Sunday, March 08, 2026

Wk.9- The Road to (Indian) Wells-ville






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*WEEK 9*
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[IW Through 2nd Round]





RISERS: Jaqueline Cristien/ROU and Oleksandra Oliynykova/UKR
...you can take the Romanian out of Transylvania, but you (apparently) can't take the "vampire" out of Cristian, who twice rose from the dead to pull off unlikely victories in the first week of action in Indian Wells.

First, she rallied from 3-0 down in the 3rd vs. Janice Tjen in the 1st Round, winning an 8-6 tie-break. Things were a little more complicated against Maya Joint in the 2nd. Cristian was the one in charge in the deciding set vs. the Aussie, leading 4-2 before dropping three straight games. Joint had three MP on Cristian's serve at 5-4, but the Romanian held on to advance.

Cristian qualifed and reached a QF back in Adelaide, but had been 3-5 since then before pulling out her two opening wins in the desert. Having reached a career-high #33 just two weeks ago, she'll likely set a new one following Indian Wells.

The Romanian lost in straight sets in the 3rd Round on Sunday to Aryna Sabalenka.

Elsewhere, Oliynykova continues to make her mark on the '26 season, both on and off court. Of course, after posting some really nice lower level results down the stretch of the '25 season (going an under-the-radar 7-0 in 125/ITF finals and cracking the Top 100), the Ukrainian stepped into the spotlight during the AO with her comments about dealing with the ongoing war in her home country...



Both in Melbourne and since, Oliynykova has dragged back out into the light the past notions of excluding RUS/BLR players from the tour, and even refused to shake the hand of a "Hungarian* opponent because she'd played in an unsanctioned, post-invasion exhibition in Russia more than three years ago.

But aside from all that, it's been Oliynykova's results -- along with her unique look and unpredictable game style -- that have made her a fan favorite. She became almost an "honorary Romanian" (complete with facial tattoos temporarily redrawn to look like bats flying beneath her eyes) during her crowd-pleasing SF run in Cluj last month in just her second tour-level MD appearance.

This week in Antalya, the Ukrainian was at it again, reaching yet another 125 final. This time, she lost -- for the first time in a final since August '24, after winning eight straight times -- to countrywoman Anhelina Kalinina in three sets, but finds herself up to another new career high at a "live" #66.
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SURPRISE: Himeno Sakatsume/JPN
...already with '26 qualifying run that ultimately led to a 125 SF in Canberra, and her slam MD debut at AO26, Sakatsume had another "moment" in Indian Wells with a pair of wins over Simona Waltert and Nikola Bartunkova to reach her maiden 1000 MD.

She got a straight sets win over Alycia Parks (6-4/6-3) before falling to top seeded Aryna Sabalenka, but the 26-year old JPN #3 (#136, w/ a likely bump to a new career-high after I.W.) improves to 12-5 on the year.
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VETERANS: Sorana Cirstea/ROU
...having announced that she intends 2026 to be her final season on tour, Cirstea is appropriately playing like there's no tomorrow.

Already with a title (in Cluj) this season, as well as a post-match AO dust-up with Naomi Osaka ("come on!") under her belt, the veteran Romanian has posted victories in Indian Wells' opening week over Tatjana Maria and Diana Shnaider, improving to 14-3 on the year (9-1 in her last 10).

Having never reached the Top 20 in her long stint on tour -- she got as high as #21 more than a dozen years ago in 2013 and '14, then #22 in 2024 -- Cirstea's trajectory would surely make the latest-ever Top 20 breakthrough (she turns 36 in a month) possible sometime this season. It's enough to make one wonder, since a Pennetta-like close isn't *likely*, if we could instead see a "redo" of Danielle Collins' "retirement" season from a few years ago if things continue to trend in the right direction.



Cirstea fell in three sets to Linda Noskova in Sunday's 3rd Round action.
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COMEBACKS: Anhelina Kalinina/UKR and Ashlyn Krueger/USA
...a former Top 25 player and Rome 1000 finalist just three years ago, Kalinina is on her way back after missing six months last season.

The Ukrainian won a 125 crown in December soon after her return, then qualified at AO26 and reached a second 125 final just last week in Antalya. In the second of back-to-back 125 events in Antalya, this week she took the title, running off wins over the likes of Elina Avanesyan, Panna Udvardy, Katarzyna Kawa and Oleksandra Oliynykova in a 6-3/3-6/6-2 final on Sunday.

The win lifts Kalinina back into the Top 150 in the "live" rankings.



Meanwhile, suddenly all is right with Ashlyn.

Heading into last week's tournament in Austin, the Bannerette was on a 1-7 slide, having posted just two wins in thirteen matches since a 1st Round win at last summer's U.S. Open. She'd dropped outside the Top 100 after being in the Top 30 just seven months earlier and finishing the '25 season at #45. Then she played her way into the Austin semis, her best result since an Abu Dhabi RU early in 2025.

In Indian Wells, Krueger's U.S. resurgence has continued with first week wins over Magda Linette and Liudmila Samsonova, the latter coming after Samsonova had led 6-3/5-3. She's on her way back *up* the ranking ladder, with a "live" spot inside the Top 80.


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FRESH FACES: Talia Gibson/AUS and Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva/AND
...Gibson has been one of the early young movers of the season, shining at home Down Under with an AO MD win (def. Blinkova, then pushing Shnaider to three sets), a $75K title and SF run in a pair of Brisbane challengers and a $100K QF in India.

In Indian Wells, she made her way through qualifying (saving 2 MP vs. Elvina Kalieva) and then getting MD wins over Ann Li and Ekaterina Alexandrova. Gibson is set to crack the Top 100 for the first time when she exits this opening chapter of the 2026 Sunshine Swing, after ending last season at #136.

Gibson continued her run through Sunday, upsetting Clara Tauson in the 3rd Round to reach her first 1000 Round of 16 and improving to 16-5 this season.



After a qualifying-to-QF joint in Merida that enabled her Top 100 breakthrough on Monday, VJK continued her good vibes stretch into Indian Wells, qualifying again with back-to-back three-set wins over Lucrezia Stefanini (from a set down) and top Q-seed Katie Boulter (who led 6-2/3-1).

In the MD, the 20-year old Andorran clocked another three-set victory over Caty McNally in her I.W. debut (her second match win at the 1000 level) before falling to Naomi Osaka. Against the former tournament champion, Kasintseva had staged a comeback from 5-1 down in the 1st, denying Osaka as she served for the set, saving three SP on serve and then getting the break to knot the set at 5-5. But Osaka broke back on her third BP in the next game, and served out a 7-5 1st en route to a straight sets win.
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DOWN: Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS
...Alexandrova finally cracked the Top 10 late last season, and has spent three weeks there over the course of 2026. But aside from her run to the final in Abu Dhabi, the veteran Hordette has had a difficult time finding success so far this season.

Her four match wins (three of which came in Abu Dhabi) are the lowest of any of the thirteen women who've touched the Top 10 in '26, and she's the only one without a winning record. Her fourth consecutive defeat came in Indian Wells at the hands of Talia Gibson, 6-3/7-5, that drops Alexandrova to 4-7 this year.
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ITF PLAYER: Hanne Vandewinkel/BEL
...the week's $75K challengerin Trnava (SVK) featured a match-up of two of the hottest players in the sport who've been playing (mostly) just below tour-level.

Belgian Vandewinkel, 21, came into the tournament final on a 14-match winning streak, seeking her third straight ITF title after what had been a slow start (2-4) to her '26 season back in January. She posted wins over Anouk Koevermans and Erika Andreeva in the QF/SF to reach her 18th career circut final (all in the last three and a half seasons).

Meanwhile, her 23-year old opponent, Daria Snigur arrived on 9-match winning streak, and was on a 14-1 run that started with her maiden WTA SF result in Cluj, and has since included a career-best 125 crown in Oeiras last month. The 2019 Wimbledon junior champ had dominated quite-good competition in such a small event, double-bageling Vendula Valdmannova, allowing one game vs. Valentina Ryser and handling Lucie Havlickova and Celine Naef (w/ 3 '26 ITF titles) in straights.

The two were back-to-back in the "live" rankings heading into the title match, with the winner set to rise high enough to be breathing down the neck of her Top 100 debut following the match.

As it turned out, Vandewinkel's 7-6/6-1 win over Snigur completed a no-sets-lost week for the Waffle, extending her streak to 15 wins in a row (she's won 30 of 32 sets), and gives her a third '26 title (with previous $75K and $100K wins, tying Naef for the season title lead). It's the 12th ITF win of her career, a total which was topped last October with a career-best 125 crown.

Vandewinkel finds herself at a "live" #103 heading into the coming week.




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JUNIOR STAR: Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi/ARG
...a week after falling to Nauhany Vitoria Leme da Silva in the South American Regional Championships (J300) final in Santa Cruz (BOL), Larraya Guidi immediately bounces back to claim her biggest career junior crown, taking the J300 Ascuncion Bowl in Paraguay.

The #1 seed, the 18-year old Argentinian defeated Chile's Camila Rodero in a three-set final.


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[IW Through 2nd Round]


1. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Jaqueline Cristian def. Maya Joint
...0-6/6-2/7-5. A wild 3rd set saw Cristian take a 4-2 lead, but see Joint surge ahead and hold three MP on the Romanian's serve at 5-4. Cristian held the six-deuce game by converting her fifth GP chance, then broke the Aussie on the third BP of game 11.

She saved a pair of BP in what turned out to be the final game of the match, serving out the 7-5 decider. Well -- cough, cough -- after a bit of an eleventh-hour delay.

Whoosh, it's a good thing *Iga* didn't do this at such a late stage in a match...


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2. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Leylah Fernandez
...5-7/6-4/7-6(1). At 3:28, this is the longest match on tour this season since the 3:31 Jacquemot/Kostyuk clash in the AO 1st Round, and it took two well-timed, big-time set closings from the Czech to prevail.

The two women combined to go 0-for-10 on BP opportunities in the 1st until Siniakova finally broke through to end the set, but it was Fernandez who came on strong to take the 2nd, erasing a 4-2 deficit and winning the final four games to knot the match.

The Canadian led 3-1 in the 3rd, but Siniakova weathered a game 8 storm to stay alive, saving four BP and holding for 4-4. When the match went to a deciding TB, it was the Czech who dominated to the tune of a 7-1 victory.


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3. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Camila Osorio def. Iva Jovic
...4-6/7-6(4)/6-3. Jovic seemed set to reach her first 3rd Round in the desert, taking the 1st and then hold an early break edge in the 2nd. She had three MP on serve at 5-4, but couldn't close out the Colombian. Three BP in the following game came and went, as well, and Osorio forced a 3rd with a 7-4 tie-break win.

Osorio pulled away in the decider, improving to 12-2 since her 1st Round exit in Melbourne.


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4. Indian Wells 1st Rd. - Anastasia Potapova def. Marina Stakusic
...4-6/6-1/7-5. Things suddenly got serious for Potapova after the new Austrian led Stakusic 4-2 in the 3rd, as the Canadian surged to take a 5-4 lead and had three MP chances on serve.

Potapova got the break on her fourth BP, then held at love and broke Stakusic again (on MP #2) to advance.
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5. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Alex Eala def. Dayana Yastremska
...7-5/4-6/7-5. With her anticipated return to Miami on deck, Eala has brought her traveling road show to Indian Wells for the first time. Right out of the gate, the Filipina delivered (w/ a bit of help) in a late night thriller.

Still, Eala wasn't able to serve out the 1st set vs. Yastemska, being unable to convert three SP at 5-3. But she broke the Ukrainian to take the stanza three games later.

Come the 3rd, Yastremska seized control late, getting the first break of the set for 5-4 and serving for the match a game later. But she couldn't maintain any sort of control with the victory on the line. Yastremska was broken at 15, and two games later found herself trying to hold off Eala and force a TB. In what turned out to be a 17-point game, Yastremska held three GP, but four DF (two on GP) prevented her from securing the hold. After staving off three Eala MP, #4 proved to be too much.


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6. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Sonay Kartal def. Emma Navarro
...6-1/3-6/7-6(2). Navarro's slide continues.

Already having just dropped out of the Top 20 following her one-and-done return trip to Merida as the defending champion, Navarro twice served for the match vs. Kartal (against whom she had a 2-0 h2h), and held a MP on the Brit's serve at 6-5. But Kartal forced a TB and dominated it, handing Navarro her third straight loss and dropping her to 4-8 on the season.


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7. Indian Wells Q2 - Talie Gibson def. Elvina Kalieva
...4-6/7-5/6-3. The Aussie saves a pair of MP down 5-4 in the 2nd, sweeping the final four games of the set and going on to claim her MD spot.
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8. Indian Wells Q1 - Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva def. Katie Boulter
...2-6/7-5/6-2. The Andorran continues her good stretch, rallying from 6-2/3-1 down vs. #1 Q-seed Boulter (a champion in Ostrava last month) to win and set up her Indian Wells MD debut.
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9. Antalya 125 Final - Anhelina Kalinina def. Oleksandra Oliynykova
...6-3/3-6/6-2. It's a bit of a surprise that this tournament actually finished, considering all the missiles and drones flying all over the region. Both the men's and women's ITF events this past week in Antalya were cancelled, as was the ATP challenger in the UAE.

Ironically, the final featured two players from war-torn Ukraine, for apparently the first time at any level of women's pro tennis in quite a while.



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10. Indian Wells Q2 - Kamilla Rakhimova def. Maria Timofeeva
...4-6/5-4 ret. With Timofeeva's retirement while still leading the match, Rakhimova wins for the second time in two career meetings between the two Hordettes, the first since both switched their nationality to Uzbekistan (Uzbekettes?). Rakhimova won their previous encounter in U.S. Open qualifying in 2024.
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11. Indian Wells 1st Rd. - Kamilla Rakhimova def. Bianca Andreescu
...6-7(6)/6-0/6-1. Andreescu found success on the ITF level to open her season (going 13-1), but her return to the WTA tour has so far produced no wins in 2026.

Having lost in three sets in the 1st Round in Austin, the '19 I.W. winner battled to take the 1st set vs. Rakhimova, saving five SP before winning an 8-6 tie-break. But then she won just one *game* in the final two sets.


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12. Indian Wells 1st Rd. - Zeynep Sonmez def. McCartney Kessler
...7-6(7)/6-0. Another tournament, another Turkish first, as Sonmez adds "first Turkish woman with a MD win at Indian Wells" to her growing list of accomplishments.

She also gave a completely unexpected answer to a rather mundane query...


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13. $50K Helsinki FIN Final - Noma Noha Akugue def. Gao Xinyu
...4-0 ret. The 22-year old German, who busted through to the Hamburg final in her WTA MD debut three summers ago, continues her build back, picking up her second '26 challenger win (in three finals) to assure her return to the Top 200.
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14. $35K Heraklion GRE Final - Ane Mintegi del Olmo def. Darya Astakhova
...6-1 ret. The bespectacled Spaniard, the Wimbledon girls' champ in '21, picks up her fifth career ITF crown.

Mintegi del Olmo missed quite a bit of time with injuries, but began to return to form last year, winning three ITF titles. This is her first this year (improving her mark to 44-16 since her return), and it'll allow her to crack the Top 300 for the first time in the next rankings.


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[IW Through 2nd Round]




1. Indian Wells 1st Rd. - Diane Parry def. Venus Williams
...6-3/6-7(4)/6-1. Another wild card, another happy group of fans (and tournament organizer), and another loss for Venus. That's 0-5 in 2026, with a career-long eight-match losing streak.

This one, which made her 8-38 in the 2020s, came in a now-familiar three-set affair, thirty years after her Indian Wells debut in 1996 (a loss as a qualifier vs. Julie Halard-Decugis).


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2. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. - Mirra Andreeva def. Solana Sierra
...6-0/6-0. So far, so good -- to say the least -- for the defending champion.

As for the rest, go forward at your own risk...


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3. Indian Wells 1st Rd. - Mirra Andreeva/Victoria Mboko def. Elise Mertens/Zhang Shuai
...6-4/4-6 [10-8]. And so the growing Andreeva/Mboko link -- already with an Adelaide final and 3rd set TB in Doha on the ledger in '26 -- deepens.


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So... players' personal information may have leaked from the tour's database, something which the players were apparently not told about. Meanwhile, players are being threatened, with stolen personal information being in the mix.

One could be surprised... but then that notion ends the moment the thought of the WTA being entrusted to protect its own players comes to mind. I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner considering the longtime reign of the "Asleep-at-the-Switch Gang."



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Oh, dear Tennis Gods, no. The last thing we need are best-of-five women's matches in majors. We don't really need best-of-five men's matches (save, maybe, for the final), for that matter.



Best-of-three is the perfectly-timed format for a sport fighting to keep anyone's attention and/or attract a few more eyes. But in a time when all other sports are smartly finding way to *speed up* their product to fight against dwindling attention spans and too-long time commitments, leave it to an influential individual in tennis to propose something that would make the sport *less likely* to hold and/or attract an audience.

Tennis... forever its own most problematic opponent.


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Oh, Jana...


Had a lot of fun turning back the pages of time, literally, to what women’s tennis wanted itself to look like in the 1980s. We talk about the tennis calendar all the time; this time it’s different. Free for all to read at Bounces, but please subscribe! www.benrothenberg.com/p/the-women-...

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— Ben Rothenberg (@benrothenberg.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 6:27 PM


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"Even the Losers (Get Lucky Sometimes)" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers











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????









If Iga Swiatek were part of something other than the WTA, someone might use this as a prelude to some sort of Clark Kent reference but, well, you know.







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*INDIAN WELLS FACTS 1989-present*
=SINGLES=
[recent finals]
2018 Naomi Osaka def. Dasha Kasatkina
2019 Bianca Andreescu def. Angelique Kerber
2020 DNP
2021 Paula Badosa def. Victoria Azarenka
2022 Iga Swiatek def. Maria Sakkari
2023 Elena Rybakina def. Aryna Sabalenka
2024 Iga Swiatek def. Maria Sakkari
2025 Mirra Andreeva def. Aryna Sabalenka
[Most Singles Titles]
2 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2 - Kim Clijsters, BEL
2 - Lindsay Davenport, USA
2 - Mary Joe Fernandez, USA
2 - Steffi Graf, GER
2 - Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2 - Martina Navratilova, USA
2 - Maria Sharapova, RUS
2 - Iga Swiatek, POL
2 - Serena Williams, USA
[Consecutive Titles]
2 - Martina Navratilova (1990-91)
[Most Finals]
6 - Lindsay Davenport (2-4)
3 - Victoria Azarenka (2-1)
3 - Steffi Graf (2-1)
3 - Maria Sharapova (2-1)
3 - Serena Williams (2-1)
3 - Martina Hingis (1-2)
3 - Caroline Wozniacki (1-2)
3 - Svetlana Kuznetseva (0-3)
2 - Kim Clijsters (2-0)
2 - Mary Joe Fernandez (2-0)
2 - Daniela Hantuchova (2-0)
2 - Martina Navratilova (2-0)
2 - Iga Swiatek (2-0)
2 - Ana Ivanovic (1-1)
2 - Jelena Jankovic (1-1)
2 - Monica Seles (1-1)
2 - Amanda Coetzer (0-2)
2 - Aryna Sabalenka (0-2)
2 - Maria Sakkari (0-2)
[Consecutive Finals]
3 - Lindsay Davenport (2003-05)
2 - Martina Navratilova (1990-91)
2 - Monica Seles (1991-92)
2 - Amanda Coetzer (1993-94)
2 - Lindsay Davenport (1997-98)
2 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (2007-08)
2 - Ana Ivanovic (2008-09)
2 - Caroline Wozniacki (2010-11)
2 - Maria Sharapova (2012-13)
[Consecutive Match Wins]
10 - Martina Navratilova (1990-91)
10 - Ana Ivanovic (2008-09)
10 - Iga Swiatek (2022-23)
10 - Iga Swiatek (2024-25)
[Unseeded Singles Champions]
1999 Serena Williams, USA
2005 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2018 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2019 Bianca Andreescu, CAN (WC)
[Youngest Singles Champions]
17y,166d - Martina Hingis (1998)
17y,169d - Serena Williams (1999)
17y,321d - Mirra Andreeva (2025)
18y,90d - Monica Seles (1992)
18y,274d - Bianca Andreescu (2019)
[Youngest Singles Finalists]
17y,91d - Monica Seles, 1991
17y,166d - Martina Hingis, 1998 (W)
17y,169d - Serena Williams, 1999 (W)
17y,283d - Kim Clijsters, 2001
17y,321d - Mirra Andreeva, 2025 (W)
[Oldest Singles Champions]
36 - Martina Navratilova (1991)
35 - Martina Navratilova (1990)
32 - Flavia Pennetta (2014)
[9/35 Champions Have Won No Slam Titles]
1989 Manuela Maleeva, BUL
1993 Mary Joe Fernandez, USA
1995 Mary Joe Fernandez, USA (2)
2002 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2007 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK (2)
2009 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
2010 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2017 Elena Vesnina, RUS
2021 Paula Badosa, ESP
2025 Mirra Andreeva, RUS
[6 Champions Have Never Reached Slam Finals]
1989 Manuela Maleeva, BUL
2002 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2007 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2017 Elena Vesnina, RUS
2021 Paula Badosa, ESP
2025 Mirra Andreeva, RUS
[Only 10 Finalists Have Never Reached a Slam Final]
1989 Manuela Maleeva (best slam: SF)
1989 Jenny Byrne (3rd)
1997 Irina Spirlea (SF)
1993/94 Amanda Coetzer (SF)
2002/07 Daniela Hantuchova (SF)
2018 Dasha Kasatkina (SF)
2021 Paula Badosa (SF)
2022 Maria Sakkari (SF)
2024 Maria Sakkari (SF)
2025 Mirra Andreeva (SF)
[Only 1 Finalist Has Never Reached a Slam SF]
1989 Jenny Byrne (3rd)
=DOUBLES=
[recent champions]
2018 Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova
2019 Elise Mertens/Aryna Sabalenka
2020 DNP
2021 Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens
2022 Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan
2023 Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova
2024 Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens
2025 Asia Muhammad/Demi Schuurs
[Most Titles]
7 - Lisa Raymond, USA
6 - Lindsay Davenport, USA
4 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
3 - Martina Hingis, SUI
3 - Elise Mertens, BEL
3 - Elena Vesnina, RUS
2 - Sania Mirza, IND
2 - Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP
2 - Samantha Stosur, AUS
2 - Rennae Stubbs, AUS
2 - Paola Suarez, ARG
2 - Helena Sukova, CZE
2 - Natasha Zvereva, BLR
[Most Titles - duos]
2 - Davenport/Raymond, USA/USA
2 - Davenport/Zvereva, USA/BLR
2 - Hsieh/Mertens, TPE/BEL
2 - Ruano Pascual/Suarez, ESP/ARG
2 - Raymond/Stosur, USA/AUS
[Consecutive Titles]
1994-95 Raymond/Davenport, USA/USA
1997-98 Davenport/Zvereva, USA/BLR
2002-03 Lisa Raymond, USA
2004-05 Ruano Pascual/Suarez, ESP/ARG
2006-07 Raymond/Stosur, USA/AUS
[MX Champions]
2024 Storm Hunter/Matthew Ebden
2025 Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori

*2026 TOP JUNIOR EVENT CHAMPIONS*
USTA Winter Nationals (San Antonio): Kenzie Nguyen/USA
NEW DELHI IND J300: Ekaterina Dotsenko/RUS
TRARALGON AUS J300: Xinran Sun/CHN
SAN JOSE CRC (Coffee Bowl) J300: Janae Preston/USA
BARRANQUILLA COL J300: Olivia Traynor/USA
AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Ksenia Efremova/FRA
SALINAS ECU J300: Janae Preston/USA
CASABLANCA MAR J300: Adelina Lacinova/LAT
LIMA PER J300 (INKA BOWL): Janae Preston/USA
SANTA CRUZ BOL J300 (S.A. Regional Chsp.): Nauhany Vitoria Leme da Silva/BRA
NONTHABURI THA J300: Lin Yu Jun/CHN
ASUNCION PAR J300 (ASUNCION BOWL): Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi/ARG






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What the freaking Jim Jones cult bs is this ish?!

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— imaginaryghfan.bsky.social (@imaginaryghfan.bsky.social) March 3, 2026 at 2:32 AM


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The White House has helped MAGA influencers escape the Middle East on a private jet while more than a million ordinary Americans are still trapped with no way out.

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— Dr. Jack Brown (@drjackbrown.bsky.social) March 3, 2026 at 8:07 PM


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It could not be more obvious that the president does not care about US service members and in fact regards their deaths as mere political inconveniences. He has more sympathy for Putin than Americans who died because he decided to wage illegal war. Just listen to him.

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) March 7, 2026 at 5:17 PM


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I don't know about you, but I'm really tired of the dumbest and cruelest people running this country and wreaking havoc across the globe.

— Max Weiss (@maxthegirl.bsky.social) March 6, 2026 at 12:18 PM


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All for now.

Read more...

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 3:15 PM  0 comments

Sunday, March 01, 2026

Wk.8- Rise of an Unassuming Spaniard

Well, hello Cristina. Cristina Bucsa.









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*WEEK 8 CHAMPIONS*
MERIDA, MEXICO (WTA 500; Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Cristina Bucsa/ESP def. Magdalena Frech/POL 6-1/4-6/6-4
D: Cristina Bucsa/Jiang Xinyu (ESP/CHN) def. Isabelle Haverlag/Maia Lumsden (NED/GBR) 6-4/6-1
AUSTIN (TX), UNITED STATES (WTA 250; Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Peyton Stearns/USA def. Taylor Townsend/USA 7-6(8)/7-5
D: Storm Hunter/Taylor Townsend (AUS/AUS) def. Eudice Chong/Liang En-shou (HKG/TPE) 6-3/6-4
Antalya, Turkey (WTA 125; Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Moyuka Uchijima/JPN def. Anhelina Kalinina/UKR 7-5/7-5
D: Maria Kozyreva/Iryna Shymanovich (RUS/BLR) def. Momoko Kobori/Peangtarn Plipuech (JPN/THA) 7-5/6-1




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cristina Bucsa/ESP
...neither the ever-unassuming Spaniard nor her game has ever really *jumped out* over the years. Coached by her self-taught father, a former biathlete who was a two-time flag bearer (1998 and 2002) for the Moldovan Winter Olympic team, Bucsa was unsponsored until finally signing a clothing deal in the middle of last season (four years after her slam debut) after previously having bought her own gear and rackets off the shelf.

Bucsa has always done things "her own way," stating that she "doesn't have time" and "wants to take care of (her)self." She still doesn't have a public social media profile (aside from a Facebook account to set up doubles partnerships) in an age where "going viral" is often as much of a path toward recognition on tour than actual results.

Thing is, Bucsa actually *has* those.

The one-time New Year's baby (she was born in Moldova, for which she played early in her career, on January 1 in 1998) has been one the most consistently upward-trending players on tour the last few seasons. After mostly operating in the shadows early on, I can specifically remember her largely-unfamiliar name popping up numerous times during the pandemic in 2020 when she emerged as the winner at several of the localized series of events held in Spain (as occurred all over the world during the sport's shutdown), and she's only seen her results slowly get bigger ever since, especially since 2024.

She was an Olympic Doubles Bronze winner that year, won a 1000 doubles title in Madrid and cracked the Top 20, while also reaching her first singles 1000 Round of 16 in Beijing. Last year, she reached her maiden 4th Round at a major (U.S.) and her first tour-level singles final late in the year in Hong Kong (she was RU to Vicky Mboko in a three-setter), where she also won the doubles. It led to her first Top 50 ranking this January.

Still, she came into Merida on a five-match losing streak, having lost 10 of 11 sets. The perfect unassuming lead-in to the best week of her career, I guess.

Bucsa didn't lose a set en route to the singles final, taking out Donna Vekic, young Canadian Marina Stakusic, Turkish star Zeynep Sonmez and Jasmine Paolini, clipping the Italian 7-5/6-4 to notch her first career Top 10 win (she'd been 0-10) and doing so on her father's birthday.



Simply by reaching the final, Bucsa passed Jessica Bouzas Maneiro as the new ESP #1 and assured herself of a new career-high ranking. But she wasn't finished.

After taking a 6-1 1st set in the final against Magdalena Frech, Bucsa raced to a 5-2 lead in the 3rd after the Pole had sent things to a decider. She wobbled slightly, failing to serve out the win, but then immediately broke Frech to end the 6-1/4-6/6-4 match and claim her maiden tour title at the 500 event. She'll be the new #31-ranked player in the world on Monday.



But Bucsa still wasn't finished.

Just like in Hong Kong, Bucsa also reached the doubles final in Merida, played *after* the singles final on Sunday night.

This time she walked off with *two* titles, taking the crown alongside Jiang Xinyu with a 6-4/6-1 win in the final over Maia Lumsden and first-time tour finalist Isabelle Haverlag. It's Bucs'a eighth career title, while Jiang picks up #7.

The pair won a MTB in the 1st Round over Kasintseva/Strakhova, but then didn't lose a set the rest of the way.
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RISERS: Magdalena Frech/POL and Kimberly Birrell/AUS
...Frech came up short in the Merida final, the third of her career at tour-level, but produced her best WTA result since 2024 (when she reached her other two title matches).

Wins over Maria Timofeeva, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Marie Bouzkova got the Pole into her first tour SF since she won the title at another event in Mexico, in Guadalajara in September '24. Against Zhang Shuai, Frech couldn't close out the veteran in straights, as Zhang saved four MP in the 2nd set before winning an 8-6 TB. But Frech took control in the 3rd to reach the final, another three-set affair vs. Cristina Bucsa.

After dropping a 6-1 1st set, Frech forced a decider and denied the Spaniard when she served for the match at 5-3, but couldn't keep things on serve and saw the match and her week end with her losing her serve at the very worst time.

She'll jump from #57 all the way up the #36, nearly within slam seed range as the spring schedule beckons.



In Austin, Birrell reached her fourth WTA semi (second in '26, after doing do at 500 Adelaide), stringing together wins over Petra Marcinko, Caroline Dolehide and fellow Aussie Ajla Tomljanovic.

She lost in three sets to Peyton Stearns in the final four, falling short of her third tour final appearance in three seasons, but will climb back into the Top 70 in the new rankings. Her career-high of #60 came just ten months ago.


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VETERANS: Taylor Townsend/USA and Zhang Shuai/CHN
...Townsend's professional career has mostly centered around her doubles success, including two major crowns in 2024-25 and a stint as the WD #1, but she'll occasionally spark in singles, as well. The 29-year old pulled double duty in Austin.

A wild card in the singles draw, Townsend barely escaped the 1st Round, saving a MP in a win over Linda Fruhvirtova, then followed that with victories over Nikola Bartunkova, Rebeka Masarova (from a set down) and Ashlyn Krueger (in straights after trailing 4-0 in the 1st, saving a SP in the TB) to reach her maiden tour-level singles final.

In the title match against Peyton Stearns, Townsend held three SP of her own in the opener, but couldn't pull the set into her column and went on to fall in two, 7-6(8)/7-5. She'll climb 30+ spots on Monday into the Top 90.

Townsend slipped six spots all the way down to #9 in the doubles rankings coming into the week, but reclaimed her momentum alongside Storm Hunter, taking the doubles honors.



Zhang has pushed well beyond the 24-match losing streak that she suffered through in 2023-24. In Merida, the 37-year old made her way through qualifying and ultimately reached the SF, her second WTA semi since late last year (Guangzhou).

An opening win over Varvara Lepchenko was followed up by an upset of defending Merida champ Emma Navarro, then a straight sets win over Victoria Jimenez Kastinseva. Trying to reach her first tour-level singles final since 2022, Zhang pushed Magdalena Frech deep into the 2nd set after dropping the 1st. Zhang saved a pair of MP at 5-4, then two more in the TB, which the Chinese veteran won 8-6. All it did was delay the inevitable, though, as Frech put away a 6-3 deciding set to advance.



Zhang will jump 25 spots to #61 on Monday, her highest standing since August 2023, when she was 16 losses into the losing streak that took place over a 20-month stretch (February 2023-September 2024).
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COMEBACKS: Peyton Stearns/USA and Ashlyn Krueger/USA
...ranked #28 last spring, #62-ranked Stearns returned this past week to the city of her old college exploits in Austin, where she reigned as the women's NCAA singles champion in 2022 while playing for the University of Texas. Turns out, the old muscle memory held up.

Stearns' run saw her go three sets in her first four matches en route to her third tour-level singles final (first on hard court), going the distance in wins over Francesca Jones, Oksana Selekhmeteva and Kimberly Birrell (while getting a straight sets win over Kaja Juvan). Stearns hadn't reached the QF/SF level in a WTA event since her Rome semifinal last spring, when she upset the likes of Kalinskaya, Keys, Osaka and Svitolina in succession (then went to Madrid and got a win over Anisimova, too). It was her only QF+ result at tour-level all last season.

Against Taylor Townsend in the final, Stearns saved three SP in the 1st set, won a 10-8 tie-break (on her fifth SP) and took the match in straights to earn her second WTA singles title and book a return to the Top 50 in the new rankings.

Of note, Stearns' title run comes amidst official complaints against her recently-added new coach, Rafael Font de Mora, regarding alleged misconduct and inappropriate relationships with players during his previous coaching stints on tour.



Meanwhile, Krueger is surely hoping her semifinal run in Austin will turn around what has been an exceedingly sluggish start to her '26 campaign.

Having reached the Top 30 last July and appearing in a pair of tour-level finals (a title in '23, RU in '25) in recent years, the 21-year old Bannerette came into the week at #103 after a 1-5 start to the new season, and was on a 1-7 slide going back to late last year. Since her 1st Round win over Sofia Kenin at the U.S. Open last summer, she'd won just two of thirteen matches.

Wins in Austin over Caty McNally, Anastasia Zakharova and Yuan Yue gave her her best result in more than a year ('25 Abu Dhabi RU after a trio of Top 40 wins over Kasatkina, Fernandez and Noskova). Against Taylor Townsend in the semis this weekend, Krueger took at 4-0 1st set lead, and even after letting her lead shrink had a chance to serve out the set at 5-4. After Townsend forced a TB, Krueger rallied from 5-1 down to hold her first SP at 6-5. But she dropped the last three points of the breaker, then saw Townsend close out the match in two.

Krueger will still climb more than 20 spots in the new rankings, nearly back into the Top 80.


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FRESH FACES: Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva/AND and Zeynep Sonmez/TUR
...20-year old Andorran Jimenez Kasintseva rode her successful Merida qualifying run to her third career tour-level QF (her second at the 500 level, along w/ another Mexico-based event in Guadalajara last September), ensuring her Top 100 debut on Monday.

VJK opened with a win over veteran Yulia Putintseva, then followed up with a victory in a 3:20 battle with Magda Linette. Facing her third straight thirtysomething foe, experience finally won out with Zhang Shuai's straight sets QF win.

The Andorran, the 2020 AO junior champ, made her slam MD debut last year at the U.S. Open, as well as appearing in a pair of 125 finals last season and recording her maiden 1000 MD win in Madrid.



Meanwhile, Sonmez and Merida once again proved a great match, as the Turk reached her third tour-level QF, with all of them coming at the tournament: a title run in '24 and QF last year when it was a 250 event, and this year's follow-up QF at the newly-christened 500.

Having already posted an upset of Ekaterina Alexandrova while putting together a fan-friendly 3rd Round run (as a qualifier) in the season's first major (a first in Melbourne for a woman from Turkey), Sonmez finally found her footing once again by recording her first match wins (after four straight losses) since AO26 with victories vs. Cadence Brace and Ann Li. Against Li, Sonmez staged a comeback from a set and 4-2 down to reach the QF.

Her run ended there, as she she fell to Cristina Bucsa a round short of the semis.
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DOWN: Emma Navarro/USA
...while the fortunes of so many Bannerettes have either continued to rise, or are on an upward trajectory, Navarro is starting to head in the other direction.

Already off to a slow start in 2026, with three one-and-done results in the season's opening weeks, Navarro was the defending champion in Merida, where her 2nd Round defeat at the hands of Zhang Shuai gives her four winless events out of seven so far this season (5 of 8 back to to '25), incluing at the AO, where she completed a calendar year stretch of 1r-4r-3r-1r (5-4) results in majors after posting a 4r-QF-SF-QF (16-4) run in the year that preceded it. Since her upset of Iga Swiatek last fall in the 3rd Round in Beijing, Navarro has gone 4-9.

On Monday, she'll drop out of the Top 20 for the first time May 2024 (after 91 weeks, including a 30-week stretch in the Top 10).
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ITF PLAYER: Laura Samson/CZE
...another week, another Crusher champion. This time 17-year old Samson in the Trnava (SVK) $75K challenger.

A recent junior slam star -- with a RG girls' final in '24, and '23 U.S. Open SF -- Samson improved to 7-1 in career pro finals with a 6-4/6-2 win over fellow Czech Lucie Havlickova, 20. The pair had teamed up last July to reach a tour-level doubles final on home soil in Prague.

Samson will crack the Top 200 on Monday, rocketing up 40+ spots to about #172.


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JUNIOR STAR: Nauhany Vitoria Leme Da Silva/BRA
...15-year old Brazilian Leme Da Silva, a year after falling in the tournament final, claimed the J300 crown at the South American Regional Championships in Santa Cruz (BOL), defeating Argentina's Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi in a 5-7/7-6(3)/6-0 final. The two combined for the doubles title.

Last year, she reached the 3rd Round in the Wimbledon juniors, defeating Jana Kovackova before a three-set loss to eventual champ Mia Pohankova.

Though still two weeks short of her 16th birthday, Leme Da Silva (girls' #36) has already produced some top level headlines. Aside from winning a $15K (and reaching another final) last fall, she notched a victory in her tour-level debut in Sao Paulo last September, as well as one in BJK Cup Playoff action vs. Portugal in October (a month later, she went 6-0 in Junior BJK Cup play)...


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DOUBLES: Storm Hunter/Taylor Townsend, AUS/USA
...though she fell in the singles final on Sunday afternoon, Townsend still had work to do. One of three women this season (two this week, w/ Cristina Bucsa in Merida) to reach both the singles and doubles finals at the same tour-level event in '26, Townsend joined the other two in winning the doubles crown (only Bucsa also took the singles).

Teamed with Storm Hunter, the veterans won their first title together (after splitting the two previous finals in which they'd been opponents) without dropping a set all week, from their 1st Round defeat of Peyton Stearns/Venus Williams to their win in the final over Eudice Chong/Liang En-shou, who'd teamed since last summer to win three 125 titles and two at the ITF level (+ one in '24), along with another WTA final appearance last fall in Guangzhou.

The win is Townsend's 12th WTA title, and Hunter's 10th. Hunter's win is her second since she made her tour return at last year's Austin event after missing nearly a year after rupturing her Achilles' tendon during a BJK Cup practice sesion in April '24.


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1. Austin 1st Rd. - Yuan Yue def. Rebecca Sramkova
...4-6/7-5/6-1. Last week, Sramkova saved six MP in the opening round of Dubai qualifying vs. Antonia Ruzic, eventually reaching the MD (falling in the 1st Rd.), while Ruzic became a lucky loser who played into the QF.

This time around, it was the Slovak who couldn't put away any of three MP vs. lucky loser Yuan, having led 40/love on serve at 6-4/5-4.

Yuan ultimately won nine of the last ten games in the match.
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2. Merida 2nd Rd. - Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva def. Magda Linette
...5-7/7-6(5)/7-5. The Andorran wins in 3:20 in a match-up that saw shifts in momentum through all three sets.

Linette rallied from 4-2 back to take the 1st, then erased VJK's 3-1 2nd set edge and forced a TB. Kasintseva led 5-2, and held on for a 7-5 win to force a 3rd set.

In the decider, VJK couldn't serve things out at 5-3, as the Pole got things back on serve, only to be broken to end the match on Kasintseva's third BP/MP of game 12.


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3. Austin Final - Peyton Stearns def. Taylor Townsend
...7-6(8)/7-5. Facing off in the ninth all-Bannerette WTA final of the decade (but the first with neither Pegula or Keys involved), Stearns returns to her college town glory to get her first title in nearly two years (Rabat in May '24).

She had to fight her way out of a hole to take the lead in the match, as Townsend led 4-2 and had two SP on return at 5-3. After Stearns got things to a TB and held four SP of her own, Townsend had a third SP at 8-7, but couldn't capitalize on her second chance as Stearns took the breaker 10-8.

After four consecutive mid-set breaks in the 2nd, Stearns took the last advantage with a break for 6-5, then served out her second tour title.


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4. Austin 1st Rd. - Dalma Galfi def. Bianca Andreescu
...6-3/5-7/6-4. Having gone 13-1 in lower level competition in the season's opening weeks, Andreescu makes her '26 tour-level debut with her first WTA tournament appearance since October.

The Canadian managed to force a 3rd set after trailing Galfi by a 6-3/4-2 score, but immediately fell behind 4-0 in the decider. Andreescu saved a pair of MP at 5-2, and closed to 5-4, holding two BP in game 10 to get back on serve. But the Hungarian saved them both and served out the win.

Andreescu's last MD win at tour-level was last summer in Montreal.
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5. Merida 2nd Rd. - Zeynep Sonmez def. Ann Li
...3-6/7-6(7)/6-4. Sonmez reaches her third straight QF in Merida after rallying from 6-3/4-2 down vs. Li.

In the 2nd set TB, the Turk raced to a 6-3 advantage, then had to sweat out her attempt to push things to a 3rd. Li knotted the score at 7-7 before Sonmez finally secured a 9-7 breaker win on SP #5.

In the 3rd, Sonmez took a double-break lead at 3-0, and led 5-3, but couldn't convert any of four BP/MP on Li's serve in game 9. She held her nerve and served out the win in the following game.


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6. Merida Final - Cristina Bucsa def. Magdalena Frech
...6-1/4-6/6-4. Bucsa becomes the second first-time singles champion on tour in 2026, taking the 1st vs. Frech and then not allowing the pressure to crash her dream week in the closing moments.

Up 5-2 in the 3rd, the Spaniard couldn't serve out the title at 5-3, but immediately played to her greater strength and got the break a game later to claim the crown, the first leg of what was a sweep of the tournament's titles.
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7. Merida QF - Jasmine Paolini def. Katie Boulter
...0-6/6-3/6-3. Paolini's run in Merida ended in the SF (vs. Bucsa), but after coming into the week as the Top 10 player with the fewest wins (3) in the first seven weeks of the '26 season (and the fewest of the 13 women who've ranked in the Top 10 so far this year), the Italian's SF result was a much-needed one.

She had to rally from a love 1st set loss vs. Boulter to get that far, though, her first singles semi since Ningbo last October.

At 5-5 on the season, Paolini remains the only Top 10 player heading into the Sunshine Swing without an above-.500 mark on the season, but her two wins *did* inch her above Ekaterina Alexandrova (4 wins) amongst the baker's dozen of players who've spent time in the Top 10 in '26. At 4-6, Alexandrova is only one of those players currently under-.500 this season.



Paolini has some big points defenses just around the corner that will determine how long (and whether) she can maintain her Top 10 position, including an Indian Wells 4th Round, Miami SF, Stuttgart SF, Rome title and RG Round of 16 over the next three months.
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8. Antalya 125 Final - Moyuka Uchijima def. Anhelina Kalinina
...7-5/7-5. Uchijima wins her biggest career title and climbs back into the Top 100 (a Top 50 player last year, she'd dropped to #104).

Meanwhile, ex-#25/current #202 Kalinina reaches her second 125 final since her return to action last December after a six-month absence. The Ukrainian, a 2023 Rome finalist with four Top 10 wins under the belt (from 2022-24), made her way through qualifying at AO26 in January.
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HM- $35K Arcadia (CAL) USA Final - Akasha Urhobo def. Thea Frodin
...6-2/2-6/6-2. The battle of teenage Bannerettes goes to 19-year old Urhobo over 17-year old Frodin.

Urhobo's third career title is her second this season, along with another $35K in January (when she def. Bianca Andreescu in the SF, then Madison Brengle in the final); while this was girls' #13 Frodin's maiden pro singles final. A junior semifinalist at AO26 this season, Frodin had ended Kristina Liutova's eight-match winning streak in the semis.

Frodin (for now) is best known for portraying a young Serena Williams in on-court scenes in the movie King Richard.
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1. Austin 1st Rd. - Taylor Townsend def. Linda Fruhvirtova
...4-6/7-6(3)/7-5. Townsend rallies from 6-4/3-0 back, saving a MP on serve down 5-4 before forcing and winning a TB, then claiming another extended set in the 3rd.

It wasn't just Townsend's first MD WTA win of the season, but her first since exiting last year's U.S. Open after failing to convert eight MP in a Round of 16 match vs. Barbora Krejcikova.
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2. Austin 1st Rd. - Ajla Tomljanovic def. Venus Williams
...6-4/6-1. Another wild card, another happy group of fans (and tournament organizer), and another loss for Venus. That's 0-4 in 2026, with a career-long seven-match losing streak.

The future Hall of Famer (further proof that eligibility for induction should come, say, 20/25 years after a player's WTA MD debut, even if the player is still "active"... so the inevitable isn't delayed indefinitely as a veteran player dabbles) has won eight singles matches this decade, going a combined 8-37 since 2020.

Of note, it was Tomljanovic who ended Serena Williams' career with a U.S. Open defeat back in 2022. Well, at least she ended it until further notice.


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*SINGLES/DOUBLES TITLE SWEEP IN 2020s*
2020 Ostrava!!!: Aryna Sabalenka
2021 Stuttgart: Ash Barty
2021 Parma: Coco Gauff
2021 Roland Garros: Barbora Krejcikova
2022 Adelaide 1: Ash Barty
2022 Nottingham: Beatriz Haddad Maia
2023 Prague: Nao Hibino
2023 San Diego: Barbora Krejcikova
2023 Elite Trophy: Beatriz Haddad Maia
2024 -
2025 Rome: Jasmine Paolini
2025 Rabat: Maya Joint
2025 Chennai: Janice Tjen
2026 Merida: CRISTINA BUCSA
[2026 WTA s/d final in event]
Abu Dhabi: Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS (L/W)
Austin: TAYLOR TOWNSEND, USA (L/W)
Merida: CRISTINA BUCSA, ESP (W/W)

*2026 FIRST-TIME WTA CHAMPIONS*
Abu Dhabi - Sara Bejlek, CZE (20/#101)
Merida - CRISTINA BUCSA, ESP (28/#63)

*RECENT ALL-USA WTA FINALS*
2020 Auckland - S.Williams d. Pegula
2022 Adelaide 2 - Keys d. Riske
2024 Strasbourg - Keys d. Collins
2024 Toronto - Pegula d. Anisimova
2025 Adelaide - Keys d. Pegula
2025 Austin - Pegula d. Kessler
2025 Charleston - Pegula d. Kenin
2025 Wuhan - Gauff d. Pegula
2026 Austin - Stearns d. Townsend

*2026 FIRST-TIME WTA FINALISTS*
Sara Bejlek, CZE (#101/20 = Abu Dhabi)-W
TAYLOR TOWNSEND, USA (#119/29 = Austin)
[doubles]
Dominika Salkova, CZE (Ostrava)
ISABELLE HAVERLAG, NED (Merida)

*2026 MULT.DIFFERENT WTA FINALISTS BY COUNTRY*
3 - USA = Pegula,STEARNS,TOWNSEND
2 - CZE = Bejlek,Muchova
2 - GBR = Boulter,Raducanu
2 - RUS = Alexandrova,M.Andreeva
2 - UKR = Kostyuk,Svitolina
--
1 - BLR,CAN,CHN,ESP(Bucsa),GER,ITA,KAZ,POL(Frech),ROU

*RECENT 3/4 USA WTA SF*
2023 San Diego = Kenin (RU); Collins (SF), Navarro (SF)
2024 Toronto = Pegula (W), Anisimova (RU); Navarro (SF)
2025 Charleston = Pegula (W), Kenin (RU); Anisimova (SF)
2025 Beijing = Anisimova (W); Gauff (SF), Pegula (SF)
2026 Dubai = Pegula (W); Anisimova (SF), Gauff (SF)
2026 Austin = Stearns (W), Townsend (RU); Krueger (SF)

*2026 FIRST-TIME WTA SEMIFINALISTS*
Hobart: Taylah Preston, AUS (20/#204)
Hobart: Antonia Ruzic, CRO (22/#71)
Abu Dhabi: Sara Bejlek, CZE (20/#101)=W
Abu Dhabi: Hailey Baptiste, USA (24/#56)
Cluj-Napoca: Oleksandra Oliynykova, UKR (25/#91)
Cluj-Napoca: Daria Snigur, UKR (23/#144)
Austin: TAYLOR TOWNSEND, USA (29/#119)

*2025-26 OLDEST WTA SF*
37 - Tatjana Maria, GER (2025 Queen's Club)-W
37 - ZHANG SHUAI, CHN (2026 Austin)
36 - Zhang Shuai, CHN (2025 Guangzhou)
35 - Sorana Cirstea (2026 Cluj-Napoca)-W
35 - Sorana Cirstea, ROU (2025 Osaka)
35 - Sorana Cirstea, ROU (2025 Cleveland)-W
35 - Sorana Cirstea, ROU (2025 Iasi)

*2020-26 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
26 - Katerina Siniakova (1/6/6/3/5/4/1)
15 - Barbora Krejcikova (1/5/3/4/1/1/0)
15 - Elise Mertens (1/4/2/2/3/2/1)
13 - Luisa Stefani (1/1/2/3/1/4/1)
12 - Gaby Dabrowski (0/1/3/2/2/3/1)
12 - Anna Danilina (0/1/2/1/5/2/1)
12 - Hsieh Su-wei (4/2/0/2/3/0/1)
12 - Nicole Melichar-Martinez (2/2/2/0/3/3/0)
12 - Erin Routliffe (0/1/1/3/3/4/0)
12 - TAYLOR TOWNSEND (1/0/0/3/3/4/1)






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And this week the Wheel of Misdirection lands on Green-, no, Ven-, hmm, Cana-, no, Minne-, uh, in a late-week surprise maybe Cub-... nope, ah, it's an old-tried-and-true, Iran.




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He wouldn’t care.

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— Pavlina 🇵🇸🇬🇷🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🐝🐞✊🏾 (@peacegirl63.bsky.social) February 28, 2026 at 12:27 PM


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It's astonishing how quickly we've descended into autocracy. Trump controls X, Truth Social, TikTok, Facebook, CBS News, Fox, all those janky right-wing stations like Newsmax. He's about to get his clutches on CNN. And now he's trying to seize control of the midterms. All in one year!

— Max Weiss (@maxthegirl.bsky.social) February 27, 2026 at 11:45 AM


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Monday, Monday…

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— Route60Plus (@route60plus.bsky.social) February 23, 2026 at 12:27 PM





All for now.

Read more...

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 11:45 PM  2 comments