Qualifiers confirmed for Australian Open
ALLOWING enough time to quarantine for 14 days, the Australian Open qualifiers have been confirmed following the completion of the three-round qualification stage over in the UAE. Hosted in Dubai three weeks prior to the Australian Open first round kicking off, 16 men and 16 women earned their places in the respective 128-player draws. The […]
Stunning Sabalenka collects third straight title in Abu Dhabi
IT rarely looked ever in doubt from the first serve through to the final point in the tournament, with Aryna Sabalenka dropping just one set on her way to her third straight title. The Belarusian fourth seed stormed through to her ninth overall WTA Tour singles title at the brand new Abu Dhabi WTA Tour […]
Sabalenka eyes off third straight title as she faces first-time finalist in Abu Dhabi
ARYNA Sabalenka has powered her way past some of the world’s best in the past three tournaments, showing a couple of months off and a change of year has not slowed down her remarkable winning streak. The Belarusian star won the final two WTA Tour tournaments of 2020, and has raced through the 2021 Abu […]
Three-set thrillers see come-from-behind victories
ACTION heated up in the quarter finals of the Abu Dhabi WTA 500 event with each of the four matches going the full three sets to determine a winner. In three of those four matches, the winner dropped the first set before coming back to win, including one 6-0 first set loss. That disastrous first […]
Youth rises in third round at Abu Dhabi
IT was the future of the WTA Tour on show in the third round of the Abu Dhabi 500 tournament, with 26-year-old Elina Svitolina being the “veteran” of the quarter finals competitors. The Ukrainian was one of only two players – Maria Sakkari was the other – aged 25 years and older, with the other […]
WTA Abu Dhabi Round of 32 wrap: Gasanova shocks Pliskova in debut tournament
RUSSIAN rising star, Anastasia Gasanova has shocked third seed Czech Karolina Pliskova, claiming her first ever Top 100 victory with a 6-2 6-4 triumph in the Round of 32 at the Abu Dhabi WTA 500 event. Gasanova had no troubles knocking off the former world number one, having come through qualifying and then toppling former […]
WTA Abu Dhabi Round of 64 wrap: Top six through without a hitch, young guns also advance
OF the 16 seeds on show in the brand new WTA Abu Dhabi 500 event, 12 reached the second round. Kicking off 2021 in style, the top six seeds advanced without dropping a set, whilst 2020 in-form players, Anett Kontaveit and Jennifer Brady were amongst the seeds to fall in the opening round of play. […]
2021 WTA Abu Dhabi preview: Big guns enter new 500 tournament
A NEW year brings with it new hope and that is certainly the case for the WTA Tour as a brand-new looking logo and colour scheme to kick-start 2021. In what is a fitting opening to the season, a first-time tournament in Abu Dhabi will take place, with a fairly stacked draw of primarily European […]
Tennis Central – Happy holidays and what to expect in 2021
IN what has been a challenging year for everyone, Draft Central would like to thank everyone for the support throughout 2020 in what was a remarkable year for the organisation. Despite the challenges of a global pandemic, Draft Central was able to expand its coverage and increase its reach across the country far greater than […]
What does the Open BLS De Limoges cancellation mean for the WTA Tour?
IT is that time of year where the Open BLS De Limoges would be in full swing as some of the best WTA players take the court and gear up for an action packed summer of tennis. But unfortunately the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a host of other logistical reasons […]
