinnati, Pliskova’s actions proved decisive at the US Open, a stunning upset of six-time champion Serena Williams confirming that Angelique Kerber would reach top spot for the first time.
Amidst all this, it should not be forgotten that Pliskova is also on the rise, playing the best tennis of her career. And she has the ranking to show for it.
While defeat in the final to Kerber denied the willowy Czech a Top 5 debut, it could not prevent her rising to a career-high No.6 in the rankings. And with several of those above her in the rankings having significant points to defend between now and the end of the season, a productive stay in Asia could well see Pliskova rise further.
Pliskova, though, was not the only one eagerly awaiting the release of the new rankings…
Carla Suárez Navarro (+4, No.12 to No.8): After cruising to the last 16, Suárez Navarro produced an unusually subdued showing in defeat against Simona Halep at Flushing Meadows, a setback that will be comforted somewhat by her return to the Top 10.
Caroline Garcia (+11, No.33 to No.24): For the second time in three majors, Garcia’s challenge was ended by the wiles of Agnieszka Radwanska, however, hard-fought wins in her first two matches were enough to reach a career-high No.24.
Timea Babos (+8, No.34 to No.26): Also performing well in New York was Babos, whose first third-round appearance at an event of this stature was rewarded with a career-high ranking.
Caroline Wozniacki (+25, No.74 to No.29): After a campaign hampered by injury, Wozniacki provided a timely reminder of her considerable talents, counterpunching masterclasses against Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys taking her back to the Flushing Meadows semifinals and the Top 30.
Anastasija Sevastova (+16, No.48 to No.32): Sevastova made a lot of friends in New York with her fearless performances on the court and candid words in the press room. Victories over Garbiñe Muguruza and Johanna Konta caught the eye as she reached a maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal
Ana Konjuh (+40, No.92 to No.52): Three years after lifting the junior US Open trophy, Konjuh made waves in the senior event, upsetting Radwanska to reach the quarterfinals. The result catapulted her back up the rankings and within touching distance of a Top 50 debut.
Naomi Osaka (+12, No.81 to No.69): Tempering the disappointment of a painful third-round exit to Madison Keys at Flushing Meadows was a career-high ranking as Osaka continues to close in on the Top 50.
Duan Ying-Ying (+11, No.103 to No.92): Although Duan’s homecoming at the WTA125K in Dalian ended earlier than expected, a run through qualifying to the second round in New York was enough to bring a Top 100 debut.
While in doubles…
The failure of Martina Hingis, one half of last year’s US Open winning team, to reach the final alongside new partner CoCo Vandeweghe ensured the other half, Sania Mirza, hung onto the doubles No.1 ranking. The US Open fortnight were her 71st and 72nd week on top – only Gigi Fernandez (80 weeks), Paola Suarez (87), Sara Errani (87), Roberta Vinci (110), Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario (111), Natasha Zvereva (124), Lisa Raymond (137), Cara Black (163), Liezel Huber (199) and Martina Navratilova (237) have been World No.1 for longer.
A little lower down the pecking order, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova victory in New York saw them rise to No.6 and No.16, respectively.
QUÉBEC CITY, Canada – No.8 seed Samantha Crawford survived a spirited challenge from Belgium’s Ysaline Bonaventure, edging through to advance 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-4 in the opening round of the Coupe Banque Nationale.
“I don’t know how many match points I had in that second set, but I know I had a few,” Crawford said after the match. “After losing the second set, I just wanted to not think about that. I was just trying to stay calm and stay in the present.”
After narrowly escaping with a tight first set – Crawford and Bonaventure traded breaks and wrestled with the momentum in the tiebreak – the American found herself holding match points after a couple of loose serves from Bonaventure. The Belgian fought her off twice to hold serve and send the match to another tiebreaker, where this time Bonaventure came out on top to even the scoreline. Some strong serving in the third set gave Crawford the edge, and the American took her third match point to advance to the second round.
Earlier this year, Crawford turned heads when she made it through qualifying at the Brisbane International to reach the semifinals, upsetting Belinda Bencic and Andrea Petkovic along the way. But it was in Québec City that the American announced her presence to the WTA, reaching the quarterfinals of the event last year after making it out of the qualifying rounds.
Also in action in Québec City, Catherine Bellis shined in her first match at the Coupe Banque Nationale, notching a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Amandine Hesse.
“We never played each other before, so I think it took a while for both of us to get used to each other’s game, and I just stayed more consistent.”
Aside from a tough opponent, Bellis also had to contend with the surface: being an indoor tournament staged on carpet, Québec is home to some of the fastest hardcourts anywhere on the tour.
“I had never played on this surface before,” Bellis said. “I think maybe a long time ago, but I liked it. I think it’s different, but I liked it a lot.”
More to come…
TOKYO, Japan – No.7 seed Christina McHale survived a late wobble to defeat Kateryna Kozlova and take her place in the second round of the Japan Women’s Open Tennis.
Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
In her first match since a disappointing second-round defeat to Roberta Vinci at the US Open, McHale looked to have weathered the storm when she broke for a 5-3 in the deciding set. However, Kozlova had no intention of going quietly, promptly breaking back to ensure a tense finish.
McHale regrouped to force a tie-break and despite spurning two match points, closed out a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) victory after almost three hours on court.
Elsewhere, there were mixed fortunes for the draw’s other seeds as Zhang Shuai came through her own rollercoaster, while Kateryna Bondarenko and Madison Brengle fell at the first hurdle.
Taking on wildcard Eri Hozumi and the home crowd, Zhang recovered from a slow start to both the first set, then a second set whitewash before ultimately prevailing, 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-3.
Bondarenko, the No.8 seed, was edged out by Louisa Chirico, 6-4, 7-5, while No.5 seed Brengle lost the final four games to slip to a 6-1, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Jana Cepelova.
The remaining seeds will all be in action on Tuesday, including last year’s winner, Yanina Wickmayer and home favorite Misaki Doi, who begins her bid to become the tournament’s first Japanese champion against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
TOKYO, Japan – No.7 seed Christina McHale survived a late wobble to defeat Kateryna Kozlova and take her place in the second round of the Hashimoto Sogyo Japan Women’s Open Tennis.
Watch live action from Tokyo this week on WTA Live powered by TennisTV!
In her first match since a disappointing second-round defeat to Roberta Vinci at the US Open, McHale looked to have weathered to storm when she broke for a 5-3 in the deciding set. However, Kozlova had no intention of going quietly, promptly breaking back to ensure a tense finish.
McHale regrouped to force a tie-break and despite spurning two match points, closed out a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory after almost three hours on court.
Elsewhere, there were mixed fortunes for the draws other seeds as Zhang Shuai came through her own rollercoaster, while Kateryna Bondarenko and Madison Brengle fell at the first hurdle.
Taking on wildcard Eri Hozumi and the home crowd, Zhang recovered from a slow start to both the first set, then a second set whitewash before ultimately prevailing, 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-3.
Bondarenko, the No.8 seed, was edged out by Louisa Chirico, 6-4, 7-5, while No.5 seed Brengle lost the final four games to slip to a 6-1, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Jana Cepelova.
The remaining seeds will all be in action on Tuesday, including last year’s winner, Yanina Wickmayer and home favorite Misaki Doi, who begins her bid to become the tournament’s first Japanese champion against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
After the new rankings were released on Monday, Angelique Kerber was presented with the WTA World No.1 Trophy, which was unveiled last year at the WTA Finals in Singapore.
The focal point of the trophy is a silver “star-map” tennis ball that represents the tennis universe.
On the trophy, all World No.1s, past and present, are depicted by a diamond in the sky, representing each champion leaving their mark on the sport.
At 28 years old, Kerber became the oldest woman to rise to World No.1 for the first time.
She’s only the second German woman to achieve this historic milestone since computer rankings were introduced in 1975, and the first since Stefanie Graf.
Kerber has also qualified for the 2016 BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in October, and will be making her fourth appearance at the year-end finale.
Kerber’s rise to WTA World No.1 brings to an end the reign of Serena Williams, whose 186 weeks tied the all-time record set by Graf.
THE WINNERS
Angelique Kerber capped off her rise to WTA World No.1 by winning her first US Open title, edging past No.10 seed Karolina Pliskova, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
“It’s just amazing. I won my second Grand Slam of the year and it’s the best year of my career,” Kerber said after the match.
“For me everything started here in 2011,” she added, referring to when she made the semifinals ranked No.92. “And now here, five years later I’m standing here with the trophy. All the dreams came true this year.”
Read the match recap | WTA Insider Live Blog: Game-by-game analysis
Former Australian Open and French Open champions Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova added the third part of the Career Grand Slam by coming back from the brink against top seeds Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, edging past the Frenchwomen, 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.
“It was a little bit of a slow start, but I’ve gotta give credit to our opponents,” Mattek-Sands said after the match. “They came out playing big, serving big, making all their rolls, ripping returns.
“I think one of the things that we do really well is we don’t get too down no matter what the score is. We’re really positive.”
Read the match recap
Less than a fortnight after meeting one another, Laura Siegemund and Mate Pavic hoisted aloft their first Grand Slam trophy on tennis’ grandest stage after winning the US Open mixed doubles title.
In front of an unashamedly partisan Arthur Ashe crowd, Siegemund and Pavic spoiled the party by upsetting No.7 seeds CoCo Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram, 6-4, 6-4.
“I’m just stunned a little bit at this point. I’m very happy. I think we played a great match today, Siegemund said. “We did play a great tournament. All the other matches were, yeah, very solid also in the important situations, although we never played together.
Read the match recap
RANKING MOVERS:
Notable singles ranking movers for the week of September 12, 2016.
Caroline Wozniacki (DEN), +45 (No.74 to 29): Two-time US Open finalist Wozniacki owns this week’s biggest ranking jump. Her run to the US Open semifinal reversed a downward trend after a season derailed by injuries.
Ana Konjuh (CRO), +40 (No.92 to 52): 18-year-old Konjuh avenged her Wimbledon loss to Agnieszka Radwanska by upsetting the No.4 seed on her way to the US Open quarterfinals, earning herself a huge ranking move in the process.
Anastasija Sevastova (LAT), +16 (48 to 32): Another US Open Cinderella story, Sevastova moves up 16 spots to No.32 after reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Karolina Pliskova (CZE), +5 (No.11 to 6): Pliskova rose to a career-high of No.6 after a run to the US Open final. It was her best result in a Grand Slam, never passing the third round in any previous appearance.
Angelique Kerber (GER), +1 (No.2 to 1): By virtue of winning the US Open and Serena Williams falling in the semifinals, Angelique Kerber rose to World No.1. She becomes the first German to reach the top spot since Steffi Graf and, at 28-years-old, she’s the oldest player to become No.1.
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS
Coupe Banque Nationale
Quebec City, Canada
International | $226,750 | Carpet
Monday, September 12 – Sunday, September 18
Japan Women’s Open Tennis
Tokyo, Japan
International | $226,750 | Hard
Monday, September 12 – Sunday, September 18
Toray Pan Pacific Open
Tokyo, Japan
Premier | $885,500 | Hard
Monday, September 19 – Sunday, September 25
Guangzhou International Women’s Open
Guangzhou, China
International | $226,750 | Hard
Monday, September 19 – Saturday, September 24
Korea Open Tennis
International | $226,750 | Hard
Monday, September 19 – Sunday, September 25
TOP 20 PLAYER SCHEDULES
1. Angelique Kerber
2. Serena Williams
3. Garbiñe Muguruza – Tokyo (PPO)
4. Agnieszka Radwanska – Tokyo (PPO)
5. Simona Halep – Tokyo (PPO)
6. Karolina Pliskova – Tokyo (PPO)
7. Venus Williams
8. Carla Suárez Navarro – Tokyo (PPO)
9. Madison Keys
10. Svetlana Kuznetsova
11. Victoria Azarenka
12. Dominika Cibulkova – Tokyo (PPO)
13. Johanna Konta
14. Timea Bacsinszky
15. Roberta Vinci – Guangzhou
16. Petra Kvitova
17. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Tokyo (PPO)
18. Samantha Stosur – Tokyo (PPO)
19. Elena Vesnina
20. Elina Svitolina – Tokyo (PPO)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
Best wishes to those celebrating birthdays this week:
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) – September 12, 1987
Elina Svitolina (UKR) – September 12, 1994
Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) – September 13, 1987
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK) – September 13, 1994
NEW YORK, NY, USA – Just over a month ago, Karolina Pliskova was ranked No.17 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard. Coming out of a career-best stretch of results this summer, the Czech powerhouse moved up a whopping 13 spots to find herself at No.4.
Pliskova fell agonizingly short of making a BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global debut in 2015, remaining in contention all the way until the last week of the season. Looking out of the mix by the middle of the Emirates Airline US Open Series, things turned around in a big way for the 24-year-old, who won the biggest title of her career at the Western & Southern Open and beat both Williams sisters en route to her first Grand Slam final at the US Open.
The Czech finished second to new World No.1 Angelique Kerber, who also reclaimed the top spot on the Road to Singapore leaderboard. Kerber captured her second Grand Slam title of the 2016 season in her third final appearance, and qualified for what will be her fourth appearance at the WTA Finals just before the start of the US Open.
Johanna Konta repeated her fourth round finish in Flushing, and moved up one spot to No.10 on the Road to Singapore leaderboard. Petra Kvitova moved up four spots to No.21 after her run into the second week.
In doubles, US Open finalists Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic moved up to the top spot, supplanting year-long No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. Both teams have already qualified for Singapore, and will be joined by No.3 team and Olympic Gold medalists Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. Read more about their qualification here.
Check out the full Road to Singapore leaderboard below:
SINGAPORE – The Russian team of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina has qualified for this year’s BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global.
Makarova and Vesnina are set to make their third appearance as a team at the WTA Finals in Singapore. The pair reached the final on their debut appearance in 2013, and fell in the opening round in 2014. The Russians also qualified for the year-end event in 2015, but had to withdraw due to an injury to Makarova.
“Congratulations to Ekaterina and Elena on qualifying for the BNP Paribas Finals Singapore presented by SC Global,” said WTA CEO Steve Simon. “This team is a favorite in any tournament, and we are thrilled to welcome them back to Singapore.”
Makarova and Vesnina began their partnership in 2012 and together have won seven titles, including two Grand Slams at 2013 Roland Garros and 2014 US Open. This year the Russian duo began the year as a team at the Mutua Madrid Open in April, where they reached the semifinals. The pair continued their success by clinching back-to-back titles at the Rogers Cup in Montréal and the Gold Medal at the Rio Olympics. In addition, they reached two finals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome and Roland Garros. As a result, they have earned the third slot in the doubles field at the WTA Finals Singapore.
“It’s definitely very exciting to qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore,” said Vesnina. “It was our goal when we started playing, started winning matches and started winning good tournaments, we knew that we wanted to be there. We were there two years ago and we really liked it. Last year, unfortunately, we couldn’t go because of the injury. It’s an amazing tournament – we have some great memories from there and we’re really looking forward to being there.”
“The WTA Finals is such a great tournament – and for our first year when we came out on the court, it was a full stadium for doubles,” added Makarova. “It was so fun to play out there and the fans are so excited and supportive. The whole organization and the country, it’s nice to be there.”
The current Road to Singapore Leaderboard as follows (as of September 12, 2016):