2021 Grampians Trophy preview: Stacked lineup as players come out of hard lockdown
THE next in a line of WTA 500 events opening the year is the Grampians Trophy, yet another competition added to the womens’ tournament list purely for players forced into hard lockdown once landing in Australia. But while the tournament is new for 2021, the calibre of players certainly is not, with a number of […]
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 […]
Is Kazakhstan an underrated tennis nation?
WHEN many think of strong up-and-coming tennis nations, countries such as the United States, Australia, Italy and Russia come to mind, but when it comes to quality over quantity and over both the ATP and WTA Tours, it is hard to discount Kazakhstan as an underrated nation. The country that is best known for the […]
Schmiedlova upsets Azarenka as Williams withdraws
DAY four of Roland Garros saw some huge results, with the biggest news to come out of the day the withdrawal from Serena Williams, bowing out to Tsvetana Pironkova prior to the match starting, citing an Achilles injury and more than likely now not playing another tournament in 2020. As for other top 10 seed […]
Intriguing winners list on day one of Roland Garros
A HUGE day one of the 2020 Roland Garros began with a couple of intriguing winners on the list among a plethora of seeds. As expected, top seed Simona Halep dominated her contest to head through to the second round, as did six of her fellow seeds. Halep was clinical in her effort against Spaniard […]
Clay court stars book final four spots in Rome
TWO Roland Garros champions, last year’s runner-up and a regular performer on clay have all won their respective quarters finals at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. Top two seeds, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova advanced through to the semi-finals, to now take on their respective opponents, Garbine Muguruza and Marketa Vondrousova who also booked impressive wins. […]
Putintseva survives against Rybakina in come-from-behind all-Kazakh triumph
YULIA Putintseva has stunned the Internazionali BNL d’Italia with a remarkable come-from-behind victory over fellow Kazakh, Elena Rybakina. The world number 30 faced a 4-6 2-5 deficit against the world number 18 and 10th seed, but found a way to fight back and win 4-6 7-6 6-2 to book her spot in the quarter finals. […]