SHARAPOVA'S RETURN & NADAL'S DOUBLE DECIMA

This Week In Tennis
Season 2, Vol 15

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

Photo: Albert Gea/Reuters

RUNDOWN
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• Maria Sharapova returned to the WTA last week after completing a 15-month doping ban. The recipient of a controversial wildcard in Stuttgart, Sharapova reached the semifinals before falling to French no. 1 Kiki Mladenovic. 
• Rafael Nadal won the Barcelona Open for a record tenth time last week.  The Spaniard equaled the record he set two weeks ago in Monte Carlo, where he also triumphed for a tenth time. Nadal defeated a resurgent Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-1 in the Barcelona final.
• Wild card Laura Siegemund beat Kiki Mladenovic for her biggest career title in Stuttgart. Last year's finalist, Siegemund went one better by beating a who's who of WTA talent, including Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
• Elina Svitolina won her third title of 2017 last week in Istanbul. Svitolina now leads the WTA field in most titles on the season. 
• Lucas  Pouille won the second title of his career last week in Budapest. The Frenchman saved two match points in his opening match against Jiri Vesely before going on to beat Aljaz Bedene in the final. 
• Playing in his second career final, Aljaz Bedene came up one round shy of claiming his first ATP Tour title in Budapest. Bedene was also, once again, the target of xenophobic attacks from countryman Dan Evans.
• Kiki Mladenovic's stellar 2017 campaign continued in Stuttgart, beating Maria Sharapova in the semifinals on her comeback, before losing to Siegemund in the final. 
• Kimiko Date returns to the WTA in Gifu, the site of her initial return to tennis in 2008. The former world number four, now 46 years old, is returning from double knee surgery last year. 
• Injury news: Naomi Osaka  ruptured an abdominal muscle in Stuttgart and has withdrawn from Prague and Madrid. Belinda Bencic also announced her wrist surgery that will keep her off tour for months.
• Petra Kvitova is playing tennis again. The Czech star shared a photo of her practising in Monaco.

Eine grandioseWoche geht zuende&ich möchte mich aus tiefstemHerzen bei meinenFans bedanken,die mich bis zum letztenPunkt getragen haben! ? pic.twitter.com/G6xchyn0FX

— Laura Siegemund (@laurasiegemund) May 1, 2017

Big big cheers to my amazing team for this comeback week. Each and every one of them! Opening a bottle of champagne my friend produced. □□#JustTheBeginning

A post shared by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on Apr 29, 2017 at 12:25pm PDT

New dance moves "The Hurdles" □□□

A post shared by Victoria Azarenka (@vichka35) on May 2, 2017 at 3:03am PDT

i'm really honored to tell you guys that i'm featured in the newest issue of my favourite magazine @racquetmag not as a player but as a writer. i compared the rivalry between jackson pollock and willem de kooning to roger&rafa and a personal experience. yes, i did sit in cafés in LA, frantically drinking green tea, wearing glasses i don't need and having mood swings for the sakes of it. you know, just what regular writers do. go go go! get it, read it, critique it but don't tell it to my face because i'm gonna cry! #racquetmag #awriterslife #isnotaplayerslife #gobigorgohome

A post shared by Andrea Petkovic (@andreapetkovici) on May 2, 2017 at 10:49am PDT

Celebrando una de las tradiciones del #Godó!! Muy contento con la victoria! pic.twitter.com/xMG38tjRwF

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) April 30, 2017

Title #️⃣7️⃣□□ thanks for your support!!! It means the world to me □□ #FamEli @wta @istanbul_cup pic.twitter.com/QgDhVVoOzb

— Elina Svitolina (@ElinaSvitolina) April 30, 2017

@russellcfuller □□□□□□□□ if only he could play Davis cup

— Dan Evans (@Evo151216) April 29, 2017

Vainqueur de mon 2e titre à Budapest !!!!! Super content et fier de ma semaine, merci à tous pour votre soutien vous êtes incroyables / Winner of my 2nd title at Budapest, so happy and proud of my week here. Thanks to you guys for the support you are unbelievable !!! □□□□□#TeamPouille #Champ #KeepGoing

A post shared by Lucas Pouille (@lucaspouille) on Apr 30, 2017 at 8:03am PDT

Become one with the #metball at night. @versace_official @donatella_versace gown

A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on May 2, 2017 at 5:49am PDT

​Watch below as Venus Williams surprises her first grade teacher in honour of Teacher Appreciation Month.
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RANKINGS WATCH
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• ATP: M Zverev (+3 to #32), Kohlschreiber (-8 to #39), Khachanov (+14 to #42), Schwartzman (-12 to #46), Evans (-8 to #51), Coric (-6 to #54), Bedene (+10 to #58), Zeballos (+21 to #63), Sugita (+18 to #73), Chung (+16 to #78), Tiafoe (-8 to #80), Almagro (-29 to #86), Thompson (-14 to #91)

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• ​WTA​​: Halep (+1 to #4), Mladenovic (+2 to #17), Bacsinszky (-5 to #27), Siegemund (+19 to #30), Safarova (-9 to #37), Mertens (+12 to #53), Kontaveit (+8 to #65), Saisai (+16 to #67), Cepelova (+12 to #85), Brengle (+7 to #91), Giorgi (-9 to #99), Sharapova (unranked to #262)

ON THE WEB

Nadal's perfect 10s are among the greatest numbers in sport
​Rafa won his second title no. 10 - is he the favorite to do it in Paris?
With an uncertain WTA, Sharapova may be back at just the right time
​Week in Preview: Quantity over quality as clay spreads across Europe
Ilie Nastase issues truly lame apology for Serena Williams comments
​Challenger Chronicles: Denis Shapovalov
​Mailbag: The economics of tennis and why the sport loses out on young athletes
Inside Wimbledon's Black Market Ticket Trade​
​Responses to Serena Williams’ Pregnancy Are Steeped in the Racism and Sexism She’s Long Faced
​Stuttgart result does little to settle Maria Sharapova debate
Damir Dzumhur Got His First Taste of Tennis on a Makeshift Court
​Catching up with Sebastien Grosjean

PODCASTS

The Body Serve - ​Sharapova Is Back, Let’s Have A Kiki
The Main Draw - Sportsmanship Awards
​Beyond The Baseline - ​Marcus Willis on life after Wimbledon, starting a family
Realz Tenis Fanz - ​Cue No Sound Effects for the Dirt​
​The Tennis Podcast - Sharapova's Return - How Was It For You?
​WTA Insider - WTA Finals Ambassador Kim Clijsters
​Tennis Nerd - Episode 2, Caitlin Thompson
Tennis With An Accent - Interviews with Ramona Toderas and Sveta Kuznetsova