This Week In Tennis
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Photo: Jonathan Newman/The Body Serve
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We're in two different cities - Jonathan is calling in from Charleston, SC, where he is reporting on the Volvo Car Open. We have fun with our new audio equipment, while bringing you clips from Venus Williams, Madison Keys, and Sam Stosur talking to press at Charleston's All Access Hour. We also recap the results in Miami, which saw Roger Federer beat Rafael Nadal for the third time this year, and hard court phenom Johanna Konta win a big title over Wozniacki.
0:40 James is in Toronto, Jonathan's in Charleston
4:20 Recapping the Miami men's final - Federer def. Nadal
9:00 Federer is damn near unbeatable right now
15:25 Konta def. Wozniacki: Konta on a hard court is a scary proposition
18:45 Venus beats no. 1 Kerber, makes semifinal
22:45 Jonathan saw AND spoke to Queenus, in the flesh - DEAD
27:25 Let's hear from Venus herself
36:50 Sam Stosur impresses in press
41:45 Madison Keys talks Twitter, fans, and what she's most proud of
0:40 James is in Toronto, Jonathan's in Charleston
4:20 Recapping the Miami men's final - Federer def. Nadal
9:00 Federer is damn near unbeatable right now
15:25 Konta def. Wozniacki: Konta on a hard court is a scary proposition
18:45 Venus beats no. 1 Kerber, makes semifinal
22:45 Jonathan saw AND spoke to Queenus, in the flesh - DEAD
27:25 Let's hear from Venus herself
36:50 Sam Stosur impresses in press
41:45 Madison Keys talks Twitter, fans, and what she's most proud of
Part Two: Mirjana Lučić-Baroni
Photo: Jonathan Newman/The Body Serve
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Episode 75 is our second dispatch from the Volvo Car Open in Charleston, South Carolina. The weather is moody and the top seeds are dropping like flies. Jonathan brings us two interviews: the first a casual chat with two Tennis Twitter pals, and then an engaging sit down with the one and only Mirjana Lučić-Baroni. Also, be on the lookout for an interview with Naomi Osaka on episode 76!
1:15 Jonathan's hectic day in Charleston
4:03 Keys, Venus & Vesnina headline a day of upsets
7:38 Richard Williams sightings all over Charleston
9:53 Assessing what's left of the draw
12:40 A parking lot chit chat with Twitter pals Chad (@CCSmooth13) & Bri (@4TheTennis)
27:43 The main draw: Jonathan's chat with Mirjana Lučić-Baroni.
1:15 Jonathan's hectic day in Charleston
4:03 Keys, Venus & Vesnina headline a day of upsets
7:38 Richard Williams sightings all over Charleston
9:53 Assessing what's left of the draw
12:40 A parking lot chit chat with Twitter pals Chad (@CCSmooth13) & Bri (@4TheTennis)
27:43 The main draw: Jonathan's chat with Mirjana Lučić-Baroni.
Part Three: Charleston, It's A Wrap
Photo: Jonathan Newman/The Body Serve
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Episode 76 marks the end of our Charleston coverage. We're bringing you our interview with rising WTA star Naomi Osaka, social media phenom and all-around great personality. We recap the Charleston final, the Davis Cup quarterfinals, Eugenie Bouchard's years-long court battle with the USTA, and on-court coaching. We wrap up with some thoughts about protecting queer spaces from bachelorette party madness.
4:25 Wrapping up our reporting from Charleston
12:40 Laura Siegemund's antics - give me the f$#@ing towel
16:20 Kasatkina def. Ostapenko in all-teen final
20:25 Our interview with Naomi Osaka!
36:30 Et ceteras: Serena will retake no. 1 without playing, Sharapova announces name of autobiography, Vika's back in Stanford
41:05 Bouchard v. USTA: the lawsuit that won't end
46:45 Mary Carillo grills WTA CEO Steve Simon - how do y'all feel about on-court coaching?
52:35 Davis Cup quarterfinals: AUS-USA is the only interesting match-up
57:30 Things we dislike - our treatise on bachelorette parties in gay bars
1:02:40 Things we like: food
4:25 Wrapping up our reporting from Charleston
12:40 Laura Siegemund's antics - give me the f$#@ing towel
16:20 Kasatkina def. Ostapenko in all-teen final
20:25 Our interview with Naomi Osaka!
36:30 Et ceteras: Serena will retake no. 1 without playing, Sharapova announces name of autobiography, Vika's back in Stanford
41:05 Bouchard v. USTA: the lawsuit that won't end
46:45 Mary Carillo grills WTA CEO Steve Simon - how do y'all feel about on-court coaching?
52:35 Davis Cup quarterfinals: AUS-USA is the only interesting match-up
57:30 Things we dislike - our treatise on bachelorette parties in gay bars
1:02:40 Things we like: food
This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 12
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, press snippets, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
Photo: Jonathan Newman/The Body Serve
RUNDOWN
- Daria Kasatkina won the first title of her career last week in Charleston. The Russian teenager returns to the WTA top 30 at #29.
- Jelena Ostapenko, in her third WTA final, was unable to capture her first title in Charleston; she lost in straight sets to fellow teenager Kasatkina in the final.
- Shelby Rogers, hometown favourite in Charleston, made the quarterfinals by scoring impressive wins over Madison Keys and Naomi Osaka.
- Mirjana Lucic-Baroni is up to a career high #21 ranking after making the semifinals in Charleston. She also sat down with The Body Serve tennis podcast for a one-on-one interview.
- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won her fourth Monterrey Open title, beating Angelique Kerber in the final. The Russian's latest triumph in Mexico was also the ninth overall WTA title of her career.
- Angelique Kerber, world #1, continues without a title in 2017, falling to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the Monterrey Open final.
- Davis Cup quarterfinal results: Belgium d. Italy, Australia d. U.S.A., France d. Great Britain, and Serbia d. Spain. Accordingly, Belgium will face Australia in the semifinals, while Serbia will play France for a spot in the final.
- Serena Williams, despite not playing a WTA match since winning the Australian Open, will regain the #1 ranking from Angelique Kerber after last year's Stuttgart points fall off the rankings.
- Victoria Azarenka has set a date for her return to the WTA Tour: her comeback will commence in Stanford.
- The Memphis Open will relocate to Long Island starting in 2018.
This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 11
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
Photo credit: Lynne Sladky/AP
RUNDOWN
- Jo Konta won the biggest title of her career last week in Miami. The new world #7 (career high) beat Venus Williams in the semifinals then Caroline Wozniacki in the final.
- Roger Federer completed the Sunshine Double, adding the Miami title to his Indian Wells crown from two weeks ago. His win over Nadal in the final was his fourth successive over the Spaniard and third of 2017.
- Rafael Nadal is up to world #5 after making his third hard court final of 2017. Nadal's loss to Federer in the Miami final narrows his lead in their head-to-head to 23-14.
- Caroline Wozniacki's consistent run of form continued in Miami where she reached at least the quarterfinals for the sixth time in the seven events she's played this year. Her runner-up finish matched her results in Doha and Dubai.
- Venus Williams returns to the WTA top 10 after making the Miami Open semifinals. Williams beat Kuznetsova in the fourth round before upsetting world #1, Angelique Kerber, in the quarterfinals.
- In unfortunate injury news, Yoshihito Nishiokatore his ACL in Miami.
- Nick Kyrgios made the quarterfinals in Miami before losing to Roger Federer in three tiebreak sets.
- Kimiko Date announced plans to return to the WTA Tour
- Victoria Azarenka is aiming for a U.S. Open Series return
- Roger Federer plans to skip the majority of the clay court season and play only the French Open.
This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 10
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, press snippets, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
Photo credit: AFP /Frederic J. Brown
RUNDOWN
- Roger Federer's 2017 continues to get better. After winning the Australian Open in January, Federer won the year's second biggest event to date in Indian Wells. He jumps four places to #6 in the new ATP rankings and is comfortably atop the Race to London standings.
- Elena Vesnina won the biggest title of her career, defeating compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Indian Wells final. She beat Shelby Rogers and Timea Babos in her first two matches, new world #1 Angelique Kerber in the Round of 16, Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, and Kristina Mladenovic in the semifinals.
- Stan Wawrinka reached his fourth Masters 1000 final, but was unable to improve on his career head-to-head record against Roger Federer, now 3-20.
- Svetlana Kuznetsova led by a set and a break versus Vesnina in the final before eventually losing 4-6 in the third set.
- Jack Sock's breakout season continued with a run to the semifinals in Indian Wells. Champion in Auckland and Delray Beach, Sock solidified his place as top-ranked American male player, and is now ranked #17.
- Rafael Nadal suffered a lop-sided loss to Federer in the fourth round, and has now lost three consecutive matches to Federer for the first time. Nadal still leads their head-to-head 23-13.
- Venus Williams recovered from a set and a break deficit to Jelena Jankovic in her first match to make the quarterfinals in Indian Wells. She was unable to repeat the effort against eventual champion Elena Vesnina.
- For the second successive tournament, Nick Kyrgios defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
- The new doubles pairing of Chan Yung-Jan and Martina Hingis captured the Indian Wells doubles title in just their third event together.
- Denis Shapovalov cracks the ATP top 200 for the first time after winning his first career Challenger event in Drummondville.
- Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray both cited elbow injuries while withdrawing from the Miami Masters.
- The ATP University graduated its newest class of Next Generation players in Miami last week.
This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 9
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, press snippets, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
Photo: Associated Press
RUNDOWN
- Andy Murray's struggles at the Indian Wells Masters continued when he lost his opening match to Vasek Pospisil in straight sets. The top seed failed to take advantage of a favourable draw.
- Shortly before the tournament began, Serena Williams announced her withdrawal from Indian Wells as well as Miami. With Williams out, Angelique Kerber is guaranteed to regain the world #1 ranking after Indian Wells.
- Venus Williams recovered from a 1-6 1-4 deficit to Jelena Jankovic in her opening match before coming back to win 1-6 7-6 6-1. The win was Williams' first at Indian Wells since 2001 (15 year absence).
- Victoria Azarenka announced plans for her return to tennis after giving birth to her first child in December. The former world number one will be coached by Michael Joyce and plans a late summer return to the WTA.
- Plans to update the Davis Cup format: ITF votes to reduce matches to best-of-three sets.
- Madison Keys made her return to the WTA Tour, beating Mariana Duque Mariño in her first match before a convincing 6-1 6-4 win over Naomi Osaka in the third round.
- Sloane Stephens, off tour after having foot surgery, resurfaced in Indian Wells as a TV personality. Watch some of her "Off Court" series for Tennis Channel HERE.
- Tomas Berdych lost a 6-1 5-2 double break lead to Nishioka in the third round before losing a second set tiebreak and eventually 6-4 in the third set.
- ATP early exits: Murray (2R Pospisil), Berdych (3R Nishioka), Tsonga (2R Fognini), Karlovic (2R Nishioka), Cilic (2R Fritz).
- WTA early exits: Stosur (2R Goerges), Halep (3R Mladenovic), Konta (3R Garcia), Lucic-Baroni (2R Day).
This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 8
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, player tweets, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
Photo credit: Getty Images
RUNDOWN
- Andy Murray won for the first time in Dubai, in his first event since the Australian Open. Murray saved seven match points in a quarterfinal against Philipp Kohlschreiber before beating Fernando Verdasco in the final. The world #1 also told reporters he battled shingles during his absence from the tour.
- Sam Querrey scored the biggest title of his career, overcoming Rafael Nadal in the Acapulco final. Querrey beat four top 20 players en route to wearing the Champion's sombrero at tournament's end: Goffin, Thiem, Kyrgios, and the aforementioned Nadal.
- Lesia Tsurenko won the third WTA title of her career, beating Kristina Mladenovic in the Acapulco final. The Ukrainian jumps nine spots to #41 in the new WTA rankings.
- Ashleigh Barty had the biggest week of her career, winning her first WTA title as well as the doubles cown in Kuala Lumpur. The 20-year-old Australian left tennis after the 2014 U.S. Open, eventually trying her hand at professional cricket, before making her return last year.
- Pablo Cuevas won his third consecutive title at the Brazil Open, beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a rain-delayed final. Cuevas created a stir on social media when he utilized an underhand serve on a winning match point.
- Rafael Nadal made his third trip to the Acapulco final in three tries. Unlike his two prior appearances, Nadal came up one match short of the title, losing to Sam Querrey.
- Fernando Verdasco's resurgent 2017 campaign (SF, Doha) continued last week in Dubai, reaching the final before losing to Andy Murray. The Spaniard's new ranking of #29 is his highest since July 7. 2014.
- Kristina Mladenovic appeared in tennis headlines for two reasons last week: reaching the finals in Acapulco, and announcing her successful doubles partnership with Caroline Garcia has ended.
- Roger Federer suffered a shock loss to Evgeny Donskoy in Dubai. In his first appearance since winning an 18th Grand Slam title in Australia, Federer beat Benoit Paire in his opening match before losing three match points in the second set and a 5-1 lead in the deciding tiebreak to the world #116.
- Novak Djokovic appeared to regain form in beating Juan Martin del Potro in a three-set Acapulco second round match. However, the world #2 would go on to lose in straight sets his next time out to Nick Kyrgios. The Australian has now beaten each of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic in his first meeting with all three.
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.
This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 6
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, player tweets, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
Photo: AFP
RUNDOWN
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won his 13th career title last week in Rotterdam. The veteran Frenchman also notched his 400th career singles win in the semifinals before beating David Goffin in the final.
- Karolina Pliskova scored her second title of 2017 when she beat Caroline Wozniacki in the Doha final for the eighth WTA title of her career.
- Alexander Dolgopolov upset Kei Nishikori to win in Buenos Aires. The Ukrainian, winner of just one of his previous 11 matches entering the tournament, strung together wins over Tipsarevic, Cuevas, Gerald Melzer, Carreno Busta, and Nishikori to claim his third ATP title.
- Ryan Harrison equals his career high ranking of #43 after winning the first ATP title of his career, beating Nikoloz Basilashvili in Memphis. The title comes two weeks after beating Taylor Fritz to win the Dallas Challenger.
- David Goffin overcame his recent nemesis Grigor Dimitrov on his way to the Rotterdam final. Despite losing to Tsonga in the final, Goffin cracks the ATP top 10 for the first time in his career.
- Kei Nishikori suffered his 6th consecutive loss in ATP finals. The world #5, who elected not to go for a fifth consecutive title in Memphis last week, lost to Alexander Dolgopolov.
- Caroline Wozniacki reached the final in Doha, losing to Karolina Pliskova. The Danish former world number one, now ranked #15, also announced Sascha Bajin as her new hitting partner.
- Martina Hingis has a new doubles partner: the Swiss star teamed with Yung-Jan Chan, one half of the successful Chan sisters, starting in Doha.
- Roberto Bautista Agut continued his show of support for LGBT issues when he announced he will wear rainbow laces on his shoes in Rio to aid the International Day Against Homophobia in Sport.
- Toni Nadal announced he will no longer be a part of the week-to-week coaching staff of Rafael Nadal at the end of the 2017 season.
This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 5
Grigor Dimitrov and Alexander Zverev built on their strong showings at the Australian Open with a pair of titles over the weekend. Dimitrov won on home soil for his second trophy of the young season, while Zverev's was the second overall of his young career. Elsewhere, Victor Estrella Burgos won the Ecuador Open for a third successive year, catapulting him back inside the ATP top 100 (#93). But, the most sensational headlines came out of Hawaii, where the U.S.T.A. had to issue an apology to their German Fed Cup opponents after playing an outdated Nazi-era version of their anthem.
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, player tweets, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
#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
- Grigor Dimitrov continued his fast start to the 2017 season, winning his second title on the year, this time on home turf at the Sofia Open. Dimitrov added to his Brisbane title when he beat David Goffin in the final, and is now 14-1 in 2017.
- Victor Estrella Burgos completed a three-peat at the Ecuador Open in Quito, beating Paolo Lorenzi in a third set tiebreak.
- Alex Zverev scored the second ATP Tour title of his career, winning in Montpellier. The young German cracks the ATP top 20 for the first time, landing at #18 in this week's rankings; he also paired with his brother to win the doubles title.
- Richard Gasquet, aiming for a three-peat in Montpellier, fell one match short losing to Alex Zverev in the final.
- The Fed Cup semifinals are set: Czech Republic d. Spain, U.S.A. d. Germany, Belarus d. Netherlands & Switzerland d. France.
- As with Davis Cup last week, the Fed Cup action produced a shocking moment when the host U.S.A. team played an outdated version of the German National Anthem. Worse yet, the version played was one used during Nazi-era Germany. The U.S.T.A. promptly issued an apology for the debacle, while Andrea Petkovic termed the fiasco "the epitome of ignorance."
- Not long after Denis Shapovalov was fined $7,000 for hitting an umpire in the eye at Davis Cup last week, came the news that Arnaud Gabas underwent surgery as a result of the accident.
- Sloane Stephens announced that she had successful foot surgery, and hopes to be back on the WTA Tour by the summer.
- Absent in Rotterdam: Top seeds Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal both announced their withdrawals from the event.
- WATCH: A python eats a tennis ball, has to have it removed.
This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol. 4
With the 2017 Australian Open completed, WTA players turned to events in St. Petersburg and Taipei, while the men traveled all over to begin their countries' quests for Davis Cup glory. Kristina Mladenovic won the first WTA title of her career in St. Petersburg, while world #13 Elina Svitolina took home the trophy in Taipei City. Elsewhere, defending Davis Cup champions Argentina (without Juan Martin del Potro) lost 3-2 to Italy. But, the biggest news of the week came out of Ottawa where Canadian Denis Shapovalov was defaulted in the deciding rubber versus Great Britan, after a ball he hit in frustration struck the chair umpire in the eye.
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, player tweets, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, player tweets, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
RUNDOWN
- Kristina Mladenovic won the first title of her career, defeating Yulia Putintseva in St. Petersburg. On her way to the title, Mladenovic beat Venus Williams 6-3 6-1, and defending Champion Roberta Vinci in the quarterfinals, before saving four match points in the final against Putintseva.
- Elina Svitolina won the title in Taipei, the fifth her career. She scored identical 6-3 6-2 wins over Mandy Minella in the semifinals and Peng Shuai in the final.
- After opening round action of Davis Cup this weekend, the Quarterfinals (April 7-9) are all set and the draw is as follows: Italy vs Belgium, United States vs Australia, France vs Great Britain, and Spain vs Serbia.
- Denis Shapovalov was defaulted from the deciding match in the Canada vs Britain tie after inadvertently hitting the chair umpire with a ball. The Canadian was fined $7,000 and issued an apology.
- Daniel Nestor competed in his 50th Davis Cup tie, exactly 25 years after his first.
- The defending Davis Cup champions, Argentina, were bounced by Italy in the opening round of the 2017 event.
- ATP Challenger winners: R. Harrison (Dallas), O. Jasika (Burnie), A. Mannarino (Quimper).
- Not surprisingly after her 23rd Slam title in Australia, Serena Williams was name WTA Player of the Month for January.
- Venus Williams lost her opening match in St. Petersburg, but the Australian Open finalist stuck around to take in some of the sights.
- Former top 10 player and French Open finalist, Lucie Šafářová, re-enters the WTA top 50 after making the semifinals in Taipei.
- After Gaël Monfils was left off the French team's roster for Davis Cup, the top ranked Frenchman tried his hand at a new sport.
This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol. 3
The 2017 edition of the Australian Open will be remembered as one chock full of surprises and retro performances by some of the game's greatest stars. Both finals featured unexpected matchups with the Williams sisters meeting for a ninth time in Grand Slam finals, while Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played for a Slam title for the first time since 2011.
By the time the last ball was struck, Serena Williams had won her 23rd Grand Slam title to move past Steffi Graf and reclaim the world #1 ranking from Angelique Kerber. For Federer, his win was the 18th of his career and first since Wimbledon in 2012. After missing the last six month of 2016 to rehab injuries, Federer also returns to the ATP top 10.
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps week two of the Australian Open via news reports, press conferences, player tweets, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
By the time the last ball was struck, Serena Williams had won her 23rd Grand Slam title to move past Steffi Graf and reclaim the world #1 ranking from Angelique Kerber. For Federer, his win was the 18th of his career and first since Wimbledon in 2012. After missing the last six month of 2016 to rehab injuries, Federer also returns to the ATP top 10.
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps week two of the Australian Open via news reports, press conferences, player tweets, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
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RUNDOWN
- Roger Federer, at long last, won his still record 18th Grand Slam singles title. The new world #10 beat long-time rival, Rafael Nadal, in a five-set final that pulled in huge ratings across the world.
- Serena Williams ended Angelique Kerber's 20-week reign as WTA world #1 when she beat sister Venus to win her record 23rd Grand Slam title in the Open Era.
- Rafael Nadal, like Federer, was a surprise finalist after taking time off at the end to last year to rehab injuries. The 14-time Slam champion led 3-1 in the fifth set before Federer reeled off five consecutive games to take the title.
- The evergreen Venus Williams reached her first Grand Slam final in eight years and first at the Australian Open since 2003. Watch her celebration after beating CoCo Vandeweghe in the semifinals.
- CoCo Vandeweghe scored two massive upsets on her way to a breakout semifinal appearance. She beat the defending champion, Angelique Kerber, in the fourth round before blitzing Muguruza in the quarterfinals. She leaves Melbourne with a career-high #20 ranking.
- Mirjana Lucic-Baroni was one of many turn-back-the-clock stories in Melbourne. But, hers may have been the most remarkable. On her way to the semifinals, Lucic-Baroni beat Karolina Pliskova in the quarters, and Aga Radwanska in the second round.
- Stan Wawrinka came within two wins of claiming back-to-back Grand Slam titles, falling to Roger Federer in a 5-set semifinal thriller.
- Grigor Dimitrov showed signs of vast improvement and readiness for a breakout in 2017 by stretching Rafael Nadal to five sets in the semifinals.
- The doubles pair of Mattek-Sands/Safarova claimed their fourth Grand Slam doubles title together from nine starts.
- Henri Kontinen and John Peers won their first ever Grand Slam doubles title.
- Kim Clijsters and Andy Roddick have been elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
PRESS
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For more comprehensive coverage of press interviews from the fortnight of tennis, visit the Australian Open website.
The Body Serve Tennis Podcast
Episode 67
Photo: Ben Solomon/Tennis Australia
We're checking in midway through the 2017 Australian Open, a tournament marked by the shocking upsets of Djokovic, Murray, and Kerber, as well as the Old Guard (Federer, Venus, Nadal) reminding us that they're still here. We do close reads of a few matches, take another look at Novak's slump, share our frustrations about cerain American players and commentators who should move on.
Listen below:
1:15 Old Guard re-asserts itself, plus upset shockers
3:40 Venus Williams is feeling herself
8:50 Nadal def. Zverev, in what could be a tide turner for Rafa
15:30 Djokovic stunned by Istomin - what's up with Novak?
24:15 Andy Murray goes out to Mischa Zverev
30:15 Grandpa Roger is back, beats Berdych and Nishikori
33:20 Johanna Konta is playing great tennis, will face SW
35:00 Ashleigh Barty reaches 3rd round in singles, beats Hingis/Coco in doubles
37:00 The Bad: Trump-supporting, early-losing, badly behaving American men
44:00 A digression on politics
50:15 Also Bad: TV Commentary
54:30 John McEnroe is mean, hypocritical, and obsessed with demeaning Nick Kyrgios
59:45 Kyrgios' press conference and our shifting feelings
65:20 Looking at some potentialities/possibilities of the second week (including a vocal performance from Jonathan)
This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol. 2
The 2017 Grand Slam season gets underway on Sunday in Melbourne, with tennis' biggest stars once again in search of their sport's ultimate prize. The second week of full play on both tennis tours produced four singles winners: Johanna Konta (Sydney), Jack Sock (Auckland) Gilles Muller (Sydney), Elise Mertens (Hobart). For Mertens and Muller, it was their first tour titles. Meanwhile, both Konta and Sock secured the second titles of their careers.
For these and other stories, #ThisWeekInTennis recaps last week's tennis action through news reports, player tweets, tennis writing, rankings, and podcasts. In addition, this volume with prepare you for the upcoming fortnight of Grand Slam tennis.
For these and other stories, #ThisWeekInTennis recaps last week's tennis action through news reports, player tweets, tennis writing, rankings, and podcasts. In addition, this volume with prepare you for the upcoming fortnight of Grand Slam tennis.
AFP PHOTO / PAUL CROCK
RUNDOWN
- Johanna Konta continues to sizzle in the early parts of the 2017 season, backing up her quarterfinal run in Shenzhen with a championship effort in Sydney. The top ranked Brit is now 8-1 on the new year.
- In Auckland, Jack Sock captured the second ATP title of his career. The second ranked American rises three spots to crack the top 20 for the first time in his career, just one spot behind his countryman, John Isner, at #19.
- A qualifier and champion in Hobart, Elise Mertens surges into the WTA top 100 at #82 after winning the first title of her career.
- Gilles Muller won the first ATP Tour title of his career in Sydney. The 33-year-old from Luxembourg also rises to a career-high #28 in the latest ATP rankings.
- Maria Sharapova announced the location of her return to the WTA Tour following her drug suspension. The former world #1 will make her first appearance in Stuttgart, site of three of her 35 WTA titles.
- Nadia Petrova and Jarmila Wolfe announced their respective retirements from tennis.
The 2017 Australian Open begins Sunday in Melbourne, with Serena Williams once again in search of Slam title #23. Williams has two main targets this fortnight: surpass Steffi Graf (with whom she's tied for second on the all-time list), and reclaim her top ranking from Angelique Kerber. Meanwhile, Roger Federer returns to Grand Slam action having missed the 2016 U.S. Open. Currently ranked #17, Federer shut down his season after Wimbledon last year to rehab nagging injuries.
Check out the singles draws below as well as some of the more intriguing first round matches on offer at Melbourne Park.
2017 AUSTRALIAN OPEN DRAWS
FIRST ROUND MATCHES TO WATCH
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Men
Raonic vs Brown Lopez vs Fognini Djokovic vs Verdasco Nadal vs Mayer Dolgopolov vs Coric Paire vs Haas Sock vs Herbert Cilic vs Janowicz |
Women
Mladenovic vs Konjuh Bacsinszky vs Giorgi Konta vs Flipkens Siniakova vs Goerges Riske vs Brengle Vinci vs Vandeweghe Bouchard vs Cirico S. Williams vs Bencic |
This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol. 1
Many of the games biggest names in tennis made their 2017 debuts during the season's opening week. Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Angelique Kerber were among the players in action during a hectic week across both tours.
Week One Winners: Grigor Dimitrov & Karolina Pliskova (Brisbane), Novak Djokovic (Doha), Roberto Bautista Agut (Chennai), Katerina Siniakova (Shenzhen), Lauren Davis (Auckland)
As always, #ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis action through news reports, player tweets, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
Week One Winners: Grigor Dimitrov & Karolina Pliskova (Brisbane), Novak Djokovic (Doha), Roberto Bautista Agut (Chennai), Katerina Siniakova (Shenzhen), Lauren Davis (Auckland)
As always, #ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis action through news reports, player tweets, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.
Chris Hyde/Getty Images
RUNDOWN
- Karolina Pliskova showed no signs of slowing down after a breakout 2016 campaign, losing one set on her way to the Brisbane title.
- Grigor Dimitrov claimed his 5th career title, and first since Queen's Club in 2014, when he overcame Kei Nishikori in the Brisbane final.
- Novak Djokovic survived five match points against Fernando Verdasco in the Doha semifinals before besting Andy Murray in a three-set final.
- As for Murray, you can refer to him as Sir Andrew Barron Murray after the Scot received knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
- Katerina Siniakova won the first WTA event of her career, beating Simona Halep, Johanna Konta, and Alison Riske on her way to the Shenzhen title.
- Lauren Davis beat Ana Konjuh to take the title in Auckland.
- Roberto Bautista Agut snared the fifth title of his career, beating Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-4 in Chennai.
- Richard Gasquet and Kristina Mladenovic won the Hopman Cup for France
- Rafael Nadal, winner against Milos Raonic the week prior in Abu Dhabi, was unable to do so again against the world #3 in the Brisbane quarterfinals.
- Watch: Venus Williams' Kiwiana carpool, a Kiwi version of Carpool Karaoke. The elder Williams stuck around in New Zealand for a few days after withdrawing from the ASB Classic following her first round win.
- Serena Williams followed Venus Williams out of the Auckland event on the same day, losing in three sets to Madison Brengle.
- Roger Federer made his return to tennis last week, partnering with Belinda Bencic to represent Switzerland at the Hopman Cup. Federer lost his singles match in three sets to Alex Zverev.
- Bethanie Mattek-Sands supplants Sania Mirza as the WTA #1 in doubles.
- Francesca Schiavone announced her plans to retire after the 2017 season.
- Since we've been gone: Ivanovic announced her retirement, Serena Williams got engaged, Victoria Azarenka had her baby, and Peta Kvitova suffered a horrific attack that will sideline her for at least six months.
Welcome to our first ever WTA Grand Slam Rankings. While the official WTA rankings take into consideration a player's performance across all WTA events over the preceding 12 months, these rankings are specific to player results at the eight Grand Slam events that have taken place over the the past two full seasons. This is a thought experiment: how have the players performed at the sport's most prestigious tournaments, and what can we glean from this data?
No surprise Serena Williams tops these rankings (photo by Jonathan Newman)
HOW THE RANKINGS WORK
A player earns one point for each progressive round reached at a Grand Slam. For example, a fourth round result nets four points while a first round loss yields one. Bonus points are awarded once a player reaches the quarterfinal stage of a Slam. Simona Halep earned five points for making this year's U.S. Open quarters as well as one bonus point. Serena Williams scored six regular and two bonus points for making the semis (eight), while Angelique Kerber bagged the maximum 12 for winning the title (eight plus four bonus points).
1R - 1 pt
2R - 2 pts
3R - 3 pts
4R - 4 pts
QF - 5 pts (+ 1 bonus) = 6 pts
SF - 6 pts (+ 2 bonus) = 8 pts
F - 7 pts (+3 bonus) = 10 pts
W - 8pts (+4 bonus) = 12 pts
These rankings are intended as a bit of fun and to be taken with a grain of salt. While not official, they offer insight into the overall landscape of women's tennis. For example, who has earned the lion's share of her points from a single major tournament? Who has been more consistent at majors than expected? Have the top-ranked women performed to their ability at the Slams?
This Week In Tennis
Vol. 48
All year long, #ThisWeekInTennis brought you weekly recaps of the action in professional tennis. Each edition included a section featuring the best (highly subjective) tweets from that week's play. Now that the season is over, what better way to revisit a very eventful season than a collection of some of the season's best tweets?
My personal faves? Roberto Bautista Agut tweeting in support of LGBT equality, and pretty much anything that made its way from Naomi Osaka's finger tips to the Twittersphere. What were some of your favourite/most memorable tennis tweets of the year? Sound off in the comments below and on Twitter (@SportScribeCA).
My personal faves? Roberto Bautista Agut tweeting in support of LGBT equality, and pretty much anything that made its way from Naomi Osaka's finger tips to the Twittersphere. What were some of your favourite/most memorable tennis tweets of the year? Sound off in the comments below and on Twitter (@SportScribeCA).
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This Week In Tennis
Vol. 46
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic entered the ATP World Tour Finals in London with the #1 ranking at stake for the two runaway best players in men's tennis this season. Murray, ranked #1 for the first time in his career two weeks ago, continued his blitzing form since the U.S. Open, winning his fifth consecutive tournament to secure the year-end top ranking. Murray finishes 630 points clear of Djokovic at #2 and a whopping 6,960 points ahead of Milos Raonic at world #3.
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the previous week's tennis action through news reports, player tweets, press snippets, tennis writing, rankings, and podcasts.
#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the previous week's tennis action through news reports, player tweets, press snippets, tennis writing, rankings, and podcasts.
Photo: Getty Images
RUNDOWN
- Andy Murray finished his 2016 campaign in style, capturing the ATP World Tour Finals to secure the year-end number one ranking. The win capped a stellar second half of the season for Murray, winning Wimbledon, Olympic gold, Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna, Paris, and now London.
- Novak Djokovic showed glimpses of his 2016 best form at the ATP World Tour Finals but was unable to clinch the year-end #1 ranking, losing in straight sets to Andy Murray in the final.
- Milos Raonic finsihes 2016 ranked world #3. The Wimbledon finalist lost a three-and-a-half hour semifinal to Andy Murray and also took Novak Djokovic to two tiebreaks in round robin play.
- Year-end top 10: 1) Murray 2) Djokovic 3) Raonic 4) Wawrinka 5) Nishikori 6) Cilic 7) Monfils 8) Thiem 9) Nadal 10) Berdych.
- Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares finish the year as the top ranked doubles team on the ATP Tour.
- Henri Kontinen and John Peers captured the year-end doubles crown at the ATP World Tour Finals.
- Roberta Vinci and Francesca Schiavone both confirmed they will continue to play on the WTA Tour in 2017.
- Venus & Serena Williams had courts in Compton, California dedicated in their honour. The sisters also announced the Yetunde Price Resource Center.
- Angelique Kerber celebrated her career-best season by having lunch with U.S. President, Barack Obama.
- Ekaterina Alexandrova beat Caroline Garcia to win the Limoges title.
- The ATP Tour announced a ‘Next Gen’ finals for 21-and-under players beginning in 2017.
- After the best season of her career, Karolina Pliskova splits with coach Jiri Vanek.
- Amelie Mauresmo steps down as France's Fed Cup captain, is pregnant with second child.
- The Czech women won the Fed Cup tournament for the fifth time in six years and third consecutive year.
- The final tennis event of the season is on deck as Argentina battles Croatia for the Davis Cup title.
This Week In Tennis
Vol. 44
Andy Murray had another big week on the ATP Tour. Coming off consecutive wins in Beijing, Shanghai, and Vienna, Murray won again in Paris. More importantly, Murray ascends to #1 in the world rankings, supplanting Novak Djokovic as the top ranked men's player. Elsewhere, Petra Kvitova won the WTA Elite Trophy event in Zhuhai going unbeaten in her four matches without dropping a set.
For these and other stories, #ThisWeekInTennis recaps last week's tennis action through news reports, player tweets, tennis writing, rankings, and podcasts.
For these and other stories, #ThisWeekInTennis recaps last week's tennis action through news reports, player tweets, tennis writing, rankings, and podcasts.
Photo: Associated Press
RUNDOWN
- Andy Murray is the new ATP Tour world #1. Murray becomes the 26th player to hold the top ranking the same week that he claimed his 14th career Masters title. The tournament win was Murray's eighth on the year and fourth in as many starts.
- Novak Djokovic ceded his top ranking to Andy Murray after the Paris Indoor Masters event. This week marks the first time since July 7, 2014 that someone other than Djokovic sits atop the ATP Tour rankings.
- Petra Kvitova closed her 2016 season in style by winning the WTA Elite Trophy event in Zhuhai. Kvitova enjoyed a successful Asian Swing winning both Zhuhai and Wuhan, while also making the quarterfinals in Beijing. The Czhech player will end the season ranked #11.
- Elina Svitolina capped a solid stretch after the U.S. Open with a run to the finals in Zhuhai (SF-Tokyo, SF-Beijing, SF-Moscow).
- John Isner rises nine places in the ATP rankings to #19 after reaching the final of BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. Isner is once more the top ranked American.
- Johanna Konta secured a year-end top ten ranking with her opening match win over Sam Stosur in Zhuhai. Konta, who ended 2015 ranked #46, will begin the 2017 season as the world #10.
- Reilly Opelka won his first career Challenger title in Charlottesville.
- Roger Federer (#16) exits the ATP top 10 for the first time since 2002.
- David Ferrer (#21) falls out of the ATP top 20 for the first time since July, 2009.
- Gael Monfils heads into the season-ending event in London boosted by reaching a career high ranking at #6.
- As per Todd Woodbridge, Nick Kyrgios has completed his three-week suspension from the ATP Tour.
- Steffi Graf made a rare appearance on the tennis circuit in her capacity as ambassador at the Zhuhai Elite Trophy event in Zhuhai
- The draw for the ATP World Tour Finals in London is out. The eight-man field is divided into two groups; the McEnroe group features Murray, Wawrinka, Nishikori, and Cilic, while the Lendl group consists of Djokovic, Raonic, Thiem, and Monfils.
- However, Milos Raonic is doubtful to participate after suffering a right quadriceps injury. If he is unable to compete, Tomas Berdych is next in line to take his place. Rafael Nadal, who qualified at #8, will not participate.
This Week In Tennis
Vol. 43
Dominika Cibulkova and Andy Murray were the big winners in tennis last week. Cibulkova scored the biggest title of her career when she beat Angelique Kerber in the finals of the WTA year-end event in Singapore. With the win, Cibulkova rises to a career high #5 ranking. Meanwhile, Andy Murray kept his win streak alive (16 matches and counting) with yet another title, this time in Vienna. The world #2 now sports a 69-9 record on the year having hoisted seven trophies.
As the 2016 tennis season heads towards the finish line, take a look back at the last week of action with #ThisWeekInTennis, recapping the action through news reports, press snippets, player tweets, tennis writing, rankings, and podcasts.
As the 2016 tennis season heads towards the finish line, take a look back at the last week of action with #ThisWeekInTennis, recapping the action through news reports, press snippets, player tweets, tennis writing, rankings, and podcasts.
Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
RUNDOWN
- Dominika Cibulkova won the WTA Finals in Singapore for the biggest title of her career. Apart from a new career high ranking at #5, Cibulkova finishes the year having won the most WTA singles titles of any player (four). Her seven finals on the year is second only to world #1, Angelique Kerber.
- Andy Murray won the third consecutive event in which he's entered, this time claiming the title in Vienna, Austria. The Andy Murray #1 ranking watch is officially on as the Brit has a chance of finally claiming the top ranking this week in Paris.
- Marin Cilic boosted his chances of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals by winning last week in Basel. He moves to #9 in the Race to London after beating Kei Nishikori 6-1 7-6. The title was also the first ATP 500 crown of Cilic's career.
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made the finals in Vienna before losing to Andy Murray. The Frenchman also announced he will become a father in the new year.
- Svetlana Kuznetsova had herself a banner two weeks. After winning in Moscow to qualify for the WTA Finals at the last minute, Kuznetsova reached the semifinals of the year-end event, and got a lot of media attention when she gave herself a haircut mid-match against Radwanska.
- Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina won the doubles title at the WTA Finals in Singapore. The pair also took Olympic gold in Rio.
- Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis returned as a doubles team at the WTA Finals, bowing out in the semifinals. While the pair were unable to defend their title from a year ago, Mirza will end 2016 as the #1 ranked doubles player on the WTA Tour.
- Nick Kyrgios has agreed to receive treatment from a sports psychologist in order to reduce his suspension from the ATP Tour.
- Jack Sock and Marcel Granollers teamed to win the doubles event in Basel. Sock, whose singles results have been on the uptick lately (final in Stockholm, quarters in Shanghai), has been even better in doubles; he's made the final of his last three events, winning two.
- Both Serena and Venus Williams have been confirmed for the 2017 edition of the ASB Classic in Auckland to start the year.
- WTA year-end top 10 is settled: 1) Kerber 2) Williams 3) Radwanska 4) Halep 5) Cibulkova 6) Pliskova 7) Muguruza 8) Keys 9) Kuznetsova 10) Konta
This Week In Tennis
Vol. 42
Tennis crowned five singles titlists across the WTA and ATP tours last week: Juan Martin del Potro (Stockholm), Svetlana Kuznetsova (Moscow), Richard Gasquet (Antwerp), Pablo Carreno Busta (Moscow), and Monica Niculescu (Luxembourg). Kuznetsova defended her title in Moscow to secure the eighth and final spot at the WTA Finals in Singapore, an event that had already begun before she lifted the trophy at the Kremlin Cup to qualify. Elsewhere, Rafael Nadal shut down his 2016 season the same week that he officially opened his tennis academy in Mallorca.
For these and other stories from the past week in the tennis world, #ThisWeekInTennis provides a recap through news reports, player tweets, tennis writing, rankings, and podcasts.
For these and other stories from the past week in the tennis world, #ThisWeekInTennis provides a recap through news reports, player tweets, tennis writing, rankings, and podcasts.
RUNDOWN
- Svetlana Kuznetsova defended her Kremlin Cup title from 2015 to book the eighth and final spot at the WTA Finals in Singapore, the sixth time Kuznetsova has qualified for the event in her career.
- Juan Martin del Potro defeated Jack Sock to win in Stockholm and claim his first ATP title in 33 months.
- Pablo Carreno Busta won the second title of his career -- and this year -- when he beat Fabio Fognini in the Moscow final. As for the Italian, Fognini had these words to say to Carreno Busta while accepting his runner-up trophy.
- Monica Niculescu turned in a surprising 6-4 6-0 win over Petra Kvitova in the Luxembourg final for the 3rd title of her career.
- Richard Gasquet won the inaugural event in Antwerp, beating Diego Schwartzman in the final for his second title of 2016.
- Rafael Nadal announced he will shut it down for the rest of the 2016 season. He will no longer compete in Basel or Paris, nor will he travel to London for the World Tour Finals should he still qualify.
- In happier news for Nadal, the Spaniard opened his tennis academy in Mallorca, enlisting the help of Roger Federer for the event.
- Jurgen Melzer is now only the second active player to score at least 300 match wins in both singles and doubles (Stepanek). Melzer went on to win
- Daria Gavrilova, beaten finalist in Moscow, is enjoying the most successful stretch of her career. Gavrilova rises 13 spots to #24 in the latest WTA rankings and is four spots behind Sam Stosur for Australian #1.
- Kyle Edmund cracks the top 40 for the first time in his career after a semifinal showing in Antwerp.
- With Kuznetsova's Moscow win, Jo Konta will not qualify for the WTA Finals. However, she did win the WTA Most Improved Player title.
- The Zhuhai WTA Elite Trophy field of 12 is set. Defending champion, Venus Williams, will not participate.
- Swedish brothers Elias and Mikael Ymer won their first ATP doubles title, on home turf in Stockholm.
The Body Serve Tennis Podcast
Episode 57
The Body Serve Tennis Podcast returns to take you through Nick Kyrgios and Maria Sharapova's disciplinary drama. We try to figure out where to stand on Kyrgios, why his behavior angers so many, and what the ATP means by suggesting counselling. As for Sharapova, we are not kind about her tasteless media blitz following her (slightly) reduced suspension. Stick around for actual tennis talk - lauding the strong fall performers and looking ahead to Singapore.
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Timestamps
3:00 Kyrgios suspension: warring camps
7:25 Is Nick's perceived apathy the reason so many people are mad?
12:00 What to make of the counselling option? What is the state of mental health in tennis?
21:30 The Swiftian/Trumpesque Media Victory Tour of Maria Sharapova ... where good taste went to die
26:30 James takes you through the details of the Sharapova appeal decision
33:30 Tennis legends invite Maria to WTT charity event, all is forgiven
38:00 Serena's fall swing: Disney World, Color Purple, Formation, NOT Singapore
41:30 Singapore lineup and scenarios
43:00 Big ups to Cibulkova, Wozniacki, Kvitova, Radwanska, Konta, Keys
47:30 Men's fall standouts: Dimitrov, RBA, Murray - can Murray get to no. 1?
51:30 Talking down the Novak slump chatter
54:00 Our faves Venus and Rafa are struggling
Timestamps
3:00 Kyrgios suspension: warring camps
7:25 Is Nick's perceived apathy the reason so many people are mad?
12:00 What to make of the counselling option? What is the state of mental health in tennis?
21:30 The Swiftian/Trumpesque Media Victory Tour of Maria Sharapova ... where good taste went to die
26:30 James takes you through the details of the Sharapova appeal decision
33:30 Tennis legends invite Maria to WTT charity event, all is forgiven
38:00 Serena's fall swing: Disney World, Color Purple, Formation, NOT Singapore
41:30 Singapore lineup and scenarios
43:00 Big ups to Cibulkova, Wozniacki, Kvitova, Radwanska, Konta, Keys
47:30 Men's fall standouts: Dimitrov, RBA, Murray - can Murray get to no. 1?
51:30 Talking down the Novak slump chatter
54:00 Our faves Venus and Rafa are struggling
This Week In Tennis
Vol. 41
Another week in tennis, another big "scandal." This time Nick Kyrgios is the player grabbing headlines a week after Maria Sharapova received news that her two year suspension for doping would be reduced to 15 months. Kyrgios, days after winning Tokyo, had an emotional collapse in Shanghai which started on court and spilled over into his press conference. The top-ranked Australian received a pair of fines and an 8 week suspension for the incident.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray won his second tournament on the trot and Caroline Wozniacki captured her second title in a month. Shuai Peng and Dominika Cibulkova were the other titlists last week. Peng, once ranked as high as #14, won the first title of her career, while Cibulkova clinched a spot at the WTA Finals in Singapore. If you've missed any of the recent action, #ThisWeekInTennis recaps the last week of tennis through tweets, press conferences, articles, podcasts, and rankings.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray won his second tournament on the trot and Caroline Wozniacki captured her second title in a month. Shuai Peng and Dominika Cibulkova were the other titlists last week. Peng, once ranked as high as #14, won the first title of her career, while Cibulkova clinched a spot at the WTA Finals in Singapore. If you've missed any of the recent action, #ThisWeekInTennis recaps the last week of tennis through tweets, press conferences, articles, podcasts, and rankings.
Photo credit: Andy Wong/AP
RUNDOWN
- Andy Murray continued his tear through the Asian swing with his second title in as many weeks in Shanghai. The world #2 now finds himself within striking distance of Novak Djokovic for the top spot in the ATP rankings, 2415 points behind the Serbian.
- Caroline Wozniacki won the 25th WTA title of her career last week in Hong Kong. The 26-year-old, ranked #74 entering the U.S. Open, continues her resurgence after having won in Tokyo as well last month.
- Dominika Cibulkova wins her third title of 2016 in Linz and qualifies for the WTA Finals in Singapore.
- Serena Williams announced her withdrawal from the WTA Finals in Singapore.
- Shuai Peng won the first WTA singles title of her career in Tianjin. Known for playing with two hands off both wings and making the U.S. Open semifinals in 2014, Peng rises 74 spots to #108 in the latest WTA rankings. She also teamed with Christina McHale to win the doubles title in Tianjin.
- Days after the biggest title of his career, Nick Kyrgios had the biggest meltdown of his career in Shanghai. The fallout: Kyrgios hasbeen suspended by the ATP Tour for eight weeks and fined twice to the tune of $42,500.
- Prior to Serena Williams' withdrawal from the WTA Finals, the eight qualifiers appeared to have been decided. With the world #1's withdrawal, Jo Konta, Suarez Navarro, and Svetlana Kuznetsova all remain in the running for the eighth and final spot.
- Rafael Nadal lost his opening match in Shanghai to Viktor Troicki. The top-ranked Spaniard cast doubt on his participation in ATP events for the remainder of 2016 in his post-match press conference.
- Jack Sock and John Isner won the Shanghai doubles title
- Sania Mirza reaches 80 consecutive weeks as world #1 in doubles.
This Week In Tennis
Vol. 40
Maria Sharapova's drug suspension was reduced from 24 to 15 months last week as per the decision handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Sharapova then embarked on a victory tour of sorts - appearing on Charlie Rose and The Today Show - which culminated with a return to the court at the WTT Smash Hits charity event. Sharapova will now be eligible to return in time for next year's French Open rather than January of 2018 as previously dictated by her original suspension.
Amidst the Sharapova frenzy, tennis crowned three high-profile champions last week in Andy Murray, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Nick Kyrgios. It was a big week overall for Brits in tennis; in addition to Murray's title, Jo Konta cracks the top 10 for the first time, while Kyle Edmund makes his maiden leap into the top 50. If you've missed any of the recent action, #ThisWeekInTennis recaps the last week of tennis through tweets, press conferences, articles, podcasts, and rankings.
Amidst the Sharapova frenzy, tennis crowned three high-profile champions last week in Andy Murray, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Nick Kyrgios. It was a big week overall for Brits in tennis; in addition to Murray's title, Jo Konta cracks the top 10 for the first time, while Kyle Edmund makes his maiden leap into the top 50. If you've missed any of the recent action, #ThisWeekInTennis recaps the last week of tennis through tweets, press conferences, articles, podcasts, and rankings.
Photo: AFP
RUNDOWN
- Andy Murray won the China Open for the 40th ATP title of his career. Moreover, Murray becomes just the 16th player in the Open Era to capture 40 career ATP titles.
- Agnieszka Radwanska won her 20th career WTA title in Beijing, beating Jo Konta in straight sets. Radwanska is only the fourth active player to win at least three Premier Mandatory titles.
- Johanna Konta becomes only the fourth British woman to crack the WTA top 10 after reaching the final in Beijing. Konta is also the first British woman to do so since 1984.
- Nick Kyrgios beat David Goffin in the final of the Japan Open to win his third title of 2016 and his career.
- Grigor Dimitrov, once ranked as high as #8 in the world, saw his ranking fall to #40 in July this year. With his finals appearance in Beijing, the Bulgarian is now ranked #18.
- David Goffin has held steady in the rankings between 11-20 since May of 2015, rising as high as #11 for seven weeks in the middle of 2016. His finals run in Tokyo leaves him at #12, some 650 points behind Thiem at #10.
- Frances Tiafoe is the fourth teenager ranked inside the ATP top 100 after winning his second ATP Challenger Tour title in Stockton. Tiafoe joins Zverev, Coric, and Fritz.
- Rafael Nadal won the 11th doubles title of his career, alongside Pablo Carrreno Busta. Meanwhile, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova won their third event in a row on the WTA Tour.
- Zhang Shuai received a wildcard into the WTA Elite Trophy event in Zhuhai. For a look at the current contenders for the year-end event, click here.
- Serena Williams, off the WTA Tour until the WTA Finals, made an appearance alongside Beyonce onstage at the final concert of the singer's Formation World Tour.
- The second edition of Tie Break Tens will take place in Austria on October 23.
- WADA issued a statement regarding the reduction of Sharapova's suspension while Sharapova's legal team may be readying to sue the ITF.
- The USTA announced that Mary Joe Fernandez will relinquish her role of Fed Cup captain.
This Week In Tennis
Vol. 39
The WTA Race to Singapore tightened considerably after the completion of the Wuhan Open in China. Petra Kvitova(+9 to #12) won her second title in Wuhan, while Dominika Cibulkova (finalist) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (semifinalist) strengthened their positions to qualify for the 2016 WTA Finals. Elsewhere, Tomas Berdych won in Shenzhen in just his second tournament back since missing the U.S. Open, and Karen Khachanov and Kristyna Pliskova earned the first ATP and WTA titles of their careers respectively.
If you've missed any of the recent action, #ThisWeekInTennis recaps the last week of tennis through tweets, press conferences, articles, podcasts, and rankings.
If you've missed any of the recent action, #ThisWeekInTennis recaps the last week of tennis through tweets, press conferences, articles, podcasts, and rankings.
Chinatopix via AP
RUNDOWN
- Petra Kvitova won her second Wuhan Open last week, beating world #1 Angelique Kerber along the way. Kvitova overcame six opponents in six days to claim the title: Ostapenko, Svitolina, Kerber, Konta, Halep, and Cibulkova in the final.
- With her run to the final in Wuhan (her 5th of the season), Dominika Cibulkova rises four spots to #8 in the new WTA rankings.
- Tomas Berdych won the Shenzhen Open in his second tournament back from missing the U.S. Open due to appendicitis. After reaching the semifinals last week in St. Petersburg, Berdcych's title run leaves him just 330 points behind Rafael Nadal for the final spot in the ATP World Tour Finals.
- Karen Khachanov won the first ATP title of his career. The 20-year-old vaults 46 spots to #55 and is the ninth first time winner on the ATP Tour this season.
- Serena Williams took to Facebook to share a personal story with her nephew, and vows 'I won't be silent" when it comes to race in America. Williams will also kick off her 2017 season in Auckland at the ASB Classic.
- In failing to defend her title from 2015, Venus Williams (R16 loss) exits the WTA top 10, falling six spots to #13.
- Novak Djokovic withdrew from Shanghai citing an elbow injury.
- Kristyna Pliskova won her first WTA title at the Tashkent Open and jumps 34 spots to a new career hight #66 in new WTA rankings.
- The doubles team of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarovaclaimed the title in Wuhan, beating Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova in the final. Team "Bucie" also qualified for Singapore with the title.
- A big life change for Kimiko Date-Krumm. Recovering from injury, the 46-year-old still has her sights set on another comeback.
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