2020 Hobart International preview: Can Mertens win her third title?
AFTER back-to-back wins from Belgium’s Elise Mertens, then-ranked world number 56 (now 14th) Sofia Kenin won her maiden title in Hobart, defeating 25 year-old Slovakian, Anna Schmiedlova. With Mertens returning and the clear standout in the $250k tournament, the number one seed will also be joined by a host of players ranked in the top […]
Brisbane International: Day 1 – Stosur through to Round 2 after exceptional performance
THREE Australians took the court in the official first day of the Brisbane International on Monday after two days of qualifiers. Only two seeded players competed in the round though both went down to their respective opponents. The highlight of Day 3 saw Sam Stosur manage a shock win over Angelique Kerber in a tough […]
Three WTA Young Guns to watch in 2020
A TRIO of up-and-coming stars aged 21 or younger as of the end of 2019 shone brightly in this year and really put their names up into lights with strong performance. These three players had never won a singles title prior to 2019, and now one is Grand Slam champion, and the other two are […]
Year in review – 2019: Belinda Bencic
THE past 12 months have been a rapid rise for Belinda Bencic, who went from a developing talent into a genuine top performer across the WTA Tour. She won just the two titles, but collected more than half of her career prize money, and upped her output to catapult herself into the top 10. Rank: […]
Barty party rolls on
WORLD number 1 Ash Barty added to her growing trophy cabinet and bank balance over the weekend with an impressive performance against reigning champion Elina Svitolina. It was a convincing performance by the Aussie, dismissing Svitolina in two sets 6-4, 6-3 to take home the WTA title. It is the first time in five years […]
Osaka’s shoulder gives Bertens opportunity
A SHOULDER injury to world number three, Naomi Osaka threw a curveball into the Shiseido WTA Finals, with Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens taking her spot in the Red Group to ensure play continued. Remarkably, she not only showed that she was a worthy fill-in, but stunned world number one, Ash Barty by defeating her 3-6 6-3 […]
Svitolina strikes in first round of WTA Finals
REIGNING champions, Elina Svitolina has shown she is far from making at the numbers at the Shiseido WTA Finals, with a straight sets win over world number two, Karolina Pliskova. While the world number eight may have only just secured a pot at the Finals after dropping places down to number eight, she far outweighed […]