Sunday, September 21, 2025

Wk.39- Iga (and Italy) with an "I"









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*WEEK 39 CHAMPIONS*
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (WTA 500; Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Iga Swiatek/POL def. Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS 1-6/7-6(3)/7-5
D: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE) def. Maya Joint/Caty McNally (AUS/USA) 6-3/7-6(6)
Tolentino, Italy (WTA 125; Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Oleksandra Oliynykova/UKR def. Nuria Brancaccio/ITA 6-2/6-0
D: Jesika Maleckova/Miriam Skoch (CZE/CZE) def. Silvia Ambrosio/Nuria Brancaccio (ITA/ITA) 6-3/3-6 [10-8]
Caldas da Rainha, Portgual (WTA 125; Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Polina Iatcenko/RUS def. Gabriela Knutson/CZE 6-2/5-7/6-2
D: Harriet Dart/Maia Lumsden (GBR/GBR) def. Madeleine Brooks/Anastasia Tikhonova (GBR/RUS) 6-0/6-3




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Iga Swiatek/POL
...this time, it was personal.

In 1988, Swiatek's father was an Olympic rower for Poland in the Seoul Olympics, but came up short of the medal stand. In her first trip to the city this week, the world #2 ran roughshod through the draw and, after a difficult struggle in the final, managed to lift the tennis equivalent of the athletic honor that her father never could.

Swiatek opened her week with a 3 & 2 win over Sorana Cirstea, and then she got *truly* serious. After a full day rainout, she had to play her QF and SF on the same day. No matter, she just allowed five games -- in total -- vs. Barbora Krejcikova (love & 3) and Maya Joint (love & 2) to advance to her 30th career WTA singles final.

Things nearly got sidetracked there, as Swiatek dropped a 6-1 1st set to Ekaterina Alexandrova, and twice found herself at 30/30 in games in which the Russian only needed two more points to claim the title. After surviving with a 2nd set TB win, Swiatek then had to rally from 3-1 down in the 3rd, winning an extended 7-5 set take home her 25th career WTA title.

With the win, Swiatek passes Aryna Sabalenka for the '25 match win lead (57 to 56), and gets within one title of matching the world #1's season total of four singles crowns. Swiatek's third '25 win gives her four straight seasons with at least three titles, passing Sabalenka (3) for the longest active such streak on tour. Thing is, Swiatek actually also has a three season streak of winning at least *five* titles (no one else even *has* any such streak). There's still time left in the season to extend that one, too.





Cleary, her father's connection to Seoul played a large part (if not the whole thing) in Swiatek even playing this event, which ultimately produced her smallest title (Seoul is a 500 event) since another personal quest in 2023, when she won the Warsaw 250 for her only pro title claimed within Poland's borders.

Starting with her RG crown in 2023, 10 of Swiatek's 12 titles have come in either majors, the WTAF or 1000 events. Her most recent 500 title also came that same 2023 season, a few months prior to her Warsaw and Paris wins, in Stuttgart.
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RISER: Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS
...two months from her 31st birthday, Alexandrova is fully activated in what has become a career year.

The Hordette's run to the Seoul final makes '25 her first three WTA final campaign (all have come in 500 tournaments, after just two of her first eight career finals before this season had come at that level), she's had her first three-Round of 16 slam year (RG-WI-US), has tied a career best mark with five Top 10 wins this season (including her second #1 victory, over Aryna Sabalenka in Doha) while also climbing to a career high of #11.

Seoul *could* have been even better, as after wins over Lois Boisson, Ella Seidel and Katerina Siniakova, Alexandrova had Iga Swiatek on the ropes in the final, twice being two points from a straight sets win in the 2nd set, and then leading 3-1 in the 3rd. If she'd gotten the upset, her career year would have ticked up a few *more* notches.



Alexandrova remains outside the Top 10, but still might have an outside chance to catch #10 Elena Rybakina, who leads the Russian by about 500 points. While Alexandrova does have a Wuhan QF to defend, Rybakina could still fail to replace her '24 WTAF points. The Kazakh currently holds the final #8 slot in the WTA Points Race, but has #9 Jasmine Paolini on her tail.
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SURPRISES: Polina Iatcenko/RUS and Carol Young Suh Lee/USA
...in her first career 125 draw, 21-year old Hordette Iatcenko claimed the title in Caldas da Rainha, Portugal.



The #267-ranked Russian posted wins over Matilde Jorge, Karolina Pliskova (yes, *that* Karolina Pliskova), Renata Jamrichova (who retired after falling and injuring herself just *one point* into the match), Kaitlin Quevedo and Gabriela Knutson in a three-set final. Having already claimed her biggest career titles earlier this season in $35K (April) and $50K (August) challengers to improve to 8-1 in career ITF finals, Iatcenko raises the bar once again with another career-best win.

22-5 since the start of June, Iatcenko cracks the Top 200 for the first time on Monday with a new career-high ranking of #188.

In the same Caldas da Rainha event, Northern Mariana Islands-born Lee -- a product of the Georgia Tech tennis program -- played into her biggest career SF after posting wins over Vitalia Diatchenko, last week's tour-level Sao Paulo champ Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah and Tamara Korpatsch before a three-set loss to Gabriela Knutson a round short of the final.

Lee has gone 4-2 in ITF finals this season, cracking the Top 300. Ranked #270 heading into the week, she'll rise a bit more to #231 on Monday.


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FRESH FACES: Oleksandra Oliynykova/UKR and Maya Joint/AUS
...I think Oliynykova is just getting an early start on her future inclusion in the "Player Whose Name You'll Know..." lists for 2026 during this spot's season-ending series in a couple of months.

The 24-year old had an intriguing history even before her big steps on the court this year. Born in Kyiv, she and her family fled Ukraine in 2011 after Oliynykova's father criticized then-president Viktor Yanukovych, settling in Croatia, whose flag she played tennis under from 2017-22 before reclaiming her Ukrainian roots three years ago. BTW, Yanukovych was ousted from power in 2014 in the "Revolution of Dignity," and he nows resides in exile in Putin's Russia.

As far as Oliynykova's tennis, 2025 has been a breakout campaign for her at the lower levels of competition. 4-0 in ITF finals this spring/summer, including a career-best $75K win in The Hague in July, she's recently posted SF and QF results in 125 events. She came into this week's Tolentino 125 at a career-high #163, and walked off with her biggest career title without dropping a set.

Wins over #2 seed Darja Semenistaja and #8 Tamara Zidanseka preceded closing victories of Italians Silvia Ambrosio and Nuria Bracaccio that finished off a five-win (10-set) week in which Oliynykova only lost as many as three games in a set once.

She'll rise to a new career high of #141 on Monday.



If not for the likes of, say, Victoria Mboko, Joint might have the "Most Improved Player" honors for 2025 on lockdown by now.

The 19-year old Aussie reached her fourth SF of the season in Seoul, stringing together wins over Linda Fruhvirtova, Sofia Kenin and Clara Tauson before "taking the collar" as Iga Swiatek's *second* vanquished opponent of the day after a rainout forced the Pole to play both her QF and SF within hours of one another. Joint still wasn't finished, though, also reaching the doubles final.

Still, Joint will rise to #36 on Monday, with a seed for her home slam in January clearly within sight.


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ITF PLAYER: Lilli Tagger/AUT
...Austrians have recently become pretty scarce on the WTA scene, but one of (possibly) considerable note seems to be well on the way to changing that.

Once more this weekend, 17-year old Tagger reigned on the clay, with a win in a $75K in Kuršumlijska Banja, Serbia. A week after another $75K title run in Bucharest, the Austrian made it two in a row with a 5-7/6-2/6-2 victory in the final over 16-year old Rada Zolotareva.

Coached and Mmntored by Francesca Schiavone (the two share a one-handed backhand, as well as an affinity for clay court tennis, on which all four of the Austrian's challenger finals have been played), Tagger won the Roland Garros junior title this past spring, as well as reaching the girls' QF this season on hard court at the AO and the grass at Wimbledon.

Tagger is 17-2 in her last nineteen matches.


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JUNIOR STAR: Nellie Taraba Wallberg/SWE
...the 18-year old Swede took the honors at the European Regional Championships in Obenpullendort, Austria, picking up the J300 crown with a 6-4/7-6 win in the final over Spain's Charo Esquiva Banuls.



Taraba Wallberg claimed a J500 crown in February in Cairo, and later reached another J300 SF (a loss to Esquiva Banuls) and the 3rd Round in the RG juniors (a loss to eventual champ Lilli Tagger).
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DOUBLES: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
...well, the BJK Cup Final was played this weekend. The Czechs, in a rare occurrence, weren't involved in the latter stage of the event this year. But that didn't mean that Krejcikova and Siniakova couldn't relive old times in Seoul.

A superior (and future Hall of Fame) doubles duo since their junior days, when they won three of the four majors in 2013, the pair have gone on to complete a Career Golden Slam (all four majors + Olympic Gold) together, and are the only women's duo to have ever won those five events *and* the year-ending championships. After such extended and great success, Krejickova and Siniakova have mostly taken a break from their partnership over the past two years. During that stretch, Siniakova has maintained her #1 (#2 heading into Week 39) ranking for much of the last two seasons with playing with other partners, picking up three *more* WD slams with Taylor Townsend (2) and Coco Gauff (1).

But the two longtime partners haven't *completely* foresaken their bond. Last year, they reconnected to win a title in Prague ahead of the Olympics (where they had a pre-medal round loss in the QF), and this week in Seoul they decided to "run it back" once more, collecting tour title #18 (+2 ITF wins) as a team, not dropping a set all week. They finished things off with a 6-3/7-6 title match win over Maya Joint & Caty McNally.



It's title #20 in Krejcikova's career, and #31 (third in '25) for Siniakova, who'll reclaim the #1 ranking from Townsend (who was in China playing BJK Cup, amongst other things) on Monday with this title run.



It was a nice week overall for the two Czechs, as in addition to their doubles crown they also achieved in singles. Siniakova qualified and reached the semifinals after wins over Dasha Kasatkina and Suzan Lamens, her first such result at tour level since February; while Krejcikova reached the QF after saving three MP in a 2nd Round win over Emma Raducanu (her fourth of fourteen '25 singles wins that she's pulled off after being MP down).



They're *still* so good together. Siniakova is set to play the WTAF with Townsend, but one *can* dream about 2026, right?
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WHEELCHAIR: Guo Luoyao/CHN
...aside from Yui Kamiji and the extended comeback of Diede de Groot, the biggest story in women's wheelchair tennis in 2025 has been the rise of the Chinese players. Four of the eight slam titles (1 singles, 3 doubles) were claimed by Wang Ziying and Li Xiaohui, a year after Zhu Zhenzhen had become the first Chinese woman to reach a WC slam final (at Roland Garros).

Are you ready for a possible fourth name to enter the picture?

The CHN #4, Guo Luoyao (overall #26, after ending both 2023 and '24 at #19) last year teamed with Wang to win the Paralympic doubles Bronze, becoming the first Chinese players to win tennis medals in the event. Guo didn't return to the court after last summer's games in Tokyo until May of this year. After a few events, she hit a good run, and this week her Series 2 title (tying her career-best crown w/ her second win at that level) in La Couarde Sur Mer (FRA) gives Guo, 23, five straight singles titles and 20 consecutive match wins.

Guo posted victories over Pauline Deroulede, #4-seed Manami Tanaka, #1 Zhu and #2 Jiske Griffioen (in the final) on her way to the title. She also reached the doubles final w/ Jinte Bos, but lost in a MTB to Tanaka/Zhu.

@openiledere

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BILLIE JEAN KING CUP FINALS (Shenzhen, CHN/HCI)
QF: #1 ITA def. CHN 2-0 - MVP: Paolini
QF: UKR d. #4 ESP 2-0 - MVP: Svitolina
QF: #3 USA def. KAZ 2-1 [dd] - MVP: Pegula/Townsend
QF: #2 GBR def. JPN 2-0 - MVP: Boulter
SF: #1 ITA def. UKR 2-1 [dd] - MVP: Errani/Paolini
SF: #3 USA d. GBR 2-0 - MVP: Pegula
F: #1 ITA def. #3 USA 2-0 - MVP: Paolini


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...while the BJK Cup has scheduled itself into near-oblivion (it apparently battled for this past week's spot on the schedule just ahead of the China Open in Beijing, yet was arguably the *third*-biggest event on the tennis schedule behind the men's Laver Cup and women's event in Seoul headlined by Iga Swiatek). Such a team final *needs* to be a season-ending "moment" but with the re-branded version of the old Fed Cup being so intent on the bigger-is-better motto (not 2 teams, but 12 or, this year 8 in the Finals) has still managed to not lure all the available big-name players (while also not even allowing the world #1 or best teenage would-be superstar in the sport to participate at all).

But, just like the U.S. Open MX invitational, this year's Finals were lucky enough to end up with the only winner that made sense: Team Italia.

In successfully defending the title, Italy lost just one match across three ties (vs. CHN, UKR and the U.S.), but still had to rally for two singles wins in the QF (from 5-2 down in the 2nd/3rd in the opening singles match, then a set and 5-3 in the second), and win a deciding doubles match in the SF (courtesy of Errani/Paolini). The easiest time came in the final, with a pair of straight sets wins from Elisabetta Cocciaretto (vs. Emma Navarro) and Jasmine Paolini (vs. Jessie Pegula).



The U.S. was making its first appearance in the final since 2018, but remains title-less since 2017 (aka the "In Rinaldi We Trust" run) despite the Bannerette contingent collectively putting up remarkable stats on tour this season. It was good week for Lindsay Davenport's team, but also an inconsistent one. Jessie Pegula and Emma Navarro dropped the 1st set in five of six singles matches, and in the lone match in which the U.S. had the early lead (Navarro vs. Putintseva) the opponent later held two MP. It took a deciding doubles win to avoid Davenport's second straight win-less Finals event appearance in her two years at the helm (SVK def. USA last year in the 1st Rd. of the then 12-team event), and the 2-0 sweep of GBR in the SF saw both Pegula and Navarro fall behind by losing the opening set.

Had Davenport's squad taken the title, she would have joined the short list of women to win Cup titles as both a player (1996, 1999 & 2000) and captain, joining Margaret Court, Billie Jean King and Chris Evert.

As for Italy, with this title it may have supplanted the Czech Republic as *the* dominant Cup nation this century. Winning a second straight title (ITA's second repeat, along w/ 2009-10) in a third straight final, this current run isn't even its most dynamic, as the nation reached five of eight finals from 2006-13, winning four times. Title #6 ties the Czechs for the most championships since 2000 (though their last came in '18), while Sara Errani's fifth career Cup title puts her behind only the likes of the competition's all-time greats (Evert-8, King-7, Casals-6, Kvitova-6) for the most ever as a player. Her first came sixteeen years ago as a "founding member" of Italy's multi-title winning "Quartet" (w/ Pennetta, Schiavone and Vinci).




1. Jasmine Paolini, ITA ...a year after providing the Cup-clinching singles win in the '24 final, Paolini did it again this year against Jessie Pegula, becoming the first woman to do it in consecutive finals since countrywoman Flavia Pennetta in 2009-10. She went 3-0 in singles in the Finals event in Shenzhen, clinching the QF with a win over Wang Xinyu (CHN) after rallying from a set and 5-3 down, then 4-2 back in the 3rd. She kept the SF tie w/ UKR alive with a win over Elina Svitolina after dropping the opening set, then helped win the deciding doubles.
2. Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini, ITA ...the current Finals format makes doubles matches almost (but not nearly) as rare as realistic U.S. men's slam contenders. But when called upon once this past week in the SF, Errani/Paolini handled L.Kichenok/Kostyuk (ala the U.S. MX invitational, not an actual doubles duo) to send Italy to a third straight Cup final.
3. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA ...she didn't provide a clinching point in any tie, nor did she play in ITA's lone deciding doubles match. But Cocciaretto was a solid #2 behind Paolini, opening the QF with a come-from-behind win over Yuan Yue (CHN) after falling behind 5-2 in the 2nd *and* 3rd sets. After a SF loss to Marta Kostyuk, Cocciaretto opened the finals with a tone-setting straight sets win over Emma Navarro.
4. Jessie Pegula/Taylor Townsend, USA ...only two deciding doubles matches were played in the seven ties contested in Shenzhen, and the Bannerette pair won the first in a QF match-up vs. KAZ. The 6-2/7-6 win over Putintseva/Rybakina (in the current BJKF format, having an *actual* doubles combo on the roster is really the only function of the captain, unlike in the Qualifiers/Playoff ties) narrowly avoided U.S. Captain Lindsay Davenport's second straight one-tie-and-done appearance in the Finals since making her debut as captain last year. Pegula was just 1-2 in singles on the week, losing Top 10 match-ups to Rybakina and Paolini, and dropped the opening set in her lone singles win (vs. Boulter/GBR).
5. Marta Kostyuk/UKR ...in another timeline, Kostyuk might have been the star of the Finals. She went 2-0 in singles as Ukraine advanced to its first semifinal, not losing a set vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (ESP) and Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA), the only match lost by the Italians all week. Kostyuk's only blemish came in UKR's exit, as she and Lyudmyla Kichenok lost to Errani/Paolini in the SF's deciding doubles.
6. Emma Navarro, USA ...2025 has been a rollercoaster ride that has ultimately (partially) derailed for Navarro, and appropriately so her Finals went the same way. She managed to win the 1st set in her QF opener vs. Yulia Putintseva, the only singles 1st set won by the U.S. in six matches in Shenzehn, but still had to save two MP vs. the Kazakh to get the win. Navarro rallied from a set down to defeat Sonay Kartal in a SF win vs. GBR, but fell 4 & 4 vs. Cocciaretto to open the Final tie.
7. Elina Svitolina/UKR ...Svitolina got the QF clincher vs. ESP in a comeback from a set down vs. Paula Badosa, adding another historic Ukrainian tennis note to a lengthening career resume. She lost from a set *up* vs. Jasmine Paolini in the SF after Kostyuk had put the tie on her racket after winning Match #1.
8. Katie Boulter/GBR ...Boulter over Sonay Kartal only because she -- who has had a trying year on the regular tour -- provided the clinching singles victory in the SF (vs. Moyuka Uchijima) that sent the Brits into the Cup semis for the third time in four years (thumbs-up to Captain Anne Keothavong)






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1. Seoul 2nd Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova def. Emma Raducanu
...4-6/7-6(10)/6-1. When you reach MP in a hotly-contested match against Barbora Krejcikova, at least in 2025, the Czech has you right where she wants you. Already with three wins after being MP down this season, hey, why not go for a fourth?

Against Raducanu, Krejcikova trailed 6-4/5-2, with the Brit holding her *first* MP while serving at 5-3. Nope. Then, after taking a 5-2 lead in the 2nd set TB, Raducanu had two *more* MP at 7-6 and 9-8. Nope and, you guessed it, nope.

Krejcikova won the breaker 12-10 on her fourth SP and then, sore back and all, took the 3rd set at 6-1 to win in nearly three hours.



14-8 on the year, *four* of the Czech's wins (nearly 29% of them) have come after facing a MP.
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2. Seoul 2nd Rd. - Ella Seidel def. Beatriz Haddad Maia
...6-7(4)/7-6(3)/7-5. The young German lost the 1st set to defending Seoul champ Haddad Maia after having led 4-2. But, don't worry, she made up for her lapse.

After taking the 2nd set in the match's second TB, Seidel rallied from 5-2 down in the decider, saving a MP on serve before the Brazilian then served for the win at 5-3. Ultimately, Seidel swept the final five games, taking the 3:28 marathon.

Seidel makes her Top 100 debut on Monday.
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3. BJKF QF M1 - Elisabetta Cocciaretto/ITA def. Yuan Yue/CHN
...4-6/7-5/7-5. Ultimately this result *may* not have made a difference as far Team Italia's title prospects in Shenzhen, but Cocciaretto's kickoff of the opening QF tie produced likely the most dramatic match of the week. She overcame 5-2 deficits in *both* the 2nd and 3rd sets vs. Yuan (who served for the match in both), sweeping the final five games of the match to put Italy up 1-0.


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4. BJKF QF M2 - Jasmine Paolini/ITA def. Wang Xinyu/CHN
...4-6/7-6(4)/6-4. While Cocciaretto's earlier comeback win was more headline-worthy on the scoreboard, Paolini also rallied to clinch the tie for the defending (and soon to be crowned again) champs. Wang led 6-4/5-3 *and* 4-2 in the 3rd.
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5. BJKF SF M3 - Errani/Paolini (ITA) def. L.Kichenok/Kostyuk (UKR)
...6-2/6-3. A year ago, Errani/Paolini won a deciding doubles to eke past Japan in the QF, then did it again in the SF vs. Poland, en route to the nation's fifth Cup triumph.

This time the duo's work was confined to just the semifinals, but it beat back what was the last real challenge (the U.S. offered little in the final) en route to the nation's sixth Cup title.
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6. Seoul Final - Iga Swiatek def. Ekaterina Alexandrova
...1-6/7-6(3)/7-5. After working a double shift in the previous two rounds, finishing off her QF/SF on the same day, Swiatek was slow out of the gate vs. Alexandrova in the final. She dropped the 1st set, and twice found herself two points from defeat in the 2nd, at 30/30 down 4-5 and 5-6.

But the Pole extended the match by forcing and winning a TB, then rallied once again (from 3-1) in the 3rd to improve her career WTA final winning percentage to a pretty remarkable 83.3% (25-5).

Some notable "First 30" final records in the past 40 years (or so) w/ players w/ 20+ wins: S.Williams (23-7), Seles (22-8), Sharapova (22-8), Graf (21-9), Hingis (21-9), V.Williams (20-10), Henin (20-10) and Davenport (20-10).
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7. BJKF QF M1 - Emma Navarro/USA def. Yulia Putintseva/KAZ
...7-5/2-6/7-6(6). Oh, just another Cup crash-out from Putintseva -- who has had *multitiple* similar results in the past -- after the Kazakh again had a win for KAZ on her racket with a pair of MP at 6-4 in the deciding TB. With Rybkina/Pegula following this match, a conversion might have led to the early (again under Davenport) elimination of the U.S. in the recent BJK Cup Final format.

But Navarro rallied to put the U.S. up and...
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8. BJKF QF M3 - Pegula/Townsend (USA) def. Putintseva/Rybakina (KAZ)
...6-2/7-6(1). The Bannerettes advanced with a deciding doubles win from Pegula and Townsend (who may or may not have gone out on the town for a late dinner afterward).
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9. BJKF QF M2 - Elina Svitolina/UKR def. Paula Badosa/ESP
...5-7/6-2/7-5. Badosa made a contest of things in the 3rd, coming from 4-1 back to knot the set at 5-5. But Svitolina pulled ahead to clinch Ukraine's best-ever Cup result.


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10. Seoul 2nd Rd. - Katerina Siniakova def. Dasha Kasatkina
...7-6(2)/6-2. Kasatkina's latest one-and-out result drops her to 19-21 on the year, but the Aussie remains a Top 20 player (barely, at #20 heading into Beijing) mostly because of her career-best tying ten match wins in majors (4r-4r-3r-3r) and three 1000 3rd Round results.

A year ago, Kasatakina reached five finals (including a RU in Seoul), going 2-3. This year she's reached just one QF, and that was all the way back in Week 2 (Adelaide) in her since newly-adopted home of Australia.

There must have been something in the water in last year's Seoul final, where Kasatkina lost to Beatriz Haddad Maia, who has slumped even worse with a 16-26 record this year. Haddad Maia drops to #40 on Monday, after a #17 finish in '24 (when Kasatkina was the season-ending #9).
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HM- $35K Wagga Wagga AUS Final - Taylah Preston def. Katie Swan
...6-4/7-6(5). A week after losing to Swan in a final in Wagga Wagga, Preston gets a measure of revenge in the follow-up tournament this time around. It's the 19-year old Aussie's first title of the season.


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1. Caldas da Rainha 125 1st Rd. - Karolina Pliskova def. Tessah Andrianjafitrimo
...6-1/4-6/7-5. Making her first appearance since last year's U.S. Open after breaking her ankle in New York (and then having to have *two* surgeries, the most recent this past May), (now) the tour's senior Czech posts a win before eventually losing in the 2nd Round to eventual tournament champion Polina Iatcenko in three sets. Pliskova's set was the only one the Russian lost all week during her title run.


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Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the (proverbial) bug. The WTA Apology Tour added a familiar face this week.






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And, in principle, I definitely agree with this critique of the U.S.-based mainstream media's tennis coverage (or often lack of it).

See the Navarro Olympic Erasure, the Non-Story Story (which only really burned through its nine lives because Gauff was involved), TaylorGate (to a lesser degree, as it was newsworthy at its inception... but would have likely been ignored if the offended had been a non-U.S. player or the offender "home grown"), decades of media/match commentary biased in favor of U.S. players (and against any non-superstar foreign-born players, even if they're representing the U.S. now, hence the constant notes of them being "a naturalized citizen") on the broadcasts of ESPN (always, not to mention the waste of time of pushing the U.S. men's slam "chances" in the post-Roddick era) and Tennis Channel (sometimes). Even the WTA tour itself often seems guilty of similar offenses when U.S. players are involved.



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*2025 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
4 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR = 1 GS, 2 1000, 1 500
3 - Jessie Pegula, USA = 2 500, 1 250
3 - IGA SWIATEK, POL = 1 GS, 1 1000, 1 500
2 - Mirra Andreeva, RUS = 2 1000
2 - Maya Joint, AUS = 2 250
2 - McCartney Kessler, USA = 2 250
2 - Madison Keys, USA = 1 GS, 1 500
2 - Elise Mertens, BEL = 2 250
[2020-25]
25 - 1/2/8/6/5/3 = IGA SWIATEK
16 - 3/2/0/3/4/4 = 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
[2020-25 - hard court]
13 - Aryna Sabalenka (3/1/0/2/4/3)
13 - IGA SWIATEK (0/1/5/3/2/2)
7 - Coco Gauff (0/0/0/4/3/0)
6 - Ash Barty (1/3/2 ret)
5 - Dasha Kasatkina (0/2/2/0/1/0)
5 - Anett Kontaveit (0/4/1/0 ret)
5 - Barbora Krejcikova (0/1/2/2/0/0)
5 - Jessie Pegula (0/0/1/2/1/1)


*MOST WTA FINALS in 2025*
8 - Aryna Sabalenka (4-4)
5 - Jessie Pegula (3-2)
4 - IGA SWIATEK (3-1)
4 - Amanda Anisimova (1-3)
3 - McCartney Kessler (2-1)
3 - Elise Mertens (2-1)
3 - EKATERINA ALEXANDROVA (1-2)
3 - Coco Gauff (1-2)

*2025 FINALISTS BY COUNTRY*
23 (11 wins) - USA
10 (5) - RUS (Alexandrova)
8 (4) - BLR
5 (3) - POL (Swiatek)
4 (2) - ROU
3 (2) - BEL,CZE
3 (1) - COL,ITA,UKR
2 (2) - AUS,CAN,FRA
2 (1) - DEN,LAT,SUI
2 (0) - JPN
1 (1) - GER,KAZ
1 (0) - CHN,HUN,INA,PHI,SRB

*MOST WTA FINALS - 2020-25*
30 - 3/3/3/6/7/8 = Sabalenka (16-14)
29 - 1/2/9/8/5/4 = SWIATEK (25-4)
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)
12 - 0/1/1/4/3/3 - Gauff (9-3)
12 - 0/4/3/4/1/0 = Krejcikova (8-4)
12 - 1/7/4/0 ret...Kontaveit (5-6-1)
12 - 0/3/6/3/0/0 = Jabeur (5-7)

*2025 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
4 - Erin Routliffe, NZL
3 - Timea Babos, HUN
3 - Gaby Dabrowski, CAN
3 - Sara Errani, ITA
3 - Jasmine Paolini, ITA
3 - KATERINA SINIAKOVA, CZE
3 - Luisa Stefani, BRA
3 - Taylor Townsend, USA
[2020-25 - individuals]
24 - KATERINA SINIAKOVA (1/6/6/3/5/3)
15 - BARBORA KREJCIKOVA (1/5/3/4/1/1)
13 - Elise Mertens (1/4/2/2/3/1)
12 - Erin Routliffe (0/1/1/3/3/4)
[2020-25 - duos]
14..KREJCIKOVA/SINIAKOVA (1/5/3/3/1/1)
8...Aoyama/Shibahara (1/5/0/2/0/0)
8...Errani/Paolini (0/0/0/1/4/3)

*CAREER WTA DOUBLES TITLES - active*
35 - Sara Errani
35 - Hsieh Su-Wei
33 - Latisha Chan
31 - KATERINA SINIAKOVA
30 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands
28 - Kristina Mladenovic
27 - Timea Babos
22 - Elise Mertens
22 - Venus Williams
21 - Chan Hao-ching
21 - Demi Schuurs
20 - Shuko Aoyama
20 - Gaby Dabrowski
20 - BARBORW KREJCIKOVA






*FED CUP/BJK CUP FINALS*
1963 United States def. Australia 2-1
1964 Australia def. United States 2-1
1965 Australia def. United States 2-1
1966 United States def. West Germany 3-0
1967 United States def. Great Britain 2-0
1968 Australia def. Netherlands 3-0
1969 United States def. Australia 2-1
1970 Australia def. West Germany 3-0
1971 Australia def. Great Britain 3-0
1972 South Africa def. Great Britain 2-1
1973 Australia def. South Africa 3-0
1974 Australia def. United States 2-1
1975 Czechoslovakia def. Australia 3-0
1976 United States def. Australia 2-1
1977 United States def. Australia 2-1
1978 United States def. Australia 2-1
1979 United States def. Australia 3-0
1980 United States def. Australia 3-0
1981 United States def. Great Britain 3-0
1982 United States def. West Germany 3-0
1983 Czechoslovakia def. West Germany 2-1
1984 Czechoslovakia def. Australia 2-1
1985 Czechoslovakia def. United States 2-1
1986 United States def. Czechoslovakia 3-0
1987 West Germany def. United States 2-1
1988 Czechoslovakia def. USSR 2-1
1989 United States def. Spain 3-0
1990 United States def. USSR 2-1
1991 Spain def. United States 2-1
1992 Germany def. Spain 2-1
1993 Spain def. Australia 3-0
1994 Spain def. United States 3-0
1995 Spain def. United States 3-2
1996 United States def. Spain 5-0
1997 France def. Netherlands 4-1
1998 Spain def. Switzerland 3-2
1999 United States def. Russia 4-1
2000 United States def. Spain 5-0
2001 Belgium def. Russia 2-1
2002 Slovak Republic def. Spain 3-1
2003 France def. United States 4-1
2004 Russia def. France 3-2
2005 Russia def. France 3-2
2006 Italy def. Belgium 3-2
2007 Russia def. Italy 4-0
2008 Russia def. Spain 4-0
2009 Italy def. United States 4-0
2010 Italy def. United States 3-1
2011 Czech Republic def. Russia 3-2
2012 Czech Republic def. Serbia 3-1
2013 Italy def. Russia 4-0
2014 Czech Republic def. Germany 3-1
2015 Czech Republic def. Russia 3-2
2016 Czech Republic def. France 3-2
2017 United States def. Belarus 3-2
2018 Czech Republic def. United States 3-0
2019 France def. Australia 3-2
2020-21 Russia (RTF) def. Switzerland 2-0
2022 Switzerland def. Australia 2-0
2023 Canada def. Italy 2-0
2024 Italy def. Slovakia 2-0
2025 Italy def. United States 2-0
[MOST TITLES]
18 - United States
11 - Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia
7 - Australia
6 - Italy
5 - Russia/RTF/USSR
5 - Spain
3 - France
2 - Germany/West Germany
1 - Belgium
1 - Canada
1 - Slovakia/Slovak Republic
1 - South Africa
1 - Switzerland
[since 2000]
6 - Czech Republic
6 - Italy
5 - Russia/RTF
2 - France
2 - United States
1 - Belgium
1 - Canada
1 - Slovak Republic
1 - Switzerland

*BACKSPIN FED CUP/BJK CUP AWARDS*
*-non-title winning nation
[FED CUP/BJK CUP PLAYER OF YEAR]
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Francesca Schiavone, ITA
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2013 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2016 Caroline Garcia, FRA*
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2019 Ash Barty, AUS*
2020-21 Jil Teichmann, SUI*
2022 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2023 Leylah Fernandez, CAN
2024 Iga Swiatek, POL*
2025...decided after Playoffs in Nov.
[FED CUP/BJK CUP CAPTAIN OF YEAR]
2015 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA*
2016 Paul Haarhuis, NED*
2017 Kathy Rinaldi, USA
2018 Kathy Rinaldi, USA*
2019 Julien Benneteau, FRA
2020-21 Igor Andreev, RUS (RTF)
2022 Alicia Molik, AUS*
2023 Tathiana Garbin, ITA*
2024 Matej Liptak, SVK*
2025 Tathiana Garbin, ITA
[FED CUP/BJK CUP FINALS MVP]
2002 Daniela Hantuchova, SVK
2003 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
2004 Anastasia Myskina, RUS
2005 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2006 Francesa Schiavone, ITA
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2012 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2013 Roberta Vinci, ITA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2015 Karolina Pliskova, CZE
2016 Barbora Strycova, CZE
2017 CoCo Vandeweghe, USA
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2021 Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (RTF)
2022 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2023 Leylah Fernandez, CAN
2024 Sara Errani/Jasmine Paolini, ITA
2025 Jasmine Paolini, ITA

*FC/BJK CUP FINAL - SINGLES CLINCHER VICTORY; since 2000*
[finals event; 2000-2001]
2000 Lindsay Davenport, USA
2001 Kim Clijsters, BEL
[single-elimination bracket format; 2002-19]
2002 Janette Husarova, SVK
2003 Amelie Mauresmo, FRA
2007 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2008 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
2009 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2010 Flavia Pennetta, ITA
2012 Lucie Safarova, CZE
2013 Sara Errani, ITA
2014 Petra Kvitova, CZE
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
[finals event; 2020/21-current]
2021 Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (RTF)
2022 Belinda Bencic, SUI
2023 Leylah Fernandez, CAN
2024 Jasmine Paolini, ITA
2025 Jasmine Paolini, ITA




*FED/BJK CUP SEMIFINALS - since 2000*
2000 2001 2002
United States (W)
Belgium
Czech Republic
Spain (RU)		 Russia (W)
Belgium (RU)
France (Group 2nd)
Spain (Group 2nd)		 Italy
Slovak Republic (W)
Austria
Spain (RU)
2003 2004 2005
Belgium
United States (RU)
Russia
France (W)		 France (RU)
Spain
Russia (W)
Austria		 Russia (W)
United States
Spain
France (RU)
2006 2007 2008
Belgium (RU)
United States
Spain
Italy (W)		 Italy (RU)
France
Russia (W)
United States		 Russia (W)
United States
China
Spain (RU)
2009 2010 2011
Russia
Italy (W)
United States (RU)
Czech Republic		 Italy (W)
Czech Republic
Russia
United States (RU)		 Italy
Russia (RU)
Czech Republic (W)
Belgium
2012 2013 2014
Russia
Serbia (RU)
Italy
Czech Republic (W)		 Czech Republic
Italy (W)
Russia (RU)
Slovak Republic		 Italy
Czech Republic (W)
Germany (RU)
Australia
2015 2016 2017
Czech Republic (W)
France
Russia (RU)
Germany		 Czech Republic (W)
Switzerland
France (RU)
Netherlands		 Czech Republic
United States (W)
Belarus (RU)
Switzerland
2018 2019 2020/21
Germany
Czech Republic (W)
France
United States (RU)		 Romania
France (W)
Belarus
Australia (RU)		 Russian TF (W)
United States
Australia
Switzerland (RU)
2022 2023 2024
Switzerland (W)
Czech Republic
Great Britain
Australia (RU)		 Czech Republic
Canada (W)
Italy (RU)
Slovenia		 Great Britain
Slovakia (RU)
Poland
Italy (W)
2025
Italy (W)
Ukraine
United States (RU)
Great Britain










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Dutch late night TV has its take

[image or embed]

— Dave Lee (@davelee.me) September 19, 2025 at 10:39 AM


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All for now.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 11:33 PM 

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