ELINA SVITOLINA LEADS 5-PACK OF TITLISTS

This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 7

​#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, player tweets, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.

Photo: Jonathan Newman/The Body Serve

RUNDOWN

• Jo-Wilfried Tsonga backed up his win last week in Rotterdam with another in Marseille. Tsonga, who re-enters the top 10 at #7, attended a football match after the final with runner-up Lucas Pouille. 
• Dominic Thiem beat Pablo Carreno Busta in Rio de Janeiro for the eighth ATP title of his young career. Thiem, 23, already owns more than half as many titles as 31-year-old Tsonga (14).
• Elina Svitolina debuts inside the WTA top 10 after winning the sixth and biggest title of her career in Dubai. Svitolina's road to the title: Saisai, McHale, Davis, Kerber, and Wozniacki.
• Jack Sock benefited from a Milos Raonic walkover in the Delray Beach final to score his second title of 2017 and third of his career. The top-ranked American is now 11-1 on the season.
• Timea Babos won the inaugural Hungarian Open for the second title of her career. Babos, on home soil, beat Šafářová in a three-set final. 
• ​Caroline Wozniacki is now #5 in the Road to Singapore after finishing runner-up in Dubai, like she did the previous week in Doha. 
• A return to world #1 was within reach for Angelique Kerber in Dubai; needing to win the title to unseat Serena Williams for the top spot, Kerber lost to eventual champion Svitolina in the semis.
• Juan Martin del Potro made his 2017 debut in Delray Beach, losing to Milos Raonic in the semifinals.
• Lucie Šafářová, beaten finalist in Budapest, rises 7 spots to #40 in new WTA rankings.
• Serena Williams joins two unsuspecting strangers for a late night hit.
• 17-year-old Catherine Bellis had the biggest result of her career, reaching the quarterfinals in Dubai before losing to Caroline Wozniacki. She is now on the cusp of her debut in the top 50, rising 14 spots to #56. 
• Steve Darcis withdrew from his quarterfinal against Donald Young in Delray Beach to deal with a personal matter. 
• Andy Murray says he suffered from a bout of shingles, but has recovered and is ready to play.
• Former world #11, Shahar Pe'er, has announced her retirement from tennis. 
• Check out "My Tennis Life" from The Tennis Channel, which features Nicole Gibbs and Sam Groth giving video diaries of their lives on tour. 

It was an unforgettable week! Thanks to @ddftennis for the wonderful welcome and a great tournament! □ Thanks to my team for finding the right words in the important moments! □ Thanks to all of the fans who supported me! I want to hug you all, you've created a fantastic atmosphere at the stadium so I felt like I was playing almost like at home! □

A post shared by Elina Svitolina□□ (@elisvitolina) on Feb 26, 2017 at 6:41am PST

Amazing week in Rio □□ #lovebrazil #mygame #adidas #babolat #number8

A post shared by Dominic Thiem (@domithiem) on Feb 27, 2017 at 6:58am PST

Lots of positives to take with me from these two weeks!! Time to take a few days off and then get ready for the US hard court swing!! pic.twitter.com/3eJ4K2kpt9

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) February 25, 2017

✨?

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Feb 26, 2017 at 6:27am PST

Petit Clasico avec mon pote @la_pouille #Heretocreate @adidasFR #OMPSG pic.twitter.com/ah3ApNKC4u

— Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (@tsonga7) February 26, 2017

congrats to my dude @rickiefowler on his title this weekend too □ was good seein ya before we both head off to Mexico #Champs #PickleBallDoubles □

A post shared by Jack Sock (@jack.sock) on Feb 27, 2017 at 8:11am PST

It wasn't a title but still a great week in Budapest! #thankyou □

A post shared by Lucie Safarova (@lucie.safarova) on Feb 26, 2017 at 1:51pm PST

Récup en piscine ce matin ! 10 degrés c'est froid....□□❄️ #marseille #open13 #nopainnogain

A post shared by Lucas Pouille (@lucaspouille) on Feb 23, 2017 at 7:46am PST

What if it's cause women have really good return of serves? https://t.co/cmTjbRKm74

— Madison Keys (@Madison_Keys) February 23, 2017

My fans have always been a huge source of motivation, especially through tough times. Thanks so much for your support, #18 was for all of us https://t.co/iqbm9Am7db

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) February 25, 2017

RANKINGS WATCH

• ATP: Tsonga (+4 to #7), Pouille (+2 to #15), Sock (+3 to #18), del Potro (+10 to #32), Tomic (-10 to #41), Schwartzman (+7 to #44), Darcis (+9 to #48), Baghdatis (-15 to #49), Medvedev (+7 to #57), Dolgopolov (-10 to #60), Young (+6 to #63), Bellucci (+7 to #69), Kicker (+23 to #100)

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• ​WTA​​:​ Svitolina (+3 to #10), Bertens (+3 to #20), Sevastova (+11 to #24), Suarez Navarro (-11 to #25), Babos (+6 to #27), Davis (+9 to #37), Safarova (+7 to #40), Peng (+8 to #49), Bellis (+14 to #56), Witthoeft (+16 to #67), Stephens (-18 to #68), Ostapenko (-37 to #71), Petkovic (-29 to #82)

ON THE WEB

Radwanska talks insecurities, post-retirement plans, Sharapova and more
​How Six of Tennis' Early-Season Surprises Might Fare the Rest of 2017
​John McEnroe Sr. was a Colorful Character from Tennis' Golden Age
​The Week in Preview: Big Four Returns in Acapulco, Dubai
​Mailbag: The moment that seemed to revive Grigor Dimitrov’s career
Tour the Factory that Cranks out 90 Million Tennis Balls a Year
Mirza Confirms Bollywood Movie Talks
​Chinese Tennis Star Li Na Partners With Nike To Introduce Own Clothing Line
Biofile Q & A: Donald Young
Michael Downey Returns to Helm of Tennis Canada
​Kerber: I need to get used to everything around me​
Vasek Pospisil: On a near fatal bus ride, sibling rivalries and meeting Roger Federer
​America’s Top-Ranked Male Player, Jack Sock Is Dreaming Much Bigger

PODCASTS

The Body Serve - In a February Mood: RBA Is Our Valentine
​Beyond The Baseline - Ryan Harrison after First Career ATP Title
The Tennis Podcast - ​Karolina Pliskova, No.1 Material? Surprising Winners - Harrison, Dolgopolov...
​WTA Insider - Multiple daily episodes from Dubai
Tennis With An Accent -Becker Edberg Debate