WOZNIACKI BACK IN WINNER'S CIRCLE

This Week In Tennis
Vol. 38

The ATP and WTA Tours crowned five winners last week: Caroline Wozkiacki, Lesia Tsurenko, Lara Arruabarrena, Alex Zverev, and Lucas Pouille. Wozniacki (Tokyo) returns to the winner's circle after a calamitous 2016 season which saw her fall to #74 in the rankings before the U.S. Open. Zverev (St. Petersburg) and Pouille (Metz) backed up their hype as "next generation" standouts by winning their first ATP titles. Meanwhile, Tsurenko (Guangzhou) and Arruabarrena (Seoul) each won the second WTA titles of their careers. 

#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the last week of tennis through tweets, articles, podcasts, and rankings. 

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

RUNDOWN

• Caroline Wozniacki won her first WTA title in 18 months. The former world #1 entered the U.S. Open ranked #74. However, a semifinal run in New York, coupled with this Tokyo title, vaults her back to #22 in this week's rankings. Her Tokyo triumph also means Wozniacki has won a WTA title in nine consecutive seasons.
• Lucas Pouille scored the first ATP title of his career beating Dominic Thiem in the Metz final. Pouille rises to #16 in the rankings while Thiem notched his 6th ATP final of 2016 (four titles).
• Alex Zverev was another first time titlist on the ATP Tour, beating U.S. Open champion Stan Wawrinka to win the St. Petersburg trophy.
• Lesia Tsurenko defeated defending champion Jelena Jankovic in the Guangzhou final. Jankovic also reached the semifinals in doubles alongside Martina Hingis. 
• In one of the more bizarre scorelines you will see in a final, Lara Arruabarrena scored two bagels against Monica Niculescu in Seoul: 6-0 2-6 6-0. 
• Serena Williams announced her withdrawal from all remaining tournaments in the 2016 season save for the season-ending Singapore Championships. 
• Naomi Osaka cracks the WTA top 50 for the first time after making the Tokyo final. 
• The French Tennis Federation extended Benoit Paire's suspension until February 2017.
• Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova won their second title together from three starts. Mirza has now won eight doubles titles in 2016 and remains the #1 ranked doubles player on the WTA Tour.
• A story that's still developing: Tennis TV will stream only ATP matches in 2017 as the WTA has decided to package their matches separately.

Title #24 got me like□□□□□□□ #Tokyo pic.twitter.com/BB9jSOZt1q

— Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki) September 25, 2016

Oye Andoni... Que nos llevamos el título a casa!!□□ pic.twitter.com/WYebbNCkbg

— Lara Arruabarrena (@laraarrua) September 25, 2016

#DinnerWithTheBoyz #TourLife□ @ATPChallenger @StruffiTennis @IAmDeanOBrien @RuanRoelofse #OrleansChally Aka #Orleans250 pic.twitter.com/ZsqsTO6mTG

— Dustin Brown (@DreddyTennis) September 25, 2016

.@JulienBenneteau □□ #OkLetsGoAgain□

— Dustin Brown (@DreddyTennis) September 24, 2016

When the tournament site isn't crowded anymore cause you made it to the last day □ pic.twitter.com/TtSGs7Uceg

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@NaomiOsakaWTA) September 25, 2016

Thanks everyone for the support these past couple of days! This is surely an experience to learn on, looking forward to my next matches □□

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@NaomiOsakaWTA) September 25, 2016

@CaroWozniacki Way to go, Caro! Fantastic streak of winning a @WTA title in 9 consecutive seasons. That □ agrees with you! #ServingFreedom.

— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) September 25, 2016

Well done @CaroWozniacki! ???????????? https://t.co/YYx1uPbR2X

— Nicole Gibbs (@Gibbsyyyy) September 25, 2016

Tokyo ✅ □□
Smiles ✅
Title #2 for team ✅
Title #40 ✅□□ @BaraStrycova https://t.co/9xo3Trl8Ey

— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) September 24, 2016

pic.twitter.com/BP4DCQErLe

— Varvara Lepchenko (@Varunchik1) September 23, 2016

​RANKINGS WATCH

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• ​ATP: Pouille (+2 to #16), Zverev (+3 to #24), Lu (+8 to #63), Schwartzman (-7 to #70), Zeballos (-5 to #71), Berankis (+5 to #78), Pavlasek (-3 to #83), Struff (+3 to #84), Monteiro (+12 to #87), Sugita (+10 to #88), Becker (+6 to #91), Bagnis (-6 to #92), Donskoy (-5 to #95), Donaldson (-3 to #99)

​

• ​WTA​​: Svitolina (+2 to #18), Wozniacki (+6 to #22), Puig (+6 to #27), Sevastova (+5 to #30), Ivanovic (-4 to #34), Bencic (-14 to #40), Osaka (+19 to #47), Niculescu (+6 to #49), Tsurenko (+27 to #53), Wickmayer (-8 to #59), Arruabarrena (+29 to #61),  Goerges (-7 to #66), Lepchenko (-8 to #87), Vekic (+10 to #94), Linette (+14 to #95), Minella (+15 to #97)

​ON THE WEB

​Angelique Kerber happy at the head of women's tennis
​Muguruza Aims for Asian Swing Revival in Wuhan
Full Speed Ahead: How Tennis Officials are Aiming to Make a 19th Century Game Move at 21st Century Pace
​Checking in with Casey Dellacqua
Jamie Murray on his Rarest Piece of Silverware Yet
​Mailbag: The rationale behind therapeutic drug exemptions in tennis
​INTERVIEW: Russian teen Daria Kasatkina discusses challenges faced during first full year on tour
Lucas Pouille Upsets Dominic Thiem for First Career ATP Title
​Challenger Chronicles: James McGee
​Tennis legend Andre Agassi believes success comes to those who face their weaknesses
​Johanna Konta's focus remains on one game at a time
​With his Career in Somewhat of a Standstill, Ernests Gulbis is Reinventing Himself

​PODCASTS

​Beyond The Baseline -Martina Navratilova on U.S. Open, Politics
No Challenges Remaining -  Keeping the Faith in Tennis
​The Night Session - U.S. Open Hangover Part 1
The Night Session - U.S. Open Hangover Part 2