Saturday, May 24, 2025

Wk.21- 'Twas the Night Before Paris...







futuristic-fonts




*WEEK 21 CHAMPIONS*
STRASBOURG, FRANCE (WTA 500; Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. Liudmila Samsonova/RUS 6-1/6-7(2)/6-1
D: Timea Babos/Luisa Stefani (HUN/BRA) def. Guo Hanyu/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (CHN/USA) 6-3/6-7(4) [10-7]
RABAT, MOROCCO (WTA 250; Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Maya Joint/AUS def. Jaqueline Cristian/ROU 6-3/6-2
D: Maya Joint/Oksana Kalashnikova (AUS/GEO) def. Angelica Moratelli/Camilla Rosatello (ITA/ITA) 6-3/7-5




kosova-font

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Elena Rybakina/KAZ
...without an appearance in a final in '25, and having lost four straight SF matches since she won in Stuttgart in April of last year, Rybakina has fallen out of the Top 10. But in Strasbourg, where she'd previously reached the final five years ago, Rybakina climbed to the top of the heap to claim her 9th career WTA crown. She's 4-1 in tour-level clay finals.

Wins over Wang Xinyu and Magda Linette got the Kazakh into her third SF of the season, and her three-set win vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia produced her first final in more than a year. Though Liudmila Samsonova again forced her to go three in the title match, Rybakina's 6-1 victories in the 1st and 3rd sets were more than enough to walk away with the crown.

Ahead of RG, Rybakina moves back to the cusp of the Top 10 at #11, 136 points behind #10 Paula Badosa. Rybakina reached the QF a year ago (Badosa 3rd Round), one of her two last eight runs in Paris since 2021.


===============================================
RISERS: Liudmila Samsonova/RUS and Jaqueline Cristian/ROU
...clay has never been particularly kind to Samsonova, but the Hordette played her way into her first WTA final on the dirt this week in Strasbourg.

Samsonova posted victories over Linda Noskova, Diane Parry and Paula Badosa to reach her first '25 SF since Adelaide, then took out Danille Collins to reach her ninth career tour-level title match (of the previous eight, six were on hard court and two on grass).

Though she couldn't get past Elena Rybakina in the final, dropping 6-1 sets in the 1st and 3rd after winning a 2nd set TB to keep her hopes alive, it was an even more successful week for Samsonova than it might already appear on the surface. Consider that she arrived in Strasbourg having gone just 1-5 since reaching the Indian Wells QF, including a 1-3 mark on clay, before notching four wins this week.

No stranger to overcoming slow starts to seasons in the past, Samsonova's work finally pushes her over .500 (13-11) in 2025.



Meanwhile, though Cristian is likely known best for her results (and old cape action) in Cluj, the Romanian never reached the final in her home event in Romania. She did this week in Rabat, though.

Cristian's week included wins over Yelyzaveta Kotliar, Aliona Bolsova, Anastasija Sevastova and #2 seed Camila Osorio (in three, from a set down) to reach her second WTA singles final. Coming into Morocco, she hadn't reached a tour-level SF since Cluj in February of last season. In her first WTA title match since 2021 in Linz, she remained title-less after a straight sets loss to Aussie teen Maya Joint.

At 19-11 on the season, Cristian will rise to #61 in the pre-RG rankings, not far off her career high of #57.


===============================================
SURPRISE: Maria Mateas/USA
...the week before a major often provides an opportunity for a few players to rise from relative obscurity to post a career-best result. In Rabat, 25-year old Mateas was such a player.

The former Duke University product (ITA Rookie of the Year in '19), who just last month announced her engagement to ATP player Mackie McDonald, #243-ranked Mateas recorded her first career WTA MD wins with victories over Elli Mandlik and Arantxa Rus, reaching the QF before falling to #2-seeded Camila Osorio.

Mateas will nearly return to the Top 200 in the pre-RG rankings. She reached a career high #190 last August, not long after winning her biggest career title in a $75K in Granby (CAN) in July.

@mariamateas and @kswissperformance

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



VETERAN: Danielle Collins/USA
...Collins' Strasbourg run ended in the semis vs. Liudmila Samsonova, but it was her first such result since reaching the final of the same event a year ago at the end of what was her remarkable spring fling, a stretch that included titles in Miami and Charleston, a semi in Rome and Strasbourg runner-up. At one point, she won a career-best 15 straight, and 22 of 25 matches.

This past week, she clocked three sets wins over Sofia Kenin and Emma Raducanu before getting a QF walkover from Anna Kalinskaya.
===============================================



COMEBACK: Beatriz Haddad Maia/BRA
...whew! Did Haddad Maia ever need the result she fought for and got in Strasbourg. I hope she sent Clara Tauson a gift card or something.

Before this week, the Brazilian had gotten off to an horrendous start to 2025. She was 3-14 on the season, with things only getting worse (1-11 in her last 12) rather than better. Things almost continued to go downhill, as Tauson held a pair of MP at 5-4 in the 3rd set in their 1st Round encounter.

But then something crazy happened. Haddad Maia survived, swept the final three games to win that 2:44 match and then continued to thrive. Down went Ashlyn Krueger in straights, then #9 Emma Navarro (in 3:02) wasn't able to put away the Brazilian despite serving for the win in the 2nd set. That one was "easy," as Navarro never even held MP. The victory was Haddad Maia's first vs. a Top 10 foe since Madrid last year.

Haddad Maia had chances to keep her run going vs. Elena Rybakina in the SF. She had a SP in the 1st set TB before the Kazakh claimed it on her own third SP (ending the 1:15 opening stanza), and after sending things to a 3rd set the Brazilian led 2-0 in the decider before Rybakina finally pulled away from Haddad Maia to end the two and three-quarter hour battle. Haddad Maia was on the court for a combined 10:21 in her four matches this past week.

Though the ending wasn't what she wanted, at least Haddad Maia got to compete in this one. In her last meeting with Rybakina, the Brazilian was forced to retire with a back injury five games into the 1st set of their 4th Round match at Wimbledon in '23. Haddad Maia had been 2-0 in their head-to-head prior to that match.
===============================================



FRESH FACES: Maya Joint/AUS and Sada Nahimana/BDI
...things could hardly have gone any better for Joint in Rabat. Coming into the week, the 19-year old had already this season reached her maiden tour-level SF (Hobart), cracked the Top 100 (the second youngest behind Mirra Andreeva), recorded her maiden Top 20 win, and made her BJK Cup debut. This spring, Joint posted her first tour-level MD clay win in Madrid, becoming the youngest Aussie to secure a WTA 1000 victory (breaking Ash Barty's record of nearly 21 years of age in 2017).

In Morocco, she won everything. No, really, she won everything. As in sweeping the singles and doubles titles in her maiden appearances in a WTA final in both.

In singles, Joint got wins over Ana Konjuh, Katie Volynets, Ann Li and fellow Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic (who retired ten games into the match) to reach her first final, where she handled Jaqueline Cristian 3 & 2 to get the crown, becoming the initial first-time tour singles champion of the '25 season. It was her second title of the week, as Joint had already teamed with Oksana Kalashnikova to win the doubles, taking out Italians Angelica Moratelli & Camilla Rosatello in straight sets on Friday.

Joint jumps from #78 to #53 in the last rankings before Roland Garros.

Grosse Point (Michigan)-born to a pro squash playing dad from Australia and a German mother, a then 16-year old Joint began representing AUS in 2023, moving to Brisbane to train at the National Academy run by Tennis Australia. She'd previously committed to play college tennis at the University of Texas, but after getting a U.S. Open 1st Round win and reaching a 125 final last season she decided to turn pro instead. So far, it's looking like the correct decision.



Meanwhile, the 24-year Nahimana has long been a trail blazer for Burundi (as well as African) tennis, from her junior days (a former girls' #12, she had MD junior slam wins at RG and Wimbledon in '18) to the ITF circuit, where she's won five singles and eight doubles titles, including a sweep of two singles crowns in Burundi Tennis Federation-hosted events in her hometown in recent months as well as two doubles finals (going 1-1) in the '24 versions of those same tournaments.

In Rabat, #267-ranked Nahimana qualified to become the first woman from her nation to play a tour-level MD match, one that she won over Moroccan wild card Aya El Aouni. Against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, the Burundian took the #71-ranked Spaniard to three sets before coming up short.

Nahimana will crack the Top 240 with a new career high in the new rankings.
===============================================
DOUBLES: Timea Babos/Luisa Stefani, HUN/BRA
...Babos & Stefani didn't put in as much work in Strasbourg as others, but history will still say that they prevailed over all.

After a 1st Round win over a wild card duo, the Hungargian-Brazilian pair received back-to-back walkovers in the QF/SF before hitting the court again in the final. With living opponents across the net, Babos/Stefani defeated Guo Hanyu & Nicole Melichar-Martinez in a 10-7 MTB to claim the title.

It's the pair's second title (w/ Linz) this season, and maintains a final winning streak for both.

Babos' 27th career title comes with her seventh straight tour-level final victory. The last WTA final she *didn't* win came at the 2019 Australian Open, though that stretch *does* include a significant three and a half year gap between finals from October '20 until April '24. Meanwhile, Stefani's 11th tour win also extends *her* winning streak in finals (the last two w/ Babos) to seven. She last lost in Cincinnati in 2021.


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









kosova-font



1. Strasbourg 1st Rd. - Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Clara Tauson
...3-6/6-4/7-5. There's needing a win, and *badly* needing a win. Haddad Maia was the latter coming into this match.

Tauson had the Brazilian, 3-14 on the year and 1-11 in her last 12, on the hook for another crushing defeat, holding two MP at 5-4 in the 3rd set. But it would be Haddad Maia who'd dole out the crushing defeat to the Dane, sweeping the final four games to win in 2:44 and kick off what *could* be the resurgent week that turns around her entire 2025 season.

The loss is Tauson's second this year after having held a MP, tied with Sofia Kenin for the most on tour.
============================================
2. Strasbourg QF - Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Emma Navarro
...3-6/7-6(3)/6-2. Having come back from MP down vs. the Dane, Navarro was easier pickings for the Brazilian.

The Bannerette served for the win at 6-5 in the 2nd set, but saw Haddad Maia get the break and go on to win eight of the last ten games in the match to get her first Top 10 victory since defeating Maria Sakkari in Madrid last year.

With the loss, Navarro is the first player to play three 3:00 MD tour matches in '25 (going 1-2), while Haddad Maia leveled her 3:00 W/L at 1-1.
============================================



3. Rabat Q2 - Sada Nahimana def. Carolina Alves 3-6/6-1/6-4
Rabat 1st Rd. - Sada Nahimana def. Aya El Aouni 6-3/6-2
...two years after making her tour debut in the qualifying rounds of the Moroccan Open in Rabat, Nahimana was back and played her way into her first big tour MD *and* gets her maiden WTA match win, making her the first Burundi player to ever accomplish either feat.
============================================
4. Strasbourg Final - Elena Rybakina def. Liudmila Samsonova
...6-1/6-7(2)/6-1. Rybakina rallied from 5-3 back in the 2nd, saving three SP to force a TB before Samsonova finally won and took things to a 3rd set. But, as she had in the 1st, the Kazakh dominated on the scoreboard with another 6-1 victory.

Rybakina wins a three-set final for the first time since taking the Wimbledon crown in 2022. She'd been 0-2 in her two three-set finals since, and 5-3 in straight set/ended-by-retirement affairs.
============================================
5. Rabat Final - Maya Joint def. Jaqueline Cristian
...6-3/6-2. Both were playing for their first career tour title, but it's the 19-year old who becomes the first Aussie to win a tour-level singles title in more than three years.

In fact, both of the most recent Australian and Romanian title winners are now retired.

Ash Barty was the last AUS champ, at the 2022 AO (she never played another match), while the last Romanian is still Simona Halep in Toronto, also in '22 (right before you-know-what, after which she won just two more matches in her career).
============================================
6. Rabat 1st Rd. - Anastasija Sevastova def. Yasmine Kabbaj
...5-7/6-4/7-5. Sevastova hasn't played a lot since early 2022, but she's recently made the most of her few opportunities.

After taking a break from tennis in February '22, then having a baby, the Latvian returned in February of last year. She played just two tour events, reaching the QF in both (her first since Eastbourne '21), but then missed another fourteen months after undergoing knee surgery. She returned last month, played one challenger, then Madrid and Rome. She upset Alona Ostapenko in the former, getting her first career win over her countrywoman.

Ranked #543, the 35-year old reached another QF in Rabat -- her third in her five tour-level appearances since the start of last year. In Rabat's 1st Round, Morocco's Yasmine Kabbaj (#810) didn't make things easy, as Sevastova had to rally from a set and 2-0 down. The two were tied at 5-5 late in the 3rd before Sevastova got the break on BP #3 and then held to secure the victory. A win over Zeynep Sonmez followed before a loss to Jaqueline Cristian.

Sevastova will nearly climb back into the Top 400 in the new rankings.
============================================
7. Strasbourg 1st Rd. - Magda Linette def. Barbora Krejcikova
...6-3/6-3. Seemingly one of the few Czech vets currently healthy enough to reach the court, Krejcikova finally makes her 2025 debut some seven months after getting a pair of round robin wins (over Gauff and Pegula) and reaching the WTA Finals semis in Riyadh last October.

Remember, Krejcikova is still the reigning Wimbledon champion, and she'll be the 15th seed in Paris.

Krejcikova had just 21 total match wins in 2024, but 16 of them came at the AO (QF), WI (W), the Olympics (QF) and WTAF (SF).

Hmmm, is Jana up to another ride on Barbora's shoulder?
============================================
8. Strasbourg 1st Rd. - Emma Raducanu def. Dasha Kasatkina
...6-1/6-3. And Kasatkina falls under .500 for the season (11-12), and that's after a 6-3 start Down Under.


============================================
9. Rabat SF - Maya Joint def. Alja Tomljanovic
...6-4/0-0 ret. In a rare all-Aussie singles semi, the first since Week 2 of the 2018 season (Barty def. then-Gavrilova in Sydney), Joint advances to her first tour-level singles final when an ill Tomljanovic (in her second '25 SF) retires after the 1st set.

The two will face off again soon... in the 1st Round in Paris.


============================================
10. Rabat Final - Maya Joint/Oksana Kalashnikova def. Angelica Moratelli/Camilla Rosatello
...6-3/7-5. Before contesting her maiden final, Joint had already picked up her first tour-level crown -- in doubles.

The 19-year old Aussie teamed with 34-year old Georgian Kalashnikova to claim her first career title. It's Kalashnikova's 7th, but the first since August '23. Kalashnikova reached the Saint-Malo 125 final earlier this spring alongside Moratelli, who'd switched sides and was her opponent here.

Italians Moratelli & Rosatello, who've won two 125 and three ITF title as a duo, drop to 0-3 in WTA finals.


============================================
HM- Barcelona (S1) 2nd Rd. - Diede de Groot def. Lizzy de Greef
...6-1/6-0. De Groot dominates her young Dutch countrywoman in their first career singles match-up.

On Sunday, after Saturday's SF win over Zhu Zhenzhen, De Groot will face #2-seeded Li Xiaohui in what could be a very revealing final leading into Roland Garros.

Remember, though she missed the AO after hip surgery, de Groot still maintains a 52-match winning streak in majors and has won the singles title at the last fifteen slams she's played.
============================================






kosova-font

1. Rabat Q2 - Tatiana Pieri def. Nicole Fossa Huergo 6-4/6-1
Rabat 1st Rd. - Tatiana Pieri def. Carlota Martinez 6-3/6-0
...Italy's Tatiana Pieri, sister of fellow pro Jessica, qualifies for her first tour-level MD match, and in her WTA debut the 26-year old gets a victory.


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







*TOP RG Q-PLAYERS*

1. Nao Hibino, JPN (30, #200) ...Hibino qualifes for her third straight major, but it took some work. In the Q2, Bianca Andreescu led 6-2/5-3 and held a MP, and held a 5-2 edge in a 2nd set TB; then in the Q3, Ella Seidel held a set and 5-4 edge, with *two* MP chances. Hibino prevailed on both occasions.
@naohibino_1128

===============================================
2. Nina Stojanovic, SRB (28, #170) ...the Serb was the only of the sixteen qualifiers to win back-to-back-to-back three-setters to reach the MD, her first at a major since the 2021 U.S. Open after four separate injuries cost her all but five tournaments in the 2022-23 seasons. Stojanovic went the distance vs. #28 Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, wild card Marqaux Rouvroy and #16 Varvara Lepchenko, the latter two via 7-5 3rd deciders.
===============================================
3. Sara Bejlek, CZE (19, #193) ...the Czech teen's impressive run included a love & 4 win over Mona Barthel, a match in which Ena Shibahara twice served for the win and held three MP (Bejlek won a 12-10 MTB) and a final love & 4 upset of top seeded Anastasiia Starodubtseva in the final Q-round.



4. Tereza Valentova, CZE (18, #174) ...last year, the Crusher won the RG junior title. This year in Paris she'll make her slam MD debut after dropping a combined 15 games vs. Arina Rodionova, #2 seed Dalma Galfi and Simona Waltert.
===============================================
5. Dasha Saville, AUS (31, #134) ...with wins over Heather Watson and Taylor Townsend, Saville will play in her eighth consecutive slam MD. That's the most in a row for the injury-plagued Aussie since her sixteen straight appearances from 2015-19.
===============================================
HM- Joanna Garland, TPE (23, #177) ...9-1 in ITF finals over the past two seasons, Garland will finally make her slam MD debut. She knocked off Celine Naef, Petra Marcinko and Anna-Lena Friedsam without dropping a set.


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




*RECENT ROLAND GARROS "Q-PLAYER OF THE WEEK" WINNERS*
2016 Viktorija Golubic, SUI
2017 Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
2018 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2019 Elena Rybakina, KAZ
2020 Mayar Sherif, EGY
2021 Varvara Lepchenko, USA
2022 Jule Niemeier, GER
2023 Mirra Andreeva, RUS
2024 Jule Niemeier, GER
2025 Nao Hibino, JPN

*2025 RG QUALFIERS*
Sara Beljek, CZE (19, #193)
Maria Lourdes Carle, ARG (25, #125)
Joanna Garland, TPE (23, #177)
Nao Hibino, JPN (30, #200)
Tamara Korpatsch, GER (30, #148)
Victoria Mboko, CAN (18, #122)
Carole Monnet, FRA (23, 227)- Q WC
Julia Riera, ARG (22, #204)
Leyre Romero Gormaz, ESP (23, #150)
Dasha Saville, AUS (31, #134)
Oksana Selekhmeteva, RUS (22, #146)
Solana Sierra, ARG (20, #112)
Anastasiia Sobolieva, UKR (21, #230)
Lucrezia Stefanini, ITA (27, #153)
Nina Stojanovic, SRB (28, #170)
Tereza Valentova, CZE (18, #174)
[LL]
Taylor Townsend, USA (29, #106)






RG Q1 - #17 Bianca Andreescu def. Yao Xinxin 6-0/6-0
RG Q2 - Nao Nibino def. #17 Bianca Andreescu 2-6/7-6(5)/6-4
...Andreescu has reached the 3rd Round in Paris the last two years, but won't be doing so in 2025.

Things got off to a great start in qualifying, as the Canadian had her first career double-bagel victory. But against veteran Hibino, she couldn't put away the match despite leading 6-2/5-3, holding a MP in game #8 of the 2nd and then serving for the win a game later.

Andreescu got another chance to wrap things up, leading 5-2 in the 2nd set TB, only to lose the last five points and go on to lose in three, riding a break for a 3-2 lead all the way to the finish.
===============================================
RG Q2 - Sara Bejlek def. #31 Ena Shibahara
...the Czech teen saw Shibahara lead 4-2 in the 3rd and twice serve for the win, holding a MP at 6-5. Bejlek forced a MTB, then overcame 5-2 and 8-4 deficits, saving two more MP at 9-8 and 10-9 before winning 12-10 en route to the MD.
===============================================



RG Q1 - Sara Errani def. Jule Niemeier 0-6/7-6(4)/6-2
RG Q2 - Anna-Lena Friedsam def. Sara Errani 1-6/6-0/7-6(10-7)
...a singles finalist at Roland Garros thirteen years ago, Errani said that these would be the last singles matches of her career (we'll see). Both were dramatic (and vs. Germans).

Against Niemeier, the 38-year old lost the first seven games of the match, then climbed out of a 6-0/5-2 crater. Niemeier served for the win at 5-3, but Errani rallied and won a TB to force a 3rd set. The Italian converted on her sixth MP chance in the final game of the decider.

A round later, it was Errani who lost a 2-0 3rd set lead, failing to convert a MP at 5-4 before *losing* a deciding MTB to her second straight German opponent.


===============================================
RG Q3 - Nao Hibino def. Ella Seidel 2-6/7-5/6-4
...after saving a MP vs. Bianca Andreescu in the Q2, Hibino saved *two* vs. Seidel. The German led 6-2/5-4 when she was twice a point away from her first career RG MD, only to lose the last three games and then see Hibino go on to claim the 3rd set.


===============================================
RG Q2 - Lola Radivojevic def. Sofia Costoulas 6-1/3-6/7-6(11-9)
...the Waffle led 4-2 in the 3rd, and held two MP at 5-4 vs. Radivojevic. But the Serb forced a MTB, where she led 9-4 before finally putting away her sixth MP chance.
===============================================
RG Q1 - Margaux Rouvroy def. Haruka Kaji 6-7(7)/7-5/7-6(10-3)
RG Q2 - Nina Stojanovic def. Margaux Rouvroy 3-6/7-5/7-5
...24-year old Pastry Rouvroy only lasted two rounds in qualifying, but she still managed to play for 6:43.

She won a 3:40 opening match over Japan's Kaji, coming back from 4-2 down in the 3rd. Rouvroy then led Stojanovic and served for the win and her best career slam result at 6-3/5-4, only to drop serve and be forced into a 3rd set. She led there 3-1, as well, but saw the Serb get the victory in another 7-5 set (though it took Stojanovic six MP spread over a three-game stretch to get the job done).

Maybe Rouvroy passed on the marathon blessing/curse to Stojanovic, as she reached the MD after winning another 7-5 3rd set over Varvara Lepchenko in the final Q-round.
===============================================
RG Q1 - Carole Monnet def. #11 Petra Martic 2-6/7-5/7-5
...Martic served for the match at 5-4 in the 2nd set, but the Pastry prevailed in three.

Monnet went on to become a rare slam *qualifying* wild card entrant to play her way into the MD, just the second of her career (w/ '22 RG) in a major.


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




*2025 RG WILD CARDS*
Destanee Aiava, AUS (25)
Lois Boisson, FRA (21)
Elsa Jacquemot, FRA (22)
Leolia Jeanjean, FRA (29)
Iva Jovic, USA (17)
Chloe Paquet, FRA (30)
Diane Parry, FRA (22)
Tiantsoa (Sarah) Rakotomanga Rajaonah, FRA (19)
[PR]
Jodie Burrage, GBR (25)
Sorana Cirstea, ROU (35)
Petra Kvitova, CZE (35)
Yanina Wickmayer, BEL (35)

*CONSECUTIVE SLAM NON-AUTOMATIC ENTRY APPEARANCES*
Destanee Aiava, AUS - '24 US Q, '25 AO Q, '25 RG WC
Sara Bejlek, CZE - 2 con. slam Q
Nao Hibino, JPN - 3 con. slam Q
Elsa Jacquemot, FRA - 2 con. RG WC; '25 AO Q, RG WC
Leolia Jeanjean, FRA - '23 RG WC, '24 RG Q, '25 RG WC
Iva Jovic, USA - 3 con. slam WC
Chloe Paquet, FRA - 3 con. slam WC
Julia Riera, ARG - 2 con. RG Q, 2 con slam Q
Dasha Saville, AUS - '25 AO WC, RG Q

*MAKING SLAM MD DEBUT AT 2025 RG*
Emiliana Arango, COL (24) - automatic entry
Lois Boisson, FRA (21) - WC
Alex Eala, PHI (20) - automatic entry
Joanna Garland, TPE (23) - Q
Victoria Mboko, CAN (18) - Q
Tiantsoa (Sarah) Rakotomanga Rajaonah, FRA (19) - WC
Leyre Romero Gormaz, ESP (23) - Q
Anastasiia Sobolieva, UKR (21) - Q
Tereza Valentova, CZE (18) - Q

*IN 2025 RG MD...*
[teenagers]
17 - Iva Jovic, USA (WC)
18 - Mirra Andreeva, RUS (#6 seed)
18 - Tereza Valentova, CZE (Q)
18 - Victoria Mboko, CAN (Q)
19 - Maya Joint, AUS (automatic entry)
19 - Sara Bejlek, CZE (Q)
19 - Tiantsoa (Sarah) Rakotomanga Rajaonah, FRA (WC)
[35+]
37 - Tatjana Maria, GER (automatic entry)
37 - Laura Siegemund, GER (automatic entry)
35 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR (automatic entry)
35 - Yanina Wickmayer, BEL (PR)
35 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (PR)
35 - Sorana Cirstea, ROU (PR)
[age groups]
7 - age 17-19
96 - age 20-29
25 - age 30+

*2025 RG MAIN DRAW - BY NATION*
19 - USA
13 - RUS
9 - CZE,FRA
7 - AUS
5 - ROU,UKR
4 - ESP,GBR,GER,ITA
3 - ARG,BEL,CHN,JPN,POL
2 - BLR,CAN,COL,KAZ,NED,SRB,SUI
1 - ARM,BRA,BUL,CRO,DEN,EGY,GRE,HUN
1 - LAT,MEX,NZL,PHI,SVK,TPE,TUN,TUR











kosova-font



No pickles involved...




kosova-font





kosova-font





kosova-font





kosova-font





kosova-font





I'm interested in how the "whip-around" action on TruTV will play out.









A supercut of every time Norm entered Cheers: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXED...

[image or embed]

— Alan Sepinwall (@sepinwall.bsky.social) May 20, 2025 at 3:48 PM




This ought to displace the squatter: www.youtube.com/watch?v=goKM... Rob Sheffield on why it's just about the greatest TV performance ever: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

[image or embed]

— Marty Lederman (@martylederman.bsky.social) May 19, 2025 at 9:13 PM


This lives rent free in my head.

[image or embed]

— Anthony Michael Kreis (@anthonymkreis.bsky.social) May 19, 2025 at 8:53 PM

I wonder who the song is about. ??

— Jerry Edwards (@jerryedwards.bsky.social) May 19, 2025 at 9:20 PM






futuristic-fonts




kosova-font


















kosova-font

*2025 FIRST-TIME WTA CHAMPIONS*
Rabat - MAYA JOINT, AUS (19/#78)
[doubles]
Brisbane - Mirra Andreeva, RUS (17)
Brisbane - Diana Shnaider, RUS (20)
Cluj-Napoca - Magali Kempen, BEL (27)
Cluj-Napoca - Anna Siskova, CZE (23)
Rabat - MAYA JOINT, AUS (19)
[mixed]
AO - Olivia Gadecki, AUS (22)

*2025 FIRST-TIME WTA FINALISTS*
Polina Kudermetova, RUS (#107/21 = Brisbane)
Emiliana Arango, COL (#133/24 = Merida)
MAYA JOINT, AUS (#78/19 = Rabat)-W
[doubles]
Laura Pigossi, BRA (Bogota)
MAYA JOINT, AUS (Rabat)-W
[mixed]
Olivia Gadecki, AUS (Australian Open)-W
Kimberly Birrell, AUS (Australian Open)
McCartney Kessler, USA (Austin)

*2025 YOUNGEST WTA FINALISTS*
[17]
17 - Mirra Andreeva (Dubai - W)
17 - Mirra Andreeva (Indian Wells - W)
19 - MAYA JOINT (Rabat - W)
[doubles]
17 - Mirra Andreeva, RUS (Brisbane - W)
17 - Mirra Andreeva, RUS (Miami - W)
19 - MAYA JOINT (Rabat - W)

*2020-25 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
22 - 1/2/8/6/5/0 = Iga Swiatek
15 - 3/2/0/3/4/3 = Aryna Sabalenka
8 - 1/5/2 = Ash Barty (ret.)
8 - 0/1/0/4/3/0 = Coco Gauff
8 - 0/3/2/2/1/0 = Barbora Krejcikova
8 - 1/0/1/2/3/1 = ELENA RYBAKINA
7 - 0/0/1/2/2/2 = Jessie Pegula

*MOST WTA SF in 2025*
6 - Aryna Sabalenka (6-0)
4 - Jessie Pegula (4-0)
4 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (1-3)
4 - Iga Swiatek (0-4)
3 - Mirra Andreeva (2-1)
3 - Madison Keys (2-1)
3 - Clara Tauson (2-1)
3 - Jasmine Paolini (1-2)
3 - ELENA RYBAKINA (1-2)

*2020-25 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
23 - Katerina Siniakova (1/6/6/3/5/2)
14 - Barbora Krejcikova (1/5/3/4/1/0)
12 - Elise Mertens (1/4/2/2/3/0)
11 - Hsieh Su-wei (4/2/0/2/3/0)
10 - Desirae Krawczyk (2/2/1/3/1/1)
10 - Erin Routliffe (0/1/1/3/3/2)
10 - Demi Schuurs (2/2/1/2/2/1)
10 - Laura Siegemund (1/0/3/5/1/0)
10 - LUISA STEFANI (1/1/2/3/1/2)






futuristic-fonts


kosova-font

The beltway press is reporting on the infirmities and inadequacies of the former president because when they report on the infirmities and inadequacies of the current president, they are threatened with loss of access, economic consequences, and violence. Because he’s a fascist.

— Evan Berry (@ecothought.bsky.social) May 21, 2025 at 10:16 AM

Dear Humans, Here’s how it’s going to play out: 1. Republicans are going to attack Joe Biden until his last day and giddily celebrate his passing. 2. Then when Donald Trump inevitably passes away, and the world celebrates, these same people will feign outrage until the end of time. They suck.

— God (@thegodpodcast.com) May 18, 2025 at 8:12 PM


kosova-font

The absolute disgrace taking place today in front of cameras in the White House is yet another reminder that for all the talk of Joe Biden's failures, the people who failed America the most are our citizens. Empowering this guy (again) was a foreseeable disaster we'll be lucky to survive.

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 21, 2025 at 1:16 PM


kosova-font

America cannot long remain free, nor first among nations, if it becomes the kind of place where universities are dismantled because they don't align politically with the current head of the government.

— Pete Buttigieg (@petebuttigieg.bsky.social) May 23, 2025 at 12:00 PM


kosova-font

I hope the next head of state that the orange ?? meets brings pictures of masked ICE thugs grabbing folks off the street and photos of them imprisoned in El Savador. They could show so much evidence this treasonous regime is committing and/or complicit.

— jan-res (@jan-res.bsky.social) May 22, 2025 at 11:28 AM


kosova-font

Have a great day, everyone. #Booksky #writersky #authorsky #amwriting #writer #author #WritingCommunity

[image or embed]

— Pennwriters (@pennwriters.bsky.social) May 14, 2025 at 10:47 AM


kosova-font



kosova-font

Sneaky boi

[image or embed]

— JohnnyMangu (@johnnybarbu.bsky.social) May 19, 2025 at 10:44 AM





All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:49 PM 

2 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

Tomljanovic has been an under-achiever in her career. It is absurd to me that she hasn't won a tour level title.

Gauff is the Roland Garros pick.

Sun May 25, 05:18:00 AM EDT  
Blogger Todd.Spiker said...

Tomljanovic is 0-5 in finals, going back to 2015. :\

Sun May 25, 08:12:00 PM EDT  

Post a Comment

<< Home