Wednesday, February 05, 2025

Backspin Flashback: Halep's Wimbledon Dream (2019)

In the aftermath of her retirement from tennis, a special Backspin reminiscence of the greatest moments of the career of Simona Halep.

Up next... Wimbledon.

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... to you ! #unforgettableday #special #madeit

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While Simona Halep's legacy will always revolve around her trials and triumphs in Paris, her 2019 Wimbledon title run was her most impressive career performance, and it ultimately defined *her* career like few other *second* major wins ever have.

In many ways, SW19 was the "proving ground" for Romania's only Wimbledon champion. One slam after reaching her maiden slam final at Roland Garros in 2014, Halep reached the semis at Wimbledon. Back-to-back QF in 2016-17 proved it hadn't been a one-year aberration, with the second last eight result coming after another final in Paris. Then, in 2019, in the first major since the end of Halep's reign as the RG champ, she dropped just one set over the fortnight in London, thwarting Serena Williams' third (of what would be four) attempts in major finals at title #24 with a tactical masterpiece pulled off as perfectly as if it'd been penned in calligraphic handwriting on fine paper with a feathered quill pen whose tip has been dipped in India ink. And *that* match had come after a nearly-as-pristine snuffing out of rival Elina Svitolina in the semis.

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"It was my mum's dream for me. she said if I wanted to do something in tennis I have to play the final of Wimbledon, so today the day came." - Simona Halep


Rick Blaine once told Ilsa Lund, "We'll always have Paris." So would Halep. But, for Simona, London provied her most cherished moment of all.

Simona's Wimbledon dream come true (as it was seen then)...


[from "Halep's Long and Winding Road Leads To Wimbledon's Door" - July 13, 2019]


See Simona. See Simona win. See Simona win Wimbledon? Yes, as a matter of fact. We just did.


On the occasion of the 2019 Wimbledon Ladies final, Simona Halep answered the time honored question that centers around what one does *after* getting what they'd always dreamed of. It's a query that has stumped many before who'd won their first major title, only to be then forced to ask themselves, "Now what?"

** ** **


But, past self-flagellating appearances aside, there has rarely been a player more eager to battle than Halep.

While many over the past year have seized upon the former #1's "chill year" description of her twelve-month reign as the leading lady of Paris as a sign that she may have lost her edge, was lackadaisical or didn't have the same desire to win major crowns, Halep's results have always countered any such notion. She was a point away from the rare back-to-back Montreal/Cincinnati combo last summer, led Romania to a huge Fed Cup win over the Czechs in February, and has never been anything less than game and/or in-the-mix at nearly every big event she's played in 2019 even if she *didn't* have anything tangible (like a singles title) at hand to unquestionably prove it as recently as two weeks ago. Sometimes she just lost, was beaten (just no longer *by* herself). She accepted it, learned from it, and moved on. It wasn't the end of the world, but it could still be the start of a good thing. That, more than anything, is the mantra that has driven the current version of Simona forward to new experiences, including winning at SW19.

While Halep has never "left" since the spring of last year, what she proved to be in London over the last fortnight *is* something new. With her RG reign behind her, she confirmed at this Wimbledon that the "better Simona" that she and former coach Darren Cahill strived to create has unequivocally emerged from her cocoon, fully formed and brilliant.

Her win over Serena Williams in the today's final, if one only managed to maintain a glancing focus on the proceedings, appeared to come with relative ease. But it was hardly that. At various times, Williams seemed on the verge of emerging in her own right, only to see the Romanian's hard work thwart such momentum from being established by chasing down ball after ball, gliding atop the grass surface from sideline to sideline and then finding room to strike a winner or put Serena into a position where she couldn't keep the rally alive.

Here comes Serena. No. Then *here* she comes. Umm, still no.

Soon, Halep held a dominant edge on the scoreboard, between the lines and in the air. Then the notion dawned, this was *really* going to happen.

Somewhere in the middle of Simona's masterpiece in southwest London, it was almost as if an in-her-prime Justine Henin had been transported through time and into the body of what once was the young Romanian girl (La Petit Swarmette?) who'd idolized the Belgian. Henin, in spite of her size, found ways to tactically frustrate more powerful players, to out-prepare and sometimes even out-will them. She even did it against one Serena Williams, defeating her in three consecutive slam QF in 2007, as well as in their biggest slam match ('03 RG semi) with the same sort of confidence, lack of fear, and utterly crystal-clear clarity and adherence to an agreed upon game plan that Halep showed in her match with Williams today.

** ** **


By now, Halep was fully in the flow. Up 4-2, she again led love/30 on Serena's serve. Williams fought back to hold a GP, but too many errors reversed the course of the game. She saved Halep's first BP with an ace, her first of the match. But on BP #2, Halep immediately seized control of the rally and then ended it with a backhand winner down the line to take a 5-2 lead. Serving for the title, Halep went up 30/love when Williams' backhand sailed long. She put in a big serve to lead 40/love. It took two attempts, but on her second MP Halep claimed the title when Williams netted a forehand, ending the 6-2/6-2 match after just fifty-six minutes.



"Never!" - Simona Halep, when asked after the final if she'd ever played better


** ** **


In recent years -- since Jana Novotna went from crying on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent to lifting the Venus Rosewater dish -- has there been a more decidedly *human* slam champion than Halep? Or one who has freely admitted her failings quite so unflinchingly, dealt with them so openly, and then ultimately conquered them while the sports world (and her entire "Si-mo-na!" crazy home nation) watched? Oh, there have been quite a few multi-dimensional figures on the slam-winning stage over the years, but has any been as open and honest a book, warts and all, as the Romanian *and* successfully come back for more after having experienced such highs and lows?

Surely a few are in the conversation (from Halep's opponent today to fellow Wimbledon champ Marion Bartoli, and even Li Na and Amelie Mauresmo, the latter also a winner at SW19), but you'd really have to spend many hours splitting hairs to put Halep anywhere but *atop* that list.

It's been quite a journey of discovery these last few years. For Halep, as well as for anyone who's been invested in her quest to embrace her favored identity. While Roland Garros allowed her to finally exhale a year ago, Wimbledon now enables her to take another gulp of air. Who really knows what will come next?




ALSO: Backspin Flashback: Halep Wins Roland Garros (2018)



The Wimbledon title run didn't ultimately prove to be a stepping stone to something *more*, and as things turns out Halep was never even given the chance to bask in the annual glory bestowed upton the reigning women's champ at the AELTC with a Day 2 Centre Court-opening match. The tournament was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, of course, the Halep was out injured in '21. THen, even with 2021 Wimbledon champ Ash Barty having retired prior to the start of play at SW19 in '22, the returning Halep was *denied* a chance to belatedly take her turn atop the Day 2 schedule.

The honor -- incredulously -- instead went to #1 seed Iga Swiatek in what has proven to be the Pole's worst, and most disinterested, major; while on that same day Halep was third up... on Court 1.. Swiatek would lose in the 3rd Round, while Halep would reach the semifinals in her final Wimbledon appearance.

Halep never seemed to be bothered by the act of disrespect. And, as it turned out, it would prove to be small potatoes compared to what was to come.


All for now.

Next: All good things must come to an end, but some endings are more tidy than others.

Read more...

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 12:52 PM  0 comments

Tuesday, February 04, 2025

Backspin Flashback: Halep Wins Roland Garros (2018)

In the aftermath of her retirement from tennis, a special Backspin reminiscence of the greatest moments of the career of Simona Halep.

First... Roland Garros.



"I was dreaming for this moment since I started to play tennis. I'm really happy that it's happened in Roland Garros in Paris. My special city." - Simona Halep


Long the sport's embodiment of resilience during her WTA lifetime, no one's journey played out in Paris like a wonderful storybook fairy tale quite like Simona's.



A junior RG champ in 2008, Halep battled through years of crushing disapointments, marathon matches, physical exhaustion and mental fatigue that had left her either heartbroken or physically spent (and usually both) before overcoming a bevy of personal foibles (largely, a sometimes-crushing strain of perfectionism that often sliced through her confidence just when it *should* have been soaring) and rise above it all.

This space eventually (lovingly, as with all of Backspin's Simo associations, but also frustratingly) dubbed her continued series of near-misses as trips to "The Cliffs of Simona," for it was across their virtual edge that Halep would often dance on the big stage, only to ultimately "fall" before completing her journey.

Until -- finally, hallelujah -- she didn't.

In 2018, Halep was able to enjoy the fruits of her effort, claiming her maiden slam crown at Roland Garros at a point in her career when she could truly appreciate it and the hard work and painful trial-and-error that made it possible, cementing her legendary status in Romanian sport by becoming the first from her nation to win a major title since Virginia Ruzici (her business manager) in 1978. The win came in her third RG final in five years (and fourth in a major) and at the time was likely the most heartwarming and well-received triumph on the grand slam stage since Jana Novotna's belated trip to the winner's circle of a major twenty years earlier.

The Romanian's decade-long quest, and its brilliant ending, was so affecting that it became easy to forget that she began her RG career by going 1-4 in the tournament before reaching the 2014 final and then sometimes dominating the RG storyline for much of the decade that followed. In the 2010s, her tennis fate was one that was inextricably linked to the season's second slam event, nearly as much so as her idol Justine Henin had been with Paris during the 2000s.

Halep's 32 wins in Paris were more than she had at any major, and she even played a part in ushering in what quickly became the *next* era at RG, defeating a young Polish player named Iga Swiatek (6-1/6-0) in the 4th Round in 2019, then a year later in a true changing-of-the-guard moment losing to her (6-1/6-2) at the same stage before her opponent went on to claim her first of many more titles in Paris.

Simona's shining Parisian moment (as it was seen then)...


[from " The Triumph of the Resilient Romanian" - June 9, 2018]


Finally, it was Simona's time.




Over the sport's history, tennis has routinely produced players whose career journeys have resembled the path of the legendary daredevils who would get themselves shot out of a cannon. They fly far, fast and so suddenly that not only is everyone else stunned by their precocious accomplishments but, sometimes, so are they. A few of those players even come to *expect* such success, having never known anything else. Imagine that. We know it's true. We've seen it happen quite often, in fact. Some handle the celebration of *them* with aplomb, while others don't. But having blown through a door without ever really having been faced with being "locked out" of anything, they're presented with the early present of quite possibly being able to avoid the sort of dark passages where personal doubt can so easily lurk, and consume their already-attained dreams.

Simona Halep was most definitely not one of those players.

Some players, on the other hand, are made to wait. To work. To slog. To climb. To crash. To get back up again. To get knocked down once more. Some of those sort of players, in the end, never fulfill their greatest dreams and/or expected "destiny." But those that do are bestowed not only with the honor of lifting a grand slam trophy, but they're also rewarded with the even more significant, well-earned knowledge about just how hard it is to do it. Or to even get the chance. Once, twice, thrice or, for some, four times or more. But no matter how many chances that sort of player may get, *nothing* is assured. Nothing is going to simply be *given.* They know it. They've lived it. And so they go back to work.

Being made to live with such a harsh reality, though it may not be a fatal condition, over time becomes a load to bear that can become heavier and heavier. Some collapse under the weight of it all. After having been stopped just short of their career goal on multiple occasions, a cruel, frustrating and often heartless pattern which sometimes plays out for years at their expense, some may lose the will and stomach necessary to continue the fight. They may secretly begin to fear the opportunity they once strove for, not wanting to suffer the same fate yet again. Eventually, they could even cease being angry or frustrated when they come up short. It spares them the (even greater) pain that may have awaited them around the next corner.

Simona Halep was most definitely not one of those players, either.

Still others choose to muster the resiliency to pick themselves up again, put on a brave face in order to cope with the familiar pain, and then begin the process all over again, hoping for a different result the *next* time, or maybe the *next*, and if not then, then quite possibly the *next* time after that, whenever (or if) it might come. Thus, if the moment of action should some day arrive, the simple act of finally raising one's arms in triumph is not only one of elation, but also relief. Near incredulity, even. But also, finally, and most importantly, satisfaction.

Simona Halep became one of *those* players today in Paris.

Playing in her fourth career slam final, and third at Roland Garros since 2014, #1-ranked Halep came into her match against #10-seeded Sloane Stephens with not only her own checkered past -- three three-set losses in finals, a blown set-and-a-break lead a year ago in Paris against Alona Ostapenko, and a warrior-like effort this past January that nonetheless came up one victory short of completion in Melbourne -- but also the hopes and dreams of an entire nation on her mind.

Perhaps no player has a more extensive (and boisterous, to say the least) traveling band of countrymen & women in her corner than Halep, likely the greatest player that Romania has ever produced, but her desire to achieve her own dream *and* make her nation proud was still missing the legacy-defining major title run that would end the country's 40-year slam drought. The last Romanian to be crowned a slam champ was Virginia Ruzici, Halep's mentor and manager, who won in Paris in 1978. Halep's junior title run in Paris a decade ago had made Roland Garros her most favored event, and her idolization of four-time RG winner Justine Henin crossed paths during the week), as well as her own triumphs and failures on the terre battue in recent years, all have served to inextricably tie the Romanian to this particular slam.



To win here would be everything. To lose here again would be, again, another devastating obstacle to overcome.

** ** **


Up love/30 on Stephens' serve a game later, she got no closer as Sloane finally held serve for the first time in the 3rd set. But rather than beat herself up over seeing the closure of a *small* opening to end things there, she went back to work. Halep fired an ace (her first in the match) to take a 30/15 lead, then completed a smash at the net to reach match point.

In the end, there was no drama. In fact, the finish was quick. Stephens netted a forehand return shot and, just like that, Halep's career-long series of grand slam nightmares and neverending near-misses was over. Her 3-6/6-4/6-1 victory lifted the burden of the hopes of millions of her fellow Romanians from her shoulders, and cleared away the remaining cobwebs, scar tissue and scratchy feelings at the base of her own soul. She'd done it. Finally, she was the Roland Garros champion. The relief on her face was soon replaced by a brief version of disbelief, then satisfaction over her hard-earned accomplishment.



** ** **


Calling Paris her "special city," Halep would soon raise the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen overhead (after Stephens directed her during a little sideline coaching stint during the ceremony), officially lifting whatever cloud hovered over her career, securing a place in the hearts of all who saw her quest play out over the past few years, and settling into the warm cradle of tennis history.




As the Romanian anthem played on Chatrier court, Halep rested her cheek on the trophy's lid, as it was evident that the memories of her entire tennis journey flashed through her mind. Through still more chants of "Si-mo-na!" during the ceremony, her 32 slam appearances, four finals, heartbreak, anger, injury, blood, sweat, tears and disappointment were now joined by a recollection of "triumph." It makes all the difference. All the "bad" moments were now mere stepping stones to *this* one.




In winning the Romanian became the first player to beat three slam champions in the QF (two-time major winner Kerber, who'd soon go on to win Wimbledon for #3), SF (reigning Wimbledon champ Muguruza) and final (reigning U.S. champ Stephens) to win a major title since Justine Henin did it at the 2007 U.S. Open. Her win made her the sixth woman to win both the junior and women's singles titles at Roland Garros.

In her interview with NBC's Mary Carillo's after the match, Halep admitted that when she was a little girl she "didn't have the courage to dream" of lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen. But courage isn't something that the Romanian lacks these days.

Nearly seven months after the death of Jana Novotna, on the very day that the Czech was honored in a ceremony at Roland Garros, Halep can now be listed alongside the late Hall of Famer, who in so many ways is her "historical doppelganger," as a player once hounded by near-miss efforts in slams until finally overcoming and re-writing her career legacy with a single victory.

As much as it's overdue, more than anything else, it just feels right.





All for now. Next: Simona's Wimbledon dream comes true.

Read more...

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:54 PM  0 comments

Sunday, February 02, 2025

Wk.5- Linz is Sweeter the Third Time Around


Linz + Ekaterina Alexandrova = ❤️ (finally)








futuristic-fonts




*WEEK 5 CHAMPIONS*
LINZ, AUSTRIA (WTA 500; Hard Court Indoor)
S: Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS def. Dayana Yastremska/UKR 6-2/3-6/7-5
D: Timea Babos/Luisa Stefani (HUN/BRA) def. Lyudmyla Kichenok/Nadiia Kichenok (UKR/UKR) 3-6/7-5 (10-4)
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE (WTA 250; Hard Court Indoor)
S: Elise Mertens/BEL def. Ann Li/USA 6-1/6-4
D: Desirae Krawczyk/Giuliana Olmos (USA/MEX) def. Wang Xinyu/Zheng Saisai (CHN/CHN) 7-5/6-0




kosova-font

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS
...Alexandrova already had good memories of Linz, and now she has even better ones.

The Hordette reached her maiden tour-level final in the event back in 2018, as well as having played in her most recent WTA title match when she was runner-up there a year ago. In her third final run (one-third of her career finals on tour), Alexandrova finally lifted the trophy, getting her first WTA crown since Rosmalen in 2023.

Alexandrova arrived in Linz at just 1-3 this season, but wins over Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Petra Martic (w/ 47 winners, she saved all 11 BP she faced in the final two sets), Karolina Muchova (love & 4) and Dayana Yastremska (w/ 49 winners, she overcame a 0-3 defict in the 3rd) gave the Russian one of her best career weeks.

The Linz 500 crown, her fifth overall, is the biggest of Alexandrova's career, and while she ended her 0-2 run in the event's final she also closed out a winless (0-3) mark in indoor finals.


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



RISERS: Dayana Yastremska/UKR and Ann Li/USA
...Yastremska took a mighty ranking hit after going out in the 3rd Round at the AO a year after a surprise semifinal run in Melbourne. Ranked #72, the Ukrainian needed a "get better" result and she immediately got it in Linz, reaching her sixth career tour singles final.

Wins over Lucia Bronzetti, Antonia Ruzic, Maria Sakkari and Clara Tauson provided the body of a great week of work, as Yastremska posted multiple wins at a third consecutive event this season. Before her Week 2 QF in Hobart, Yastremska hadn't reached a QF anywhere since AO24, and her Linz run gives her her *best* result since her last final appearance in March 2022 (Lyon).

Yastremska led Ekaterina Alexandrova by a break at 3-0 in the 3rd in the final, but couldn't put away what would have ended her five and a half year title drought (May '19 - Strasbourg, when she won her third career WTA crown), falling in a 7-5 decider.

Yastremska is back up to #50 on Monday.



Even with her second tour final appearance in three months, Li remains well under the radar.

A few seasons ago, that was starting to change. In 2021, Li won a title in Tenerife (in one of two finals that year), and soon after reached the Top 50 (CH #44). She slipped down the rankings the next two seasons, finishing 2022-23 at #140 and #174, respectively, before finally turning things back on the upswing last year. Li won a 125 crown in '24, and reached the Merida final, her first at tour-level in more than three years. She finished the season back inside the Top 100 (barely, at #99).

In Singapore, Li strung together wins over Dasha Saville, Maria Timofeeva and Kimberly Birrell, then took the opening set in the SF vs. Anna Kalinskaya before the Russian's retirement. Li went down in two sets in the final vs. Elise Mertens, but will climb 25 spots to #60 on Monday.


===============================================
SURPRISE: Kimberly Birrell/AUS
...so far, Birrell has filled her '25 season with unexpected success. Already a first-time tour singles finalist last fall in Osaka, the Aussie reached the Brisbane QF in Week 1, successfully made her way through AO qualifying in Week 2, then stuck around in Melbourne and reached the MX doubles final. Moving away from her home turf, ranked at a career-best #95, would the rise continue? The answer: yes.

In Singapore, Birrell knocked off Brisbane finalist Polina Kudermetova, and then rallied from 5-2 down in the 3rd set vs. Hailey Baptiste to reach another QF. Though she ulitmately fell in a two-TB match vs. Ann Li, in the loss Birrell had still managed to erase 4-1 and 5-3 deficits in the 1st to force the first TB, then stopped the Bannerette when she served for the win at 5-4 in the 2nd and forced another breaker.


Birrell climbs to another new career-high ranking (#86) on Monday, and is off to an 8-2 start this season.
===============================================
VETERAN: Elise Mertens/BEL
...Madison Keys, Aryna Sabalenka... Elise Mertens? Yep, that's the list of players who've made multiple appearances in WTA singles finals through the first five weeks of the '25 season. This weekend, the Belgian got her first title of the year in the tour's return to Singapore.

Mertens was in good form all week, opening with a 1 & love takeout of Taylor Townsend, and after that seeing only one player (Tatjana Maria, in a TB 1st) take a set off her as she ran off additional straight sets victories over Camila Osorio, Wang Xinyu and Ann Li en route to her ninth career WTA title.

Still, even at 10-2 on the year, since both of her final runs came in 250 events, Mertens (even with a 23-spot rise) remains at just #12 in the live Points Race, behind #11 Diana Shnaider (who's just 4-3 in '25).

Thirteen of Mertens' fifteen career tour finals has come at the low end (250/International) of the tour event structure.


===============================================
COMEBACK: Jil Teichmann/SUI
...while the high-flying results of a few years ago have been hard to come by for Teichmann of late, the Swiss is at least showing that she's still capable of reminding us how good she *can* be at times.

Teichmann ranked as high as #21 in 2021, as over a two season stretch she reached the Dubai 1000 SF and Cincinnati 1000 final (both on 2021 hard courts), then the following season flashed on EuroClay to reach the Madrid SF/Rome QF in consecutive events. Unfortunately, now 27, Teichmann hasn't reached a tour-level final since that RU result in Cincy nearly four years ago. She's 2-2 in career WTA finals.

After falling outside the Top 100 in June 2023 (she's yet to return), and dipping in and out of the Top *200* last spring/summer, Teichmann has started to stir again. Just a bit, at least. She won 39 matches in 2024 (her most since '17), and her 4Q QF run in Merida last October was her first at tour-level since her '22 Madrid/Rome combo. She won a 125 crown in September.

After losing in the final round of this year's AO qualifying, Teichmann came into Singapore ranked #128. After a successful Q-run, the Swiss posted wins over Harriet Dart and Olivia Gadecki, and then battled Wang Xinyu for over three hours in the QF, her second such result in a WTA event in three months. The two combined for just a lone break of serve (Teichmann dropped the opening game of the 3rd) in a 3:19 battle.

Teichmann is off to a 6-3 start in '25.
===============================================



FRESH FACES: Wang Xinyu/CHN and Clara Tauson/DEN
...Zheng Qinwen got an avalanche of attention in 2024, but the CHN #2 had a breakout season, as well.

Wang, 23, posted career best results in doubles -- winning RG and reaching the U.S. semis w/ Hsieh Su-wei, and taking Olympic Silver in MX -- and then late in the year reached her maiden 1000 singles SF in Wuhan (w/ wins over Pegula and Alexandrova), where she lost to Zheng.

In Singapore, Wang was once again a double threat, reaching the singles semifinals wih wins over Rebecca Marino, Maya Joint and Jil Teichmann (in 3:19). She failed to get past Elise Mertens, though, even as (after an MTO to treat a hip injury) she seemed on her way to forcing a 3rd set, leading by an early break in the 2nd and having 3 BP on the Belgian's serve to reclaim that lead while up 3-2.

The loss drops Wang to 0-6 in career WTA semifinals (all have been in Asia-based events, save for her first in Prague in 2021). A win would have not only given Wang her first tour final appearance, but also would have finally gotten her closer to overcoming the "#30s hump" (i.e. put her in position to finally break into the #20s in the rankings). Save for a month last September/October during which she briefly fell out of the Top 50, Wang has been stuck in a small ranking neighborhood for a while now, placing between (#32-43) for the past year and a half. She'll be right in the middle again on Monday, coming in at #36.

But Wang wasn't finished, hours after dropping her singles SF she and Zheng Saisai won to reach the doubles final, though they lost in straights a day later vs. Desirae Krawczyk & Giuliana Olmos.

Meanwhile, in Linz...



Tauson spent much of the week looking like she was going to blast her way to her second title of 2025. Then she ran across Dayana Yastremska in the semifinals.

The Dane's big game has always played well indoors, so Linz seemed a perfect place to try out her great early season form, which had already won her a title in Auckland and seen her push Aryna Sabalenka at the AO. She came out blazing, setting up and taking down Anhelina Kalinina, Sorana Cirstea and Anna Blinkova (ending the latter match with an ace, naturally) to reach the semis. But that's where it ended, as Yastremska gave Tauson a taste of her own medicine.

Still, Tauson is off to a 10-2 start, and is ever closer to her career-high ranking. She'll be at #34 on Monday, just one off her best standing.


===============================================
ITF PLAYERS: Tatiana Prozorova/RUS and Victoria Mboko/CAN
...while almost everyone else has had to learn how to rebound from a loss in 2025, Prozorova remains undefeated.

The 21-year old Hordette won her second straight challenger event in Week 5, taking the Pune (IND) $75K with a 4-6/7-5/6-3 win over Leolia Jeanjean after the Pastry had served for the match in the 2nd set. Prozorova won a $50K crown (New Delhi) in January, and is 10-0 on the season. She claimed a $100K title last September, as well.

Prozorova will rise almost 50 spots on Monday, climbing into the Top 180 for the first time. She was in the #420s in early August.



Meanwhile, Mboko "laughs" at Prozorova's run. The Canadian has started 2025 by going 17-0, winning all 32 completed sets she's played this season.

After winning back-to-back $35K crowns, the 18-year old made career title #6 her biggest ever, taking the $75K challenger in Rome, Georgia (US) with a pair of qualifying wins, then defeats of teens Iva Jovic, Akasha Urhobo, Kayla Cross, Cadence Brace and in the final, 25-year old Dutch player Eva Vedder.

Mboko *did* see her six-match undefeated, two-title streak start to '25 end the QF, though.

No matter, as she'll jump 53 spots to within grasp of her Top 200 breakthrough (at #215).


===============================================
JUNIOR STARS: Kali Supova/SVK and Wakana Sonobe/JPN
...the 15-year old Slovak claimed the biggest title of her junior career, taking the J300 final in Salinas, Ecuador by a 7-5/6-4 score over Romania's Giulia Safina Popa.

@kali.supova


Just a week after she won the Australian Open girls' title, Sonobe will be making her WTA MD debut in Abu Dhabi in Week 6.



The 17-year old took her qualifying wild card and handily knocked off a pair of Top 100 players in Hailey Baptiste (6-3/6-1) and Cristina Bucsa (6-3/6-3) to reach her maiden WTA MD with a gust of wind behind her back.

The world #834, Sonobe's only other appearance in a tour-level event had been a Q1 loss in Abu Dhabi a year ago vs. Bernarda Pera.


===============================================
DOUBLES: Timea Babos/Luisa Stefani, HUN/BRA
...Babos & Stefani took the title in Linz, pulling off the SF/F combo of wins over Katerina Siniakova/Zhang Shuai and Lyudmyla & Nadiia Kichenok, both via a pair of MTB.

It's Stefani's 10th tour title (she also has a '21 Olympic Bronze in WD, and '23 AO MX crown to her credit), while it's #26 for Babos, who won her maiden title back in 2012 alongside Hsieh Su-wei. Of course, Babos' best results include four doubles majors with Kristina Mladenovic, with the last coming at Roland Garros in 2020. Babos has reached just one slam doubles QF, at last year's Wimbledon, since. She hadn't won a tour-level crown since that run in Paris, either, until taking the honors in Rouen last year. So now she has two titles in just ten months.

While the Linz *singles* trophy has been recently upgraded from its previously pedestrian appearance, the doubles awards remain trapped in its eye-rolling, we-bought-these-at-the-Trophies-in-a-Jiffy-store (can you tell?) era...


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1. Singapore QF - Wang Xinyu def. Jil Teichmann
...6-7(5)/7-6(5)/6-4. The third-longest (so far) match of '25 and one of the few three-set affairs in which breaks of serve were scarce.

Neither Wang nor Teichmann dropped serve in the first two sets. In the 2nd, Teichmann saved five BP in game 12 alone to force the match's second breaker. Wang finally knotted the match (on SP #8) by claiming the second TB.

Wang opened the 3rd set with what turned out to be the contest's only break, and never gave up her edge. Wang saved five BP over the course of the final set to secure the victory.


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2. Singapore 2nd Rd. - Kimberly Birrell def. Hailey Baptiste
...6-7(3)/6-3/7-5. One that got away.

Baptiste had her second QF of the year (and career) on her racket in Singapore, leading 5-2 in the 3rd. She served for the match once, but dropped the final five games as Birrell added another good week to a season that has already seen her post a Brisbane QF, successful AO qualifying run and Mixed Doubles final in Melbourne.
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3. Linz Final - Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Dayana Yastremska
...6-2/3-6/7-5. This time Alexandrova wasn't leaving Linz without the trophy.

The Hordette's title run, in which she staged a comeback from 3-0 down (one break) in the 3rd vs. Yastremska, came a year after Alexandrova had reached the tournament final in 2024. Her maiden WTA singles final had come in the same event back in 2018. This was her first win in the three title match appearances.


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4. Linz 1st Rd. - Sara Sorribes Tormo def. Lulu Sun
...6-3/6-3. 2025 is still waiting for the Sun to rise. As in Lulu Sun.

Last season's breakout Kiwi's results have been floundering for a while now. Her straight sets loss to Sorribes Tormo drops her to 0-4 this season, with seven straight losses back to the final stretch of last year.

Hmmm, look out Shuai Z-... err, I mean Madeleine Pe-, well, or whomever is "discovered" to actually have that losing streak record a few months from now?
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5. Linz 1st Rd. - Petra Martic def. Eva Lys
...6-4/7-5/6-3. Not so fast, Eva.

After reaching the Round of 16 as a lucky loser in Melbourne, Lys was entered in the Linz MD via a wild card, so when she got her early loss out of the way this time around she didn't get that second chance to make good.

Ironically, who beat the German here but Martic, who was *also* a LL at this year's Australian Open.

Singapore 2nd Rd. - Ann Li def. Maria Timofeeva
...6-3/6-2. Speaking of LL success. Timofeeva knows a little about that. After all, she won her maiden tour title (in her tour MD debut) in Budapest two seasons ago. The Hordette posted a 1st Round win in Singapore this week as a LL over Wang Xiyu, but Li closed down her run a round later.


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6. Linz 2nd Rd. - Petra Martic def. Elina Avanesyan
...6-4/4-6/7-5. Martic lost more than she won (18-24) in '24, finishing outside the Top 100 (#123) for the first time since 2016.

The 34-year old Croatian is off to a 6-3 start this season, and in Linz she qualified and got MD wins over Eva Lys and Elina Avanesyan to reach her first WTA QF since Auckland last year.

Martic came up short in her attempt for a first SF since this same Linz event two years ago, losing in another three-setter vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova in which the Russian had nearly 50 winners.
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7. Singapore Final - Desirae Krawczyk/Giuliana Olmos def. Wang Xinyu/Zhang Saisai
...7-5/6-0. While Krawczyk picks up tour title #12, Olmos adds a seventh to her career total, as she remains the only Mexican woman in the Open era to win a tour-level WD crown.

The win gives Krawczyk/Olmos their third title together, but the first since Acapulco in February 2020 in an event which wrapped up just over a week before the tour's pandemic shutdown.


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8. Singapore Final - Elise Mertens def. Ann Li
...6-1/6-4. Mertens made her WTAF debut (in WD) in 2018, the last time Singapore hosted a tour-level event, but her singles title run comes in the first "regular season" tournament hosted by the nation since 1994 (w/ a draw that included such blast-from-the-past names as Linda Harvey Wild, Patty Fendick and Rachel McQuillan).

Mertens' success comes in the rare WTA event at which the Waffle doesn't have *multiple* final runs. The Belgian's 15-final career resume is littered with specific events in which she's shined, including Hobart (4 finals), Monastir (2) and Istanbul (2).


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9. Linz 1st Rd. - Sorana Cirstea def. Arantxa Rus
...5-7/6-2/6-3. Cirstea, out since Wimbledon until her return earlier in January, notches her first win since last May. She'd lost six straight, and was just 3-9 since reaching the 4th Round in Miami last March.

Now, maybe it's *another* Romanian veteran's turn to get on the board for the first time in a while?


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10. Singapore 1st Rd. - Anna Kalinskaya def. Caroline Dolehide
...6-4/4-6/6-2. Though she reached a doubles final in the opening week of the season (Brisbane), Kalinskaya came into Singapore without a singles win (0-2) on the year (she was the player whose last minute withdrawal got Eva Lys into the AO draw as a LL).

The Hordette updated that on her '25 ledger with this three-set win over Dolehide, as well as two more over Simona Waltert and Mananchaya Sawangkaew, but still ended her week on a down note with a 2nd set retirement (hip) in the semis vs. Ann Li.


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HM- $15K Sharm El Sheikh EGY Final - Anna Siskova def. Carol Young Suh Lee
...6-2/7-5. Another week, another Crusher champion, as Siskova, 23, picks up career win #5.

First-time pro finalist Lee has recently been listed as representing the U.S. after, in the past, the Northern Mariana born 23-year old (ex-Georgia Tech) has played under that nation's flag (and on the "Pacific Oceania" combo-nation team in Cup play). #588 Lee made her way through qualifying to get to this final.
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1. Linz Final - Timea Babos/Luisa Stefani def. Lyudmyla Kichenok/Nadiia Kichenok
...3-6/7-5 (10-4). The Kichenoks were looking to add a fifth title together on the WTA level.

Even without their first since 2022, the Ukrainians rank third all-time behind the Williams (22) and Chan (14) sisters for the most titles won by an all-sister duo.


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2. $50K Porto POR Final - Francisca Jorge/Matilde Jorge def. Lucija Ciric Bagaric/Kristina Novak
...6-3/6-2. The Portuguese Porto sisters claim their 17th career pro title (16 ITF, 1 125) as a duo.


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Everyone promoteds the WTA better than the WTA promotes the WTA.




Haha, leave it the WTA to say to an event's organizers, nope, you're just not good enough to have *two* Top 10 players.

If Keys truly wanted to play this 250 event (she doesn't really need to now), this rule should really be amended so that multiple Top 10 players are allowed if the entry was made when the player *wasn't* in the Top 10 (as was the case here). Why should the tournament (and fans) essentially be penalized because the event was lucky enough to snag *two* top players (in this case, a second top *U.S.* player for an event in the States in what would be her first home nation appearance since claiming her first major)?

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And, the WTA continues to get in its own way (as in "Kasatkina/ESP")...



(Hand slapping forehead.)













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*MOST WTA FINALS in 2025*
2 - Madison Keys (2-0)
2 - ELISE MERTENS (1-1)
2 - Aryna Sabalenka (1-1)
[2025 - by nation, F/W]
5 (3) - USA*
2 (1) - BEL*,BLR,RUS*
1 (1) - DEN
1 (0) - JPN,UKR*
[2020-25]
25 - 1/2/9/8/5/0 - Swiatek (22-3)
24 - 3/3/3/6/7/2 - Sabalenka (13-11)
17 - 5/0/3/4/5/0 - Rybakina (7-10)
14 - 0/4/2/2/6/0 - Kasatkina (6-8)
13 - 1/0/2/5/4/1 - Pegula (5-8)
12 - 0/4/3/4/1/0 - Krejcikova (8-4)
12 - 1/7/4/0 ret...Kontaveit (5-6-1)
12 - 0/3/6/3/0/0 - Jabeur (5-7)
10 - 0/0/1/3/6/0 - Zheng Q. (5-5)
9 - 1/6/2/ret...Barty (8-1)
9 - 0/1/1/4/3/0 - Gauff (8-1)
9 - 2/2/1/1/1/2 - MERTENS (4-5)

*WTA HARD COURT 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 - Annet Kontaveit (0/4/1/0 ret)
5 - Barbora Krejcikova (0/1/2/2/0/0)
4 - ELISE MERTENS (0/1/1/1/0/1)
4 - Jessie Pegula (0/0/1/2/1/0)
4 - Elena Rybakina (1/0/0/1/2/0)

*CAREER WTA TITLES - RUS (active)*
12 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
12 - Vera Zvonareva
8 - Dasha Kasatkina
5 - EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA
5 - Liudmila Samsonova
4 - Diana Shnaider

*MOST WTA SF in 2025*
2 - Madison Keys (2-0)
2 - ELISE MERTENS (2-0)
2 - Aryna Sabalenka (2-0)
2 - CLARA TAUSON (1-1)
[2025 - by nation, F/W]
7 - USA (5-2)*
5 - RUS (2-3)**
2 - BEL (2-0)*
2 - BLR (2-0)
2 - DEN (1-1)*
2 - UKR (1-1)*
1 - ARM (0-1)
1 - AUS (0-1)
1 - CHN (0-1)*
1 - CZE (0-1)*
1 - ESP (0-1)
1 - JPN (1-0)
1 - KAZ (0-1)
1 - POL (0-1)

*2020-25 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
22 - Katerina Siniakova (1/6/6/3/5/1)
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 - Laura Siegemund (1/0/3/5/1/0)
9 - Shuko Aoyama (1/5/0/2/1/0)
9 - Anna Danilina (0/1/2/1/5/0)
9 - Nicole Melichar-Martinez (2/2/2/0/3/0)
9 - Demi Schuurs (2/2/1/2/2/0)
9 - Ena Shibahara (1/5/0/2/1/0)
9 - LUISA STEFANI (1/1/2/3/1/1)

*CAREER WTA DOUBLES TITLES - active*
35 - Hsieh Su-Wei
33 - Latisha Chan
32 - Sara Errani
30 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands
29 - Katerina Siniakova
28 - Kristina Mladenovic
26 - TIMEA BABOS

*2025 WTA CHAMPIONS BY RANKING*
#1 - Aryna Sabalenka (Brisbane)
#14 - Madison Keys (Australian Open)
#20 - Madison Keys (Adelaide)
#30 - EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA (LINZ)
#32 - ELISE MERTENS (SINGAPORE)
#50 - Clara Tauson (Auckland)
#67 - McCartney Kessler (Hobart)

*2025 WTA CHAMPIONS BY AGE*
30 - EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA (LINZ)
29 - Madison Keys (Australian Open)
29 - Madison Keys (Adelaide)
29 - ELISE MERTENS (SINGAPORE)
26 - Aryna Sabalenka (Brisbane)
25 - McCartney Kessler (Hobart)
22 - Clara Tauson (Auckland)






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I think Americans, blessed with relatively stable government for a long time, assume there is someone, some adult, who will step in and make things right before the President does anything REALLY bad. There’s not.

— Domestic Enemy Hat (@kenwhite.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 9:55 AM

That boldly assumes Americans even know what’s happened in the last week

— Next door in Silicon Valley (@nextdoorsv.bsky.social) February 2, 2025 at 1:10 PM

The sad fact is, most don't. They won't even realize anything's up until a week or two from now, "Hey, why'd my groceries get so expensive?" and then they'll go home and watch Fox news (not that any other broadcast media is much better right now) and say it was Biden's fault for ruining the economy.

— IzzyBoris ?? (@izzyboris.com) February 2, 2025 at 2:18 PM


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All for now.

Read more...

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 6:59 PM  2 comments