Sunday, May 18, 2025

Wk.20- Viva Paolini!

Once again, the height (no pun intended) of women's tennis is to "Live Like Paolini!"








futuristic-fonts




*WEEK 20 CHAMPIONS*
ROME, ITALY (WTA 1000; Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Jasmine Paolini/ITA def. Coco Gauff/USA 6-4/6-2
D: Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini (ITA/ITA) def. Veronika Kudermetova/Elise Mertens (RUS/BEL) 6-4/7-5
Paris, France (WTA 125; Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Katie Boulter/GBR def. Chloe Paquet/FRA 3-6/6-2/6-3
D: Irina Khromacheva/Fanny Stollar (RUS/HUN) def. Tereza Mihalikova/Olivia Nicholls (SVK/GBR) 4-6/7-6(5) [10-5]
Parma, Italy (WTA 125; Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Mayar Sherif/EGY def. Victoria Mboko/CAN 6-4/6-4
D: Jesika Meleckova/Miriam Kolodziejova (CZE/CZE) def. Sabrina Santamaria/Tang Qianhui (USA/CHN) 6-2/6-0




[Rome 4th Rd.+]

kosova-font



PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jasmine Paolini/ITA
...after all that the Italian Quartet accomplished, it's always been remarkable how often Paolini has been able to find areas of accomplishment where not even one of them had posted similar results. And yet she continues to do so. This time around she became the first Italian to win the women's crown in Rome in forty years, joining Raffaella Reggi as the only two to lift the crown in the Open era.

After wins over Lulu Sun, Ons Jabeur and Alona Ostapenko, Paolini energized once more when she fell down a set and 4-0 vs. Diana Shnaider. Twice a point away from a 5-1 deficit against the Russian, she rallied to win in three sets and then knocked off Peyton Stearns (who'd won nearly every big point she'd faced all tournament) to become the first home-grown Italian Open singles finalist since her doubles partner Sara Errani did it in 2014.

Facing off with Coco Gauff, Paolini never looked back in the final, and the beaming smile that accompanied her two major final appearances in Paris and London last year was gifted to a crowd that could fully appreciate it. Much like her stunning turnaround in slam play a year ago, when she went from 4-16 in her career to 18-4, Paolini's title run in Rome comes after she'd previously gone just 2-5 in the event.

A year after being a surprise finalist vs. the expected Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros, the two women will start play in Paris a week from now with the Italian (at #4) being the higher ranked player.

Might put a Jasmine Paolini poster in my room like I’m 15.

— Max Weiss (@maxthegirl.bsky.social) May 17, 2025 at 1:04 PM


Later, when she took the doubles (w/ Errani) to sweep the women's titles, Paolini became the first Italian woman to win both, and the first from any nation since Monica Seles did it in 1990.
===============================================



RISERS: Coco Gauff/USA and Zheng Qinwen/CHN
...in the end, Gauff wasn't able to hold back destiny (a Paolini title run) nor some lingering issues thrwarting her own game (i.e. too many UE, and inconsistent serving) even as she's had a springtime surge on the dirt.

As it is, Gauff became just the seventh woman to reach both the Madrid and Rome finals in the same season, but joined only Aryna Sabalenka (who did it last year) in going 0-2 in those title matches. Still, 20-year old Gauff is the youngest to accomplish the feat, and her Rome wins over Victoria Mboko, Magda Linette, Emma Raducanu, Mirra Andreeva and Zheng Qinwen (w/ TB wins in the 1st and 3rd sets) pushed her Top 10 win total to four over the past month (two each in Madrid and Rome) and will lift her ranking to #2 just in time to lead the bottom half of the RG draw.

Four of the previous six woman to pull off the Madrid/Rome final combo also reached the final in Paris. None of them went 0-3.



After a somewhat slow-starting season (she was 9-7 coming into Rome), the time has come for Zheng to kick things into gear. She didn't win Rome, or even reach the final, but her performance on the Italian dirt surely makes it appear that she could be peaking just in time for her return to the scene of the crime of her Olympic Gold medal run in Paris last summer.

Wins over Olga Danilovic, Magdalena Frech and Bianca Andreescu set the stage for Zheng's first career win in seven attempts (but the first on clay) vs. Aryna Sabalenka, her second career win over a world #1 (along with her Olympic upset of Iga Swiatek). Zheng battled through a tight SF contest with #3 Gauff, and had the opportunity to serve out the match at 5-3 in the 3rd before ultimately falling in a three and a half hour marathon that saw her drop tie-breaks in the 1st and 3rd sets.

Thus, Zheng remains without an appearance in a final in '25 (after six last year), but her third 1000 QF+ result (along with Indian Wells and Miami) might just prove to be the stepping stone to something even better as she returns to the terre battue with (finally) some momentum on her side.


===============================================



VETERANS: Elina Svitolina/UKR and Mayer Sherif/EGY
...no matter her fine form and winning habit this clay court season, Svitolina still could not overcome Peyton Stearns.

Before her QF exit from Rome, though, the two-time champ (2017-18) strung together two three-set wins over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Hailey Baptiste, then a straight setter vs. Danielle Collins to improve to 14-1 on the dirt this spring.

After overcoming a 6-2/4-2 deficit vs. Stearns in the QF, it appeared as if Svitolina's experience would carry the day in the 3rd. She held an early two-break lead at 3-0, then after losing that went up a break again at 4-3. When that advantage also slipped away, a 3-1 mini-break edge in the deciding TB proved to be her final line of defense against the Bannerette, who surged back a final time and ultimately won 7-4.

As Svitolina heads into Roland Garros, where she's reached four QF (but no semis), she does so with her best ever combined Madrid/Rome results (SF/QF) in addition to her title run in Rouen last month. She's produced QF/4r results in Paris since her return in 2023 following maternity leave.

In Parma, after last year seeing her 125 event prowess take a bit of a hit (after being 6-0 in finals, she lost four straight in '24), Sherif added to her all-time 125 title record with her eighth career crown (she's also 1-2 in tour-level WTA finals) in her 12th overall 125 final (also a record). It's her seconrd straight winning effort in a 125 (along w/ a November win) since that losing streak last year.

Victories over Kathinka von Deichmann, Patricia Hon, Simona Waltert and Victoria Mboko paved the way for the 29-year old Egyptian, who came in ranked #64 after back-to-back 1st Round exits in Madrid and Rome (after 3rd Round runs in both in '24) and will still see her ranking fall a bit more on Monday via the 12-month points exchange.



Sherif has posted 1st Round victories at the last three Roland Garros events, and is the only Egyptian woman to ever win a MD match in Paris.
===============================================
COMEBACK: Katie Boulter/GBR
...so, suddenly Boulter is a clay threat?

Maybe, maybe not. But the Brit did take home her maiden clay court title in the 125 in Paris this weekend, capping off a week that saw her post wins over Erika Andreeva, Dasha Saville, Elsa Jacquemot and Varvara Gracheva before closing with a three-set victory (from a set down) over Chloe Paquet in the final.

Boulter came into the event at #40 and just 6-7 on the year after missing time with a foot injury earlier this season. She'd posted her first career WTA MD win on clay in Madrid over Katerina Siniakova (she then lost to Paolini), and exited Rome in the 1st Round.

Boulter, a three-time WTA singles champ who's been ranked as high as #23, has played just one MD match in her career at Roland Garros (when she was seeded, and lost to Paula Badosa in the '24 1r). She's only even attempted to qualify twice at RG, in 2018 and '23.

For her efforts, Boulter got to lift the "Red Hulk Trophy."


===============================================



FRESH FACES: Peyton Stearns/USA and Victoria Mboko/CAN
...for most of her two weeks in Rome, the former Texas Longhorn star took on the role of "Elle Toro" on the Italian dirt, following up early wins over Nuria Brancaccio and Anna Kalinskaya with consecutive 3rd set TB victories against Madison Keys (for Top 10 win #2), Naomi Osaka (Stearns left her body *and* pre-match meal out there) and Elina Svitolina (erasing a double-break deficit in the final set, then another break lead by the two-time Rome champ in the decider *and* a 3-1 mini-break hole in the TB).

Having played into her biggest semifinal, Stearns had shots to take the match lead vs. Jasmine Paolini, holding a 4-1 1st set lead and later having SP both on serve and return before the Italian rode her home court wave into the final in straight sets.

Still, it's been quite a run from Stearns over the past month. Before Madrid, she was ranked #44 and just 8-10 on the year (10-13 since she won a 2nd Round match at the U.S. Open last summer). But after "advertising" on social media for a new coach after Tom Hill left to return to the camp of Maria Sakkari, ultimately bringing in Blaz Kavcic for a trial run (through a recommendation from a mutual friend, not her "sorta" half-joking want ad placement), Stearns reached the 4th Round in Spain and the semis in Rome (going a combined 8-2) and showed the sort of close match mettle that she'd noticeably lacked under the watchful eye of Hill over the past year as her three-set losses were often piled one atop the other at an alarming pace.



Stearns will leave Rome as a Top 30 player and will be a first-time seed at a major come Roland Garros. Needless to say, the pairing with Kavcic seems to be the right fit for the moment.

Meanwhile, after qualifying in Rome, getting a 1st Round win and taking a set off Coco Gauff in the 2nd Round, 18-year old Mboko took her game elsewhere in Italy and reached her biggest career final in the 125 in Parma.

Wins over Nuria Parrizas Diaz, Jill Teichmann, Wang Xinyu and Irina-Camelia Begu put the Canadian into her sixth singles final of the season (she's gone 5-0 in ITF title matches). She fell 4 & 4 to all-time 125 champ Mayar Sherif, but her 37-5 mark on the season has her at another new career high of #137 on Monday.



===============================================
ITF PLAYER: Tara Würth/CRO
...in Zagreb, Würth took advantage of home clay and successfully defended the $75K crown she won on Croatian dirt in 2024, defeating Spain's Guiomar Maristany in the final to claim her first title since winning the same tournament last year. The Croat lost a 6-2/3-0 lead, but managed to pull out a 6-2/4-6/6-3 victory for career title #6.

The 22-year old, who's yet to make her slam MD debut, got a late start to her '25 season (her first match was in March), but since her return has immediately found her form to a tune of a 14-5 mark.


===============================================
JUNIOR STARS: Anastasija Cvetkovic/SRB and Annika Penickova/Kristina Penickova (USA/USA)
...16-year old Serb Cvetkovic, the girls' #52, claimed her third singles title of the season (w/ two J200 wins) and biggest of her career at the J300 in Santa Croce sull'Arno, Italy.

Cvetkovic knocked off just one seed (#7 Allegra Korpanec Davies in the 1st Rd.) along the way, while her final opponent, Hordette qualifier Mariia Makarova, had upset the #1 (Zhang Ruien), #4 (Reina Goto) and #6 (Rositsa Dencheva) -- as well as unseeded Kaitlyn Rolls -- en route to her biggest final. Cvetkovic won 6-4/6-4.



Meanwhile, the 15-year old Penickova twins notched their second straight pro doubles title in a $15K challenger in Monastir, Tunisia.

A week after claiming their maiden title as a pair, the '25 AO girls' doubles champs defeated Lamis Alhussein Abdel Aziz & Kateryna Lazarenko in a 7-5/6-2 final to double their career total.
===============================================



DOUBLES: Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini, ITA/ITA
...Paolini wasn't finished in Rome when she won the singles title on Saturday, as she and Errani came back a day later to further gild the proverbial lilly by keeping the Italian Open doubles championship "in house," as well, successfully defending the title they won a year ago.

Two MTB wins -- over Fernandez/Putintseva in the 2nd Rd., then Eala/Gauff in the QF -- preceded straight sets wins in the SF (M.Andreeva/Shnaider) and final (V.Kudermetova/Mertens) to become the first all-ITA duo to win consecutive Rome titles. The last player to win two straight was Ash Barty in 2018-19 (w/ Schurrs and Azarenka, respectively), while the last duo were Hall of Fame pair Gigi Fernandez & Natasha Zvereva in 1994-95.

The wins gives Errani 34 career tour titles, and Paolini eight. They're 7-2 in finals together, including another title run in Doha earlier this year. They've now picked up four 1000 events to go with their '24 Olympic Gold. They've yet to win a major together, though Errani completed a Career Doubles Slam with Roberta Vinci eleven years ago.

The veteran has now won three Italian Open titles in five final appearances.


===============================================
WHEELCHAIR: Li Xiaohui/CHN
...while Diede de Groot has returned (though she didn't play this week), Li might be the player to keep a close eye on.

She ended de Groot's 145-match winning streak last year, and in January won the AO wheelchair doubles with Wang Ziying (the first Chinese women to win a WC major). She reached the semis in singles.

Li had already posted wins this season over #1 Yui Kamiji (in the Melbourne Open final, as well as in a final earlier this month) and #2 Aniek Van Koot (in the SF of her last event) before this week picking up her fourth '25 title with a victory again over Van Koot in the final of the Series 1 event in Rome, staging a comeback to prevail 5-7/6-3/7-5.

Li, 25, came into the week ranked #5, but is surely going to be a threat to win a slam WC singles crown very, very soon. She's 24-4 on the season.
===============================================









kosova-font

[Rome 4th Rd.+]



1. Rome QF - Peyton Stearns def. Elina Svitolina
...6-2/4-6/7-6(4). It took until one o'clock in the morning, but Stearns finally outlasted Svitolina to win her third straight 3rd set TB, a career-altering moment that assured her of a maiden 1000 SF and first career seed at a major later this month in Paris.

Before that all came to fruition, though, Stearns had to recover from losing a 6-2/4-2 edge over Svitolina.



Having escaped a straight sets loss, Svitolina seemed to be set to run away with the 3rd. She took a double-break 3-0 lead in the decider, then -- after the Bannerette had gotten the set back on serve -- briefly reclaimed a break edge (at 4-3) before being forced into a final tie-break. Stearns had one more deficit to overcome, rallying from a mini-break down at 3-1, ultimately sweeping the final four points to notch a 7-4 win in the breaker.


============================================



2. Rome 4th Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Marta Kostyuk
...6-1/7-6(8). Sabalenka vs. Kostyuk. A great series in search of a 3rd set.

The four-match head-to-head between these two, though Sabalenka has won all four matches and Kostyuk has yet to win a set, is still one of the more compelling clashes you'll see on tour at the moment. While the politically-charged subtext of the match-up remains, it's been the intense emotions and shot-making of the two that have propelled the action, leading to three tie-breaks in their last four sets in back-to-back events this month.

After prevailing in the Madrid QF in two tie-breaks, Sabalenka prevented the first 3rd set between the two by first erasing Kostyuk's 4-3 (and serving two) mini-break in the 2nd set TB in Rome. Late in the breaker, the two traded off MP/SP before Sabalenka, who'd saved a SP at 7-6, finally won 10-8 on her third MP (w/ a perfectly executed drop shot!) to end a 94-minute 2nd set.

If these two ever go three, buckle in and prepare for a potential classic. Hmmm... Roland Garros, anyone?


============================================



3. Rome QF - Jasmine Paolini def. Diana Shnaider
...6-7(1)/6-4/6-2. Paolini wins a match of swinging momentum and emotion, helped along the way by an expectedly partisan crowd.

After Shnaider had rallied from 0-4 down to take the 1st set, Paolini did the same in the 2nd. The Italian was twice a point away from a 5-1 deficit on Shnaider's serve, but broke the Hordette on her fifth BP chance and went on to win six straight games to end the set.

After falling behind 0-2 in the 3rd, Paolini *again* won six games in a row to close out the match as Shnaider more and more let the crowd get to her (and for some reason even stoked the fire on occasion) and erode her concentration. How she couldn't have been expecting an Italian crowd to vociferously cheer on an Italian player in Rome is hard to fathom. She should have been better prepared for that reality, and having come from a year of college tennis you'd think she would have had a plan in place to use such a thing to spur *herself* on.

Oh, well. Lesson learned (hopefully), I suppose.


============================================
4. Rome QF - Zheng Qinwen def. Aryna Sabalenka
...6-4/6-3. After having gone 0-6 vs. Sabalenka (winning just one set) on hard court, Zheng gets her first win over the Belarusian in their initial match-up on clay. It's her second career #1 win in less than a year, having upset Iga Swiatek at the Olympics, also on clay.

The loss drops Sabalenka to 11-2 on the dirt this spring, as she comes up short of becoming the first woman to post the Madrid/Rome final appearance combination in a second consecutive season.

Having come to Rome with a 4345 point lead over #2 Swiatek, Sabalenka leaves with a 3820 edge over new #2 Coco Gauff.


============================================



5. Rome SF - Coco Gauff def. Zheng Qinwen
...7-6(3)/4-6/7-6(4). With Iga Swiatek's championship viability a legit question mark in Paris, one or both of these two could realistically top the list of RG favorites (along w/ the Rome champion, of course). And while the level of play fluctuated (the two combined for 49 winners, but both also had 70+ UE) and momentum was a seesaw force throughout this semi, the fight was there until what would be the bitter end for one.

In what would turn out to be the longest WTA MD match so far in 2025 at 3:32, Gauff and Zheng exchanged breaks four times (with a hold in between each combination) in the 1st set, first with Gauff grabbing the lead, then Zheng, then Gauff, then Zheng again before Gauff ultimately prevailed in a 7-3 TB.

Having forced a 3rd, Zheng served for the win at 5-3 but couldn't close the deal. Gauff forced yet another TB, pulling away late to win 7-4 to become the seventh woman to pull off the Madrid/Rome final combo in a single season (since Madrid joined the schedule in '09).

Of the seven, only Gauff and Ons Jabeur have never (so far, at least) been ranked #1, while four of the previous six who reached both finals went on to play in the RG title match a few weeks later, too.


============================================



6. Rome SF - Jasmine Paolini def. Peyton Stearns
...7-5/6-1. Stearns' run ends as she (finally) cannot put away the biggest points after having polished off three straight 3rd set TB wins.

The Bannerette had multiple chances to grab the 1st set by the throat, leading Paolini 4-1, then holding SP on serve (at 5-3) and return (5-4). At 5-5, she couldn't put away a GP and saw Paolini get the break and then serve out the set before assuming control of the 2nd in the opening moments.

With the win, Paolini became the first Italian to reach the women's singles final in Rome since her doubles partner Sara Errani did it in 2014, and just the second since Raffaella Reggi was the last to win the title in 1985.


============================================
7. Rome Final - Jasmine Paolini def. Coco Gauff
...6-4/6-2. Forty years after Raffaella Reggi's triumph in Rome, there is finally another.

So, even while practicing in Paris, Iga Swiatek takes another hit, as she'll fall behind Paolini, whom she defeated in the RG final a year ago, in the rankings on Monday.

After around six months with Wim Fissette behind the coaching wheel, Swiatek has fallen from #1 to #5, failed to defend five titles (and didn't attempt to do so at a 6th), and hasn't reached a single final. At the very least, Swiatek is playing for the continuation of the Belgian's (current) coaching life at Roland Garros, right?

After coming up short with the pressure on to maintain her terre battue dominance and win Olympic Gold in Paris last summer (she lost in the semis, then took Bronze), with the weight on Swiatek's shoulder to recover in time to win a fifth RG crown be an even heavier burden?


============================================
8. Parma 125 1st Rd. - Irina Camelia Begu def. Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva
...6-7(6)/6-1/7-6(3). It took three and a half hours, but the veteran Romanain outlasts the young Andorran, winning in a 3rd set TB despite twice having previously served for the match and held a MP.

Parma 125 QF - Irina Camelia Begu def. Anna Bondar
...3-6/6-3/7-6(5). Things didn't get any easier for Begu, as in another nearly three-hour battle she was forced to save a MP on serve as she tried to get the contest into a deciding TB. After securing a six-deuce hold, Begu took a 6-1 lead in the breaker before finally putting things away 7-5 on MP #5.

Parma 125 SF - Victoria Mboko def. Irina Camelia Begu
...6-1/6-3. And the Romanian did it all only to grab just four total games against the Canadian teen in the semis, coming up short of her seventh career 125 final.
============================================
9. Paris 125 2nd Rd. - Julie Belgraver def. Solana Sierra
...7-6(4)/6-7(3)/7-6(5). In a three-TB match, a WTA unicorn, both Belgraver and Sierra squandered leads in the first two sets -- Belgraver at 5-2 in the 1st, Sierra at 5-3 in the 2nd -- before recovering in time to win breakers.

In the decider, neither lost serve (a double unicorn match?), but the #365-ranked Pasty still managed something of a comeback from 5-4 down in the TB, sweeping the final three points to get the win.
============================================
10. $15K Toyama JPN Final - Carol Young Suh Lee def. Hayu Kinoshita
...3-6/6-1/6-3. Northern Mariana Islands native Lee (playing for the U.S.) claims her third '25 ITF crown in her fourth final appearance of the season. Before staging a comeback to win in the final, Lee had lost just four total games in her previous four matches during the week.

Lee is on a 12-match winning streak, has won 17 of 18, and is 32-2 since mid-March. She's already recorded *47* match wins (in 55 matches) this season, after being a combined 19-11 in pro events from 2022-24 while also playing college tennis.

Lee, a Georgia Tech grad, won the doubles title, as well.

@carollee_01 and @t2.academy

============================================
HM- $15K Orlando USA Final - Mayu Crossley def. Francesca Pace
...6-1/2-6/6-4. Japan's 18-year old Crossley, a former junior star (her best major result was a QF at the '23 RG, but she picked up Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl titles, both in '22, in her career as well as a win in the J500 Banana Bowl in '23 and two other J300 events in '24) takes her maiden pro title

Crossley is a UCLA recruit.

@mayu.crossley

============================================






kosova-font

[Rome 4th Rd.+]



1. Rome 4th Rd. - Peyton Stearns def. Naomi Osaka
...6-4/3-6/7-6(4). Stearns has had issues over the past year when it's come to winning three-setters, but she seemed firmly in her element this time around.

Osaka, who came in riding a career-best eight match winning streak on clay, held an early break lead in the decider; then with Stearns having tied things up at 4-4, Osaka had five BP chances before the Bannerette held to keep things on serve. The former Texas Longhorn had one final comeback in her, as she rallied from 4-2 down in the tie-break, sweeping the final five points to get the victory.

Needless to say, Stearns gave her all in this one, inside and out. She threw up *twice* en route to the win.


============================================



2. Rome 4th Rd. - Mirra Andreeva def. Clara Tauson
...5-7/6-3/6-2. While Andreeva leads 3-0 in her head-to-head with Tauson, with all the match-ups coming this season, one can see a nice potential back-and-forth between the two developing over time. It really depends on how well the Dane can polish her game.

Tauson was too injured to compete in their match in Indian Wells, but put up a fight in a close 1st set in Dubai and *won* the opener in this third contest. Andreeva ultimately prevailed here again, but a long career series could be in store between these two.


============================================
3. Rome QF - Coco Gauff def. Mirra Andreeva
...6-4/7-6(5). In Rome, Andreeva found a way to knock off who she was "supposed" to beat, but came up short for the fourth time in four tires vs. the player she clearly *needs* to finally beat to take the "next step" in her career.

The teenager came close to getting either of the two sets vs. Gauff this time around, but still saw her set losing streak vs. the world #3 increase to eight since she took a 1st set tie-break vs. Gauff in their first meeting at Roland Garros in 2023.

While #6 Andreeva is 0-4 vs. Gauff, it's worth noting that she's put up quite different numbers against the other players ahead of her in the rankings: 2-4 vs. Sabalenka, 2-1 vs. Swiatek, and 2-1 vs. Paolini. She's yet to face Pegula, and while (usually regular Top 5 player) Rybakina is currently *outside* the Top 10, Andreeva does sport a 2-1 mark against her, as well.


============================================
HM- $75K Zagreb CRO Final - Francisca Jorge/Matilde Jorge def. Lucija Ciric Bagaric/Vitalia Diatchenko
...6-2/6-0. The Portuguese siblings have combined to go 6-0 in finals this season, taking titles in a 125 event and (now) five ITF challengers. They've gone 24-2 this season.
============================================




Better (about a decade) late than never, I guess.




kosova-font



Meanwhile, clearly, whoever came up with this is *not* the same person who normally mans the WTA social media feed...




kosova-font



You're just not a Czech over the age of 25 if you're not dealing with, fighting off or having just recovered from some sort of injury or illness...




kosova-font



One more shot...







kosova-font






RG "PROP BET" PREDICTIONS
1. A first-time Roland Garros singles champion will be crowned in Paris...
2. ...and she'll be 23 or younger in age.
3. Iga Swiatek will not only fail to complete the first RG women's four-peat in the Open era, she'll lose before the QF round (her worst RG result since her '19 debut appearance)
4. ???? (maybe a few more next week, maybe not)



















futuristic-fonts


kosova-font




















kosova-font

*MADRID/ROME FINALS IN A SINGLE SEASON (since Madrid '09)*
2009 Dinara Safina (W-W)
2013 Serena Williams (W-W)
2017 Simona Halep (W-RU)
2022 Ons Jabeur (W-RU)
2024 Iga Swiatek (W-W)
2024 Aryna Sabalenka (L-L)
2025 COCO GAUFF (L-L)
[also reached RG final]
2009 Safina (W-W-RU)
2013 S.Williams (W-W-W)
2017 Halep (W-RU-RU)
2024 Swiatek (W-W-W)

*ITALIAN OPEN WS FINALISTS - ITA*
1930 Lucia Valerio
1931 Lucia Valerio (W)
1932 Lucia Valerio
1934 Lucia Valerio
1935 Lucia Valerio
1950 Annelies Ullstein-Bossi (W)
1985 Raffaella Reggi (W)
2014 Sara Errani
2025 Jasmine Paolini (W)

*SINGLES/DOUBLES TITLE SWEEP IN 2020s*
2020 Ostrava!!!: Aryna Sabalenka
2021 Stuttgart: Ash Barty
2021 Parma: Coco Gauff
2021 Roland Garros: Barbora Krejcikova
2022 Adelaide 1: Ash Barty
2022 Nottingham: Beatriz Haddad Maia
2023 Prague: Nao Hibino
2023 San Diego: Barbora Krejcikova
2023 Elite Trophy: Beatriz Haddad Maia
2024 -
2025 Rome: JASMINE PAOLINI

*2025 FINALISTS BY COUNTRY - F (W)*
15 (7) - USA (GAUFF)
6 (3) - BLR
5 (4) - RUS
2 (1) - BEL,COL,DEN,ITA (PAOLINI), LAT,UKR
1 (1) - SUI
1 (0) - JPN,POL,SRB

*2025 MULT.DIFFERENT WTA FINALISTS BY COUNTRY*
9 - USA
...Anisimova,Gauff,Kessler,Kenin,Keys,Krueger,Li,Navarro,Pegula
4 - RUS
...Alexandrova,M.Andreeva,P.Kudermetova,Potapova
2 - COL
...Arango,Osorio
2 - ITA
...Bronzetti,PAOLINI
2 - UKR
...Svitolina,Yastremska
--
1 - BEL,BLR,DEN,JPN,LAT,POL,SRB,SUI

*TOP 10 vs. TOP 10 in FINALS*
[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
Rome - #1 Swiatek def. #2 Sabalenka
Cincinnati - #3 Sabalenka def. #6 Pegula
U.S. Open - #2 Sabalenka def. #6 Pegula
Wuhan - #2 Sabalenka def. #7 Zheng Q.
WTA Finals - #3 Gauff def. #7 Zheng Q.
[2025]
Miami - #1 Sabalenka def. #4 Pegula
Madrid - #1 Sabalenka def. #4 Gauff
Rome - #6 PAOLINI def. #4 GAUFF

==ALL-TOP 10 FINALS in 2020s (32) - WON/LOST=
16 (7-9) - Sabalenka
13 (12-1) - Swiatek
6 (1-5) - Pegula
5 (3-2) - GAUFF
5 (0-5) - Sakkari
3 (2-1) - Barty, Rybakina
3 (1-2) - Kontaveit
2 (0-2) - Jabeur, Zheng Q.
1 (1-0) - Badosa, Garcia, Halep, Muguruza, PAOLINI
1 (0-1) - Andreescu, Krejcikova, Pliskova

*2025 TOP 10 WINS*
6 - Sabalenka
5 - Alexandrova, M.Andreeva, Gauff, Keys, Swiatek
4 - Ostapenko
[in single event]
3 - M.Andreeva (IW)
3 - Keys (AO)
3 - Sabalenka (Miami)
2 - Alexandrova (Doha)
2 - Alexandrova (Stuttgart)
2 - M.Andreeva (Dubai)
2 - Eala (Miami)
2 - Gauff (Madrid)
2 - Gauff (Rome)
2 - Keys (Adelaide)
2 - Ostapenko (Doha)
2 - Ostapenko (Stuttgart)

*MOST WTA #1 WINS - 2020-25*
6 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ
4 - Jessie Pegula, USA
4 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
3 - Coco Gauff, USA
2 - Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS
2 - Madison Keys, USA
2 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT
2 - ZHENG QINWEN, CHN
[wins-by-nation, 2020-25]
13 - USA
7 - KAZ
5 - CZE
4 - BLR,RUS
2 - CHN (ZHENG), ESP,FRA,LAT,POL
1 - BRA,DEN,UKR
--
46 LOSSES BY #1: 24-Swiatek, 11-Barty, 11-Sabalenka

*2025 WTA DOUBLES TITLES - DUOS*
2...M.Andreeva/Shnaider, RUS/RUS
2...ERRANI/PAOLINI, ITA/ITA
2...Jiang/Wu, CHN/CHN
2...Siniakova/Townsend, CZE/USA
[2020-25 - duos]
13..Krejcikova/Siniakova (1/5/3/3/1/0)
8...Aoyama/Shibahara (1/5/0/2/0/0)
7...ERRANI/PAOLINI (0/0/0/1/4/2)
7...Siegemund/Zvonareva (1/0/2/4/0/0)
5...Dabrowski/Routliffe (0/0/0/2/2/1)
5...Gauff/Pegula (0/0/3/2/0/0)
5...Hsieh/Mertens (0/2/0/0/3/0)
5...Hsieh/Strycova (4/0/-/1 ret.)
5...L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (0/0/2/0/3/0)

*ALL-TIME WTA 125 WS TITLES*
8 - MAYER SHERIF, EGY
5 - Alycia Parks, USA
4 - Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU
4 - Viktorija Golubic, SUI
[finals]
12 - MAYER SHERIF, EGY (8-4)
6 - Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU (4-2)
6 - Alycia Parks, USA (5-1)
6 - Arantxa Rus, NED (2-4)
6 - Zhang Shuai, CHN (2-4)






futuristic-fonts


kosova-font


kosova-font

Absolutely cooked.

[image or embed]

— Link. (@link.spacelawshitpost.me) May 13, 2025 at 7:48 PM

Yes the water is starting to boil, but why would I voluntarily get out of the pot.

[image or embed]

— Link. (@link.spacelawshitpost.me) May 13, 2025 at 7:49 PM


kosova-font


Here's the (free) link to the article this post is talking about: "Stage Right: Trump’s Broadway Dreams Get Second Act with Kennedy Center Takeover" (Washington Post, May 2025). An interesting read.




kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font






All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 4:46 PM 

2 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

Yes, Swiatek ain't winning Roland Garros this year. I think she'll reach beyond 4th round, but, won't win the whole thing.

Paolini had been a journeyman until last year. Now she is a world beater. I wonder if she loves to eat tortellini. Hahahaha.

Sun May 18, 11:21:00 PM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

There are some really potentially interesting pre-QF match-ups for Swiatek, including Kostyuk (3r) and, in the 4th Round, either Rybakina or, yep. Ostapenko. Don't know if Raducanu in a possible 2nd Rounder counts. :/

Sat May 24, 06:53:00 PM EDT  

Post a Comment

<< Home