Monday, October 07, 2024

Wk.39/40- Coco Channels China







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*WEEK 39/40 CHAMPIONS*
BEIJING, CHINA (WTA 1000/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Coco Gauff/USA def. Karolina Muchova/CZE 6-1/6-3
D: Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini (ITA/ITA) def. Chan Hao-ching/Veronika Kudermetova (TPE/RUS) 6-4/6-4
HONG KONG, CHINA (WTA 125/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS def. Clara Tauson/DEN 4-6/6-4/6-4
D: Monica Niculescu/Gabriela Ruse (ROU/ROU) def. Nao Hibino/Makoto Ninomiya (JPN/JPN) 6-3/5-7 [10-5]




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Coco Gauff/USA
...apparently, Gauff reacts quite well to change. Last year, she rode a coaching switch-up to the summer of her career and maiden slam title at the U.S. Open. A year later, after that partnership was no longer bearing any fruit, Gauff cut the cord and added Matt Daly as coach alongside longtime team member JC Faurel. The result in her first would-be "practice" week with the new setup? A 1000 title run in Beijing.

To be fair, Gauff didn't run roughshod over the opposition for two weeks. After wins over Clara Burel and Katie Boulter, she lost the 1st set vs. three straight opponents. But after Gauff managed to force a 3rd vs. Naomi Osaka, Osaka retired with a lower back injury, and Yuliia Starodubtseva and Paula Badosa were then taken out in come-from-behind three-setters to reach Gauff's first final since defending her 250 Auckland title in January.

Gauff ran over Karolina Muchova twice in big events -- Cincinnati F, U.S. Open SF -- during her big '23 summer, and she did so again in the Beijing final. The Czech had no answers in a 6-1/6-3 contest as Gauff lifted her biggest title since winning in New York thirteen months ago.


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RISERS: Zheng Qinwen/CHN, Karolina Muchova/CZE and Rebecca Sramkova/SVK
...Zheng was welcomed with open arms by a large number of those millions (billions?) of fans that Emma Navarro can't believe she has in her Chinese tournament homecoming in the closing weeks of a career year, and she delivered. Just not quite as much as she, those fans, nor the tournament would have likely preferred.

As it was, Zheng's semifinal run matches the best result ever for a Chinese women in the Beijing event, as she rode wins over Kamilla Rakhimova, Nadia Podoroska, Amanda Anisimova and Mirra Andreeva to her fourth final four result (w/ AO, Palermo & the Olympics) this season. Unfortunately for her, her semifinal opponent was the same Czech that Zheng defeated earlier this season in the final of her successful Palermo title defenese, Karolina Muchova, only many additional weeks, months, matches and events later and in even better form than she was back in the earliest stages of her comeback this summer.

Muchova won 6-3/6-4, quieting the crowd that had anticipated that they'd be cheering a favorite daughter into the tournament's singles final for the first time in event history.

Maybe next year.



In the post-match ceremony following the Beijing final, during which Coco Gauff had once again taken down Muchova in straight sets for the third time in three meetings, Gauff expressed positivity about Muchova's resilience in the face of so many injuries, and said that she hoped that she didn't have to deal with such things any longer.

Let's hope the Tennis Gods and the Czech's body agree to that truce.

While Muchova didn't get the ultimate result that she would have preferred, losing for the fifth time in six career finals (she's 0-2 in the two finals she's played during the short period of time she's managed to be on the court in '24), her Beijing run provided still more evidence for the need for her to stay off the injured list. More Muchova simply makes the WTA a better place.

Wins over Anna Blinkova, Yuan Yue, Jaqueline Cristian and Cristina Bucsa preceded consecutive Top 10 victories over top-seeded world #2 Aryna Sabalenka (she's 7-2 vs. the Top 3 in her career) and #7-ranked home favorite Zheng Qinwen, who defeated Muchova in the Palermo final this summer.

After staring at a fall well outside the Top 100 if she couldn't back up her '23 SF at the U.S. Open, Muchova's unique talent has once came to the fore in the closing stages of '24 with another slam SF and 1000 runner-up. She's at #31 in the new rankings.

Now let's just hope she can launch into 2025 without any restraints holding her back.



Sramkova, coming in hot to Beijing off her back-to-back finals (and maiden tour title) in Monastir and Hua Hin, could have begged off of yet another week of action, declaring September "a month well played," and no one would have batted an eyelash. But the Slovak stepped once more into the breach in a third different nation.

Playing in *qualifying* shortly after lifting a trophy, Sramkova made her way past Tamara Zidansek (whom she'd just beaten her in the HH semis), who retired seven games into the 3rd set, and Polina Kudermetova (saving a MP, then winning a deciding TB) to reach the MD, having played 12 matches over 14 days (winning 11 of them). And she wasn't finished.



Sramkova next downed Anhelina Kalinina 4 & love in the 1st Round, then came back from a set down to defeat #33 Ekaterina Alexandrova for her ninth straight win, and biggest career win by ranking. She was finally stopped by Paula Badosa in the 3rd Round, but the Spaniard had to work to win 7-5/7-5. It's Sramkova's second 3rd Round 1000 result (behind only a Rome 4th Rd. from earlier this year).

From the start of Monastir, when she was ranked #136, Sramkova put together a 13-2 stretch that will lift her to a career-high ranking of #53.
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SURPRISE: Mananchaya Sawangkaew/THA and Cristina Bucsa/ESP
...Sawangkaew, a 22-year old Oklahoma State product, made her tour-level MD debut in Hua Hin as a qualifier. She lost in the 1st Round, but quickly qualified again ahead of Beijing and then notched her maiden WTA win with a victory over Zarina Diyas. Sawangkaew is the first Thai woman to win a 1000 MD match since Tamarine Tanasugarn in 2011.

Against #2 Aryna Sabalenka in the 2nd Round, the world #187 was competitive in the opening set in her first career match vs. a top level opponent, but ultimately fell 6-4/6-1 to the U.S. Open champ in the Belarusian's first match since winning in New York.

Earlier this season, Sawangkaew picked up her biggest career title in a $50K challenger (in January), as well as reaching her biggest final in August in a $75K in Lexington, Kentucky.

Sawangkaew went off to the Hong Kong 125 after exiting in Beijing, reaching the 2nd Round before a loss to McCartney Kessler.



Bucsa has had a breakout season in 2024, but it's mostly been in doubles. She added some singles results to her resume in Beijing.

This season has already seen the 26-year old Spanaird rise into the doubles Top 20, take Olympic doubles Bronze, and win four of her five career tour level WD titles (including 1000 Madrid) with four different partners.

Bucsa came into Beijing with a 1-5 mark in her last six singles outings, without an event with multiple MD wins since reaching the Bogota QF in April (her only other QF was in February in Abu Dhabi as a LL), but over the past two weeks she reached her first career 1000 singles 4th Round, posting upsets over a pair of seeded players (vs. Liudmila Samsonova, her second career Top 20 win, and Elise Mertens) before going out at the hands of Karolina Muchova. After having five previous 1000 MD wins in her career, she posted three during her run.

Even with the result, though, Bucsa stands at 21-26 on the season. Since her first season of pro results in 2016, she's never finished a year with a sub-.500 mark.
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VETERANS: Zhang Shuai/CHN and Ajla Tomljanovic/AUS
...Zhang proved once more how much momentum and confidence guide the results of so many players on tour. The 35-year old vet, who has reached the Round of 16 (w/ 2 QF) at every major during her career, came into Beijing on a pro tennis record 24-match losing streak, but once she got her first taste of singles victory since January of *last* year it almost seemed as if she'd *never* lose.

Ranked #595, Zhang ended her winless streak by taking a pair of TB over McCartney Kessler in the opening round, then pulled an even bigger upset with a win over U.S. Open semifinalist Emma Navarro, 6-4/6-2. It was her first winning streak since she reached the Round of 16 at the 2023 Australian Open, and her first Top 10 win since Tokyo in late '22.

Zhang added two *more* wins on the week with straight sets victories over Greet Minnen and Magdalena Frech to become the fourth woman ranked #500+ to reach a 1000 QF. It was the third of Zhang's career at the China Open, the first since 2018 (the tournament wasn't held from 2020-22, and Zhang didn't play it last year).



Against Paula Badosa for a spot in the semis, Zhang quickly lost a 6-1 1st set, but battled the Spaniard in a tight 2nd that saw her get within a TB win of forcing a 3rd. The two were tied 4-4 before Badosa swept the final three points. If she'd managed to force a 3rd, well... who knows, she might have had a Navarro-like "inkling."

After managing to climb up the rankings in recent weeks simply by earning points by *appearing* (and losing) in 1st Round matches, Zhang makes a big (legitimate) leap in the next rankings. She'll be back in the Top 250.



Meanwhile, Tomljanovic picked up a 125 title in Hong Kong, adding another result of note to her slowly developing comeback season after playing just ten matches in '23 due to illness/injury (she also missed time earlier this year after undergoing surgery to remove a uterine tumor).

During the summer, Tomljanovic reached the Birmingham final, losing to Yulia Putintseva but posting her first QF+ result at tour-level since reaching the final eight at the U.S. Open in 2022.

The Aussie posted wins in Hong Kong over Marina Stakusic, Gabriela Ruse, McCartney Kessler, Anna Blinkova and, in the final, Clara Tauson by a 4-6/6-4/6-4 score. While Tomljanovic remains winless in WTA singles finals (0-5), she's now won a pair of 125 titles (w/ one in November) in less than a year.


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COMEBACKS: Paula Badosa/ESP, Naomi Osaka/JPN, Amanda Anisimova/USA
...Badosa remains in the lead (IMHO) in the Comeback Player of the Year race, adding another impressive result to a season ledger that looked pretty lean as recently as this spring when she was still struggling to bounce back from her back injury.

The Spaniard's second 1000 SF run in recent months (w/ Cincinnati) saw her advance through the Beijing draw with wins over Viktoriya Tomova, the recently streaking Rebecca Sramkova, Jessie Pegula (4 & love) and a suddenly resurgent Zhang Shuai. It all ultimately improved Badosa's mark since her 1st Round exit in Madrid to a combined 28-8, but as was the case at the U.S. Open, when Badosa lost in the QF in straight sets to Emma Navarro after having led 5-1 in the 2nd, she exited Beijing with the possibility for more having been within reach.

Badosa led Coco Gauff in the SF by a set and early break, but ultimately fell short of her biggest final in years with a 4-6/6-4/6-2 defeat.

Still, the Spaniard would seem to lead the Comeback pack, with the likely (by my count) closest contenders being Amanda Anisimova and maybe Karolina Muchova (though the Czech had a very good '23 before wrist surgery, so is it a *traditional* "comeback?"). Of course, watch the WTA nominate and end up giving the honor to, say, Donna Vekic (whose comeback has been a more "extended" one, unlike that of Badosa).

Meanwhile, Osaka's unexpected switch to Patrick Mouratoglou as coach got its first try-out in Beijing, and the results were initially encouraging.

Osaka posted three straight wins over Lucia Bronzetti, Yulia Putintseva (ending a 22-match losing streak when she drops the 1st set, winning her first since staging a comeback vs. Bencic in Miami in *2022*) and Katie Volynets. In the 4th Round, Osaka won the 1st set vs. Coco Gauff, and her biggest ranking win since 2019 seemed potentially at hand.

She erased a 0-2 deficit in the 2nd, and took a break lead at 4-3 as she tried to get off the court in straights. But Osaka ultimately dropped a 6-4 set and then retired with a lower back injury that she'd incurred before the match and which got progressively worse the longer the match wore on.



Osaka has lifted her ranking into the Top 60, as she'll soon look toward Season 2 of her return to the game. For all the "extra" things that come along with Patrick M., he also generally sees his players produce on the court. Osaka in 2025 will put that notion to maybe it's biggest test yet.



Anisimova's 4th Round run in Beijing will lift her ranking back into the Top 40.

While Anisimova's comeback campaign, limited to just over a dozen tournaments so far, has produced on multiple big stages in '24 -- w/ an AO Round of 16 and Toronto 1000 final -- she only had one QF+ result (in Washington) in her other nine events. In Beijing, she notched wins over Camila Osorio and Dasha Kasatkina, and won the 1st set vs. Zheng Qinwen in their 4th Round match-up.

She did the same vs. Zheng when they met in the 1st Round of the U.S. Open, but unfortunately for her it was the Chinese woman who rallied to win in three sets on both occasions, as well.
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FRESH FACES: Mirra Andreeva/RUS and Yuliia Starodubtseva/UKR
...another big event, another deep run from 17-year old Andreeva, who matched countrywoman Maria Sharapova's 2004 journey as the youngest player to reach the women's singles QF in the event. It's the Hordette's fourth QF+ 1000/slam result this season (one a Roland Garros semifinal).

Andreeva took out Irina-Camelia Begu, rallied from a set down vs. Donna Vekic, and advanced past Magda Linette for her latest headline-making result. She finally fell in a huge momentum-swinging three-setter vs. home favorite Zheng Qinwen.



Andreeva will rise to match her career-high ranking of #19 heading into Week 41.



Starodubtseva, another U.S. college product (ex-Old Dominion University), has made her presence known on the edges of the tour throughout this season, making it through qualifying at all *four* majors (making her MD debut at each one), getting a 1st Round win at Wimbledon, and last month playing in her first career tour-level QF in Monastir.

In Beijing, the Ukrainian qualified (it's a recurring theme) and then took out Laura Siegemund, Katerina Siniakova and Elina Avanesyan, followed by an upset of Anna Kalinskaya to record her first career Top 20 victory and maiden 1000 QF. Looking for her first Top 10 win, she took the opening set vs. Coco Gauff, but saw the Bannerette rally to sweep the final two sets.

Starodubtseva will crack the Top 100 in the new rankings, rising from #115 to #79.


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DOWN: Emma Navarro/USA
...oh my, the Tennis Gods might be putting in some overtime numbers-crunching on this one.

In Beijing, in her first outing since her U.S. Open semifinal, Navarro fell in her opening match vs. Zhang Shuai, who was fresh from ending a 24-match losing streak.

With that quick exit, #8-ranked Navarro took a wild card as the only Top 50 player in the Hong Kong 125 draw.

Remember, Navarro built her ranking up heading into '24 by playing in a series of under-populated small events late in the '23 calendar, going 13-2 from late October heading into this season as she climbed from the mid-#40s in mid-October to #32 in the final ranking week of '23. She won a tour-level WTA crown in Janauary in Hobart and ended up the #27 seed at the AO.

This attempt to steal some additional points didn't go quite as planned, as after getting wins over Viktorija Golubic and Kimberly Birrell she fell in the Hong Kong QF to Anna Blinkova, who'd come into the event on a 10-match losing streak, going 4-20 since mid-March prior to her surprise HK semifinal result.

Heading into Beijing, Navarro stood at 7th in the WTAF race, with Barbora Krejcikova (10th) likely to fill the eighth and final slot in the field due to her Wimbledon title run. Otherwise, the closest players behind Navarro were Danielle Collins (8th), less than 100% and flagging a bit in the final stages of her retirement season and, ummm, Zheng Qinwen (9th).

In Beijing, (the disrespected-by-Navarro) Zheng matched the best-yet result by a Chinese woman in the China Open, going out in the SF. Something more could have put *big time* heat on Navarro in the Race, but as it is she remains 402 points back (108 behind Collins).

Hmmm, Zheng couldn't end up being the player who knocks Navarro out of the WTAF field, could she? If so, the Tennis Gods would have to collectively stand up and take a shoulder-to-shoulder bow for the audacity of allowing such a tasty conclusion to the WTA regular season as that to actually take place.

Of course, Elena Rybakina (or more) could post a DNP at the WTAF and make the prospect of this eleventh-hour competition moot.
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ITF PLAYERS: Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva/AND and Solana Sierra/ARG
...VJK won the 2020 Australian Open junior singles crown, but hasn't had the immediate impact at tour-level that some recent junior stars have. Still, the 19-year old Andorran *is* improving her results on the challenger circuit. During the summer, she reached her first $100K final, and in Week 39 picked up her biggest career title in a $75K in Lisbon (in her fourth '24 final), grabbing the honors with a 6-4/6-2 win over Spain's Guiomar Maristany in the final as she completed a second straight day in which she had to play *two* matches in order for the tournament to finish on time after many weather suspensions earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, 20-year Sierra has maintained a dominant presence at the ITF level this year. The Argentine improved to 6-0 in '24 finals (winning in her eighth straight title match appearance dating back to last year) when Leolia Jeanjean retired after dropping a 6-2 1st set in the $50K in Pilar (ARG).

Sierra made her slam MD debut with a Q-run in New York this summer, and her back-to-back challenger titles put her in the season's circuit lead. With her most recent title run, she was 31-3 in her last 34 matches. She lost in the 2nd Round of a $75K in Week 40.


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JUNIOR STARS: Mika Buchnik/ISR and Iva Jovic/USA
...in Week 39 in Osaka, 17-year old Israeli Buchnik claimed by far the biggest title of her junior career, taking the J500 event crown while winning four three-setters over a six-match week, including three straight (dropping a total of 6 games) from the QF through F. She finished things off with a win over Aussie Alana Subasic, 17, in the title match.

Buchnik, whose biggest pervious title had been a J3 in '22, had come into the event off a J200 runner-up and J300 run that had ended in the SF when the weather-marred tournament was finally abandoned without completion. With a run of 14 wins in 15 matches, she climbed 34 spots to the girls' #26 ranking.

Meanwhile, in the same week, Jovic added her biggest career pro crown (overall #2) with a $35K run in Berkeley, California, her first of the season. After saving a MP early in the week, she closed with a three-set win in the final over Canada's Victoria Mboko.

Jovic, 16, has won a pair of junior slam doubles titles (AO/WI) this season, as well as reached two girls' slam singles SF (WI/US) and a QF (RG), and made her women's major MD debut (getting a 1st Round victory) at the U.S. Open.



In the following week of action, Jovic continued her roll with a second straight win in Rancho Sante Fe, defeating Ena Shibahara 3 & 3 in the final to claim her biggest pro title yet in the $75K challenger.


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DOUBLES: Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini, ITA/ITA
...the Italians are now the leading doubles duo on tour in '24, with their win in Beijing adding a second 1000 crown (w/ Rome) on the season to go along with their historic Olympic Gold run. Their four titles lead all teams this year, with both Errani and Paolini one behind tour individual leader Irina Khromacheva's five crowns.

The pair took the title with a 6-4/6-4 win in the final over Chan Hao-ching & Veronika Kudermetova, who were playing in their fourth '24 final (1-3), tied for third-most on tour behind the five reached by the Italians (4-1) and Dabrowski/Routliffe (1-4).

The win is 37-year old Errani's 32nd career title, third amongst active leaders behind only Hsieh Su-wei (35) and Latisha Chan (33); while Paolini rises inside the *doubles* Top 10 (she's #6 in singles) for the first time this week.


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WHEELCHAIR: Jinte Bos/NED
...Lizzy de Greef has seemed to be the new Dutch name to watch, but Bos could be right on her heels/wheels.

Bos, 22, opened the Week 39 Series 1 Sardinia Open with a 1st Round victory over countrywoman de Greef, 20. She then ran off wins over Emmanuelle Morch, Angelica Bernal and, in the final, Aniek Van Koot. Bos' first career S1 win featured a trio of three-sets victories that lifted her to the #22 standing in the WC rankings. Even so, she's still the NED #5, behind Diede de Groot, Van Koot, Jiske Griffioen and de Greef.

Bos & de Greef joined forces -- perhaps signaling the next big Dutch WD duo? -- to reach the doubles final, falling to Van Koot & Lucy Shuker.
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1. Beijing 2nd Rd. - Jaqueline Cristian def. Barbora Krejcikova
...1-6/6-4/7-5. No cape required.

Cristian rallies from 6-1/3-1 to force a 3rd set, then again from 4-1 down in the decider, including saving 4 MP on the serve at 5-4.

A game later, Cristian broke Krejickova's serve on BP #4 and then served things out for her first career Top 10 win.

Of course, Krejickova isn't *truly* playing with a target in mind in these closing weeks of the regular season, having already secured a berth in the WTAF field due to her Wimbledon title run (w/ the necessary Top 20 finish).


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2. Beijing Q1 - Rebecca Sramkova def. Tamara Zidansek 6-2/3-6/4-3 ret.
Beijing Q2 - Rebecca Sramkova def. Polina Kudermetova 5-7/7-5/7-6(5)
...just call her the Indefatigable Rebecca Sramkova, as the Slovak arrived from Hua Hin after winning her maiden tour title (in her second final in two weeks) and then *qualified* in Beijing by winning a a pair of three-setters. She saved a MP at 5-4 in the 3rd vs. Kudermetova, then overcame a 5-4 deficit in the deciding TB.


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3. Beijing 1st Rd. - Rebecca Sramkova def. Anhelina Kalinina 6-4/6-0
Beijing 2nd Rd. - Rebecca Sramkova def. Ekaterina Alexandrova 5-7/6-4/6-3
...in her qualifying follow-up, the Sramkova roll continued. She demolished Anhelina Kalinina 6-4/6-0 in the 1st Round, getting her 12th win in 13 matches, then rallied from a set down (after she'd lost a 5-3 lead in the opener) to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova.


After 13 wins in 18 days, Sramkova was finally stopped by Paula Badosa, via a tight 7-5/7-5 victory in the 3rd Round.
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4. Beijing 1st Rd. - Zhang Shuai def. McCartney Kessler
...7-6(5)/7-6(1). The long international tennis nightmare is finally over, as Zhang's pro tennis record 24-match losing streak (after a near miss as recently as a three-setter at the U.S. Open) ends on home soil.

Meanwhile, note to the Tennis Channel social media team, when a player gets a win to end a 24-match losing streak you might want to mention that in the tweet...


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5. Beijing 1st Rd. - Sara Sorribes Tormo def. Gao Xinyu
...6-7(4)/7-5/7-5. So, the reign of Siegemund/Wang Xiyu as the longest match of 2024 lasted less than a week, as a Sorribes Tormo marathon assumed its "rightful" place atop the pile. SST lost a 5-1 3rd set lead before finally breaking Gao to end the match (six minutes after it had become the longest contest of the year). It's the fourth-longest WTA MD match of the Open era.

The Spaniard has appeared in four of the seven longest women's matches of the 2020s.


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6. Beijing Final - Coco Gauff def. Karolina Muchova
...6-1/6-3. Gauff saves her best performance of the tournament for last, once again handling Muchova in straight sets for the third time in three career meetings. "You must really like to play me," the Czech joked afterward during the trophy ceremony where she also wryly noted to her team that she picked up "another plate" (i.e. 2nd place) for her growing collection.

She's not lying, as while Gauff improved to 8-1 in career tour finals (7-0 on hard court), Muchova fell to 1-5. For all her big stage success, her last (and, so far, only) singles title came five years ago.


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For some unknown reason, the WTA Twitter account posted this Emma Navarro factoid a few hours before her 2nd Round match-up in Beijing with Zhang Shuai...



7. Beijing 2nd Rd. - Zhang Shuai def. Emma Navarro
...6-4/6-2. It's hard to stage a "comeback" without winning a set. So sad.

With the upset, Zhang notched her first back-to-back wins since reaching the AO 4th Round in 2023, and Navarro (hopefully) didn't casually inform Shuai that she'd lost respect for her as a competitor during her recent 24-match losing streak.

The win was #595 Zhang's first over a Top 10 player since Tokyo '22 (Garcia), and biggest since knocking off Kontaveit (then #2) in Cincinnati that same season. Her most recent before those two had come in 2018.


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8. Hong Kong 125 1st Rd. - Simona Halep def. Arina Rodionova
...6-2/4-6/6-4. Back slightly earlier than expected from a springtime knee injury that occurred soon after her return from a more than year and a half wait/battle to return to the court after a positive doping test at the '22 U.S. Open, an encouraged Halep took a late wild card into Hong Kong, her third event of the season.

Ranked #578, with her other '24 outings being a three-set Miami loss to Paula Badosa and retirement vs. McCartney Kessler in the Paris 125, Halep outlasted Rodionova to record her first match win since defeating Anastasia Potapova in the 1st Round of Cincinnati two years ago. At the time, the Romanian had been coming off a title run in Toronto (her biggest win since Rome 2020).



Halep fell in the 2nd Round to Anna Blinkova in straight sets, but (hopefully) the first constructive steps in a long road back have now been taken.


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9. Beijing QF - Karolina Muchova def. Aryna Sabalenka
...7-6(5)/2-6/6-4. With Iga away, Sabalenka fails to take full ranking advantage as she loses to Muchova for the third straight time, ending her own 15-match winning streak. Muchova improves to 7-2 in career match-ups vs. the Top 3.

Sabalenka hadn't dropped a set en route to the QF, but will likely need to complete another big title run (say, at the WTAF) to have any sort of real shot at her first season-ending #1 ranking.


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10. Beijing SF - Coco Gauff def. Paula Badosa
...4-6/6-4/6-2. Could Gauff had rallied from a set down vs. three straight opponents to produce a big run in Beijing under her previous coaching situation? A year ago, she most definitely could/would have, but she clearly needed a change to get her groove back in '24.

After Gauff failed to convert on 10 of 11 BP chances in the 1st set, Badosa grabbed a set and early break lead in the 2nd with her biggest final since winning Indian Wells in 2021 within sight. But her second Top 10 win of the week (w/ Pegula) wasn't mean to be, as Gauff continued to rediscover her true level.
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11. Beijing QF - Zheng Qinwen def. Mirra Andreeva
...5-7/6-0/6-4. Zheng becomes the seventh Chinese semifinalist in Beijing (w/ Li twice, Peng twice, and Zheng Jie and Wang Qiang once each), taking a three-setter characterized by wild momentum swings vs. the Russian upstart.



The two traded off on 4 (Andreeva) and 5 (Zheng) game win streaks in the 1st, then the Russian held and broke to take the set 7-5. Zheng responded with a love 2nd set, then fell behind 2-0 and 4-2 in the 3rd before flipping the script one final time by sweeping the final four games.
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12. Beijing 1st Rd. - Diane Parry def. Liang En-shuo
...4-6/6-0/6-0. Hmmm, which is the worse way to go out of an event? Losing love & love, or winning the 1st set and *then* losing love & love?
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13. Beijing Q2 - Zarina Diyas def. Heather Watson
...6-0/6-2. After two years away while recovering from injuries, the now 30-year old Diyas made her way back during Wimbledon qualifying. She lost in the final round.

In Beijing, she won back-to-back matches (over Rebeka Masarova and Watson) to reach her first WTA MD since the 2022 Australian Open.



Diyas fell in the 1st Round to Mananchaya Sawangkaew, the same Thai player she'd beaten in the opening Q-round for SW19.

Beijing 1st Rd. - Mananchaya Sawangkaew def. Zarina Diyas 6-2/6-3
...the win was the 22-year old's first in a tour-level MD match.


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14. Beijing 2nd Rd. - Donna Vekic def. Viktorija Golubic
...4-6/7-6(3)/6-4. Vekic's big stage successes in '24 continue to serve her well, as she denied Golubic as the Swiss woman served for the win at 6-5 in the 3rd (getting a love break). The Croatian won a TB to expend the match, then claimed the 3rd for her second 3rd Rd. run in a 1000 event (first since Dubai) this season to go along with her Wimbledon semi, Olympic Silver medal and U.S. Open Round of 16.

With the season that Vekic has put together, it's only right that the Croatian finish her most accomplished year by also establishing some sort of new career-high ranking benchmark. In the closing weeks of '24, she did just enough in Beijing to keep that notion afloat.

Vekic began play in Beijing after having finally returned to the Top 20 (at #20) in the most recent ranking release, with her career best being #19 in 2019. She rose to #18 at the end of Beijing, setting an in-season career high with a little more than a month to go in the official WTA season.

Meanwhile...


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15. Beijing 4th Rd. - Paula Badosa def. Jessie Pegula
...6-4/6-0. Badosa wins for the first time in four meetings with the world #3, who posted a curiously lackluster performance in this one after having put together a sterling 17-2 mark in hard courts over the summer and early fall -- with finals in Toronto (W), Cincinnati and the U.S. Open -- coming into the match.

Okay, so maybe after all that a match like this from Pegula -- on the *other* side of the world -- was to be (eventually) expected.

Badosa won 95% (18/19) of her first serve points in the match.
===============================================
HM- Hong Kong 125 QF - Anna Blinkova def. Emma Navarro
...6-4/6-3. Blinkova fell a round later to Ajla Tomljanovic, but Hong Kong was a week to recoup *something* from what has surprising been something of a "lost" season since her big record AO tie-break upset of Elena Rybakina back in January.

In addition to the upset of Navarro, the Hordette ended Simona Halep's run in the event en route to her first singles SF on any level all season.
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1. Beijing 2nd Rd. - Veronika Kudermetova def. Wang Xinyu
...3-6/6-4/7-5. Kudermetova follows up her SF run in Seoul with a big three-set come from behind win over Wang, who held from love/40 at 4-4 in the 3rd, only to see the Hordette then sweep the final three remaining games to close out the victory.


===============================================
2. Beijing 4th Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Naomi Osaka
...3-6/6-4 ret. This match-up, so far, hasn't exactly produced the ongoing series of great contests that were hoped for when Gauff and Osaka first faced off in the U.S. Open in 2022. This was their first meeting in more than two years, with Gauff winning for the third time in the last four match-ups. Of their five matches, in only one has a 3rd set actually been played (Cincy '21).

This one came close, but after Osaka was unable to close out the match in two, she retired with a lower back injury.


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3. Beijing Final - Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini def. Chan Hao-ching/Veronika Kudermetova
...6-4/6-4. I think I know the answer to the question, but it's worth noting that one *could* question whether Paolini's '24 results have been better in singles or doubles.

Paolini's doubles year alongside Errani -- four titles, Olympic Gold, two 1000 crowns, a final at RG -- is very nearly the equal of her breakout singles campaign (1000 title, two slam finals and Top 5 ranking).


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Hmmm... maybe I was correct about Iga's absence in Beijing.



It's the correct move, I think (as I've been noting all season). It's been clear for a while that Swiatek was no longer getting anything positive to use on the court from Wiktorowski, or that at least there was some sort of disconnect happening during preparation for (some... you know the ones) matches.



Suggestion for the new coach: maybe a former WTA player (though I doubt that'll happen), something along the lines of a Vekic-with-Shriver sort of addition (it doesn't even have to be with an eye on a long-term relationship, either).

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Thing is, a good argument can be made that the Sinner case was handled close to *correctly*, and that what and how things happened there *should* be the norm going forward (i.e. the absence of punishment of a player before a final judgment is rendered in their appeal). But, know, WADA...



It almost feels, if it were possible, that there should be an ad in the classified section of "Tennis Times Daily" that would read: "WANTED: an ounce of blood -- contact WADA (umm, scratch that... we'll be in contact with YOU)."

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*2024 WTA 1000 CHAMPIONS*
Doha - Iga Swiatek, POL
Dubai - Jasmine Paolini, ITA
Indian Wells - Iga Swiatek, POL
Miami - Danielle Collins, USA
Madrid - Iga Swiatek, POL
Rome - Iga Swiatek, POL
Canada - Jessie Pegula, USA
Cincinnati - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Beijing - Coco Gauff, USA
Wuhan -
[doubles]
Doha - Demi Schuurs/Luisa Stefani, NED/BRA
Dubai - Storm Hunter/Katerina Siniakova, AUS/CZE
Indian Wells - Hsieh Su-wei/Elise Mertens, TPE/BEL
Miami - Sofia Kenin/Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA/USA
Madrid - Cristina Bucsa/Sara Sorribes Tormo, ESP/ESP
Rome - Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini, ITA/ITA
Canada - Caroline Dolehide/Desirae Krawczyk, USA/USA
Cincinnati - Asia Muhammad/Erin Routliffe, USA/NZL
Beijing - Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini, ITA/ITA
Wuhan -

*2024 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
5 - Iga Swiatek, POL = Slam, 1000(4)
3 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ = 500(3)
3 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR = Slam(2), 1000
3 - Diana Shnaider, RUS = 500,250(2)
2 - Katie Boulter, GBR = 500,250
2 - Danielle Collins, USA = 1000,500
2 - COCO GAUFF, USA = 1000,250
2 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT = 500(2)
2 - Jessie Pegula, USA = 500(2)
2 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN = Oly,250
[2020-24]
22 - 1/2/8/6/5 = Iga Swiatek
11 - 3/2/0/3/3 = Aryna Sabalenka
8 - 1/5/2 = Ash Barty (ret.)
8 - 0/3/2/2/1 = Barbora Krejcikova
7 - 0/1/0/4/2 = COCO GAUFF
7 - 1/0/1/2/3 = Elena Rybakina

*MOST WTA SF in 2024*
9 - Iga Swiatek (4-4 +W)
7 - Elena Rybakina (5-2)
7 - Aryna Sabalenka (5-2)
7 - Jessie Pegula (4-2 +L)
7 - COCO GAUFF (2-5)
7 - Emma Navarro (1-6)
5 - Dasha Kasatkina (4-0 +W)
5 - Diana Shnaider (3-2)
5 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (1-4)
4 - Danielle Collins (3-1)
4 - Jasmine Paolini (3-1)
4 - ZHENG QINWEN (3-1)
4 - Donna Vekic (2-2)

*CHINA OPEN QF+ - CHN*
2005 Peng Shuai (QF), Sun Tiantian (QF)
2006 Peng Shuai (SF), Li Na (QF)
2007 Peng Shuai (SF)
2008 Zheng Jie (SF)
2009 Peng Shuai (QF)
2010 Li Na (SF)
2012 Li Na (SF)
2013 Li Na (QF)
2016 Zhang Shuai (QF)
2018 Wang Qiang (SF), Zhang Shuai (QF)
2024 Zheng Qinwen (SF)

*2020-24 WTA LONG MATCHES*
4:15 - 2024 Beijing 1st Rd. - Sorribes Tormo d. Gao Xinyu
4:09 - 2024 Hua Hin 2 2nd Rd. - Siegemund d. Wang Xiyu
3:54 - 2022 Cleveland 1st Rd - Sorribes Tormo d. Osorio
3:53 - 2022 Budapest 2nd Rd. - Tsurenko d. Rakhimova
3:55 - 2021 Gdynia QF - Kucova d. Gorgodze
3:51 - 2021 Rome 1st Rd. - Sorribes Tormo d. Giorgi
3:51 - 2023 Roland Garros 4th Rd. - Haddad Maia d. Sorribes Tormo

*LONG WTA (MD only) WINNING STREAKS - 2024*
21 - Iga Swiatek (Apr-July; ended by Putintseva)
15 - Danielle Collins (March-April; ended by Sabalenka)
15 - ARYNA SABALENKA (August-October; ended by Muchova)
12 - Zheng Qinwen (July-August; ended by Pavlyuchenkova)
10 - Barbora Krejcikova (July; ended by Schmiedlova)
10 - Coco Gauff (January; ended by Sabalenka)
--
UNDEFEATED NOTE: Pliskova (9 WTA MD, walkover loss, then 2 more)

*LONG WTA (MD only) WINNING STREAKS - 2020s*
37 - Iga Swiatek (2022)
21 - Iga Swiatek (2024)
18 - Iga Swiatek (2023-24)
17 - Simona Halep (2020)
16 - Coco Gauff (2023)
15 - Danielle Collins (2024)
15 - ARYNA SABALENKA (2024)
13 - Liudmila Samsonova (2022)
13 - Bernarda Pera (2022)
13 - Aryna Sabalenka (2023)
13 - Elena Rybakina (2023)

*2024 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
5 - Irina Khromacheva
4 - Cristina Bucsa
4 - Anna Danilina
4 - SARA ERRANI
4 - JASMINE PAOLNINI
4 - Katerina Siniakova
[duos]
4...ERRANI/PAOLINI
3...Danilina/Khromacheva
3...Hsieh/Mertens
3...L.Kichenok/Ostapenko
2...Kenin/Mattek-Sands
2...Melichar-Martinez/Perez
[2020-24 - duos]
13..Krejcikova/Siniakova (1/5/3/3/1)
8...Aoyama/Shibahara (1/5/0/2/0)
7...Siegemund/Zvonareva (1/0/2/4/0)
5...ERRANI/PAOLINI (0/0/0/1/4)
5...Gauff/Pegula (0/0/3/2/0)
5...Hsieh/Mertens (0/2/0/0/3)
5...Hsieh/Strycova (4/0/-/1/-)
5...L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (0/0/2/0/3)

*2024 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
7 (5-2) = Irina Khromacheva, RUS
7 (2-5) = Erin Routliffe, NZL
6 (4-2) = Anna Danilina, KAZ
5 (4-1) = SARA ERRANI, ITA
5 (4-1) = JASMINE PAOLINI, ITA
5 (4-1) = Katerina Siniakova, CZE
5 (3-2) = Lyudmyla Kichenok, UKR
5 (3-2) = Nicole Melichar-Martinez, USA
5 (2-3) = CHAN HAO-CHING, TPE
5 (1-4) = Gaby Dabrowski, CAN
4 (4-0) = Cristina Bucsa, ESP
4 (3-1) = Asia Muhammad, USA
4 (3-1) = Alona Ostapenko, LAT
4 (2-2) = Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
4 (2-2) = Ellen Perez, AUS
4 (1-3) = VERONIKA KUDERMETOVA, RUS
[2024 finals - duos]
5...ERRANI/PAOLINI (4-1)
5...Dabrowski/Routliffe (1-4)
4...Danilina/Khromacheva (3-1)
4...L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (3-1)
4...Melichar-Martinez/Perez (2-2)
4...HC.CHAN/V.KUDERMETOVA (1-3)
3...Hsieh/Mertens (3-0)

*2024 OLDEST WTA WD/MX CHAMPIONS*
38 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Miami)
38 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Abu Dhabi)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Wimbledon MX)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Birmingham)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Indian Wells)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Australian Open)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Australian Open MX)
37 - SARA ERRANI (Beijing)
37 - Sara Errani (US Open MX)
37 - Sara Errani (Olympics)
37 - Sara Errani (Rome)






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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 12:30 PM 

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