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Sunday, October 31, 2021

Wk.40- The House of Kontaveit

Anett Kontaveit's craving for blo-... err, wins was more than satisfied during her trip to Translyvania. With a title run that gives her 26 wins in her last 28 matches, the Estonian's stunning dash qualified her for her first trip to the WTA Finals and makes her appear to be prepared for anything.

Well, almost anything.







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*WEEK 40 CHAMPIONS*
CLUJ-NAPOCA (TRANSYLVANIA OPEN), ROMANIA (WTA 250/Hard Court Indoor)
S: Anett Kontaveit/EST def. Simona Halep/ROU 6-2/6-3
D: Ekaterine Gorgodze/Irina Bara (GEO/ROU) def. Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove/Aleksandra Krunic (NED/SRB) 4-6/6-1 [11-9]
COURMAYEUR, ITALY (WTA 250/Hard Court Indoor)
S: Donna Vekic/CRO def. Clara Tauson/DEN 7-6(3)/6-2
D: Wang Xinyu/Zheng Saisai (CHN/CHN) def. Eri Hozumi/Zhang Shuai (JPN/CHN) 6-4/3-6 [10-5]


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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Anett Kontaveit/EST
...needing to win yet another title (her fourth of the year, all since late August) to secure the eighth and final spot (well, as of now... who knows who might withdraw in the days leading up to the event) in the WTA Finals, it soon became clear what the future might hold. Ons Jabeur, who entered the week in the eighth spot, surely saw it coming (and didn't need a Magic 8 Ball to do so).



Kontaveit ran off wins over Aleksandra Krunic, Alison Van Uytvanck, Anhelina Kalinina and Rebecca Peterson to reach her tour lead-tying (w/ Barty) sixth final of the season, and her third straight in an indoor event. She handled Simona Halep 2 & 3 to take the crown, winning her 15th straight indoor match and fourth title of the season, not losing a set all week. Her remarkable grabbing of her maiden WTAF berth comes with a 26-2 regular-season ending sprint that began the week before the U.S. Open with a title run in Cleveland, the first (or many, it has come to pass) under new coach Dmitry Tursunov, who might just join his new charge by swooping in late in the game to pick up some Coach of the Year votes in the unofficial WTA awards season to come.



Jabeur will open as the alternate for the rr field in Guadalajara, so the odds are that she'll probably eventually make her debut, as well.
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RISERS: Rebecca Peterson/SWE and Jasmine Paolini/ITA
...Peterson is doing her best to close out her '21 season with as much momentum as possible.

The Swede came into '21 with zero wind beind her back. She'd injured her back early in '20 before the shutdown, but while the break helped her to not miss many playing opportunities she was hardly in good form in the Restart. She went just 1-6 when play resumed, and was only 3-10 on the season.

Peterson's time in Cluj-Napoca featured wins over Jana Fett, Irina Bara and Lesia Tsurenko (before a loss to Anett Kontaveit). Her semifinal finish is her third at tour level in the last two months (w/ Chicago and Nur-Sultan), a period which also included a $60K challenger title, and improves her mark during the recent stretch to 11-3.



In the midst of the closing moments of her career season, Paolini began the week in Courmayeur with some "advertureous" tennis with Liudmila Samsonova.



Paolini ended the week with her second semifinal run of the season -- this time on home soil -- after having posted a nice win over Dayana Yastremska in the QF. Her loss to Donna Vekic ("hitting partner" Samsonova fell vs. Clara Tauson at the same stage) prevented an Italian from reaching the final, but added yet another entry in Paolini's '21 tour bio.

This season, she's claimed her maiden tour titles in singles (Portoroz) and doubles (Hamburg), reached a pair of 125 finals (going 1-1) and the Indian Wells 3rd Round, while also following up her maiden Top 100 season in '20 with what could ultimately turn out to be a Top 50 campaign this time around (she'll edge up a few spots from #56 on Monday).

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SURPRISES: Jaqueline Cristian/ROU and Ekaterine Gorgodze/Irina Bara, GEO/ROU
...the Transylvania Open wouldn't have been the same without the tournament's personal "Dracula." Nor Cristian, either. The Romanian was the player who most took to heart the fun of playing up her native land's "bloody folklore" in the event held the week before Halloween.

Leaning into the fun, Cristian took to walking calmly onto court all week while sporting a long black cape (usually with a sneaky smirk) en route to adding the special memory of a QF run in Cluj to what had already been her best season on the WTA tour, including her maiden tour SF (Nur-Sultan) and two additional QF finishes (and a 125 semi) that have helped her to climb within mere points of her Top 100 debut (she entered Cluj-Napoca at an already career-high #105).

The 23-year old wild card took out Kaja Juvan in the 1st Round, saving two MP, and followed up with an upset of Ajla Tomljanovic before being handled (getting just 2 games) by the most accomplished Romanian player ever in Simona Halep (aka "Ms.Garlic"... or maybe "The Wooden Stake?"). There could be worse ways to go out, I suppose.



While Simona Halep didn't give Romania a Transylvania Open champ, Irina Bara did. Teaming with Georgia's Ekaterine Gorgodze, the pair both claimed their first career tour-level doubles crowns with back-to-back clutch performances to end the week. After winning a 10-7 match TB in the semifinals against Swarmettes Irina-Camelia Begu & Andreea Mitu, they did it again (11-9) in the final over Kerkhove/Krunic, who'd reached their second '21 final as a duo (Portoroz RU).

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VETERAN: Simona Halep/ROU
...2021 hasn't been anything close to what we've come to expect of a Simona Halep season. While she's experienced several milestone events off the court (getting married, turning 30), her "moments" on tour haven't really been all that positive.

Injuries scuttled her spring/summer, causing Halep to miss Roland Garros as well as her long-awaited defense of her '19 Wimbledon title. She'd only missed one other slam MD ('20 US) since the 2010 U.S. Open. She decided against playing in Tokyo, possibly ending any dreams of winning an Olympic medal for Romania (though Paris '24 will surely dangle before her like a carrot she won't be able to resist thinking about taking a bite from). Halep fell out of the Top 10 for the first time in over 370 weeks (ending a tour-best run) in August, and hasn't posted a Top 10 victory in a season for the first time since 2012. She parted ways with longtime coach Darren Cahill after a prosperous partnership that included two major titles and 64 weeks at #1, all numbers that will eventually pave her path into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Prior to this week's final run in Cluj-Napoca, Halep hadn't reached a final for the first time since 2009.

Her feel-good week on home soil in Transylvania, though, *did* manage to give her a (likely) nice final flourish to her season. Wins over Gabriela Ruse (3 games allowed), Varvara Gracheva (6), Jaqueline Cristian (2) and Marta Kostyuk (1) put her into the final -- the 40th of her WTA career -- without having dropped a set. A tweaked back in the 2nd Round, though Halep played it down, was the lone down spot before her 2 & 3 defeat in the final against the now-white-hot Anett Kontaveit, who handed her her first lost final in nearly two and a half years (Madrid '19).

Since her post-grass season return, the Romanian has compiled an 11-5 mark. Not spectacular, but something to build on.

With her loss to Kontaveit, Halep now drops out of the Top 20 for the first time since 2013 (she entered more than 400 weeks ago, ending another streak that was the longest active run on tour). She'll likely end the season there, bringing to a close her remarkable streak of seven straight Top 4 seasons (well, that one was already long gone), as well as that of her eight consecutive Top 20 finishes (Top 11, really, starting with the '13 season).

Of course, Halep *could* still play one more event after having accepted a wild card into Linz earlier this week. But with her final run in Cluj, as well as a tweaked back, one would think she'll likely reconsider and we'll see her next in 2022.
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COMEBACK: Donna Vekic/CRO
...Vekic "completed" her comeback from February knee surgery this week in Courmayeur, reaching her first final in more than two years (Nottingham '19) and getting her first tour title in more than four (Nottingham '17), not dropping a set while posting a nice string of wins over the likes of three straight Chinese players (Zheng Qinwen/Zheng Saisai/Wang Xinyu), recent tour title winner Jasmine Paolini and two-time '21 champ Clara Tauson in the final, stopping the Dane's nine-match indoor winning streak.

Vekic had fallen to #97 (after ending '20 at #32) heading into the week, and was just 14-16 on the season before her five-win week. She'll jump into the Top 70 on Monday after improving to 3-6 in career tour finals.

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FRESH FACES: Clara Tauson/DEN and Marta Kostyuk/UKR
...finally back on the indoor hard courts on which she thrives, Tauson (shocking!) reached yet another final in Courmayeur, her third appearance this season in a tour-level championship match held under a roof. Wins over Stefanie Voegele and Giulia Gatto-Monticone were followed by a comeback victory from a set down over Tenerife champ Ann Li and another (in which she saved 5 MP) over Liudmila Samsonova in the semis. The tired Dane fell in straights in the final to Donna Vekic, just her second loss in seven pro finals in indoor events (she's 12-4 overall), to end her nine-match indoor winning streak.

Meanwhile, in Cluj, Kostyuk put the U.S. Open final behind her and began to take more steps toward making her own headlines.

The 19-year old Ukrainian admitted that watching fellow teenagers, and past junior foes, Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez battle it out for a major title was difficult. A past junior star herself as the '17 Australian Open girls champ, Kostyuk said, "I have to be honest, it was a bit rough for me to watch both of their runs. I want to be where they are. I am sure it’s going to happen, I didn’t feel nice looking at them playing finals (laughs). I realized that I can do the same." Later, she added that the scenario "left a footprint on my brain, and was motivating me not to stop."

Kostyuk, who lost in the 1st Round in New York to Maria Sakkari, came into Romania having gone 1-3 since watching that Open final (she *had* reached her first tour WD final in Tenerife, though). In the MD, she got wins over Bernarda Pera and Mona Barthel to set up, naturally, a meeting with Raducanu. Showing herself to be a woman of her word, Kostyuk handed the slam-winning Brit her first loss since Flushing Meadows, winning 6-2/6-1 to reach her third SF of the season. She then found herself blitzed by Simona Halep, putting just a single game on the board against the #1 seed, but will set another career high (previously #53) by moving to within a few points (as the likely #51) of her Top 50 breakthrough.

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DOWN: Jil Teichmann/SUI
...even in what is likely her "career season" (though she *did* win two titles in '19, and remains title-free in '21), Teichmann has nevertheless had a hard time (be it due to form or injury) maintaining her momentum for long.

This season, the Swiss has set her career-high ranking (#38), added four Top 10 wins (she'd previously had just one), reached her biggest final ever (Cincinnati) and recorded her first slam MD win since '18, but her campaign has had a distinctive ebb and flow pattern. After a 0-2 start, Teichmann went 10-3 (w/ Adelaide/Dubai SF), but followed up with a 3-8 slide. She then put together another 10-3 run (w/ Cincy), but her 1st Round loss this week in Cluj-Napoca to Anastasia Gasanova (after leading 5-3 in the 3rd and holding 2 MP) gives her three straight defeats as the curtain begins to officially fall on the '21 season.
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ITF PLAYER: Maryna Zanevska/BEL
...2021 had already been pretty good to the Waffle. Zanevska, 28, won her maiden tour singles title in Gdynia in July and set her career high (#101) earlier this month.

She added another entry into her season log in Les Franqueses del Vallas, Spain, picking up an $80K challenger title (her 19th on the ITF circuit) with a 7-6/6-4 win over Swiss Ylena In-Albon (who'd been 4-0 in '21 ITF finals). The Belgian had posted previous wins over Dalma Galfi and Nina Stojanovic.

Zanevska will make her Top 100 breakthrough on Monday, jumping a huge 22 spots from #103 to #81.

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JUNIOR STAR: Petra Marcinko/CRO
...no Czechs or Russians this week (mostly because top-seeded Brenda Fruhvirtova lost in the QF).

In the JA event in Cape Town, South Africa, 15-year old Marcinko (jr. #20) claimed her second big '21 title (w/ J1 Lambere in February) when she swept the singles and doubles titles without losing a set in either competition. The #3-seeded Croatian teen defeated Russian Yaroslava Bartashevich (the #7 seed had upset Fruhvirtova) in a 6-4/6-2 SF, then took out Bannerette Clervie Ngounoue 6-3/6-3 in the final. Marcinko has gone 11-2 in her last three junior events, reaching the JA Milan and U.S. Open QF before her result this week.

Marcinko teamed with Dane Johanne Christine Svendsen to defeat (ah, here you go...) Czechs Fruhvirtova & Barbora Palicova in the girls doubles final.

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DOUBLES: Wang Xinyu/Zheng Saisai, CHN/CHN
...in Courmayeur, Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai become the first Chinese duo in more than two years (since Wang and Zhu Lin won in Nanchang in September '19) to combine to claim a tour-level doubles title. After winning a pair of match tie-breaks en route to the final, the pair defeated Eri Hozumi & Zhang Shuai in another (10-5) to take the title.

The win is Wang's second career title, while it's #5 for Zheng, but her first since 2019 (she'd gone 0-4 in WTA finals since).



Zhang had been attempting to improve to 4-0 in '21 finals, having previously won titles this season alongside veterans Sam Stosur (Cincy/U.S.) and Sania Mirza.
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WHEELCHAIR: ---
......the singles and doubles season-ending Masters events take place this week in Orlando, as Diede de Groot attempts to continue her Vergeerian run of victories in 2021. On Sunday, the Dutch #1 entered the round robin part of the singles event (her Group A counterparts are KG Montjane, Momoko Ohtani and Dana Mathewson, against whom she enters a combined 8-0 in '21) riding a 31-match singles winning streak.

With her opening win over Mathewson, de Groot is 37-1 on the season, and is 20-2 in doubles (16-2 w/ Masters partner Aniek Van Koot).

Group B includes Yui Kamiji, Aniek Van Koot, Zhu Zhenzhen and Macarena Cabrillana.
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1. Courmayeur SF - Clara Tauson def. Liudmila Samsonova
...4-6/7-6(8)/6-4. In a match filled with 28 aces (Samonsova 16, Tauson 12), the Dane rallies from 6-2 down in the 2nd set TB, saving five MP. Ultimately, Samsonova won more points (108-106), but Tauson advanced to the final.

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2. Cluj-Napoca 1st Rd. - Jaqueline Cristian def. Kaja Juvan
...3-6/7-6(8)/7-6(3). The Countess Cristian makes her debut, and wins after saving two MP en route to the QF.

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3. Cluj-Napoca 1st Rd. - Anastasia Gasanova def. Jil Teichmann
...4-6/6-0/7-5. Gasanova was knocking off #6 Karolina Pliskova back in January, and as November was beckoning she was still at it, staging a comeback from 5-3 down in the 3rd, saving two MP, on her way to a win over #39 Teichmann for her biggest win since taking down the Czech.

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4. Cluj-Napoca Final - Anett Kontaveit def. Simona Halep
...6-2/6-3. It's amazing what a few months can do. In June, Kontaveit could legitmately be seen as a big-match stumbler, having gone just 1-6 in career tour finals played (and having not been able to contest the Grampians match in February). Now she's a virtual "title-hawk," having gone 4-0 in finals in the summer/fall to improve to a more than credible 5-6 overall in her career.

She'll now become the fifth player to make her Top 10 debut in 2021.

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5. Cluj-Napoca 1st Rd. - Emma Raducanu def. Polona Hercog
...4-6/7-5/6-1. The U.S. Open champ records her first career victory in a *tour* event (in her first WTA three-setter, as her previous three tour matches -- as well as all 14 of her slam outings -- had ended in two or less), winning eight of the final nine games to oust the Slovenian veteran.

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6. Cluj-Napoca QF - Marta Kostyuk def. Emma Raducanu
...6-2/6-1. Raducanu noted before the match that Kostyuk had "destroyed" her in juniors, something that Kostyuk didn't remember. Turns out, their series was tied 1-1. Either way, the Ukrainian's win upended the possibility of a Romanian-tinged Halep/Raducanu semifinal.

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7. Courmayeur Final - Donna Vekic def. Clara Tauson
...7-6(3)/6-2. As if *another* Kontaveit title run (her third) hadn't already put things on the shelf, Tauson loss wraps up the unofficial Indoor Player of the Year crown for the Estonian. The Dane had been 2-0 in indoor WTA finals (w/ another win in a $25K challenger) in '21.

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8. Cluj-Napoca QF - Simona Halep def. Jaqueline Cristian
...6-1/6-1. Perhaps Simona had garlic in her tennis bag, because the cape's magic was gone for Cristian in this one. Of course, this sort of thing tends to happen when Halep plays fellow Romanians. She's now 32-4 as a pro on all levels, with sixteen straight victories over her countrywomen.

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9. $25K Istanbul TUR Final - Eva Lys def. Indy De Vroome
...6-3/7-6(4). The 19-year old German picks up her second pro title.

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10. $80K Poitiers FRA Final - Chloe Paquet def. Simona Waltert
...6-4/6-3. It just wasn't a good day for Simonas in finals.

Waltert had knocked off two Pastries (Hesse, Jacquemot) on her way to the final, but #3 (Paquet) proved to be too much to handle. The 27-year old Frenchwoman picks up her second straight circuit title, her fourth on the season and the biggest crown of her career.

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HM- $15K Sharm El Sheikh EGY Final - Bai Zhuoxuan def. Eudice Chong
...4-6/6-0/6-4. The singles component of Bai's sweep of the singles and doubles in Egypt, giving the 19-year old from China three straight singles title runs and a 15-match winning streak. Before this run, she had yet to win her first pro crown.

The former junior #9, she reached the girls singles semis at the Australian Open in 2020, defeating the likes of Linda Noskova, Diana Shnaider and Polina Kudermetova en route.
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1. $25K Kiryat Motzkin ISR Final - Lina Glushko def. Joanne Zuger
...6-3/6-4. Lina, younger sister of the retired Julia, picks up her biggest career title, and her first since 2018.

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Finally, a faint hint of the rediscovery of a process (or at least the desire for progress)...




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According the Magic 8 Ball (which was pretty accurate here), it looks like Alexandra Dulgheru will be playing in Cluj in 2022.



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=CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA=




=COURMAYEUR, ITALY=






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Unlike some (cough, cough... Hall of Fame), Nike seems to really committed to latching onto and growing the sport and personalities of wheelchair tennis. First, the individual promotion of Diede de Groot, and now she has her own ("ddg") logo (ala "RF") and, who knows, maybe a line of products down the line?








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*2021 WTA INDOOR TITLES*
3 - ANETT KONTAVEIT, EST
2 - Clara Tauson, DEN
1 - Ash Barty, AUS
1 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
1 - Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
1 - DONNA VEKIC, CRO

*2021 WTA FINALS*
6 - Ash Barty, AUS (5-1)
6 - ANETT KONTAVEIT, EST (4-1-1)
4 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (3-1)
4 - Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (2-2)
4 - Garbine Muguruza, ESP (2-2)
3 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2-1)
3 - CLARA TAUSON, DEN (2-1)
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (1-2)
3 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (1-2)
3 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (0-3)

*2021 WTA CHAMPIONS BY RANKING*
#1 - Ash Barty (Yarra Valley Melb.)
#1 - Ash Barty (Miami)
#1 - Ash Barty (Stuttgart)
#1 - Ash Barty (Wimbledon)
#1 - Ash Barty (Cincinnati)
#3 - Naomi Osaka (Australian Open)
#6 - Elina Svitolina (Chicago 250)
#7 - Aryna Sabalenka (Madrid)
#9 - Garbine Muguruza (Chicago 500)
#10 - Aryna Sabalenka (Abu Dhabi)
#10 - Petra Kvitova (Doha)
#12 - Belinda Bencic (Olympics)
#13 - Barbora Krejcikova (Prague)
#14 - Anett Kontaveit (Cluj-Napoca/Transylvania)
#15 - Iga Swiatek (Rome)
#16 - Garbine Muguruza (Dubai)
#18 - Iga Swiatek (Adelaide)
#20 - Elise Mertens (Gippsland Melb.)
#20 - Johanna Konta (Nottingham)
#20 - Anett Kontaveit (Moscow)
#24 - Ons Jabeur (Birmingham)
#27 - Paula Badosa (Indian Wells)
#28 - Angelique Kerber (Bad Homburg)
#30 - Coco Gauff (Parma)
#30 - Anett Kontaveit (Cleveland)
#30 - Anett Kontaveit (Ostrava!!!)
#33 - Barbora Krejcikova (Roland Garros)
#36 - Danielle Collins (San Jose)
#38 - Veronika Kudermetova (Charleston 500)
#38 - Barbora Krejcikova (Strasbourg)
#42 - Yulia Putintseva (Budapest)
#43 - Alona Ostapenko (Eastbourne)
#44 - Paula Badosa (Belgrade)
#44 - Danielle Collins (Palermo)
#50 - Tamara Zidansek (Lausanne)
#60 - Ann Li (Tenerife)
#61 - Dasha Kasatkina (Saint Petersburg)
#67 - Sorana Cirstea (Istanbul)
#70 - Clara Tauson (Luxembourg)
#71 - Sara Sorribes Tormo (Guadalajara)
#71 - Camila Giorgi (Montreal)
#75 - Dasha Kasatkina (Phillip Island Melb.)
#87 - Jasmine Paolini (Portoroz)
#88 - Leylah Fernandez (Monterrey)
#89 - Alison Van Uytvanck (Nur-Sultan)
#91 - Andrea Petkovic (Cluj-Napoca)
#97 - Donna Vekic (Courmayeur)
#106 - Liudmila Samsonova (Berlin)
#139 - Clara Tauson (Lyon)
#150 - Emma Raducanu (US Open)
#154 - Gabriela Ruse (Hamburg)
#165 - Astra Sharma (Charleston 250)
#165 - Maryna Zanevska (Gdynia)
#180 - Camila Osorio (Bogota)
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vacant - Kontaveit (#23) vs. Li (#99) [Grampians Melb. not played]

*2021 WTA CHAMPIONS BY AGE*
17 - Coco Gauff (Parma)
18 - Clara Tauson (Lyon)
18 - Clara Tauson (Luxembourg)
18 - Emma Raducanu (US Open)
18 - Leylah Fernandez (Monterrey)
19 - Camila Osorio (Bogota)
19 - Iga Swiatek (Adelaide)
19 - Iga Swiatek (Rome)
21 - Ann Li (Tenerife)
22 - Aryna Sabalenka (Abu Dhabi)
22 - Liudmila Samsonova (Berlin)
23 - Paula Badosa (Belgrade)
23 - Paula Badosa (Indian Wells)
23 - Dasha Kasatkina (Phillip Island Melb.)
23 - Dasha Kasatkina (Saint Petersburg)
23 - Veronika Kudermetova (Charleston 500)
23 - Naomi Osaka (Australian Open)
23 - Aryna Sabalenka (Madrid)
23 - Gabriela Ruse (Hamburg)
23 - Tamara Zidansek (Lausanne)
24 - Ash Barty (Yarra Valley Melb.)
24 - Ash Barty (Miami)
24 - Belinda Bencic (Olympics)
24 - Alona Ostapenko (Eastbourne)
24 - Sara Sorribes Tormo (Guadalajara)
25 - Ash Barty (Stuttgart)
25 - Ash Barty (Wimbledon)
25 - Ash Barty (Cininnati)
25 - Anett Kontaveit (Cleveland)
25 - Anett Kontaveit (Ostrava!!!)
25 - Anett Kontaveit (Moscow)
25 - Anett Kontaveit (Cluj-Napoca/Transylvania)
25 - Barbora Krejcikova (Strasbourg)
25 - Barbora Krejcikova (Roland Garros)
25 - Barbora Krejcikova (Prague)
25 - Elise Mertens (Gippsland Melb.)
25 - Astra Sharma (Charleston 250)
25 - Jasmine Paolini (Portoroz)
25 - Donna Vekic (Courmayeur)
26 - Ons Jabeur (Birmingham)
26 - Yulia Putintseva (Budapest)
26 - Elina Svitolina (Chicago 250)
27 - Garbine Muguruza (Dubai)
27 - Garbine Muguruza (Chicago 500)
27 - Maryna Zanevska (Gdynia)
27 - Danielle Collins (Palermo)
27 - Danielle Collins (San Jose)
27 - Alison Van Uytvanck (Nur-Sultan)
29 - Camila Giorgi (Montreal)
30 - Johanna Konta (Nottingham)
30 - Petra Kvitova (Doha)
31 - Sorana Cirstea (Istanbul)
33 - Andrea Petkovic (Cluj-Napoca)
33 - Angelique Kerber (Bad Homburg)
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vacant - Kontaveit (25) vs. Li (20) [Grampians Melb. not played]

*2021 WEEKLY BACKSPIN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK*
Week 1: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
AO Q: Francesca Jones, GBR
Week 2: Ash Barty, AUS
AO: Naomi Osaka, JPN
Week 4: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS
Week 5: Iga Swiatek, POL
Week 6: Petra Kvitova, CZE
Week 7: Garbine Muguruza, ESP
Week 8: Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (2)
Week 9/10: Ash Barty, AUS
Week 11: Veronika Kudermetova, RUS
BJK Playoffs: Magdalena Frech, POL
Week 12: Astra Sharma, AUS
Week 13: Ash Barty, AUS
Week 14/15: Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (2)
Week 16: Iga Swiatek, POL (2)
Week 17: Coco Gauff, USA
Week 18: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
RG Q: Varvara Lepchenko, USA
RG: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
Week 20: Johanna Konta, GBR
Week 21: Ons Jabeur, TUN
Week 22: Alona Ostapenko, LAT
WI Q: Ana Konjuh, CRO
WI: Ash Barty, AUS
Week 24: Gabriela Ruse, ROU
Week 25: Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (3)
Week 26: Danielle Collins, USA
Olympics: Belinda Bencic, SUI
Week 28: Danielle Collins, USA (2)
Week 29: Camila Giorgi, ITA
Week 30: Ash Barty, AUS (5)
Week 31: Anett Kontaveit, EST
US Q: Rebecca Marino, CAN
US Open: Emma Raducanu, GBR
Week 34: Clara Tauson, DEN
Week 35: Anett Kontaveit, EST
Week 36: Alison Van Uytvanck, BEL
Indian Wells: Paula Badosa, ESP
Week 39: Anett Kontaveit, EST
Week 40: Anett Kontaveit, EST (4)





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All for now.
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