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Sunday, October 15, 2023

Wk.41- Zheng Does the Zhengzhou That She Does So Well





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*WEEK 41 CHAMPIONS*
ZHENGZHOU, CHINA (WTA 500/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Zheng Qinwen/CHN def. Barbora Krejcikova/CZE 2-6/6-2/6-4
D: Gaby Dabrowski/Erin Routliffe (CAN/NZL) def. Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara (JPN/JPN) 6-2/6-4
HONG KONG, CHINA (WTA 250/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Leylah Fernandez/CAN def. Katerina Siniakova/CZE 3-6/6-4/6-4
D: Tang Qianhui/Tsao Chia-yi (CHN/TPE) def. Oksana Kalashnikova/Aliaksandra Sasnovich (GEO/BLR) 7-5/1-6 [11-9]
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (WTA 250/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Jessie Pegula/USA def. Yuan Yue/CHN 6-2/6-3
D: Marie Bouzkova/Bethanie Mattek-Sands (CZE/USA) def. Luksika Kumkhum/Peangtarn Plipuech (THA/THA) 6-2/6-1
ROUEN, FRANCE (WTA 125 Challenger/Hard Court Indoor)
S: Viktorija Golubic/SUI def. Erika Andreeva/RUS 6-4/6-1
D: Jessika Ponchet/Maia Lumsden (FRA/GBR) def. Anna Bondar/Kimberley Zimmermann (HUN/GER) 6-3/7-6(4)




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PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Zheng Qinwen/CHN and Jessie Pegula/USA
...are we in the early stages of tennis' Chinese Queen becoming *the* greatest tennis player in her nation's history?

The 21-year old certainly has that sort of potential, but whatever path is ultimately taken by the first member of the "Li Na Generation" to arrive with anything resembling the sort of hype and promise that might approach the aforementioned two-time slam winning Hall of Famer, much credit goes to Zheng this season for clearly closing out the final weeks of '23 on several high notes after what has been both an historic and upsetting year for her on a personal level.

Zheng came into '23 with high expectations, but it took a while for her season to get rolling. Finally, she claimed her maiden tour title on the clay in Palermo in July. She parted ways with longtime coach Pere Riba (who famously since has joined Coco Gauff's team) before the grass court season, with Wim Fissette stepping in. Zheng reached her maiden slam QF at the U.S. Open, but by the time she was set to head off to Asia for the tour's 4Q swing Fissette had broken his contract with a very upset Zheng as he'll apparently head back to the reassembled Naomi Osaka camp for '24.

Zheng went public with the Fissette break after winning the Gold medal at the Asian Games to become the first woman to *officially* wrap up a berth in the '24 Olympic field in Paris. The quadrennial games, delayed a year due to the pandemic, prevented Zheng from playing a few of the biggest fall tour-level events, and she made a quick exit (albeit to Elena Rybakina) in the Beijing 1000 last week. But she remained in China this past week for the 500 event in Zhengzhou, celebrated her birthday last weekend, and then created yet another moment for jer personal highlight reel by claiming her biggest career title on home soil.

Zheng dropped no sets en route to the final, downing Kateryna Volodko (nee Bondarenko), Maria Sakkari (Top 10 win #3 of '23), Anhelina Kalinina and Jasmine Paolini (her victim in the Palermo final) in straights sets to reach her third career final. After dropping the 1st set to Barbora Krejcikova, Zheng won out in a back-and-forth affair by breaking the Czech in game #9 in the 3rd and then serving out the win with a series of big clutch serves.



Zheng climbs back into the Top 20 on Monday, matching her previous career high of #19. Come 2024, the sky could be her limit.

Meanwhile, Pegula didn't *need* to play in Seoul. She has her WTAF spot wrapped up (many others in such a situation withdrew in Zhengzhou), but with her mother Kim (who has Korean heritage and was actually born in and adopted from Seoul) experiencing so many health-related issues over the past year playing in South Korea had the feel of something other than *just* a stop on the WTA schedule.

After Pegula had looked great en route to the Tokyo final two weeks ago, only to fall at the last hurdle, she took full advantage of her week this time around.

She dropped just one set throughout (the 1st vs. Claire Liu in the QF) as she downed Viktoria Hruncakova, Ashlyn Krueger, Liu and Yanina Wickmayer to reach her ninth career WTA final (4th in '23). Her 6-2/6-3 win over Yuan Yue (in her ten sets won, Pegula allowed three or fewer games in eight) gives her four career titles, as the world #4's days of being "title deficient" appear to now be an issue of the distant past.

Pegula's five wins pushes her well beyond what had been her previous season high, as she'll head into the WTAF at 55-17 on the season. She trails only Iga Swiatek (63) in wins on tour this season. She's an impressive 17-6 in three-set matches.


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RISERS: Barbora Krejickova & Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE) and Jasmine Paolini/ITA
...once again, Krejickova and Siniakova were on the save wavelength even while playing in different events in China, with both reaching singles finals but ultimately coming up short when it came to taking home the hardware.

The two Czechs won the AO and Indian Wells doubles crowns early in the season, then uncharacteristically stumbled as a duo the rest of the spring/summer. Both have rallied in singles and lifted trophies this year, but also suffered through disconcerting dry patches on their solo paths. Last month in San Diego they aligned once more, with Krejcikova winning the singles and sharing the doubles title with Siniakova.

Krejickova's Week 41 singles run came in Zhengzhou, where she was gifted a 1st Round bye (as the #7 seed) due to the slew of pre-event withdrawals of seeded stars (the #1, #2 and #5... and then #4 pulled out prior to the QF). She then proceded to get wins over Petra Martic, Lesia Tsurenko and Dasha Kasatkina to reach her fourth final of the season. She fell in three sets to home favorite Zheng Qinwen, but moves back up to #13 from #18.

Krejcikova is set to be one of three players -- w/ Gauff and Pegula -- set to pull double duty in Cancun in both the singles and doubles competitions.



In Hong Kong, Siniakova reached her second final of the season, notching wins over Wang Xiyu, Kamilla Rakhimova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Martina Trevisan.

Her HK run makes '23 Siniakova's first multi-final campaign in singles since 2017 (2-0; after having gone 0-2 in '16 finals). After winning in Bad Homburg this summer, Siniakova lost seven straight matches almost immediately afterward. What's left of the schedule won't allow *that* sort of repeat over the remains of '23 following the Czech's three-set loss on Sunday to Leylah Fernandez, but her run this week did manage to push her over .500 (20-19) on the year.

Siniakova will climb from #85 to #61.



Paolini posted her second SF+ WTA result of the season in Zhengzhou, getting wins over Moyuka Uchijima, Caroline Garcia (saving 4 MP) and Laura Siegemund. In the Italian's best '23 run she lost in the Palermo final to Zheng Qinwen, and this time around the young Chinese woman once again ended her week, winning their semifinal encounter but not preventing Paolini (who arrived at a career-high #31) from cracking another career barrier as she rises into the Top 30 on Monday.


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SURPRISES: Yuan Yue/CHN, Martina Trevisan/ITA and Emina Bektas/USA
...some (moderately) bigger things were expected from Yuan in '23 (at least in some place like, you know, *this* space), but it took until October for her to finally crack the QF barrier at tour-level. In Seoul, she did even better than that.

The 25-year old reached her maiden WTA semifinal and final with wins over Arianne Hartono, Kaja Juvan (ret.), Marie Bouzkova and Emina Bektas. Jessie Pegula took her out in a 2 & 3 match, though it lasted 1:23, which is a bit longer than usual for a match that lopsided on the scoreboard. Six of the nine games in the 2nd set were breaks.

Yuan will climb from #128 to #106 as she seeks her second straight Top 100 finish. She finished 2022 at #74.



Trevisan had already posted a series of surprising '23 results heading into Week 41, with QF runs in the 1000 Miami and Guadalajara events (and a 4r in Madrid) and additional WTA final eight results in Rabat and Hamburg. But she *still* hadn't reached a tour-level semi since her springtime burst in '22, when she won Rabat and reached her only slam SF at Roland Garros. That changed in Hong Kong.

The 29-year old Italian strung together wins over Cristina Bucsa, Magdalena Frech and Elise Mertens to get into the final four, ending her WTA QF losing streak at five. She lost to Katerina Siniakova, but will climb back into the Top 40 (#38) on Monday to make it *three* Italians (w/ Paolini and Cocciaretto) ranked between #30-39. It's not like the "wall of Czechs" in the Top 20, but it continues to prove that there is indeed life on tour after the fabled Quartet.



Meanwhile, former NCAA player Bektas (ex-Michigan), 30, reached her maiden tour QF at Rosmalen this summer. In Seoul, she became a first-time WTA semifinalist with victories over Laura Pigossi, Jang Su-jeong and Kimberly Birrell. She fell in three sets to fellow maiden semifinalist Yuan Yue, but she'd already set new career marks for match wins (48) in a season and assured herserlf of a new career-high ranking this week (moving from #116 to #104).


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VETERANS: Vera Zvonareva/RUS & Laura Siegemund/GER
...Zvonareva continues to add some impressive singles results to what has been a fine season of doubles play that has included a U.S. Open final and a pair of tour titles.

Two weeks off her Ningbo QF, the 39-year old Original Hordette qualified at the Zhengzhou 500, posting back-to-back three-set wins over Camila Osorio and Timea Babos (saving two MP). In the 1st Round, she topped Tokyo champ Veronika Kudermetova to record her first Top 20 victory in more than two years (Kvitova in Rome in '21) to lift herself nearly 100 spots in the rankings and back into the Top 300 (#272).



Zvonareva fell a round later to Anhelina Kalinina.

Siegemund, Zvonareva's doubles partner, also got some things done in singles in Zhengzhou. She, too, qualified and posted MD wins over Zhu Lin and Liudmila Samsonova before falling in the QF (her second at tour-level this year, w/ Warsaw RU) to Jasmine Paolini.

The 35-year old German will climb back into the Top 100, having gone 11-4 on summer/fall hard courts.



Unfortunately, when the two teamed up things didn't go as well.

Siegemund/Zvonareva lost their opening doubles match, putting their WTAF hopes in jeopardy. The pair came into the week holding the final spot in the 8-team field, but the run of #9-ranked Race participants Dabrowski/Routliffe bumped them from the final spot in the field with just one week left to play. Siegemund/Zvonareva are scheduled to play in Nanchang in Week 42, and stand 182 points behind #8 Fernandez/Townsend for a WTAF berth.

Zvonareva last played in the tour's season-ending championships in 2011 (in singles), and has appeared there in doubles just once (2005). Siegemund has never made an appearance in either draw. Unless one of the teams ahead of them pulls out of Cancun, it looks likes Siegmund/Zvonareva would have to win the title next week to qualify.
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COMEBACKS: Leylah Fernandez/CAN and Yanina Wickmayer/BEL
...Fernandez hasn't had the consistency nor the rise up the rankings that she'd hoped for since her exhilarating run to the '21 U.S. Open final, but she's never gone away or suffered through a mentally debilitating losing streak. This year, she picked up her doubles racket and had success there while trying to find her singles game, reaching three finals (including Miami and RG alongside Taylor Townsend, with whom she's currently holding onto the final berth in the WTAF field). She fell to #96 in the singles rankings this June before making a little hay on North American hard courts this summer/early fall (going 10-7).

Ranked #60 heading into Hong Kong, Fernandez's best tour-level '23 results had been just three QF (one at 1000 Guadalajara last month), but she showed her old fight in China. After seeing Victoria Azarenka retire after the Canadian had knotted the match at a set apiece in the 1st Round, Fernandez took out a pair of NextGen stars in Hordette Mirra Andreeva (who'd beaten her in Madrid this spring) in three sets and Czech Linda Fruhvirtova in straights. In her first semi of the year, Fernandez defeated Anna Blinkova to reach her first final since March of last year.

After dropping the opening set of the final (it was the third time in her five HK matches that she'd fallen behind), Fernandez rallied to defeat Katerina Siniakova 2-6/6-2/6-4 to win her third career tour title and her first at an event other than Monterrey. She'd won that event in Mexico in consecutive years before choosing not to defend her title there this year.

Fernandez will climb to #43, her highest ranking since February. Her 34 match wins are one off her career high from 2019.



Wickmayer continued to turn back the clock in Seoul, reaching her second tour SF (w/ Warsaw) in recent months, giving her her first multi-semi season since 2016.

Wins over Liang En-shuo, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Polina (the younger) Kudermetova preceded a 4 & 3 loss to Jessie Pegula one round short of her first tour final in seven years. Still, her 49 match wins on the season are the most for the Belgian since 2009 (the year she reached the U.S. Open SF).

She'll move up to #70 on Monday, her high point since returning last year after becoming a mother and her highest on tour since 2018. Her last season-ending Top 100 finish was in 2016 (#52), which at the time was her ninth straight Top 100 campaign.


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FRESH FACE: Linda Fruhvirtova/CZE
...Fruhvirtova's late season rebound continued as the 18-year old Czech posted wins in Hong Kong over Peyton Stearns and Alina Korneeva to reach the QF. Fruhvirtova fell in straights to Leylah Fernandez.

Though just 18-25 on the season, including nine straight losses as recently as just under a month ago, Fruhvirtova is 6-3 in her last three events with tour-level SF (Ningbo) and QF results.


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DOWN: Alona Ostapenko/LAT
...Ostapenko has put together what might be her best season since her slam-winning, Top 10 campaign of 2017.

Over the course of 2023, she's won a title (Birmingham), reached a pair of slam QF (and put up 10 combined wins, both her best since '17), posted SF (Rome) and QF (Beijing) results in 1000 events, recorded her first #1 win (Swiatek/U.S. Open) since '17 and had two Top 10 wins in slam play (w/ Gauff/AO), the most she's had since that same year. Her 36 wins are her most since '17, as well. The Latvian came into Seoul ranked at #13, and appears set to have her best season-ending ranking since being #7 in, you guessed it, 2017.

But with every good Ostapenko stat there is often a quick counter, and she offered up one of those right out of the gate in Seoul, falling in the 1st Round to #569-ranked Korean wild card Back Da-yeon. Ostapenko led 5-2 in the 3rd and had a MP. The Latvian reached the Seoul final last year.

Thing is, Back isn't even the lowest-ranked player that Ostapenko has lost to this season. Jennifer Brady was #584 when she pulled that upset in Montreal this summer.

Ostapenko isn't likely to be in Cancun for the WTAF. She's not signed up for a Week 42 event, and resides in the 4th alternate spot in the Race (w/ Kvitova having ended her season). She *could* still play in the revived Elite Trophy event, though.
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ITF PLAYERS: Yulia Starodubtseva/UKR and Gabriela Knutson/CZE
...and in Week 41 in Rancho Santa Fe, California, Ukrainian-born Starodubtseva, who plays college tennis for Old Dominion University in Virginia, advanced to the final to face New Zealand-born Swiss Lulu Sun, who plays NCAA ball for Texas in Austin.

Ah, tennis.

Starodubtseva, who cracked the Top 200 in August, got the win in a 7-5/6-3 match to pick up her fourth title of the season in her sixth '23 challenger final. She'll climb to a new career high of #175. She also won the doubles alongside Makenna Jones (North Carolina), defeating Tatiana Prozorova and Madison Sieg (USC).

In Quinta do Lago, Portugal, 26-year old Czech Gabriela Knutson (ex-Syracuse) reached her sixth ITF challenger final of the season, winning title #4 with a 6-4/6-1 win in the $40K championship match over Brit Harriet Dart, who'd been seeking her biggest career ITF win and her first since 2018.

Knutson will crack the Top 200 on Monday.


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JUNIOR STAR: Emerson Jones/AUS
...15-year old Jones continues to make a name for herself on the junior circuit. Coming off a J300 win in the Asia/Oceania Regional Championships, the Aussie added an even bigger win this week in the J500 Osaka event, extending her winning streak to 13 matches (and 26 sets) en route to the title.

#4-seeded Jones defeated top-seeded Kaitlin Quevedo in the semis, then handled 17-year old Hordette Kristiana Sidorova (#11 seed) in a 7-6/7-5 final. Jones defeated Sidorova in three sets in a J300 SF in Nonthaburi in March.

Sidorova, 17, had previously upset #3 Mimi Xu (QF) and #2 Laura Samsonova (SF) to reach the biggest junior final of her career. In June, she lost a J200 final to yet another Aussie, Maya Joint.
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DOUBLES: Gaby Dabrowski/Erin Routliffe (CAN/NZL) and Marie Bouzkova/Bethanie Mattek-Sands (CZE/USA)
...playing with something more than *just* a title run on the line -- i.e. chasing down a WTAF berth - U.S. Open champs Dabrowski/Routliffe zoomed through the week and made it all a fait accompli.

The #1 seeds, the duo saw fellow "berth chasers" Siegemund/Zvonareva exit Zhengzhou early, then took things into their own hands. A win over Guo/Jiang in the SF pushed them into the Race Top 8 (they'd entered the week at #9) and then their 6-2/6-4 win in the final over Aoyama/Shibahara clinched their place as they jumped all the way up to the Race #6 spot.

The win is Dabrowski's 15th, and Routliffe's 5th. For Routliffe, the summer/fall pairing has been a season saver. Even with a title run earlier this year in Austin alongside Aldila Sutjiadi, she'd been just 11-22 on the year before teaming with Dabrowski. Starting with Montreal, they've gone 16-6, winning two titles (a slam and 500) and played in a 1000 final (Guadalajara) in just seven events



In Seoul, Bouzkova won her second title in two weeks, adding on to her title run in Beijing (w/ Sara Sorribes Tormo) by teaming with veteran Mattek-Sands to win their first title together.

The pair defeated the all-Thai duo of Luksika Kumkhum & Peangtarn Plipuech (the latter in her third Seoul final, but still seeking her maiden title) 2 & 1 in the championship match, giving Bouzkova her fifth tour-level title and Mattek-Sands #28. BMS' last title came in Beijing in '19 with Sofia Kenin (she reached a previous '23 final in Week 1 Auckland w/ Leylah Fernandez).


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WHEELCHAIR: Lizzy de Greef/NED
...the former junior star is now making her way on the pro WC circuit, heading up the next generation of Dutch rollers.

In Marcq-en-Baroeul, France, the 19-year old swept the Series 3 event's titles. De Greef defeated Argentina's Maria Florencia Moreno in a 6-2/7-5 singles final, after having already claimed the doubles alongside 21-year old countrywoman Jinte Bos.

@open.hdf.tennisfauteuil

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1. Zhengzhou Final - Zheng Qinwen def. Barbora Krejcikova
...2-6/6-2/6-4. Zheng becomes the sixth Chinese woman to win multiple tour-level singles titles, winning #2 at age 21.

When she was 21, in 2003, Li Na had essentially "retired" from the sport amidst a dispute with the Chinese tennis federation. A year later, she'd become the first Chinese woman to win a WTA singles title. She wouldn't win her *second* WTA crown for another four years. Her maiden tour final was three years after that, and her first slam win five months later in Paris.



Meanwhile, though Li Na was the star of any number of great post-match ceremony moments, I don't think she ever treated the crowd to a song. Well...



Of course...


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2. Zhengzhou 2nd Rd. - Jasmine Paolini def. Caroline Garcia
...3-6/6-4/7-5. Paolini came into the match with an 0-4 record (0-for-8 sets) vs. Garcia, and saw the Pastry hold four MP on the Italian's serve at 5-4 in the 3rd. Paolini held, then raced to a love/40 lead on Garcia's serve in the following game.

Garcia got the game to deuce, but Paolini still managed the break, then served out the win.


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3. Seoul 1st Rd. - Back Da-yeon def. Alona Ostapenko
...3-6/6-1/7-6(4). A BJK Cup Heart Award nominee in zone play in the spring, #569 Back rides her MD wild card into a career-highlight win over the world #13 (a Seoul finalist last year) in her first career match vs. a Top 200 opponent.

Ostapenko led 5-2 in the 3rd, served at 5-3 (reaching deuce), and held a MP on Back's serve at 6-5 before the Korean held in the three-deuce game on GP #4. She went on to win the deciding TB, and will jump to a new career high inside the Top 490.

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4. Seoul Final - Jessie Pegula def. Yuan Yue
...6-2/6-3. Pegula's fourth career title moves her into sole possession of sixth place on the list of WTA titles won by active U.S. women. She's one crown behind Sofia Kenin, two behind Coco Gauff, three behind Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens... and trails Venus Williams by, umm, 45.


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5. Zhengzhou Q2 - Vera Zvonareva def. Timea Babos
...6-7(3)/6-2/7-6(5). In 3:27, Zvonareva fights her way into the MD.

Babos led 5-2 in the 1st, but Zvonareva took a 6-5 lead after saving five BP. The Russian held a SP on Babos' serve a game later, but the Hungarian held and then won a 7-3 TB. In the 3rd, it was Zvonareva who took the early lead at 3-1. Babos battled back to lead 5-3, holding a MP in both game #9 and #10 before Zvonareva forced another TB. This time she won it.
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6. Rouen 125 Q1 - Tiphanie Lematire def. Noma Noha Akugue
...7-5/7-5. Wild card Pastry -- and TCU Horned Frog -- Lemaitre (#509) makes her debut above the ITF level and notches a Q-win over Hamburg finalist NNA (#171). Noha Akugue led 3-1 in the 1st and 5-1 in the 2nd.

The 19-year old German's stunning run to her maiden tour final on home soil back in July remains her lone appearance in a tour-level MD. While Rouen isn't a tour-level event, NNA has lost six times in previous WTA/slam qualifying in '23.


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7. Zhengzhou 1st Rd. - Bai Zhuoxuan def. Tamara Korpatsch
...1-6/7-6(3)/6-1. #117-ranked wild card Bai dropped the first five games of the match, losing the set 6-1, then rallied from a break down a 4-3 in the 2nd, saving four Korpatsch BP at 4-4 and sending things to a 3rd set with a TB win. The Chinese woman got the early break in the decider and never looked back.

2023 had already seen Bai, 20, make her tour debut at Strasbourg, as well as play in her maiden slam MD (at Wimbledon), where she posted a 1st Round win.


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8. Hong Kong 1st Rd. - Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich
...7-6(3)/3-6/7-6(3). Haddad Maia wins in 3:30 despite nearly squandering big leads in both the 1st and 3rd sets.

The Brazilian led 3-0 in the 1st before dropping four straight games. She won a 7-3 TB.

Haddad Maia took a 4-2 lead in the 3rd, only to see Sasnovich serve for the match at 5-4. The Belarusian couldn't do it, and Haddad Maia went on to win another 7-3 TB.
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9. Seoul 1st Rd. - Jang Su-jeong def. Sofia Kenin
...6-1/6-4. Jang gives the local fans something *more* to cheer for, posting her first career win over a Top 30 player. Of the four Koreans in the MD, two (w/ Back Da-yeon) recorded 1st Round wins.


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10. Hong Kong Q2 - Alina Korneeva def. Conny Perrin 6-3/6-4
Hong Kong 1st Rd. - Alina Korneeva def. Valeria Savinykh 6-4/2-6/6-3
...16-year old Korneeva, a two-time girls' slam champ this season, qualifies to reach her maiden WTA MD, where she posted her first tour-level win vs. countrywoman Valeria Savinykh before falling in the 2nd Round to Linda Fruhvirtova.


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11. Hong Kong 1st Rd. - Leylah Fernandez def. Victoria Azarenka
...2-6/6-3/0-0 ret. Azarenka's first mid-match retirement since Miami of last year. She had two preivous '23 walkovers in Rome and Montreal.
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12. Rouen 125 SF - Erika Andreeva def. Alize Cornet
...6-3/6-1. Prior to joining with her fellow Pastries at the BJK Cup finals, Cornet is still out their plugging away. While she's yet to reach a singles final in '23, her SF in Rouen gives the 33-year old (#121) final four results on the ITF, 125 and WTA level this season. This week's three wins lifted her to .500 for the season (24-24).

Cornet has only had one sub-.500 season (23-27 in '15) since 2011.
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13. Hong Kong 1st Rd. - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Jana Fett
...6-0/6-0. Be it winter, spring, summer or fall, it's never a bad time for bagels (cream cheese or other spreads are optional).


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14. Hong Kong Final - Tang Qianhui/Tsao Chia-yi def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich/Oksana Kalashnikova
...7-5/1-6 [11-9]. The CHN/TPE pair win back-to-back MTB (w/ a 10-6 SF win over Marozova/Piter), with Tang improving to 3-0 in tour finals (she won consecutive titles in Jiangxi with Jiang Xinyu in 2017-18) while 19-year old Tsao is a first-time tour title winner.


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15. Rouen 125 SF - Viktorija Golubic def. Jaqueline Cristian
...7-5/6-4. In the week before The Countess returns to Cluj for the Transylvanian Open, Cristian adds another good result to her comeback campaign after returning from injury and going just 13-16 last year. The Romanian has collected three ITF titles in '23, as well as reached three challenger SF, one at the WTA level (Prague) and this one in a 125. Cristian has 44 match wins this season.


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16. $25K Cairns AUS Final - Taylah Preston def. Yuki Naito
...6-4/6-4. The 17-year old Aussie improves to 3-1 in '23 challenger finals, and sweeps the titles in Cairns (winning the WD w/ Destanee Aiava).


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17. $25K Santa Margherita di Pula ITA Final - Sara Bejlek def. Caijsa Hennemann
...6-4/7-6(7). Another week, another Crusher win. Bejlek, 17, picks up career title #6, her second of the season.
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18. $25K Seville ESP Final - Dominka Salkova def. Lois Boisson
...6-4/6-3. Another week, another (another) Crusher win. This time it's 19-year old Salkova, who picks up career ITF win #2.


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HM- $25K Florence (SC) USA Final - Fiona Crawley def. Chloe Beck
...7-5/6-1. Crawley wins the battle of NCAA stars (both in the ACC, with Crawley at North Carolina and Beck at Duke, though they've only played once at the college level -- and *that* match was stopped in the 2nd set before it was completed) for the maiden pro title in the career of the winner.

Crawley spoke out about having to turn down her prize money at the U.S. Open this summer in order to maintain her NCAA eligibility, a ridiculous situation when you consider that some college football or basketball players under the new NCAA rules could earn up to seven figures in NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals and continue to play without penalty.


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1. Hong Kong Final Leylah Fernandez def. Katerina Siniakova
...3-6/6-4/6-4. Siniakova maintained her 3-1 edge in the 1st, but Fernandez rode first-game breaks in the 2nd and 3rd sets to victory.

Fernandez led 4-0 in the 2nd, then held off a Siniakova comeback. The two exchanged breaks in games 6 through 9 in the 3rd, with Fernandez's game 10 hold closing out the match.

With her third career WTA title, Fernandez ties Bianca Andreescu for the most on tour by any Canadian woman. She's won all three since Andreescu was crowned the U.S. Open champion in 2019. Andreescu has gone title-less over the following four years.


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2. Zhengzhou 1st Rd. - Vera Zvonareva def. Veronika Kudermetova
...6-2/7-6(5). Following up her Tokyo title run with a 1st Round loss to 39-year old, #369-ranked Zvonareva (2010 WI/US), Kudermetova adds another former slam finalist to her list of '23 conquerors. Remember, this summer the Hordette also lost to 43-year old, #533-ranked Venus Williams, whose last major title came 15 years ago.


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3. Seoul 2nd Rd. - Polina Kudermetova def. Kathinka Von Deichmann
...6-3/6-1. Veronika's 20-year old little sister reached her first career tour-level QF, following up a win over Alycia Parks with another over the woman from Liechtenstein.

Kudermetova fell to Yanina Wickmayer, but will climb back into the Top 150 after having reaching a career-high of #139 in June.


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4. Rouen 125 1st Rd. - Erika Andreeva def. Jil Teichmann
...4-6/6-3/7-6(5). Teichmann, barring a late fall/winter run in challenger events, appears fated to the first under .500 season of her pro career. After going 25-24 last year, Teichmann's loss to the older Andreeva sister dropped her to 22-27 in '23.

After trailing 3-0 and 5-3 in the 3rd, Teichmann rallied to lead 6-5. Andreeva held to force a TB, then pulled ahead from 4-4 to win the breaker 7-5.

In Hong Kong, younger Andreeva sister Mirra posted a 1st Round win over Dayana Yastremska, but lost in the 2nd to Leylah Fernandez.


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5. Rouen 125 Final - Viktorija Golubic def. Erika Andreeva
...6-4/6-1. Golubic takes the title in Rouen one year after losing in the final to Maryna Zanevska. The 30-year old Swiss won a $100K challenger in Tokyo last month.

For Andreeva, 19, this run represented her biggest SF/F results. While her sister Mirra rises to a new career high of #49 on Monday, Erika jumps up 36 sptos to #130. Her career high is #114.


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HM- $25K Seville Final - Maryna Kolb/Nadiya Kolb def. Cristina Dinu/Sapfo Sakellaridi
...6-1/6-1. Ukrainian sisters Maryna (26) and Nadiya (30) Kolb grab their second '23 title as a duo, and the ninth overall shared by the family in their careers. It's their biggest title together to date.


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*2023 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
5 - Iga Swiatek = GS,1000,500(3),250
4 - Coco Gauff = GS,1000,500,250
3 - Aryna Sabalenka = GS,1000,500
2 - Belinda Bencic = 500(2)
2 - Ons Jabeur = 500,250
2 - Barbora Krejcikova = 1000,500
2 - Petra Kvitova = 1000,500
2 - JESSIE PEGULA = 1000,250
2 - Elena Rybakina = 1000(2)
2 - ZHENG QINWEN = 500,250

*2023 WTA HARD COURT TITLES*
4 - Coco Gauff, USA
3 - Iga Swiatek, POL
2 - Belinda Bencic, SUI
2 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
2 - JESSIE PEGULA, USA
2 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR

*CAREER WTA TITLES - CANADA*
3 - Bianca Andreescu (2019)
3 - LEYLAH FERNANDEZ (2021-23)
2 - Carling Bassett-Seguso (1983-87)
2 - Helen Kelesi (1986-88)
1 - Genie Bouchard (2014)
1 - Aleksandra Wozniak (2008)
1 - Jill Hetherington (1988)
1 - Patricia Hy-Boulais (1986)

*MOST WTA TITLES - CHN*
9 - Li Na (2004,08,10-14)
4 - Zheng Jie (2005-06,12)
3 - Zhang Shuai (2013,17,22)
2 - Wang Qiang (2018)
2 - Peng Shuai (2016-17)
2 - ZHENG QINWEN (2023)

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2023*
7 - Iga Swiatek, POL (5-2)
6 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (3-3)
4 - Coco Gauff, USA (4-0)
4 - BARBORA KREJCIKOVA, CZE (2-2)
4 - JESSIE PEGULA, USA (2-2)
4 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ (2-2)
3 - Belinda Bencic, SUI (2-1)
3 - Ons Jabeur, TUN (2-1)
3 - Liudmila Samsonova, RUS (0-3)

*2023 FIRST-TIME WTA WD CHAMPIONS*
Cristina Bucsa, ESP - Lyon
Wu Fang-hsien, TPE - Hua Hin
Liudmila Samsonova, RUS - Dubai
Diane Parry, FRA - Merida
Maria Paulina Perez, COL - Monterrey
Yuliana Lizarazo, COL - Monterrey
Danielle Collins, USA - Charleston
Iryna Shymanovich, BLR - Bogota
Ingrid Gamarra Martins, BRA - Bad Homburg
Guo Hanyu, CHN (Guangzhou)
TSAO CHIA-YI, TPE (Hong Kong)

*2023 WTA TITLES, MOST SURFACES*
2 - Iga Swiatek = Hard,Red Clay
2 - Aryna Sabalenka = Hard,Red Clay
2 - Elena Rybakina = Hard,Red Clay
2 - Petra Kvitova = Hard,Grass
2 - Ons Jabeur = Red Clay,Hard
2 - ZHENG QINWEN = Red Clay,Hard

*2023 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
4 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
3 - Desirae Krawczyk, USA
3 - ERIN ROUTLIFFE, NZL
3 - Laura Siegemund, GER
3 - Katerina Siniakova, CZE
3 - Luisa Stefani, BRA
3 - Aldila Sutjiadi, INA
3 - Taylor Townsend, USA
[duos]
3...Krejcikova/Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2...Aoyama/Shibahara, JPN/JPN
2...DABROWSKI/ROUTLIFFE, CAN/NZL
2...Eikeri/Neel, EST/NOR
2...Gauff/Pegula, USA/USA
2...Hunter/Mertens, AUS/BEL
2...Kato/Sutjiadi, JPN/INA
2...Krawczyk/Schuurs, USA/NED
2...Siegemund/Zvonareva, GER/RUS

*2023 OLDEST WTA WD CHAMPIONS*
39 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (Ningbo)
38 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (Washington)
38 - BETHANIE MATTEK-SANDS, USA (Seoul)
37 - Kirsten Flipkens, BEL (Hobart)
37 - Barbora Strycova, CZE (Wimbledon)
37 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE (Wimbledon)
37 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE (Roland Garros)

*CAREER WTA DOUBLES TITLES - active*
33 - Latisha Chan
32 - Hsieh Su-Wei
28 - BETHANIE MATTEK-SANDS
28 - Kristina Mladenovic
27 - Sara Errani
24 - Timea Babos
23 - Katerina Siniakova
22 - Venus Williams
--
ALSO: Mirza (43), Strycova (32)

*2023 FIRST-TIME WTA SEMIFINALISTS*
Auckland: Ysaline Bonaventure, BEL (28/#95)
Lyon: Alycia Parks, USA (22/#79)-W
Austin: Katie Volynets, USA (21/#92)
Bogota: Peyton Stearns, USA (21/#116)-RU
Bogota: Francesca Jones, GBR (22/#817)
Rabat: Julia Grabher, AUT (26/#74)-RU
Rabat: Julia Riera, ARG (20/#195)
Nottingham: Katie Boulter, GBR (26/#126)-W
Nottingham: Jodie Burrage, GBR (24/#131)-RU
Bad Homburg: Emma Navarro, USA (22/#60)
Budapest: Maria Timofeeva, RUS (19/#246)-W
Hamburg: Noma Noha Akugue, GER (19/#208)
Hamburg: Diana Shnaider, RUS (19/#101)
Osaka: Ashlyn Krueger, USA (19/#123)-W
Osaka: Mai Hontama, JPN (24/#176)
Guadalajara: Caroline Dolehide, USA (25/#111)
Seoul: YUAN YUE, CHN (25/#128)
Seoul: EMINA BEKTAS, USA (30/#116)






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