Wk.41- Call Her Champ
With every outing, Coco Gauff is giving more and more signs that she is indeed "the real thing."
It's hard to imagine that Coke won't eventually come calling for some sort of "Coco-Cola" tie-in at some point, right?
S: Coco Gauff/USA def. Alona Ostapenko/LAT 6-3/1-6/6-2
D: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE) def. Barbara Haas/Xenia Knoll (AUT/SUI) 6-4/6-3
S: Rebecca Peterson/SWE def. Heather Watson/GBR 6-4/6-4
D: Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara (JPN/JPN) def. Nao Hibino/Miyu Kato (JPN/JPN) 6-3/7-5
GAUFF WINS IN LINZ ??????
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) October 13, 2019
The youngest @WTA finalist in 15 years, @CocoGauff takes it one step further to win the title at just 15 years old.
She defeats Ostapenko 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. pic.twitter.com/OPDXqHvypf
A little lost in the story of Gauff (at 15 years and 7 months) becoming the youngest tour singles champion in fifteen years (Nicole Vaidisova, three months younger, in 2004 -- though the most recent 15-year old was Austrian Tamira Paszek in '06) is that she did it as a *lucky loser,* becoming just the second in tour history to pull off the feat after Olga Danilovic became the first to go down the path just last season.
Gauff lost in the final round of qualifying to Tamara Korpatsch, but entered the MD as a LL (along w/ Ysaline Bonaventure) after the withdrawals of Anastasija Sevastova and Maria Sakkari. After a win ovet Stefanie Voegele, Gauff outlasted Kateryna Kozlova (ret. down 2-0 in 3rd) before notching her first career Top 10 victory over top-seeded Kiki Bertens in the QF, a stage in a tour-level event at which Gauff had never before advanced in her previous five career appearances. From there, Andrea Petkovic fell in straights and then Alona Ostapenko in a three-set final, won by the Bannerette by a 6-3/1-6/6-2 score as Gauff became the sixth different U.S. player to win a tour title this season. None of them, it should be noted, are named Williams or Stephens. It's the most non-Venus/Serena Bannerettes to lift titles in a single season in nearly two decades, since 2000.
IMPROMPTU QUIZ: Can you name the six U.S women other than the Williams Sisters to win singles titles that season?
Gauff will make her Top 100 debut this week, jumping from #110 to #71 with the title run.
...Sweden's Peterson has become one of the tour movers and shakers this final quarter of 2019, picking up her second title during the Asian swing (w/ Nanchang) this weekend in Tianjin. The 24-year old opened big, defeating Venus Williams in three sets, the first of three matches during the week that went the distance. Wins over Wang Xinyu, Wang Yafan (in 3) and Ons Jabeur (3) advanced her into her second WTA final, which she eventually won 4 & 4 over Heather Watson after rain forced the final onto the indoor (stands-less) practice courts. While few were able to witness the final act first-hand, Peterson's second pro title lifts her to a new career high of #44 this week.
Tianjin champion Rebecca Peterson gets a snap with the true star of the tournament after her straight sets win over Heather Watson. (Picture: Getty) pic.twitter.com/fO2spIDttP
— George Bellshaw (@BellshawGeorge) October 13, 2019
In Linz, 24-year old Alexandrova nearly followed up the career-best result she had in the event a year ago with a second straight trip to the final. In 2018, the Russian lost in her maiden tour final to Camila Giorgi, and she returned to Austria last week having put together some modest momentum during the 4th Quarter of the WTA schedule. Alexandrova notched her first career Top 5 win over Simona Halep in Beijing, and this week added victories over Kristyna Pliskova, Laura Siegemund and Kristina Mladenovic to reach the semis. She held three MP vs. Alona Ostapenko, but wasn't able to convert any of them. Still, she's put together an 8-4 4Q mark and enters Week 42 finding herself in the mix for the title of 2019's top-ranked Hordette along with a handful of her countrywomen as a slew of Russians (they'll fill at least 8 of 28 MD spots) gather in Moscow for the Kremlin Cup.
Beautiful backhand by Ekaterina Alexandrova! ?? @WTALinz pic.twitter.com/vAOsRCL7By
— WTA (@WTA) October 12, 2019
...in a Tianjin field that originally included former slam winners Stosur/Sh.Zhang (who withdrew), Nicole Melichar (not with regular partner Peschke, but w/ '19 Wimbledon WD finalist Xu Yifan -- they lost in the 1st Rd.) and ex-#1 Peng Shuai (SF w/ Duan Yingying), the champions turned out to be Shuko Aoyama & Ena Shibahara, who teamed to reach their second '19 final (San Jose) and win for a first time as a duo. The pair took three straight match TB to reach the final, where they defeated Nao Hibino & Miyu Kato 6-3/7-5.
The @TianjinOpen Doubles Champions ?? have a message for you ?? pic.twitter.com/LGMFioF8wM
— WTA (@WTA) October 13, 2019
The title is the tenth for 31-year old vet Aoyama, who previously won at Rosmalen this season w/ Aleks Krunic, while it's the maiden win for 21-year old former UCLA Bruin Shibahara, a Rancho Palos Verdes (California) native who just started representing Japan this past July.
...Watson's late-season run hasn't exactly been an expected occurrence. After a 14-18 start, the Brit has put together a 13-5 stretch in recent months, culminating in an appearance in this weekend's Tianjin final after posting wins over Kateryna Bondarenko, Wang Qiang, Magda Linette (saving 4 MP) and Veronika Kudermetova. Having not reached a tour SF since January '18, Watson's last appearance in a final was in Monterrey in March 2016, when she won her third career WTA title in her third final. She didn't maintain her perfect record in Tianjin, losing to Rebecca Peterson in straight sets in a match forced indoors due to rain and played in front of just a handful of people.
Watson jumps from #125 to #88 with the result, pretty much assuring herself of her seventh Top 100 finish in nine years, which amounts to a return for her from a season ago when she just missed out by winding up at #101.
Of course, don't think of this as some sort of swan song (the non-Katie kind) for Watson. As the 27-year old winningly noted on her IG, she's "not that old ya cheeky f**k**s !"
In Linz, 32-year old Petkovic recorded straight sets wins over Jil Teichmann, Julia Goerges and Viktoria Kuzmova to reach her first tour SF since the same event a year ago.
.@andreapetkovic danced another Petko dance in Linz! ?????? „Well, @Babsschett made me to“, Petko said. But she looked as if she was enjoying it ?????? #wtalinz #andreapetkovic @wta @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/DKnJ8rwSil
— WTA Linz (@WTALinz) October 11, 2019
Her loss to Coco Gauff prevented her from advancing to her first final since Antwerp in February '15, an event which concluded with a walkover win granted her by Carla Suarez-Navarro. *That* was the event in which tournament director, a then-retired Kim Clijsters, played and defeated the German in an exhibition set to give the fans *something* for their money. So, in a sense, Petkovic might be the player "most familiar" with whatever version of the Belgian we'll see in 2020.
Petko's most recently *played* final was in the old Tournament of Champions event in '14, where she defeated Flavia Pennetta in the Italian's last final before her '15 U.S. Open triumph.
...whether recent weeks turn out to be significant or not, the tendency is to at least *hope* that Ostapenko has turned some kind of corner. A week ago, the Latvian upset Karolina Pliskova (despite a week's... err, month's worth of DF) and reached the Beijing doubles final. This week in Linz, after bringing in Marion Bartoli to offer a coaching eye, Ostapenko reached her final in more than year and a half (Miami '18), but only after saving three MP in the semifinals against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
After having opened her week with a win over Tamara Korpatsch, who'd reached the MD with a qualifying win over Coco Gauff, Ostapenko coasted past Alize Cornet and Elena Rybakina en route to the final, where she met the aforementioned lucky loser Gauff. She fell in three to the teenager, but will get one more shot this year (in Luxembourg) to get her first tour title since Seoul in the closing weeks of her breakout '17 campaign, or (you know) at least maybe wrap up a fourth straight Top 50 season. She begins the week at #63.
...while Kudermetova was a successful junior, most notably on the team level as she led the Hordettes to the Junior Fed Cup crown in 2013, it has taken until her 22nd year to come into her own as a pro. This season the Russian made her MD debut at all four majors, reaching the 3rd Round at Roland Garros, won a 125 Series singles crown and the Wuhan doubles, and posted her first Top 10 singles victory (over Belinda Bencic) in that same event in China. Last week in Tianjin, Kudermetova reached her third tour-level semi (second this 4Q) with wins over Ajla Tomljanovic, Zheng Saisai (ret.) and Dayana Yastremska (by an impressive 4 & love score) before falling to Heather Watson.
An impressive display as Kudermetova seals the win!
— WTA (@WTA) October 11, 2019
Defeating Yastremska 6-4, 6-0 to book her place in the @TianjinOpen semifinal! pic.twitter.com/aaTKipcnxL
Kudermetova enters this week as the fourth-ranked Russian, but with a legitimate chance in Moscow to take over the top spot for '19, as she stands at a career-best #42, just 119 points behind #37 Kasatkina (the defending champ) and less than 80 from #38 Alexandrova and #40 Pavlyuchenkova.
Wow! A sublime backhand winner from @Ons_Jabeur!#TianjinOpen pic.twitter.com/hJi0p5sjru
— WTA (@WTA) October 12, 2019
In the same Tianjin event, Jabeur reached her second semifinal of the season (Eastbourne) with wins over Jennifer Brady, Wang Xiyu and Yulia Putintseva. The 25-year old Tunisian moves up eight spots to #53 in the new rankings, just two off the career-high standing she reached in September. She'll be defending runner-up points this week from her run at last year's Kremlin Cup, where she lost in the final to Kasatkina.
Feeling the love here @TianjinOpen ?? @WTA ???? pic.twitter.com/GV41NFLdGq
— Ons Jabeur (@Ons_Jabeur) October 10, 2019
...while Kiki Bertens (lost Tianjin QF vs. Gauff) and Belinda Bencic (lost 1st Rd. to Friedsam in Linz) both failed to put up a result that qualified either for the WTA Finals (they're in Moscow this week for a do-over), Wang's entire 4th Quarter this season has taken a huge step back from her breakout run last fall.
A year ago, the then 26-year old strung together a SF-W-SF-SF-RU finishing stretch during the tour's 4Q Asian swing, going 21-6 after the U.S. Open (w/ three Top 10 wins). This year, after reaching her first career major QF at Flushing Meadows (and getting her only Top 10 win of '19), she's gone 2-4. She fell in the 2nd Round in Tianjin to Heather Watson, 6-3/6-0. Wang rose from #44 to #20 last fall and currently stands at #22 with her points from her '18 Elite Trophy "runner-up" result (remember, she was eliminated in the round robin, then got another "live" chance in the final just so the event didn't end w/ a walkover win for Ash Barty) still to fall off.
Although, as China's top ranked player (and #26 in the points race), Wang still might get a wild card spot into the Zhuhai event and be given still another chance to subvert the competitive process.
Les Frenchies de la semaine : Océane Dodin enfin récompensée, Mathias Bourgue si près et si loin du but https://t.co/XFsxn8yx8Q pic.twitter.com/eOz9A3pAro
— Jeu, Set Et Match (@jeu_set_etmatch) October 13, 2019
ITF PLAYERS: Oceane Dodin/FRA and Nadia Podoroska/ARG
...22-year old Pastry Dodin picked up her first title since winning the $100K Poitiers challenger three years ago (which had come a month after her only tour-level title in Quebec City). In Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Dodin defeated countrywoman Harmony Tan 6-4/6-2 in the final to claim her ninth career ITF crown in her third appearance in a final since the start of this summer.
In Pula, Italy it was Argentina's Podoroska, recently seen this summer staging a massive comeback to take the Pan American Games Gold from Caroline Dolehide (a $60K champ a week ago), winning her first challenger since 2016. Victories over Simona Waltert, Angelica Moratelli and Elisabetta Cocciaretto -- all without dropping a set -- preceded another straight sets victory in the final over Martina Trevisan, 7-6(5)/6-1.
The win moves the 22-year old Podoroska to the cusp of a return to the Top 300 (#301), after having nearly reached the Top 150 in the spring of 2017 before her season was cut short due to injury later that summer.
...15-year old Washington D.C. native Montgomery won her first career Grade 1 singles crown at the Grade B1 Pan American Closed Championships in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
Montgomery Sweeps Girls Titles, Unseeded Hotard Claims Boys Singles Championship at ITF Grade B1 Pan American Closed:https://t.co/ezZpwTfYoz pic.twitter.com/aR2AIwjntn
— Colette Lewis (@zootennis) October 13, 2019
The #3 seed, Montgomery took out top seed Alexandra Yepifanova in the semis, coming back to win an almost three-hour, 4-6/7-6(5)/7-6(3) match against the increasingly emotional U.S. Open girls runner-up. She then dispatched Isabelle Kouzmanov in the final, 6-2/6-2. Montgomery added the doubles title (w/ Kouzmanov) to the Grade 1 doubles win she picked up this summer in College Park, Maryland alongside Kamilla Bartone.
...the former #1-ranked Czechs returned to the winner's circle in Linz, taking their second title in three months (w/ Toronto) after previously going more than a full year without one. After getting a 1st Round walkover, the two-time slam champs won a 10-4 match tie-break in the QF over Geuer/Lechemia and ultimately claimed the crown with a 6-4/6-3 win over Barbara Haas & Xenia Knoll in the final. The result evens their career tour-level final record as a duo at 4-4, while giving Siniakova a third 2019 title (she won Sydney w/ Aleks Krunic).
...while there weren't any big wheelchair events held this past week, that doesn't mean there wasn't news.
No, Jiske Griffioen didn't announce any sort of re-thinking of her comeback after getting her doors (wheels?) blown off by Yui Kamiji for two weeks running, but she did have an IG post that referenced "the comeback," so it would seem everything is still a go...
Additionally, the fields were announced for the Wheelchair Masters events (the tour's equivalent to the WTA Finals), which this November 19-26 will be held simultaneously in the same city (Orlando) for the first time since 2013.
The singles field:
#1 DE GROOT, Diede (NED) 5155
#2 KAMIJI, Yui (JPN) 3540
#3 VAN KOOT, Aniek (NED) 3293
#4 BUIS, Marjolein (NED) 2426
#5 WHILEY, Jordanne (GBR) 1712
#6 ZHU, Zhenzhen (CHN) 1698
#7 MONTJANE, Kgothatso (RSA) 1625
#9 ELLERBROCK, Sabine (GER) 1370
NOTE: #8 Giulia Capocci hasn't played since the U.S. Open, so one suspects she must be out due to injury
And doubles:
#1 VAN KOOT, Aniek (1) / DE GROOT, Diede (2) [NED/NED]
#2 BUIS, Marjolein (3) / MATHEWSON, Dana (4) [NED/USA]
#3 SHUKER, Lucy (6) / WHILEY, Jordanne (11) [GBR/GBR]
#4 MONTJANE, Kgothatso (8) / KRUGER, Katharina (10) [RSA/NED]
#5 ZHU, Zhenzhen (14) / FAMIN, Charlotte (20) [CHN/FRA]
#6 BERNAL, Angelica (18) / MORENO, Maria Florencia (21) [COL/ARG]
...the six U.S. women other than Serena and Venus to win titles in 2000 were Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Lisa Raymond, Chandra Rubin, Monica Seles and Meghann Shaughnessy
...6-1/1-6/6-2. Gauff is the ninth-youngest singles champ in tour history, and the 15th first-time winner this season.
?? @Babsschett presents @CocoGauff with a bottle of wine after winning @WTALinz
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) October 13, 2019
It'll be vintage before she's old enough to open it!#CallMeCoco pic.twitter.com/nusVDp5NrJ
...1-6/7-6(5)/7-5. Ostapenko saved three MP in all, two as a returner at 5-6 in the 2nd and another serving at 4-5 in the 3rd.
What a fight from @JelenaOstapenk8, who saves 3 match points to reach her first WTA singles final of 2019! ??
— WTA (@WTA) October 12, 2019
She outlasts Alexandrova 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 at @WTALinz! pic.twitter.com/lUfH4jfmBw
...6-4/6-4. A tour-level final, or a virtual practice session with benefits?
Rebecca Peterson will win her second WTA-title in front of 7 spectators.
— Alex Theodoridis (@AlexTheodorid1s) October 13, 2019
You cannot make this stuff up folks. pic.twitter.com/dl6aeRiVVN
...7-5/6-7(4)/7-6(6). Watson saved four MP en route to her first final in years, all coming when serving to stay in the match down 4-5 in the final set. She went on to win a tight 8-6 TB to advance.
...7-6(5)/7-6(4). Sure, Putintseva won her 1st Round match over Astra Sharma after saving a MP, but isn't it far more "interesting" to see the Kazakh after a loss? I mean, no one ends closes out a losing effort quite like Putintseva, right?
.@Ons_Jabeur takes the second set tiebreak to seal victory!
— WTA (@WTA) October 11, 2019
Defeating Putintseva 7-6(5), 7-6(4) to book a place in the @TianjinOpen semifinal! pic.twitter.com/7AKLfZw5yz
...6-1/6-3. The 20-year old Brit, ranked #263, is making her way back from injury. She recorded wins over Leylah Annie Fernandez (QF) and Giuliana Olmos (SF) on her way to her first title since April of last year.
...3-6/6-4 [10-8]. 32-year old Errani is working her way back from that double-shot suspension, and this weekend posted her first title run since winning a $60K singles crown in Rome in June. Ranked #240 in singles, Errani was well outside the Top 1000 in doubles went the Career Doubles Slam winner picked up her first ITF WD title since 2007.
...6-3/6-4. The now 42-year old Tanasugarn retired in the summer of '16 after having not played since the spring of '15, but the Thai vet returned this past December. In her seventh doubles event of the season, she reached her first final of any kind since tour-level Pattaya in 2015.
12 years later ...@wta @wtaluxembourg https://t.co/S0aFrHyuIx… pic.twitter.com/SEsdsXmvbJ
— Tatiana Golovin (@Matryochka) October 11, 2019
Meanwhile in Luxembourg, Tatiana Golovin is a professional tennis player again. pic.twitter.com/eJFbfH3O5n
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) October 12, 2019
9. Luxembourg Q1 - Kaja Juvan def. Tatiana Golovin
...6-3/6-1. For the first time since 2008 (when Juvan was 7)...
Match de reprise de grande qualité de Tatiana. Avant-goût #tennisextra pic.twitter.com/DhBa7KjwJn
— Charlotte Gabas (@Chagabs) October 12, 2019
...6-4/6-2. *Officially* a footnote to history.
Tamara Korpatsch defeats up-and-coming star Coco Gauff in the second round of qualifying at @WTALinz --> https://t.co/RqWy7GTRZr pic.twitter.com/NcfByCfSQY
— WTA (@WTA) October 7, 2019
6-3/4-6/6-3. The third time proved to be the charm for Peterson, as far as the Williams family is concerned. The Swede had lost a pair of matches against Serena this year, falling in Miami (2nd Rd.) and Rome (1st), though she did show well and win a set in the former match-up.
???? We have a winner! @beckspeterson is victorious against Venus Williams, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, advancing to the next round of the @TianjinOpen pic.twitter.com/ujQuKbSLFz
— WTA (@WTA) October 7, 2019
...6-1/1-6/6-3. While it hardly justifies that wild card she was given into the Miami MD back in March, Naomi's older sister hasn't drifted away since. In fact, her QF run at Hilton Head, her seventh QF+ result (w/ 3 SF) in a succession of challenger events over the last seven months, gives her a 27-19 all-level Q/MD record since she lost her sixth straight match (to Whitney Osuigwe) in the 1st Round of the Miami Open. She'll be at #302 in the rankings this week, 299 spots behind her sister.
A tennis player, a painter and an artist, Romania’s @AlexDulgheru is gearing up for her biggest masterpiece yet: A comeback from her fourth career knee surgery --> https://t.co/UlFRKN3Dxx pic.twitter.com/1gOOtPDuQ1
— WTA (@WTA) October 8, 2019
No matter what, smile ?? pic.twitter.com/z7RM3B5KRp
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) October 8, 2019
#rolandgarros champ @JelenaOstapenk8 ???? on #wimbledon champ @bartoli_marion ???? being her coach in Linz: “We are really good friends, we decided to try and work together this week. Today I played really well.” #wtalinz #upperaustrialadieslinz #marionbartoli #jelenaostapenko @WTA pic.twitter.com/E0lZ4uJ3Uk
— WTA Linz (@WTALinz) October 9, 2019
.@JelenaOstapenk8 & newly-appointed coach @bartoli_marion talk to the media in Linz pic.twitter.com/l6nmclQ8ql
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) October 9, 2019
Time for big sweaters, less sun screen and definitely no clay court tennis ?? #GoldenOctober pic.twitter.com/kzYvmgifkr
— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) October 8, 2019
“He keeps it very simple and he knows my personality, because he’s my Dad!” ??
— WTA (@WTA) October 10, 2019
After claiming back-to-back titles @Naomi_Osaka_ ????? talks about what it’s been like being coached by her Dad. pic.twitter.com/3PPfdeaghK
*WTA FIRST-TIME CHAMPIONS in 2019*
Hobart - Sonya Kenin, USA (20/#56)
Acapulco - Wang Yafan, CHN (24/#65)
Indian Wells - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (18/#60)
Bogota - Amanda Anisimova, USA (17/#76)
Istanbul - Petra Martic, CRO (28/#40)
Prague - Jil Teichmann, SUI (21/#146)
Rabat - Maria Sakkari, GRE (23/#51)
Nuremberg - Yulia Putintseva, KAZ (24/#39)
Bucharest - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (20/#106)
Lausanne - Fiona Ferro, FRA (22/#98)
Washington - Jessica Pegula, USA (25/#79)
Bronx - Magda Linette, POL (27/#80)
Nanchang - Rebecca Peterson, SWE (24/#78)
Seoul - Karolina Muchova, CZE (23/#45)
LINZ - COCO GAUFF, USA (15/#110)
*LUCKY LOSERS IN WTA FINALS*
2005 Canberra - Melinda Czink, HUN
2012 Stanford - CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Moscow River Cup - Olga Danilovic, SRB (W)
2018 Elite Trophy [elim.in RR] - Wang Qiang, CHN
2019 LINZ - COCO GAUFF, USA (W)
*YOUNGEST WTA CHAMPIONS*
Tracy Austin: 14 years, 0 months, 28 days (1977 Portland)
Kathy Rinaldi: 14 years, 6 months, 24 days (1981 Kyoto)
Jennifer Capriati:14 years, 6 months, 29 days (1990 Puerto Rico)
Andrea Jaeger: 14 years, 7 months, 14 days (1980 Las Vegas)
Andrea Jaeger: 14 years, 363 days (1980 Beckenham)
[15-year olds]
1997 Mirjana Lucic, CRO (Bol)
1989 Monica Seles, YUG (Houston)
1990 Anke Huber, GER (Schenectady)
2004 Nicole Vaidišová, CZE (Vancouver)
2006 Tamira Paszek, AUT (Portorož)
2019 COCO GAUFF, USA (LINZ)
*2019 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
4 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE
3 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN
3 - Ash Barty, AUS
3 - Sofia Kenin, USA
3 - Naomi Osaka, JPN
2 - Kiki Bertens, NED
2 - Madison Keys, USA
2 - Petra Kvitova, CZE
2 - REBECCA PETERSON, SWE
2 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2 - Jil Teichmann, SUI
2 - Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
2 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR
*2019 WTA CHAMPIONS BY AGE*
30 - Goerges
29 - Kvitova,Sevastova
28 - Hercog,Kvitova,Martic,Riske
27 - Bertens (2),Ka.Pliskova (3),Halep,Linette
26 - Ka.Pliskova
25 - Garcia,Muguruza,Pegula,Van Uytvanck,Sai.Zheng
24 - Hibino,PETERSON (2),Putintseva,Van Uytvanck,Wang Yafan,Keys (2)
23 - Barty (2),Mertens,Muchova,Sakkari
22 - Barty,Ferro,Teichmann
21 - Bencic,Osaka (3),Sabalenka,Teichmann
20 - Kenin (3),Rybakina,Sabalenka
19 - Yastremska,Andreescu (2)
18 - Andreescu,Yastremska
17 - Anisimova
15 - GAUFF
*RECENT EARLY-CAREER BREAKOUTS*
2015: Nao Hibino wins Tashkent (2nd WTA MD, age 20)
2016: Rebeka Masarova to Gstaad SF (WTA MD debut, age 16)
2017: Jana Fett to Hobart SF (WTA MD debut, age 20)
2017: Marketa Vondrousova wins Biel (2nd WTA MD, age 17)
2017: Mihaela Buzarnescu to Linz SF (2nd WTA MD, age 29)
2018: Anastasia Potapova to Moscow River Cup F (3rd WTA MD, age 17)
2018: Tamara Zidansek to Moscow River Cup SF (3rd WTA MD, age 18)
2019: Bianca Andreescu to Auckland F (4th WTA MD, age 18)
2019: Iga Swiatek to Lugano F (3rd WTA MD, age 17)
2019: Astra Sharma to Bogota F (3rd WTA MD, age 23)
2019: Martina Di Giuseppe to Bucharest SF (1st WTA MD, age 28)
2019: Katarzyna Kawa to Jurmala Final (1st WTA MD, age 26)
2019: Liudmila Samsonova to Palermo SF (4th WTA MD, age 20)
2019: Coco Gauff wins Linz (5th WTA MD, age 15)
[slams]
2014: Genie Bouchard to Australian Open semis (4th career GS MD, age 19)
2014: Genie Bouchard to Wimbledon Final (6th career GS MD, age 20)
2017: Alona Ostapeno wins Roland Garros (8th career GS MD, age 20)
2018: Naomi Osaka wins U.S. Open (11th career GS MD, age 20)
2019: Danielle Collins to Australian Open SF (6th career GS MD, age 25)
2019: Amanda Anisimova to Roland Garros SF (4th career GS MD, age 17)
2019: Marketa Vondrousova to Roland Garros SF (9th career GS MD, age 20)
2019: Bianca Andreescu wins U.S. Open (4th career GS MD, age 19)
*2019 WTA TITLES - U.S.*
3 - Sonya Kenin (Hobart,Mallorca,Guangzhou)
2 - Madison Keys (Charleston,Cincinnati)
1 - Amanda Anisimova (Bogota)
1 - COCO GAUFF (LINZ)
1 - Jessica Pegula (Washington)
1 - Alison Riske ('s-Hertogenbosch)
*WHEELCHAIR TENNIS MASTERS CHAMPIONS*
[singles]
1994 Monique Kalkman, NED
1995 Monique Kalkman, NED
1996 Chantal Vandierendonck, NED
1997 Maaike Smit, NED
1998 Esther Vergeer, NED
1999 Esther Vergeer, NED
2000 Esther Vergeer, NED
2001 Esther Vergeer, NED
2002 Esther Vergeer, NED
2003 Esther Vergeer, NED
2004 Esther Vergeer, NED
2005 Esther Vergeer, NED
2006 Esther Vergeer, NED
2007 Esther Vergeer, NED
2008 Esther Vergeer, NED
2009 Esther Vergeer, NED
2010 Esther Vergeer, NED
2011 Esther Vergeer, NED
2012 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2013 Yui Kamiji, JPN
2014 Aniek van Koot, NED
2015 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2016 Jiske Griffioen, NED
2017 Diede de Groot, NED
2018 Diede de Groot, NED
2019
[doubles]
2000 Daniela di Toro/Maaike Smit (AUS/NED)
2001 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2002 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2003 Maaike Smit/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2004 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2005 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2006 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2007 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2008 Jiske Griffioen/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2009 Korie Homan/Esther Vergeer (NED/NED)
2010 Aniek van Koot/Sharon Walraven (NED/NED)
2011 Esther Vergeer/Sharon Walraven (NED/NED)
2012 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot (NED/NED)
2013 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley (JPN/GBR)
2014 Yui Kamiji/Jordanne Whiley (JPN/GBR)
2015 Jiske Griffioen/Aniek van Koot (NED/NED)
2016 Diede de Groot/Lucy Shuker (NED/GBR)
2017 Marjolein Buis/Diede de Groot (NED/NED)
2018 Marjolein Buis/Aniek Van Koot (NED/NED)
2019
Land doesn’t vote. People do.
— Jack Miller (@politicalmiller) October 8, 2019
I love this gif. pic.twitter.com/OTLXDKHNGT
Washington Mystics win their first WNBA title! ?? pic.twitter.com/2UldzD0QRr
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 11, 2019
.@KikiMladenovic at the @WTALinz Players Party pic.twitter.com/Pg1GqKWO3p
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) October 7, 2019
My look at tonight’s theme players party “Golden 1920’s” ?????? @wtalinz pic.twitter.com/QY9Bnn2occ
— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) October 7, 2019
Phil Collins doing the famous drum fill from ‘In the Air Tonight’ is mesmerizing. pic.twitter.com/CxsvesgFY9
— Yoni (@OriginalYoni) October 10, 2019
This is my new favourite thing pic.twitter.com/DAtPXlifdj
— Giles Paley-Phillips (@eliistender10) October 5, 2019
June '73 pic.twitter.com/UJartY64eu
— Mike Peterson (@ComicStripOTD) October 10, 2019
¡Están de vuelta! ¡Y llegan a TODO!
— World Padel Tour (@WorldPadelTour) October 11, 2019
?? @MapiSAlayeto - @MajoSalayeto ??#WPTMenorcaOpen??? pic.twitter.com/97kR188uUz
Medellin, city in Colombia
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) October 11, 2019
A street food vendor dropped what he was going to sell.
Watch the beautiful response from the people around him.
This is EMPATHY. We need more of this ??? pic.twitter.com/ZPcpFSF3JG
This tho. Day has just been made. ?? pic.twitter.com/nyNBoFk9UN
— Allison Janney (@AllisonBJanney) September 25, 2019
SNL’s Oscar The Grouch origin story is absolutely brilliant
— Yashar Ali ?? (@yashar) October 13, 2019
If you missed it last night, it’s more than worth the two minutes
Written by: @streetseidell and @mikeyfuntime
Idea by: @DavidKHarbour
Directed by: @paulbriganti
Based on the Joker trailer pic.twitter.com/G4efcxFRFf
“All eyes in the studio were on the frog, waiting to see what Jim would do.”
— ?? Muppet History ?? (@HistoryMuppet) October 9, 2019
What came next would become an iconic moment in Muppet history. pic.twitter.com/aTIWqGtSe2
posted by Todd.Spiker @ 2:41 AM
11 Comments:
Last week of the regular season, so let's start with the playoff scenarios: WTA has announced Svitolina as being in the Shiseido field, but she might need to win one more match. Bertens and Bencic can each pass her if they win the title. But they both are on the same side of the draw. But there is a question, due to Bertens having so many tournaments that she's bumping off points, if she can bump Svitolina by reaching SF, and Bencic winning title.
Serena is still officially in 8th spot.
Zhuhai is even more of a mess. They did put in 11-15, starting with Konta, Kenin, Sabalenka, Keys, and Martic. So this week unofficially spins on Vondrousova. If she were playing, Riske would be last in, with Vekic and Sakkari the only ones with a chance to get in.
Without her, there is a 400 point drop from last in Vekic to Anisimova, who isn't playing this week. This means Yastremska, Sevastova, Putintseva, Muchova, and Alexandrova still have outside shots. Also means that Stephens, who is 3 out, but not playing, is still in line depending on withdrawals from either event.
Tianjin, which has a beautiful regular arena, turned into indoor Tashkent.
Don't know how Golovin's comeback will go, but I understand the timing. As someone who was never Top 10, she's not going to be able to start the season with wild cards and sponsors. Getting publicity and giving herself more time is a good idea.
I do think that because of her previous back issues that doubles would be a better choice.
A rare sighting in Luxembourg-Renata Voracova got into qualies as an alternate, and is a win away from her first WTA singles MD since Nurnberg 2015. looking for first win since Palmero 2013, where she reached QF.
Bad joke of the week-Can Rodionova and Sabalenka play in Australia on Margaret Court Arina,oops, I mean Aryna, oops Arena?
Watson's performance vs V.Kudermetova was the best I have seen from her in years.
Stat of the Week- 3- Amount of career titles for Tamira Paszek.
Gauff seems to be the real deal. But this week brought a spotlight on two 15 yr olds in Vaidisova and Paszek, who didn't reach the heights expected of them.
Paszek is the one I am looking at today, and it is easy to say injuries altered her career trajectory. After winning her first title at 15, she won at least one match at each of the slams at 16 in 2007. Although she played slam matches in 10 different seasons, that was the only time she did so.
Peaking at 16, 3 of her 4 best slam results were that season, no surprise that the one that wasn't was Wimbledon, in which she had more wins(11) there than the other 3 slams combined(9).
Still only 28, she isn't retired, but on a break due to health issues.
Quiz Time!
Tamira Paszek reached 4 WTA finals. Who is the only player to have defeated her in a final?
A.Maria Elena Camerin
B.Patty Schnyder
C.Bethanie Mattek-Sands
D.Angelique Kerber
Final regular season Up/Down Side.
Answer!
There is one obvious wrong answer, and that is (C)Mattek-Sands, as she does not have a singles title. Paszek defeated her in the now defunct Quebec City event.
(A)Camerin is wrong, because that is who Tamira beat as a 15 yr old to win the now defunct Potoroz(Slovenia) event.
That leaves 2 solid guesses. Now you might have guessed (D)Kerber, but if I said that the final was played on grass, you would change your answer. And should, as Paszek won a memorable Eastbourne final affected by the wind. This was Tamira's last title, back in 2012.
(B)Schnyder is the correct answer, winning in, stop if you have heard this before, the now defunct Bali event. Schnyder's last title, she reached 3 more finals, the last being Linz, where she lost for the third time.
5 On the Up Side.
1.Muchova- Still has an outside chance at Zhuhai, Moscow pick in a draw where Svitolina, Bertens, and Bencic are only expected to stay in until they clinch.
2.Kuzmova- Luxembourg pick in another draw with huge questions. Gauff and Ostapenko are still in as of now, plus little pressure as almost all Zhuhai wannabe's are in Moscow.
3.V.Williams- 18-14 may not seem that impressive, but she is over .500. Current stars like Kasatkina, who drops to 70 in live rank, and fleeting ones like Bouchard, who has alternated winning and losing seasons every season since 2014, aren't. Yet Venus finishes with a winning record for the TWENTY THIRD year in a row!
4.Peschke- If almost 40 yr old Venus gets praise, what about 44 yr old Peschke? Fun fact about her? She won her first and only singles title the same year Venus won her first-1998. By reaching a doubles final this year, has done so in 18 different seasons.
5.Gracheva- Gauff and Watson played their way in to Australian Open main draw last week, and Gracheva is 3 wins away from doing so-1 more Q win, and 2 MD.
5 On the Down Side.
1.Jabeur- Top 50 talent, Top 1000 durability. The irony, is that with all of the banged up women at the end of the season, the oft injured Jabeur seems to put up her best results.
2.Kozlova- Way too similar of a career arc to Jabeur. Ons has a CH of 51, Kozlova's is 62, and is another that needs to do the Serena schedule. Meaning play slams and big events, then take time off. Kozlova spends too much time grinding through Internationals for too little points.
3.Wang Xiyu- Xinyu is the one that took a set off Sharapova, and has a good enough game to be Top 30. Xiyu is like the NFL prototype QB that is 6-4, 220, that looks the part, but gets outplayed by Drew Brees and Russell Wilson. Has huge stamina issues, that she will hopefully grow out of, but right now is more like Duan than you want.
4.Yastremska- Has an outside chance at Zhuhai, but probably needs to shut it down. Like fellow Ukranian Svitolina, now wearing a knee wrap. Looked gassed last week.
5.Petkovic- Only on this list, because the ranking doesn't seem to reflect where she should be. 25-25 on the season, which with her career health is a plus, her year end ranking will be lower than it was last year. Seems to have found that second wind that can keep her on tour for a couple of more years, even without being a big winner.
It's probably good that Peterson had won a title a few weeks ago. You'd hate to have seen her *first* title come under such circumstances.
Was thinking maybe Mattek-Sands was one of those trick answers that turned out to be correct even though it didn't seem right. ;)
So... Gracheva as an early pick to win her first title in 2020?
Gracheva and Wang Xinyu should be on the short list.
Your list of winners this year points an oddity that has become more pronounced as the season has gone on. Goerges won in Week 1, and still is the only woman over 30 to have won a title this year. The only women over 30 eligible for the post season are Williams(Shiseido) and Kerber(Zhuhai).
Likely a few other Russians in the mix for 2020 picks, too.
Yep, a definite changing of the guard appears to be in progress. Still think Williams has 2020 to get #24, but if it doesn't happen it won't happen.
Yes, despite the poor finals record, Serena is closer to 24 now than she was at this time last year.
Updates on Shenzhen- Nothing has changed.
Updates on Shiseido-Lots have changed. WTA announced Mertens, Riske, and Vekic. With Vekic in, that confirmed that Vondrousova is out, but they made it official that Kerber and Konta are as well. This means that tentatively, Bertens, Bencic, Anisimova, and Sakkari +WC hold the last 5 spots.
Barring other withdrawals, this means Stephens is next in line, with Yastremska, Sevastova, Muchova, and Alexandrova still alive.
Can't even tease you about the Expos, they were impressive.
Yeah, that NLCS was really *something*. Even the most positive thinking didn't see *that* coming.
Hoping for Yankees (my favorite pre-Nats team) next, though I sense it'll probably be Houston.
Martic/Zaniewska split.
Update on the post-season. Serena is holding everyone hostage, but if Bencic wins her next match, she bumps Serena from Shenzhen, and everybody knows that she won't go as an alternate.
Should be mentioned that with Konta's withdrawal, Kenin might be 2nd alternate.
Zhuhai is a mess. Starting with doubles, 6 teams make it, 9-12 + 2 WC. If Aoyama/Shibahara win, they would only get to 13th, but the first non qualified Chinese team Peng/Yang is 42nd, so possible WC.
Singles still has 4 spots. Zheng got WC over Wang, so last 4 spots are Bertens, Bencic, Anisimova, Sakkari.
Next 4 out as of this post are Stephens, Yastremska, Kontaveit, and Muchova. Scenarios are as follows:
Muchova jumps Sakkari by reaching final.
Goerges jumps Kontaveit with title.
Mladenovic jumps Muchova(current spot) with title.
Pavlyuchenkova jumps Yastremska with title.
Kudermetova jumps Yastremska with title.
Gauff may win titles in back to back weeks, and not be the biggest story on tour.
Didn't see the Martic/Zaniewska split coming. Do we know who the new coach is, or does she have one yet? Someone should grab Zaniewska.
Diane, no on the first, agree on the second.
Daily update- Bencic makes it into Shenzen, so all 8 are locked.
Zhuhai will go down to the last day with 3 scenarios. As expected, Williams withdrew, but Anisimova, Stephens, and Kontaveit did also. This means Sakkari and Yastremska are locked in with Muchova in the last spot.
If Pavlyuchenkova wins, she is in.
If Pavlyuchenkova loses, and Goerges wins, Goerges is in.
If they both lose, Muchova is in.
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