2020 WTA Qatar Open preview: Barty hopeful of return in stacked field of entrants
AN AMAZING field has signed up for what promises to be a memorable Qatar Open on the WTA Tour with world number one Ash Barty set to play alongside at least six other top 10 stars. With others in serious form and depth like few other tournaments, this promises to be a huge event with […]
St Petersburg Ladies Trophy: Young gun Rybakina makes her third final in 2020, faces reigning champ
REIGNING champion Kiki Bertens will take on rising star, Elena Rybakina in the final of St Petersburg Ladies Trophy after the pair won their respective semi-finals. Rybakina made her way through to her third final of the year with a come-from-behind 3-6 7-5 6-1 victory over sixth seed, Maria Sakkari. Just a day after Sakkari […]
St Petersburg Ladies Trophy: Kvitova pulls out as Sakkari downs Bencic
ILLNESS has forced third seed, Petra Kvitova to forfeit her St Petersburg Ladies Trophy quarter final clash, allowing safe passage for Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova into the semi-finals. It was not the only result where the lower ranked player took home the win, as sixth seed Maria Sakkari bundled out number one seeded Swiss star, Belinda […]
St Petersburg Ladies Trophy: Kvitova survives scare as Alexandrova continues run
THREE more seeds have booked their spot in the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy quarter finals with the completion of Round of 16 yesterday. In a day of largely expected results and straight sets wins, there was one surprise three-setter. Third seed, Petra Kvitova took two hours and 16 minutes to shake off determined Belgian, Alison […]
St Petersburg Ladies Trophy: Dodin piles on more pain for sore Konta
JOHANNA Konta‘s winless streak on the WTA Tour stretched into its fifth month, having not won since the fourth round of the US Open last year. Having publicly announced her soreness this year, Konta was bundled out in the first round of Brisbane (Barbora Strycova) and Melbourne Park (Ons Jabeur), then bypassed Fed Cup in […]
St Petersburg Ladies Trophy: Upsets galore in entertaining day’s action
FIVE of the eight matches in Round of 32 of the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy yesterday saw the lower ranked opponent triumph in a day of upsets. In one of the tightest matches of the day, Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic knocked off fifth seed Czech, Marketa Vondrousova in three sets, winning 3-6 6-3 6-4 in two […]
Fed Cup qualifiers wrap: Eight nations book spot in Finals
SIX of the eight seeded nations have booked a spot in the Fed Cup finals following the round’s qualifying action over the weekend. Plenty of top 20 WTA Tour players were running around the courts across the world in a number of tight contests. Fourth seed Germany was the only side to sweep the opponent […]
2020 St Petersburg preview: Past three champions to search for second crown in Russia
THREE former St Petersburg champions will battle it out next week in the first WTA Tour tournament since the conclusion of the Australian Open. Reigning champion, Kiki Bertens will hope to defend the crown against Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova who triumphed in 2018. Meanwhile France’s Kristina Mladenovic is also attending the event which has 18 […]
2020 Fed Cup qualifiers preview: Nations load up on star talent
MUCH like the Davis Cup last year, the Fed Cup in 2020 has undergone a revamp with a World Cup-style tournament planned for Budapest in April. In it, 12 nations will compete for the title, with last year’s grand finalists, France and Australia automatically qualifying, as well as host nation Hungary, and wildcard Czech Republic […]
Australian Open: Women’s Day 5 review – Three former winners out as draw opens up
THREE former Australian Open winners are out of the women’s draw on a day that wrecked absolute havoc on the top seeds in the competition. While world number one, Ash Barty strolled through to the Round of 16 in her best performance yet, her 6-3 6-2 win over Elena Rybakina showed just how much the […]