Saturday, December 31, 2016

2017 Pre-Game Post: Ready, Set... Play

2016 is nearly in our rear view mirrors, and 2017 is dead ahead. Finally.



Of course, that doesn't mean we'll forget the past year and all the, um, "joy" it brought us. Right, Genie?



And Gibbsy, speaking for so many about part of the "double-whammy" that one-six handed us in its closing days...





Friday night, in one of our final acts of "adieu" before we flipped over the calendar, Ronda Rousey chose to play the role of "the rest of us" at the end of a year-long pitched battle with the aforementioned year 2016...



Bless her.


So, welcome 2017.

It's been a WTA offseason of retirements, engagements, coaching changes (of course), and at least one ugly, harrowing criminal incident. But it all gets washed away in Week 1, as the slate is officially clean. Once again, all things are possible. Yes, Schmiedy, you can finally take a deep breath, just like in the "old days" of 2014...

Tb 2years ago #imagine ✌️👑

A photo posted by Anna Karolina (@akschmiedlova) on



Thus, the signs are all there that a new WTA season is upon us. As Hall of Famers have returned, racket in hand, from their snowy vacations...



Top 5 players have been hopping onto elevators to get Down Under as quickly as possible...



Passports (and reading material for long flights) were at the ready...



On-grounds practice sessions are currently underway...



Up-and-coming players are giddy to begin their ascent once again...



Players are blithely ignoring their past and casting it in an entirely different light...



And (apparently) Madison Brengle is ready for, umm, well, I'm not quite sure what. But she's surely well-prepared for it.



Heck, even Pastries have been cavorting with dolphins...



And it that doesn't tell you it's time to start all over again, then nothing will do the trick.





Introducing... Leo!

The sweetest ??????

A photo posted by Victoria Azarenka (@vichka35) on







Captain of the boat????

A photo posted by Caroline Wozniacki (@carowozniacki) on


Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year from Auckland! Excited to see what 2017 has in store ??

A video posted by Caroline Wozniacki (@carowozniacki) on












Simple and kind. I didn't get to meet you, but thank you, fellow passenger. ??

A photo posted by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on


Easiest pose I could find that looks like I know what I'm doing at 7am

A photo posted by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on






**HOPMAN CUP CHAMPIONS**
1989 Czechoslovakia (Sukova/Mecir)
1990 Spain (A.Sanchez/E.Sanchez)
1991 Yugoslavia (Seles/Prpic)
1992 Switzerland (Maleeva-Fragniere/Hlasek)
1993 Germany (Graf/Stich)
1994 Czech Republic (Novotna/Korda)
1995 Germany (A.Huber/Bo.Becker)
1996 Croatia (Majoli/Ivanisevic)
1997 United States (Gimelstob/Rubin)
1998 Slovak Republic (Habsudova/Kucera)
1999 Australia (Dokic/Philippoussis)
2000 South Africa (Coetzer/W.Ferreira)
2001 Switzerland (Hingis/Federer)
2002 Spain (Sanchez-Vicario/Robredo)
2003 United States (S.Williams/Blake)
2004 United States (Davenport/Blake)
2005 Slovak Republic (Hantuchova/Hrbaty)
2006 United States (Raymond/Dent)
2007 Russia (Petrova/Tursunov)
2008 United States (S.Williams-Shaughnessy/Fish)
2009 Slovak Republic (Cibulkova/Hrbaty)
2010 Spain (Martinez-Sanchez/Robredo)
2011 United States (Mattek-Sands/Isner)
2012 Czech Republic (Kvitova/Berdych)
2013 Spain (Medina-Garrigues/Verdasco)
2014 France (Cornet/Tsonga)
2015 Poland (A.Radwanska/Janowicz)
2016 Australia Green (Gavrilova/Kyrgios)

**BACKSPIN WEEK 1 PLAYERS-OF-THE-WEEK**
2002 Venus Williams, USA
2003 Serena Williams, USA
2004 Lindsay Davenport/USA, Eleni Daniilidou/GRE (co-PoW)
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2007 Dinara Safina, RUS
2008 Li Na, CHN
2009 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2010 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2011 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
2012 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2013 Serena Williams, USA
2014 Serena Williams, USA
2015 Maria Sharapova/RUS, Simona Halep/ROU (co-PoW)
2016 Victoria Azarenka, BLR

**CAREER WEEK 1 TITLES - active**
2...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2...Eleni Daniilidou, GRE
2...Aga Radwanska, POL
2...Patty Schnyder, SUI
2...Serena Williams, USA
2...Venus Williams, USA
1...Jelena Jankovic, SRB
1...Kaia Kanepi, EST
1...Petra Kvitova, CZE
1...Lucie Safarova, CZE
1...Maria Sharapova, RUS
1...Sloane Stephens, USA
1...Yanina Wickmayer, BEL
1...Zheng Jie, CHN
--
NOTE: Srebotnik won 1 singles title

**CAREER "DOROTHY TOUR" (AUS/NZL) TITLES - active**
8...Serena Williams, USA
4...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
3...Eleni Daniilidou, GRE
3...Patty Schnyder, SUI
2...Petra Kvitova, CZE
2...Aga Radwanska, POL
2...Maria Sharapova, RUS
2...Venus Williams, USA
2...Zheng Jie, CHN
--
NOTE: Hingis won 5 singles titles

**FINAL 2016 GIRLS TOP 20**
1. Anastasia Potapova, RUS
2. Olesya Pervushina, RUS
3. Kayla Day, USA
4. Rebeka Masarova, SUI
5. Amanda Anisimova, USA
6. Kaja Juvan, SLO
7. Amina Anshba, RUS
8. Dayana Zastremka, UKR
9. Claire Liu, USA
10. Taylor Johnson, USA
11. Wang Xiyu, CHN
12. Usue Arconada, USA
13. Olga Danilovic, SRB
14. Iga Swiatek, POL
15. Jodi Anna Burrage, GBR
16. Panna Udvardy, HUN
17. Katarina Zavatska, UKR
18. Ellie Douglas, USA
19. Ayumi Miyamoto, JPN
20. Emily Appleton, GBR


Meanwhile...



Get well soon, Comeback Petra.





BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA (Premier $1m/hard outdoor)
16 Singles Final: Azarenka d. Kerber
16 Doubles Final: Hingis/Mirza d. Kerber/Petkovic
17 Top Seeds: #1 Kerber/#2 Cibulkova
=============================
=SF=
#3 Ka.Pliskova d. #6 Svitolina
#2 Cibulkova d. Kasatkina
=FINAL=
#3 Ka.Pliskova d. #2 Cibulkova

...we'll get an early look at how well Kerber will defend her position as the reigning #1 heading into 2017. I'm sure she'll do fine, but I'm going away from her as far as my picks for this tournament, though. I see big things in store (see the upcoming "Prediction Blowout") for the likes of Pliskova, Svitolina and Kasatkina this new season, so I'm going to honor that commitment and go with all three to shine in Shenzhen this week. Remember, Daria leaped out of the starting blocks last season with an upset of Venus in her opening match.



SHENZHEN, CHINA (Int'l $750K/hard outdoor)
16 Singles Final: A.Radwanska d. Riske
16 Doubles Final: King/Niculescu d. Xu Yifan/Zhang Saisai
17 Top Seeds: A.Radwanska/Halep
=============================
=SF=
#1 A.Radwanska d. Zhang Shuai
#2 Halep d. Kr.Pliskova
=FINAL=
#1 A.Radwanska d. #2 Halep

...hmmm, if Halep and Radwanska were to actually meet in the final, I'm not sure I wouldn't go with Halep. But the Romanian's draw is so tough just to get there, I'm going with the odds and picking Aga to survive and do "her usual" in Asia. Si-mo-na opens with Jankovic, and that could be her "easiest" match. Peng/Siniakova would be next, then maybe Babos, then Konta/Kr.Pliskova, then maybe Radwanska in the final. Whew! Although, if Halep CAN maneuver through all that and get her hands on the title it may well be an early sign that 2017 will be very, very good to her.


Elsewhere, leave it to Serena to steal a few headlines right out of the gate, huh?




AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND (Int'l $250K/hard outdoor)
16 Singles Final: Stephens d. Goerges
16 Doubles Final: Mertens/Mestach d. Kovinic/Strycova
17 Top Seeds: S.Williams/V.Williams
=============================
=SF=
#1 S.Williams d. Safarova
#3 Wozniacki d. Osaka
=FINAL=
#1 S.Williams d. #3 Wozniacki

...well, of course one has to pick Serena when she's in the draw. It's just what you do (most of the time, anyway). You know, in other words, the exact opposite of what one did for most of the past eight and a half years (save for a few isolated occasions) when a certain recently-retired Serb was in the draw. Oh, wait... I guess I read the past few days that we're only supposed to "remember her fight," how nice she was and somehow come to the rose-colored-glasses conclusion that the (conservatively) million coaching changes were a case of her "just trying so hard to get it right" rather than proof of being unable to determine a real direction and/or stick with a decision for any amount of time longer than a couple of losses.

For sure, there were some sterling AnaIvo moments, though most of them were nearly a decade ago, but they don't erase all the blown leads, disappointing results, seeming questionable desire for what comes along with great success after her first brush with it, and the lack of as much to show as she SHOULD have for such great talent, at least when it comes to the near-decade span that's occurred AFTER she actually (briefly) reached the very top of the sport in 2008. Truthfully, all the "she was so great" talk has sounded a bit too much like "Clijsters 1.0" to me, when a smile and kind word made up for a laundry list of on-court faults swirling around, you know, the point of playing high-level professional tennis in the first place when the talent involved is exceptional enough to not condone anything BUT exceptional results.

So, uh, no, there won't be any Ivanovic pining here, nor any of the rewritten history nonsense, either.

Anyway, AnaIvo and picks aside, could 2017 start off in more encouraging fashion that to have Serena face Venus in a final... IN WEEK ONE? It could happen. I didn't predict it, but who'd ever turn up their nose to such a thing?



HOPMAN CUP; PERTH, AUS (team exhibition/indoor)
16 Final: AUS GREEN (Gavrilova/Kyrgios) d. UKR (Svitolina/Dolgopolov)
=GROUP A=
FRA (Mladenovic/Gasquet)
GER (Petkovic/A.Zverev)
GBR (Watson/Evans)
SUI (Bencic/Federer)
=GROUP B=
AUS (Gavrilova/Kyrgios)
CZE (Hradecka/Pavlasek)
ESP (Arruabarrena/F.Lopez)
USA (Vandeweghe/Sock)
=============================
=FINAL=
SUI d. AUS

...Federer returns, and so does Bencic. Hmmm, it'd been a nice do-over of what was SUPPOSED to happen in Rio if it'd been Federer and Hingis, the 2001 champions at this event, playing this year in Perth, no? Oh, well. So be it. Maybe in 2018?


Well, buckle in. It's all about to ge real all over again.

All for now.

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posted by Todd.Spiker @ 4:14 PM  3 comments

Friday, December 30, 2016

The Serena Quiz

Some things happen quickly. Some things take a little time before they become reality.

The long-overdue Serena Quiz is quite easily the latter.



1. True or False? Serena won in her first appearance in a final at all four slam events.
===============================================
2. How many consecutive singles matches did Serena win in WTA Championships/WTA Finals action between 2009-14?

a. 28
b. 24
c. 20
d. 16
e. 12
===============================================
3. What was Serena's career singles record vs. Steffi Graf?

a. 2-0
b. 2-1
c. 1-1
d. 1-2
e. 0-2
f. they never played
===============================================
4. To which player has Serena lost the most singles finals during her career?

a. Elena Dementieva
b. Venus Williams
c. Maria Sharapova
d. Victoria Azarenka
e. Justine Henin
===============================================
5. Three players have singles wins over both Serena and Venus in slam events, but have never been ranked #1 during their careers. How many can you name?
===============================================
6. Serena and Venus have faced off fourteen times in grand slam singles competition, making the all-sister match-up the second most common women's match in slam history. Which two women have played more often?

a. Evert & Austin
b. Navratilova & Evert
c. Graf & Sabatini
d. Graf & Sanchez
e. Evert & Mandlikova
===============================================
7. Serena swept Olympic Gold in singles and doubles in London in 2012. How many other women have accomplished the feat?

a. 3
b. 2
c. 1
d. 0
===============================================
8. Against which player has Serena lost five three-set matches, the most versus any player in her career?

a. Justine Henin
b. Venus Williams
c. Victoria Azarenka
d. Patty Schnyder
e. Jennifer Capriati
===============================================
9. Serena has famously been nearly untouchable in 1st Round slam singles matches, going 64-1, with her only loss coming to Virginie Razzano at Roland Garros in 2012. What's Serena's record vs. the French woman in their other career match-ups?

a. 10-0
b. 5-0
c. 3-0
e. 1-0
d. that was their only meeting
===============================================
10. True or False? Serena has never lost a match by dropping a 3rd set at love.
===============================================
11. Five players have defeated Serena more than once in grand slam match-ups. Pick the five:

a. Venus Williams
b. Maria Sharapova
c. Amelie Mauresmo
d. Jennifer Capriati
e. Kim Clijsters
f. Angelique Kerber
g. Justine Henin
h. Samantha Stosur
i. Garbine Muguruza
j. Lindsay Davenport
===============================================
12. Serena has playing thirteen singles matches in her Olympic career, going 11-2 and winning Gold in 2012. She played twelve different women in those matches. Who has she faced twice?

a. Samantha Stosur
b. Alize Cornet
c. Jelena Jankovic
d. Elena Dementieva
e. Ana Ivanovic
===============================================
13. Serena has participated in twelve #1-vs.-#2 matches in her career, going 9-1 as the #1-ranked player in the match-up, and 1-1 as the world #2. The same player handed her both of her career losses in such contests. Who's the player?

a. Victoria Azarenka
b. Justine Henin
c. Venus Williams
d. Kim Clijsters
e. Lindsay Davenport
===============================================
14. True or False? Serena has never won a tour-level women's doubles title with anyone but her sister Venus.
===============================================
15. What was Serena's career doubles record vs. Martina Navratilova?

a. 2-0
b. 2-1
c. 1-1
d. 1-2
e. 0-2
f. they never played
===============================================
BONUS QUESTION: What is the significance of the dates April 5, 1999 and July 8, 2002 in Serena's career?
===============================================


>>>[ 3 PTS. EACH UNLESS NOTED ]<<<
1. True - Williams won in her debut final appearances at all four slams. In the Australian Open, she won the 2003 title (and won her first six finals in Melbourne before losing to Kerber in the '16 final). She claimed the title in Paris is '02 in her first Roland Garros championship match, ultimately winning the first three times she played for the crown until losing to Muguruza in the '16 final. Serena became a Wimbledon champ after playing in her first SW19 final in '02, then won again the next year before falling to Sharapova in the '04 final. And, of course, Williams won in her maiden slam singles final at the U.S. Open in 1999 at age 17. She fell in her second final in New York, though, finishing runner-up to Venus in '01.
===============================================
2. d - Serena won a record sixteen straight matches in the tour's season-ending championships from 2009-14. She didn't participate in the event in 2010-11, but went undefeated while winning the title in 2009, '12 and '13 before finally losing to Simona Halep in her second of three round robin matches in the 2014 event. As it turned out, though, Halep's victory in her own final RR match allowed Williams to advance to the semifinals. Eventually, Serena faced off with Halep again in the final, defeating the Romanian to take the title.
===============================================
3. c - A then 17-year old Serena went 1-1 in her only two career match-ups vs. Graf, 29, in 1999. Graf won a 2nd Round match, 6-2/3-6/7-5, in Sydney in January, followed by Serena's win over the German in the Indian Wells final in March, 6-3/3-6/7-5. Graf would go on to win her final slam title at Roland Garros that spring, reach the Wimbledon final, then retire on August 13, 1999. In the first slam of the "post-Graf era," Serena won her first career major at the U.S. Open, defeating top-ranked Martina Hingis in the final. Williams' 2016 title at Wimbledon (at age 34) tied her with Graf for the most slam singles titles in the Open era, with both having claimed 22.

===============================================
4. d - Azarenka has defeated Serena in more finals (4) than any other player, one more than Venus' three wins. She's lost to the other three players listed -- Dementieva, Sharapova and Henin -- in two finals each during her career. Only Azarenka (2013 - Doha & Cincinnati) and Sharapova (2004 - Wimbledon & WTA Championships) have defeated Williams in multiple finals in the same season.
===============================================
5. [3 pts. for each correct answer; total possible: 9 pts.] Ekaterina Makarova, Sloane Stephens and Karolina Pliskova - Makarova defeated Serena in 2012 (AO), then Venus two years later (also in the AO). Stephens upset Serena in Australia in '13, then notched a win over Venus at Roland Garros in '15. Pliskova defeated both sisters at last year's U.S. Open. Interestingly, none of the three players won any of the slams in which they defeated a Williams, and all remain slam-less in their careers. Only Pliskova has reached a major final (at the same Open at which she defeated both sisters). Angelique Kerber had been on this list following her win over Serena in the '16 AO final and victory over Venus in the Wimbledon semis later in the season, but she then rose to #1 (supplanting Serena) following her title run at the U.S. Open (when she def. Pliskova in the final) last summer.
===============================================
6. b - All right, this one should have been pretty easy. Navratilova & Evert faced off 22 times in their slam careers, the most in women's slam history. Evert/Mandlikova occurred 13 times, as did Graf/Sanchez. Graf played Sabatini 12 times. Evert & Austin played just four times in slam competition.
===============================================
7. b - Two other women have swept the singles/doubles competitions at the same Olympic games: Helen Wills in 1924, and Venus Williams in 2000.
===============================================
8. e - Williams lost five three-setters to Jennifer Capriati, more than against any other player. Venus has four three-set wins over Serena, while Justine Henin, Patty Schnyder and Sandrine Testud each won three. Other active singles players with two three-set victories: Victoria Azarenka, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Samantha Stosur. Martina Hingis also notched a pair of three-set wins over Serena in her singles career.
===============================================
9. d - The 2012 match in Paris is Williams and Razzano's only meeting (so far).
===============================================
10. False - Serena has lost two 3rd sets at love in her singles career. The first came against Mary Joe Fernandez in the 3rd Round of Roland Garros in 1999, 3-6/6-1/0-6. The second came against Venus, a 7-5/1-6/0-6 round robin defeat at the 2008 WTA Championships. Serena withdrew from the latter event with a stomach injury after the loss. Incidentally, MJF also withdrew due to injury before her 4th Round match at RG in '99 after defeating Serena one round earlier.
===============================================
11. [2 pts. for each correct answer; total possible: 10 pts.] (a)V.Williams, (d)Capriati, (g)Henin, (h)Stosur and (i)Muguruza - Not surprisingly, Venus (w/ 4) has more slam wins over Serena than any other player, and is the only one to defeat her in two major finals (2001 U.S./2008 Wimbledon). Four of Capriati's seven career victories over Serena were in slams, including in their last meeting in the '04 U.S. Open QF. They never met in a slam final. Henin's four wins came four years apart, as she followed up her '03 victory at Roland Garros with three straight slam QF victories in 2007 (RG-WI-US). Stosur won in the '10 RG QF, then defeated Serena to claim her maiden slam singles crown one year later at the U.S. Open. Both of Muguruza's wins have come in Paris, in the 2nd Round in '14 and then the final in '16. All five of Williams' matches vs. the Spaniard have been in majors, with Serena winning three.
===============================================
12. b - Williams has gone 2-0 vs. Cornet in the Olympics, defeating her in the 3rd Round in Beijing in 2008, then again in the 2nd Round eight years later in Rio.
===============================================
13. a - Victoria Azarenka handed Serena both her losses in #1-vs.-#2 match-ups. Both matches occurred in 2013, with Azarenka defeating Williams in Doha as the #1 ranked player, then again with Serena at #1 in the tour rankings in Cincinnati. Over the next five months, though, top-ranked Serena downed #2 Azarenka in two more #1-vs.-#2 meetings at the U.S. Open later in the '13 season, then again in Brisbane at the start of 2014.
===============================================
14. False - Serena has won 23 career women's doubles titles. 22 have come with Venus by her side, but she claimed one additional title with Alexandra Stevenson in Leipzig in 2002.
===============================================
15. a - Playing with Venus, Serena was 2-0 in career doubles matches vs. Martina Navratilova. The matches took place over seven years apart, with the sisters winning in the 3rd Round of the '03 Australian Open (def. Kuznetsova/Navratilova 6-2/6-3), then again in the 2000 Wimbledon QF (def. de Swardt/Navratilova 4-6/6-2/6-1). The sisters also advanced via a walkover past Navratilova/Sanchez-Vicario in the '01 Wimbledon 3rd Round. Of additional historical note, Serena actually played doubles WITH Navratilova in one event, in Tokyo in 2002, when Serena was 20, and Navratilova 45. They went 1-1, defeating C.Martinez/Pratt, but losing in the QF to Kuznetsova/Sanchez-Vicario.
===============================================
BONUS: [3 pts. for each correct answer; total possible: 6 pts.] - The April '99 date is when Serena made her Top 10 singles debut, while the July '02 date is when she occupied the #1 ranking for the first time in her career.
===============================================




50-64 pts. - The elusive Grand Slam season
================================
40-49 pts. - Serena Slam II at age 33
================================
33-39 pts. - Serena Slam I at age 21
================================
24-32 pts. - U.S. Open champion at age 17
================================
13-23 pts. - Hey, Serena lost to Sharapova a few times in '04. But never again.
================================
0-12 pts. - Razzano in Paris
================================




All for now.

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posted by Todd.Spiker @ 1:27 AM  0 comments

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

The Master List: Power 50

Once again, it's time for some just-before-the-season value judgments.



For the past five seasons, I've looked at the Backspin "Grand Slam Master List" rankings as something of a "viability chart" when it came to the process of figuring out which players might have the best chance to succeed -- at least as far as reaching the "money rounds" of the quarterfinals or Round of 16 -- in the upcoming season's four very biggest events.

As it's turned out, of the 317 players included on the 2012-16 lists (54, 53, 69, 81 & 50 entries -- with an additional 10 "off-book" selections in '16 -- to start each the last five seasons), eighteen of the twenty slam winners were listed in that season's Top 8 (excluding only Marion Bartoli, #11 before her 2013 Wimbledon win, and Flavia Pennetta, #17 before winning the 2015 U.S. Open). In all, only five champions (w/ #8 Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon in '14, and #8 Angelique Kerber with her two wins last year) were listed outside the Top 6 on the ML. 39 of the 40 total slam singles finalists since 2012 were included on the preseason list, with only Sara Errani ('12 Roland Garros) reaching a final two from "way" off the Master List. 27 finalists had been listed in the preseason Top 8.

Last season's run of first-time slam semifinalists shot a few minor holes in the ML, as neither Kiki Bertens (RG) nor a coming-off-a-poor-2015-season Elena Vesnina (WI) had been listed last December. While Johanna Konta (only #41, but at least I had sense enough to include her) popped up in the AO final four, as well.

So far, 143 of the 160 slam quarterfinalists during the last five years were included somewhere on the ML heading into the season, including 30, 30 and 31, respectively, filling each year's thirty-two QF slots from 2013-15, before the total slipped to 24 in '16 with the shortened list. Since 2012, the Master List has included an average of 51.8 of each season's 64 players who reached each year's slam Round of 16's.

A few more specific ML numbers/results from 2016:

=Slam Champions=
#1, #3, #8, #8
=Runners-up=
#1, #1, #8, #7
=Semifinalists=
#1, #9, #12, #21, #33, #41, unlisted (Bertens), unlisted (Vesnina)
=Quarterfinalists=
#2, #4, #4, #10, #13, #20, #26, #27, #40, #45, unlisted (Pironkova), unlisted (Putintseva), unlisted (Rogers), unlisted (Sevastova), unlisted (Shvedova), unlisted (Sh.Zhang)
=Unlisted Round of 16 results=
Beck (AO), Doi (WI), Friedsam (AO), Shvedova (US), Strycova (off/AO)

So, here goes the attempt to do this again a few revolutions of the earth away from the first ball being struck with intent in official 2017 competition. As always, it's an inexact "science." An of-the-moment, "most likely to seriously contend (or star)," anything-but-objective ranking, of course.

Perhaps last year's best ML placement was Karolina Pliskova, who entered 2016 without a slam Round of 16 to her credit, but I still had her at a very high #7 despite her previous history. Come U.S. Open time, she made the prediction look pretty good, as she cleared several big hurdles (including BOTH Williams Sisters) en route to her maiden appearance in a slam singles final. Meanwhile, 2016 ML #18 Dasha Gavrilova made her fairly high standing (she'd only been #36 in the actual season-ending '15 tour rankings, after all) count right out of the gate, reaching the Round of 16 in Melbourne.

While Pliskova and Gavrilova were good choices a year ago, I also had Maria Sharapova at #2 (but who saw THAT coming?), Belinda Bencic at #6 (after a good start, injuries brought her down), and Kristina Mladenovic at #16 (perhaps I should have a "Fed Cup Master List?"), while Anna Karolina Schmiedlova was a high #17. Oh, Schmiedy... hopefully, 2016 was for you nothing but a nightmare that will finally pass come January.

But, thankfully, I also had Margarita Gasparyan at #38 (she reached the AO 4th Round before being injured), and Ana Konjuh (U.S. Open QF as a teenager) at #45. Nothing spectacular, but good, solid picks, I think, since at some point the actual positions become somewhat interchangeable, and just having a newly-achieving player listed at all is the goal.

Last year, I decided to cut the ML WAY back, reducing the 2016 list to a smallest-ever, official (but slightly squishy) "Power 50," four fewer than the number of players who appeared on the original version of the Master List for 2012, though I still included a list of ten "off-book" names, only one of which (Barbora Strycova at the AO) made good on the "honorable mention" position to reach a slam Round of 16 last year. So, for 2017, the list will be set at a FIRM "Power 50."

Who'll be "2017's Pliskova," and who'll get the unfortunate fate of being AKS? We shall see, but I'm sure someone will fill the bill on both accounts over the next eleven months. They always do.


So, let's begin the 2017 Master List, in descending order of viability (with last year's # in parenthesis):

1. Serena Williams, USA (1)
2. Angelique Kerber, GER (8)
3. Karolina Pliskova, CZE (7)

...once again, green is for "go." At least three, and maybe all four, of the '17 slam winners might just be in this trio, and they'll produce at least two of the four major runners-up, too.

Williams has been listed at the top of all five previous Master Lists, so it's become something of a December tradition that won't change in the sixth edition. Not only that, but she SHOULD be here. After all, even in what would be considered a "less than great" year from her she won career major #22 (tying Steffi Graf), reached another slam final and still nearly completed her third consecutive full season in the #1 ranking. Barring unforeseen circumstances, there's no reason to think she won't be a slam force again at age 35, winning at least one and moving Margaret Court (24 major titles) within striking distance. Meanwhile, Kerber is coming off a brilliant slam season which included three finals and two -- count 'em, TWO! -- titles. The world #1 has a great deal to live up to in '17. But even if she doesn't have quite as much success in the majors, she's not going away, and her belief in herself and knowledge that there's no reason to think she CAN'T win any of the four slams means she'll be a real-deal factor when it comes to title contention at no less than two of them this year. A year ago, regarding Pliskova, I said, "You sort of get the feeling that if she can finally make her first second week run at a slam she might just take the momentum deep, all the way to the semis or better." The Czech did just that, reaching the U.S. Open final. With that experience locked away, she's moved into the "on deck" circle when it comes to whichever player is the next first-time slam champ. She WILL be the next to do it, though it may not be this year. While she might not become a champion in '17, she'll come close (SF or better) at at least one major this season.

4. Maria Sharapova, RUS (2)
5. Simona Halep, ROU (4)
6. Madison Keys, USA (15)
7. Aga Radwanska, POL (9)
8. Elina Svitolina, UKR (14)
9. Ana Konjuh, CRO (45)
10. Belinda Bencic, SUI (6)
11. Garbine Muguruza, ESP (3)
12. Venus Williams, USA (12)
13. Dominika Cibulkova, SVK (20)

...this level is a bit more crowded this year than usual, which speaks a great deal to the "high second tier" depth of the WTA tour at the moment. While the potential slam champions are likely going to be pulled from a smallish group, the number of players capable of -- and expected to make -- deep runs is quite large. These are "the women most likely" to do that, even if choosing any to win a slam in '17 might be an act of going out on a proverbial prediction limb at bit TOO far.

It's difficult to imagine that Sharapova won't return to the tour with a vengeance and (setting the bar very low) is a virtual lock to at least make ONE slam Round of 16, right? Halep might be a season away from truly being ready to win her first slam, but (unlike many top players this year) she enters '17 healthy and should be able to put away at three Round of 16 results at majors, with two or more QF+ finishes. Keys, back with Lindsay Davenport as coach, will miss the Australian Open after left wrist surgery. Expectations will be high for her when she hits the courts soon afterward, and she seems a safe bet to go deep into the second week of one or more one slam in the new year. As usual, Radwanska will slip into the second week more than once, but likely not "seriously" challenge for a title. Svitolina, though, could end up playing the "Pliskova role" in a slam this year, making her first real star turn (though she HAS reached one major QF, in Paris in '15) into a brush with near-greatness (or grand-ness, if you will). Konjuh was on the verge of upsetting Aga at SW19 when that ball got in the way, then even more impressively responded in her next slam by reaching the QF at Flushing Meadows. She could be THE slam revelation of 2017. Bencic is an easy choice for second week slam action, as long as she can stay healthy. I actually predicted that Muguruza would win her first slam title at this time last year, and her run in Paris last spring bailed out what was an otherwise disappointing season (she didn't reach another final). I think she'll be more consistent in '17, including at the slams... but she won't fly quite as high, nor as spectacularly, in any of them as she did at Roland Garros. Even at 36 (and 37 in June), Venus can be counted on for a Round of 16 run this year, at the very least. And while I'm likely undervaluing Cibulkova here after a blazing finish that saw her win the WTA Finals and finish in the Top 5, I actually lifted her up from the third tier at the last moment, so I'm fine with where I have her now.

14. Daria Kasatkina, RUS (37)
15. Naomi Osaka, JPN (off book)
16. Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (21)
17. Johanna Konta, GBR (41)
18. Timea Bacsinszky, SUI (13)
19. Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (34)
20. Caroline Garcia, FRA (--)
21. Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP (26)

...all the "pinkies" have experienced grand slam "moments," but only one has ever won a major, while another has reached a final, and two more the semifinals. Last year, I had Kerber in this third ML tier, though I'd picked her to reach her first slam final in 2016. She turned out to do just that, and quite more. So, needless to say, being "this far down" is by no means a knock on any player's potential for slam success in the coming season. In fact, several may be poised to become tour singles stars despite having never reached the second week of a major heading into 2017.

Kasatkina and Osaka are on the cusp of something really, really good. Hopefully their new futures begin to roll out before the 19-year olds this season. Wozniacki needs to carry over her 4th Quarter momentum from '16, while I wonder if Konta might be carrying just a bit too much expectation into 2017 after a Top 10 season that saw her become the rare Brit in the Top 10. But she's a threat to knock off anyone on hard court, so a run in Melbourne or New York (or both) is likely. Bacsinszky's follow-up '16 wasn't nearly as great as her breakout/comeback '15 campaign, but she's still a solid 4th Round slam performer. Who knows with Sveta? I don't like to anticipate much, hence her low-ish spot, but not TOO low. While she had a Top 10 season in '16, she "only" reached two 4th Rounds in majors. One would think she might have at least one QF in '17, but I wouldn't dare predict such a thing, since it might breathe new life into the old "Kuznetsova Curse." Garcia is so talented, and is becoming more and more confident and consistent. She has to have a breakthrough slam performance soon, right? She's still looking for her first Round of 16, which she'll finally get in '17. CSN was one of four players (w/ Serena, Aga and Keys) to reach the Round of 16 at all four slams last year, but she's never reached a major SF, and while her three QF in the last thirteen slams seems "all right," it feels a bit disappointing when you remember she reached the quarters in two of her first four slam MD in 2008-09.

22. Victoria Azarenka, BLR (10)
23. Lucie Safarova, CZE (25)
24. Sloane Stephens, USA (30)
25. Daria Gavrilova, AUS (18)
26. Barbora Strycova, CZE (off book)
27. Katerina Siniakova, CZE (off book)
28. Peng Shuai, CHN (off book)
29. Elena Vesnina, RUS (--)
30. Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (16)
31. CoCo Vandeweghe, USA (44)
32. Ekaterina Makarova, RUS (11)

...as usual, it's a zesty (as in orange zest... get it?), intriguing mix at this level of the list, with any of the group capable of second week runs, but also early slam exits. For a few, health (or preparedness) issues make them question marks.

Azarenka would be listed higher, of course, but we don't really know when (or, if, really) the new mother will be back in 2017. If she can be in form by the summer hard court season, though, one would think she'd put up a Round of 16 run in New York. Safarova is a former slam finalist, and was a Top 10er in 2015. And, even in an up and down season, the Czech DID have a 4th Round result at Wimbledon last summer. Stephens finally got over the "regular season" hump with three titles in '16, but she's only reached the second week of one of her last nine slams after reeling off six straight in 2013-14. Gavrilova had a star-making 4th Round rush in Melbourne last year, but then was hit-or-miss until the final weeks of the season. Strycova put up her second career slam Round of 16 result in Australia last year, revving her up for a season which saw her reach the Top 20 in singles and become a true Fed Cup star. Siniakova looks to be the NEXT Czech to watch. Peng put on a post-back surgery surge late in '16 and heads into '17 a dangerous foe who was good enough to reach a slam semi ('14 U.S. Open) the last time she was really healthy. Vesnina had a career year in '16, reaching the final four in London. Meanwhile, Mladenovic is here despite consistently underperforming in slams. Really, a player as talented and exciting as the Pastry should have more than a single Round of 16 (U.S. QF '15) result in twenty-four career MD at majors. But the hope STILL springs eternal. Apparently, since I've still got her this high. Vandeweghe makes it here because, well, there's always Wimbledon to consider. And Makarova is always lurking. The Russian has had multiple Round of 16 or better results in each of the last four seasons, and at least one every year since 2011.

33. Roberta Vinci, ITA (27)
34. Kiki Bertens, NED (--)
35. Zhang Shuai, CHN (--)
36. Kristyna Pliskova, CZE (--)
37. Petra Kvitova, CZE (5)

...questions, questions, questions. That's what rules the day in the feast-or-famine "red zone." All are capable of very good things, but they're facing entirely new situations in 2017.

Vinci wasn't even sure she was going to play in '17, so how much can be expected of her at age 34 (come February)? Bertens, a slam semifinalist last spring in Paris, is no longer an underdog. Zhang rode a wave of rediscovery of a tennis life she was almost sure she was ready to put behind her at this time last year, so what will she do with all that now that she's worked her way back into the Top 25? Will Pliskova continue to feed off the success of her twin sister? Kristyna followed up Karolina's NYC run by soon after becoming a first-time tour singles champion herself. Is a second week slam run of her own next? She's got the serve to do it. And, of course, Petra. She's taking an optimistic attitude into '17 after undergoing career-saving tendon/nerve surgery on the fingers of her racket hand after a robbery attempt and knife attack in her own home in December. She'll be out at least six months, and who knows how long it might take for her to be back to anything resembling her "old self." But I'm loathe to drop her off this list, so I'm sticking with her right here and hoping that she'll at least be able to end the slam season with an optimistic effort in New York that will leave everyone with a smile on their face.

38. Misaki Doi, JPN (--)
39. Yulia Putintseva, KAZ (--)
40. Jelena Ostapenko, LAT (36)
41. Monica Puig, PUR (--)
42. Margarita Gasparyan, RUS (38)
43. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, SVK (17)
44. Yaroslava Shvedova, KAZ (--)
45. Samantha Stosur, AUS (33)

...here's where the ML starts to roll the ol' dice. There's a lot of "hope" surrounding many of these names, but it's uneasily placed on the head of most of them.

Doi probably counts as a bit of a "hunch," considering she has to come back in '17 more determined after her failure to secure a match point vs. Kerber in the 1st Round of last year's Australian Open pretty much set a far different course for the entire WTA season than might have occurred had Doi been able to win one more point against the German. Putintseva ('16 RG QF) and Ostapenko ('14 Wimb. girls champ) are talented, but maybe sometimes too emotional, players. Puig showed what she was capable of in Rio, and before her Olympic run had reached two '16 slam 3rd Rounds, but playing with the pressure of all her summer success might hold her back a bit for a little while. Gasparyan is loaded with promise, but when she'll be back from knee surgery is a question, let alone how long it might take for her to fully return to form. Crossing fingers. AKS looked ready to break into the Top 20 at this time last year, but started poorly, saw her terrible results get ever worse, and then had to slog through a one step forward, one step back pattern all season long. In all, she dropped from #26 to #226 over the course of a year and didn't win back-to-back matches in an event all season (dropping fifteen straight tournament matches at one point, though she was at least 2-1 in Fed Cup competition). I'm not going to give up on her, though. I include Shvedova here this year, but the way this list usually goes is that when I list her she has no slam success, then when I drop her off the next year she has quite a bit. So, she'll probably be a ghost in '17. I considered dropping Stosur off this list entirely, but her surprise semifinal in Paris last year is enough to allow her to hang on a little bit longer. For now.

46. Viktorija Golubic, SUI (--)
47. Oceane Dodin, FRA (--)
48. CiCi Bellis, USA (--)
49. Louisa Chirico, USA (--)
50. Dalma Galfi, HUN (50)

...here's where the "Power 50" limit starts to pinch a little. Because I wanted to get a few new, young names onto the list I'm forced to leave off the likes of some vets (Jankovic, Lisicki, Errani) who might still have a little slam "meat on the bones," some perpetual slam wild cards (Pironkova, Giorgi, Niculescu, Pavlyuchenkova), one player coming off a career year (Sevastova), at least one player who I WANT to be wrong about (Petkovic), and one (Goerges) that I know I'll be wrong about, since she always zigs when I pick her to zag (and vice versa) when I do this list each December.

As for Ana Ivanovic... well, I never had any intention of continuing to include AnaIvo here, so the limit of fifty had no bearing where she's concerned. As I've said before, once I correctly predicted a slam semifinal for her (after a seven-year drought) in 2015, I knew I'd never do any better with the Serb than that, so I pretty much clocked out of the prediction game where she's concerned. NOTE: And I said this before she announced her retirement on the day of this post, by the way, though her exit DOES mean that I was correct about her one final time, as I noted last season that I pretty much expected her to walk out the door in fairly short order following her wedding, no matter how much she denied it at the time.

Meanwhile, previous slam achievers weren't only ones who just missed the cut. In the upcoming Prediction Blowout, I'm taking a stab at predicting quite a few players to reach career-first slam Round of 16's that I didn't have room for on this list. They include: Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS, Jana Fett/CRO, Danka Kovinic/MNE, Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK and Evgeniya Rodina/RUS.

And, no, that doesn't count as part of the list... but you know I'll remember it if they DO reach the second week of a slam in 2017. I plead guilty.

PLAYERS REMOVED FROM THE LIST SINCE LAST YEAR: #19 Sara Errani/ITA, #22 Jelena Jankovic/SRB, #23 Sabine Lisicki/GER, #24 Ana Ivanovic/SRB (now retired), #28 Andrea Petkovic/GER, #29 Genie Bouchard/CAN, #31 Francesca Schiavone/ITA, #32 Camila Giorgi/ITA, #35 Danka Kovinic/MNE, #39 Julia Goerges/GER, #40 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS, #42 Alize Cornet/FRA, #43 Yanina Wickmayer/BEL, #46 Anett Kontaveit/EST, #47 Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU, #48 Alison Van Uytvanck/BEL, #49 Lesia Tsurenko/UKR

2016 "OFF BOOK" NOT ON 2017 LIST: Timea Babos/HUN, Petra Cetkovska/CZE, Zarina Diyas/KAZ, Bethanie Mattek-Sands/USA, Monica Niculescu/ROU, Heather Watson/GBR


So, the sixth official Grand Slam Master List will now be filed away in a cabinet somewhere deep in the bowels of the Navratilova Library of Records on the grounds of Backspin Academy, along with 2012's now-even-more-rare, fading and tattered copy of the original list. Naturally, this little "gem" will be pulled out on at least four occasions over the course of the next year, just to see who is exceeding their offseason expectations, or failing to come close to living up to them. Next December, the names will be taken down and reshuffled once more, as the cycle begins anew.

I'm already dizzy just thinking about it.


All for now.

Read more...

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 2:08 AM  4 comments

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

2016 WTA Yearbook


The time has come.


And away we go...




Our Beloved Backspin Academy

After a virtually uncontested race for the office of Backspin Academy Student Council President a year ago, all heck hell broke out in the 2016 campaign.

While the year's landscape was highlighted by moments of brilliant elegance that lifted our spirits, such bright lights were necessary in what was sometimes a very ugly campaign vexed by a string of incidents that left us shaking our heads. While the Academy's field of candidates sometimes received unprecedented coverage from a vast array of media sources, much of the attention was linked to ideas, opinions and situations that we wish we were not forced to contend with.

Misogyny and smarmy sexism reared their ugly heads at the highest levels, spurred on by sleazy comments from those in authority, and kept afloat by additional unfortunate comments from some of our students' male contemporaries that only served to pit people against one another. Meanwhile, one of the Academy's most beloved Russian students was caught in the web of what became an ugly legal situation which led to unsightly (behind the) back-biting within our student ranks, not to mention the questionable issues regarding the origins of the whole "unlawful" story, as well as the the vindictive qualities of many of those behind what was a highly unscientific process. Chants of "Lock her up!" occasionally could be heard on the usually quiet streets and pathways covering the campus.

It was all quite unsettling.

Elsewhere, harsh feelings bubbled up within the campus' French and Italian communities, while several upstanding members of the student body finally had had enough with social media bullying and began the first stages of organizing and finding a way to combat such offenses... just in time for the "post-truth" movement to became yet another force to be dealt with, along with a general acceptance of ignorance and unprofessionalism within the ranks of some of the most highly-placed media personnel (most notably the deplorable "Bristol-backed" crew), who seemed to revel in a lack of preparation and were often directed by grudges, bias and, well, to put it bluntly, a distinct ability to "talk out of their a**."

And then, just when we'd thought we'd weathered the storm, last year's Student Council co-Vice Presidents suddenly resigned from their power-sharing position. We just didn't know what was real anymore.


Needless to say, the entire campus has existed in a period of apprehension for quite a while now, even as we knew the talk from some of making changes that would make the Academy "great again" obscured the fact that most of us thought that things were already pretty great as it was, all things considered.

By the end of the term, all the discord had even contaminated the Student Council election, as it seemed as if everyone was stirred up and angry. And when questions (backed up by provable facts said some, though others disputed the assessment) arose about the validity of the actual sacred vote-collecting process, well, an incredibly tense atmosphere was created. Student protesters filled the campus, with signs declaring "Not My President" being prevalent (even before any election results were announced), facing off against those that read "Stronger Together."

It was all quite a mess.

Ultimately, with no one willing to believe the still-sealed voting results, we were in a quadrary about what to do, with no idea who would lead the Student Council heading into the new year.

While it seemed as easy choice to elevate Angelique Kerber into the big seat at the council meetings after her banner calendar year, even that possibility failed to settle the acrimony that threatened to devolve into lawlessness all over campus. Some suggested that senior student Jiske Griffioen should be appointed President by acclamation in order to solidify an inclusive atmosphere of cooperation, while others favored a re-vote. Venus Williams' name was placed into unofficial nomination, while Svetlana Kuznetsova, always a voice of reason, offered to accept the role if no solution was found before the start of 2017.

And then someone reminded us all of reigning President Serena Williams' words regarding the year's earlier controversy...


And then she released a public letter that made her thoughts even more clear...



And, with that, the student body finally realized what it had. It was clear what the solution to our problem should be.

As the whispers turned into shouts, it was finally asked, with the entire student body having spilled into the streets, for a show of hands in agreement regarding the idea that promised to bring us all together. Thus, with the power and will of the people in hand, representatives of the collective student body approached President Williams with the would-be solution.


Soon after, addressing the crowd from the balcony of Henin Hall, Serena gracefully granted the student body's request and used her executive power to extend her presidential term for an additional twelve months, as she will now enter the new year in the same position she's held since 2013. On her own, she also announced that she would be handing over day-to-day operations of the Council presidency to Ms. Kerber, the term's "unofficial" Vice President, who was thus designated the "Special Executor."

And with that, our Council crisis was determined to be over. All was as right as could be expected under the circumstances.

For now.


*HONOR ROLL OF BELOVED CLASS PRESIDENTS*
2001 Jennifer Capriati
2002 Serena Williams
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne
2004 Lindsay Davenport
2005 Kim Clijsters
2006 Amelie Mauresmo
2007 Justine Henin
2008 Serena Williams
2009 Flavia Pennetta, Francesca Schiavone, Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci
2010 Caroline Wozniacki
2011 Petra Kvitova
2012 Victoria Azarenka
2013 Serena Williams
2014 Serena Williams
2015 Serena Williams
2016 Serena Williams

As it is, we move forward with the roll call (according to the previously-sealed voting results)...

=STUDENT COUNCIL=
CLASS PRESIDENT: Serena Williams
(DAY-TO-DAY ACTING) CLASS PRESIDENT & "Special Executor": Angelique Kerber (she's also striving to learn how to walk on water in '17)
SITTING (and comfortably resting, in mismatched outfits) Co-VICE PRESIDENTS: Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic
VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Victoria Azarenka (withdrew from race after announcing sabbatical for "family reasons")

VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Simona Halep (withdrew from race while deciding which Si-mo-na is the real Si-mo-na)
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE: Aga Radwanska (there to step into the seat of power should an unexpectedly grand calamity prevent the further leadership of higher-ranking officials)
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES WHO WITHDREW FROM RACE WHILE TOPPING THE POLLS: Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza
VALEDICTORIAN: Dominika Cibulkova (declared winner after acing last-minute pop quiz)
(OCCASIONAL) ACTING VALEDICTORIAN (when she's in the mood... shrug): Garbine Muguruza

VALEDICTORIAN (Wheelchair Division): Jiske Griffioen (shining as brightly as she can before Diede de Groot comes of age and crashes the grading curve)

VALEDICTORIAN (Superhero Division): Monica Puig
Co-VALEDICTORIANS (Maidens Division): Karolina Pliskova, Barbora Strycova, Lucie Hradecka & Petr Pala (Honorary Inclusion: Petra Kvitova)

Co-VALEDICTORIANS (best GPA during final exam week): Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina

(Fearless) FUTURE VALEDICTORIAN?: Madison Keys

PEOPLE'S SALUTATORIAN: Svetlana Kuznetsova (by voice-vote acclamation)
PEOPLE'S Co-SALUTATORIANS Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova

A photo posted by MATTeK-SaNDS (@matteksands) on


FUTURE SALUTATORIAN: Sloane Stephens (hoping that learning how to live a "trophy life" will translate into even bigger trophies)
(Longtime) CLASS TREASURER: Maria Sharapova (once she officially agrees to appoint a "details person" to handle the Student Council's daily business in order to avoid oversights that lead to pesky "bumps in the road")

CLASS TREASURER-IN-TRAINING: Daria Kasatkina (she goes "way back" with the current Treasurer)
FUTURE CLASS-PRESIDENTS-IN-TRAINING (with some help from high-powered friends): Elina Svitolina (w/ Justine Henin) and Diede de Groot (w/ Esther Vergeer)
WELCOMED BACK TO THE STUDENT COUNCIL AFTER FINDING HERSELF AGAIN (and cancelling her "retirement party"): Zhang Shuai
HOPEFUL CLASS-PRESIDENT-IN TRAINING (currently in charge of noodles): Naomi Osaka

SCHOOL SPIRIT COORDINATOR: Johanna Konta
SCHOOL ESPRIT COORDINATOR: Amelie Mauresmo

STAR SPANGLED BANNER SPIRIT COORDINATOR (and inspirational advisor): Venus Williams

"I don't think anyone feels older. You have this infinity inside of you that feels like you could go on forever." - Venus Williams

SERVICE HONOR & SPIRIT COORDINATOR: Cadet Candidate Katerina Stewart
STUDENT/GOVERNMENT OUTREACH LIAISONS: Sloane Stephens and Angelique Kerber (for a few more weeks)

STUDENT/ROYALTY OUTREACH LIAISON: Garbine Muguruza
FORMER STUDENT/ACADEMY OUTREACH PARTNER (or... not?): USTA President Katrina Adams (no matter how many photos she tries to place herself in or microphones she manages to stand behind)

A photo posted by Katrina Adams (@katadams68) on


A photo posted by Katrina Adams (@katadams68) on



STILL Personae Non Gratae AT STUDENT COUNCIL NEGOCIATION MEETINGS WITH USTA OFFICIALS: Genie Bouchard (but studying in hopes of finding a quick(er) resolution)
PERMANENTLY Personae Non Gratae ON BACKSPIN CAMPUS (with photo taped inside the front gate): Raymond Moore




Backspin Academy's humble and hardworking staff occasionally experiences some upheaval, but the student body (which sometimes includes a few of our instructors, who pull double duty in order to show how much they care) is generally pleased with those entrusted with molding their impressionable minds like the blocks of clay that they are.

Of course, trends DO tend to develop on campus, no matter how individualistic our (former and present) student body may be.

2016 finally ended the string of three straight years in which members of the Academy's upperclasses decided to pull up stakes and move off campus after experiencing some of the best moments of their BSA careers, but we soon found that OTHER similar patterns had developed. Many former students (Clijsters, Li) welcomed new additions to their families, while others (Henin, Mauresmo) announced that they would follow suit in the new year. Such a contagious condition it was that even a current student (Ms. Azarenka) became a mother for the very first time at the conclusion of the term.

Ah, but that wasn't all.

Marriage was a common theme, as well. The likes of former student Pennetta (who also announced a child was on the way), as well as current campus-dwellers Cibulkova, Ivanovic, Pironkova and others made their way down the aisle over the course of the year.

A mini-trend even came about in the athletic arena, as not long after student Wozniacki became our first marathoner, the likes of former student council member Bartoli, as well as Ms. Peer (who's still around campus, though we don't see her as often as we used to), both crossed the finish line to set new personal standards.


Of course, the annual "guidance counselor shuffle" again took place once the most recent grading period had ended, this time in the wake of such campus career-changing success from current Valedictorian Kerber over the past year after she'd made her own changes behind the scenes not so long ago. Many students coming off their best-ever academic performances still saw fit to make a change in search of the elusive "right mix" that would lift them to an even higher level of achievement.

Yes, our Angie has now become the standard by which others will be judged, and by which they will judge themselves.



=FACULTY, STAFF, DEPARTMENT HEADS & APPOINTEES=
ORIGINAL DEAN EMERITUS (celebrating her 43nd year of living the dream): Billie Jean King
TRAVELING DEAN EMERITUS: Martina Navratilova (still arriving in the nick of time after all these years)

NEW RESIDENT DEAN EMERITUS: Justine Henin ("La Petit Taureau" 4-ever)
VISITING DEANS OF THE ACADEMY'S PARISIAN CAMPUS: Amelie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce
ACTING DEAN OF STUDENT AFFAIRS: Steve Simon (though some are now questioning a few of his stated policies for the future)
LONGTIME Mis-GUIDANCE COUNSELOR WHO HAS FINALLY STEPPED DOWN FROM POSITION: Mary Joe Fernandez (let the re-imagining of the story of her eight-year tenure officially begin in the post-truth, fake news era)
NEW GUIDANCE COUNSELOR FINALLY BEING GIVEN A LONG-OVERDUE CHANCE TO SUCCEED IN "THE BIGS": Kathy Rinaldi (announced happily -- and optimistically -- after intense lobbying from certain Academy factions over the last few years)
FAR-FROM-PERFECT GUIDANCE COUNSELOR (but we still lover her anyway): Anastasia Myskina (with a class filled with promising young pupils, and a few choice upperclasswomen, many of us believe she'll regain her good standing in short order)

UNEXPECTED GUIDANCE COUNSELOR SLIGHTLY EMERGING FROM HER FAVORED IN-THE-SHADOWS POSITIONING: Stefanie Graf

GUIDANCE COUNSELOR/"ATTITUDE WRANGLER" WHO HAS TO WORK EXTRA HARD TO EARN HIS KEEP: Sam Sumyk

UNOFFICIAL GUIDANCE COUNSELOR TO SCORES HUNDREDS THOUSANDS MILLIONS BILLIONS: Li Na
GUIDANCE COUNSELORS SWAPPING OFFICES IN 2017: David Kotyza & Jiri Vanek (sort of like when the "Friends" gang swapped apartments... it didn't make much sense, but it was, you know, something different that broke the monotony)
SIMONA-WHISPERING GUIDANCE COUNSELOR/SHERPA FOR TRAVELS ON DANGEROUS CLIFFSIDE TERRAIN: Darren Cahill (whose work is hereby commended by the Yearbook staff after many in the office weren't on board for the hire last year... though 2017 will tell the tale of whether he TRULY has staying power)
FRENCH FED CUP "ROCK STAR"/GUIDANCE COUNSELOR in '16: Amelie Mauresmo
NEW FRENCH FED CUP (ACTUAL) ROCK STAR/GUIDANCE COUNSELOR in '17: Yannick Noah

UNDERRATED GUIDANCE COUNSELOR ENTRUSTED WITH THE FUTURE OF SLOANE: Kamau Murray
VALUED GUIDANCE COUNSELOR/HITTING PARTNER ALSO ENTRUSTED WITH THE FUTURE OF SLOANE: Sascha Bajin (at least in the short term)
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR ENTRUSTED WITH THE KEY(S) TO FUTURE SUCCESS: Lindsay Davenport Jesse Levine Thomas Hogstedt TBD
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR OUT OF THE FRYING PAN AND INTO THE FIRE, by way of Osaka: David Taylor (from advising a three-time Osaka winner to advising a pupil actually named Osaka)
"HOT POTATO" GUIDANCE COUNSELOR: Thomas Hogstedt
LATEST NORTH AMERICAN GUIDANCE COUNSELOR WITH NEXT "NEXT ONE" ROOTS: Craig Layton
FORMER GUIDANCE COUNSELOR BEING SHOWN THE DOOR RIGHT BEFORE THE GOING GETS REALLY GOOD: Iain Hughes

NEW GUIDANCE COUNSELOR WALKING THROUGH THE DOOR RIGHT BEFORE THE GOING POSSIBLY GETS REALLY, REALLY GOOD: Gabriel Urpi
NEW (but well-traveled) GUIDANCE COUNSELOR WALKING THROUGH THE DOOR RIGHT AFTER THINGS (maybe) GOT AS GOOD AS THEY MAY EVER GET: Wim Fissette
(Caro and the End of the Search for) THE NEXT GREAT GUIDANCE COUNS-...: David Kotyza (oh, nevermind)
FAIRNESS-CHALLENGED NON-GUIDANCE COUNSELOR NONETHELESS IN CHARGE OF ADMINISTERING "JUSTICE" TO THOSE HE PUBLICLY EXPRESSES SNARKY BIAS AGAINST, WITH THE AID OF SHODDY PSEUDO-SCIENTIFIC METHODS AND UNPROVABLE ASSUMPTIONS OF GUILT: "Sir" Craig Reedie (currently the head of WADA, but also secretly seeking a rules waiver in order accept a position with "President"-elect Trump, or a seat on the NFL's "competition committee")
FORMER & CURRENT GUIDANCE COUNSELOR (still holding on as lightning prepares to strike for a second time, following a star-crossed 2016): Melanie Molitor
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR JOKING WITH HER SUCCESSOR ABOUT THE CHANCES OF HER, TOO, GIVING BIRTH TO TWO #1-RANKED CHILDREN: Judy Murray, with Anne Keothavong (meanwhile, Oracene Williams smiles contently from a distance, while simultaneously rolling her eyes, and Dinara & Marat share "a look")
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR GIVEN UNPRECEDENTED TENURE DUE TO EXPECTED REPLACEMENT BEING "NOT READY" TO ASSUME HER POSITION: Katrina Adams (Ms.Adams, you have a call waiting from someone named Barack who wants to learn more about your current set-up... he says he's asking "for a friend")
GUIDANCE COUNSELOR THAT EVERYONE ON CAMPUS TURNS TO FOR THE UNVARNISHED TRUTH (whether we like what we hear or not): Marija Cicak

"When I'm good and ready I'll be gone. But now is not the time." - Venus Williams

NOT GOING ANYWHERE: Venus Williams

BACK FROM VOLUNTARY SABBATICAL: Ash "Tennis Just Makes Sense to Me" Barty
BACK FROM INVOLUNTARY SABBATICAL (in 2017): Maria Sharapova

HOPEFULLY BACK 100% FROM A NECESSARY SABBATICAL: Casey Dellacqua
MINI PASTRY: Kiki 2.0

MINI VIKA: Brisbane Steph
MINI "VIKTOR": Victoria Azarenka (and new, just-arrived son!)

MINI VINCI: Roberta Vinci

UN-STILL WATERS RUN DEEP (behind the baseline): Lindsay Lee-Waters & daughter Sevyn; Kim Clijsters & daughter Jada (Bieber not included)

UKRAINIAN WAFFLE JOINING THE TEAM: Marina Zanevska

Officiellement Belge ???? #??

A photo posted by Marina Zanevska (@marinazanevska) on


GLUTEN TOLERANT AUSSIE RISING UP THE HONOR ROLL (and good from behind): Dasha Gavrilova
FORMER-SLOVAK-TURNED-AUSSIE WITH ENOUGH NAMES TO FILL AN ENTIRE FED CUP TEAM: Jarmila Gajdosova Groth Gajdosova Wolfe
WEDDING CRASHERS: Dominika Cibulkova, Ana Ivanovic, Flavia Pennetta & Tsvetana Pironkova
CURRENT AND FORMER STUDENTS REMINISCING ABOUT 2004: Maria Sharapova, Anastasia Myskina and Svetlana Kuznetsova


REVOLUTION FORERUNNER QUIETLY KEEPING IT REAL: Anna Kournikova

#tbt #justakid #tennis #?????? #???????

A photo posted by Anna Kournikova ?? (@annakournikova) on



REVOLUTIONARY SURPRISINGLY BACK ON THE COURT IN 2016: Elena Bovina
REVOLUTIONARY WE WISH WE'D SEE BACK ON THE COURT IN 2017: Nadia Petrova (Oh, Nadia!)
THANKFULLY ON THE HONOR ROLL (finally): Peng Shuai
HOPEFULLY BACK IN SOME FORM, SOMEWHERE, SOMETIME: Jamie Hampton
HISTORY: Mary Joe Fernandez
WISHFULLY HISTORY: ESPN's Basket of Deplorables
SELF-APPOINTED YEARBOOK (BODYPAINT MODELING) PHOTO EDITOR: Caroline Wozniacki (again)

#tbt ?????? @si_swimsuit

A photo posted by Caroline Wozniacki (@carowozniacki) on


FUTURE ELECTION SUPERVISOR: Nicole Gibbs (after being removed from her position as boating safety advisor)

FORMER ACADEMY HISTORIAN MOURNED BY ALL: Bud Collins (always and forever... and everyone wears their craziest pants on Hall of Fame induction day)
ARTFUL SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT DIRECTOR: Maria Sharapova

Getting lost in the small streets of #Melbourne. #Travel #instadaily

A photo posted by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on


Photo Booths, they never go out of style. This was one I can share from that fun night at Boca Grande ??

A photo posted by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on


OFFICIAL ACADEMY SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL:
SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNEL DIRECTOR: Francesca Schiavone (getting ready for upcoming Steve Simon-inspired changes in format)
(UNDESERVEDLY SELF-APPOINTED) ETIQUETTE SCHOOL DIRECTOR: Dominika Cibulkova (because, apparently, you're guilty of everything if you're not buddy-buddy with your competitors in the lockerroom)

"I will only say that I don't feel sorry at all for Sharapova and I don't miss her on the tour. She's a totally unlikeable person. Arrogant, conceited and cold. When I sit beside her in the locker room, she won't even say hello." - Dominika Cibulkova

(APPARENT) ETIQUETTE SCHOOL LAWSUIT DIRECTOR (and poorest loser): Tatjana Maria
ETIQUETTE SCHOOL SHOWDOWN (Hamilton/Burr duel style): Jelena Ostapeno vs. Naomi Broady, Yulia Putintseva vs. Usue Arconada... and Jelena Ostapenko vs. Yulia Putintseva
(DELIGHTFULLY BLUNT) ETIQUETTE SCHOOL DIRECTOR: Barbora Strycova
(DELIGHTFULLY BLUNT) COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR: Sania Mirza (into her second decade in the position)
LUNCH LADY: Aga Radwanska
DISTRACTED SOUS CHEF: Timea Bacsinszky
FOOD TASTER: Lara Arruabarrena
NOBLE (Box) SISTERS: Aga & Ula Radwanska
SCHOOL OF FEDERIFIC RELATIONS: Aga Radwanska (laugh and the Fed laughs with you)
SCHOOL OF RADWANSKIAN MASSACRES ON THE BRITISH STAGE - THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY: Day 3, Wimbledon
FAITH IN THE CAUSE...:
SUSTAINING A LEVEL OF PREPAREDNESS...:
CONTINUING EVIDENCE THAT THE WORLD (or at least Asia) IS SAFE FROM THE RAD?: Shenzhen and Beijing

OR IS IT...?:
SCHOOL OF CONTINUING TO LIVE LIFE "EXTRA": Vicky Duval

On a scale from 1 to Vicky Duval, how extra are YOU?

A photo posted by Vicky Duval (@vicky_duval95) on


SCHOOL OF LIVING --and thriving -- THROUGH CHOCOLATE CONSUMPTION: Belinda Bencic (wishing for a stocking full of Sugarpova chocolate for Christmas... or, you know, the Swiss kind will work, too)

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & SWEETS: Maria Sharapova

A photo posted by @sugarpova on


SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & DESIGN: Venus Williams

SCHOOL OF RESPECT AND DECENCY: Svetlana Kuznetsova (and consistency, sometimes on the court, but always off it)


"I believe that people don't have a right to judge her without knowing her. I will tell you even more that I don't think I know her that well. She's really famous and has lots of fame around her, and I think it's the right thing how she takes it. She separates it away and only has close people. Otherwise it's very difficult to be in her situation and to play such a great level of tennis and have so much commercial and to be so popular. It's really hard to combine these two things. The real Maria, only the real people around her know that. Other people, if she doesn't let them go in her life, doesn't mean that they can tell her that she's bad. I don't believe that." - Svetlana Kuznetsova, on Maria Sharapova, in 2015
"First of all, I want to say that Maria is a great athlete, and even this 'strange mistake' will not be able to outshine all of what she has achieved in tennis. And most importantly, none of us, especially me, have no rights to comment this story - not to criticize or evaluate Maria." - Svetlana Kuznetsova, on Maria Sharapova, in 2016

SCHOOL OF IMPERSONATION AND CRIMINAL ACTIVITY: Dasha Gavrilova (as Yulia Putintseva), and Yulia Putintseva (as a vegetable thief)



SCHOOL OF INADVERTENT IMPERSONATION: Garbine Muguruza and Kristina Mladenovic ("as Suzanne Lenglen")


MOST SUITABLE GOOGLE TRIBUTE TO "LA DIVINE" LENGLEN:

MOST SUITABLE GRAND SLAM-LONG TRIBUTE TO "LA DIVINE": Day-by-Day: Finally, Lenglen...
BEST WEEK ON CAMPUS:
SCHOOL OF MARILYN CHANELING: Kristina Mladenovic

Channeling Marilyn #shooting??

A photo posted by Kristina Mladenovic (@kristinamladenovic93) on


OFF MEDICAL LEAVE IN 2017 (and playing to bigger crowds again): Ajla Tomljanovic

A photo posted by Ajla Tomljanovic (@ajlatom) on


DISADVANTAGED SCHOOL OF UNDETERMINED METEOROLOGY: Simona Halep and Aga Radwanska (on soggy days in Paris when whining is outlawed)
ADVANCED SCHOOL OF IMMUNITY TO METEOROLOGY: Samantha Stosur and Tsvetana Pironkova (on soggy days in Paris when no excuses need to be made)
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND WORDS AT ACADEMY'S ANNUAL SPELLING BEE:
V-I-K-H-L-A-N-T-Y-S-E-V-A
A-R-R-U-A-B-A-R-R-E-N-A
W-O-N-G-T-E-A-N-C-H-A-I
C-H-A-K-V-E-T-A-D-Z-E ("classic" word round)
SCHOOL OF USING THE FORCE FOR GOOD AGAIN: Jana Fett
SCHOOL OF 1990's NOSTALGIA (Venus Edition): Venus Williams

SCHOOL OF 1990's NOSTALGIA (Watson Edition): Heather Watson
IN (in 2016): Steffi Graf & "The Chase for #22"
OUT (in 2017): Steffi Graf & "The Chase for #22"
IN (in 2017-18): Margaret Court & "The Chase for #24" (if the Aussie can withstand the harsh spotlight)
CAMPUS R.O.T.C. RECRUITER: Katerina Stewart
UPTOWN FUNK(Y) SKIING INSTRUCTOR: Gabriela Pantuckova

(LATEST) MARATHONERS: Shahar Peer and Marion Bartoli


STREET ART TOUR GUIDE: Rebeka Masarova
TOUR GUIDE, D.C. CAMPUS: Yanina Wickmayer

TOUR GUIDE, PARIS CAMPUS: Kiki Bertens

A photo posted by Kiki Bertens (@kikibertens) on


TOUR GUIDE, PARIS CAMPUS (BFF STREET VERSION): Kristina Mladenovic and Belinda Bencic

TOUR GUIDE, LIVERPOOL CAMPUS: Jiske Griffioen (tours available eight days a week)

TOUR GUIDE, LAS VEGAS CAMPUS: Mandy Minella (though what she says has to stay there)

TOUR GUIDE, PUERTO RICAN CAMPUS: Monica Puig (with Maria Sharapova along for the sights)


FAR TOO EAGER TOUR GUIDE OF THE CLIFFS OF SIMONA: Simona Halep (after repeated stints in detention, trying to curb her unhealthy attraction to dangerous terrain)

ALWAYS THE ORIGINAL FACE OF BACKSPIN ACADEMY: Justine Henin HOF
(STILL) THE CURRENT FACE OF BACKSPIN ACADEMY: Victoria Azarenka
(FINDING HER WELL-EARNED PLACE AS) THE HEART OF BACKSPIN ACADEMY: Simona Halep (the struggle makes the eventual triumph all the more satisfying)
(YEARNED FOR BY ALL TO BE) THE HOPE OF BACKSPIN ACADEMY: Daria Kasatkina

OFFICIAL MASCOT OF BACKSPIN ACADEMY: Dasha Gavrilova

FOREVER GOOD LUCK CHARM BRACELET OF BACKSPIN ACADEMY: Aleksandra Krunic


"I was born to be a warrior." - Maria Sharapova


*ACTING DEPARTMENT HEADS & SELECTED CLASS INSTRUCTORS*
UNORTHODOX RUSSIAN: Svetlana Kuznetsova

A video posted by US Open (@usopen) on


CONVERSATIONAL SERBIAN JANKOVICIAN: Jelena Jankovic

GERMAN-101: Andrea Petkovic and Angelique Kerber (class held outdoors, M/W/F 12:00-12:50)
CONVERSATIONAL MANDARIN: Peng Shuai (after finally receiving a "good to go" note from the doctors)
CZECH-031: Kristyna Pliskova (WARNING: acing the exam doesn't necessarily assure a passing grade)
CONVERSATIONAL ITALIAN: Roberta Vinci (Good news! She's committing to another year -- at least -- of instruction in 2017!)
CLASSIC (QUARTET) ITALIAN: Flavia Pennetta & Roberta Vinci, Flavia Pennetta & Francesca Schiavone, Roberta Vinci & Sara Errani



(STILL OH SO) FRENCH-101: Alize Cornet
GERMAN-005: Andrea Petkovic
RUSSIAN TRAVEL & CULTURE: Svetlana Kuznetsova

TURNING BACK THE CLOCK: Martina Hingis and Roger Federer

GOOD CZECH, BAD CZECH...in perpetuity, apparently: Petra Kvitova (Good Petra, Bad Petra, Hopeful Petra... Gingerbread Petra?)



CONVERSATIONAL RUSSIAN (NON-NATIVE-BORN) KAZAKH: Yulia Putintseva
MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN THROUGH PEACE, LOVE & UNDER-... haha, just kidding: unnamed Hall of Famer
FUN WITH BRAZILIAN FLAGS: Timea Bacsinszky

FUN WITH DANISH FLAGS: Caroline Wozniacki


WHEN IN ROME (or Tashkent)...: Kristyna Pliskova

WHEN ON HOLIDAY...: Karolina Pliskova and Timea Bacsinszky

WHEN IN COMPETITION (at Roland Garros)...: Cagla Buyukakcay and Timea Bacsinszky

MAYBE THE ACTUAL FUTURE OF NORTH AMERICA-101: Sloane Stephens Genie Bouchard Madison Keys

A photo posted by Madison Keys (@madisonkeys) on


(JUST IN CASE) THE FUTURE OF NORTH AMERICA-102: CiCi Bellis (below), along with Louisa Chirico, Kayla Day, Sonya Kenin, Amanda Anisimova, Taylor Townsend, Claire Liu, Usue Arconada, Sachia Vickery, Francesca Di Lorenzo, Taylor Johnson, et al.

A photo posted by CiCi Bellis (@cicibellis) on


THE (LATEST FUTURE AND FORMER) FUTURE OF NORTH AMERICA CANADA-101??: Bianca Andreescu and Genie Bouchard

THE FUTURE OF CHINA?: Li Na's and Zheng Jie's offspring

THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIA: Destanee Aiava? (NOTE TO ENROLLEES: class instructor still undetermined)
THE FUTURE OF RUSSIA-101: Daria Kasatkina
THE FUTURE OF RUSSIA-102: Sofya Zhuk, Anna Blinkova, Anastasia Potapova (below), Anna Kalinskaya, Olesya Pervushina, Elena Rybakina, Amina Anshba, Veronika Kudermetova and Varvara Gracheva
THE FUTURE OF UKRAINE-101: Elina Svitolina
THE FUTURE OF UKRAINE-102: Dayana Yastremska, Anastasia Zarytska, Katarina Zavatska and Marta Kostyuk
SWISS HISTORY OF WOMEN: Martina Hingis, Viktorija Golubic and Timea Bacsinszky
MODERN DAY POLAND: Aga Radwanska
POLAND, LAND OF TOMORROW: Iga Swiatek and Maja Chwalinska
WOMEN'S HEIGHTS IN INDIA: Sania Mirza
FUTURE WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN INDIA: Karman Thandi, Pranjala Yadlapalli and Zeel Desai ("The Daughters of Sania")
TURKISH HISTORY-101: Cagla Buyukakcay

TURKISH HISTORY-102: Ipek Soylu

A video posted by Ipek Soylu (@ipek_soylu) on


LATVIAN HISTORY (Past, Present and Future): Anastasija Sevastova and Jelena Ostapenko
THAI ARCHEOLOGY: Tamarine Tanasugarn (class removed from schedule until further notice)
MODERN ANCIENT JAPAN: Kimiko Date
FUTURE MODERN JAPAN: Naomi Osaka, Nao Hibino and Misaki Doi
CHINESE OIL PAINTING: Petra Kvitova
YOGA: Svetlana Kuznetsova
AEROBICS: Caroline Garcia
JAZZERCISE: Caroline Wozniacki
WEIGHTLIFTING: Dasha Gavrilova

DRIVER'S EDUCATION (on the Autobahn): Angelique Kerber

DRIVER'S EDUCATION (with front-seat, backseat driver included): Anastasia Myskina (with Svetlana Kuznetsova)

???? ??? ? ???? ?? ???? , ?? ???? ???? ?????? what a driver

A photo posted by ???????? ?????????/Kuznetsova (@svetlanak27) on


"E-MAIL FOR DUMMIES": Maria Sharapova
CAMELING-101: Svetlana Kuznetsova

CRICKET-101: Ash Barty (class cancelled - professor returned to previous job)
PRINCIPLES OF ICE HOCKEY: Timea Bacsinszky
HOCKEY NIGHT AFTERNOON IN CANADA: Alize Cornet

PRINCIPLES OF (AMERICAN) FOOTBALL: Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki


INTRO TO (FIRST) PITCHING: Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Monica Puig
BASKETBALL PHYSICS ON A NON-SLIPPERY SURFACE: Genie Bouchard
BASKETBALL PHYSICS IN HEELS: Maria Sharapova

DANCE: Serena & Venus Williams




NUDE MODELING CLASS: Paula Ormaechea

CHOIR: Jordanne Whiley

Opening xfactor night with my song ??

A video posted by Jordanne Whiley (@jordanne_joyce) on


SHARPSHOOTING (more or less): Sloane Stephens
HAIRSTYLING (on the fly): Svetlana Kuznetsova

BALLET: Serena Williams

BAND: Genie Bouchard

MASTERING THE "WHERE'S MARTINA?" GAME": Martina Hingis



INTRODUCTION TO BAKING: Kimiko Date
THE ART OF TEAMWORK (and being BFF's): Jordanne Whiley and Yui Kamiji
THE ART OF TEAMWORK (and being doubles partners): Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia

THE ART OF BEING KIKI'S BFF's: Belinda Bencic and Karolina Pliskova (w/ Kiki)
SHORTFILMMAKING: Dasha Gavrilova & Daria Kasatkina

Chilling???? ?? ??????? #maldives #DashaS

A photo posted by Daria Kasatkina (@kasatkina) on


Would you trust us to save your lives? ??

A photo posted by Daria Gavrilova (@daria_gav) on





Final episode ?? She is over me... #shecanttakeagoodphoto #beachbabe ??????? ?????? ? ???????? ?? @kasatkina

A video posted by Daria Gavrilova (@daria_gav) on




"Retiring is the easy way out. I don't have time for easy."
- Venus Williams

Our students always tell us that they truly enjoy our award-winning "Carl Talks" lecture series, affectionately named after the most unique personality on campus (well, technically, he lives with his growing family in a cave just OFF the Academy grounds).

Here's a preliminary look at our upcoming jam-packed schedule:


*GUEST LECTURERS*
"I'm Not a Robot, I'm a Bird That Can't Be Caged": Serena Williams (FYI: she gets a standing ovation every night)

Some birds can't be caged ??

A photo posted by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on


"Getting There was Fun, but Convincing Yourself is STILL the Hardest Part": Garbine Muguruza (if she can get out of her own way and stop re-living that failed audition for a role on "The Walking Dead")

"This year I learned that I'm stronger than I thought." - Garbine Muguruza, in 2015
"It's been a hard year for me for sure." - Garbine Muguruza, in 2016

"Still Dealing with Expectations That Scrape the Sky, but Wondering if It was All a Crazy Dream": Genie Bouchard
"Dealing with Personal Aspirations That Once Scraped the Sky, and Getting Back on Your Feet and Starting All Over Again with a Clean Slate": Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
"When Not Setting that Second Foot on the Plane Back to Germany Can Change Everything": Angelique Kerber
"How Not Taking Full Advantage of a Single Moment Can Change Everything": Misaki Doi
"Siberian Vengeance: Kiki M., Domi and Sam... we need to talk. But don't worry, we will. ('Talk,' that is.)": Maria Sharapova (with an evil trinkle in her eye)
"No One Knows Like the Nose Knows, No?: The Do's and Don'ts of Elective Surgery": Simona Halep
"You, Too, Can Be Ceremonially Congratulated for Doing a Piss-poor Job: A Survivor's Remarkable Story": Mary Joe Fernandez
"Preventative Medicine, Smart Body Management Motherhood, Recuperation & Recovery, & You": Victoria Azarenka (we're crossing our fingers for a follow-up talk in '17, or '18 if she ultimately prefers)

"I love pressure. That's what makes me a great player."
- Victoria Azarenka

"My Successful Summertime March on Washington in Search of the Best Chicken & (Belgian) Waffle Dinner": Yanina Wickmayer
"What Do You Do Next When, in What Might Your Best-Ever Chance for Greatness, Your Body Lets You Down Again?": Anastasija Sevastova (with an introduction from Peng Shuai)
"When You Have the Best Year of Your Life, but your longer-lasting legacy may ultimately be as the metaphorical face of a tennis league whose entire existence can be summed up in one match point moment": Kiki Bertens

When you forget about the @iptlworld rules???? #blunder #onmatchpoint #iptl

A video posted by Kiki Bertens (@kikibertens) on


"Get To Know Me! (if you know what's good for you)": Naomi Osaka
"Was it Something We Did?": Jiri Vanek, Iaian Hughes, Thomas Hogstedt & Esteban Carril
"An Expert's Czechlist For Choking: Serve Your Way To Defeat the Pliskova Way": Kristyna Pliskova (with a concluding tutorial in "Pjbt!" conducted by Karolina Pliskova)
"A Williams' Work is (Still) Never Done: Helping to Find a Rinaldi Hidden in Plain Sight": Venus Williams, future USTA president?

"When you love the game it's easy to give everything, every time."
- Venus Williams

"All Right... Neeeeext!!!": Madison Keys (trying SO hard not to be the coach-discarding Bannerette version of AnaIvo)
"It Wasn't as Great a Year as Last Year, but I COULD Be Managing a Hotel Instead: Still Loving My Job": Timea Bacsinszky
"You, Too, Can Find Out if There's Something that Smells Weird on the Bottom of Your Shoe Without Having to Actually Take Off Your Shoe": Naomi Broady (with an assist from Dasha Gavrilova)

Our yearly Eastbourne height difference photo ?? @daria_gav

A photo posted by Naomi Broady (@naomibroady) on


"Sure, It's Cute Now... but you don't want to know what would've happened to my (as it turned out) prophetically-named dog Rio if I'd lost in the 1st Round of the Olympics": Monica Puig
"You Have Nothing to Fear But Fear Itself (wink)": Daria Kasatkina
"One is the Loneliest Number, Especially When I'm Around (Part 1)": Elina Svitolina
"When Your Boss is Easily Distracted, Likes Attention and is Addicted to Camera Time: Putting the U.S. in U.S.T.A. (from a Canadian perspective)": Stacey Allaster
"One is the Loneliest Number, Especially When I'm Around (Part 2)": Elina Svitolina
"The Dark Art of Being a Poor Loser": Tatjana Maria
"Posed in Bodypaint, Hired a 'Coach,' 'Fired' a 'Coach,' Got Hurt, Had My Future Questioned (thanks, dad), Tumbled Down the Rankings, Inadvertently Outed a Friend's Engagement, Got Healthy, Had a Nice Time in New York, Won a Couple of Titles in Asia, Climbed Back up the Rankings, Said I Never Worried One Bit: So How was YOUR Year?": Caroline Wozniacki

"Right now in my head it's frustration and disappointment." - Caroline Wozniacki, in 2015
"I knew eventually I would be back." - Caroline Wozniacki, in 2016

"How To Be a Breath of Fresh Air and More Than a Little Childish at the Same Time, But Have it Not Really Matter in the Grand Scheme of Things When It Comes to Your Likability": Kristina Mladenovic
"Giving the Public What They Want -- More Me": "SimonaShortz," in their very first public speaking engagement! (tickets were sold out for this lecture in record time!)
"Second-Best is Never Enough, and We Can't Live with It": Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza (with a follow-up "chat" from Martina entitled, "How to Tell Your NEW Partner That You May Have Made a Mistake, and She Has One Month to Prove You Wrong")
"When You Know the Best is Yet to Come with Your New Co-Worker": CoCo Vandeweghe (lecture cancelled on account of scheduled speaker storming out of auditorium after saying something disparagingly snarky)
"Don't Ever Dare Me": Serena Williams

When your friends dare you to do a cartwheel in a hotel- you GET IT DONE!

A video posted by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on


"Everything You Wanted to Know About Me But Were (Literally) Afraid to Ask": SvetaBerry (via Snapchat)

"If Looks Could Kill... who says they can't?": Jelena Ostapenko
"Back to the Beginning": Kimiko Date Date-Krumm Date
"When Your Unique Name Still Isn't Unique Enough": Timea Babos
"Nothing Lasts Forever (Again)": Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka
"Nothing Lasts Forever (well, let's not get ahead of ourselves)": Katrina Adams
"Nothing Lasts Forever (coming in spring 2017!)": Maria Sharapova
"When Your Endings Become Your Beginnings": Flavia Pennetta




"Wrong Place, Wrong Time. These Legs Were Made for Crampin'.": Anna-Lena Friedsam
"Wrong Place, Wrong Time. These Balls Weren't Made for Steppin' (On).": Ana Konjuh
"Pain is My Second Name.": Aga Radwanska (or at least the speech is coming out of her mouth... we THINK they're her own words)
"How to Fall Down Seven Times, and Stand Up Eight": Paula Ormaechea

"Appreciating What You Have After You Were Ready to Give It All Up": Zhang Shuai
"Making the USTA Great Again": Kathy Rinaldi
"I Got Next": Diede de Groot
"Better Late Than Never": Peng Shuai
"I'm Still with Her": Nicole Gibbs
"The Fine Line Between Opinion and Stupidity": Pam Shriver (booed off the stage and picketed by students with signs demanding Pam speak only of her love for "the great sport of tennis and why kids everywhere should play!")
"The State of Women's Tennis - A Seven-Part Seminar": hosted by Serena Williams
Part 1 = "How Some Parts of the Sporting World View Women's Tennis in Comparison to Men's Tennis"
Part 2 = "How Women's Tennis is, at times, in Certain Matches and Events, on a Good Day"
Part 3 = "How Women's Tennis is, at times, in Certain Matches and Events, on a Great Day"
Part 4 = "How Women's Tennis is, at times, in Certain Matches and Events, on a Crazy Day or Two"

Part 5 = "How Women's Tennis is, at times, in Certain Matches and Events, on One of THOSE Days"
Part 6 = "How Women's Tennis Should Always View Itself, No Matter the Circumstances, and Let the Rest Sort Itself Out in the Aftermath"
Part 7 = "Put it All Together, and it's Why Women's Tennis is the Heart of Soul of..."



"I think the WTA tour is getting a little bit crazy." - Garbine Muguruza


"Now I believe I can do anything." - Zhang Shuai

Our student body is a talented crop, and always on the look-out for rewarding extracurricular activities to make good use of their valuable time.

=CLUB HEADS=
DRAMA CLUB: Alize Cornet (she Comes By It Naturally, putting even the "normal" French player to shame)

(Needlessly) DRAMA(tic) CLUB: Garbine Muguruza
(Still Exasperating, but grudgingly accepted) DRAMA(tic) CLUB: Petra Kvitova

(Good Maiden) DRAMA CLUB: Czech Fed Cup Team
(Petko) DRAMA CLUB: Andrea Petkovic
RUSSIAN CHESS CLUB: Maria Sharapova (yes, one of the Academy's original clubs reconvened and once again held meetings... but only because its sole member unexpectedly had some extra time on her hands)

CZECH CHESS CLUB: Petra Kvitova

PLUSHIES, CHARACTERS & MASCOTS CLUB: (1)Roger Federer/Victoria Azarenka/Radek Stepanek/Garbine Mugurza, (2)Svetlana Kuznetsova, (3)Yanina Wickmayer/Yulia Putintseva, (4)Arina Rodionova, (5)Caroline Wozniacki, (6)Heather Watson, (7)Carla Suarez-Navarro, (8)Elena Vesnina, (9)Christina McHale, (10)Svetlana Kuznetsova, (11)Victoria Azarenka, (12)Johanna Konta, (13)Dasha Gavrilova, (14)Cagla Buyukakcay, (15)Petra Kvitova, (16)Irina Falconi, (17)Naomi Broady, (18)Conchita Martinez, (19)Christina McHale, (20)Misaki Doi, (21)Andrea Hlavackova, (22)Dasha Gavrilova, (23)Garbine Muguruza, (24)Arina Rodionova, (25)Svetlana Kuznetsova, (26)Caroline Wozniacki/Milos Raonic/Roger Federer/Lleyton Hewitt/Novak Djokovic/Victoria Azarenka
LITERARY HOMAGE CLUB: Maria Sharapova as "Pippi Longstocking"

My favorite childhood character #halloween

A photo posted by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on


FAIR UKRAINIAN MAIDEN CLUB: Elina Svitolina
ALIZE CORNET'S FRIENDS CLUB: Alize Cornet, Donkey Kong & ??? (Tatjana Maria banned from attending ANY meetings!)


DABBING CLUB: Victoria Azarenka, the Pastries and Mr.Turtle

LEGENDS CLUB: Martina Navratilova, et al.
"THE LEGEND" CLUB: Gail Falkenberg
ORNITHOLOGY CLUB: Chan Yung-Jan

PACHYDERM CLUB: Arina Rodionova

PIGLET CLUB: Monica Seles

MICKEY MOUSE CLUB: Laura Robson

KOALA CLUB: Elina Svitolina and Alla Kudryavtseva
KANGA(Vesna)ROO CLUB: Elena Vesnina
ARINA-"ROO" CLUB: Arina Rodionova
BABY-ROO CLUB: Carina Witthoeft
PALEONTOLOGY CLUB: Elena Vesnina
BIG CAT CLUB: Sorana Cirstea

EQUESTRIAN CLUB: Martina Hingis & Serena Williams

REINDEER CLUB: Madison Keys

A photo posted by Madison Keys (@madisonkeys) on


STATUE CLUB: Svetlana Kuznetsova & friend
V-J DAY REENACTMENT CLUB: Andrea Hlavackova

San Diego ?? #americandreamvacation

A photo posted by Andrea Hlavackova (@andreahlavackova) on


LEGO LIKENESS CLUB: Aga Radwanska

WAX LIKENESS CLUB: Anabel Medina-Garrigues
CREEPY LIKENESS CLUB (CLASSIC): Suzanne Lenglen
CREEPY LIKENESS CLUB (MODERN): Maria Sharapova
BAT-ETTE CLUB: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
CITIZEN ANNA CLUB: Victoria Azarenka and Roger Federer

SECRET WEAPON CLUB: Barbora Strycova and Viktorija Golubic
COCA-COLA CLUB: S.Claus and Dominika Cibulkova
DASHAS CLUB: Dasha Gavrilova and Daria/Dasha Kasatkina (both the toughest and easiest campus club when it comes to becoming a full-fledged member)
FAMOUS FRIENDS CLUB: Maria Sharapova (w/ Chelsea Handler)


FAMOUS DUTCHWOMEN CLUB: Jiske Griffioen and Esther Vergeer (wheels required)

CELEBRITY RESEMBLANCE CLUB: Kiki Bertens (w/ Benedict Cumberbatch) and Karolina Pliskova (w/ Natasha Henstridge of "Species")

ROBERT PALMER CLUB: Angelique Kerber (with the Pliskobots)
FALCONRY CLUB: Simona Halep and Elina Svitolina
SWAN CLUB: Katie Swan (on a swan, naturally)

Swanning around ??

A photo posted by Katie Swan (@katieswan99) on


BILLIARDS CLUB: Anabel Medina-Garrigues

MAGIC NINJA CLUB: Aga Radwanska

COVER LOVERS CLUB: (top row, from left) Sania Mirza, Dominika Cibulkova, Sania Mirza, Petra Kvitova, Amelie Mauresmo, Dasha Gavrilova, Sania Mirza, Marion Bartoli; (bottom row) Caroline Wozniacki, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Sania Mirza, Serena Williams, Aga Radwanska, Yanina Wickmayer, Angelique Kerber, Chan sisters
PASTRY CLUB: Kristina Mladenovic, Caroline Garcia, Pauline Parmentier and Oceane Dodin (also: Alize Cornet, not pictured)
NICKELODEON SLIME CLUB: Dasha Gavrilova

The things I do for my favourite channel @nickelodeon_au #AusOpenFestival

A video posted by Daria Gavrilova (@daria_gav) on


MOTHER & DAUGHTER CLUB: Dasha Gavrilova & mother Natalia
FATHER & DAUGHTER CLUB: Ekaterina Alexandrova & father Evgeny
SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING SANIA CLUB: Martina Hingis, Monica Niculescu & Barbora Strycova
SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING TENNIS TWIN TOUR CHAMPIONS CLUB: Karolina & Kristyna Pliskova

BROTHER/SISTER CLUB: Dinara Safina & Marat Safin, and the Belgian Barbie siblings



TWEENER CLUB: Kristina Mladenovic

STRIKE A POSE CLUB: Kristina Mladenovic, Dasha Gavrilova and Jelena Jankovic (Ms.Wozniacki is actively trying to join, though)


KIM KARDASHIAN SELFIE CLUB: Genie Bouchard

CLASS GOSSIPERS CLUB: Barbora Strycova and Karolina Pliskova ("Have you heard around...?")

TATTOO CLUB: Karolina Pliskova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Timea Bacsinszky and Jiske Griffioen




MODEL U.N. CLUB: 61 members strong, representing 20 nations (we love our diversity!)


SWARMETTE SUPERSTARDOM CLUB: Simona Halep and Nadia Comaneci
RANDON MINION CLUB: Maria Sharapova

Someone forgot to zip up their pants on their bathroom break...

A video posted by Maria Sharapova (@mariasharapova) on


FAMILY ONESIES CLUB: the Wozniacki clan
SHORTERALLS CLUB: Alize Lim (one member strong)

WHITE DENIM CLUB: Francois Abanda

FAUX UNICORN CLUB: Dominika Cibulkova
ACADEMY UNICOR-... err, ANGEL... err, MERMAID(?) CLUB: Dasha Gavrilova


BABY BONNET CLUB: baby Madison Keys

BABY BOWL-CUT CLUB: little Genie Bouchard

THE ABOUT-FLIPPIN'-TIME CLUB: Arthur Ashe Stadium roof
THE FAIRLY UGLY CARPET CLUB: Maria Sharapova

WILLIAMS CLUB: little Serena Williams (in the beginning...)

BEYONCE CLUB: Serena Williams
SERENA CLUB: Beyonce


"I don't think anyone feels older. You have this infinity inside of you that feels like you could go on forever." - Venus Williams



Unfortunately, the Academy made the difficult internal decision to cancel the annual prom this year due to the atmosphere that was created following the controversial election. While the raucous student council election offered us an opportunity to work together to reach a commendable end result, the voting revolving around the prom honorees was tougher for some members of the student body to digest. When news was leaked that members of the Academy's Russian student community has swept the top honors, many of our Hordette Alumni rejoiced and made the rounds, offering congratulations to their young countrywomen.



But when the full results were slow in coming, eyebrows were raised. For those who had felt the initial rush of excitement from being named a winner, it was a time of confusion and indecision.


Finally, with all the votes recorded, things only got worse. While the Hordette winners of the Prom Queen (Daria Kasatkina) and her Ladies-in-Waiting (Anastasia Potapova, Anna Blinkova, Elena Rybakina and others) titles were legitimate contenders, with young Dasha considered likely to take the honors when the ballots went out, the depth and scope of the "questionable" vote totals of others led many to wish to contest the results, as not only was every winner in every category a Russian, but so was every runner-up and third place finisher, with only a few spare votes for others being counted, and even those were recorded for former Hordettes Dasha Gavrilova and Yulia Putintseva.


Some students, many armed with #NotMyProm placards, took to protesting the results, loudly calling for an immediate re-vote. But when no concrete evidence of fraud was discovered, it was decided that the results would have to stand. But the decision did little to quell the ill feelings. Ultimately, the prom was cancelled after an incident in which a few students broke into the gymnasium late in the night and spray-painted various anti-"cheating" phrases all over the floors and walls. Oddly, some phrases also expressed derogatory feelings toward those protesting the results of the election. It was as if the only real intent was to formulate chaos and toxicity on campus, though we've yet to be able to find the perpetrators and subject them to questioning.

The next day, the student council and various advisors met and agreed, in order to send a message, that the dance must be cancelled. But since it wasn't believed that any sort of plot had been hatched by actual students, and so many had purchased expensive formal attire for the occasion, it was announced that an impromptu "red carpet walk-by" would be held on what had originally been the night the prom was to take place, in the hopes that it was be some measure of the "reward" for the hard-working members of our campus community that the evening has always been through the years.

Queen-elect Kasatkina was happy for the decision, as it provided her a deserved moment in the spotlight, and offered her an "excuse" to get "gussied up." And we all love to see her smile, as it only deepens her reputation as a feared "hard-nosed competitor" which she's earned in her relatively short time on campus.



Even Jelena Ostapenko got into the festivities, reportedly posing for nearly twenty minutes for portraits in front of the photographic background set up in the corner for those who wanted something "more formal" by which to remember the night.


Off course, caught off guard by the announcement of the "walk-by" (she apparently misfiled the email, making her yet another member of the Acadmy's campus community to experience "odd happenings" with communication to and free campus authorities) was scheduled chaperon Jelena Jankovic. She grabbed the only outfit she could find and managed to make it to the carpet on time. Although, considering the unfortunate choice from her closet, some whispered that maybe she should have decided to wait until next year.


Ditto for the Pastry duo of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, who showed up with mismatched outfits to take their place in what was to be a parade of individuals with matching garments. Oops.


But the star of the night was Heather Watson, who had been a strong backer for the "walk-by," largely (according to behind-the-scenes whispers) because she knew she looked good in her new outfit, and was DETERMINED that it would not go to waste.


In fact, she enjoyed herself so much that she changed outfits and returned for a SECOND run on the "walk-by" carpet, garnering just as loud compliments for her second outfit as she had for her first.


It's been said that Heather came back later in the night for a third go-around, and maybe even a fourth. Though those are strictly rumors. Everyone else had gone home hours earlier, after all. But, it must be said, there ARE reports on record from campus security officers of a sole female student walking up and back, and then back and up, the carpet all night long into the wee hours until sunrise finally arrived.

Just sayin'.


For what it's worth...

*OUR LIST OF ELGANT FORMER PROM QUEENS*
2004 Maria Sharapova
2005 Nicole Vaidisova
2006 Nicole Vaidisova
2007 Agnes Szavay
2008 Caroline Wozniacki
2009 Melanie Oudin
2010 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
2011 Caroline Wozniacki
2012 "WoziRoy"
2013 Genie Bouchard
2014 Belinda Bencic
2015 Belinda Bencic
2016 Daria Kasatkina?


*BACKSPIN ACADEMY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS*
The Academy maintained its tradition of embracing the performing arts over the past year, believing that the blood, sweat and creative tears of our vast array of in-house performers is worth highlighting, as they entertain the student body and faculty to no end throughout the term.

From digital short films to full-scale movies debuted in the high-tech Sugarpova Cineplex, and from plays and concerts presented in the glorious Li Na Theatre, our season ticket purchases have increased for yet another year. The additional funds allowed us to further enhance the television production studio that delivered our well-received first series effort one year ago, the dramatic comedy entitled "Better Call Bencic." Unfortunately, "BCB" was plagued by an interrupted production schedule over the past twelve months, but its role as our "signature" small-screen show was taken up by another sprawling, action-packed story that left no one disappointed (as long as they could keep up with the complicated plot).


And in one of our biggest smash hits, a longtime member of the campus inner circle was cast against type... and garnered fabulous reviews for her range.


Meanwhile, more than a year after the installation of an on-campus recording studio, our (so far) most-prolific artist dropped not one, but two, musical delights on us this year, as she had a little bit more free time on her hands in 2016. While she managed to add a few classes to her usually jam-packed schedule...



...she simply couldn't bear the monotony of doing "nothing" with her days, hence the unexpected surprise we all received when everyone visiting the on-campus Starbucks was gifted with free music with the purchase of an item from the "secret menu," leading to all sorts of chatter around the grounds about which drink would assure the claiming of each album. One of the much-desired selections was "an acoustic masterpiece" (said Diane Dees of Women Who Serve) that recalled the memories of the artist's childhood...


...while the other was a basket of Sharapovian holiday music inspired by what the singer described as personal "moments of reflection."




Of course, our heart and soul is and will always be our original plays and musicals, which annually instill feelings of joy and pride to the campus across the seasons. The very first star to be born on the Academy's stage was Ms. Wozniacki, with her "Many Faces of Caroline" having performed more shows than any other production in our history. Through it all, we've always found time to direct our hearts and minds in her direction, even when we've sometimes questioned her creative decisions. After having expressed her intention to continue with her "MFoC" starring role, a series of physical ailments and long recuperative periods during which she wasn't quite up to being her usual self forced the beloved act to forced to shutter its doors earlier this season. But as the year progressed, Ms. Wozniacki began to feel better and more "up to snuff." In the closing weeks of this year's stage season, she put together an impromptu one-woman show in which she discussed the ups and downs of her life, revealed the secrets behind her positive outlook, and even occasionally pulled the curtain back on her dreams for the future. At the end of the limited run production, she was given a standing ovation, as much for her perseverance and longevity as for any particular well thought out routine she'd performed on the stage this year. So, yes, once again we found ourselves finding the time to embrace the Dane, who we now realize we've seen grow from a girl into a woman. Where does the time go?


That said, we still long for at least one more round of "The Many Faces of...," just for old time's sake.

On another front, 2016 was ultimately another year in which the aforementioned production's sister show, "The Many Faces of Vika," was absent from the Academy's big stage. Oh, there were some very well received one-night only shows that Ms. Azarenka performed early in the season, to the sort of glowing reviews she hadn't been on the receiving end of in years. For a brief moment, it appeared that the official announcement of a full-fledged show was imminent. But a backstage mishap put those plans on hold, then a few months later we were all surprised to hear that Ms. Azarenka was taking off the rest of the school year because she was preparing to become a mother for the very first time. Of course, we were all gloriously happy for her, though we did realize that it also meant it would be even longer before we'd be able to once again watch her perform to the best of her abilities on the centerstage. But she's promised to return whenever she's able, and when she does it will surely be a wonderful moment for all involved.

Of course, our season schedule included a consistent stream of "short-run" or preview shows on the Academy stage, with some more successful than others. We had performances that revolved around the making of history, both ongoing and of the moment.



And while triumphant occurrences were highlighted, so were the trials and tribulations that often eventually accompany life's best moments.


Meanwhile, the Backspin Academy School of Film ventured into all sorts of new grounds this year. While drama was, of course, front and center (often from the usual people and places)...


...so was comedy. From tongue-in-cheek(y) entertainment (starring our resident Aussie/comedienne/action star) to our very first animated feature (about a Romanian fish with an unhealthy addiction to swimming to close too the dangerous water's surface), our artists were constantly striving to entertain, and succeeding more often than not.



Our industrious, passport-hoarding Brit turned a spare comment into a leading role in her own action-packed star vehicle...


Of course, while most of our productions are considered "hits," sometimes mistakes ARE made. Such as the decision to re-release last year's documentary centering on young Genie Bouchard and her battle against dastardly, over officious powers-that-be. With the story once again garnering headlines, we thought that the year-old film would find a receptive audience. But we were wrong. Truth is, that anger that had hailed the documentary's arrival in 2015 found only lingering frustration this fall, as everyone could find no reason for the disgusting story behind the film to STILL be going on. As seen below, there was even mild vandalism -- during the election protests -- of the promotion of the film's showing at the Sugarpova Cineplex, though we all believe that it wasn't a comment on the documentary itself, but was instead the result of atmosphere that made the re-release necessary.


During the summer, we instituted a weekly "Saturday Night Horror-fest" celebration that was such great fun we've already started thinking about how we'll fill the time with still more edge-of-our-seats frights come next year. Not surprisingly, the biggest B-movie hit of the summer starred our favorite Polish student, Aga Radwanska, channeling her longtime (former?) alter ego/malevolent entity. Hmmm, or was she? It was paired with its "sister" film, a virtual sequel to the original story that featured Ana Konjuh. But it was the cameo by Ms.Radwanska that elicited shrieks from the audience. We're still not sure if it was because they were delighted to see her, or scared. But, either way, it was all great fun!


While our stages generally focus on student-produced (or starring) works, the Academy's artistic community is always ready to embrace productions from "the outside," especially when they promote our Student Class President...


But we're not afraid to admit that we love the "blockbusters," too. Not only does the occasional Hollywood movie that graces our screens bring in nice sums of money (which we put to very good use... as the public transparency of our annual finances proves), but WE all want to see them, as well. And why not do so with all our friends along for the ride?


As the year ends, we're all looking forward to the unexpected delights to come in 2017! Tax-exempt donations are always welcome, of course.


And, thus, we arrive at the end of yet another year, as soon our thoughts will drift to the ideas and notions that will shape the NEXT twelve months.

A year ago, even Angelique Kerber didn't know what she had in store for us, or herself, in the season that was to come. Now she knows what she's capable of, and so do we.

Over the span of the same twelve months, Garbine Mugurza went from star pupil to potential valedictorian, then reverted back to being a "well-regarded" student who we never knew what to expect from on a daily basis, if not over even smaller periods of time.

Serena Williams proved to be both oh-so-human AND oh-so-Serena in 2016, as we always knew she was and can be at any moment. It's what's given her longtime greatness such depth and intrigue. Meanwhile, others had years to remember (#PicaPower, anyone?), as well as forget (oh, Schmiedy). It's just the way things go. The Tennis Gods -- the little too-smart-for-their-own-good-sometimes devils that they are -- wouldn't have it any other way.

We love 'em. We hate 'em. But we can't live without 'em.

Who will have raised her sights and achieved her goals by this time in 2017? Might it finally be Simona Halep? Or maybe Elina Svitolina? How about a healthy Belinda Bencic, or even Madison Keys? But, then again, it could be someone we didn't even see coming around the corner.

(TG's prerogative, remember.)

Of course, it could be that the familiar will reign supreme once more...


Because, you know, on occasion, the world must be placed back on its natural axis.



And after 2016, such a thing would be quite comforting, wouldn't it?


Yeah, yeah. We know, Serena. You can't take care of everything.


Res Ipsa Loquitur.

All for now.

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posted by Todd.Spiker @ 1:46 AM  5 comments