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Sunday, July 21, 2024

Wk.29- The (Accidental) Queen of Palermo








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*WEEK 29 CHAMPIONS*
PALERMO, ITALY (WTA 250/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Zheng Qinwen/CHN def. Karolina Muchova/CZE 6-4/4-6/6-2
D: Alexandra Panova/Yana Sizikova (RUS/RUS) def. Yvonne Cavalle Reimers/Aurora Zantedeschi (ESP/ITA) 6-3/3-6 [10-3]
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (WTA 250/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Diana Shnaider/RUS def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR 6-4/6-4
D: Katarzyna Piter/Fanny Stollar (POL/HUN) def. Anna Danilina/Irina Khromacheva (KAZ/RUS) 6-3/3-6 [10-3]




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PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Zheng Qinwen/CHN and Diana Shnaider/RUS
...a year ago, Zheng won her maiden tour title in Palermo. As has become an unfortunate commonplace occurrance on tour, she wasn't going to return and attempt to defend it this time around. Plans changed, though, and she took a wild card into the draw. We'll see if what happened finally gets the Australian Open finalist's season back on the straight and narrow, along with its former upward trajectory.

Since her maiden slam final run in Melbourne, Zheng has had a hard time stringing wins together. She only won three straight matches once from February through early July, courtesy of a 4th Round result in Rome. Zheng was the First Seed Out at Wimbledon.

Maybe returning to Palermo will "accidentally" turn out to be the best decision she's made this season, as Zheng reached the final without dropping a set, knocking off the likes of Sara Errani, Petra Martic, Jaqueline Cristian and Diane Parry while only losing as many as five games in a single set (1st vs. Parry) once.

In the final vs. Karolina Muchova, Zheng rallied and opportunistically grabbed the 1st after the Czech had held the lead, then denied a Muchova comeback attempt mid-way through the 3rd after Zheng had surged ahead 3-0. She broke Muchova's serve in her final two service games to pick up career title #3, right back where it started a year ago in Italy (w/ a win over Jasmine Paolini in the final, BTW... the two have played in three of the four slam finals contested since then).

Last year, Palermo began what was a 20-6, two-title finish to the season for Zheng (she then started '24 at 8-1, reaching the AO final). We'll see now if lightning can strike twice, for a second straight year.



Meanwhile, Shnaider continues to put together one of the most complete breakout seasons of 2024.

In Budapest, the 20-year old Hordette became the third woman this year to win three tour-level singles titles (w/ Swiatek and Rybakina), but the first to do it on three different surfaces. She's the 18th active player on tour to conquer all three versions of the sport (the last to fulfill the requirement came just last week w/ Krejcikova's SW19 win), and by far the youngest (at the moment). She's also the youngest player to collect trophies on three different surfaces in a season since a 19-year old Caroline Wozniacki did it in 2009.

The #1-seeded Shnaider dropped one set all week, knocking off a procession of foes that included a wild card (Fanny Stollar), a qualifier (Ekaterina Makarova), a lucky loser (Ella Seidel), a two-time tour semifinalist (Eva Lys) and a title-less veteran (Aliaksandra Sasnovich, in her fifth career WTA final).

Granted, it's not exactly a string of opponents with the collective resume that would tremendously boost her own -- unlike her recent win on the grass in Bad Homburg, as that one saw her defeat a former #1 (Kerber), a '24 slam semifinalist (Yastremska) and soon-to-be Wimbledon achievers in Badosa, Navarro and Vekic -- but Shnaider could only put down what was put up against her.

Shnaider came in at a career-best #28 ranking, and now leaves Hungary at another new high of #23.

Really, the only disappointment here was that she didn't get to hold up yet another animal-related champion's trophy this time....


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RISERS: Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR and Ann Li/USA
...in Budapest, Sasnovich reached her first tour-level clay court final (her four previous came on hard courts, though she'd reached four on clay at the ITF level) by stringing together wins over #2 seed Viktoriya Tomova, defending champ Maria Timofeeva, Suzan Lamens and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (who'd led 5-2 in the 3rd).

Sasnovich couldn't get past top seeded Diana Shnaider, though, losing 4 & 4 to remain title-free during her WTA career. The Belarusian's 0-5 career mark in tour-level singles finals matches that of Ajla Tomljanovic (a RU this year in Birmingham) as the worst amongst active WTA players.

Anytime Sasnovich gets behind a microphone (or in front of a camera), we're bound to get at least a small smile-inducing nugget. This time was no exception...


via GIPHY



A few seasons ago, Li was something of a revelation. In 2021, she won her maiden tour title in Tenerife, and reached another final (the Grampians event in Melbourne in which the final wasn't played) and semifinal (Monterrey). She climbed as high as #44.

Li has since slipped down the rankings, and came into Week 29 at #127.

Since the start of 2023, Li hadn't advanced past the 2nd Round in a tour-level event. She lost in qualifying at all six majors she entered in 2023-24 (DNP RG '23), and had played just one WTA MD match (in San Diego) this season after starting the year at 1-6. In recent weeks, though, she'd posted good results at lower levels, a stretch that included a 125 title and RU, a $100K SF and $75K SF/QF. Since April 30, she'd gone 18-7.



In Palermo, Li saved a MP vs. Peyton Stearns in the 1st Round, then followed up with a win over Erika Andreeva to reach her first QF since reaching the Grampians final in January '22. She lost to Irina-Camelia Begu, but exits on a 20-8 run as the schedule prepares to turn back to North America.
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SURPRISES: Ella Seidel/GER and Noma Noha Akugue/GER
...the most of the top German players on tour are in their mid-thirties, but the younger set *are* beginning to arrive.

In Budapest, 19-year old Seidel (#166) added another career first to a '24 collection that already included her tour/slam MD debut in Melbourne (a 1r loss to Sabalenka). This week, Seidel lost in qualifying to Gergana Topalova, but played in her second WTA MD when she moved forward as a lucky loser. After Moyuka Uchijima retired from their 1st Round match, the German posted her first *completed* tour match win with a victory over Anna Bondar to reach her first career QF, matching the best result this year by any LL.

Seidel lost at that point to Diana Shnaider, but will climb back into the Top 150 on Monday. She was at a career-best #146 this spring.

With early Week 30 play already underway, Seidel has also posted a 1st Round in Prague over Nadia Podoroska.



Fifty-one weeks ago in Hamburg, Noma Akugue reached the final in her tour-level MD debut event. This week, after qualifying losses earlier this year in all three majors as well as Berlin, NNA qualified to reach the Palermo MD.

The 20-year old, in just her third tour-level MD, notched her first WTA win since her Hamburg run with a 1st Round victory over fellow German Mona Barthel, then took the opening set in a three-set loss to Karolina Muchova.

NNA had come to Palermo at 12-18 on the year, including a 1-6 slide in her last seven.
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VETERANS: Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova/SVK
...in a pocket in the schedule (a brief clay stretch between the grass and summer hard court seasons, w/ few highly-ranked players in action) in which it is very common, Begu was one of the numerous players to post a "first (insert result) since (insert date)" week of production. In this case, in Palermo, the 33-year old Romanian (#142) reached her first tour-level SF since Adelaide last year.

It marks her best '24 outing after a spring that had seen her reach the Round of 16 at Rome and 3rd Round at Roland Garros, as well as a 125 final in Antalya.

Begu notched wins this past week over Marina Bassols Ribera (love & love), Arantxa Rus and Ann Li, then fell to Karolina Muchova, a round short of reaching her first WTA final since she won the same tournament title two years ago.



Schmiedly had a time in Budapest, but eventually that time just ran out.

For three straight matches, the veteran Slovak dropped the 1st set but managed to rally and win in three. Against Kamilla Rakhimova, she closed out the Hordette with a love set. Against Sara Sorribes Tormo and Elina Avanesyan, AKS won a pair of 6-2 deciders, with the latter win giving Schmiedlova two straight QF wins in tour events (her Austin SF earlier this year had ended a string of eight straight tour-level QF defeats from 2021-23).

After dropping the 1st set in the SF vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Schmiedlova seemed on her way to her first tour final since Hobart in January '19. She led 5-2 in the 3rd, and served for the win at 5-3. But Sasnovich ultimately came out on top at 7-5.

Schmiedlova's last WTA title came in Bogota in 2018, but she did claim a 125 crown in May, her biggest singles win since July '21.
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COMEBACKS: Karolina Muchova/CZE and Astra Sharma/AUS
...first off, how about an encouraging fist pump just for being able to see this sort of thing again (serving-and-volleying on clay... keep bein' you, Karolina).



Muchova is back, and is there any player on tour who puts up a higher percentage of good results despite rarely being 100%? That is, on the rare occasion when she's even on the court at all. Even with her limited availability, The Czech has reached the QF at all four majors in her career, and the SF in three of them. Last year, in the closest thing she'd had to a full year (before her season ended after the U.S. Open, that is), Muchova went 38-13, with a slam (RG) and 1000 (Cincy) final, a U.S. Open semi, two more 1000 QF and a 4th Round in Rome.

This week, in just her third event back after a nine-month absence, Muchova reached the final, her first in eleven months. If she could only get her physical health in order, it seems pretty clear that the likes of Petra, Barbora and Marketa would have company in the Czech Slam Champion Club.

In Palermo, despite little match play over the past year, Muchova proved to be ready to go. Katarzyna Kawa retired from their 1st Round match (ironically, that makes two of three '24 events where the Czech's *opponent* retired in her opening match), then she outlasted Noma Noha Akugue in three sets, took out Astra Sharma in a pair of TB and then dominated Irina-Camelia Begu 1 & 1 in the SF to reach her fifth tour-level singles final.

Against top seed and DC Zheng Qinwen, Muchova held break leads in the 1st/2nd sets, but only won one of them. After erasing Zheng's break lead in the 3rd, Muchova couldn't back it up with a hold in the following game. In her closing two service games, Muchova saved four BP, but Zheng got a pair of breaks and took the title once again. Muchova, despite her great string of results, has still won just one tour title. She's 1-4 in WTA finals, with her lone win coming in 2019 in a 250 in Seoul.

But that's no matter *at the moment*. Right now, let's just see more of this (and better), please...



Aside from a 3rd Round result in Charleston (as a qualifier) in April, Sharma hadn't escaped the 1st Round in any tournament at any level in '24. The Aussie lost in qualifying at all three slams, as well as in a pair of 1000s (Rome/Madrid), with all her other events coming on the challenger level.

She arrived in Palermo having lost four straight matches and was just 7-14 on the season, but a week later she'd reached her first tour-level QF since Rabat in 2022.

Wins over Anna Blinkova and countrywoman Ajla Tomljanovic set up a final eight match-up vs. Muchova. Sharma battled the Czech in a pair of TB, but ultimately lost in straights.


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FRESH FACES: Diane Parry/FRA and Eva Lys/GER
...rather quietly, Parry has made great strides in 2024.

Earlier this season, Parry reached a career high of #49. She's posted a 3rd Round at the AO (matching her career slam bests at RG/WI), Round of 16 at Indian Wells (career best 1000), a tour SF (Nottingham) and a pair of other QF (Auckland/Austin).

This week in Palermo, the Pastry reached her fourth career tour-level SF (half have come this summer) with wins over Olivia Gadecki, Jil Teichmann and Chloe Paquet to set up a match-up with top seeded DC Zheng Qinwen that ended with the AO finalist winning 5 & 4.

Parry is close to a return to the Top 50, as she'll rise six spots to #52 this week.



Don't forget to include Lys' name on the list of young Germans on the rise.

In Budapest, the 22-year old reached her second career WTA SF (w/ '23 Cluj, no matter what the tour tweeted out) with wins over Nadia Podoroska, '22 tournament champ Bernarda Pera (ret.) and Rebecca Sramkova (the Slovak twice served for the match). Lys' run ended in the SF vs. eventual champ Diana Shnaider, but she'll climb from #129 to a new career high (#108) to start next week.


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ITF PLAYER: Alex Eala/PHI
...look out, here comes Eala.

The 2022 U.S. Open junior champ, 19-year old Filipina Eala took another big step in her career this week, grabbing her biggest title at the $100K challenger in Vitoria-Gasteiz (ESP), winning a 6-4/6-4 final over another former girls' slam winner, 18-year old Andorran Victoria Jimenez Kasaintseva (who'd upset the #2 and #3 seeds - Jessika Ponchet and Linda Fruhvirtova -- to reach her biggest career final). VJK won the AO junior crown in 2020.

So far, neither has made their slam MD debut, but both have come tantalizingly close. VJK reached the final round of slam qualifying twice in 2022-23, while Eala did the same in this year's RG/WI qualifying tournaments. Eala's biggest previous title was a $25K.

Not only did Eala take home the singles win, but she won the doubles, as well. She'll crack the Top 150 for the first time on Monday.


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DOUBLES: Katarzyna Piter/Fanny Stollar, POL/HUN
...Piter & Stollar claimed the WD honors for the second straight year in Budapest, taking out both of the top two seeds, #1 Timea Babos/Ellen Perez in the SF and #2 Anna Danilina/Irina Khromacheva in a 10-3 MTB in the final.

It's Stollar's fourth career title, third in Budapest (w/ 2021 w/ Mihaela Buzarnescu), while Piter picks up tour win #3. The pair won a WTA 125 in Valencia last month.

Piter's celebration, while not particularly elaborate, surely registers as one of the best and most exuberant of the season.


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WHEELCHAIR: Angelica Bernal/COL
...with most of the highest-ranked WC players likely winding down from Wimbledon and/or preparing for the Paralympics, Bernal (WC #10) picked up her first career Series 1 title at the Swiss Open in Geneva. The Colombian didn't have much (well, any) success in 2024's slam singles play, going 0-3 this year, but this week the 29-year old recorded three-set wins over Pauline Deroulede (SF) and Macarena Cabrillana (F) to claim the crown.


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1. Palermo Final - Zheng Qinwen def. Karolina Muchova
...6-4/4-6/6-2. It's rare to get a *full* week of Muchova, so we should probably savor it.

Of course, the Czech would have liked to have been just a tad more tidy in this one.

Muchova was up a break on Zheng twice in the 1st, both early and late-ish, only to see the #1 seed sweep the final three games and steal the match lead. In the 2nd, Muchova again had the early lead, a double-break scoreboard bulge at 4-1. She ultimately survived, serving for the set at 5-4 and having to stave off four BP before knotting the match.



Zheng took a 3-0 lead in the 3rd, but Muchova got things back on serve at 3-2. But she couldn't carry through the momentum on serve, as Zheng finally got the break edge back by converting on BP #5. She then finished things off to defend her title.


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2. Budapest 1st Rd. - Sara Sorribes Tormo def. Gergana Topalova
...4-6/6-3/7-5. Bulgarian qualifier Topalova (#234) defeated Ella Seidel (who'd reach the QF as a lucky loser) in the final round of Budapest qualifying, and made her tour-level MD debut vs. Sorribes Tormo. Actually, let's call it an "initiation," as Topalova and the marathon-magnet Spaniard went 3:29, the fourth longest match this season.

Sorribes Tormo led 3-0 in the 3rd, only to then drop the next five gamaes. But Topalova couldn't put away her first career WTA victory, and Sorribes Tormo advanced.

The Spaniard fell in three sets (2:20) a round later to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, falling to 11-19 on the season.

This weekend, Topalova qualified for her *second* WTA MD in Iasi.
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3. Palermo 1st Rd. - Ann Li def. Peyton Stearns
...3-6/7-6(7)/6-2. Faint echoes of Stearns' early season troubles trying to get wins? Stearns held a MP in the 2nd set TB, but lost it 9-7 and then dropped the 3rd. It's Stearn's second loss this season after having held a MP (she's 1-2 in such turn-the-tables circumstances in 2024).
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4. Budapest Final - Diana Shnaider def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich
...6-4/6-4. Not only is Shnaider (now bandanna'ed once again after her signature item "disappeared" during SW19) the youngest WTA player to win titles on three different surfaces in a season since 2009 (Wozniacki), but she's now just the third Russian in the last decade to win three tour-level singles crowns in a season. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova did it in 2017, and Liudmila Samsonova in 2022.



The last Hordette to win four? Maria Sharapova in 2014.

Speaking of Maria, I'm still trying to figure out how she didn't make that ESPN Top 100 Athletes since 2000 listing, considering only she and Serena Williams -- who was at #2 -- were the only two women to complete a Career Slam during the period. Four men's players (you can guess the four, clearly) were on the list. Venus (who *should* have been there) was the only other women's player, at #86.

I guess they couldn't spare a spot by moving off one of the far too many soccer players, or one of the too many basketballers (men and women), or even the cricketer (?). Sharapova should have at least been somewhere between Venus and #100.

And I won't even get into why, if you're going to be so inclusive that you include race car drivers, a snowboarder, and even a *male* gymnast, why not also someone like Esther Vergeer (or even Diede de Groot)?
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5. Palermo Final - Alexandra Panova/Yana Sizikova def. Yvonne Cavalle Reimers/Aurora Zantedeschi
...6-3/3-6 [10-3]. The top seeds in Palermo, Hordettes Panova & Sizikova win a second straight MTB (after 13-11 in the SF vs. Latisha Chan & Zhang Shuai) to claim their first title together. It's Sizikova's second (Rabat w/ Irina Khromacheva) this season.


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6. Budapest QF - Eva Lys def. Rebecca Sramkova
...4-6/6-3/7-6(5). Lys' semifinal run saw her stave off elimination as Sramkova twice served for the match in the 3rd, at 5-4 and 6-5.
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7. $50K Nottingham ENG Final - Heather Watson def. Manon Leonard
...6-3/6-0. On English hard courts, Watson claims her first singles title on any level since 2020.

The Brit previously reached a $50K final in February, but had lost in four straight ITF finals since winning her last WTA event in Monterrey in February 2020 (w/ a win over Leylah Fernandez).
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8. Budapest 2nd Rd. - Aliaksandra Sasnovich def. Maria Timofeeva
...6-3/6-4. A year ago in Budapest, Timofeeva lost in qualifying but made her tour-level MD debut as a lucky loser, and played all the way into the winner's circle to claim her maiden tour title. Things didn't work as out well this year.


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9. Budapest Q2 - Kiara Amarissa Toth def. Tena Lukas 5-7/6-1/3-1 ret.
Budapest 1st Rd. - Carole Monnet def. Kiara Amarissa Toth 6-1/6-1
...last year in Budapest, Toth became the unnecessary center of attention due to "the incident" with Zhang Shuai (and was even guilted into releasing a hostage video... err, I'm sorry, an apology video). Well, the 21-year old Hungarian returned to the event this past week after being awarded a WC into qualifying (good on the tournament organizers for that). Toth played her way into her first tour-level MD since last year's event. She then lost to fellow qualifer Monnet in the 1st Round, but is 31-9 on the year.

Since last year's Budapest event, Toth has gone a combined 50-16 and won four challenger titles (2 in each of the last two seasons). Zhang has yet to win a singles match, with her now 21-match losing streak stretching back to early 2023.
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10. $75K Granby CAN Final - Maria Mateas def. Kayla Cross 6-3/7-6(3)
$35K Darmstedt GER Final - Victoria Mboko def. Angela Fita Boluda 6-4/6-4
...the Canadian teens, who combined to reach both the AO & WI girls doubles finals two seasons ago, go 1-for-2 in challenger finals.

17-year old Mboko wins ITF title #3, while 19-year old Cross fails to pick up her maiden pro crown.


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11. $75K Porto POR - Maja Chwalinska def. Tessah Andrianjafitrimo
...7-5/6-1. The 22-year old Pole claims her second $75K win this month.


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12. $35K Turin ITA Final - Solana Sierra def. Guiomar Maristany
...4-6/6-2/6-0. 20-year old Sierra improves to 9-4 in career ITF finals, picking up her third '24 crown. The Argentine reached the RG girls' final two years ago, as well as the U.S. Open junior SF a year earlier.


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13. Budapest 2nd Rd. - Elina Avanesyan def. Rebeka Masarova
...2-6/7-5/6-1. Masarova led 6-2/5-3, and served for the match at 5-4. She immediately dropped seven straight points, and went on to lose all but one of the final eleven games of the match.
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14. $15K Kursumlijska Banja SRB Final - Dasha Vidmanova def. Kristiana Sidorova
...6-2/7-5. Another week, another Crusher champion.

21-year old Vidmanova, the reigning NCAA women's doubles champion (w/ Georgia teammate Aysegul Mert) wins her second ITF title in as many weeks.

She's had a pretty good two weeks, both on and off court...


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1. Budapest SF - Aliaksandra Sasnovich def. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
...6-3/3-6/7-5. For the fourth straight match in Budapest, AKS drops the 1st set. This time it didn't work out for her.

The fourth time proved to finally be the charm for her opponent, as Sasnovich recovered from 5-2 down in the 3rd (w/ Schmiedy serving at 5-3) to get the win and advance to the final.


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2. $100K Vitoria-Gasteiz ESP Final - Estelle Cascino/Alex Eala def. Lia Karatancheva/Diana Marcinkevica
...6-3/2-6 [10-4]. Sesil's youngest sister (and one of four tennis-playing Karatantcheva sisters), 20-year old Lia, falls a MTB short of her third and biggest career WD title. Lia is 1-4 in '24 ITF doubles finals.

Lia's name is listed in all bios without the second "t," unlike Sesil's "Karatantcheva," which started to include the additional consonant in official listings at some point during her career (though it wasn't there at the start). No idea why.
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No matter the sport, some pet peeves are universal...




My personal one is ESPN (or other) people making sure to learn how to correctly pronounce the names of European-born NBA players, then not even trying to do the same with European-born tennis players (even when the names are similarly pronounced).

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*2024 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
5 - Iga Swiatek, POL = Slam(1), 1000(4)
3 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ = 500(3)
3 - DIANA SHNAIDER, RUS = 500,250(2)
2 - Katie Boulter, GBR = 500,250
2 - Danielle Collins, USA = 1000,500
2 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT = 500(2)

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2024*
5 - Iga Swiatek (5-0)
5 - Elena Rybakina (3-2)
4 - Dasha Kasatkina (1-3)
4 - Aryna Sabalenka (1-3)
3 - DIANA SHNAIDERr (3-0)
3 - Danielle Collins (2-1)
3 - Jasmine Paolini (1-2)

*2024 YOUNGEST WTA SINGLES CHAMPIONS*
19 - Diana Shnaider (Hua Hin)
19 - Coco Gauff (Auckland)
20 - Diana Shnaider (Bad Homburg)
20 - DIANA SHNAIDER (Budapest)
21 - ZHENG QINWEN (Palermo)
22 - Emma Navarro (Hobart)
22 - Iga Swiatek (Rome)
22 - Iga Swiatek (Madrid)
22 - Iga Swiatek (Indian Wells)
22 - Iga Swiatek (Doha)
22 - Camila Osorio (Bogota)
22 - Peyton Stearns (Rabat)

*2024 OLDEST WTA SINGLES FINALISTS*
32 - Magda Linette, POL (Rouen)
32 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (Nottingham)
31 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (Cluj-Napoca)(W)
31 - Ana Bogdan, ROU (Cluj-Napoca)
31 - Sloane Stephens, USA (Rouen)(W)
31 - Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS (Birmingham)
30 - Danielle Collins, USA (Strasbourg)
30 - Danielle Collins, USA (Charleston)(W)
30 - Danielle Collins, USA (Miami(W)
30 - Jessie Pegula, USA (Berlin)(W)
30 - ALIAKSANDRA SASNOVICH, BLR (Budapest)

*2024 WTA REPEAT CHAMPIONS*
=SINGLES=
Auckland - Coco Gauff, USA
Australian Open - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
Doha - Iga Swiatek, POL (3 con.)
Roland Garros - Iga Swiatek, POL (3 con.)
Nottingham - Katie Boulter, GBR
Palermo - ZHENG QINWEN, CHN
=DOUBLES=
Adelaide - Taylor Townsend, USA
Rabat - Yana Sizikova, RUS
Budapest - KATARZYNA PITER/FANNY STOLLAR, POL/HUN

*WTA TITLES ON HARD/CLAY/GRASS (active)*
Belinda Bencic, SUI (gc)
Caroline Garcia, FRA (rc)
Simona Halep, ROU (rc)
Ons Jabeur, TUN (rc/gc)
Dasha Kasatkina, RUS (rc)
Angelique Kerber, GER (rc/gc)
Madison Keys, USA (gc/rc)
Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (rc)
Petra Kvitova, CZE (rc)
Sabine Lisicki, GER (gc)
Alona Ostapenko, LAT (rc)
Karolina Pliskova, CZE (rc)
Elena Rybakina, KAZ (rc)
Diana Shnaider, RUS (rc)
Katerina Siniakova, CZE (rc)
Venus Williams, USA (rc/gc)
Caroline Wozniacki, DEN (rc/gc)
Vera Zvonareva, RUS (rc)
--
NOTE: rc (red clay), gc (green clay)

*2024 LOW-RANKED WTA FINALISTS*
#228 - Bianca Andreescu (Rosmalen)
#190 - Ajla Tomljanovic (Birmingham
#134 - ALIAKSANDRA SASNOVICH (Budapest)
#108 - Diana Shnaider (Hua Hin(W)
[SF]
#228 - Bianca Andreescu (Rosmalen)(RU)
#209 - Emma Raducanu (Nottingham)
#195 - Dasha Saville (Hobart)
#190 - Ajla Tomljanovic (Birmingham)(RU)
#142 - IRINA-CAMELIA BEGU (Palermo)
#138 - Dalma Galfi (Rosmalen)
#134 - ALIAKSANDRA SASNOVICH (Budapest)(RU)

*WORST ACTIVE WTA FINAL WIN PCT. - 3+*
0-5 - Ajla Tomljanovic, AUS
0-5 - ALIAKSANDRA SASNOVICH, BLR
0-4 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
0-3 - Shelby Rogers, USA
1-7 - Genie Bouchard, CAN
1-7 - Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
1-5 - Marie Bouzkova, CZE
1-4 - KAROLINA MUCHOVA, CZE
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ALSO: Olga Govortsova/BLR (0-4)

*2024 WTA BEST LUCKY LOSER RESULTS*
QF - Viktoriya Tomova, BUL (Hobart)
QF - Cristina Bucsa, ESP (Abu Dhabi)
QF - Caroline Dolehide, USA (Birmingham)
QF - ELLA SEIDEL, GER (Budapest)

*WTA TITLES - RUS (active)*
12 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
12 - Vera Zvonareva
7 - Dasha Kasatkina
5 - Liudmila Samsonova
4 - Ekaterina Alexandrova
3 - DIANA SHNAIDER
3 - Elena Vesnina

*WTA TITLES - CHN (all-time)*
9 - Li Na (2004,'08,2010-14)
4 - Zheng Jie (2005-06,'12)
3 - Zhang Shuai (2013,'17,'22)
3 - ZHENG QINWEN (2023-24)
2 - Wang Qiang (2018)
2 - Peng Shuai (2016-17)







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If you look closely, you'll see that they *did* carve swastikas into their foreheads just like Charlie. Same difference.


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All for now.
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