Wk.18- Iga with a Save!
Magic in Madrid ? @iga_swiatek | #MMOpen pic.twitter.com/ci1Heh136m
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 4, 2024
INSANE defence from @iga_swiatek ?????#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/FKKDnV5ZqT
— wta (@WTA) May 4, 2024
One for the picture frame ????@iga_swiatek receives the @MutuaMadridOpen trophy from @GarbiMuguruza ????#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/SfRKJkkVWx
— wta (@WTA) May 4, 2024
This is so, so good ??@SabalenkaA | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/wdgB5Yq9eP
— wta (@WTA) May 4, 2024
Just WOW, Elena!!! ??
— wta (@WTA) May 2, 2024
Elena Rybakina | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/gAnkmzZOeY
Fresh off her title run in Stuttgart, Rybakina threatened to double-up any other player on tour with a *sixth* final appearance less five months into the new season. She posted straight sets wins over Lucia Bronzetti, Mayar Sherif and Sara Bejlek. Then things got complicated. In an all-KAZ QF with Yulia Putintseva, Rybakina staged a comeback from 5-2 down in the 3rd, saving a pair of MP while sweeping the final five games of the match to improve to 22-1 since her MTB loss in Melbourne to Anna Blinkova. Already the first to defeat Iga Swiatek twice on clay, Rybakina found herself two points from an opportunity to try to do it three times. Against Sabalenka in the SF, despite losing a 6-1/4-2 lead, Rybakina still served for the match at 5-4, and at 30/30 had a clear path to a MP, only to pull a swing volley forehand. Taken to a 3rd set, the Kazakh stayed close at 5-5, but couldn't convert on two BP for a second chance to serve for the win, then lost a 7-5 deciding TB. It's her first on-court loss on clay since a 2nd Round exit *last* year in Madrid (vs. Kalinskaya). Rybakina is now 5-1 in '24 semis, with her 16-match undefeated clay run dating back to 2023 now over (it wasn't a winning streak, as she had a walkover due to illness after win #8 at last year's RG), and next heads to Rome as the defending champion.
A roar heard around Madrid:
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) April 29, 2024
Yulia Putintseva fights past Daria Kasatkina to reach the QF. pic.twitter.com/DNlEbAAdvg
So close, but yet so far for Yulia Putintseva. pic.twitter.com/uYUjW9gocO
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) May 1, 2024
25-year old Spaniard Maristany fell a round short of her biggest career final in the Lleida 125, but maintains her upward progresssion in '24. After picking up her biggest career title in a $50K challenger in January, the #290-ranked Maristany became the lowest-ranked SF+ player in a WTA or 125 event so far this year with her run this week, doing so after getting MD wins over Nao Hibino and Arantxa Rus (her first Top 50 win). She ultimately fell to Mayar Sherif in the semis, but will rise to a new career-high of #244 on Monday.
??#Tenis | WTA 125 de Lleida
— La Tarjeta Morada (@latarjetamorada) May 3, 2024
??Sensacional triunfo de Guiomar Maristany
?Se ha impuesto en cuartos a ????Arantxa Rus por 3-6, 6-2 y 6-4, consiguiendo su primera victoria frente a una Top50
??Se cita en semis con ????Mayar Sherif, sus primeras semis en un torneo de esta categoría pic.twitter.com/yd4SDu7Fnl
This video belongs in a museum
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) April 28, 2024
?? @UniversTennis pic.twitter.com/q7vmab1e6B
TELL EMMM DANIELLE!!! pic.twitter.com/9ETfzjtd3T
— Rio (@impetigorx) April 28, 2024
Meanwhile, with Garbine Muguruza now settled up with history, Keys stands alone shoulder-to-shoulder with Alona Ostapenko as one of the two players on tour who bring the most mystery to every match they play (i.e. they could literally beat *anyone*, or go down in UE flames in a bagel set to anyone else). Personally, I've always found those traits with Ostapenko at times either endearing and/or exhilarating, while with Muguruza it mostly sowed frustration. With Keys, it's always been supremely aggravating and eye-rolling, and has always led me to habitually -- unlike the other two -- often disregard/forget about her being a force on tour, mostly because -- also unlike the other two -- it's never seemed possible they she could *ever* hold her powerful game together long enough to win the *biggest* titles to be had. To date, even with a slam final and five semis under her belt, that notion has proven out. Of course, such a mindset when it comes to Keys also leads to her often seeming to "sneak up" on this space -- usually with the two or three really good results in big events that she gets every season -- and make me wonder how she's *still* in the Top 20 after having seemingly not been heard from in what *feels* like ages. She'll be at #16 on Monday. Over a week and a half in Madrid, we saw the competing sides of the Keys game. In one case, all in one match. In the end, though, she was swiftly bundled out of the event by Iga Swiatek in the SF with Keys' blend of unforced errors and inconsistency eventually overwhelming her ability to (albeit almost blindly sometimes) blow just about anyone off the court off the ground (mostly with her well-clocked forehand). Keys didn't start her '24 campaign until Indian Wells, and arrived in Madrid at 3-3 on the season (and 3-9 in the event during her career, with eight 1r/2r exits). She strung together wins over Irina-Camelia Begu, Liudmila Samsonova and Coco Gauff, the latter being Keys' 27th Top 10 victory. The win put her into her first QF since a U.S. Open SF last summer. Just reaching the 3rd Round had been significant for Keys, as combined with her I.W. 4th Round and Miami 3rd it marked the first time since 2016 that she'd gotten so far in three consecutive 1000 events (that season, she posted QF-3r-F-F-QF-SF runs in 1000s from Miami though Beijing).
ULTIMATE COMEBACK ?@Madison_Keys comes back from a set down to defeat the No.8 seed Jabeur 0-6, 7-5, 6-1 and is into the semifinals!#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/B4WGUQORf6
— wta (@WTA) April 30, 2024
Another Top 10 win followed, this time over Ons Jabeur after dropping the 1st set at love, but taking out Swiatek on clay proved a bridge too far as she fell 6-1/6-3 in 1:10. Keys *has* defeated the Pole in the past, getting her lone career #1 win in Cincinnati in '22. One often thinks of hard court (and maybe grass) when recalling Keys' best results, but she *did* have back-to-back SF/QF results in Paris in 2018-19, though she hasn't reached a final on the red dirt in eight years (she won a green clay title in Charleston in '19). In the 2020s, with her 4-1 Madrid W/L stats included, she's moved over .500 on the surface in the decade at 16-14.
From 1-4 to 6-4 ??
— wta (@WTA) April 30, 2024
Haddad Maia reels off 5 games in a row to secure the opening set over top seed Swiatek!#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/s1Gy8OPfZC
Meanwhile, the spring hadn't been kind to Siniakova. She retired from the 2nd Round in Miami, missed a month, then returned in Madrid and fell in the 1st Round. At the same time, a likely Hall of Famer for her doubles success, the Czech hasn't even take the court in WD since Indian Wells, *and* in recent weeks saw her '24 partner (Storm Hunter) suffer an Achilles injury that brought her season to a premature end. With the two-week run of Madrid, 125 events were available this past week for those wishing to get more time on the dirt. With multiple wins in just one of her last eight events, Siniakova signed up... and never lost. Wins over Alycia Parks, Lina Gjorcheska, Ashlyn Krueger and recent Bogota champ Camila Osorio put her into her first singles final since winning a tour-level title last October. Facing off with six-time 125 champ (the category record-holder) Mayar Sherif, Siniakova claimed the title, 6-4/4-6/6-3, handing the Egyptian her first singles final loss since August '21 (ending an eight final run which included her maiden WTA crown).
?? Katerina Siniakova, campiona del Catalonia Open WTA 125 - Torneig Internacional Terres de Lleida.
— Tennis Català (@FCatTennis) May 5, 2024
La txeca s’ha imposat en la final a l’egípcia Mayar Sherif per 6/4 4/6 6/3 en un duel que s’ha allargat fins a les 2h i 51 min.
?? https://t.co/p3jhWkfS1n pic.twitter.com/2ew0VtyBnY
Never forget ??
— wta (@WTA) April 29, 2024
On her 17th birthday, Mirra Andreeva reaches her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal.#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/PH0XTv62zA
If at first you don't succeed... ??
— wta (@WTA) May 1, 2024
17-year-old Mirra Andreeva working on her tweeners with @conchitamartinz ?????? pic.twitter.com/cqKgY10cMe
Already an ITF circuit star in '24, 20-year old Pastry Boisson (#191) raised her level of competition this past week in the 125 event in Saint-Malo, and lifted her game accordingly to pick up her biggest career title, her fourth singles win this season (all on clay... so that RG wild card should be forthcoming). A wild card in *this* event, Boisson knocked off Varvara Gracheva, Solana Sierra, Katie Volynets and Alize Cornet to reach the final, then rallied from 6-4/5-3 back vs. countrywoman Chloe Paquet (who twice served for the match) to win in three sets. With the crown, Boisson stands at 31-6 at all levels this season, and will climb to a career high of #152 on Monday. She's 23-1 in her last 24.
Loïs Boisson is the Champion of St. Malo WTA 125??
— Melanie Lautrup (@melanie_lautrup) May 5, 2024
- She defeated Paquet 4-6, 7-6, 6-3
- She also beat Gracheva, Sierra, Volynets & Cornet along the way
- It’s the biggest title of her career
- She has already won 3 ITF titles in 2024
- With this win, she’s locked in for a RG WC pic.twitter.com/J1kQRUZyCn
OTRO TÍTULO PARA JULIA RIERA ????
— Asociación Argentina de Tenis (@AATenis) May 5, 2024
La pergaminense de 21 años se consagró en el W100 de Wiesbaden ???? y alzó el título más importante de su carrera ??
Además es la primera argentina en ganar un torneo de esta categoría ??
¡Felicitaciones @juliriera02 y equipo! ?? pic.twitter.com/W60NNYkQoL
Meanwhile, in Gifu (JPN), 22-year old Uchijimi picked up her third ITF title of the season, and second $100K crown in a month (winning on hard court, after a previous run on clay in April). Uchijima posted wins over Maddison Inglis and Arianne Hartono, then defeated Arina Rodionova (the Aussie's best result since her Top 100 debut at age 34 earlier this season) in the final by a 6-3/6-3 score. Also with an additional $50K win in January, Uchijimi is 27-9 this season.
That first title feeling on home turf ??
— wta (@WTA) May 5, 2024
Cristina Bucsa ???? @sara_sorribes#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/pwMrHOZ1ga
Hmmm, I hear that Krejcikova's old doubles partner might be needing a regular playing mate the rest of this year (just a thought).
?? Doble consagración en Turquía
— Match Tenis (@MatchTenis) May 4, 2024
Angélica Bernal se llevó los dos trofeos en el ITF 2 Series de Antalya ???? para lograr su segundo título de la temporada https://t.co/yr8WWGiMbD
A final for the ages ?? @iga_swiatek defeats Aryna Sabalenka in an epic final 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7) as she claims the title in Madrid!#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/Gv2qfgSrV6
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 4, 2024
?????? G R A C I A S ??????@iga_swiatek | @SabalenkaA | @WTA | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/dKmyzDDcBH
— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) May 4, 2024
Swiatek's first Madrid win improved her career record in WTA finals to 20-4 (w/ 8 straight wins since losing to Sabalenka in last year's Madrid title match). 7-3 vs. Sabalenka in their career series (now 3-2 since their SF clash at the '22 U.S. Open), the Pole is 11-1 in finals this decade vs. Top 10 players.
??????????????@iga_swiatek | @WTA | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/8PC09lD8mU
— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) May 4, 2024
Extra points to Iga for this (IYKYK)...
Iga Swiatek: 'Who's gonna say now that women's tennis is boring?'
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) May 4, 2024
MIC. DROP ???? pic.twitter.com/cNwZkWvjHz
If the WTA had even a shred of marketing sense they'd turn the whole notion of one of their top-ranked players calling her sport "boring" on it's head and score major points by self-deprecatingly laughing at the daily absurdity (both good and bad) of the women's game by highlighting just how "un-boring" it is. But, well, you know.
This is why u don’t need best of 5!!! This is the perfect amount of time! It’s long enough and every minute has been quality! I said what i said! pic.twitter.com/3aAe0IkWcu
— Rennae Stubbs ?? (@rennaestubbs) May 4, 2024
I mean, is there anything more "boring" in tennis than the first set and a half of a best-of-five match?
BUILT DIFFERENT ??
— wta (@WTA) May 1, 2024
Elena Rybakina digs deep, saving TWO match points to defeat Putintseva for the very first time and reach her sixth semifinal of the year!#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/w0jUEN9gFX
Rybakina then fired an ace on MP #2, and soon secured the hold to stay alive. In her next two service games, Putintseva fell behind love/40. She was broken as she served for the match at 5-3, then broken at love at 5-5 as Rybakina earned her shot to serve out the win. She took a 40/love lead, missed on all three MP (including with a DF and forehand UE), but converted on her fourth try. As expected, Putintseva then killed her guilty racket with three crushing blows to the court surface. Now, here's the actual final MP video, as correctly posted by Tennis Channel (more in a moment)...
The Elena train keeps on rolling ??
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 1, 2024
Rybakina saves multiple match points to defeat Putintseva 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5!°°#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/9IvgI70C3X
And here's the post the WTA put up, using that truly aggravating zoom-in technique they they seem to like to employ, moving the camera back-and-forth in a way that almost makes me cross-eyed sometimes, and during which you can't see the full scoreboard in the corner to get the full context. In this case, you don't even see Rybakina after MP. Though we do get a good view of Putintseva murdering her racket, though... so there's that.
BUILT DIFFERENT ??
— wta (@WTA) May 1, 2024
Elena Rybakina digs deep, saving TWO match points to defeat Putintseva for the very first time and reach her sixth semifinal of the year!#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/w0jUEN9gFX
Never count her out ??
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 2, 2024
Aryna Sabalenka comes back from the brink of elimination to defeat Rybakina 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(5)!°°#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/X2MjvOW4HP
Had Rybakina won, then taken the title, Sabalenka would have fallen to #4 in the rankings. With the win here, Sabalenka kept her grasp on the #2 ranking over #3 Coco Gauff.
Defending champ things ??@SabalenkaA stops the Collins streak at 15 wins to advance to the Madrid quarterfinals once again.#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/6GXpHyZPN2
— wta (@WTA) April 29, 2024
Statement win ??@Madison_Keys upsets No.3 seed Gauff to reach her first Madrid quarterfinal.#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/OD6KfwRmwL
— wta (@WTA) April 29, 2024
Following the match, Gauff stood at a (would-be) career-best #2 in the live rankings, but ultimately stayed at #3 after Sabalenka reached the final.
QUE Calidad María Camila Osorio ! ???????? @CamiOsorioTenis pic.twitter.com/Ol2xPatN1r
— Paisadeportes (@paisadeportes) May 3, 2024
In the 3rd, the pair traded breaks at the mid-way pint of the set, then went to a deciding TB. Frech led 4-3, but Osorio swept the final four points.
Anna Blinkova's rough patch on clay continues at the WTA125 L'Open 35 de Saint-Malo, falling to home favourite Jessika Ponchet 5-7, 3-6 in the first round.
— WTARussians (@WTArussians) April 30, 2024
Had the momentum late in the opening set and owned BPs for a double-break in the second set, but couldn't convert. pic.twitter.com/tXlZLpdT6v
WTA 125 L'Open de Saint Malo
— ken mckinnon (@kenmckinnon13) May 4, 2024
Women's Doubles Champion's
Ellen Perez and Nicole Melichar pic.twitter.com/dpicbG5ORo
Winning the title in front of the home crowd ???? ??
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) May 5, 2024
The Spanish duo of Cristina Bucsa and Sara Sorribes Tormo take down Barbora Krejcikova and Laura Siegemund 6-0, 6-2 to win the title in Madrid!#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/GOv1zhIm3N
Jil Teichmann just won her first title in almost 5 years at the W35 in Santa Margherita di Pula ?? pic.twitter.com/iPOoFxrhFt
— Simon (@BelleBienne) May 5, 2024
Another format change for BJK Cup play (and a good one, I think), as the groups are gone for the Finals and a bracket set-up is in place, meaning *every* tie will be a battle to advance a round closer to the final. You have to wonder if this might be an attempt to lure more big-name players to Seville (the bracket format means fewer matches) at the end of a season that will also include an even bigger "national" event in the Olympics, and with the BJK finale taking place just days after the completion of the WTAF in Riyadh.
The 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals Draw is set ??
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) April 30, 2024
12-20 November, Seville, Spain ??#BJKCup pic.twitter.com/gawprVtGRF
2024 Billie Jean King Cup Play-offs ??
— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) April 30, 2024
(c) Switzerland v Serbia
(c) Kazakhstan v Korea, Rep
France v Colombia (c)
(c) Slovenia v Netherlands
Belgium v China, P.R. (c)
(c) Ukraine v Austria
(c) Brazil v Argentina
Mexico v Denmark (c)
C: Choice of ground #BJKCup
A little checkmark for that all-South American BRA/ARG face-off. Meanwhile, *again* Ukraine is in position to host a tie, but will have to choose a more beneficial neutral site.
Remembering the one in a million that was Elena Baltacha. Ten years has passed so quickly. ?? pic.twitter.com/IYSrkd3LZ0
— judy murray (@JudyMurray) May 4, 2024
#ad I’m honored to be a Wheaties champion on the newest limited edition @wheaties box.
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) May 2, 2024
Wheaties was a big part of my childhood. I started each day eating a bowl of it at our breakfast table in Long Beach, California. As I entered our kitchen, I would flex and say, "Wheaties,… pic.twitter.com/B2wQcSTXSg
So the WTA's new business partner just secretly sentenced a woman to 11 years in prison for what the Saudi government called "terrorist offenses" that essentially amounted to her "choice of clothing and support for women’s rights" (such as an end to guardianship rules).
“Manahel al-Otaibi’s social media accounts portrayed her as a young and progressive woman who loves fitness, art, yoga, travel, while also promoting women’s rights.”
— Jon Holmes (@jonboy79) May 1, 2024
Sentenced to 11 years in jail by government of Saudi Arabia, new home of the #WTAFinalshttps://t.co/1v3FPZDBX7
WTA signed up for this ride for three years, this is just the beginning.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) May 1, 2024
Pro tennis more broadly as well, but WTA gets held to a higher standard, fairly or not. (Unlike the ATP, a business and not a cause, which has never once sought out anything resembling moral high ground.) https://t.co/5QkSYz7Iah
Next time someone question’s Madonna’s relevance, talent, calls her old, ugly or a has been, simply send them this tweet with a video of her performing to over a million people in Rio at the end of her Celebration tour, age 65, 42 years into her career. pic.twitter.com/Nrt1HD3YNW
— Inside The Groove (@insidethegroove) May 5, 2024
With 1.6 million people, @Madonna's Celebration Tour in Rio breaks the record for the largest standalone concert by any artist in history. Not female pop artist, but any artist; male or female, dead or alive.
— Woody Lightyear ?? (@WoodyLightyearx) May 5, 2024
While it's a nice quantifiable amplification to the power of her… pic.twitter.com/jhjMTJjozo
Madonna performs her iconic worldwide #1 single, Like A Prayer, for #MadonnaCelebrationTourInRio. pic.twitter.com/dajJ1BbUHS
— Madonna: The Living Legend (@MadonnaLegacy) May 5, 2024
The Queen of Pop, Madonna, gets Into The Groove with 1.6 million people attending her final tour stop for The Celebration Tour. #MadonnaInRio pic.twitter.com/novHyK9Tnt
— Madonna: The Living Legend (@MadonnaLegacy) May 5, 2024
É crente fazendo vídeo e textão, é católico indignado, é sodoma e gomorra nos trends, é ritual satanico, é oferenda ao diabo, é o povo não sabendo diferenciar governo estadual de federal, meu deus que domingo bom. Obrigada por tudo Madonna pic.twitter.com/IArq3zLLnP
— sabrina. (@brinacoments) May 5, 2024
??Madonna performs Ray of Light on Copacabana Beach in Rio, Brazil. ??? #MadonnaInRio pic.twitter.com/3FewwCJgQY
— Madonna: The Living Legend (@MadonnaLegacy) May 5, 2024
That moment ... #MadonnaInRio
— Madonna: The Living Legend (@MadonnaLegacy) May 5, 2024
??Holiday merges into Live To Tell to show the chilling and unexpected transition from the gay club scene in the 1970s into the AIDS epidemic of the early 1980s.
Madonna spoke up then when the world was quiet.
Silence=Death pic.twitter.com/p07VxH9rc2
Madonna performs Live To Tell in #MadonnaCelebrationTourInRio
— Madonna: The Living Legend (@MadonnaLegacy) May 5, 2024
THREAD 2/2 pic.twitter.com/XHIm2IDjWt
Simplesmente o melhor momento do show. Madonna é a única artista que poderia fazer uma homenagem dessa ao Michael Jackson sem parecer presunçosa. Eles são a Rainha e Rei do Pop, é isso! pic.twitter.com/VlSl3tXhWk
— laura (@lauraemiche) May 5, 2024
Landed in Roma ????, learned a new word in Italian “Pazzo”
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) May 3, 2024
Might be useful, you never know ??
The @GarbiMuguruza seal of approval ??#MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/rAgp8xAMOW
— wta (@WTA) May 4, 2024
#PlayBig ??
— Venus Williams (@Venuseswilliams) May 3, 2024
May 8, 2024 pic.twitter.com/TogCrFkJwB
Tennis Magic in the Magic Box pic.twitter.com/GiVZYmey7Z
— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) May 2, 2024
"This Award is a motivator and also a reminder that with the biggest smile on my face, I can do anything and so can all the other little Diedes out there."
— Laureus (@LaureusSport) May 2, 2024
Inspired and motivated - Diede de Groot - Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability#Laureus24 pic.twitter.com/3FGgutqr9g
*SWIATEK vs. SABALENKA*
2021 WTAF rr (hc) - Sabalenka 2-6/6-2/7-5
2022 Doha QF (hc) - Swiatek 6-2/6-3
2022 Stuttgart Final (rci) - Swiatek 6-2/6-2
2022 Rome SF (rc) - Swiatek 6-2/6-1
2022 U.S. Open SF (hc) - Swiatek 3-6/6-1/6-4
2022 WTA Finals SF (hci) - Sabalenka 6-2/2-6/6-1
2023 Stuttgart Final (rci) - Swiatek 6-3/6-4
2023 Madrid Final (rc) - Sabalenka 6-3/3-6/6-3
2023 WTA Finals SF (hc) - Swiatek 6-3/6-2
2024 Madrid Final (rc) - Swiatek 7-5/4-6/7-6(7)
*2024 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
3 - IGA SWIATEK, POL = 1000(3)
3 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ = 500(3)
2 - Danielle Collins, USA = 1000,500
2 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT = 500(2)
[2020-24]
20 - 1/2/8/6/3 = IGA SWIATEK
9 - 3/2/0/3/1 = Aryna Sabalenka
8 - 1/5/2 = Ash Barty (ret.)
7 - 0/3/2/2/0 = Barbora Krejcikova
7 - 1/0/1/2/3 = Elena Rybakina
6 - 0/1/0/4/1 = Coco Gauff
*RECENT WTA #1 vs. #2 MATCH-UPS*
2014 Brisbane Final - #1 S.Williams d. #2 Azarenka
2014 Miami Final - #1 S.Williams d. #2 Li
2015 Australian Open Final - #1 S.Williams d. #2 Sharapova
2018 Australian Open Final - #2 Wozniacki d. #1 Halep
2019 WTA Finals SF - #1 Barty d. #2 Ka.Pliskova
2023 Stuttgart Final - #1 Swiatek d. #2 Sabalenka
2023 Madrid Final - #2 Sabalenka d. #1 Swiatek
2023 WTA Finals SF - #2 Swiatek d. #1 Sabalenka
2024 Madrid Final - #1 Swiatek d. #2 Sabalenka
*MOST WTA FINALS in 2024*
5 - Elena Rybakina (3-2)
3 - IGA SWIATEK (3-0)
3 - ARYNA SABALENKA (1-2)
3 - Dasha Kasatkina (0-3)
2 - Danielle Collins (2-0)
2 - Alona Ostapenko (2-0)
2 - Marta Kostyuk (0-2)
*MOST WTA FINALS - 2020-24*
23 - 1/2/9/8/3 = SWIATEK (20-3)
18 - 3/3/3/6/3 = SABALENKA (9-9)
17 - 5/0/3/4/5 = Rybakina (7-10)
12 - 1/7/4/0 ret...Kontaveit (5-6-1)
12 - 0/3/6/3/0 = Jabeur (5-7)
11 - 0/4/3/4/0 = Krejcikova (7-4)
11 - 0/4/2/2/2 = Kasatkina (4-7)
*RECENT ALL-TOP 10 FINALS*
[2023]
Doha - #1 Swiatek def. #4 Pegula
Indian Wells - #10 Rybakina def. #2 Sabalenka
Stuttgart - #1 Swiatek def. #2 Sabalenka
Madrid - #2 Sabalenka def. #1 Swiatek
Washington - #7 Gauff def. #9 Sakkari
US Open - #6 Gauff def. #2 Sabalenka
WTAF - #2 Swiatek def. #5 Pegula
[2024]
Brisbane - #4 Rybakina def. #2 Sabalenka
Doha - #1 Swiatek def. #4 Rybakina
Indian Wells - #1 Swiatek def. #9 Sakkari
Madrid - #1 Swiatek def. #2 Sabalenka
==MOST FINALS IN 2020s - WON/LOST=
12 (11-1) - SWIATEK
10 (2-8) - SABALENKA
5 (0-5) - Sakkari
3 (2-1) - Barty, Rybakina
3 (1-2) - Kontaveit, Pegula
2 (2-0) - Gauff
2 (0-2) - Jabeur
1 (1-0) - Badosa, Garcia, Halep, Muguruza
1 (0-1) - Andreescu, Krejcikova, Pliskova
*2024 WTA TITLES, MOST SURFACES*
2 - Danielle Collins = Hard,Green Clay
2 - Elena Rybakina = Hard,Red Clay
2 - IGA SWIATEK = Hard,Red Clay
[finals]
2 - Danielle Collins = Hard,Green Clay
2 - Dasha Kasatkina = Hard,Green Clay
2 - Marta Kostyuk = Hard,Red Clay
2 - Elena Rybakina = Hard,Red Clay
2 - ARYNA SABALENKA = Hard,Red Clay
2 - IGA SWIATAK = Hard,Red Clay
*CAREER WTA TITLES ON CLAY (active)*
9 - Simona Halep
9 - Venus Williams
8 - IGA SWIATEK
7 - Sara Errani
6 - Elina Svitolina
5 - Petra Kvitova
[clay titles in 2020s]
8 - IGA SWIATEK (1/1/3/2/1)
2 - Danielle Collins (0/1/0/0/1)
2 - Simona Halep (2/0/0/-/0)
2 - Ons Jabeur (0/0/1/1/0)
2 - Barbora Krejcikova (0/2/0/0/0)
2 - Camila Osorio (0/1/0/0/1)
2 - Bernarda Pera (0/0/2/0/0)
2 - Tatjana Maria (0/0/1/1/0)
2 - Elena Rybakina (0/0/0/1/1)
2 - Aryna Sabalenka (0/1/0/1/0)
2 - Elina Svitolina (1/0/0/1/0)
*2024 TITLES FROM MATCH POINT DOWN*
Linz - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (1 MP vs. Tauson, 2r)
Madrid - Iga Swiatek, POL (3 MP vs. Sabalenka, F)
[total titles from MP down in 2020s]
2 - Barbora Krejcikova (2021 Roland Garros, 2023 Dubai)
2 - Alona Ostapenko (2022 Dubai, 2024 Linz)
2 - IGA SWIATEK (2021 Rome, 2024 Madrid)
*TOTAL MP SAVED EN ROUTE TO TITLE - 2020s*
5 - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (2022 Monterrey)
4 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2023 Dubai)
3 - Jessie Pegula, USA (2022 Guadalajara)
3 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (2023 Abu Dhabi)
3 - Katerina Siniakova, CZE (2023 Nanchang)
3 - IGA SWIATEK, POL (2024 Madrid)
2 - Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA (2023 Lausanne - 2 matches)
2 - Naomi Osaka, JPN (2021 Australian Open)
2 - Iga Swiatek, POL (2021 Rome)
*MOST WTA SF in 2024*
6 - ELENA RYBAKINA (5-1)
5 - IGA SWIATEK (2-2 +W)
3 - ARYNA SABALENKA (3-0)
3 - Dasha Kasatkina (2-0 +W)
3 - Marta Kostyuk (2-1)
3 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (1-2)
3 - Coco Gauff (1-2)
3 - Emma Navarro (1-2)
3 - Jessie Pegula (0-2 +L)
*CAREER WTA FINALS (active)*
83 - Venus Williams
55 - Caroline Wozniacki
42 - Simona Halep
42 - Petra Kvitova
41 - Victoria Azarenka
33 - Karolina Pliskova
31 - Angelque Kerber
30 - Vera Zvonareva
27 - ARYNA SABALENKA
24 - IGA SWIATEK
21 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
21 - Elina Svitolina
*2024 MOST 3:00 MATCHES (WTA/GS MD only)*
3 - Dasha Saville (1-2)
2 - Kamilla Rakhimova (2-0)
2 - IGA SWIATEK (2-0)
2 - Wang Xiyu (2-0)
2 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (1-1)
2 - Ana Bogdan (1-1)
2 - Marta Kostyuk (1-1)
2 - Veronika Kudermetova (1-1)
2 - Laura Siegemund (1-1)
2 - Arantxa Rus (0-2)
*LONG WTA (MD only) WINNING STREAKS - 2020s*
37 - Iga Swiatek (2022; ended by Cornet)
18 - Iga Swiatek (2023-24; ended by Noskova)
17 - Simona Halep (2020; ended by Swiatek)
16 - Coco Gauff (2023; ended by Swiatek)
15 - DANIELLE COLLINS (2024; ended by Sabalenka)
13 - Liudmila Samsonova (2022; ended by Tomljanovic)
13 - Bernarda Pera (2022; ended by Samsonova)
13 - Aryna Sabalenka (2023; ended by Krejcikova)
13 - Elena Rybakina (2023; ended by Kvitova)
*2024 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
2 - CRISTINA BUCSA
2 - Chan Hao-ching
2 - Hsieh Su-wei
2 - Sofia Kenin
2 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands
2 - Elise Mertens
*MADRID/ROME FINALS (Madrid started '09); w/ RG result*
2009 Dinara Safina (W-W)+ RU
2013 Serena Williams (W-W)+ W
2017 Simona Halep (W-RU)+ RU
2022 Ons Jabeur (W-RU)+ 1r
Animal speed comparison
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) May 5, 2024
pic.twitter.com/Hs4vnyP7iU
In the least surprising news of the day... https://t.co/MEwu2zKhM8
— The BryPie (@TheBryPie) May 3, 2024
Beautiful writing from
— Jeff Pearlman (@jeffpearlman) April 27, 2024
@amandafortini https://t.co/C1uERAgHgm
The Titanic II will soon be sailing the high seas ?? Australian billionaire Clive Palmer is the mastermind behind the vessel - with its maiden voyage set to take place in June 2027. The Titanic II will be a replica of the original.
— Breakfast Television (@breakfasttv) April 30, 2024
Would YOU sail on this ship? pic.twitter.com/2QMsq1kCe2
Here.We.Go... https://t.co/AERFyfk0Yk
— EvelDick (@EvelDick) May 5, 2024
Bird vs Silverback gorilla.. ?? pic.twitter.com/pNZGsHZRjQ
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) May 5, 2024
Took a pic of the cat lookin out the window and accidentally turned him into some sort of god. pic.twitter.com/z0Gb323xCD
— place where animal shouldn’t be (@catshouldnt) May 4, 2024
Keep scrolling if you’ve already watched a tortoise and a dachshund playing soccer today ??
— Jessi ?? (@its_jessi_grace) May 2, 2024
pic.twitter.com/1jMj4gDbYx
That's cute!
— Figen (@TheFigen_) May 1, 2024
The happiness on their faces are priceless!pic.twitter.com/9ozXa1pAkH
Dubbed "The most interesting moth in the world," the incredible Picasso moth (Baorisa hieroglyphica) is a rare beauty found in India and Asia.
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) May 1, 2024
[?? msone] pic.twitter.com/dZngRBd9Ah
The Hungry Tree has slowly consumed this bench in the last 150 years.
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) May 2, 2024
[?? remnantsofourpast]
[?? King’s Inns, Dublin, Ireland ????]pic.twitter.com/MSW5a7iTcy
Don’t know who did this, but I just started a slow clap of admiration … pic.twitter.com/kq67MWWPXc
— Super 70s Sports (@Super70sSports) April 30, 2024
2 Comments:
I personally put an asterisk to Swiatek's title as she didn't face (or beat) Rybakina on her way to the title.
It's a pity that Rybakina couldn't reach Swiatek. Will that occurrence repeat at Roland Garros?
D-
"Like a Prayer" and "Vogue" always come to mind when I think of great Madonna videos.
It was nice to see her concert in Brazil get some attention last weekend. I mean, there isn't much room to slip in there between all the Taylor Swift concert footage that gets posted, you know. :)
K-
I don't disagree, as Sabalenka just doesn't play on Iga's mind (and game) like Elena does. And now with Rybakina's w/d in Rome the same thing could happen there.
Hope this isn't another sign of Rybakina having health issues (again) the rest of the spring and into the summer. :(
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