Sunday, March 02, 2025

Wk.9- Pegula is Bigger in Texas








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*WEEK 9 CHAMPIONS*
MERIDA, MEXICO (WTA 500; Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Emma Navarro/USA def. Emiliana Arango/COL 6-0/6-0
D: Katarzyna Piter/Mayar Sherif (POL/EGY) def. Anna Danilina/Irina Khromacheva (KAZ/RUS) 7-6(2)/7-5
AUSTIN (TEXAS), USA (WTA 250; Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Jessie Pegula/USA def. McCartney Kessler/USA 7-5/6-2
D: Anna Blinkova/Yuan Yue (RUS/CHN) def. McCartney Kessler/Zhang Shuai (USA/CHN) 3-6/6-1 [10-4]




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jessie Pegula/USA
...Pegula's run in Austin finally snapped the title drought for Top 10 ranked players that had gone on since Aryna Sabalenka's win in Brisbane in Week 1.

The world #4 grabbed her first crown since she defended her title in Canada last summer. It's the seventh in her career (sixth on hard court), which she did while losing just one set vs. the likes of Arantxa Rus, Nuria Parrizas Diaz, Anna Blinkova, Ajla Tomljanovic (the Aussie took that lone set Pegula lost in their SF match-up) and Hobart champ McCartney Kessler in a 7-5/6-2 final.

Both of Pegula's two finals (along w/ Adelaide vs. Keys) this season have been all-U.S. affairs. It's the fourth such one-nation tour final that Pegula has appeared in during her WTA career, including three (vs. three different Bannerettes) since the beginning of last August.
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RISERS: Emma Navarro/USA and McCartney Kessler/USA
...Navarro grabbed the title at the upgraded (it was a 250 in '24, and played in October) Merida 500 event, picking up her second tour title and first since winning in Hobart at the start of last year.

Of course, though she'd gone title-less for over a year, Navarro had climbed into the Top 10 as she's since particularly shined on the slam stage (3r-4r-QF-SF-QF at the last five majors) and posted three Top 3 victories (all in big events at IW, WI and the US) last season. She could have fallen out of the Top 10 without a good result in Week 9, but instead will move up two spots to match her career high of #8 set in September.

Top seeded Navarro didn't lose a set in Merida, coolly taking out Petra Martic, defending champ Zeynep Sonmez and Elina Avanesyan to reach her second tour final. Maiden finalist Emiliana Arango was on the bad end of a 6-0/6-0 match with the title on the line, as Navarro pulled off the first title-winning double bagel scoreline on tour in almost four years.



Meanwhile, Kessler continues to impress, having already won a pair of 250 titles over the past six months (including Hobart in '25), reaching her third career WTA final with a runner-up result in Austin.



A win over lucky loser Viktorija Golubic was followed by a pair of three-set victories, over Cristina Bucsa (3rd set TB) and Sorana Cirstea, then a two-setter vs. Greet Minnen to pull Kessler within one win of a third 250 crown. She lost the 7-5/6-2 all-Bannerette final vs. top seed Jessie Pegula, failing to notch her first career Top 10 win. But she will be back in the Top 50 on Monday, at #48.

The loss is Kessler's first in a pro singles final since 2021 in a $15K challenger. She'd won her last six finals -- three ITF, a 125 and two WTA -- since October '23.

Kessler also reached the doubles title match, played *after* she lost the singles final. Teaming with Zhang Shuai, the former Florida Gator fell to 0-2 on Sunday as the duo lost to Anna Blinkova & Yuan Yue in a 10-4 MTB.
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SURPRISE: Emiliana Arango/COL
...things didn't end anywhere close to how the 24-year old Colombian would have liked in Merida, but Arango's maiden tour final run (in a 500, no less) surely made this the best week of her young, backward hat-wearing career.

Ranked #133, and with a Cancun 125 title run coming in her most recent event as well a 1000 level QF in Guadalajara last year, Arango once more found a comfort zone in Mexico. She made her way through qualifying with wins over Katarzyna Kawa and Maria Lourdes Carle, and after knocking off Carle (now a LL) in consecutive matches saw Franceca Jones retire up 4-3 in the 3rd set of their 2nd Round match.

Arango took advantage of her good fortune after that, winning back-to-back three setters over Rebecca Sramkova (w/ a love 3rd set) and fellow qualifier Dasha Saville to reach her maiden WTA final, riding an 11-match winning streak.

Unfortunately, she didn't get a game off Emma Navarro in the final, losing by the sort of scoreline (6-0/6-0) that will likely obscure how good a week that Arango had in Merida.

Still, she'll climb more than 50 spots in the rankings with the result, cracking the Top 100 for the first time and reaching #80.
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VETERANS: Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS and Sorana Cirstea/ROU
...with her best tour-level result since her Birmingham final last summer, 31-year old Tomljanovic edged closer to a return to the Top 100 with her SF run in Austin.

The Aussie, a wild card in the event, posted wins over Katie Volynets and Jodie Burrage to reach her first QF in nine months, then won a marathon tussle with Ena Shibahara in which she nearly squandered a 5-2 3rd set lead and a handful of MP, before finally *saving* a MP and winning on her own *eighth* MP in a deciding TB.

Tomljanovic fell in another three-setter vs. Jessie Pegula in the semis, but inches up a few spots to #103 on Monday.



Meanwhile, Simona Halep may be gone, but 34-year old Cirstea is taking care of the Romanian veteran corner of the WTA all on her own, following up her Dubai QF with another in Austin after returing in January from a six-month break and losing four of her first five matches this season.

Cirstea posted consecutive three-set wins over Laura Siegemund and Diana Shnaider, the latter Cirstea's third Top 20 win in the last two weeks, before falling in three sets to McCartney Kessler.


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COMEBACK: Dasha Saville/AUS
...in Merida, Saville had her best week in more than a year, and arguably quite a bit longer. The 30-year old Aussie, despite seemingly in a constant fight to stay on the court after a series of injuries in recent years, nonetheless reached a tour-level SF for the fourth straight season, as well as posting her two biggest wins since 2022. Prior to this 500 result, her last SF above the 250/International level had come with her title run in New Haven in 2017.

Saville's week began in qualifying, as she reached the MD with victories over Ellen Perez and Varvara Lepchenko. She then stepped up considerably with a win over #19 Marta Kostyuk, her biggest since the summer of '22 (def. #7 Pegula in Washington), and followed that with additional upsets of Anhelina Kalinina (to reach her first QF since San Diego last March) and #11 Paula Badosa, benefiting from the recurrence of the Spaniard's back troubles with a win when Badosa retired in the 2nd set. The result was Saville's first SF since Hobart at the start of last season.

She fell a round short of her first final since Granby in 2022 (her only WTA final since the '17 season, during which she reached three), losing to Emiliana Arango.

Saville will climb from #121 to get a bit closer to a Top 100 return, coming in at #109 on Monday. The Aussie ranked as high as #20 in the summer of '17.
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FRESH FACES: Maya Joint/AUS and Elina Avanesyan/ARM
...Joint's QF run in Merida, her latest breakthrough result in a season in which she's already reached her maiden tour-level SF (Hobart), will lift the 18-year old Aussie into the Top 100 on Monday (#85, up from #103). She'll be the second youngest in the WTA with a ranking in two digits, behind only 17-year old Dubai champ Mirra Andreeva. (Andreeva, BTW, drops out of the Top 10 on Monday just a week after making the leap, as Badosa moves up one slot.)

Joint reached the MD as a qualifier, then backed it up with an opening round win over Julia Grabher with her first career Top 20 victory over Donna Vekic before falling to Elina Avanesyan.

One of three Aussies (w/ Tomljanovic and Saville) to reach at least the QF stage in Week 9's two events, the trio combined for a result on tour not seen since 2010 (when Stosur reached the Stanford QF, while Rodionova and Gajdosova were quarterfinalists in Istanbul).



Ever since Avanesyan switched her representative country from Russia to Armenia last August, she's been a (literal) one-woman history-making machine. In the Merida 500 event in Week 9, she kept up her first-to pace.

Wins over Magdalena Frech, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Maya Joint put her into her first 500 (and the first by an Armenian) semifinal on tour. She fell there to Emma Navarro, one round short of reaching her maiden WTA final with "ARM" next to her name. Avanesyan reached the Iasi final last July while still a Hordette, where she was runner-up to then-countrywoman Mirra Andreeva.



Avanesyan now becomes the first player representing Armenia to crack the Top 40, as she'll rise to a career-best #39 on Monday.
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DOWN: Maria Sakkari/GRE
...for *so* long, Sakkari's standing of tour has often been accompanied (it's certainly been the case in this space!) by notes of near-astonishment that she was still ranked in the Top 10, then Top 20. With her 1st Round exit in Merida to Zeynep Sonmez, 7-5/6-2, the trend continues as she'll remain ranked in the Top *30* on Monday heading into Indian Wells despite her 4-9 start to the season. Following her usual pattern, despite her early exit, Sakkari moves *up* one spot on Monday to #29.

But a big fall may be coming soon.

After a stable coaching relationship with Tom Hill that lasted more than half a decade, the Greek went through coaches like paper towels in 2024. Hill was gone early in the season when she finally slipped out of the Top 10, soon replaced by David Witt. Under Witt, Sakkari had immediate success, reaching the I.W. final, Miami QF and Charleston semis. Still, she parted ways with Witt after only five months.

After playing just four matches between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, Sakkari ended her season with a shoulder injury and didn't play at all in the 4Q of '24.

Still in "slam seed range" as of Monday (she has a 23-major streak as a seeded player, with her last unseeded berth at AO19 -- though even as a seed, Sakkari has exited in the 1st Round at six of the last eight slams), a huge number of points are set to fall off Sakkari's total over the next five weeks, and unless she pulls a huge result out of thin air she'll be faced with having to truly climb back up the ranking ladder for the first time in a long while.

Sakkari last ranked outside the Top 32 in August 2019, and hasn't been outside the Top 50 since April of that year. But that was for just one week at #51 -- she was last ranked lower than that in March 2018.
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ITF PLAYER: Antonia Ruzic/CRO
...in the Trnava (SVK) $75K, 22-year old Ruzic (#144) won her biggest career challenger title after getting wins on the week over Barbora Palicova and Destanee Aiava before defeating Elena Pridankina 6-2/4-6/6-3 in the final.

Ruzic, whose most recent outing had been a Q-run and 1st Round victory at tour-level Linz, will rise to a new career high of #131. The Croat won three ITF titles in '24.


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JUNIOR STARS: Thea Frodin/USA and Jeline Vandromme/BEL
...a week after being the runner-up at J300 Porto Alegre, Frodin remained in Brazil for the J500 Banana Bowl in Gaspar and completed the mission on her second attempt.

The 16-year old Bannerette (jr. #46) claimed her biggest career title in the event, defeating top seed Kaitlyn Rolls in the QF, #3 Luna Maria Cinalli in the semis, then Argentina's Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi in a 6-3/6-1 final.

Larraya Guidi had upset the #2 (Annika Penickova) and #4 (Maya Iyengar) seeds en route to the final.

In Manacor (ESP), 17-year old Vandromme won her maiden pro title at a $15K challenger, defeating Dutch finalist Britt Du Pree 6-2/6-3 to get the crown.

Earlier this year, Vandromme won the pre-AO Traralgon J300 title, then reached the QF in Melbourne.


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DOUBLES: Katarzyna Piter/Mayar Sherif, POL/EGY
...Piter & Sherif took the biggest doubles crown of the week in the Merida 500, doing so without losing a set all week even as they faced off with the tournament's top two seeded teams in the SF and final.

After a win over #2 Panova/Perez to reach the final, Piter/Sherif defeated #1 Anna Danilina/Irina Khromacheva in a 7-6/7-5 final. In 2024, the Merida runners-up were one of the most successful WD duos in the sport, winning four WTA titles and a pair of 125 crowns.

For Piter, it's career title #4, while Sherif gets her second. Together, the pair had lost in their one previous final together in Cluj in 2021.


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1. Austin QF - Alja Tomljanovic def. Ena Shibahara
...7-5/3-6/7-6(8). Suddenly, in the 3rd, a mini-classic broke out.

Tomljanovic led 5-2, and held a MP on Shibahara's serve that would have ended a routine deciding set. But the MP wasn't converted, nor did the Aussie serve out the match in the following game. She didn't put away either of two more MP at 6-5, either.

Things went to a TB, where Tomljanovic led 6-3. Surely, it'd end then, right? Nope. Not on MP #5, #6 or #7. In the blink of an eye, *Shibahara* had a MP of her own at 7-6, as Tomljanovic saw a "sure thing" nearly become a disaster. But she pulled the match back from the ledge, stayed alive, and finally took the breaker 10-8.


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2. Merida 1st Rd. - Jessica Bouzas Maneiro def. Renata Jamrichova
...7-5/5-7/7-5. Bouzas Maneiro loses a few too many leads in matches, but against Jamrichova the Spaniard showed that she can stage multiple comebacks, as well.

Bouzas Maneiro rallied from 5-3 down in the 1st, saving four SP, to take the match lead, then turned a 0-4 deficit into a 5-5 tie in the 2nd before the 17-year old Slovak took the set 7-5.

Jamrichova built a 4-1 lead in the 3rd, as the '24 AO/WI junior champ could see the finish line of what would have been her maiden WTA MD victory, but Bouzas Maneiro surged back again. She served for the match at 5-4, holding a MP before being broken. But an immediate break back gave her another shot, and she closed things out on MP #3.


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So, I guess some will make some sort of carnival ride joke here about Week 9 champions needing to be from families worth THIS MUCH in order to get on the ride, right?

3. Austin Final - Jessie Pegula def. McCartney Kessler
...7-5/6-2. This was the second all-Bannerette tour final in '25 (both have featured Pegula), and the fourth in less than a year. There had been just two *total* over the six seasons from 2018-23.

NOTE: either Pegula or Keys (who faced off in the Adelaide final in January) have appeared in all six all-USA finals in the 2020s. And Keys was in the two previous (in 2017) to those half dozen.




Merida Final - Emma Navarro def. Emiliana Arango
...6-0/6-0. Navarro completes the rare love-and-love tour final vs. first-time WTA finalist Arango. It's the first at tour-level since the well-remembered (but hardly cherished by a certain Czech) 2021 Rome final between Iga Swiatek and Karolina Pliskova.

Navarro's win, which came a few hours after that of Jessie Pegula in Austin makes the two the fourth and fifth different Bannerette WTA singles champs through the first nine weeks of the '25 season. Navarro's appearance in the final made it seven different U.S. women who've played in the season's thirteen singles finals, where they've combined for six wins.


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4. Austin Q1 - Kaja Juvan def. Victoria Hu
...6-2/6-3. The unranked Juvan, who returned on the ITF circuit following the AO after a 53-week break from the sport (after a previous short mental health break in '23, she played just two matches in '24), qualified in Austin to reach her first tour-level MD since the '24 AO.



Juvan lost to Ena Shibahara 2-6/6-3/6-2 in the 1st Round, but will re-enter the rankings on Monday at #845.
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5. Austin 1st Rd. - Alicja Rosolska/Isabelle Haverlag def. Caroline Dolehide/Storm Hunter
...5-7/6-3 [11-9]. Last we saw Hunter, she was the doubles #3 (after being #1 last January). Then she ruptured her Achilles tendon in BJK Cup play in April.

Back on the court in Austin, the Aussie teamed with Dolehide in an opening round loss, despite holding a 7-0 lead in the MTB.
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6. Merida Q2 - Emiliana Arango def. Maria Lourdes Carle 6-2/5-7/6-2
Merida 1st Rd.- Emiliana Arango def. Maria Lourdes Carle 6-2/6-3
...yep, another one of those occasions when a player dispatches an opponent in the final round of qualifying and then turns around and has to face them once again as a lucky loser in the 1st Round.

Arango improved on her previous result, and ultimately took four of five sets from the Argentine.


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7. Austin 1st Rd. - Jodie Burrage def. Petra Kvitova
...3-6/6-4/6-4. Another of the many returns in Austin, as new mom Kvitova played her first match since October 2023.


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8. Merida 1st Rd. - Dasha Saville def. Marta Kostyuk
...6-4/7-6(6). Saville, who's battled back from mutliple injuries in recent seasons, qualified in Austin and notched a win over #19 Kostyuk, her first WTA MD win since Wimbledon. It was the Aussie's biggest victory since an upset of #7 Jessie Pegula in Washington in 2022.



She got one over an even higher ranked player two rounds later...

Merida QF - Dasha Saville def. Paula Badosa
...6-1/3-5 ret. Oh, no.


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9. Austin 1st Rd. - Diana Shnaider def. Tatiana Prozorova
...0-6/6-2/7-5. Fellow Hordette (and doubles partner) Mirra Andreeva managed to leapfrog Shnaider to become the first of the two into the singles Top 10 with her Dubai title run last week, but Shnaider was simply concerned in Austin with righting the ship.

Though she's had success in '25 on the WD court next to Andreeva (winning Brisbane, reaching the AO SF), Shnaider came into Week 9 with a 5-5 solo mark on the season, having lost three of her last four. Against another Russian, Prozorova, she fell behind 4-1 in the 3rd set before rallying to serve for the win at 5-4. Despite holding three MP, Shnaider dropped serve.

But an immediate break back in the following game gave her another shot, and she served out a 7-5 set on MP #3.



It was only a brief reprieve, though, as Shnaider lost in the 2nd Round to Sorana Cirstea in three sets.
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10. Austin Final - Anna Blinkova/Yuan Yue def. McCartney Kessler/Zhang Shuai
...3-6/6-1 [10-4]. Kessler's second Sunday final didn't turn out any better than her first, as she and Zhang lost in a MTB to the Russian-Chinese pair. It was the new champions' second MTB win in row, having also won their SF match the same way.

For Yuan, it was a nice rebound after she lost to Kimberly Birrell in the 1st Round as the '24 defending singles champion in the event. It's her second tour-level WD title, and the third for Blinkova.


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11. Merida 1st Rd. - Rebecca Sramkova def. Lulu Sun
...6-3/6-1. Sun drops to 1-8 in '25 and 1-11 since she reached her maiden tour final in Monterrey last August.

Immediately prior to her current slide, the Kiwi had won 14 of 16, a stretch that included her Wimbledon QF run.
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12. $35K Antalya TUR Final - Amarissa Toth def. Irina Bara
...6-3/6-3. Toth continues to pile up titles on the lower end of the ITF challenger circuit, picking up her biggest title to date in Antalya with a $35K win over the Romanian.

It's the Hungarian's seventh career title. All nine of her previous finals had come in $15K events, and eight of her ten career title matches have been in tournaments in Antalya. She's gone 6-1 in finals since the Zhang incident in Budapest in 2023.


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HM- $35K Arcadia (TX) USA Final - Kayla Cross def. Kayla Cross
...6-2/7-6(6). Last week, the $50K challenger event in Spring, Texas, was beset by rain and the final wasn't set until after the weekend. Jovic reached the final, but the tournament was called without the match being played between the 17-year old and Mary Stoiana.

Jovic was back in Arcadia, California, this week and reached another final. This time it was played, but the Bannerette lost to 19-year old Cross, the Canada-hailing freshman LSU Tiger star, who grabbed her second career crown.

Cross is joined in '25 on the LSU squad by another young Canadian, Cadence Brace. Both have already was SEC Freshman of the Year honors in the opening weeks of the NCAA's spring season.


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Meanwhile, it all started with this rather awkward "hype video" (and only got worse from there)...



I've already done a post where I highlighted the latest (the third since 2019!) rippin' disaster of a new WTA marketing campaign/rebrand here. But that doesn't mean a few more dips into the proverbial pool can't be taken.

As noted in the other post, this latest in the endless streams of "rebrands" and failed publicity pushes won't likely do any damage, but how many times can opportunities to "gain ground" be squandered before it actually does.

Thing is, at this point, it's difficult to tell what the aim is of these constant WTA rebrands and/or "marketing campaigns," because they never seem to be about selling or promoting the sport, the tour, or its players in any way that will attract new fans or re-excite longtime ones. And shouldn't that be the goal, since we are talking about an organization whose product is a sport, not a shoe or clothing line? I mean, if not, then why not?

And, you know, what are they even doing then?

Some have pointed out that one of the original videos in this campaign used "feet and inches" in regards to court dimensions as a sign that the WTA is "U.S.-centric." Well, this rebrand *was* apparently overseen by someone who previously worked for the NFL's marketing wing, and the tour's corporate heardquarters *are* in Florida, so that *would* make sense.

But if this campaign and changes are designed to garner more U.S. viewers and business, then it's an even worse effort than it would otherwise be, since none of this will make even a ping of a dent in the U.S. sports environment, even while there have been so many gains by other women's sports (i.e. basketball, soccer, golf, gymnastics, etc.) in the States in recent years, some of which were even mentioned in the introductary article about the WTA's "creative reinvention" on the WTA website.

The WTA has likely already missed its window for returning the game to even something *close* to its former standing in the U.S. just in regards to coverage and attention when it comes to *women's* sports, let alone aspiring for anything more. As interest in women's athletics has blown up in the U.S., the WTA has been passed by multiple times over by various leagues and associations while the tennis tour has continually squandered the head start that it had in the name recognition arena, fumbling through inaction and wrongheaded decisions the many across-the-board advantages that it once enjoyed.

Additionally, a "rebranding" (rehashing, really) that is centered around social media "signals" and stylistic alterations on the tour's website really doesn't have anything to do with attracting more and/or bigger business partners, right? That sort of push isn't really aimed at "bigger" targets, but instead potential fans and (if they're lucky) media coverage based on those changes, correct? So how does any aspect of the current/new/old strategy address *those* areas in any sort of way? I can't see a single one.

Most of the attention it's gotten has come via criticism -- from all directions -- about how poor the whole thing is.





(Maybe the WTA needs its own sane version of DOGE if this is what the tour is wasting its money on.)

Three different almost identical attempts since 2019 have only seemed to preach cliched ideals such as "bravery," "inspiration," or variations on whatever buzz words were used the *last* time as the rebrand ties (again) to position the tour in its longtime (but no more) role as being a "social activist" and/or aspirational organization even as its own recent business decisions have played against such a moniker having even a tiny bit of validity.

No one is going to start following the WTA because the WTA tells them that others are inspired by the players, they're going to want to pay attention because *they* want to be inspired by -- or at least *entertained* due to the competition and personal stakes involved that whirl around -- those players.

Individual players still bear that sort of "more than a player" branding, and the ones that do (Svitolina, Keys, Gauff, Jabeur and others) have done a fine job for themselves on their own. Leave them to their own devices, while you (the WTA) worry about promoting the *sport* itself, hoping to reach areas that normally turn a blind eye. Shining a light on the players, naturally, would play a big part in that. But the WTA's campaigns never highlight the players as athletes and competitors striving for great personal accomplishments, while creating entertaining moments -- some brilliant, some disappointing, some crazy -- that can be enjoyed by all.

The tone of these things is always along the lines of, "women's tennis isn't what you think," then goes about presenting the most basic, boring and pretentious version of what the tour seems to think would be the "most acceptable" version of the WTA in the most areas of the world, nevermind that hardly any of those areas will ever see any of it.

As it is, the latest repetitive campaign itself does no lasting damage. But then there's the "Tennis, There's No Tennis Being Played Around Here" logo change.

I mean, when even Kiki can see it...



So, is this the logo for the Women's Tennis Association, or the Western Textile Alliance? You'd really never know. Well, I mean, unless you're in on the "coy" touches pointed out by Sarah Swanson, Chief Brand Officer for WTA Ventures, who notes that the green rectangle acts as "the portions of a (tennis) court" and the little slash under the "A" gives "the hint of a bouncing ball." Umm, allll right.



Of course, the key to understanding the logo is to recognize that there is nothing that the women's tennis tour (WTA) is more afraid of than being seen as the home of women's tennis. It hurts efforts to try to do business within countries and cultures who don't want their women and girls playing sports, don't you know.

Meanwhile, just to give some examples of the trio of cut-and-paste campaigns -- from #ItTakes to #FortheGame to #RallytheWorld -- here are some semi-random examples of posts from each one, with the only real difference being the lamely contrived hashtags and different colors and/or logos. One from each...



And the "new" versions...



Other than the styling, there's really no difference.

And let's not even get into the lack of identification of the players involved in some of the involved posts, like this one...



What nation? And who is she? It's Alex Eala (PHI), but she's hardly a familiar face to most... and the majority wouldn't know her if they missed the post that immediately preceded this one on the WTA's social media that included a brief video.

Rinse. Wash. Repeat. The last two campaigns died out within a few weeks, and this one will do so, as well. Money down the drain. It's more than a little bit offensive when so many people ask and/or wish for the best for or from something/someone (in this case, the WTA), and those on the inside in charge of doing things to make that happen don't really seem to care, or worse, seem to only display varying levels of incompetance when they "try," even while seemingly expecting to be lauded for the effort.

(If the WTA was the White House, would this be where we're all asked, "Where's the gratitude? Have you said thank you once?")

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When the WTA was heatedly trying to hype this latest "new era" (really just another attempt at repeating the last one, which was an attempt to repeat the one before that) early last week before the "big announcement" on Thursday, it caused me to remember the excitement that immediately revolved around another tennis campaign just last year.

Remember this...?



I talked about it here just over a year ago.

Thing is, the ATP never really followed up the initial buzz. It never much became a *campaign* and was just a one-off that went viral for a day or so, had a few posts in March/April (even after they'd gone to the trouble of creating fake IG accounts for the "characters" in the ATP story), and then it all just withered away. There was no WTA sequel, which so many players had asked for. And rather than build an identity out of a great idea, using short spots all year along, the whole thing was forgetten in the spring.

I thought at the time that it was weird to drop that long video all at once, unless there were going to be additional ads later in the year. They easily could have edited that piece into many smaller ones and used it all year long, placing ads during tennis coverage (on Tennis Channel, Eurosport, during majors, etc.) ala the old ESPN SportsCenter ads that I used as an example of the tone for one of my "fake marketing campaigns" for the WTA a while back.

So, even when one of the pro tennis tours manages to get creative and stumble onto a great idea, they lack the will to take advantage of the opportunity (even when the players involved seemed really into it, and others wanted part of the action).

It sort of feels like after the creatives were behind this idea, the ATP went with it, but only until *someone* with decision-making power "didn't get" the tone and potential of the campaign, and the plug was pulled because, I don't know, maybe someone got antsy that the "story" aspect of the whole thing might make some think that the actual results on tour were preordained (i.e. fixed). Just a thought.

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RIP Gene Hackman. He was good in everthing, but I thought he was the very best thing in "Unforgiven," the greatest western of it era in the 1990s.

















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A nice place to visit...













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*MOST WTA FINALS in 2025*
2 - Madison Keys, USA (2-0)
2 - McCARTNEY KESSLER, USA (1-1)
2 - Elise Mertens, BEL (1-1)
2 - JESSIE PEGULA, USA (1-1)
2 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (1-1)
2 - Clara Tauson, DEN (1-1)

*MOST WTA HC TITLES IN 2020s*
11 - Aryna Sabalenka (3/1/0/2/4/1)
11 - Iga Swiatek (0/1/5/3/2/0)
7 - Coco Gauff (0/0/0/4/3/0)
6 - Ash Barty (1/3/2 ret)
5 - Dasha Kasatkina (0/2/2/0/1/0)
5 - Anett Kontaveit (0/4/1/0 ret)
5 - Barbora Krejcikova (0/1/2/2/0/0)
5 - JESSIE PEGULA (0/0/1/2/1/1)

*MOST WTA TITLES WON BY NCAA WOMEN'S Div.I WS CHAMPS*
[w/ NCAA title year]
4 - Lisa Raymond (1992-93)
4 - Danielle Collins (2014,2016)
3 - Patty Fendick (1986-87)
3 - Kathy Jordan (1979)
2 - Alycia Moulton (1982)
2 - EMMA NAVARRO (2021)

*RECENT ALL-USA WTA FINALS*
2008 Wimbledon - V.Williams d. S.Williams
2009 Wimbledon - S.Williams d. V.Williams
2009 WTA - S.Williams d. V.Williams
2012 Stanford - S.Williams d. Vandeweghe
2016 Rome - S.Williams d. Keys
2017 Australian Open - S.Williams d. V.Williams
2017 Stanford - Keys d. Vandeweghe
2017 US Open - Stephens d. Keys
2020 Auckland - S.Williams d. Pegula
2022 Adelaide 2 - Keys d. Riske
2024 Strasbourg - Keys d. Collins
2024 Toronto - Pegula d. Anisimova
2025 Adelaide - Keys d. Pegula
2025 Austin - PEGULA d. KESSLER
--
NOTE: Keys or Pegula in all 6 in 2020s, 8 con. since 2017

*6-0/6-0 WTA FINALS, since 2000*
2006 Quebec City - Marion Bartoli d. Olga Puchkova
2013 Sydney - Aga Radwanska d. Dominika Cibulkova
2016 Bucharest - Simona Halep d. Anastasija Sevastova
2021 Rome - Iga Swiatek d. Karolina Pliskova
2025 Merida - EMMA NAVARRO d. EMILIANA ARANGO

*2025 WTA DIFF. CHAMPIONS BY COUNTRY*
5 - USA - Anisimova,Kessler,Keys(2),NAVARRO,PEGULA
3 - RUS - Alexandrova,M.Andreeva,Potapova
1 - BEL - Mertens
1 - BLR - Sabalenka
1 - DEN - Tauson
1 - SUI - Bencic
[WTA 125]
1 - COL - Arango
1 - JPN - Uchijima
1 - SUI - Teichmann

*2025 WTA FINALISTS BY COUNTRY*
10 (6) - USA (Kessler,Navarro,Pegula)
4 (3) - RUS
2 (1) - BEL,BLR,DEN
1 (1) - SUI
1 (0) - COL (Arango),ITA,JPN,LAT,UKR

*2025 WTA FINALISTS - USA*
2 - Madison Keys (2-0)
2 - McCARTNEY KESSLER (1-1)
2 - JESSIE PEGULA (1-1)
1 - Amanda Anisimova (1-0)
1 - EMMA NAVARRO (1-0)
1 - Ashlyn Krueger (0-1)
1 - Ann Li (0-1)

*2025 FIRST-TIME WTA FINALISTS*
Polina Kudermetova, RUS (#107/21 = Brisbane)
EMILIANA ARANGO, COL (#133/24 = Merida)

*2025 QUALIFIERS IN WTA FINALS*
Brisbane - Polina Kudermetova, RUS (L)
Merida - EMILIANA ARANGO, COL (L)
[2024]
Dubai - Anna Kalinskaya, RUS (L)
Monastir - Sonay Kartal, GBR (W)
Osaka - Kimberly Birrell, AUS (L)
Osaka - Suzan Lamens, NED (W)
Guangzhou - Caroline Dolehide, USA (L)
[2023]
Adelaide 1 - Linda Noskova, CZE (L)
Auckland - Rebeka Masarova, ESP (L)
Hobart - Lauren Davis, USA (W)
Merida - Rebecca Peterson, SWE (L)

*2025 LOW-RANKED WTA FINALISTS*
#157 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (Abu Dhabi, def. Krueger)
#133 - EMILIANA ARANGO, COL (Merida, lost to Navarro)
#107 - Polina Kudermetova, RUS (Brisbane, lost to Sabalenka)

*2020s MULT. WTA TITLES BY NATION IN WTA WEEK*
2020 --
2021 Wk.7 (ESP) Muguruza/DUBAI, Sorribes Tormo/GUADALAJARA
2022 Wk.32 (RUS) Kasatkina/SAN JOSE, Samsonova/WASHINGTON
2022 Wk.35 (RUS) Kasatkina/GRANBY, Samsonova/CLEVELAND
2022 Wk.38 (RUS) Alexandrova/SEOUL, Samsonova/TOKYO
2023 --
2024 Wk.21 (USA) Stearns/RABAT, Keys/STRASBOURG
2024 Wk.26 (RUS) Kasatkina/EASTBOURNE, Shnaider/BAD HOMBURG
2025 Wk.2 (USA) Kessler/HOBART, Keys/ADELAIDE
2025 Wk.9 (USA) Navarro/MERIDA, Pegula/AUSTIN

*2025 WTA CHAMPIONS BY AGE*
31 - JESSIE PEGULA (Austin)
30 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (Linz)
29 - Madison Keys (Australian Open)
29 - Madison Keys (Adelaide)
29 - Elise Mertens (Singapore)
27 - Belinda Bencic (Abu Dhabi)
26 - Aryna Sabalenka (Brisbane)
25 - McCartney Kessler (Hobart)
23 - Anastasia Potapova (Cluj-Napoca)
23 - Amanda Anisimova (Doha)
23 - EMMA NAVARRO (Merida)
22 - Clara Tauson (Auckland)
17 - Mirra Andreeva (Dubai)

*INDIAN WELLS FACTS 1989-present*
=SINGLES=
[Most Singles Titles]
2 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2 - Kim Clijsters, BEL
2 - Lindsay Davenport, USA
2 - Mary Joe Fernandez, USA
2 - Steffi Graf, GER
2 - Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2 - Martina Navratilova, USA
2 - Maria Sharapova, RUS
2 - Iga Swiatek, POL
2 - Serena Williams, USA
[Consecutive Titles]
2 - Martina Navratilova (1990-91)
[Most Finals]
6 - Lindsay Davenport (2-4)
3 - Victoria Azarenka (2-1)
3 - Steffi Graf (2-1)
3 - Maria Sharapova (2-1)
3 - Serena Williams (2-1)
3 - Martina Hingis (1-2)
3 - Caroline Wozniacki (1-2)
3 - Svetlana Kuznetseva (0-3)
2 - Kim Clijsters (2-0)
2 - Mary Joe Fernandez (2-0)
2 - Daniela Hantuchova (2-0)
2 - Martina Navratilova (2-0)
2 - Iga Swiatek (2-0)
2 - Ana Ivanovic (1-1)
2 - Jelena Jankovic (1-1)
2 - Monica Seles (1-1)
2 - Amanda Coetzer (0-2)
2 - Maria Sakkari (0-2)
[Consecutive Finals]
3 - Lindsay Davenport (2003-05)
2 - Martina Navratilova (1990-91)
2 - Monica Seles (1991-92)
2 - Amanda Coetzer (1993-94)
2 - Lindsay Davenport (1997-98)
2 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (2007-08)
2 - Ana Ivanovic (2008-09)
2 - Caroline Wozniacki (2010-11)
2 - Maria Sharapova (2012-13)
[Consecutive Match Wins]
10 - Martina Navratilova (1990-91)
10 - Ana Ivanovic (2008-09)
10 - Iga Swiatek (2022-23)
[Unseeded Singles Champions]
1999 Serena Williams, USA
2005 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN 2019 Bianca Andreescu, CAN (WC)
[Youngest Singles Champions]
17y,166d - Martina Hingis (1998)
17y,169d - Serena Williams (1999)
18y,90d - Monica Seles (1992)
18y,274d - Bianca Andreescu (2019)
[Oldest Singles Champions]
36 - Martina Navratilova (1991)
35 - Martina Navratilova (1990)
32 - Flavia Pennetta (2014)
[Only 8/35 Champions Have Won No Slam Titles]
1989 Manuela Maleeva, BUL
1993 Mary Joe Fernandez, USA
1995 Mary Joe Fernandez, USA (2)
2002 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2007 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK (2)
2009 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
2010 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2017 Elena Vesnina, RUS
2021 Paula Badosa, ESP
[Only 5 Champions Have Never Reached Slam Finals]
1989 Manuela Maleeva, BUL
2002 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2007 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2017 Elena Vesnina, RUS
2021 Paula Badosa, ESP
[Only 9 Finalists Have Never Reached a Slam Final]
1989 Manuela Maleeva (best slam: SF)
1989 Jenny Byrne (3rd)
1997 Irina Spirlea (SF)
1993/94 Amanda Coetzer (SF)
2002/07 Daniela Hantuchova (SF)
2018 Dasha Kasatkina (SF)
2021 Paula Badosa (SF)
2022 Maria Sakkari (SF)
2024 Maria Sakkari (SF)
[Only 1 Finalist Has Never Reached a Slam SF]
1989 Jenny Byrne (3rd)
=DOUBLES=
[Most Titles]
7 - Lisa Raymond, USA
6 - Lindsay Davenport, USA
4 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
3 - Martina Hingis, SUI
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL
3 - Elena Vesnina, RUS
2 - Sania Mirza, IND
2 - Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP
2 - Samantha Stosur, AUS
2 - Rennae Stubbs, AUS
2 - Paola Suarez, ARG
2 - Helena Sukova, CZE
2 - Natasha Zvereva, BLR
[Most Titles - duos]
2 - Davenport/Raymond, USA/USA
2 - Davenport/Zvereva, USA/BLR
2 - Hsieh/Mertens, TPE/BEL
2 - Ruano Pascual/Suarez, ESP/ARG
2 - Raymond/Stosur, USA/AUS
[Consecutive Titles]
1994-95 Raymond/Davenport, USA/USA
1997-98 Davenport/Zvereva, USA/BLR
2002-03 Lisa Raymond, USA
2004-05 Ruano Pascual/Suarez, ESP/ARG
2006-07 Raymond/Stosur, USA/AUS







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Trump & Vance are monsters. Just absolutely shocking to bring one of the leaders of the free world into the Oval Office and dress him down to demand he thank Trump for Trump's greatness, while this actual leader tries to protect capitalistic democracy from Trump's flailing autocratic petrostate boss

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— David Rothschild (@davmicrot.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 12:49 PM

While watching that horrifying, globe-shifting exchange with Zelenkskyy, I couldn't help but think about what a deliberately staged reality-TV moment it was, with two people ganging up on one and screaming a classic, totally petulant reality-TV accusation: They hadn't been thanked enough.

— Jennifer Senior (@jennifersenior.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 2:12 PM

Donald Trump has disgraced the United States of America in countless ways since he first entered political life ten years ago. But he had never disgraced the nation as badly as he did today. He has brought shame on this country to an extent I had never thought possible. And he has only just begun.

— George Conway (@gtconway.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 4:41 PM

hat tip to @theliamnissan.bsky.social

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— Steve Marmel (@marmel.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 1:33 PM


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Yes, that’s what Zelensky has wanted for 3 years - a nuclear holocaust and world extinction. Our Director of National Intelligence. Who will never say anything about where Putin fits into all this. Congrats, America.

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— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 8:58 PM

Brutal.

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— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) March 1, 2025 at 9:57 AM


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HEY EVERYONE REMEMBER WHEN TRUMP WAS IMPEACHED FOR DENYING AID TO UKRAINE BECAUSE HE WANTED ZELENSKY TO LIE AND SAY BAD THINGS ABOUT BIDEN AND ZELENKSY WOULDN’T DO IT? Maybe literally one fucking American newspapers could mention this in their, “think pieces,” about what happened yesterday.

— Mikel Jollett (@mikeljollett.bsky.social) March 1, 2025 at 1:33 PM

And even further back in 2016 when trump had GOP change their party platform at convention to downplay their support for Ukraine. Wish media would dig into the kompromat on this guy.

— Ivan Nevarez ???? ???? ?? (@ivannevarez.bsky.social) March 2, 2025 at 7:01 PM


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It took seeing adult bullies to understand that my childhood bullies didn’t even really want to hurt me, they just wanted to feel powerful and how I felt about it wasn’t even in the equation. I can’t imagine someone not outgrowing that, but apparently it happens quite a lot!

— Hank Green (@hankgreen.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 6:29 PM


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"Our main principle will be personal liberties and freedom, and if you don't agree with me you're fired."

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— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 9:50 AM

anntelnaes.substack.com/p/bezos-offe...

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— Ann Telnaes (@anntelnaes.bsky.social) February 27, 2025 at 2:29 PM


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Galaga, Ms.Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Q*Bert, Track & Field, and Turbo (clearly I would need $2, though)




And, preferably, at a place like this at the mall (though I'd need to borrow a time machine)...






All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 10:30 PM 

1 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

Both #1 seeds won their respective tournaments in the same week. I wonder when was the last time that happened.

Beautiful players can't stay fit for longer period.. Badosa is another example.

Indian Wells' court speed is getting faster. Well, that's bad news for Swiatek.

Mon Mar 03, 04:11:00 AM EST  

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