Saturday, June 28, 2025

Wk.26- A Jess Pegula Joint







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*WEEK 26 CHAMPIONS*
BAD HOMBURG, GERMANY (WTA 500; Grass Outdoor)
S: Jessie Pegula/USA def. Iga Swiatek/POL 6-4/7-5
D: Guo Hanyu/Alexandra Panova (CHN/RUS) def. Lyudmyla Kichenok/Ellen Perez (UKR/AUS) 4-6/7-6(4) [10-5]
EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND (WTA 250; Grass Outdoor)
S: Maya Joint/AUS def. Alex Eala/PHI 6-4/1-6/7-6(10)
D: Marie Bouzkova/Anna Danilina (CZE/KAZ) def. Hsieh Su-wei/Maya Joint (TPE/AUS) 6-4/7-5




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jessie Pegula/USA
...Pegula's title run in Bad Homburg, her second win on grass, continues the year-long stretch of consistent play that has lifted her into a solid #3 position in the WTA rankings.

After an opening victory over Katerina Siniakova, Pegula posted her first Top 10 win of the season in a three-setter vs. Emma Navarro, then overcame Linda Noskova having served for the match in the 2nd set to reach her fifth final of the season. The SF victory over the Czech improves Pegula's '25 SF mark to 5-0. She's won nine straight semifinal matches, with her last loss coming in Charleston last season.

After Iga Swiatek had worked her way through to her first career grass final without dropping a set, Pegula defeated the Pole in straights to walk off with her ninth tour title. Five have come over the past year. At just a bit past the mid-way point of the tour schedule, the Bannerette has already recorded her first three-title campaign, and is the only woman (so far) this season to lift trophies on all three surfaces.


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RISER: Linda Noskova/CZE
...Noskova followed up her Nottingham QF with a SF in Bad Homburg, though it might have been so much more.

Wins over Ajla Tomljanovic and '24 finalist Donna Vekic set up a face-off with Mirra Andreeva in the QF. The 20-year old Czech notched her ninth career Top 10 victory, third this year and first ever on grass, to reach her second SF of the season (w/ Abu Dhabi). She led Jessie Pegula by a set and 5-3, and served at 5-4 to reach her fourth tour final, only to see her lead slip away and the world #3 advance to the final instead.

Noskova will still climb three spots to #27, three off her career high, but the memory of the lost opportunity will likely linger. The Czech has lost in the 1st Round at the last three majors.


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SURPRISE: Iga Swiatek/POL
...interestingly, one of the first times a lot people ever heard of Swiatek was when she was crowned the Wimbledon girls' champion, taking the title on the grass back in 2018.



Since then, Swiatek has often begged off of much grass court preparation heading into SW19 and, imagine that, Wimbledon has traditionally been by far her worst major. Her eleven MD wins there are barely more than half her next-least total (U.S.-20) at any other major. Still, she won the Open in 2022, while she hasn't gotten past the QF at Wimbledon.

But, before this week, the one time that Swiatek *did* play a pre-Wimbledon grass event she reached the SF in Bad Homburg (she pulled out at that point) in 2023, then went on to post her best career women's MD result (QF) at the All-England Club. We'll soon see if the pattern remains true after Swiatek showed up again in Bad Homburg, and this time reached her first career grass final -- and first singles final *anywhere* in thirteen months -- with wins over Victoria Azarenka, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Jasmine Paolini.

It was an oft-impressive run, accomplished without dropping a set, though whether it was a misleading one is still left to be determined. It's worth noting that Swiatek is a combined 14-3 vs. the players she beat in Germany, 13-1 against them collectively since the start of the '22 season.

In the final against Jessie Pegula, who has has far more recent success in their series, Swiatek went out in straight sets, though in a close 6-4/7-5 contest. Swiatek has lost four of her last six meetings vs. Pegula.

Still, the win over Paolini ended Swiatek's uncharacteristic slide of seven straight SF losses as she reached her first final since winning Roland Garros last year, as well as her first since bringing aboard Wim Fissette as coach late in '24. After falling from #1 to #8 under the Belgian's watchful eye, this result will at least pretty that up a bit as Iga rises to #4 heading into Wimbledon (though she's still the #8 seed, of course). Such things might not help keep her confidence high for a deep run at SW19 (after beating Paolini, she said she thought she'd lose to the Italian, and still seemed a bit noncommital about her grass court prospects following the final), but the higher standing might help her out significantly in draws over what remains of this summer.

The week also saw Swiatek get her 300th career tour-level match win, and 50th career Top 10 victory (her first on grass).


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COMEBACK: Barbora Krejcikova/CZE
...Krejcikova may not successfully defend her Wimbledon title, but in Eastbourne she did enough to think that -- assuming good-enough health -- she probably won't be matching countrywoman Marketa Vondrousova's 1st Round exit as the DC a year ago (which was the first such early loss at SW19 since '93 women's champ Steffi Graf was upset by Lori McNeil in her '94 opener).

Krejcikova had an interesting past week or so. She (as usual) watched some tennis as a spectator, returned to the All-England Club to reunite with the Venus Rosewater Dish and walk about the grounds... and then hit the court and won back-to-back matches in Eastbourne in which she faced MP. Then she pulled out with a (hopefully minor) thigh injury (on June 26, aka "Radwanskian Massacre" commemoration day, BTW), with time to spare to be ready for Wimbledon.

The Czech knocked off consecutive Brits from the brink, rallying from 5-3 down in the 3rd vs. Harriet Dart, saving two MP; then in the next round it was Jodie Burrage on the wrong side of history. Of course, Krejickova first had to lose a 6-4/3-1 lead before recovering from Burrage holding three MP at 6-5, 40/love in the 3rd.



Krejcikova will face Eastbourne finalist Alex Eala in the 1st Round at SW19, so the Czech's brief stretch of success might prove beneficial right out of the gate.
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FRESH FACES: Maya Joint/AUS and Alex Eala/PHI
...Joint *almost* has this timing thing down right. So far in her pro career, the 19-year old Aussie has been at her very best the week before the start of a major.

Last summer, Joint spent the week before the U.S. Open making her way through qualifying at Flushing Meadows to reach her maiden slam MD. She got a 1st Round win, too. In January, she reached her first WTA SF in Hobart the week before the start of AO play, and in May the Aussie reached her maiden tour-level finals in singles *and* doubles in Rabat, sweeping the titles, in the week before Roland Garros MD action began. Unfortunately, Joint exited in the 1st Round in both Melbourne and Paris.

This week in Eastbourne, she was at it again, reaching the singles and doubles finals once more.

Joint posted wins over a string of (at least) former slam finalists, including Ons Jabeur, Emma Raducanu (though she nearly squandered a 5-2 final set lead vs. the Brit) and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, as well as Anna Blinkova. Her third 2025 singles SF came on a third different surface, and in her second final she battled Alex Eala down the stretch, twice overcoming a break deficit in the 3rd set and then saving four MP in the deciding TB, winning it 12-10.



With her second tour title in hand as she cracks the Top 50 (#41) ahead of Wimbledon, Joint looks to be in good position to match the rare feat that Diana Shnaider pulled off last season. That is, in her first full year on tour, winning titles on clay, grass and hard court. Joint has yet to win on hard (she was 2-1 on the surface in ITF/125 finals last year), but the odds seem pretty good that she might. Maybe even the week before the U.S. Open. Should Tennis in the Land be prepping the trophy right now?

Joint didn't get the sweep, falling in the doubles final alongside Hsieh Su-wei. Had the Aussie won, though, she'd joined Barty, Krejickova and Haddad Maia as the only players this decade to pull off s/d sweeps twice in the 2020s. None of those three won their pair in the same season, though.



Meanwhile, though hard court is likely where her best results lie, Joint's fellow Eastbourne finalist had quite the week on the grass herself.

Eala, 20, made her way through qualifiying and then went on a tear through the MD on her way to her first tour singles final, the first by a woman from the Philippines in tour history. Lucia Bronzetti got just one game off her, while Alona Ostapenko retired in the 3rd set of their match. After Dayana Yastremska notched just three games in the QF, fellow qualifier Varvara Gracheva fell in three in the semis.

Eala was THIS CLOSE to adding a maiden title to her big Miami SF result from earlier this year, holding break leads vs. Joint in the 3rd set and four MP in the deciding TB before falling 12-10.

She'll still climb to a new career high of #56 heading into Wimbledon, with her eye surely on the summer hard court stretch coming up soon.
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DOUBLES: Guo Hanyu/Alexandra Panova, CHN/RUS and Marie Bouzkova/Anna Danilina, CZE/KAZ
...in Bad Homburg, Guo & Panova became the seventh different duo this season to win multiple WTA titles (the tour leaders are Errani/Paolini w/ 3), adding a second WTA 500 win to the one they claimed in Adelaide back in January.

The pair won two MTB over both Kichenok sisters along the way, defeating Nadiia (w/ Nicole Melichar-Martinez) in the QF 12-10, then Lyudmyla (w/ Ellen Perez) in the final via a 10-5 score.

It's career title #4 for Guo, and #11 for the veteran Panova.



In Eastbourne, Joint's bid to pick up her fourth overall s/d WTA title this season was thwarted by Bouzkova & Danilina, as the pair combined to finally get the Kazakh her first win of '25 in what was her fifth final this season with a fifth different partner (including four in the last four weeks).

Bouzkova/Danilina won an 11-9 MTB in the semis over the all-Brit team of Dart/Lumsden, then handled 19-year old Joint and her 39-year old partner Hsieh Su-wei, 6-4/7-5, in the final.

Bouzkova's sixth career title is her first since 2023, while Danilina's tenth finally gets a "W" for what had been a winless (0-4) mark for her in finals this season.

Now Hsieh holds the oh-fer mantle, along with Zhang Shuai, as both are 0-3 in '25 WD title matches. Hsieh's last doubles win came in Birmingham last summer w/ Elise Mertens. She reached the AO and Dubai 1000 finals earlier this season alongside Alona Ostapenko.

Hsieh *is* the defending Wimbledon champion ('24 w/ Jan Zielinski) in the upcoming MX event at SW19, aka the last non-exhibition MX event of the season whose mission statement isn't just to pick up a little pocket change for the tournament and stroke the egos (and, needlessly, the bank accounts) of the top singles players who've mostly turned up their noses at the event for the majority of their careers.


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WHEELCHAIR: Angelica Bernal/COL
...well, opportunity still exists in the wheelchair world, even with the return of former #1 Diede de Groot.

At Eastbourne, the first big grass event of the season took place, and de Groot didn't win it, as her comeback from hip surgery continues to produce some results that would never have happened in the past. In this case, #7-ranked Colombian Bernal, 30, picked up her second career Series 1 win with a 7-6(2)/7-6(2) victory in the final over de Groot, grabbing her maiden grass title.

Before this match, de Groot was 15-0 vs. Bernal, losing just one previous set (in 2018) and allowing her three or fewer combined games ten times in the past.

De Groot has won the last four Wimbledon singles titles, and has been the champion six of last seven times the event has been held.

De Groot didn't go home empty-handed, as she won the doubles with Lucy Shuker.


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1. Eastbourne Final - Maya Joint def. Alex Eala
...6-4/1-6/7-6(10). The sixth final this decade to feature players whose combined age is under 40 (Joint 19, Eala 20), the youngest title match-up in Eastbourne since 1981 turned into a cracker of a contest as Joint became the fifth singles champ this season to save MP en route to the title.

Eala twice held early break leads in the 3rd before Joint forced a deciding TB. There, Eala had four MP chances to claim her maiden tour title (and the first by a PHI woman), at 6-5, 8-7, 9-8 and 10-9. Joint put away her second straight week-before-a-major title with a 12-10 win on her second MP.


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2. Eastbourne 1st Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova def. Harriet Dart
...6-3/6-7(4)/7-5. Finally, the reigning Wimbledon champ gets her first grass court win since taking the title on Centre Court last summer.

Krejcikova trailed Dart 5-3 in the 3rd, and was down double MP at 5-4, 40/15.


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3. Eastbourne 2nd Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova def. Jodie Burrage
...4-6/6-4/7-6(3). Hmmm, did Barbora pay attention to Vondrousova last week?

After saving two MP in the 1st Round vs. Dart, Krejcikova lost a 6-4/3-1 lead vs. another Brit in the 2nd. For the second straight round Krejcikova saved MP, this time *three* of them at 6-5 in the final set vs. Burrage, and finished strong by taking a 7-3 TB to earn her first consecutive wins since the WTA Finals.



So, I guess this means Krejcikova is going to win two straight Wimbledon titles now, right? I mean, after Marketa Vondrousova wins her second in three years, I suppose. Not sure how that'll all work out nice and neatly, though.
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4. Bad Homburg SF - Jessie Pegula def. Linda Noskova
...6-7(2)/7-5/6-1. Noskova rallied from 3-1 down to take the opening set, but couldn't put Pegula away after leading 7-6/5-3 and serving for the match at 5-4.

The Czech's loss prevented an eighth meeting with Iga Swiatek, which would have been their third this year on a third different surface. Swiatek vs. Noskova has traditionally produced good matches. They've played four three-setters, with Noskova getting her lone win at the 2024 AO. Swiatek has found a winning groove in the series, taking their last five meetings.


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5. Bad Homburg Final - Jessie Pegula def. Iga Swiatek
...6-4/7-5. In the first Top 10 final on grass since Simona Halep defeated Serena Williams in the 2019 Wimbedon final (you know, "slam #24"... rolls eyes), Pegula denies Swiatek her first career grass title and improves to 4-2 vs. the Pole since the start of the '23 season. In that same stretch, Iga has gone 4-3 vs. Sabalenka, 6-4 vs. Gauff, and 4-4 vs. Rybakina.

Swiatak still currently leads 6-5 in the overall series against Pegula.


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6. Bad Homburg 1st Rd. - Donna Vekic def. Diana Shnaider
...6-3/6-3. A week after we got a match-up of Top 10 players in a 2nd Rounder, in Bad Homburg we got a rematch of last year's final in the *1st* Round.

A year ago, Shnaider defeated Vekic, who'd then head to Wimbledon and reach her maiden slam semifinal. They faced off in the 1st Round in Berlin in Week 25, as well, with the Hordette getting the "W" again. Vekic, who came in 8-15 on the year, needed the win here far more... and she got it.


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7. Eastbourne 1st Rd. - Lulu Sun def. Dasha Kasatkina
...7-5/2-6/6-3. Kasatkina was the #1 seed and defending champion in the event.

So, I guess this means Sun will now be the shocking champion of Wimbledon, right? I mean, after Krejcikova and Vondrousova, of course.

Meanwhile, Kasatkina drops to 14-16 on the year. Sun, who came in at 11-17 (but w/ four of those wins in low-level BJK zone play), gets a victory to boost her confidence before she tries to defend her surprise Wimbledon QF result from 2024.

Hey, it's *something*, and that ain't nothin'.



Sun lost her 2nd Round match to Anna Blinkova.
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8. Eastbourne 1st Rd. - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Viktoriya Tomova
...6-1/6-7(5)/7-6(7). Pavlyuchenkova climbed out of a 4-2 2nd set hole to reach MP, but Tomova forced a 3rd. It was the Bulgarian who had then had a handful of opportunities, with a first MP at 5-4, then *quintuple* MP (that's five straight, dontcha know) after going up 6-1 in the deciding TB.

Pavlyuchenkova won 9-7 on her third overall MP on the day.



Pavlyuchenkova ultimately reached the SF, her first on tour since consecutive final four runs in Doha and Linz in February 2024.
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9. Eastbourne 2nd Rd. - Maya Joint def. Emma Raducanu
...4-6/6-1/7-6(4). Raducanu rallied from 5-2 down in the 3rd as Joint failed *three* times to serve out the win, then fell down a mini-break at 3-4 in the deciding breaker.

But the Aussie then swept the final four points to take the victory, and surely please a certain social media subset (you know the ones) of tennis fans tennis followers female athlete trolls who always keep a close eye on the Brit. (BTW, they're probably not the same subset busy writing fan fiction rom-coms starring Raducanu and Alcaraz.)
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10. Bad Homburg 2nd Rd. - Jasmine Paolini def. Leylah Fernandez
...7-6(8)/7-6(6). An important fight won for Paolini, as the '24 Wimbledon finalist gets her first '25 grass win at the eleventh hour.

Though this was just a two-set affair, it lasted two and a half hours as momentum shifted throughout. Paolini led 4-2 in the 1st, but Fernandez rallied to reach SP at 6-5 and had two more in the tie-breaker. In the 2nd, Fernandez staged another comeback that came up short, erasing Paolini's 5-2 lead to again reach SP (two, actually) after Paolini had had triple MP at 6-5, 40/love.


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11. Bad Homburg 2nd Rd. - Iga Swiatek def. Victoria Azarenka
...6-4/6-4. Finally, Swiatek makes her '25 grass court debut. She immediately fell behind 4-1 to Azarenka, then ripped off 12 straight points and won five games in a row to take the 1st set, and won in two.

Even with this loss, it was a redemptive week for Azarenka, as the veteran came in ranked outside the Top 100 for the first time since 2006. She won two matches to qualify -- both three-setters vs. Caty McNally and Veronika Kudermetova, the latter in 3:20 -- then eliminated Laura Siegemund in the 1st Round.

Vika didn't get her first Top 10 win since notching two last year on the grass in Berlin (vs. Rybakina and Sakkari), but she will return to the Top 100 in the last pre-Wimbledon rankings.

Meanwhile, Vika's testiness level rose as it became clearer that she was about to fall to 1-4 vs. the Pole, with four losses in a row since a win at the 2020 U.S. Open (which came *before* Swiatek's maiden RG title).


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12. Bad Homburg SF - Iga Swiatek def. Jasmine Paolini
...6-1/6-3. Paolini reached her third '25 semifinal on a third different surface, but that did nothing to change her ongoing difficulty when it comes to playing Swiatek.



The Italian, like Azarenka, became testy during the match when it came to Swiatek's in-match maneuvers as yet another defeat grew near in the series. Swiatek leads 5-0, with Paolini winning just one set.



For quite a while, my question in situations like this, considering the returner is supposed to play "at the server's pace," why doesn't the player serving simply serve rather than stop and wait for the returner (who often raises their hand, which is *not* an "official act" that pauses play) to "be ready?" This question goes all the way back to "the wave" in Serena vs. Justine.

It's up to the player returning serve to be prepared when the ball arrives (whenever that is), not the other way around, and if the umpire tries to stop play to allow the returner to be "in better position" the server can simply point that out. If you snooze, you lose (the point, that is).
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13. Bad Homburg 2nd Rd. - Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Elina Svitolina
...3-6/6-4/7-6(7). Haddad Maia ultimately fell to Jasmine Paolini in the QF, but while the Brazilian's season numbers are still well under water she's significantly turned her season upward since her horrendous start.

Haddad Maia started 2025 at 2-12, and 3-14. Since then, she's gone 6-5 (and won the Nottingham doubles).

In Bad Homburg, in addition to this win over Svitolina she posted a victory over Ashlyn Krueger, her second this season vs. the Bannerette.


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14. Eastbourne WC 1st Rd. - Diede de Groot def. Lizzy de Greef
...3-6/6-2/6-2. A (so far) rare Dutch generational match-up, as de Groot and de Greef face off for just the second time, in the grass court opener for both. Diede won, but the youngster grabbed her first set in the series.
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1. Bad Homburg 1st Rd. - Naomi Osaka def. Olga Danilovic
...7-6(6)/7-6(4). Osaka gets her first grass win of the year, avoiding three sets with the help of 16 aces.

Osaka fell a round later to Emma Navarro and heads to SW19, where she's posted exactly one win since reaching the 3rd Round in her first two years in the MD in 2017-18.
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2. Bad Homburg 2nd Rd. - Mirra Andreeva def. Clara Tauson
...3-6/6-3/6-1. Still waiting for that "great" Andreeva/Tauson clash, though almost all have been reliably interesting.

Mirra improves to 4-0 vs. the Dane in 2025, getting a win on a third different surface. But two have gone three sets (w/ Tauson winning the 1st), and another saw Tauson push the opening set to a TB in a straight sets loss in their maiden match-up. Tauson was injured in the fourth meeting.

This was Andreeva's first win on grass (after three straight losses in 2024-25) since she reached the Wimbledon Round of 16 as qualifier in her tournament debut in 2023 as a 16-year old.
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All of this...




The funny thing is, I've always included Petko -- even as a retired player -- in all of my versions of "fake WTA marketing campaigns." She's just a natural, and the fact that she so clearly recognizes the ongoing problem is precisely why.

Also, I saw that side of Wang Xinyu back when she made her Singapore run early in the season, so it wasn't just specific to her winding journey to the Berlin final. She's a light, but the WTA remains perpetually in the dark about such things.


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In a call back to that Sakkari/Putintseva ("nobody likes you!") dust-up from that early 1st Rounder last weekend...



I'm not a particular fan of Putintseva, at least not when it comes to some of her actions on the court. But I'm always a supporter of a player who gets "called out" for their behavior by (at worst) a hypocrite, or at least (at best) someone oblivious to their own oft-questionable behavior. Hence, you know how I voted on this one (and I wasn't alone)...



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Once again, Coco -- the best "action shot" subject in the game -- could be The Logo...




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Only the WTA would have these 250 tournament rules that prevent events from having the best fields possible, but *also* only the WTA would not suspend said rule during a three-week run-up to a major on an "alternate" surface during which there are only two tournaments per week and one of them is a 250, further limiting highly ranked players from getting match action on the surface heading into a major. The rule was why we had a Top 10 match-up in the *2nd Round* of an event two weeks ago since all the Top 10ers had to funnel into a single event and not all of them could be seeded in the draw.



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WIMBLEDON "PROP PICK" PREDICTIONS
1. The Wimbledon champion will be a former SW19 finalist, or an unnamed first-time Czech Wimbledon finalist. As of the original MD, that'd be from a group that includes Krejcikova, Paolini, Rybakina, Vondrousova, Jabeur and Kvitova... or any of the five other Czechs in the field.
2. The runner-up will be a first-time Wimbledon finalist who *has* reached a final at another major.
3. Dark horse: Amanda Anisimova For a "YES" she'd need to reach the QF.
4. A final four member will be a first-time slam semifinalist, and be outside the Top 20 seeded players (possibly unseeded, and probably more likely so).






















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That last one could be the basis of a touching WTA promotional spot... but, you know, it's the WTA. So, nope.


















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*2025 TITLES FROM MATCH POINT DOWN*
Auckland - Clara Tauson (1 MP vs. Kenin, 2r)
Australian Open - Madison Keys (1 MP vs Swiatek, SF)
Bogota - Camila Osorio (1 MP vs. Bektas, 2r)
Rosmalen - Elise Mertens (11 MP vs. Alexandrova, SF)
Eastbourne - MAYA JOINT (4 MP vs. Eala, F)
[most MP saved to win title - 2020s]
11 - Elise Mertens (2025 Rosmalen)
5 - Leylah Fernandez (2022 Monterrey)
5 - Jessie Pegula (2024 Berlin)
4 - Barbora Krejcikova (2023 Dubai)
4 - MAYA JOINT (2025 Eastbourne)

*TEEN CHAMPS in 2020s*
6 - Coco Gauff (2021,2023-24)
3 - Mirra Andreeva (2024-25)
3 - Iga Swiatek (2020-21)
2 - Leylah Fernandez (2021-22)
2 - MAYA JOINT (2025)
2 - Clara Tauson (2021)
1 - Linda Fruhvirtova (2022)
1 - Ashlyn Krueger (2023)
1 - Linda Noskova (2024)
1 - Camila Osorio (2021)
1 - Emma Raducanu (2021)
1 - Diana Shnaider (2024)
1 - Maria Timofeeva (2023)

*YOUNGEST FINAL COMBINATION - 2020s*
37 = 2021 US Open: Raducanu (18) d. Fernandez (19)
38 = 2024 Iasi: M.Andreeva (17) d. Avanesyan (21)
39 = 2022 Monterrey: Fernandez (19) d. Osorio (20)
39 = 2022 R.Garros: Swiatek (21) d. Gauff (18)
39 = 2025 Dubai: M.Andreeva (17) d. Tauson (22)
39 = 2025 Eastbourne: JOINT (19) d. EALA (20)

*2025 OLDEST WTA FINALISTS*
37 - Tatjana Maria (London)-W
32 - Katarzyna Kawa (Bogota)
31 - JESSIE PEGULA (Bad Homburg)-W
31 - Jessie Pegula (Charleston)-W
31 - Jessie Pegula (Miami)
31 - Jessie Pegula (Austin)-W
[doubles/MX]
39 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (I.W. MX Invit.)
39 - HSIEH SU-WEI (Eastbourne - L)
39 - Hsieh Su-wei (Dubai)
39 - Hsieh Su-wei (Australian Open)
38 - Sara Errani (Berlin - L)
38 - Sara Errani (Roland Garros - W)
38 - Sara Errani (Roland Garros MX - W)
38 - Sara Errani (Rome - W)

*2025 FIRST-TIME WTA FINALISTS*
Polina Kudermetova, RUS (#107/21 = Brisbane)
Emiliana Arango, COL (#133/24 = Merida)
Maya Joint, AUS (#78/19 = Rabat)-W
Wang Xinyu, CHN (#49/23 = Berlin)
ALEX EALA, PHI (#74/20 = Eastbourne)

*2025 QUALIFIERS IN FINALS*
Brisbane - Polina Kudermetova, RUS
Merida - Emiliana Arango, COL
Bogota - Katarzyna Kawa, POL
London - Tatjana Maria, GER (W)
Rosmalen - Gabriela Ruse, ROU
Berlin - Wang Xinyu, CHN
Eastbourne - ALEX EALA, PHI

*MOST WTA SF in 2025*
8 - Aryna Sabalenka (7-1)
6 - IGA SWIATEK (1-5)
5 - JESSIE PEGULA (5-0)
5 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (1-4)
4 - Madison Keys (2-2)
4 - JASMINE PAOLINI (1-3)

*2020-25 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
22 - 1/2/8/6/5/0 = Iga Swiatek
15 - 3/2/0/3/4/3 = Aryna Sabalenka
9 - 0/1/0/4/3/1 = Coco Gauff
8 - 1/5/2 = Ash Barty (ret.)
8 - 0/3/2/2/1/0 = Barbora Krejcikova
8 - 0/0/1/2/2/3 = JESSIE PEGULA
8 - 1/0/1/2/3/1 = Elena Rybakina
[finals]
29 - 3/3/3/6/7/7 = Sabalenka (15-14)
26 - 1/2/9/8/5/1 = SWIATEK (22-4)
18 - 5/0/3/4/5/1 = Rybakina (8-10)
17 - 1/0/2/5/4/5 = PEGULA (8-9)
14 - 0/4/2/2/6/0 = Kasatkina (6-8)

*2025 WTA SINGLES/DOUBLES FINAL IN EVENT*
Austin: McCartney Kessler (L/L)
Rome: Jasmine Paolini (W/W)
Rabat: Maya Joint (W/W)
Eastbourne: MAYA JOINT (W/L)


*UNITED STATES - WTA TITLES (active)*
10 - Madison Keys (2014-25)
9 - Coco Gauff (2019-25)
9 - JESSIE PEGULA (2019-25)
8 - Sloane Stephens (2015-24)
5 - Sofia Kenin (2019-20)
4 - Danielle Collins (2021-24)
3 - Amanda Anisimova (2019-25)
3 - McCartney Kessler (2024-25)
3 - Alison Riske-Amritraj (2014-21)
--
ALSO: V.Williams (49)

*2025 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
5 (1-4) = ANNA DANILINA, KAZ
4 (3-1) = Sara Errani, ITA
4 (3-1) = Jasmine Paolini, ITA
4 (2-2) = Alona Ostapenko, LAT
3 (2-1) = GUO HANYU, CHN
3 (2-1) = Jiang Xinyu, CHN
3 (2-1) = Diana Shnaider, RUS
3 (2-1) = Wu Fang-hsien, CHN
3 (1-2) = Irina Khromacheva, RUS
3 (1-2) = Aleksandra Krunic, SRB
3 (0-3) = HSIEH SU-WEI, TPE
3 (0-3) = Zhang Shuai, CHN






*WIMBLEDON #1 SEEDS SINCE 2010 (w/ result)*
2010 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2011 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (4th)
2012 Maria Sharapova, RUS (4th)
2013 Serena Williams, USA (4th)
2014 Serena Williams, USA (3rd)
2015 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2016 Serena Williams, USA (W)
2017 Angelique Kerber, GER (4th)
2018 Simona Halep, ROU (3rd)
2019 Ash Barty, AUS (4th)
2021 Ash Barty, AUS (W)
2022 Iga Swiatek, POL (3rd)
2023 Iga Swiatek, POL (QF)
2024 Iga Swiatek, POL (3rd)
2025 Aryna Sabalenka, BLR

*WIMBLEDON RESULTS OF DEFENDING CHAMPS - OPEN ERA*
1968 Billie Jean King (RU)
1969 Ann Jones (retired)
1970 Margaret Court (RU)
1971 Evonne Goolagong (RU)
1972 Billie Jean King (W)
1973 Billi Jean King (QF)
1974 Chris Evert (SF)
1975 Billie Jean King (DNP-retired)
1976 Chris Evert (SF)
1977 Virginia Wade (SF)
1978 Martina Navratilova (W)
1979 Martina Navratilova (SF)
1980 Evonne Goolagong Cawley (DNP-pregnant)
1981 Chris Evert-Lloyd (RU)
1982 Martina Navratilova (W)
1983 Martina Navratilova (W)
1984 Martina Navratilova (W)
1985 Martina Navratilova (W)
1986 Martina Navratilova (W)
1987 Martina Navratilova (RU)
1988 Steffi Graf (W)
1989 Steffi Graf (SF)
1990 Martina Navratilova (QF)
1991 Steffi Graf (W)
1992 Steffi Graf (W)
1993 Steffi Graf (1st Rd.)
1994 Conchita Martinez (SF)
1995 Steffi Graf (W)
1996 Steffi Graf (DNP-injured)
1997 Martina Hingis (SF)
1998 Jana Novotna (QF)
1999 Lindsay Davenport (RU)
2000 Venus Williams (W)
2001 Venus Williams (RU)
2002 Serena Williams (W)
2003 Serena Williams (RU)
2004 Maria Sharapova (SF)
2005 Venus Williams (3rd Rd.)
2006 Amelie Mauresmo (4th Rd.)
2007 Venus Williams (W)
2008 Venus Williams (RU)
2009 Serena Williams (W)
2010 Serena Williams (4th Rd.)
2011 Petra Kvitova (QF)
2012 Serena Williams (4th Rd.)
2013 Marion Bartoli (DNP-retired)
2014 Petra Kvitova (3rd Rd.)
2015 Serena Williams (W)
2016 Serena Williams (DNP-pregnant)
2017 Garbine Muguruza (2nd Rd.)
2018 Angelique Kerber (2nd Rd.)
2019 Simona Halep ('20 no event; '21 DNP; '22 SF)
2021 Ash Barty (DNP-retired)
2022 Elena Rybakina (QF)
2023 Marketa Vondrousova (1st Rd.)
2024 Barbora Krejcikova

*2025 WI MAIN DRAW - BY NATION (38)*
19 - USA
12 - RUS
10 - GBR
8 - CZE
7 - AUS
5 - CHN,ROU
4 - GER,UKR
3 - BEL,BLR,ESP,FRA,ITA,JPN,POL,SUI
2 - CAN,COL,CRO,HUN,KAZ,LAT,NED,SLO,SRB
1 - ARM,BRA,BUL,DEN,EGY,GRE...
1 - MEX,NZL,PHI,SVK,TUN,TUR
[age groups]
6 - age 17-19
46 - age 20-24
49 - age 25-29
19 - age 30-34
8 - age 35+
[2025 slam nations counts]
AO: 40
RG: 39
WI: 38

*2025 WIMBLEDON MD...*
=youngest=
16 - Hannah Klugman, GBR (WC) - DOB: February 18, 2009
16 - Mike Stojsavljevic, GBR (WC) - DOB: December 15, 2008
17 - Iva Jovic, USA (Q) - DOB: December 6, 2007
17 - Mimi Xu, GBR (WC) - DOB: October 2, 2007
18 - Mirra Andreeva, RUS - DOB: April 29, 2007
19 - Maya Joint, AUS - DOB: April 16, 2006
=oldest=
37 - Tatjana Maria, GER - DOB: August 8, 1987
37 - Laura Siegemund, GER - DOB: March 4, 1988
36 - Zhang Shuai, CHN (WC) - DOB: January 21, 1989
35 - Victoria Azarenka, BLR - DOB: July 31, 1989
35 - Yanina Wickmayer, BEL (PR) - DOB: October 20, 1989
35 - Anastasija Sevastova, LAT (PR) - April 13, 1990
35 - Sorana Cirstea, ROU (PR) - DOB: April 7, 1990
35 - Petra Kvitova, CZE (WC) - DOB: March 8, 1990

*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)
RG: Tatjana Maria, GER (37)
WI: 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)
RG: Iva Jovic, USA (17)
WI: Hannah Klugman, GBR (16)

*2025 SLAM MD DEBUTS*
[AO]
Veronika Erjavec, SLO (25) - Q
Emerson Jones, AU (16) - WC
Suzan Lamens, NED (25) - automatic entry
Wei Sijia, CHN (21) - Q
[RG]
Emiliana Arango, COL (24) - automatic entry
Lois Boisson, FRA (21) - WC
Alex Eala, PHI (20) - automatic entry
Joanna Garland, TPE (23) - Q
Victoria Mboko, CAN (18) - Q
Tiantsoa (Sarah) Rakotomanga Rajaonah, FRA (19) - WC
Leyre Romero Gormaz, ESP (23) - Q
Anastasiia Sobolieva, UKR (21) - Q
Tereza Valentova, CZE (18) - Q
[WI]
Carson Branstine, CAN (24) - Q
Aoi Ito, JPN (21) - automatic entry
Hannah Klugman, GBR (16) - WC
Mika Stojsavljevic, GBR (16) - WC
Lanlana Tararudee, THA (20) - Q
Mimi Xu, GBR (17) - WC






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First laugh of the day: “If there’s one family that hasn’t profited off politics, it’s the Trump family,” -Eric Trump www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025... (cartoon from the archives)

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— Ann Telnaes (@anntelnaes.bsky.social) June 28, 2025 at 10:36 AM


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Happy #Caturday! ?? #cat #cats #catsky

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— Robin ?? (@robinh2.bsky.social) June 28, 2025 at 1:28 PM


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THREAD...






All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 8:36 PM 

1 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

That was a nice PR stunt by Aryna. I still think she'll get boo'ed if she plays Gauff in New York.

Grass is the worst surface for Mirra. Let's see how she fares at Wimbledon.

I am not convinced yet about the chances of Swiatek reaching SF/Final at Wimbledon.

Sat Jun 28, 10:35:00 PM EDT  

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