Saturday, August 02, 2025

Wk.31- All for One, and One Week for Montreal









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[Montreal Q/1st-3rd Rd.]




RISERS: Marta Kostyuk/UKR and McCartney Kessler/USA
...Kostyuk has managed to turn around her recent bad stretch in Montreal, but it's been anything but easy.

Coming in on a six-match losing streak (dropping 11 of 12 sets) over three different surfaces, Kostyuk put up early-round wins over Marketa Vondrousova and Dasha Kasatkina, but had to rally after dropping the 1st set in both matches, winning a 3rd set TB in the latter contest vs. the Aussie.



Meanwhile, Kessler has somewhat quietly won three tour titles over the past year, a stretch of success that started with her maiden win last summer in Cleveland on the eve of the U.S. Open.

In Montreal, the Bannerette advanced into her first career 1000 Round of 16 with wins over Maya Joint and Mirra Andreeva, picking up a second '25 Top 5 win (w/ Gauff in Dubai) with an upset of the Hordette.



Facing off in the opening Round of 16 match on Saturday, Kostyuk outlasted Kessler, once again getting the win after dropping the opening set.


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SURPRISE: Aoi Ito/JPN
...Ito was a tour-level revelation late in '24, making her WTA MD debut, reaching her maiden SF in Osaka, and getting her first career Top 50 win. In January, she picked up her biggest title in a 125 in Canberra. Previous 1000 qualifying runs in Doha, Dubai and Miami earlier this year were followed up by 1st Round exits, as was her slam MD debut at Wimbledon last month.

Victories had been hard to come by for Ito of late. She made a $50K final at the start of July, but before and after that result had gone one-and-out in all eight of her other tournaments since reaching a $100K SF in Tokyo in April.

Ito qualified to reach another 1000 MD in Montreal, but this time got her first win with a victory over Katie Volynets, which she then backed up with her maiden Top 10 victory with an upset of Jasmine Paolini, during which she rallied from 6-2/4-1 down and saved a MP, all the while drawing comparisons to Hsieh Su-wei for her on-court smiles, style of play and ability to immediately draw in new fans with her mannerisms and likeability.

Even with her 3rd Round loss to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Ito has pushed her way up the rankings enough to be ready to achieve a new career-high ranking (live #97) at the end of the tournament.


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VETERANS: Anastasija Sevastova/LAT and Katerina Siniakova/CZE
...Sevastova has tasted success at this time of the year before. The Latvian reached the QF in Montreal in 2018, and posted QF-QF-SF results at the U.S. Open from 2016-18, soon after which she reached a career high of #11.

Sevastova hasn't played much tennis in recent years, though. In early 2022, she took a break from the sport during which she had a baby. After returning to the tour in February '24, she soon suffered a knee injury that put her out another fourteen months. She returned to the WTA in Madrid this past spring, recording upsets of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and countrywoman Alona Ostapenko.

Sevastova reached a QF in Rabat prior to RG, but arrived in Montreal on a four-match losing streak. Ranked #386 and using a protected ranking, she got a pair of wins over Ajla Tomljanovic and Magda Linette, then ended Jessie Pegula's two-year reign as the tournament champion with her first Top 10 victory since a win over Serena Williams in Fed Cup play in early 2020. It's just her second Top 10 win since 2018.



Siniakova, for her part, seems to have decided to work on her singles game this summer. Not a bad idea, after being relegated to qualifying in back-to-back grass events in June for the first time in two and a half years due to her sinking singles ranking. The doubles #1 until she eschewed a trip to North America to stay in Europe a little bit longer, the last two weeks she's played singles at home in tour-level Prague and this week in a 125 in Warsaw.

The Czech lost her top WD ranking for the first time in almost a year when regular doubles partner Taylor Townsend won a title in Washington and took over the spot at the start of the week.

After a QF result in Prague, Siniakova took the title in Warsaw, dropping just one set (1r vs. Lanlana Tararudee) and finishing off Swiss veteran Viktorija Golubic in a 6-1/6-2 final that will lift her live ranking from #89 to #66. Before this bump, she'd been heading toward her worst year-end ranking in a decade (#108 in 2015) after finishing in the Top 50 the last four years and only ending one season outside the Top 60 (#64 in '20) over the last nine.

It's been almost two years since Siniakova's last WTA solo win (in Jiangxi in Oct.'23), which was the fifth of her career. This is the Czech's second at the 125 level in the last two seasons.



Now the doubles #2, and teamed with the ATP's doubles #1, Siniakova is still waiting for official word that the duo *might* receive one of the few remaining wild cards into the U.S. Open MX "event" later this month. Siniakova & Marcelo Arevalo were *both* ranked #1 when they didn't receive direct entry into the draw and had to wait for a WC berth.

Siniakova just won the MX title at Wimbledon, and is the reigning Olympic Gold medalist in MX.
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COMEBACKS: Naomi Osaka/JPN and Zhu Lin/CHN
...Osaka's early exit in Washington left her cheerful even after her loss. Turned out, she was maybe feeling the spark of change, as with her time with coach Patrick Mouratoglou ending, a new (at least on a trial basis) stint with former Radwanska/Swiatek coach Tomasz Wiktorowski began in Montreal.



After a win over Canadian Ariana Arseneault, Osaka cleared some significant obstacles over the next two rounds, rallying from 6-4/5-3 down and saving multiple MP vs. Liudmila Samsonova, then taking out Alona Ostapenko in straight sets (a truly unfamiliar-by-association-with-Iga feeling for Wiktorowski) to reach the Round of 16.

Meanwhile, Zhu -- who finished '23 inside the Top 40 -- arrived in Montreal ranked at #493 after being out for six months over the past year (her '24 season ended after Wimbledon, and after returning in January she missed two more months this spring).

In the draw using her protected ranking, Zhu put together three straight wins in a tour-level event for the first time since reaching the Hua Hin final in February of last year, knocking off Varvara Gracheva, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Suzan Lamens.


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FRESH FACES: Jessica Bouzas Maneiro/ESP and Victoria Mboko/CAN
...after looking to be on the cusp of some signifcant results over the past year, Bouzas Maneiro is now starting to post such results. At RG, she got a Top 10 upset over Emma Navarro, then reached her maiden slam Round of 16 at Wimbledon.

After a three-hour 1st Round victory over Louisa Chirico in Montreal, the Spaniard followed with wins over Ashlyn Krueger and Aoi Ito (from a set down) to reach her first career 1000 Round of 16.



While this year's Montreal event has seen home favorites Bianca Andreecu suffer another injury, D.C. champ Leylah Fernandez upset early and Genie Bouchard end her WTA career after a spirited (though brief) early-week run, 18-year old Mboko has single-handedly kept the Canadian flavor alive in the women's draw.

Already an ITF star in '25, Mboko has gone on to post her first tour-level MD win (Miami), then posted her first major victories at Roland Garros, cracking the Top 100 after a 3rd Round run. She then reached the 2nd Round in her debut appearance at SW19.

A wild card in Montreal, Mboko played into the Round of 16 with wins over Kimberly Birrell, Sofia Kenin and last week's winner in Prague, Marie Bouzkova.


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DOWN: Katie Boulter/GBR
...there were a few candidates here from the opening rounds in Montreal, from Bianca Andreescu (injured again) to two-time defending champ Jessie Pegula, ousted in the 3rd Round (falling to 1-3 since winning Berlin). But I'll go with Boulter for a extended downturn.

During the grass season, the Brit was the two-time defending champ at Nottingham, but fell in the 3rd Round this year, then was upset in the 2nd Round at Wimbledon by a lucky loser. With the shift to hard courts, a 1st Round loss in Washington (vs. Sakkari) was followed this week by a 1st Round upset in Montreal to Renata Zarazua, who notched her first 1000 win in over four years (just her second ever) and her first Top 50 victory of 2025.

1-4 in her last five, Boulter has gone 5-6 since winning a 125 in Paris prior to Roland Garros. She's 4-6 on hard courts so far in '25, after posting 25-15 and 27-14 season records (w/ a 500 title last year) on the surface the last two years.
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@jelinevandromme


JUNIOR STAR: Jeline Vandromme/BEL
...the 17-year old Waffle had already picked up a big junior title (J300 Traralgon, before the AO) and her maiden pro win ($15K Manacor) this season, and this week in Roehampton Vandromme added to her collection with a $35K challenger for her biggest crown yet.

The Belgian qualified, then ran off wins over Arina Rodionova, Carol Young Suh Lee, Harmony Tan and, in the final, Shi Han. Against Han, Vandromme staged a comeback from 5-3 down in the 3rd, saving three MP in games 9 & 10 en route to a 7-6(4)/5-7/7-5 victory.
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[Montreal Q/1st-3rd Rd.]




1. Montreal 2nd Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Danielle Collins
...7-5/4-6/7-6(2). Who needs brilliance to produce fine drama? Not Gauff/Collins, that's for sure.

With neither woman bringing her best game for long, the battle of attrition featured 36 DF (23 from Gauff), and 154 UE (Gauff 74, Collins 80... vs. 30/29 winners). But those are just numbers.

What was *seen* in (surprisingly) the first career meeting between the two was, albeit oft-messy, a compelling clash of personalities and sudden flashes of shotmaking and frustration, as Collins forced a 3rd set after trailing 7-5/3-1, creating the canvas for a back-and-forth deciding set.

Gauff took a 4-2 lead, and after Collins got the set back on serve, holding on for dear life, Gauff saved a BP (w/ a screaming backhand down the line) and held for 5-4.



In the next game, Collins nearly squandered a 40/love lead, saw Gauff twice get a point away from reaching MP, but then held to knot the score. Collins then took a love/40 lead in game 11, breaking Gauff to get the chance to serve for the match.

Then Gauff turned the dial up to "11," taking a 15/40 lead and denying Collins (who twice was withing two points of the win) with a break on her fourth BP of the game, forcing a deciding TB. Having survived the earlier fight, Gauff took the breaker 7-2.

So, when's meeting #2?


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2. Montreal 2nd Rd. - Naomi Osaka def. Liudmila Samsonova
...4-6/7-6(6)/6-3. As was expected (but not with great certainty), Osaka seems to have taken quite well to the arrival of summer hard courts. Of course, she very nearly suffered her second straight early loss in the last two weeks, as well.

Samsonova led 6-4/5-3, and had multiple MP chances at 5-4, but couldn't finish Osaka off. The Russian led 5-2 in the 2nd set TB, as well, before another push from Osaka gave her an 8-6 win. She claimed the 3rd set at 6-3, improving to 6-1 in three-setters on hard court this season (she lost her last four three-setters on clay/grass in '25).


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3. Montreal 1st Rd. - Laura Siegemund def. Tatjana Maria
...7-5/6-7(6)/7-6(2). It just had to happen, right? A match-up of the 37-year old Germans who made waves during the recently-concluded grass season, with Maria winning Queen's Club and Siegemund reaching the Wimbledon QF.

Here the veterans played for 3:26, with Siegemund taking a 7-5/5-3 lead, holding her first MP at 5-3, then having two more at 6-5 as she tried to serve out the victory. She had MP #4 at 6-5 in the 2nd set TB before Maria won it 8-6 to force a deciding set.

In the 3rd, Maria turned around a 4-2 deficit to lead and serve for the win at 5-4. After breaking her countrywoman at love in game 10, Siegemund ultimately won on MP #5 in the concluding TB.



After having posted a win at SW19 over Madison Keys, Siegemund couldn't pull the upset when the two faced off once again in the 2nd Round.
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4. Montreal 2nd Rd. - Aoi Ito def. Jasmine Paolini
...2-6/7-5/7-6(5). Paolini led 6-2/4-1, and held a MP at 5-4 in the 2nd, but Ito's traveling road show wasn't quite ready to pack up and leave town. Instead, she ultimately handed the Italian her second loss this season after having held MP.

Paolini came back from 3-1 down in the 3rd, breaking Ito to force a TB, where the score was knotted up at 5-5 before Ito swept the final two points to record her maiden Top 10 victory.

At the net, Ito's customary bow was disarming enough that it managed to get a (semi-) bow back from the disappointed Paolini.


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5. Montreal 1st Rd. - Bianca Andreescu def. Barbora Krejcikova
...6-3/6-4. While Leylah Fernandez won a title in Washington last Sunday, on that same day Andreescu was getting a 1st Round win over Krejickova in Montreal, but only after rolling her ankle (on MP!) in the closing moments of what became a straight sets win after the Czech (likely) bailed with consecutive errors to end the match after the Canadian's medical timeout.

Andreescu handed Mirra Andreeva a walkover in the 2nd Round, and here we go again. Sigh.


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6. Montreal 2nd Rd. - Iga Swiatek def. Guo Hanyu
...6-3/6-1. Mid-way through the 1st set, Swiatek had carried over her game-winning streak to 24 in a row dating back to her SF/F finish at Wimbledon vs. Belinda Bencic and Amanda Anisimova before Guo finally got on the board.

This victory marked the 60th consecutive knock-out event in which Swiatek has posted an opening victory. It's maybe her most impressive career stat. Her last one-and-out came in Cincinnati in 2021, and starting with her breakout run to the RG title in 2020 she's gotten at least one win in 72 of 73 tournaments.

Naturally, it was at this point that the WTA started to *finally* tout this great run but, naturally, also made eye-rolling decisions in that promotion during the process. It was reported that Swiatek's run was at *63* events, making it the longest since Monica Seles from 1990-1996 (a large chunk of that time was during her post-stabbing absence), but also noted that the streak included her wins in the WTA Finals and United Cup events, neither of which are knock-out tournaments, i.e. there is no pressure to win the opening match since it won't eliminate a player from the competition. So, WHY COUNT THOSE in the streak (plus, one is a *team* event, which puts it into an *entirely* different category), as the number is taken out of context?

Everyone promotes the WTA better than the WTA promotes the WTA, and when it *does* try to promote its player it bends over backwards and twists the entire endeavor into a pretzel that's better left uneaten.
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7. Montreal 1st Rd. - Genie Bouchard def. Emiliana Arango
...6-4/2-6/6-2. There have been a lot of "goodbye" moments on court in recent weeks (Kvitova, Garcia, etc.), as well as a huge (extended) "welcome back" one (Venus). Bouchard, who has spent most of the past couple of years playing more pro pickleball than WTA tennis, joined the list in Montreal after announcing that it would be her final tour event.

She extended her stay with a 1st Round win over Arango...


Montreal 2nd Rd. - Belinda Bencic def. Genie Bouchard
...6-2/3-6/6-4. After getting an opening round win, Bouchard pushed Bencic to three sets to wrap up her best two-match stretch in years, forcing a 3rd by giving one final glimpse of the fighter who led the charge in the rise of Canadian tennis over the past decade, during which Bouchard briefly became one of biggest, most heavily-marketed stars in this or any sport, ranking in the Top 10 on Forbes' Highest Paid Female Athletes list in 2017 and '18.



At the height of her career, Bouchard posted SF-SF-RU results at the first three majors in 2014, becoming the first Canadian to reach a slam singles final at Wimbledon that year, during which she also became the first Canadian to earn a Top 5 ranking.

Bouchard never really rose quite so high after being throttled at SW19 by Petra Kvitova in that '14 Wimbledon final, though she did reach the AO QF the following season, then saw the trajectory of her career (seemingly) forever altered by a late night slip, fall and concussion (and resulting lawsuit vs. the USTA) in a dark lockerroom (w/ a wet floor) following a U.S. Open 3rd Round night session match. She ultimately pulled out before her Round of 16 match in NYC (as well as WD and MX), missed tournaments and suffered bouts of dizziness for quite some time afterward.

After going 26-7 in slam competition in 2014-15 (6/8 4r+), Bouchard never reached another second week at a major. She was just 13-16 in slam play after the concussion, and last appeared in the MD of a major at the 2020 RG.

Bouchard never won another tour title after the 2015 season, and finished 1-7 in WTA title matches in her career. Six of her twelve total Top 10 wins came during her 2014 season, with the last coming in 2017.


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8. Montreal 1st Rd. - Jessica Bouzas Maneiro def. Louisa Chirico
...5-7/7-5/6-4. Bouzas Maneiro's fine opening week started out with a three-hour contest in which her fate twisted in the wind.

Chirico led 5-1 in the 1st, but then had to break the comeback-minded Spaniard to close out the set and avoid a TB (on BP #3 of game 12). Bouzas Maniero then needed seven SP over a four-game stretch to get things to a 3rd set.

Once there, she broke Chirico in game 9, then saved three BP in the following game to serve out the win.
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9. Montreal 1st Rd. - Lucia Bronzetti def. Elli Mandlik
...4-6/7-6(5)/6-2. Mandlik led Bronzetti 6-4/4-1, then was up 4-2 in the 2nd set TB before the Italian rallied for the win.

Mandlik's mother, Hana Mandlikova, won a pro title in Montreal in 1979 (not this same event), and was a doubles finalist in a previous version of the current tournament in 1984.
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10. Montreal 1st Rd. - Caty McNally def. Alycia Parks
...6-4/5-7/7-6(7). Fresh from her second straight singles title run (Newport 125, $100K Evansville), McNally saved a pair of MP vs. Parks in a 3rd set TB.

She ultimately ran her winning streak to twelve matches (since she faced Swiatek in the 2nd Rd. at Wimbledon, they've combined to win three singles titles across three different levels and lose just *one* match -- a combined 19-1 through the Montreal 3rd Rd.), also defeating Rebecca Sramkova before a three-set loss to Madison Keys.
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HM- Warsaw 125 Final - Weronika Falkowska/Dominika Salkova def. Isabelle Haverlag/Martyna Kubka
...6-2/6-1. 21-year old Crusher Salkova reached a 125 WD final in Grado last month, and here joins with Falkowska to claim her biggest career title.

Salkova reached the semifinals in singles, defeating Falkowska in the 1st Round before an upset of #2-seeded Zeynep Sonmez in the 2nd.


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[Montreal Q/1st-3rd Rd.]


1. Montreal 3rd Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Veronika Kudermetova
...4-6/7-5/6-2. After winning vs. Collins despite 23 double-faults, Gauff battles to cross the finish line against vs. Kudermetova while not having her "A"-game ready at hand.

Kudermetova had rallied from 4-1 down in the 1st to take the opener and lead 6-4/3-1 before Gauff extended and then won the match.


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I don't get to say this all too often when it comes to enacted ideas in tennis, but that's different here. This is a really good move that seems like it could only benefit wheelchair tennis.




Imagine that, a plan to take advantage of an existing structure already in place, adding value to it (especially, say, the WTP/ATP 1000 events that have some extra time/courts to fill over two weeks -- so why not add some WC to the mix?) while also helping with the exposure of an event and athletes that could use it. It's such an obvious thing to do that I'm surprised they *actually did it.*

Once again, it's another move that only further cements wheelchair tennis as the most fan-accessible para-sports event, as well as the only one that can/does take place simultaneously and in cooperation with some of the biggest able-bodied competitions in the sport.

Now, if only the Paralympic movement would acknowledge this clear fact, and that it benefits *all* para-sports, and stop scheduling the Parlympic tennis event so that it takes place during the second week of the U.S. Open, thereby denying the WC tennis athletes 25% of the schedule of major events (as well as the prize money availabe there) every four years, not to mention harm the sport by routinely denying it one of its most obvious points of exposure.

Since they're determined to make U.S. Open qualifying week *something more* (i.e. adding the MX to it) to make it a profitable *three*-week event, why not find a way for the USTA to hold the U.S. Open WC competition in Paralympic years then, as well, so that it's completed early enough for *both* to be held that summer (the Open's competition has always been cancelled, except when the Covid-delayed Paralympics in '21 were re-scheduled differently... only to be put in conflict again in '24, leading to no event in New York again last year).

There is no excuse for it not to happen in the next cycle, since the Olympic/Paralympic events will also be held in the U.S. (in Los Angeles '28).

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Well, at least clear progress was made *and* she made it through without a positive test... sounds like a win-win.




Hmmm, I guess Wimbledon sort of forced Wiktorowski to move on from any thought that Iga would ask him to come back.


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Adding another instance(s) atop an ever-growing pile (you can almost see the top of it from he-... ah, nope, it just disappeared above the clouds)...


i'm sorry but i can no longer remain silent b/c i'm starting to go crazy: WHY ARE THE 6s DIFFERENT COLORS. WHEN SOMEONE LOOKS AT A SCORELINE ONE ASSUMES THE WINNING SETS ARE BOLDED/SAME COLOR, NOT THIS. OSAKA AND THE 6S SHOULD BE GREEN. THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.

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— Courtney Nguyen (@fortydeucetwits.bsky.social) August 1, 2025 at 2:08 PM


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So, 80% of the "direct entry" teams in a doubles "event" consist of players with no interest in doubles, while the "wild card" grovelers include the current WD #1, a former #1 (Venus), the defending champs and (until Townsend claimed the top spot at the start of the week) a team consisting of both the women's *and* men's doubles #1. Oops, nope, the all-#1 (until after Washington) duo of Siniakova/Arevalo *still* hasn't officially been given a WC. Joke event... which would be fine if they just called it the exhibition that it is, rather than trying to claim it as an official major title competition.


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A little truth to clear the senses...


Totally get OP's sentiment. I just want to take the moment to emphasize that Anna Kournikova had a way better career than people give her credit for and many many many players would kill to have the on-court career she had. CH No.8, 1 GS semifinal, finished YE Top 10, Dubs No.1

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— Courtney Nguyen (@fortydeucetwits.bsky.social) July 30, 2025 at 6:14 PM


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A federal court in North Carolina has granted the plaintiffs' motion to certify an injunctive and damages class of Division I tennis players in Brantmeier v. NCAA. The lawsuit challenges the NCAA's ban on tennis players receiving prize money from outside competitions.

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— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich.com) July 28, 2025 at 4:31 PM

Here are the now-certified class definitions for the case. Reese Brantmeier and Maya Joint are the class representatives.

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— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich.com) July 28, 2025 at 4:31 PM

This is a fascinating case -- and one that threatens to take another brick out of the NCAA's amateurism definitions and eligibility systems. One to watch as it moves towards a potential trial.

— Sam C. Ehrlich (@samcehrlich.com) July 28, 2025 at 4:31 PM














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Say "Don't touch Iga," without saying "Don't touch Iga"...


















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I'm pleased to have my new chapbook, I Can't Recall Exactly When I Died (Kelsay Books), included in The Lake's One Poem Review. Please scroll down a bit to read "Playing Tennis with My Ex" (originally published in Sparks of Calliope). thelakepoetry.co.uk/reviews/opra... #poetry #poetrycommunity

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— Diane Elayne Dees (@womenwhoserve.bsky.social) July 31, 2025 at 10:04 AM


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#caturday Try not to laugh

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— Dcmfox (@dcmfox.bsky.social) August 2, 2025 at 1:49 PM


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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 5:33 PM 

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