Saturday, January 11, 2025

Wk.2- Madi o' Nine Tales





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*WEEK 2 CHAMPIONS*
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA (WTA 500; Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Madison Keys/USA def. Jessie Pegula/USA 6-3/4-6/6-1
D: Guo Hanyu/Alexandra Panova (CHN/RUS) def. Beatriz Haddad Maia/Laura Siegemund (BRA/GER) 7-5/6-4
HOBART, AUSTRALIA (WTA 250; Hard Court Outdoor)
S: McCartney Kessler/USA def. Elise Mertens/BEL 6-4/3-6/6-0
D: Jiang Xinyu/Wu Fang-hsien (CHN/TPE) def. Monica Niculescu/Fanny Stollar (ROU/HUN) 6-1/7-6(6)




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Madison Keys/USA
...after seeing her Week 1 run in Auckland end in the QF, Keys got right back at it in Adelaide and pulled off what has become a career specialty -- winning singles titles in the final days preceding a major.

As is her way, Keys played the entire spectrum over the course of the week. She was at times dominant (def. Haddad Maia 2 & 1 in the 1st Rd., Kasatkina 1 & 3 in the QF), as well as slow-starting (dropping the opener in a three-set win over Ostapenko in the 2nd, then Samsonova in the SF). Keys was ultimately fortunate, as well, as Liudmila Samsonova retired three games into the 3rd set, and she ended the week by raising the trophy after good friend Jessie Pegula offered up a lessened resistence to her power game in a 6-1 3rd set in the final, during which Keys was treated for an upper leg injury.



Keys' wins over Kasatkina and Pegula make it thirteen consecutive seasons with a Top 10 victory (#29 and #30 overall), and Adelaide marks the sixth time in her career in which she's put up multiple such wins in a single event. Career title #9 is also the fifth -- and fourth straight of her wins -- won on the weekend before a slam's start. Keys' other such "back door" title runs came with her maiden win in Eastbourne in 2014, and now her last four trophy runs (w/ '22 Adelaide, '23 Eastbourne and '24 Strasbourg)
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RISERS: Elise Mertens/BEL and Liudmila Samsonova/RUS
...back in her best event, Mertens took the reigns once more. But, just like last year, she wasn't able to successfully ride the title all the way into the stable, coming up short in the Hobart final for a second straight year.

Mertens' fourth career final appearance in the event was preceded by wins over Nuria Parrizas Diaz, Renata Zarazua and Vernonika Kudermetova before she finally put an end to a career run (for now) for young Aussie Maya Joint in the semis. In the final, the Belgian took McCartney Kessler to three sets only to fall short (in a love 3rd) for the second straight year in Tasmania at the hands of a Bannerette (last year it was Emma Navarro winning in 3).

Hobart isn't Mertens' only "sweet spot," as all of Australia has been pretty good to the Waffle over the years. In addition to her 2017-18 Hobart titles runs, she reached her lone slam singles SF (2018) in Melbourne, has won a pair of AO women's doubles titles and claimed the Gippsland singles crown in 2021, as well.



Meanwhile, Samsonova arrived in Adelaide with precious little recent success Down Under. The Hordette's opening loss in Week 1 to Polina Kudermetova was her fifth straight in Australia. She'd gone 6-13 during the Aussie swing since 2021.

She turned things around in Week 2, getting wins over Marie Bouzkova, Belinda Bencic and Emma Navarro, the latter Samsonova's first Top 10 win since October 2023. She took the opening set vs. Madison Keys in the semis, as well, but couldn't close out the match in straights, losing a 7-5 2nd, then retiring down 0-3 in the 3rd.


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SURPRISES: McCartney Kessler/USA and Ashlyn Krueger/USA
...apparently Kessler is determined to make her surprising '24 campaign anything but in '25, as she's already notched a second career tour title five months after she won her first last summer in Cleveland (as with Keys, both wins came barely 24 hours before the start of a major).

The former Florida Gator, 25, posted wins over Rebecca Sramkova, Maria Lourdes Carle and top seed Dayana Yastremska to reach her second career SF, then remained perfect at that stage with a win over Elina Avanesyan from a set down (and 4-2 in the 3rd). Against Hobart ace Elise Mertens in the final, Kessler started strong by taking the opening set, then finished even stronger by defeating the veteran Belgian in a love 3rd.

#67 in the world coming into Week 2, Kessler will crack the Top 50 for the first time as the AO begins this weekend.



Lucky losers reached eight QF in tour-level MD events in 2024, winning none, and they'd gone 0-11 at that stage since the last reached a WTA SF (Wang Xiyu in Washington in '22). Krueger put on a similar LL run in Adelaide this past week, but ultimately ran out of gas a round short of ending that QF-and-bust streak.

After a final qualifying round loss to Katerina Siniakova, Krueger was one of two LLs (w/ Maria Sakkari) to enter the MD. Both got 1st Round victories. But Krueger was the only to get two. And they were big ones. First she took out #18 Marta Kostyuk, then #12 Paula Badosa in a dramatic three-set affair that included a TB in each of the first two sets. Playing her 10th match in 12 days (after a Week 1 QF in Brisbane), Krueger retired down a set and 2-0 vs. top seeded Jessica Pegula in her fourth career WTA QF appearance. Pegula had also defeated LL Sakkari in the 2nd Round.


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VETERANS: Jessie Pegula/USA and Yulia Putintseva/KAZ
...last January things didn't go well for Pegula. She was dumped out of the AO in the 2nd Round, ending her three-year run of QF in Melbourne. Coach David Witt was gone soon afterward, then a neck injury slowed her roll into the new season. Pegula turned things around to produce some of her best career results during the summer, including her first grass title (Berlin), a Toronto/Cincinnati final two-fer (w/ a successful defense of her Canadian title) followed up by a maiden slam final appearance in New York.

Pegula opened her '25 season in Adelaide by reaching her 15th career WTA final with wins over Maria Sakkari, Ashlyn Krueger and Yulia Putintseva. With her first ever final in Australia, the 30-year old Bannerette stands fifth on tour with thirteen finals this decade (behind only Swiatek, Sabalenka, Rybakina and, in maybe a slight surprise, Kasatkina), but her search for a seventh career tour title (which would have been the sixth on hard court) ended in a three-set affair vs. Madison Keys, whose wedding Pegula attended in November.



Putintseva had a somewhat under-the-radar resurgence in 2024. She reached the Wimbledon Round of 16, her best ever SW19 result and just her second second-week slam run in six seasons. The Kazakh claimed her first career grass title in Birmingham (her first WTA win since '21), got her second career #1 (Iga at Wimbledon) and #2 (Coco in Cincinnati) wins, and finished in the Top 30. Putintseva came into Week 2 having just attained a career-best ranking of #25.

In Adelaide, she got additional wins over Donna Vekic, Ons Jabeur and Diana Shnaider, going three hours vs. the Russian before winning on MP #7 to reach the semis, where she finally went out to Pegula.

Still, Putintseva heads to Melbourne armed with another new career high (#23).
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COMEBACK: Veronika Kudermetova/RUS
...perhaps no player had a more disappointing singles season in '24 than Kudermetova as she fell outside the Top 75 after a Top 10 season in '22 and Top 20 year in '23.

After opening the new season with a 2 & 3 loss to Peyton Stearns in Brisbane, while her sister Polina qualified and reached the final in the same event (passing her by in the rankings), Veronika finally ended her four-match losing streak with back-to-back wins (a first since September) over Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Camila Osorio in Hobart. Kudermetova went out a round later in the QF vs. Elise Mertens.



Meanwhile, Polina's run continued in Melbourne as she won three matches to qualfiy for her second career AO main draw.
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FRESH FACES: Elina Avanesyan/ARM and Maya Joint/AUS
...anytime 22-year old Avanesyan hits the court she could make a little history. In Hobart, she became the first tour player representing Armenia (which she began doing in August) to reach a semifinal, as wins over Wang Xiyu and Greet Minnen were followed up by a walkover past an ill Amanda Anisimova in the QF. Playing to reach her second WTA final (she was RU to Mirra Andreeva in Iasi last July when she was still playing under the Russian fl-... well, I mean she was still playing as a Russ-... hmmm, let's just say she didn't have "ARM" next to her name at the time), Avanesyan fell in three sets to eventual title winner McCartney Kessler.

So that maiden champion's photo will have to wait a little while longer (thus, the shot with the roo holds onto the top spot for this January in the Avanesyan photographic oeuvre).



Michigan (Grosse Point) born Joint, who began representing her father's native Australia two years ago, made a point last season that she was going to be a player to watch. Just turned 18, she was a 125 finalist in Warsaw, then qualified for the U.S. Open, upsetting Laura Siegemund in the 1st Round for her first tour-level MD singles win. After previously committing to play NCAA tennis for Texas, Joint announced late last year (the day after Christmas) that she'd be turning pro instead.

With a wild card into the Hobart MD, Joint strung together big wins over Olga Danilovic and Magda Linette to reach her first WTA QF, then took out former AO champ Sofia Kenin to reach the semis. She finally went out to Hobart's own (well, not really... that honor still belongs to Leuven, BEL) Elise Mertens, but will nearly crack the Top 100 in the new rankings (#105). She'll open her first AO MD with a 1st Rounder vs. Jessie Pegula.


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DOWN: Lulu Sun/NZL
...Sun opened her '25 season in Auckland with a three-set loss to Rebecca Marino. In her second chance at a maiden season win in Hobart, she fell in another three-setter vs. Sofia Kenin. Combined with her three-match losing streak to end '24 after reaching her maiden tour final in Monterrey, she's now lost five straight.

Sun's most recent match win came in August (nearly five full months ago) vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova via an 8-6 3rd set TB. She's 7-7 since her surprise Wimbledon QF result last summer.

The Kiwi gets her next shot vs. Danka Kovinic in Melbourne.
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JUNIOR STAR: Emerson Jones/AUS
...Jones, the 16-year old junior #1 (and Junior Finals champ last October) was already set to make her slam debut this coming week as a wild card at the AO, but she made good use of the week *before" her big career moment.

In Adelaide, also as a wild card, Jones recorded her first career tour-level MD win with an impressive 6-4/6-0 win over #37 Wang Xinyu. She fell a round later to Dasha Kasatkina (not a blowout -- 7-5/6-3), but the single win was enough to lift Jones' ranking nearly 80 spots. She cracks the Top 300 for the first time, and will open her time in Melbourne with a 1st Round encounter with -- eek -- Elena Rybakina.

Good luck to her with that.



The Aussie won her first career pro title at a $75K in Sydney last October.
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DOUBLES: Guo Hanyu/Alexandra Panova (CHN/RUS) and Jiang Xinyu/Wu Fang-hsien (CHN/TPE)
...Guo & Panova had quite the star-studded path toward the Adelaide title, the third at tour-level for Guo and the ninth for the veteran Panova, 35.

The pair knocked off #4 seeds Asia Muhammad/Demi Schuurs, Marie Bouzkova/Bethanie Mattek-Sands and #2 Ellen Perez/Katerina Siniakova (11-9 MTB) to reach then final, where they defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia/Laura Siegemund 7-5/6-4 in the final to take the crown.



The 500 win is the biggest for the Russian since 2018 (Kremlin Cup, w/ Siegemund), and ties the largest crown in Guo's career. The Chinese woman won in the Monterrey 500 last year (defeating a team in the final that included Panova) alongside Monica Niculescu.



In Hobart, the season's first two-time champions were crowned as Jiang & Wu followed up their Week 1 win in Auckland with a second WD title run.

The pair's week concluded with a 13-11 MTB over top seeded Mihalikova/Nicholls in the semis, then a straight sets defeat in the final of Niculescu/Stollar.

It's Jiang's fifth career win, and Wu's third.
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WHEELCHAIR: Aniek Van Koot/NED
...with Diede de Groot (recovering from hip surgery) and Yui Kamiji (absent) both missing from the draw, Van Koot took the crown at the Victorian Open via a 6-1/4-6/6-4 final win over Wang Ziyang. Van Koot had lost in the final a year ago against Kamiji.

Van Koot surely liked her chances against Wang, having recently gotten wins over the Chinese player in last year's Paralympics Bronze medal match and November's Wheelchair Masters semifinals.


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*TOP Q-PLAYERS*

1. Maja Chwalinska, POL (23, #126) ...at the United Cup, no player looked to be having more fun hanging around her teammates (especially Iga Swiatek, her doubles partner during a run to the AO junior final back in 2017) during the week than Chwalinska. The Pole carried over her good feelings to Melbourne, where she played her way into her first slam MD since Wimbledon in 2022. Back then, after upsetting Katerina Siniakova in the 1st Round and taking Alison Riske to three in the 2nd, Chwalinska suffered a knee injury soon afterward, missing six months of action. She finally regained her earlier momentum last season, winning a trio of singles titles (a 125 and two $75K challengers) and posting a career high for match wins (43).

Chwalinska opened qualifying by saving two MP vs. Dominika Salkova, escaping with a 12-10 MTB win. She followed up with a three-setter over Marie Benoit, then eliminated Brenda Fruhvirtova in the final round.


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2. Sara Bejlek, CZE (18, #156) ...Bejlek made it through qualifying for a third straight AO, and will once again seek her maiden slam MD victory (she's 0-4).

Wins over Kathinka von Deichmann, Anastasia Zakharova and Jil Teichmann gave the Crusher her fifth successful slam qualifying run since the 2022 U.S. Open.
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3. Destanee Aiava, AUS (24, #195) ...Aiava's long journey from teen phenom to cautionary tale is back on the upswing with her second straight slam qualifying run (her '24 U.S. Open MD appearance was her first in a major since the '21 AO).

At #195, the lowest-ranked woman to get the required three match wins, Aiava upset #10 seed Ana Bogdan, Panna Udvardy and #23 Eva Lys to complete an eventful week in which she got attention for rating her United Cup experiece a "2 out of 10" in a YouTube vlog, garnered headlines for hunting down and wearing a pair of classic designs during her Q-run (previously donned by the likes of Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova), as well as slamming social media trolls for various bodyshaming comments.


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*RECENT AUSTRALIAN OPEN "Q-PLAYER OF THE WEEK" WINNERS*
2016 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2017 Elizaveta Kulichkova, RUS
2018 Marta Kostyuk, UKR
2019 Astra Sharma, AUS
2020 Ann Li, USA
2021 Francesca Jones, GBR
2022 Hailey Baptiste, USA
2023 Katherine Sebov, CAN
2024 Alina Korneeva, RUS
2025 Maja Chwalinska, POL

*OTHER AO QUALIFIERS*
Kimberly Birrell, AUS (26/#99)
Veronika Erjavec, SLO (25/#171)
Jana Fett, CRO (21/#131)
Viktorija Golubic, SUI (32/#90)
Nao Hibino, JPN (30/#143)
Leolia Jeanjean, FRA (29/#149)
Polina Kudermetova, RUS (21/#57)
Julia Riera, ARG (22/#147)
Gabriela Ruse, ROU (27/#125)
Daria Snigur, UKR (22/#139)
Anca Todoni, ROU (20/#110)
Wei Sijia, CHN (21/#119)
Tamara Zidansek, SLO (27/#180)

*AO LUCKY LOSERS (as of Saturday)*
Petra Martic, CRO (33/#132)

*AO WILD CARDS*
Talia Gibson, AUS (20)
Maya Joint, AUS (18)
Emerson Jones, AUS (16)
Iva jovic, USA (17)
Chloe Paquet, FRA (30)
Dasha Saville, AUS (30)
Alja Tomljanovic, AUS (31)
Zhang Shuai, CHN (35)

*AO - MD PROTECTED RANKING*
Belinda Bencic, SUI (27)
Caty McNally, USA (23)
Julia Grabher, AUT (28)
Jodie Burrage, GBR (25)
Zheng Saisai, CHN (30)
Danka Kovinic, MNE (30)

*2025 AO - SLAM MD DEBUTS*
Automatic Entry - Suzan Lamens, NED (25)
WC - Emerson Jones, AU (16)
Q - Veronika Erjavec, SLO (25)
Q - Wei Sijia, CHN (21)

*2025 AO - MOST IN MD (40 NATIONS)*
19 - United States
13 - Russia
8 - Australia
8 - China
6 - Czech Republic
6 - Ukraine
5 - France
5 - Romania
4 - Great Britain
4 - Spain
4 - Poland
3 - Argentina
3 - Croatia
3 - Germany
3 - Italy
3 - Japan
2 - Belarus
2 - Belgium
2 - Canada
2 - Kazakhstan
2 - Netherlands
2 - Slovenia
2 - Switzerland
1 - Armenia
1 - Austria
1 - Brazil
1 - Bulgaria
1 - Colombia
1 - Denmark
1 - Egypt
1 - Greece
1 - Hungary
1 - Latvia
1 - Mexico
1 - Montenegro
1 - New Zealand
1 - Serbia
1 - Slovakia
1 - Tunisia
1 - Turkey
[ages]
30-and-over: 29 [last major: 33]
19-and under: 5 [last major: 6]












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1. Adelaide QF - Yulia Putintseva def. Diana Shnaider
...7-6(9)/6-7(9)/6-4. It would have been so easy for Putintseva to lose yet *another* early season match after holding MP vs. an opponent. After all, she's dropped multiple matches from MP up each season for the past several years.

Against Shnaider, the Kazakh had seen the Hordette rally from 5-3 back in the 1st to force a TB (Putintseva won it 11-9), then again from 4-1 down in the 2nd to get to another breaker (Shnaider leveled the match w/ her own 11-9 win, saving 2 MP before converting on her own fourth SP).

In what turned out to be the final game of a 3:14 contest, Putintseva finally put away the win with a 6-4 3rd set after having two BP in the game and needing five more MP (7 in all) to put the victory on ice.


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2. Adelaide 1st Rd. - Paula Badosa def. Peyton Stearns
...6-7(5)/6-3/7-5. Since the start of last year, three-setters have seemingly become a constant source of angina for Stearns. She got off to a 0-3 start in '24 in matches that went the distance (having also ended '23 by losing her last five three-setters) and by springtime had lost 14 of her last 15 such encounters before finally turning around her numbers the remainder of the season.

Stearns lost her first three-set match of 2025 in Week 1 in Brisbane (vs. Kasatkina), and then in her opening match of Week 2 lost another vs. Badosa.

Stearns had taken the 1st set from 4-2 back, saving two SP, but it turned out to only serve to line up the former Longhorn for another long distance defeat as the Spaniard clocked in with her first win of '25 following her Comeback Player of the Year campaign last season.



Badosa lost in another three-setter in the next round, a 7-6(5)/6-7(4)/6-2 defeat at the hands of lucky loser Ashlyn Krueger. The Spaniard had come back from 7-6/4-2 down to force a 3rd set, to no avail.
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3. Adelaide Final - Madison Keys def. Jessie Pegula
...6-4/4-6/6-1. Keys' first three-set win in a final since her maiden tour title in Eastbourne (def. Kerber) in 2014. She'd lost two previous three-set title matches, vs. Kerber in (2015 Charleston) and Ka.Pliskova (2020 Brisbane).

The fourth all-U.S. WTA final this decade, Adelaide fittingly included *both* Keys and Pegula, with one of the two having now appeared in all four matches (2020 Auckland - Serena/Pegula, 2024 Strasbourg Keys/Collins, 2024 Toronto (Pegula/Anisimova). Keys also appeared in the two previous all-USA finals before that, both in 2017.

Hobart Final - McCartney Kessler def. Elise Mertens
...6-4/3-6/6-0. If your opponent in a final is named McCartney, you'd better watch out. Kessler is 6-1 in career pro singles finals (2-0 WTA, 1-0 125, 3-1 ITF), with six consecutive wins since October '23.

Meanwhile, each of the last three times two U.S. women won tour singles titles on the same weekend one of the them was named Madison (and not Brengle). Keys/Vandeweghe (2014) and Keys/Stearns (2024) were the last two Bannerette combinations.


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4. Adelaide 1st Rd. - Madison Keys def. Beatriz Haddad Maia
...6-2/6-1. Haddad Maia followed up her Week 1 0-2 mark in the United Cup with a 1st Round exit in Adelaide to Madison Keys to remain winless heading into the AO.

The Brazilian rebounded in doubles, though, getting in some match time by teaming with Laura Siegemund (who beaten her in singles in UC play) to reach the final.
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5. Adelaide 1st Rd. - Emerson Jones def. Wang Xinyu
...6-4/6-0. Ash Barty (who remains only a U.S. Open title from a Career Grand Slam, and is still just age 28) remains in the shadows, or in the sun in the stands, but the young group of Aussies (see Maya Joint this week, along w/ with the likes of Taylah Preston, Talia Gibson and Olivia Gadecki) that have found their way to the court in the years since the 2022 AO champ's early retirement continue to put up some nice results as newbies.

Girls' #1 Jones notched her maiden tour-level MD win ahead of her slam debut, and did it with a love set finish vs. #37 Wang.


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HM- Adelaide 1st Rd. - Marketa Vondrousova def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4/6-7(4)/6-2
Adelaide 2nd Rd. - Diana Shnaider def. Marketa Vondrousova 4-6/1-1 ret.
...one step forward, one (hopefully not two or more) steps back.

Vondrousova played in her first match since Wimbledon after missing the back half of '24 with a shoulder injury (the Czech missed most of '22 w/ a wrist before returning to win SW19 the following season), outlasting Pavlyuchenkova in three.

But she couldn't make her way through a second match against another Russian, retiring soon after dropping the 1st vs. Shnaider.



Meanwhile, while Karolina Muchova is seemingly healthy heading into Melbourne, reigning Wimbledon champ Barbora Krejcikova (back injury) will miss her first major since the 2020 U.S. Open.
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AO Q1 - #20 Maja Chwalinska def. Dominika Salkova 7-6(3)/5-7/7-6(12-10)
...in a 3:23 thriller, Chwalinska was down a break twice in the 3rd set. Salkova served for the win at 5-4, and the Czech led 7-3 in the deciding MTB and held a pair of MP (at 9-8 and 10-9). Chwalinska swept the final three points and played her way into the MD.


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AO Q1 - #30 Daria Snigur def. Emiliana Arango 3-6/7-5/6-3
...Snigur rallied from a set and 5-3 down vs. the Colombian (Arango served for the win), eventually qualifying in Melbourne for a second straight year. It'll be Snigur's third appearance in a major MD since she upset Simona Halep in the 1st Round of the U.S. Open in 2022. Conversely, Halep has had quite the journey since, and has still yet to play another match at slam level.
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AO Q3 - #27 Jana Fett def. Lucija Ciric Bagaric 6-3/7-6(6)
...Fett didn't lose a set in qualifying, and will play in her first AO MD match since 2018, when she held two MP in the 2nd Round vs. Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane saved both in Houdini-esque fashion, then went on to win her lone major title.
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AO Q3 - #6 Polina Kudermetova def. Elena Micic 6-4/7-5
...make way for the indefatigable Kudermetova, who followed up the qualifier-to--maiden-finalist Week 1 run (7-1) in Brisbane with three more wins in AO qualifying, competing in 11 matches in 14 days in a 2025 season that started (for her) on December 27, 2024.

The Hordette's great first week -- and immediate ranking jump as she cracked the Top 100 last Monday -- made for the odd situation where the world #57 was forced to play her way into a slam MD (her second after the '23 AO).


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AO Q3 - #9 Kimberly Birrell def. Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-3/6-7(4)/6-4
...Birrell is off to a hot '25 start, with a Brisbane QF (wins over Hon, Navarro and Potapova) and 3-0 AO Q-run (Saito, Hon again, and Selekhmeteva). The Aussie, who reached the Osaka final as a qualifier in October, has won 14 of her last 20 matches.



Birrell reached the AO 3rd Round in '19, and the 2nd Round in '23.
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AO "PROP BET" PREDICTION (just one this time)
The AO women's singles winner will be a past slam champion, but not a former AO winner (i.e. no three-peat for Sabalenka)








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*ALL-NATION FINALS (both F) - 2020-25*
2020 (USA) Auckland - S.Williams d. Pegula
2020 (BLR) Ostrava - Sabalenka d. Azarenka
2021 (RUS) Saint Petersburg - Kasatkina d. Gasparyan
2021 (CZE) Prague - Krejcikova d. Martincova
2022 (RUS) Istanbul - Potapova d. V.Kudermetova
2023 (RUS) Rosmalen - Alexandrova d. Samsonova
2023 (GBR) Nottingham - Boulter d. Burrage
2023 (CZE) Nanchang - Siniakova d. Bouzkova
2024 (CHN) Austin - Yuan d. Wang Xiyu
2024 (USA) Strasbourg - Keys d. Collins
2024 (RUS) Iasi - M.Andreeva d. Avanesyan
2024 (POL) Prague - Linette d. Frech
2024 (USA) Toronto - Pegula d. Anisimova
2024 (RUS) Ningbo - Kasatkina d. M.Andreeva
2025 (USA) Adelaide - Keys d. Pegula

*MULT.TITLES BY SAME NATION - 2020-25*
2020 --
2021 Wk.7 (ESP): Muguruza/DUB, Sorribes/GUAD
2022 Wk.32 (RUS): Kasatkina/SJ, Samsonova/WAS
2022 Wk.35 (RUS): Kasatkina/GRANBY, Samsonova/CLEVELAND
2022 Wk.38 (RUS): Alexandrova/SEOUL, Samsonova/TOKYO
2023 --
2024 Wk.21 (USA): Keys/STRASBOURG, Stearns/RABAT
2024 Wk.26 (RUS): Kasatkina/EASTBOURNE, Shnaider/BAD HOMBURG
2025 Wk.2 (USA): Keys/ADELAIDE, Kessler/HOBART

*MOST WTA FINALS - 2020-25*
25 - 1/2/9/8/5/0 = Swiatek (22-3)
23 - 3/3/3/6/7/1 = Sabalenka (13-10)
17 - 5/0/3/4/5/0 = Rybakina (7-10)
14 - 0/4/2/2/6/0 = Kasatkina (6-8)
13 - 1/0/2/5/4/1 = PEGULA (5-8)


*RECENT WOMEN'S SLAM WINNERS*
2020 AO: Sofia Kenin, USA*
2020 US: Naomi Osaka, JPN
2020 RG: Iga Swiatek, POL*
2021 AO: Naomi Osaka, JPN
2021 RG: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE*
2021 WI: Ash Barty, AUS
2021 US: Emma Raducanu, GBR*
2022 AO: Ash Barty, AUS
2022 RG: Iga Swiatek, POL
2022 WI: Elena Rybakina, KAZ*
2022 US: Iga Swiatek, POL
2023 AO: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR*
2023 RG: Iga Swiatek, POL
2023 WI: Marketa Vondrousova, CZE*
2023 US: Coco Gauff, USA*
2024 AO: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2024 RG: Iga Swiatek, POL
2024 WI: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2024 US: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
--
* - first-time slam champ

*AGE OF 2020s SLAM WINNERS*
18 = Emma Raducanu, GBR (2021 US)
19 = Iga Swiatek, POL (2020 RG)
19 = Coco Gauff, USA (2023 US)
21 = Iga Swiatek, POL (2022 RG)
21 = Iga Swiatek, POL (2022 US)
21 = Sofia Kenin, USA (2020 AO)
22 = Iga Swiatek, POL (2023 RG)
22 = Naomi Osaka, JPN (2020 US)
23 = Iga Swiatek, POL (2024 RG)
23 = Naomi Osaka, JPN (2021 AO)
23 = Elena Rybakina, KAZ (2022 WI)
24 = Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2023 AO)
24 = Marketa Vondrouosva, CZE (2023 WI)
25 = Ash Barty, AUS (2021 WI)
25 = Ash Barty, AUS (2022 AO)
25 = Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2021 RG)
25 = Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2024 AO)
26 = Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2024 US)
28 = Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2024 WI)

*MOST SLAMS WON BY DIFF. FORMER MAJOR CHAMPS (4) - OPEN ERA*
[1981]
AO: Martina Navratilova (3rd)
RG: Hana Mandlikova (2nd)
WI: Chris Evert (12th)
US: Tracy Austin (2nd)
[2014]
AO: Li Na (2nd)
RG: Maria Sharapova (5th)
WI: Petra Kvitova (2nd)
US: Serena Williams (18th)
[2024]
AO: Aryna Sabalenka (2nd)
RG: Iga Swiatek (5th)
WI: Barbora Krejcikova (2nd)
US: Aryna Sabalenka (3rd)

*CAREER SLAM #1 SEEDS - active*
11..Iga Swiatek
6...Simona Halep
6...Caroline Wozniacki
3...Victoria Azarenka
2...Naomi Osaka
2...Karolina Pliskova
1...ARYNA SABALENKA
--
ALSO: V.Williams-1

*WON TITLE AT FIRST SLAM SEEDED #1*
[since end of Evert/Navratilova era]
1991 Monica Seles (Roland Garros)
2002 Jennifer Capriati (Australian Open)
2002 Serena Williams (U.S. Open)
2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne (Australian Open)
2022 Iga Swiatek (Roland Garros)

*CAREER SLAM MD APPEARANCES - WOMEN*
93 - Venus Williams
81 - Serena Williams
72 - Alize Cornet
71 - Svetlana Kuznetsova
71 - Amy Frazier
70 - Francesca Schiavone
69 - Samantha Stosur
67 - Martina Navratilova
65 - VICTORIA AZARENKA (in '25 AO MD)

*IN WOMEN'S SLAM SINGLES MD...*
[oldest]
=2020=
AO: Venus Williams, USA (39)
US: Venus Williams, USA (40)
RG: Venus Williams, USA (40)
=2021=
AO: Venus Williams, USA (40)
RG: Venus Williams, USA (40)
WI: Venus Williams, USA (41)
US: Samantha Stosur, AUS (37)
=2022=
AO: Samantha Stosur, AUS (37)
RG: Kaia Kanepi, EST (36)
WI: Serena Williams, USA (40)
US: Venus Williams, USA (42)
=2023=
AO: Kaia Kanepi, EST (37)
RG: Kaia Kanepi, EST (37)
WI: Venus Williams, USA (43)
US: Venus Williams, USA (43)
=2024=
AO: Sara Errani, ITA (36)
RG: Sara Errani, ITA (37)
WI: Sara Errani, ITA (37)
US: Varvara Lepchenko, USA (38)
=2025=
AO: Tatjana Maria, GER (37)
[youngest]
=2020=
AO: Coco Gauff, USA (15)
US: Robin Montgomery, USA (15)
RG: Coco Gauff, USA (16)
=2021=
AO: Coco Gauff, USA (16)
RG: Coco Gauff, USA (17)
WI: Coco Gauff, USA (17)
US: Ashlyn Krueger, USA (17)
=2022=
AO: Coco Gauff, USA (17)
RG: Linda Noskova, CZE (17)
WI: Coco Gauff, USA (18)
US: Sara Bejlek, CZE (16)
=2023=
AO: Brenda Fruhvirtova, CZE (15)
RG: Mirra Andreeva, RUS (16)
WI: Mirra Andreeva, RUS (16)
US: Mirra Andreeva, RUS (16)
=2024=
AO: Alina Korneeva, RUS (16)
RG: Mirra Andreeva, RUS (17)
WI: Mirra Andreeva, RUS (17)
US: Iva Jovic, USA (16)
=2025=
AO: Emerson Jones, AUS (16)



*RECENT AUSTRALIAN OPEN SINGLES CHAMPIONS*
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2013 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2014 Li Na, CHN
2015 Serena Williams, USA
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
2017 Serena Williams, USA
2018 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2019 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2020 Sofia Kenin, USA
2021 Naomi Osaka, JPN
2022 Ash Barty, AUS
2023 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
2024 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR

*AUSTRALIAN OPEN TOP SEEDS - since 2011*
2011 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (SF)
2012 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (QF)
2013 Victoria Azarenka, BLR (W)
2014 Serena Williams, USA (4th)
2015 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2016 Serena Williams, USA (RU)
2017 Angelique Kerber, GER (1st)
2018 Simona Halep, ROU (RU)
2019 Simona Halep, ROU (4th)
2020 Ash Barty, AUS (SF)
2021 Ash Barty, AUS (QF)
2022 Ash Barty, AUS (W)
2023 Iga Swiatek, POL (4th)
2024 Iga Swiatek, POL (3rd)
2025 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR

*FIRST-TIME SLAM CHAMPS AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN - OPEN ERA*
1977 Kerry Melville-Reid, AUS
1978 Chris O'Neil, AUS
1979 Barbara Jordan, USA
1980 Hana Mandlikova, CZE
1995 Mary Pierce, FRA
1997 Martina Hingis, SUI
2001 Jennifer Capriati, USA
2006 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
2012 Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
2018 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
2020 Sofia Kenin, USA
2023 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR

*CONSECUTIVE AO TITLES - OPEN ERA*
[3]
1969-71 Margaret Court
1974-76 Evonne Goolagong
1988-90 Steffi Graf
1991-93 Monica Seles
1997-99 Martina Hingis
[2]
2001-02 Jennifer Capriati
2009-10 Serena Williams
2012-13 Victoria Azarenka
2023-24 Aryna Sabalenka (active)

*AO DEFENDING CHAMP RESULTS - OPEN ERA*
1969 Margaret Smith Court (W)
1970 Margaret Smith Court (W)
1971 Margaret Smith Court (DNP; W in '73)
1972 Virginia Wade (QF)
1973 Margaret Smith Court (DNP)
1974 Evonne Goolagong (W)
1975 Evonne Goolagong (W)
1976 Evonne Goolagong-Cawley (DNP)
1977 Kerry Melville Reid (SF)
1977 Evonne Goolagong-Cawley (DNP)
1978 Chris O'Neil (DNP)
1979 Barbara Jordan (DNP)
1980 Hana Mandlikova (QF)
1981 Martina Navratilova (RU)
1982 Chris Evert-Lloyd (DNP)
1983 Martina Navratilova (SF)
1984 Chris Evert-Lloyd (RU)
1985 Martina Navratilova (RU in '87)
1986 - NOT HELD
1987 Hana Mandlikova (QF)
1988 Steffi Graf (W)
1989 Steffi Graf (W)
1990 Steffi Graf (QF)
1991 Monica Seles (W)
1992 Monica Seles (W)
1993 Monica Seles (DNP)
1994 Steffi Graf (DNP)
1995 Mary Pierce (2nd Rd.)
1996 Monica Seles (DNP)
1997 Martina Hingis (W)
1998 Martina Hingis (W)
1999 Martina Hingis (RU)
2000 Lindsay Davenport (SF)
2001 Jennifer Capriati (W)
2002 Jennifer Capriati (1st Rd.)
2003 Serena Williams (DNP)
2004 Justine Henin-Hardenne (DNP)
2005 Serena Williams (3rd Rd.)
2006 Amelie Mauresmo (4th Rd.)
2007 Serena Williams (QF)
2008 Maria Sharapova (DNP)
2009 Serena Williams (W)
2010 Serena Williams (DNP)
2011 Kim Clijsters (SF)
2012 Victoria Azarenka (W)
2013 Victoria Azarenka (QF)
2014 Li Na (DNP, retired)
2015 Serena Williams (RU)
2016 Angelique Kerber (4th Rd.)
2017 Serena Williams (DNP)
2018 Caroline Wozniacki (3rd Rd.)
2019 Naomi Osaka (4th Rd.)
2020 Sofia Kenin (2nd Rd.)
2021 Naomi Osaka (3rd Rd.)
2022 Ash Barty (DNP, retired)
2023 Aryna Sabalenka (W)
2024 Aryna Sabalenka

*RECENT AUSTRALIAN OPEN SEMIFINALISTS*
2018: Wozniacki (W), Halep (RU); Mertens/Kerber
2019: Osaka (W), Kvitova (RU); Collins/Ka.Pliskova
2020: Kenin (W), Muguruza (RU); Barty/Halep
2021: Osaka (W), Brady (RU); S.Williams/Muchova
2022: Barty (W), Collins (RU); Keys/Swiatek
2023: Sabalenka (W), Rybakina (RU); Azarenka/Linette
2024: Sabalenka (W), Zheng (RU); Gauff/Yastremska

*LOW-SEEDED AO CHAMPIONS - OPEN ERA*
Unseeded - 1978 Chris O'Neil, AUS
Unseeded - 2007 Serena Williams, USA
#14 - 2020 Sofia Kenin, USA
#12 - 2001 Jennifer Capriati, USA
#7 - 2005 Serena Williams, USA
#7 - 2016 Angelique Kerber, GER
#5 - 1979 Barbara Jordan, USA
#5 - 2008 Maria Sharapova, RUS
#5 - 2023 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
#4 - 1995 Mary Pierce. FRA
#4 - 1997 Martina Hingis, SUI
#4 - 2014 Li Na, CHN
#4 - 2019 Naomi Osaka, JPN

*BACK-to-BACK US/AO TITLES OVER TWO SEASONS - Open era*
1969-70 Margaret Court, AUS
1970-71 Margaret Court, AUS
1988-89 Steffi Graf, FRG
1989-90 Steffi Graf, FRG
1991-92 Monica Seles, YUG
1992-93 Monica Seles, YUG
1993-94 Steffi Graf, GER
1997-98 Martina Hingis, SUI
2002-03 Serena Williams, USA
2003-04 Justine Henin-Hardenne, BEL
2008-09 Serena Williams, USA
2010-11 Kim Clijsters, BEL
2014-15 Serena Williams, USA
2018-19 Naomi Osaka, JPN
--
1982 - Chris Evert, US Sept./AO Dec.
1983 - Martina Navratilova - US Sept/AO Dec.
2020-21 - Naomi Osaka - RG Oct.'20 held between '20 US/'21 AO

*AUSTRALIAN OPEN GIRLS FINALS - since 2012*
2012 Taylor Townsend/USA d. Yulia Putintseva/RUS
2013 Ana Konjuh/CRO d. Katerina Siniakova/CZE
2014 Elizaveta Kulichkova/RUS d. Jana Fett/CRO
2015 Tereza Mihalikova/SVK d. Katie Swan/GBR
2016 Vera Lapko/BLR d. Tereza Mihalikova/SVK
2017 Marta Kostyuk/UKR d. Rebeka Masarova/SUI
2018 Liang En-shuo/TPE d. Clara Burel/FRA
2019 Clara Tauson/DEN d. Leylah Fernandez/CAN
2020 Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva/AND d. Weronika Baszak/POL
2022 Petra Marcinko/CRO d. Sofia Costoulas/BEL
2023 Alina Korneeva/RUS d. Mirra Andreeva/RUS
2024 Renata Jamrichova/SVK d. Emerson Jones/AUS

*2024 AUSTRALIAN OPEN...*
=youngest=
16 - Emerson Jones, AUS (WC) - DOB: July 7, 2008
16 - Iva Jovic, USA (WC) - DOB: December 6, 2007
17 - Mirra Andreeva, RUS - DOB: April 29, 2007
18 - Maya Joint, AUS (WC) - DOB: April 16, 2006
18 - Sara Bejlek, CZE (Q) - DOB: January 31, 2006
=oldest=
37 - Tatjana Maria, GER - DOB: August 8, 1987
36 - Laura Siegemund, GER - DOB: March 4, 1988
35 - Zhang Shuai, CHN (WC) - DOB: January 21, 1989
35 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR - DOB: July 31, 1989
34 - Sorana Cirstea, ROU - DOB: April 7, 1990
34 - Irina-Camelia Begu, ROU - DOB: August 26, 1990
34 - Arantxa Rus, NED - DOB: December 13, 1990
34 - Rebecca Marino, CAN - DOB: December 16, 1990






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All for now. (Not necessarily daily -- I'll play it by ear) AO coverage next.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 4:00 PM 

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