Backspin Sites

Sunday, October 8, 2023

Wk.40- The Great Well of Iga





futuristic-fonts




*WEEK 40 CHAMPIONS*
BEIJING, CHINA (WTA 1000/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Iga Swiatek/POL def. Liudmila Samsonova/RUS 6-2/6-2
D: Marie Bouzkova/Sara Sorribes Tormo (CZE/ESP) def. Chan Hao-ching/Giuliana Olmos (TPE/MEX) 3-6/6-0 [10-4]




kosova-font

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Iga Swiatek/POL
...Swiatek might (currently) be the #2-ranked player in the world, but that doesn't mean she isn't quite possibly the WTA's Player of the Year.

2023 has by most accounts centered around the rise of Aryna Sabalenka to #1 (and, of late, the elevation of Coco Gauff), while Swiatek's season has mostly "paled" in comparison (no shocker, as it felt like a good call back in January) to her super-duper-luper campaign of a year ago. But here we are in October, and Swiatek has more titles, finals and match wins than anyone, even if she still trails Sabalenka in the WTA Points Race and, mostly as a result of the Belarusian's WTAF runner-up result from last November, has found herself off the top line of the singles rankings since she didn't win her *second* consecutive U.S. Open title early last month.

Season-ending #1 is still up for grabs, and a pretty good case can be made for Swiatek (now just 465 points behind at #2) holding a slight edge in probability for coming out on top since she only has *semifinal* points to defend at next month's WTA Finals. And it's really all because of what happened this past week in Beijing.

The tournament played out a bit like Swiatek's triumph last year at Flushing Meadows. She arrived in not exactly her *best* form, started well (quick wins over Sara Sorribes Tormo, Varvara Gracheva and Magda Linette), had to fight to find a way through (vs. Caroline Garcia in the QF) a patchy stretch, then hit her stride heading into the final weekend (def. Coco Gauff in the SF, 6-2/6-3) and ultimately made her triumph feel almost "inevitable" because she had become almost untouchable between the lines (barely blinking an eye while taking out Liudmila Samsonova in a 2 & 2 final).

Her fifth '23 title puts Swiatek all alone atop the tour heap (just as her 7th final had), and she's dragging Serena Williams' name back out into the light again (as in being the first w/ back-to-back seasons w/ 5+ title since SW in 2015-16). After losing her previous two 1000 finals this season (after being 5-0 in 1000 finals in 2021-22), Swiatek is now back on the proverbial horse, riding a wave of momentum with just a few weeks left on the '23 schedule.

16-4 in career WTA finals, Swiatek far outdistances her nearest competitors when it comes to her standing in the current decade. Her 16 titles since the start of 2020 is double the second-best total of 8 on tour from both Sabalenka and Ash Barty, the latter of whom hasn't played in about 20 months. While "just" 6-3 in finals since she won last year's U.S. Open (where she won her 10th straight final), those six wins are still more than any other player over that same 13-month stretch.

Thus, even a "B+"-season from Swiatek -- one during which she's been bested in many ways that no one ever came close to doing in '22 -- might end up being enough to make her the top player on tour for a second straight year.

We'll see, but it sure looks like all that will be decided in Cancun (or, who knows -- at least as far as "Ms.Backspin" is concerned -- maybe even Seville the week *after* the WTAF, where Iga *could* be playing, but Sabalenka definitely will not).


===============================================



RISERS: Liudmila Samsonova/RUS and Coco Gauff/USA
...Samsonova still hasn't won a title in '23 (after grabbing three last season), but has still managed to reach the two biggest finals of her career (a pair of 1000 events in Montreal and this week in Beijing) as well as at a 500. She's recorded more WTA MD wins (32) in a season than ever before, notched her biggest career win (then-#2 Aryna Sabalenka in Montreal), improved to 4-0 (2-0 this year) vs. Elena Rybakina and seems set to have the best year-end ranking of her career.

In Beijing, the Hordette posted wins over Alycia Parks, Petra Kvitova, Marta Kostyuk, Alona Ostapenko and Rybakina to reach the final, but was unfortunate enough to face off with a *very* in form Iga Swiatek, who could barely make even a minor misstep the entire match. The result: a 6-2/6-2 score. (Throws up hands.)

A year after finishing the '22 season at #20, Samsonova will climb to #16 on Monday.



For a while, Gauff continued her brilliant summer hard court run into the fall in Beijing, extending her tour season-best winning streak to 16 with wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova, Petra Martic (who served for the match), Veronika Kudermetova (saving 4 SP in the 1st) and Maria Sakkari to set up her fourth meeting this season with Swiatek in the semis, Gauff's seventh SF of '23 and her fourth in five events since her 1st Round exit at Wimbledon.

Gauff had finally turned back her 0-7 career mark against the Pole with a win in Montreal in August, but Swiatek was back in dominating form this time around, putting up a very familiar looking 6-2/6-3 win over Gauff to improve to 8-1 in their head-to-head.


===============================================
Hmmm... remember her?



SURPRISE: Ane Mintegi del Olmo/ESP
...two summers ago, Mintegi del Olmo became the first Spaniard to win the junior Wimbledon girls' title, but got as much attention for her hat-and-glasses look as for her results.

Not much has been heard of her since, as she's battled injuries. She was out from February to July last year, then went out again last October. After almost a full year away, del Olmo finally returned this week in a $25K challenger in Santa Margherita de Pula, Italy. Without a ranking, she made her way through qualifying, knocking off two seeds.

In the MD, she upset Nikola Bartunkova in the QF, then top-seded Ylena In-Albon in the semis. In her third career ITF final, she fell to Italian Giorgia Pedone 6-2/7-5, but the 19-year old is finally on her way back.

#PowerToTheSpectacles


===============================================
VETERAN: Caroline Garcia/FRA
...at the very least, Garcia is closing out her very up, down and all around season on a series of high notes. After a good start, the Pastry has mostly been a .500 player all year, but has played perhaps her most consistent tennis in the season's final quarter.

Last year, Garcia rode a 31-5 summer stretch to a WTAF qualification, title run and Top 10 finish. She won't return to the season-ending event (where she picked up 1300 points last year -- those points are currently the difference between Garcia's #10 ranking and #21), but since her 1st Round loss at the U.S. Open (to Wang Yafan) Garcia has gone 8-4 and strung together a 1000 SF with a 500 QF and, this week, a QF at the season's final 1000 tournament in Beijing.

Wins over Kateryna Baindl, Yulia Putintseva and Anhelina Kalinina set up fourth career meeting with Iga Swiatek. Garcia's only win over the Pole came last year in Warsaw, and that remains so though the two battled for three sets in their QF match-up in Beijing. Garcia saved a SP in the 1st and claimed the TB, and rallied from double-break down in the 2nd to force another breaker. Swiatek won it and raced off with a win in the 3rd. Poof... and the moment was gone.

Garcia will continue to hold onto her Top 10 ranking for a bit longer, and on Monday will actually pick up 169 points on the still idle #9 Karolina Muchova, who this week nonetheless secured her own berth (the last one at #8) in this year's WTAF field even without having won a title this season.


===============================================



COMEBACK: Elena Rybakina/KAZ
...through the good, bad and indifferent -- though Rybakina has never been that, as there has been no better critic of WTA (mis)management in recent weeks than her -- of her '23 season, when Rybakina has been healthy she's been possibly the toughest out on tour, going 5-1 vs. the world's top two ranked players (her only defeat coming in the AO final vs. Sabalenka) and 8-2 against the current Top 10.

After her rocket launch of a start, during which she reached the finals of the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami and nearly pulled off the "Sunshine Double," Rybakina perservered through a convoluted middle section of her season. She won Rome (but while seeing three opponents retire), then was slowed by illness that saw her pull out mid-way into RG and her Wimbledon title defense end in the QF, and followed up with a disappointing summer hard court stretch where she was schedued into the ground in Montreal and pulled out a series of (uncharacteristic) poison pen social media posts that expertly critiqued WTA "leadership."

She was back in great hard court form in Beijing, reaching her fifth 1000 SF of the season, and even broke the previous record (Pliskova w/ 234 in '19) for most aces in 1000 level events in a season as she posted victories over Asian Games winner Zheng Qinwen, Tatjana Maria, Mirra Andreeva (in 3 sets) and new #1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Belarusian's first event in the top spot. The latter win is Rybakina's fourth #1 win this year, the most on tour in a single season in eleven years.

But rather than face Alona Ostapenko in the semis, against whom Rybakina is 3-0 this season, she got the Latvian's conquering QF opponent Liudmila Samsonova. The Hordette held a 3-0 career mark vs. Rybakina, and improved it to 4-0 with another great performance (though Rybakina *did* have a SP in the 1st in the straight sets loss).

Rybakina is just 10 points behind Jessie Pegula for the #4 ranking, and is set to collect WTAF appearance points in the coming weeks after being denied a spot last year since her SW19 title had earned her zero ranking benefits (nor any special dispensation from the WTA when it came to WTAF qualification).



The loss to Samsonova prevented Rybakina from testing another of her great recent stats, as she missed out on a chance to extend her winning streak over Top 3 players. It remains at 7, including a 3-0 mark vs. Iga Swiatek this year. Maybe in Cancun?


===============================================



FRESH FACE: Mirra Andreeva/RUS
...Andreeva's results have been hit or miss since her Round of 16 run at Wimbledon, as she went 3-3 the remainder of the summer, including a 2nd Round loss to eventual champ Coco Gauff at the U.S. Open. In her first outing since the season's final slam, the 16-year old won eight straight sets (+1 opponent retiring) as she qualified and posted MD wins over Barbora Krejcikova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, dropping just 7 games vs. the two '21 RG finalists.

In her first meeting with Elena Rybakina in the 3rd Round, the Hordette led 6-2/4-2 before awakening the Rybakina (or maybe that was the WTA itself that did it?), who turned things around and got the win by claiming 10 of the final 11 games.

In all five of Andreeva's 1000/slam debuts this season she's posted 1st Round wins. She won two matches in four of them, and three in two of those, giving her an 11-5 mark on big stages in her rookie season. She's set to crack the Top 50 for the first time on Monday and is still the youngest player ranked in the Top 175. Only fellow AO junior finalist Alina Korneeva is younger than Andreeva (#178) in the Top 749.


===============================================
DOWN: The Czechs (except for one)
...Crushers and Maidens alike, the Beijing draws were not hospitable venues for the women of the Czech Republic.

Seven Czechs were in the singles MD, including #8 seeded Marketa Vondrousova, #10 Barbora Krejickova and #12 Petra Kvitova (plus Bouzkova, Siniakova, Noskova and L.Fruhvirtova). None lasted past the 2nd Round, going a combined 3-6 (w/ Noskova retiring). Krejickova, after a one-week cameo in the Top 10 just three weeks ago, slips all the way down to #18 on Monday.

Ah, but the doubles, right?

Well, three teams included Czechs. Miriam Kolodziejova (w/ O.Kalashnikova) was one and out, and so were recent San Diego champions Krejcikova/Siniakova after their 1st Round bye.

Only Marie Bouzkova (w/ S.Sorribes Tormo) managed to avoid the trap door. And the rest of the week worked out pretty well for her, too.
===============================================



ITF PLAYER: McCartney Kessler/USA
...the 23-year old Bannerette, a former NCAA star at Florida (she was the SEC Player of the Year in '22), claimed her maiden pro title in a $60K challenger in Rome, Georgia.

Ranked #288, Kessler opened with a 1st Round upset of last week's $60K champ Taylor Townsend (who'd defeated *her* in the semis), downed Townsend's opponent from last weekend's final (Renata Zarazua) in the semis, and then defeated Grace Min 6-2/6-1 in the final.

This summer, Kessler took her USTA wild card into U.S. Open qualifying, upset #7-seeded Yuan Yue in the opening round and played all the way into the final Q-round (a loss to Eva Lys). She'll crack the Top 250 (#240) on Monday.
===============================================
JUNIOR STARS: Mimi Xu/GBR and Emerson Jones/AUS
...another week, another Crush-... ah, not so fast.

In the junior (J300) version of the China Open in Beijing, 16-year old Brit Xu swept the singles and doubles titles. The #2 seed, Xu defeated top-seeded Czech Crusher Laura Samsonova, 15, in the final by a 6-2/6-4 score. Samsonova hadn't lost a set en route to the final.

Starting with her claiming of the pre-U.S. Open J300 title in Repentigny in August, Xu's run this week improves her record to 11-1 in her last 12 matches.

She won the doubles alongside fellow Brit Mika Stojsavljevic.



In Wanju (CHN), Aussie Jones claimed the J300 crown at the Asia/Oceania Regional Championships. The top-seeded 15-year old, a winner at the J300 College Park (Maryland) tournament this summer, didn't drop a set over six matches, defeating #2 seed Kim Yujin (KOR), 18, in a 6-3/6-4 final.
===============================================



DOUBLES: Marie Bouzkova/Sara Sorribes Tormo, CZE/ESP
...while their role in the controversy over Miyu Kato's DQ in the Roland Garros doubles will likely continue to be the most memorable moment of their doubles seasons, Bouzkova & Sorribes Tormo added another (better) moment to remember in Beijing, with both winning the biggest WD title of their career.

The two didn't drop a set en route to the final, including getting a win over #1-seeded Hunter/Mertens in the 2nd Round. In the final, they dropped the opening set to Chan Hao-ching (off her pair of Asian Games medals: WD Gold, MX Bronze) & Giuliana Olmos, but stormed back to take the 2nd at love and win a 10-4 MTB to win the title.

It's the second title ('22 Istanbul) as a duo for Bouzkova/Sorribes Tormo, and the fourth overall in the careers for both. All the other wins have come in International/250 events.


===============================================









kosova-font

1. Beijing 2nd Rd. - Coco Gauff def. Petra Martic
...7-5/5-7/7-6(2). Gauff maintains her hard court winning streak, outlasting Martic, who served for the win at 5-4 in the 3rd. It was Gauff's sixth straight three-set victory since falling in a three-setter to Jessie Pegula in the Montreal QF, Gauff's only loss on summer hard courts.

By the way, THIS win cemented Gauff's streak (w/ consecutive win #14) as the longest on tour in 2023. The WTA this week tried to sell that the previous long streak was Iga Swiatek with 14 over Roland Garros, Bad Homburg and Wimbledon rather than Aryna Sabalenka's 13-match run to start the year and Elena Rybakina's 13 straight at IW/Miami. But Swiatek's streak *ended* with a walkover in Bad Homburg after 10 wins, and it's ridiculous to tack on her four SW19 wins to reach 14.

It still amazes me that the tour continues to disregard walkover losses like this, as if they somehow keep *winning* streaks alive. They may not count as an official "L" in the records, but they surely don't magically make the end of a winning streak go away, either. At least call it an "undefeated" streak, then you're not acting as if what happened didn't, you know, HAPPEN.


===============================================
2. Beijing 3rd Rd. - Liudmila Samsonova def. Marta Kostyuk
...6-4/6-7(4)/7-5. Samsonova couldn't take out Kostyuk in straights, though she did rally from 4-1 down to force a 2nd set TB (Kostyuk staged a comeback from 3-1 to win 7-4). In the 3rd, Kostyuk led by a double-break at 3-0 but couldn't hold back Samsonova, who surged back and broke serve to close out the match.

In the end, the two combined to produce the very definition of "littering up the scorecard" (i.e. 20 combined DF and 33 BP, 52 winners and 71 UE from Samsonova, 8 aces from Kostyuk, etc.)...



Since defeating then-Hordette Varvara Gracheva in the Austin final in March, Kostyuk (still) has had as many wins vs. RUS/BLR opponents (0-6) as she has handshakes in those matches.


===============================================
3. Beijing QF - Iga Swiatek def. Caroline Garcia
...6-7(8)/7-6(5)/6-1. In a win that had a very '22 U.S. Open feel, Swiatek found a way.

Neither player faced a BP in the 1st set. In the TB, Garcia led 6-4, then had to stave off a SP at 7-6 before finally securing the set on her own fourth SP. Garcia then rallied from 4-1 down (double-break) in the 2nd, and saw Swiatek fail to serve out the set at 5-4.

The Pole claimed a 7-5 TB and, with the crisis narrowly averted, then raced off to a 6-1 win in the 3rd.


===============================================



4. Beijing QF - Elena Rybakina def. Aryna Sabalenka
...7-5/6-2. Rybakina records her fourth #1 win of the season, the most since Serena Williams in 2012. She's also the first since Sofia Kenin in 2019 to record wins over *different* #1-ranked players in a season (only two women have done that since 2017, when four did it during a far less stable season as far as the #1 ranking was concerned, as five different players held the top spot).

Rybakina handled Sabalenka in an hour and a half, putting up a 12/1 ace/DF ratio vs. the world #1's 4/8 (her back-to-back DF late in the 2nd gave the break to Rybakina that allowed her to serve out the win).

Thus, Sabalenka's first event as the world #1 saw her scratch out three wins (all in straights) and reach a 1000 QF, breaking her personal record for most match wins in a season (53), though she had to battle through nearly every one of her pre-Rybakina matches in her '23 4Q debut. In the 2nd Round, she saved 8 BP at 5-5 in the 1st set vs. Katie Boulter, and had to rally in the 2nd; then she saw Jasmine Paolini serve for the set in the 2nd set in the 3rd Round.


===============================================
5. Beijing SF - Iga Swiatek def. Coco Gauff
...6-2/6-3. Swiatek improves to 8-1 vs. Gauff with her 28th career Top 10 win. She 8-6 vs. the Top 10 this season. With her earlier win over Garcia, this is Swiatek's first event with *two* Top 10 wins since Stuttgart in April.

Gauff/Swiatek should have (at least) a fifth chapter in Cancun, as the withdrawal from next week's Zhengzhou event of both Gauff and Elena Rybakina means the Kazakh won't overtake #3 Gauff (#4 Rybakina is 90 points back) in the WTA Points Race. So #2 Iga and #3 Coco should be positioned (as usual) in the same WTAF round robin group. If they both reach the final, '23 match-up #6 could occur.


===============================================



6. Beijing Final - Iga Swiatek def. Liudmila Samsonova
...6-2/6-2. Swiatek never faced a BP, while converting 4-of-4 on Samsonova's serve.

Of her 16 career titles, she's won 14 of them in straight sets, and in 12 of those (including this one) she lost just five total games or less.


===============================================



7. Beijing 1st Rd. - Petra Kvitova def. Wang Xiyu 6-7(6)/7-5/6-3
Beijing 2nd Rd. - Liudmila Samsonova def. Petra Kvitova 6-4/7-5
...Kvitova, who started the year going 17-5 (and 25-8) came in just 4-4 since her Wimbledon Round of 16 result. Her tough opening win over Wang may have been a catalyst for a nice closing-event run in what has been a very good Petra year (even w/ middling slam results, as she won just two MD matches outside of SW19).

But the WTA gotta WTA, and after a late night finish in the previous a.m. hours Kvitova was scheduled for a late afternoon match the next day (even while some 1st Rounders had yet to be played). Following in the footsteps of Elena Rybakina, Kvitova -- in a very Petra way -- voiced some objection to the situation.


===============================================
8. Beijing 1st Rd. - Dasha Kasatkina def. Mayar Sherif
...1-6/6-4/7-6(8). Sherif served for the match at 5-4 in the 3rd, then rallied from 6-3 down in the TB (saving 4 MP) and held a MP of her own at 7-6. Kasatkina managed to survive, winning 10-8 on MP #5. She then went out in her 2nd Round match and won just six games vs. Wang Xinyu.


===============================================
9. Beijing 2nd Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Katie Boulter
...7-5/7-6(2). In just her second match as #1, Sabalenka is pushed by Boulter but comes through in straights. The Brit served at 5-4 in both the 1st and 2nd sets, and had *eight* BP chances on Sabalenka's serve at 5-all in the 1st.
===============================================
10. Beijing 2nd Rd. - Marta Kostyuk def. Ons Jabeur
...7-6(5)/6-1. The week didn't end well for Kostyuk, but early on she notched her third Top 10 win in her last four such match-ups, after starting her career 0-14 vs. Top 10ers, with an upset of last week's Ningbo champ.


===============================================
11. Beijing 2nd Rd. - Laura Siegemund/Vera Zvonareva def. Caroline Garcia/Kristina Mladenovic
...7-6(4)/6-1. Playing together in their first WTA match since 2017 -- then went 2-0 in '19 Fed Cup, and 0-1 in the Olympics in '21 -- Garcia & Mladenovic posted a single win before bowing out to Siegemund/Zvonareva.
===============================================
12. Beijing 1st Rd. - Anhelina Kalinina def. Marketa Vondrousova
...1-6/6-4/6-1. In a season in which she's produced a 1000 final result, reached her first slam 3rd Round (AO) and cracked the Top 25, Kalinina finally notches her first Top 10 win of the year.



Meanwhile...



Aside from some of the more lewd, misogynistic comments that really aren't even related to tennis, per se, amongst the comments here were things like..."@WTA MUST INVESTIGATE," "Cheater," "ALL REPORT THIS PLAYER. He selling match report and expulsed Tennis (sic)," "Don't trust any player in tennis," "Pies of a sh** (sic)... how this sh** won the Wimbledon (sic)."

Hmmm..."(Rat emoji)," "This girl should be banned," "LOL," "Nothing like beating a doper..."

Different levels. Different sources. Some are disembodied voices ignored by shutting off comments or looking away. Some are from individuals who might be standing right next to you, or potentially across the net.

I'm just sayin'.
===============================================
13. Beijing 2nd Rd. - Giuliana Olmos/Chan Hao-ching def. #1 Storm Hunter/Elise Mertens 6-1/6-2
Beijing 2nd Rd. - Ingrid Gamarra Martins/Luisa Stefani def. #2 Coco Gauff/Jessie Pegula 5-7/6-2 [10-5]
Beijing 2nd Rd. - Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Ellen Perez def. #3 Barbora Krejcikova/Kateirna Siniakova 7-2/2-6 [10-6]
Beijing 2nd Rd. - Magda Linette/Peyton Stearns def. #4 Gaby Dabrowski/Erin Routliffe 6-2/7-6(3)
...after receiving 1st Round byes, all four top seeds in doubles lost their opening matches in Beijing. The duos make up the Top 3 in the Points Race, along with U.S. Open champs Dabrowski/Rouliffe, who failed to take advantage of the situation and remain out of the running at #10 in the chase.
===============================================
14. Beijing 3rd Rd. - Alona Ostapenko def. Jessie Pegula
...6-4/6-2. Ostapenko's run ended in the QF, but not before she notched her 21st career Top 10 win. With the victory over #4 Pegula, 10 of them have come vs. Top 4 players.


===============================================



15. Beijing 2nd Rd. - Magda Linette def> Jennifer Brady
...3-1 ret. Here we go again?


===============================================
16. $25K Reims FRA Final - Alison Van Uytvanck def. Julia Avdeeva
...6-4/6-4. Waffle Van Uytvanck's road back from injury gets a quick start as she claims the title in Reims in her first event since February.

8-1 in WTA/125 finals in her career, she's 14-7 on the ITF level.
===============================================
17. $25K Redding CAL Final - Iva Jovic def. Sayaka Ishii
...6-4/6-2. Playing in just her third career pro event, the 15-year old Bannerette becomes the youngest ever winner of a $25K+ challenger title.
===============================================
18. $25K Redding CAL Final - Liv Hovde/Clervie Ngounoue def. Kayla Cross/Maria Herazo Gonzalez
...6-3/7-5. The last two Wimbledon junior champs, both 17, combine to take home a professional doubles title.

It's Hovde's first career WD crown, and Ngounoue's third.


===============================================
19. $25K Makinohara JPN Final - Sara Saito def. Thasaporn Naklo
...6-4/6-3. The 17-year old, off her U.S. junior QF result, wins her maiden pro title.

Saito won back-to-back J300 junior singles crowns back in February/March, and reached the girls' doubles finals at the AO, RG and US Open with three different partners.


===============================================
20. $25K Mendoza ARG Final - Solana Sierra def. Martina Capurro Taborda
...6-1/6-3. 19-year old Sierra tops her 25-year old fellow Argentine in their third match-up in an ITF final this season. Capurro Taborda, who was seeking her 6th title this year, had won the previous two meetings.


===============================================






kosova-font



1. Beijing 3rd Rd. - Elena Rybakina def. Mirra Andreeva
...2-6/6-4/6-1. This event was the Beijing debut for *both* 24-year old Rybakina and 16-year old Andreeva.

NOTE: the last time the China Open was held the SF were filled by players named Barty, Osaka, Bertens and Wozniacki. In the years since, three retired, three become mothers (one twice), one has made a comeback and another will do the same in '24.

Here, Rybakina avoided an exit early, turning on the jets after falling down 6-2/4-2 to the rising teenager. She won 10 of the final 11 games to advance.


===============================================







kosova-font





kosova-font





kosova-font





kosova-font




























futuristic-fonts


kosova-font



































kosova-font

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2023*
7 - IGA SWIATEK, POL (5-2)
6 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (3-3)
4 - Coco Gauff, USA (4-0)
4 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (2-2)
3 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (2-1)
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (2-1)
3 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2-1)
3 - Jessie Pegula, USA (1-2)
3 - LIUDMILA SAMSONOVA, RUS (0-3)

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2020's - 1920-23*
19 - 1/2/9/7 = SWIATEK (16-3)
15 - 3/3/3/6 = Sabalenka (8-7)
12 - 1/7/4/0...Kontaveit (5-6-1)
12 - 0/3/6/3 = Jabeur (5-7)
12 - 5/0/3/4 = Rybakina (4-8)
10 - 0/4/3/3 = Krejcikova (7-3)
9 - 1/6/2/ret...Barty (8-1)
8 - 0/3/2/3 = Bencic (4-4)
8 - 0/4/2/2 = Kasatkina (4-4)
7 - 0/1/3/3 = SAMSONOVA (4-3)
7 - 0/2/3/2 = V.Kudermetova (2-5)
7 - 0/1/4/2 = Sakkari (1-6)
6 - 0/1/1/4 = Gauff (5-1)
6 - 3/1/2/0 = Halep (5-1)
6 - 1/1/2/2 = Alexandrova (4-2)
6 - 0/0/4/2 = Garcia (4-2)
6 - 1/1/2/2 = Kvitova (4-2)
6 - 1/5/0/0 = Muguruza (3-3)
6 - 0/2/3/1 = Ostapenko (3-3)
6 - 1/0/2/3 = Pegula (2-4)

*CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLES - ACTIVE*
49 - Venus Williams (most recent title: 2016)
31 - Petra Kvitova (2023)
30 - Caroline Wozniacki (2018)
24 - Simona Halep (2022)
21 - Victoria Azarenka (2020)
17 - Elina Svitolina (2023)
16 - Karolina Pliskova (2020)
16 - IGA SWIATEK (2023)
14 - Angelique Kerber (2022)
--
ALSO: Kuznetsova (18), Barty (15)

*CAREER WTA HARD COURT TITLES - ACTIVE*
31 - Venus Williams
24 - Caroline Wozniacki
20 - Victoria Azarenka
20 - Petra Kvitova (2023: 1)
13 - Simona Halep
11 - Aryna Sabalenka (2)
11 - Elina Svitolina
10 - Karolina Pliskova
9 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
9 - IGA SWIATEK (3)
9 - Vera Zvonareva
8 - Garbine Muguruza
7 - Angelique Kerber
7 - Naomi Osaka
--
ALSO: Kuznetsova (14)

*SWIATEK on HARD COURT*
2018: 8-1
2019: 17-8
2020: 6-4
2021: 18-10
2022: 42-6
2023: 37-8

*LONG WTA (MD only) WINNING STREAKS - 2023*
16 - COCO GAUFF (Aug/Oct; ended by Swiatek)
13 - Aryna Sabalenka (Jan/Feb; ended by Krejcikova)
13 - Elena Rybakina (March; ended by Kvitova)
[2020-23; WTA MD only]
37 - Iga Swiatek (2022)
17 - Simona Halep (2020)
16 - COCO GAUFF (2023)
13 - Liudmila Samsonova (2022)
13 - Bernarda Pera (2022)
13 - Aryna Sabalenka (2023)
13 - Elena Rybakina (2023)
--
UNDEFEATED NOTE: B.Pera (2022; 13 WTA MD; 12 WTA MD/Q, then 4 WTA 125 MD before loss; 15 WTA Q/MD)
UNDEFEATED NOTE: Swiatek (2023; 10 WTA MD, walkover loss, then 4 more)
UNDEFEATED NOTE: Garcia (2022; 11 WTA MD, +2 qualifying wins)

*2023 WINS OVER #1*
United Cup SF - #3 Jessie Pegula/USA d. Swiatek (W-USA)
Australian Open 4r - #25 Elena Rybakina/KAZ d. Swiatek
Dubai F - #30 Barbora Krejcikova/CZE d. Swiatek (W)
Indian Wells SF - #10 Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. Swiatek (W)
Madrid F - #2 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Swiatek (W)
Rome QF - #6 Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. Swiatek (W)
Wimbledon QF - #76 Elina Svitolina/UKR def. Swiatek
Montreal SF - #3 Jessie Pegula/USA def. Swiatek (W)
Cincinnati SF - #7 Coco Gauff/USA def. Swiatek (W)
US Open 4th Rd. - #21 Alona Ostapenko/LAT def. Swiatek
Beijing QF - #5 Elena Rybakina/KAZ def. Sabalenka
=
(W) - won title

*CAREER WINS OVER #1 - active*
15 - Venus Williams
7 - Elina Svitolina
6 - Petra Kvitova
4 - Belinda Bencic
4 - Alize Cornet
4 - Garbine Muguruza
4 - ELENA RYBAKINA
4 - Aryna Sabalenka
4 - Caroline Wozniacki
-
ALSO: Kuznetsova(7)

*MULTIPLE #1 WINS IN A SEASON - since 2010*
2010 (2) Samantha Stosur
2011 (2) Dominika Cibulkova, Julia Goerges, Vera Zvonareva
2012 (4) Serena Williams
2012 (2) Maria Sharapova
2013 - none w/ 2
2014 (3) - Alize Cornet
2015 - none w/ 2
2016 (2) - Elina Svitolina
2017 (3) - Elina Svitolina, Caroline Wozniacki
2017 (2) - Garbine Muguruza, CoCo Vandeweghe
2018 - none w/ 2
2019 (3) - Belinda Bencic; (2) Sonya Kenin
2020 - none w/ 2
2021 - none w/ 2
2022 - none w/ 2
2023 (4) - Elena Rybakina; (2) Jessie Pegula

*MULTIPLE WINS OVER DIFF. #1's DURING SEASON - since 2008*
2008 (3) - Dinara Safina
2009 (2) - Venus Williams
2010 (2) - Samantha Stosur
2011-15 - NONE
2016 (2) - Elina Svitolina
2017 (3) - Caroline Wozniacki
2017 (2) - Muguruza/Svitolina/Vandeweghe
2018 - NONE
2019 (2) - Sofia Kenin
2020-22 NONE
2023 (2) - Elena Rybakina





*2023 SLAM-WTAF/1000 CHAMPIONS*
Australian Open - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Dubai - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
Indian Wells - Elena Rybakina, KAZ
Miami - Petra Kvitova, CZE
Madrid - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Rome - Elena Rybakina, KAZ
Roland Garros - Iga Swiatek, POL
Wimbledon - Marketa Vondrousova, CZE
Canada - Jessie Pegula, USA
Cincinnati - Coco Gauff, USA
US Open -Coco Gauff, USA
Guadalajara - Maria Sakkari, GRE
Beijing - Iga Swiatek, POL
WTAF - x
[doubles]
Australian Open - Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
Dubai - Veronika Kudermetova/Liudmila Samsonova, RUS/RUS
Indian Wells - Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
Miami - Coco Gauff/Jessie Pegula, USA/USA
Madrid - Victoria Azarenka/Beatriz Haddad Maia, BLR/BRA
Rome - Storm Hunter/Elise Mertens, AUS/BEL
Roland Garros - Hsieh Su-wei/Wang Xinyu, TPE/CHN
Wimbledon - Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova, TPE/CZE
Canada - Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara, JPN/JPN
Cincinnati - Alycia Parks/Taylor Townsend, USA/USA
US Open -Gaby Dabrowski/Erin Routliffe, CAN/NZL
Guadalajara - Storm Hunter/Elise Mertens, AUS/BEL
Beijing - Marie Bouzkova/Sara Sorribes Tormo, CZE/ESP
WTAF - x

*HEAD-TO-HEADS*
=SABALENKA (4) vs. RYBAKINA (2)=
2019 Wuhan QF (hc) - Sabalenka 6-3/1-6/6-1
2021 Abu Dhabi QF (hc) - Sabalenka 6-4/4-6/6-3
2021 Wimbledon 4r (gr) - Sabalenka 6-3/4-6/6-3
2023 Australian Open Final (hc) - Sabalenka 4-6/6-3/6-4
2023 Indian Wells Final (hc) - Rybakina 7-6(11)/6-4
2023 Beijing QF (hc) - Rybakina 7-5/6-2
=SWIATEK (8) vs. GAUFF (1)=
2021 Rome SF (rc) - Swiatek 7-6(3)/6-3
2022 Miami 4th (hc) - Swiatek 6-3/6-1
2022 Roland Garros Final (rc) - Swiatek 6-1/6-3
2022 San Diego QF (hc) - Swiatek 6-0/6-3
2022 WTA Finals rr (hc) - Swiatek 6-3/6-0
2023 Dubai SF (hc) - Swiatek 6-4/6-2
2023 Roland Garros QF (rc) - Swiatek 6-4/6-2
2023 Cincinnati SF (hc) - Gauff 7-6(2)/3-6/6-4
2023 Beijing SF (hc) - Swiatek 6-2/6-3

*2023 TOP JUNIOR GIRLS' TITLES*
[Grand Slam]
Alina Korneeva, RUS (2)
Katherine Hui, USA
Clervie Ngounoue, USA
[J500]
Mayu Crossley, JPN
Charo Esquiva Banuls, ESP
Kaitlin Quevedo, USA
Federica Urgesi, ITA
[J300]
3 - Lucciana Perez Alarcon, PER
2 - Emerson Jones, AUS
2 - Iva Jovic, USA
2 - Teodora Kostovic, SRB
2 - Clervie Ngounoue, USA
2 - Sara Saito, JPN
2 - Mimi Xu, GBR
1 - Sonja Zhenikhova, GER
1 - Melisa Ercan, TUN
1 - Mara Gae, ROU
1 - Ariana Geerlings, ESP
1 - Valerie Glozman, USA
1 - Tyra Caterina Grant, USA
1 - Gloriana Nahum, BEN
1 - Renata Jamrichova, SVK
1 - Maya Joint, AUS
1 - Alena Kovackova, CZE
1 - Vlada Mincheva, RUS
1 - Rebecca Munk Mortenson, DEN
1 - Francesca Pace, ITA
1 - Wakana Sonoba, JPN
1 - Monika Stankiewicz, POL
1 - Federica Urgesi, ITA
1 - Tereza Valentova, CZE
1 - Sonja Zhenikova, GER

*WORLD JUNIOR FINALS FIELD (Chengdu, CHN - Oct.16-22)*
Alina Korneeva, RUS
Clervie Ngounoue, USA
Renata Jamrichova, SVK
Sara Saito, JPN
Sayaka Ishii, JPN
Tereza Valentova, CZE
Ena Koike, JPN
Laura Samsonova, CZE
(ALT.) Kaitlin Quevedo, USA
[past finals]
2015 Xu Shilin/CHN d. Kristina Schmiedlova/SVK
2016 Anna Blinkova/RUS d. Katie Swan/GBR
2017 Marta Kostyuk/UKR d. Kaja Juvan/SLO
2018 Clara Burel/FRA d. Camila Osorio/COL
2019 Diane Parry/FRA d. Diana Snigur/UKR
2020-22 - CANCELLED

*PAN-AMERICAN GAMES SINGLES MEDALISTS - since 1991*
[GOLD]
1991 Pam Shriver, USA
1995 Florencia Labat, ARG
1999 Maria Vento-Kabchi, VEN
2003 Milagros Sequera, VEN
2007 Milagros Sequera, VEN
2011 Irina Falconi, USA
2015 Mariana Duque Marino, COL
2019 Nadia Podoroska, ARG
[SILVER]
1991 Joelle Schad, DOM
1995 Ann Grossman, USA
1999 Tara Snyder, USA
2003 Sarah Taylor, USA
2007 Mariana Duque Marino, COL
2011 Monica Puig, PUR
2015 Victoria Rodriguez, MEX
2019 Caroline Dolehide, USA
[BRONZE]
1991 Andrea Vieira, BRA
1995 Chanda Rubin, USA
1999 Mariana Diaz Oliva/ARG and Alexandra Stevenson/USA
2003 Kristina Brandi/PUR and Ansley Cargill/USA
2007 Betina Jozami, ARG
2011 Christina McHale, USA
2015 Monica Puig, PUR
2019 Veronica Cepede Royg, VEN
--
NOTE: tennis at 2023 Pan American Games; Santiago, CHI (Oct.23-29)





futuristic-fonts


kosova-font


kosova-font



kosova-font


INTERESTING READ: FREE LINK




kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font

Anyone remember when USA Network was the home of a whole batch of interesting dramas? From "Monk" to "Psych," and "Covert Affairs," "Burn Notice" and others. They knew how to promote them, too. They focused on the *characters*. The WTA's marketing should focus on its unique personalities, too. After such catastrophic results with the last two (three? four?) campaigns, they seem to have just given up trying at this point. #ForTheGame #Zzzzzzzzzzz



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font



kosova-font






All for now.
Posted by at